Even though I live in Lévis on the south shore of Québec city, I always try to attend a few games a year in the mecca of hockey. Today's game was one of the ones I picked this year along with the opening game and one meet up with the Pens. I chose this one to be able to attend the
Hockey Inside Out Summit which I described in a previous article. This morning, a Bell Centre tour was planned but as I've been on the tour a few times and since you cannot tour the locker room on a game day, I decided to do something I had never done and head over to Brossard bright (well as bright as it can be on a gray rainy day) and early. I had been told that players start arriving around 8:00 and that some of them do stop to sign autographs.
I was in Brossard at 8 o'clock on the dot which is no small feat for someone who's not from Montreal and is not used to fighting the dreaded pothole and the legion of traffic cones that make drivers' life hell in this city. I had brought a few items to get signed, a Gallagher goal puck, a Drouin goal puck, a warm-up puck from last April (when he passed Jacques Plante for most games played by a Canadiens' goaltender) and some blank pucks for anyone else to sign. The security guard of the Complexe Sportif Bell doesn't allow fans to go straight up to the secured gate to which the players drive-up but he lets them stand about 25 metres from there and the players can decide for themselves if they wish to stop. Today, 4 of them decided to make fans happy on their way in to practice: Nicolas Deslauriers, Jeff Petry, Carey Price and Max Domi. Brownie points to Deslauriers and Domi who both looked really happy to stop and chat with fans. I get the feeling that Max Domi is particularly happy to play in such a big hockey market, he was quite chatty and happy to pose for pictures (once he put his hat on because, and I quote; oh come on, my hair is a right mess!). Jeff Petry just seemed to be going through the motions really and didn't have the same friendly demeanour. As for Carey Price, he looked a bit blasé by the whole thing, I guess once you're in your 12th season in Montréal, you've signed more than your share of autographs and it's somewhat normal to not have as much enthusiasm. To be honest though, I was thoroughly thrilled to have his record night puck signed and the kids who were there had a huge grin on their face when they realize that the big white pick-up's driver was non other than Carey Price.
Once it was clear that all the players had arrived, I made my way inside the Complexe sportif and I must say it does look like a state of the art facility. Shea Weber and David Schlemko who are both still injured, practiced before the team taking some shots and skating in a fairly relaxed manner. Although I did note that Weber looks more and more comfortable out there, the fluidity of his skating has improved greatly since the first images we saw of him back in action for practice. Paul Byron who is still suffering from a lower body injury did not practice with them and will not be joining the team for its short trip to New York. As for Tomas Plekanec, he clearly getting better health wise as he took part in the regular practice.
When the rest of the team hit the ice, it was interesting to see the rushes and I particularly liked one of Price's saves on Gallagher who skated away shouting a word I'm not permitted to write on here (according to my lip reading skills). Since it was a game day, the practice was only an hour long and it flew by. Drouin led the stretching session to wrap things up while Tatar and Lehkonen had fun trying to pass to one another by sending the puck through Drouin's legs. Since the crowd is not allowed to enter the stands and have to sit on the main concourse behind glasses which prevent them from hearing anything, you don't actually get to hear Claude Julien's instructions which could also have been interesting. I left the practice facility at quarter past eleven and headed back to my hotel for the main event of the Hockey Inside Out Summit.
At around 3 o'clock, the guest speakers were introduced; Stu Cowan from the Gazette, Alan Globensky (a former player) and Dave Stubbs who is now a writer for NHL.com. Globensky essentially talk about the devastating consequences of concussions and how parents who have kids playing minor hockey, football or any sport really should keep a close eye on them to ensure their brain does not get too bruised (his words not mine). He talked about his personal experience and the struggles he had with insane and constant headaches which lead him to a major depression. While this was interesting, Dave Stubbs totally stole the show relating some anecdotes from his long journalism career. He told us about Maurice "Rocket" Richard and his pure hatred for Ted Lindsay who he snubbed time and time again at various all-star games. He told us a few stories about John Ferguson who would cross the street to ensure he wasn't walking on the same pavement as a player from a rival team or who had once invited him to dinner in a nice steak restaurant but ended up paying and leaving before even eating his steak because Eddie Shack walked in. "What? You expect me to breathe the same air as that guy? No way! We're going!". Ferguson positively hate the Maple Leafs in his playing days but after retirement, while on a fishing trip, he learnt that his son had been named GM of the Leafs and since he had been drinking a bit he put on a Leafs' jersey and posed for a picture with his hand showing number 1. The Gazette got their hands on that picture and run it and received numerous complaints and accusations of having used photoshop, posting fake pictures and disrespecting the great Ferguson. Dave Stubbs truly is a hockey encyclopedia. I could have listened to his anecdotes for hours without being bored. On top of that, he showed up with two autographed hockey sticks he had got from John Cooper (the Lightning's coach) to give away. One signed by Cooper himself who thinking this wasn't good enough, chased Victor Hedman to a treatment room to get him to sign and donate one of his own sticks. Once Stubbs wrapped-up his talk, Réjean Houle and Yvon Lambert showed-up to bring two items from the Montreal Canadiens' Children Foundation, an Yvan Cournoyer signed stick and a Shea Weber signed jersey. The raffle then took place and some lucky winners went home with those goodies.
Now for the game. It started in the best fashion possible when Max Domi scored just 58 seconds in (it was the 4th time this season that he scored the first goal of the game) bringing the Bell Centre crowd up to its feet in a giant roar of approbation. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the Habs' lone goal and while the first 10 minutes of the game belonged to the home team, the Lightning struck and didn't miss. Its stars were in top form and Stamkos managed to score twice, both times with the help of Kucherov while Yanni Gourde, the new $31 million dollar man - not bad for an undrafted player, scored the 4th goal. Although they did play well, the Habs did give them plenty of opportunities on which they capitalized.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Nicolas Deslauriers does not have the speed to play in the new system. I like the player, he's a genuinely nice guy but the fact is that even though he can dish out crushing hits, he is not what is needed right now. Unfortunately, the boarding penalty he took at 11:42 of the first period was the turning point of the game. The Lightning scored just as his penalty expired and never looked back.
It was hard not to notice that it was turnover galore for the Habs out there tonight... Gallagher had 3 giveaways and Charles Hudon had 2, one of which ended up in the back of the net behind Carey Price. Clearly, Hudon was upset, breaking his stick as the puck went in. Considering he has been a healthy scratch for a few games and played on the 4th line for a few others, he probably feels that this kind of mistake could land him back in those spots. Jonathan Drouin was also guilty of trying some very questionnable passing on the power play tonight and just wasn't dialled-in.
The Lightning shot on Price 36 times tonight and got the best of him 4 times. That's a save percentage of just .889 and if the Canadiens are to have a good season, he just has to be better than this. While the Sainte-Flanelle scored 6 goals last game, they do not have the firepower to do so every game and as always, they need to be able to rely on their highest paid player.
When the final buzzer went off, the Bell Centre was already half empty and the mood was rather sombre and actually reminded me of the weather this morning. The Habs now sit in the first wild card spot in the east with 16 points and hopefully, the upcoming meetings with the Rangers, Islanders, Sabres and Golden Knights this week will allow them to bank a few points.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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