Backed by Canadiens fans, Anderson finally has breakthrough performance

MONTREAL — An audio-visual experience unique to this market: A team’s most embattled player receiving a rousing ovation as he skates to collect the puck with one of the NHL’s coldest sticks. The fans rise to their feet and cheer for him at the top of their lungs, delivering what could be heard as a Gregorian chant for a player who desperately needs a prayer as the game now rests in his shaky hands.

This was the scene on Wednesday, after Josh Anderson had already extended his seemingly interminable drought in regulation of what turned out to be a devastating loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canadiens had already gone through 10 forwards in the shootout before he was given a chance to keep the game alive, and though he might not have been booed by another team’s fans under the circumstances, a standing ovation probably would’ve been out of the question had he been playing for another team in another town.

But not here.

Oh, you could argue times have changed in Montreal, that in a bygone era, the player— who had just one goal in his first 28 games and missed incredible chances in regulation of this 29^th — would’ve come off the bench for a shootout attempt to a smattering of boos. Especially here. 

But that would ignore the nuance of Anderson’s plight versus that of say, former Canadien Scott Gomez, who scored just two goals in 38 games in 2011-12 and probably finished the season beyond grateful it would be his last in Montreal. Gomez, whose effort was often far more questionable than Anderson’s ever has been, was booed so often that winter it probably caused him tinnitus through the summer months.

But if Anderson still had the crowd’s cheers ringing in his ears before taking to the ice for this 5-3 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday, it’s because his effort has been largely unimpeachable.

Has Anderson worked smart in every game since the start of the season? No. 

But he’s worked hard, and even the most casual of fans here could recognize that and offer up a dose of what makes Montreal such a special place to play.

All kinds of them rose and emphatically — and empathetically — cheered for the 29-year-old to help deliver a win against the Penguins on Wednesday. And when Anderson’s effort was once again rebuffed, and theirs was too, none of them booed.

Sure enough, fans were back on their feet after Saturday’s game, delivering cheers at eardrum-piercing decibels.

“First off, I heard it from the locker room,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis. “I was in the entry of the locker room to greet the players, and we were waiting for Josh because he was the first star, and I heard it from there. And there was music playing in the locker room, so I would say it was loud enough as an ovation.”

Did Anderson do something different in Saturday’s game? Aside from finally pushing the puck past a goaltender twice instead of into an empty net, as he did with his first goal which came five games prior to this one?

“Not really,” said St. Louis. “I feel like Josh has played some pretty good hockey of late…”

If the fans didn’t see it, they wouldn’t have been on their feet on Wednesday.

To see them up again after Saturday’s game, as Anderson was being interviewed for his first-star honours, was more of what you expect in this town. 

“It doesn’t surprise me,” said St. Louis. “I think our fans appreciate players who work hard to get over their own obstacles. Tonight, Josh got rewarded, and we were really happy for him.”

How could you not be? 

Wednesday night was one of many that have tormented Anderson this season. It was another game that left him tortured by the recurring thought that just one of his shots could’ve turned a loss into a win. And then finally, on Saturday, two of them did, and he got to enjoy the special treatment from the fans that much more.

“Just seeing their support over the last couple of nights, it really is truly amazing,” Anderson said. “Nights that I’ll always remember.” 

He added the end of this one “kind of choked me up a little bit on the ice, not going to lie.”

It got to his teammates, too. They got yet another dose of what it is like to play in this one-of-a-kind market.

The Canadiens haven’t generated the results they’ve hoped for on many nights since St. Louis took over in February of 2022, but their efforts have been consistently recognized by the fans. When we sat down with general manager Kent Hughes in March of 2023, he summed up that recognition perfectly, saying “Even last year, when the fans were able to come back in the building, I think we got a standing ovation in the final game of the season. (Executive vice president of hockey operations) Jeff Gorton was teasing (former Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman-turned Canadien) David Savard, saying, ‘Two years in a row, you left the season to a standing ovation — one with the Stanley Cup and the other with a dead-last finish.’ But he was highlighting the passion of the fan base.”

It burns bright, even in tough times.

In good ones, it makes Montreal the best place for a hockey game.

“Even when I was in Columbus (as a member of the Blue Jackets), coming into the Bell Centre, it’s the best fan base in the NHL,” said Anderson. “No doubt about it.”