They were wise words from a long-time pro scout, offered to me ahead of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and they resonate right now.
“It’s the team that sticks most to its identity that usually wins,” he said.
And the team that strays too far from it gets embarrassed, like the Montreal Canadiens did in their 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday. They were rested, prepared properly for the game, but every single player seemed to be looking to the person next to them to do the job instead of trying to get it done themselves.
So, some other words resonate after Montreal’s 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. The ones Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme said earlier in the day about the team not being constructed to be able to depend on just two or three guys to win games.
“We need everyone,” he said.
The Jets don’t. They have Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois—bona fide superstars. They have forward Kyle Connor and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, two of the three best Connors in the NHL, who kept them in this game on their own and gave them a chance to win it—one of them with two goals that staggered the Canadiens and the other with incredible save after incredible save, including one on a Brendan Gallagher penalty shot.
But the Canadiens are built on depth, and they leaned on it for what might be considered the most crucial win of their season to date—one that keeps them above the Flames and in pursuit of the Jets, Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs in the standings.
Ducharme made several key adjustments to get the team-game back in order. He pulled Victor Mete and plugged Xavier Ouellet onto his third defence pairing with Alexander Romanov. He broke apart his best duo to reunite Jeff Petry with Brett Kulak, who played outstanding as a pair in those bubble playoffs, and he had Joel Edmundson partner up with Shea Weber to handle some of the heavy minutes against those lethal Jets forwards.
The coach also had Josh Anderson and Jonathan Drouin play with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and put Nick Suzuki between Brendan Gallagher and Tyler Toffoli. He pulled Artturi Lehkonen out and played Jake Evans in his spot on the wing. And he put in motion some set faceoff plays as one of the final of several tactical changes he’s wanted to institute since taking over for Claude Julien close to three weeks ago.
And the Canadiens went out and played the way they’re supposed to. Not perfectly, but very much to their identity—as a hard-working, fast-skating, in-your-face team. One that supports the puck and the play all over the ice.
“The communication wasn’t there, the support wasn’t there and those are the things that, when we do that, we have success,” said Anderson less than 24 hours after Saturday’s loss. “I can guarantee you (Monday) everyone’s going to be flying out there and ready to go because we have to.”
Anderson lit the match, diving on a loose puck to give Drouin and Kotkaniemi the play they connected on to give the Canadiens the all-important early 1-0 lead. He then stoked the fire with his first power-play goal of the season, making it 2-0 in the sixth minute of the second period.
Brendan Gallagher poured the gasoline on to force Neal Pionk into a turnover that Tyler Toffoli took advantage of to score his 16th goal of the season and give the Canadiens a 3-1 lead. And Toffoli added his 17th with an empty-netter to seal the deal with 48 seconds remaining.
In between and all throughout, Carey Price played like the Carey Price we’ve seen for most of the 699 other games he’s started in the NHL—calm and in control, with 34 saves to show for his efforts.
“About Carey,” said Anderson, “He stood in there all night for us. He played absolutely amazing, and what a milestone for him tonight to get that win.”
Price, Anderson, Drouin, Kotkaniemi, Gallagher, Toffoli and Ducharme played the leading roles, but the whole cast was worthy of a curtain call.
“I liked what we did collectively,” said Ducharme, “starting with our goaltender, to the defencemen, to the forwards.”
Ouellet and Romanov played under 14 minutes, but they were steady and assertive. Kulak played over 20 and unquestionably had his best game of the year.
Montreal’s fourth line played effectively, while its third line—centred by Phillip Danault fighting through an injury—controlled 50 per cent of the shot attempts at 5-on-5 despite starting 66 per cent of its shifts outside of the offensive zone.
“(Danault) was really solid,” said Ducharme. “He was skating well, he was hard on pucks. That’s where he’s got his best game is when he moves like this and he’s making those little and hard plays. And he gets the puck out, he gets the puck more often in the offensive side…”
Suzuki, who scored 12 points in his first 12 games of the season before scoring just five over his next 15, had an assist on Anderson’s goal. He got throttled against the Flames Saturday and pushed around by the Jets Monday, and he pushed back.
“It’s awesome to see,” said Drouin of the 21-year-old. “Maybe he’s fighting the puck a little bit or he’s not playing his best hockey, but he’s working hard. He’s fighting through it. I thought today he played a great game…you can see the confidence coming back a little bit. It’s normal when you’re a young guy—when things aren’t going well, you’re trying to force it, but it’s not really the play. But I thought tonight he just worked hard.
“He’s a good player, so teams are going to target him a little bit. They know he’s one of our good players, but again, he answered back and he’s fighting.”
The Canadiens had to answer back and fight after a bad loss to the Flames. They had to recapture their identity and play to it.
Anderson believed they’d do it. So did Gallagher.
“I have a lot of confidence in this group, I have a lot of confidence in the players we have to get the job done,” he said on Sunday. “And I think what gives me that confidence is we have a lot of guys that, when we go through tough times, respond the right way.”
That’s what the Canadiens did in this game, and what they have to do in another key matchup with the Jets Wednesday before returning to Montreal for back-to-back games against the Vancouver Canucks to close the week.
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.
