Canadiens' Teasdale realizes unlikely dream in season's penultimate game

They were 10 minutes and 18 seconds Joel Teasdale will never forget.

Never mind that he was minus-2 over that stretch in his NHL debut. The two goals the New York Islanders scored while he was on the ice had nothing to do with him and in no way, shape or form should they diminish how special this night was for the Repentigny, Que., native.

Teasdale was born and raised a Montreal Canadiens fan, and the idea of him fulfilling his lifelong dream of one day playing for the team couldn’t have been more farfetched than it appeared 16 months ago, when he was completing his second knee surgery rehabilitation in the span of just three years.

But Teasdale’s dream was realized in New York, on Wednesday, in a game the Islanders needed to collect a point in to become the 16^th team in the league to clinch a playoff berth and one that was largely insignificant for the Canadiens, who lost and maintained a bottom-five spot and better draft-lottery positioning than the idle Arizona Coyotes.

It was anything but insignificant for him.

The 24-year-old went undrafted. After five years in the QMJHL, he was a longshot to make the league at full health, with a skating stride unlikely to take him beyond the AHL, and that was before he suffered the catastrophic injuries that made this debut even more unlikely.

Can you imagine how Teasdale felt after Monday’s 4-0 win for the Laval Rocket, when he was called into coach Jean-Francois Houle’s office, greeted by Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes and coach Martin St. Louis, and told he was going to play his first NHL game?

It had to have been an absolutely surreal experience on Wednesday, especially at UBS Arena, which was popping off from warmup through end of game, when the Islanders were celebrating the 4-2 win that punched their ticket to the post-season.

“There was a lot of nerves for me in all that,” Teasdale told reporters after the game.

It didn’t show for the 38^th player to dress for the Canadiens this season.

Again, the player sporting no. 38 was on the ice for two goals against, but minus-2 wasn’t at all representative of his performance.

Teasdale was responsible in his own end, good on the breakout, tough on the forecheck and inches away from scoring on a shift that displayed all those qualities.

In the first period, he took a run at Samuel Bolduc, hit him and forced him into a turnover, and then he scurried to the net as Michael Pezzetta drove in and created a rebound opportunity.

Teasdale smacked it out of midair, sent it careening off the post, and was an inch away from the most unforgettable moment of his life.

Regardless, he was an NHL player, on this night, for 10 minutes and 18 seconds he’ll forever cherish.

“Teasdale also played a really good game,” said St. Louis. “His touches were excellent. We know he’s good in front of the net, and he almost scored in the first. But he was able to keep advancing the puck in possession. Takes good touches to do that, and I was really impressed.”

We doubt St. Louis was surprised.

If he wasn’t aware that Teasdale was the most productive goal scorer in the AHL from mid-December to mid-February, he still had to have known to what extent the player was keeping the Rocket afloat in the North Division playoff race.

It’s not as if Teasdale didn’t earn the chance St. Louis gave him.

It was ironic that it came now, mostly to keep Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Jesse Ylonen playing with the Laval team Teasdale propped up while they were taking huge strides in the NHL. He had played such an integral part in their success and wouldn’t be there to take part in a critical 6-3 win over the Toronto Marlies Harvey-Pinard and Ylonen had their fingerprints all over on Wednesday.

But Teasdale deserved this opportunity, and he might get others based on how he handled it.

His chance of playing in the final Canadiens game, when they take on the Bruins at the Bell Centre Thursday, is all but secure. And if he plays as well as he did on Wednesday, and he continues to be the player he’s been with Laval (be it in the playoffs this year or next regular season), he’ll prove he’s an option in the NHL.

Nick Suzuki with a goal-of-the-year candidate

To see the captain chase down Bolduc and beat Ilya Sorokin with one hand on his stick was spectacular.

It was also emblematic of the impressive effort Suzuki has put in all season.

The goal was his 25^th and his 65^th point. In 35 games he’s played since linemate Cole Caufield was shut down with a shoulder injury, he has produced nine of those goals and 28 points.

And with the Canadiens floundering and injured beyond repair through the entire second half of the season, Suzuki has kept his hand steadily on the rudder, always leading by example in practice and in games and never allowing frustration get the better of him.

“He’s pretty even keel” said St. Louis. “He has a good thermostat. He’s able to cool it down when it gets too hot, but he’s also able to boost it up when he needs to.”

Suzuki has one more chance to do so this season, as he becomes the only Canadiens player to appear in all 82 games.