MONTREAL — It wasn’t so much that Jeff Petry had a career-high four points, assisting on all four goals the Montreal Canadiens scored in a matinee win over the Florida Panthers, as much as it was that he did it under the type of chaotic and highly distracting circumstances we almost never hear about.
The drama started in the lead up to Montreal’s 3-1 win in Buffalo over the Sabres on Thursday. Petry was taking his pre-game nap when his phone started vibrating on his hotel nightstand. It was his wife calling and she was in a panic.
“Usually Julie never calls me, so I heard my phone vibrate and saw that she was calling,” Petry said after Saturday’s game. “So chances are it wasn’t something good.”
Julie Petry was driving on the inbound highway to Montreal from the south shore, en route to meet her four-year-old son Boyd at the Montreal Children’s Hospital because he had suffered an allergic reaction. Boyd, who was at daycare, was given an EpiPen to control the reaction and then he was placed in an ambulance.
Can you imagine how helpless Jeff felt as he made his way to KeyBank Arena?
It wasn’t until an hour or so later, after the Canadiens held their standard pre-game meeting, that he received an update from Julie that Boyd was being looked after and being held under observation before being released.
A short while later Jeff received a message from Julie that she and Boyd were on their way home and all was well again. He went on to play 24:04 in the win against the Sabres.
When he came off the ice, a message from Julie was waiting for him.
Sign up for NHL newsletters
Get the best of our NHL coverage and exclusives delivered directly to your inbox!
NHL Newsletter
“She says ‘Call me, ASAP,” Jeff recalled.
He assumed Boyd might have had a flare up, but as Julie explained, when she and the couple’s eldest arrived back at their home, their middle child — two-year-old Barrett — was so excited to see them that he tripped down the stairs and broke his arm.
They packed back into the car drove straight back to the emergency room.
“That was wild,” Petry said.
But with Boyd feeling better, and with Barrett now accustomed to life in a cast, he came to the Bell Centre on Saturday prepared to play the team’s biggest game of the season—against a Florida team that was eight points up in the standings and sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division.
Not only did Petry notch four assists and earn the game’s first star, he helped the Canadiens control 85 per cent of the shot attempts in his 15:45 at even strength. He also helped them kill five third-period penalties and took the shot that was tipped by Brendan Gallagher for their only power-play goal of the game.
If Petry had played so well with all the distractions he had to deal with over the last 48 hours, he believes it’s in part because he’s had to perform with distraction hanging over his head for most of the last month.
With the Canadiens dipping in the standings, Petry’s name has been circulating in the rumour mill. Even if he knows it’s because several teams will be interested in his services as a strong, right-handed defenceman who averages over 23 minutes per game, who’s on pace to beat his career high 46 points in 82 games last season and still has one year left on his contract at a digestible $5.5-million cap hit—and not because Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin is actively shopping him—it doesn’t make it any easier to play.
As he put it, “I think there’s obviously some things that you hear throughout the media with stories coming out about different players, but you can have a horrible game and not many people know what’s really going on if there is something going on. So, it obviously does play a role in things. Something happens at home and then you go out and play. You’re the only one that really knows about it.”
What we know is that Petry has a 15-team no-trade list that was submitted to the Canadiens long ago and that he hasn’t been approached by Bergevin to waive it.
For what it’s worth, the six-foot-three Michigan native doesn’t want to go anywhere.
“From the day I got here, it’s been a special place for me here,” Petry said. “Getting to play in the playoffs for the first time here was incredible and I honestly believe I don’t think there’s a better place to win than it would be here. I think, like I said, we have our work cut out for us this year. But I still believe this group can do it.”
If Carey Price continues to play like he did on Saturday, it will improve Montreal’s odds.
Price came up with 29 saves, including 17 in the third period, and passed Ken Dryden for third place on the Canadiens’ all-time shutout list.
The Canadiens also got goals from Nick Suzuki, Artturi Lehkonen and Tomas Tatar and Price qualified their performance as “a good team effort.”
But without Petry’s standout game, it would have been a different story.
“He’s part of that—when we talk about a core group—every team has a core group (and) he’s part of that group,” said Canadiens coach Claude Julien. “That says a lot about him. Not just us as coaches, but even his teammates see him as a leader, and we make him part of that core group that sometimes coaches lean on and try and get a feel for certain things. So he’s part of that. He’s also got a letter on his jersey when there’s some injuries, so that kind of stuff. So we consider [him] definitely as a leader, as well.”
You have to think the odds are that Petry will continue to be one with the Canadiens for the foreseeable future.
The team might fall further back in the race, but Petry’s not a player they can easily replace and they know it.
“Obviously I’m not the GM, but I would never trade Jeff Petry,” said teammate Max Domi. “He’s so valuable, he’s one of the best skaters in the NHL on the back end. You look how smooth he is out there, and the stuff he can do with the puck too—he’s feeling it. He’s a tough man to stop, so he’s a big part of our hockey team.”
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
