Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Andrew Hammond, Vincent Lecavalier, Nick Bobrov, Marie-Philip Poulin, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions, Bell Centre, Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens were on a quick trip to New York on Sunday to face the Islanders for the first at the UBS Arena. Both teams exchanged goals during regulation, and a shootout was needed to settle a winner. Rem Pitlick scored the game-deciding goal in his first career NHL shootout attempt to give Montreal 3-2 victory. It was the first time this season, that the Canadiens have won consecutive games.
“[Martin St. Louis] gets the boys fired up, gets the guys excited. It’s just good energy in there,” Ben Chiarot said postgame. It was Chiarot’s first game since being placed on injured reserve on February 13th with a lower body injury.
Andrew Hammond obtained the start in goal for the first time in the NHL since March 28th, 2018. He made 30 saves to earn his first victory since April 9th, 2016. “I always believed that I can play, and I reinforced it [Sunday]. I wasn’t keeping track on how long it had been. Once I got out there, it just felt like a riding a bike. I felt good early, and just tried to keep building throughout the game.”
“You can see he’s a pro, and he played like a NHL’er,” Martin St. Louis said. “To get an opportunity three-and-a-half years after his last start in the NHL, and play the way he did. He gave our team a chance to win.”
The Canadiens returned to Montreal immediately after the game, and will face the Maple Leafs on Monday night. Check out our Game Day preview published on Monday.
Lecavalier Appointed Special Advisor
On Friday, the Canadiens announced that Vincent Lecavalier was appointed as special advisor to hockey operations. The former NHL players retired in 2016 after a 17-year career with the Lightning, Flyers, and Kings organizations.
“I’m very excited. I’ve known Kent for a long time, and I’m looking forward to supporting him and the entire hockey operations department. It’s an honor. It’s very exciting to join the Montreal Canadiens and to get back into hockey,” Lecavalier said from his home in Florida via Zoom. Lecavalier was represented by Kent Hughes during his playing career.
The 41-year old will have a hybrid role with the organization. “The specific aspects of things can change, but if Kent gives me specific mandates, I’ll handle them. I’m going to help in terms of everything that revolves around hockey operations, working with the players, meeting them, helping them. I know they’ll be well-surrounded with Martin and the assistant coaches, but sometimes it’s cool to have a conversation with someone they can confide in.”
Lecavalier had visibly started working with the organization prior to Friday’s announcement, as he was asked by Hughes to watch video and provide a report on Emil Heineman prior to the transaction with the Flames.
For family reasons, Lecavalier will continue to live in Tampa Bay, while working for the Canadiens. The first overall pick in 1998 entry draft said that he would occasionally travel to Montreal or join the team on the road to get closer to the players.
Lecavalier won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004 and the Maurice Richard Trophy with 52 goals during the 2006-’07 season.
Nick Bobrov Hired
The Canadiens also announced on Friday the hiring of Nick Bobrov as co-director of amateur scouting. Bobrov will lead the draft department with Martin Lapointe. In addition to amateur scouting, Lapointe is also the director of player personnel.
Bobrov has an extensive relationship with Jeff Gorton. He was Director of European Scouting with the Boston Bruins from 2001 to 2006, and with the New York Rangers from 2015 to 2021. Gorton held management roles with the respective organization during those periods.
Bobrov’s hiring was not a surprise as he was seen at the Bell Centre watching several Canadiens games with Hughes and Gorton prior to Friday’s announcement.
The upcoming draft is a critical component of Hughes and Gorton’s objective of building a team that will be competitive for a long time. The organization has trusted Lapointe and Bobrov to make these important decisions.
When the Canadiens get on the stage at the Bell Centre on July 7th to announce their first round draft pick, they can’t get it wrong. A high selection in the draft will act as a consolation prize for this embarrassing season.
Marie-Philip Poulin
Le Nouvelliste reported on Friday that Marc-Andre Bergeron reached out to Marie-Philip Poulin following her gold medal victory win with Canada’s women hockey team. The Lions general manager was interested in signing her to a contract. On Saturday, Poulin turned down the offer via a statement from her agent.
Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reported on Hockey Night in Canada that the Canadiens reached out to Poulin’s agent prior to the Olympics to get informed on her plans when returning from Beijing. According to Marek, the Canadiens are interested that Poulin joins the organization once she’s completed her playing career.
The 30-year old has won three gold and one silver medal at the Olympics, and has scored in all four finals that she participated in her career.
Rocket Bounce Back
The Rocket headed on the road for a pair of games with a thin roster. Seven players and two staff players remained in Laval after being added to the COVID-19 protocol list. The Rocket signed Matthew Santos to a professional tryout contract in order to have enough skaters for the weekend games.
On Friday, the Rocket arrived straight to the arena in Syracuse two hours prior to puck drop. The Crunch took a 3-0 lead through 13 minutes, and went to 5-2 victory. Jean-Francois Houle did not want to use the same-day travel as an excuse to explain the team’s performance.
“I thought we had too many turnovers, our defensive zone coverage was poor. We’re a team that likes to play hard, and manage the puck. Tonight, we didn’t manage the puck and that’s why they scored three quick goals. All on turnovers.”
On Sunday, the Rocket obtained goals from five different players as they headed to 5-1 win against the Americans. “We have good leaders in our room, and they take good care of the room. They make sure that we bounce back after an average game, and tonight we got contribution from different players, and I liked our effort,” Houle said postgame. “All our defence played well, our penalty kill did a great job, and I felt Cayden Primeau confident in goal.”
The Rocket conclude their road trip with a pair of games versus the Marlies on Monday, and Wednesday. Joel Teasdale left the game during the second intermission with an injury suffered during a fight. If Teasdale is not able to play in Toronto, Laval will have to play with 11 forwards and six defencemen.
Lions Win the Weekend
The Lions were on the road to play three games over the weekend. On Friday, six different players scored for Trois-Rivieres in their 6-4 win against Adirondack. The Lions allowed three goals to the Thunder’s power play.
“We did a lot of good things. We had a lot of penalties again and it was difficult. Looks like we’re in a bad stretch in indiscipline. We found a way to win despite that,” Eric Belanger said postgame.
On Saturday, Trois-Rivieres had a 4-0 lead through 40 minutes and went on to 6-2 victory against Maine. “It was a big performance. Our best players were good in this game, and our goalies Carmine-Anthony Pagliarulo made solid saves,” Belanger said.
On Sunday, the Lions and Mariners played a low-scoring contest. The score was tied 1-1 through 15 minutes, and neither was able to score again before the end of regulation. It took Maine 3:28 into overtime to come out victorious 2-1 and snap Trois-Rivieres’ four-game winning streak.
“I have to say it was quite a boring match for both sides. It was the third game in as many nights and there weren’t many shots on either side,” Belanger said.
Despite collecting five of the possible six points over the weekend, Belanger was a bit disappointed. “It’s satisfactory, but Sunday’s game was still within reach. We couldn’t find a way to win the game in overtime. We had chances, but we lacked energy. There is a bit of disappointment, but with a three-in-three weekend and the lineup we had, I can’t be so disappointed.”
The Lions return to Trois-Rivieres to face the Marines on Wednesday, before hosting the Growlers for a three-game series on the weekend.
(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)
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