Canadiens Still Canadian, Play Like Montreal Of Old
Their name is secure and now, after a shaky start, so are the Montreal Canadiens.
After missing the playoffs last year, starting this season 0-5, changing their coach and general manager and then nearly changing countries in the Quebec secession referendum, the Canadiens won six in a row, before losing to the Capitals on Wednesday night.
“They certainly are on fire,” Bruins coach Steve Kasper said after the Canadiens moved into first in the Northeast Division.
“They seem to be playing with a much better attitude,” he said. “For whatever reason, after the coaching change they’ve been able to rally around each other and say, ‘It’s time to start winning some games.”’
On Monday, the province of Quebec voted 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent to remain a part of Canada rather than strike out on its own. Had the separatists won, the Canadiens would not have been Canadians at all.
But even as the province was debating its destiny, the woes of the Les Canadiens rivaled the grand issues for headlines.
When they started in a slump after missing the exceedingly inclusive playoffs last season for the first time in 25 years, coach Jacques Demers and GM Serge Savard were fired.
On Oct. 21, Mario Tremblay was installed as coach.
The six-game winning streak was the best start for a coach in NHL history. Marc Crawford won his first five with Quebec last year and Bep Guidolin started 5-0 with the 1973 Bruins.
“After a couple of wins, the pressure comes down and the players start to play better,” Tremblay said. “Patrick Roy became the Patrick Roy that we saw a couple of years ago. … And man, that’s a big plus for our team.”
Roy allowed 20 goals in the five losses - getting pulled in one - for a goals-against average of 4.63. In the six wins, the three-time Vezina Trophy-winner has allowed 13 goals (2.17 GAA) to lower his mark for the season to 3.20.
“I knew if I kept working hard, it would turn around,” he said. “It’s too bad it didn’t happen before Jacques was fired.”
Roy stopped 38 of 39 shots on Tuesday to beat Boston - Montreal’s first victory over the Bruins in six tries.
“We threw a lot of rubber at him, but we couldn’t get anything by him,” Boston’s Cam Neely said. “The difference is they’re playing with a lot of confidence now.”
Brian Savage scored his ninth goal in six games for Montreal. He was the NHL player of the week last week with seven goals and two assists in four games
Linemate Pierre Turgeon earned an honorable mention with three goals and eight assists for the week. The third member of the line, Mark Recchi, has a sevengame point-scoring streak of his own after Wednesday.
“They got out of the gate real slow, but found new life with a new coach,” said Bruins defenseman Ray Bourque, a Montreal native. “It looks like they may have the piano off their back.”