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In Hainsight: Words of Wisdom |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
If P.K. Subban was described as polarizing after he was traded to the Nashville Predators in June 2016, the 21,000 fans packed in the Bell Centre last night were unanimous in their acclamation of the newly retired blueliner. In 7 season and 434 games in Montreal, Subban electrified the crowds, embraced the city and got involved in the community with a 10-million pledge to the Montreal Children’s hospital. As always, the Canadiens’ homage was spot on.
The video had it all, all of those big P.K. moments his fans remember so fondly on and off the ice, the body checks, the goals, that blown kiss to Elyse Béliveau from the ice to her seat and those celebrations with Carey Price, it was all there in a 1 minute 40 seconds video. Of course, P.K. was also introduced to the crowd to roaring applause. As was to be expected, he had brought along a friend, the young Mila, a patient of the Montreal Children’s Hospital and after the crowd chanted P.K.’s name, he asked that they do the same for Mila and they were happy to oblige.
As eloquent as ever, Subban took the mic and spoke to the city, the fans and today’s Canadiens. There were thanks for everyone and so much gratitude for the honor he was receiving from the franchise that drafted him and for the love the Canadiens’ faithful have always given him.
In a great speech, Subban touched upon the pride he had in wearing the Sainte-Flanelle and the fact that when you wear that jersey, you have to play with the same passion that the fans bring every night to the building, the city and even globally. He then said: All I wanted to do, every time I put that jersey on, was to play with that passion. I hope that’s the message to the current players and the players that will wear the jersey in the future, that these guys will love you, no matter what, if you leave it all out on the ice. Leave it all on the ice every night.”
Before leaving the ice, Subban called on a friend, Carey Price for one last triple low-five, the celebration which so many fans liked but which was forbidden by Michel Therrien as being “too showy” and not team-based. That was the perfect ending to a perfect tribute, that’s how you close a chapter. Subban and Price then hugged and P.K. walked off into to sunset with the Canadiens’ fans favorite cowboy.
It was then time for the current Canadiens to get on the ice and for once, they started the game on time. For the first time since November 22, the Habs scored at the Bell Centre in the 1st period and they did it twice, even though the Preds had taken the lead halfway through the first frame.
Watching the Habs play last night, it seemed that they had heard P.K. Subban loud and clear when he told them to leave it all on the ice. Juraj Slafkovsky played perhaps his best game so far, a 200-foot affair (16 minutes of ice-time), in a single shift, he blocked two shots, played through the pain and neutralized the play with a bone crushing hit, prompting the crowd to erupt in cheers, as if to show him exactly what Subban meant, leave it all on the ice and these fans will adore you. In his post-game comments, the young Slovak said that he almost felt like Brendan Gallagher out there, although his shot blocks didn’t give him the second star of the game which the alternate captain got not so long ago for the same feat.
Once again, the Dadonov, Evans and Armia line was very efficient creating a lot of chances, many of which went to die on Dadonov’s stick, but still, at least they generated chances at the right end of the ice and Jake Evans did get the Canadiens’ first goal. He almost went from hero to zero when he nearly scored on his own goalie, before almost scoring on a breakaway at the other end… I wonder if anyone’s ever done that in the same shift, almost scoring at both ends of the ice?
Props as well to the special units last night, the penalty kill was flawless and the power play scored 2 goals on 3 opportunities. It should be noted that Jonathan Drouin was instrumental in both power play goals and that even though he still hasn’t scored a single goal, the Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts native finished his night at the office with 3 assists.
Jesse Ylonen, who was playing his first game with the Habs this season, didn’t look out of place at all. He got a great assist when he was in close with the goalie and waited just long enough to feed the pass to Dach on the other side who had an easy goal thanks to the young Finn. He also showed good flashes in his own end, being totally committed to team defense, the kind of commitment you don’t get from say Mike Hoffman, who was all alone watching the game on the press gallery yesterday and looked somewhat down on his luck.
Cole Caufield added 2 more goals to his season’s tally, bringing him to 25, on pace for a 49-goal season. He’s halfway there, I doubt he’ll break the 50-goal mark this season, but there’s something special about this kid and I have no doubt he’ll do it sooner rather than later.
Samuel Montembeault also had a hand in this team win, stopping 39 of the 43 shots he received. All in all, those who decided to brave the weather to be at the Bell Centre last night were treated to an emotional rollercoaster, an homage to a much deserving player and 60 full minutes of exciting and involved hockey. Everyone went home happy and hoping that the players would play with the same fire and devotion in their upcoming games.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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