Brossard, QUEBEC — After taking Monday and Tuesday off, the Canadiens resumed practising on Wednesday.
Round 2 is set to begin Friday night at the Bell Centre and several players mentioned the rest should benefit them.
“It can’t hurt us,” said Max Pacioretty.
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Andrei Markov feels the break has given his team a much-needed opportunity to recharge after an extremely physical series that saw the Canadiens outhit their opponent 287-210.
Brendan Gallagher, a primary target for Ottawa’s physical game, said it was nice to “just get a couple of days to watch playoff hockey instead of playing it.”
The Canadiens will know whether they’ll be facing the Tampa Bay Lightning or Detroit Red Wings after Wednesday night’s Game 7.
As for who they’d prefer to face, none of the players were offering bulletin board material by admitting a rooting interest. GM Marc Bergevin was in the same boat.
“I don’t have a preference, I really don’t,” Bergevin told reporters. “Whoever comes out of it, that’s who we’ll play. And if our goal is to move forward, we can’t pick and choose who we’re going to play.”
Instead, Bergevin lauded his team’s most recent accomplishment of knocking out the Senators in six games, which gives them a positive outlook no matter who they face in Round 2.
“What stood out for me is we beat the team that since February 18 was 23-3-3, I believe,” Bergevin said of the Senators. “If you think about it, it was the hottest team coming in the playoffs. Based on those six games, they played very well. We beat a very good hockey team; a team that, even when you’re up 3-0 [in the series], the way they fought back all year they were not dead, and they showed that in Game 6. I think it shows that it took a lot of character from our team to beat the hottest team in the league coming in.”
Bergevin is notorious for holding a player’s character in the highest regard. He said it’s what propelled him to sign Brendan Gallagher to a six-year extension out of his entry-level contract, and what he appreciates most in stars like Carey Price and P.K. Subban. Bergevin believes character – and the depth of his roster – is the reason why the Canadiens can advance further in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“I think you could see through those six games that at different times some different players stood up and took the lead,” said Bergevin. “In Game 1 [Brian] Flynn and [Torrey] Mitchell played very well; with [Subban] being gone and other guys taking ice time. [In] Game 6–Carey stole the game. You have [Dale] Weise in Game 3. So I think that’s what I like; the depth on our team throughout that series, that’s why we were able to beat a very good hockey team.”
Regardless of their success against a very hot Ottawa team, Bergevin knows the next series will be more demanding.
“It’s going to be hard,” he admitted. “But I have confidence–whoever we play–we have a chance to win.”
Here’s what the players said about the different challenges the Red Wings and Lightning present.
Andrei Markov:
“Both teams are pretty good.
“Detroit has experienced guys that have played every year in the playoffs. In Tampa, they had success against us in the regular season, and they’re a young, fast team.
“We’re looking forward to facing either one of those two teams.”
P.K. Subban:
“They’re both good teams, and they’re both deserving of playing in the next round. It’s going to come down to bounces in [Game 7]. As far as I’m concerned, they both have players that can put the puck in the net and they’ve both had successful seasons.
“I think Detroit–their puck possession game [stands out]. Obviously, they like to control the play. They hold on to the puck, they don’t give it away, they try to make plays with it, but by the same token their forwards are really capable of breaking up plays in the neutral zone so, you gotta take care of the puck against them.
“Tampa’s got team speed. They’re very fast. You gotta be aware of their forwards when you’re on the ice, and they can break a game open; we’ve seen them do that in these playoffs, being down a couple of goals and still coming back.”
Max Pacioretty:
“Detroit’s got a tonne of experience. Obviously, [Pavel] Datsyuk, [Henrik] Zetterberg, [Niklas] Kronwall; a lot of those guys have had a lot of success in the playoffs, so you don’t see them getting nervous too often.
“Tampa’s dangerous. They’ve got so much skill both on the back end and up front, but I think their depth up front is what’s most impressive. They’re able to get offensive contributions from their whole lineup and I think that’s a dangerous recipe in the playoffs.”
Brendan Gallagher:
“Detroit’s structure doesn’t give up a lot. They play within the rules, but stretch them a little bit and make it as tough as they can for you to get to their net. They’ve got some elite players up front that can hurt you.”
“I wouldn’t say Tampa’s transition game is scary, but I think it’s definitely dangerous. When you look at what they can do with their speed–and I’ve watched the series–when Detroit hasn’t been forcing turnovers, Tampa’s been doing it, and Tampa’s made them pay. They’re very dangerous off the rush and they have a lot of skilled players.”
SUBBAN’S NOD AS A NORRIS TROPHY FINALIST
On Monday, P.K. Subban was named a Norris Trophy finalist along with Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings and Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators.
Subban won the award in the lockout-abridged 2012-13 season after posting 11 goals and 27 assists with a plus-12 rating in 42 games.
Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin suggested Subban’s game is more rounded now than it was in 2013.
“The nomination is so important because he’s showing a facet of his game that’s improved so much since [coach Michel Therrien] and I arrived in Montreal three years ago,” Bergevin said of Subban’s defensive awareness. “The way he plays both sides of the puck, his maturity, his leadership, I’m not surprised [about the nomination] and I’m very proud of him.”
Dale Weise praised Subban’s competitive edge as the trait that distinguishes him.
“Obviously, I knew about [Subban] before I joined the Canadiens, but what I didn’t see from a distance, from just watching the highlights on TV, was what a competitor he is,” Weise said.
“(Subban) lives for those big games; he lives for those big moments. Whether people are booing him or cheering him, he uses it as fuel and it makes him better.”
Though some consider Subban too brash and cocky, he was deflecting acclaim for his individual accomplishment.
“[Markov] doesn’t get nearly enough credit for what he does on the ice,” Subban said of his defense partner. “A lot of attention will be on me, but I don’t think I’d be in this situation without playing with him.”
