MEDIA CLIPS Columbus Blue Jackets at Canadiens November 12, 2019

Columbus Blue Jackets Immigrant kids learn hockey through Blue Jackets’ initiative

By Allison Ward – The Columbus Dispatch – November 10, 2019

Most of the students at the street hockey clinic held late last month ranged in age from kindergarten to eighth grade and were from Bhutan, Congo, Nepal and Myanmar. The clinics are part of the Blue Jackets’ and ’s “Hockey Is for Everyone” initiative, which seeks to break down barriers to the sport and provide access where it might not otherwise be available.

As 6-year-old Cing Kim approached the front of the line, Columbus Blue Jackets representative Joe Renza placed a hockey stick in her hand.

Though still unsure of exactly how to wield the stick, the kindergartner at Valley Forge Elementary School took a whack at the orange street hockey ball in front of her.

Gooaaalll!

The pint-sized scorer flashed a giant grin as she high-fived one of her after-school instructors.

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Cing was the smallest of the 70 or so children gathered at Columbus Global Academy on the Northeast Side for a street hockey clinic as part of an ongoing partnership between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services (ETSS), a local nonprofit that helps immigrants and refugees from any country establish roots and gain self-sufficiency in Columbus.

Most of the students at the clinic held late last month ranged in age from kindergarten to eighth grade and were from Bhutan, Congo, Nepal and Myanmar.

The clinics are part of the Blue Jackets’ and National Hockey League’s “Hockey Is for Everyone” initiative, which seeks to break down barriers to the sport and provide access where it might not otherwise be available.

Suhely Hakim, 11, perhaps the tallest student of the group, shared in the excitement of the moment when he buried the ball in the back of the net.

“That’s two in a row!” the Zenith Academy fifth-grader said after one of his turns with the stick.

This isn’t the first time that executives with ETSS have seen this elation at trying the sport, one that is unfamiliar to many of the young people and families the organization serves. This was the fifth session since February that the Blue Jackets have hosted at one of the nonprofit’s nine locations — churches, schools and other venues — in central Ohio.

The NHL team also has provided tickets to these children and their parents to several Blue Jackets games and even held a meet-and-greet with defenseman . “Our kids have a lot of challenges when they come to this country,” said Amanuel Merdassa, director of youth programs for ETSS. “They’re new. They don’t speak the language. When they move here, it’s almost too complicated for them to comprehend … but this type of interaction helps with that trauma issue.”

Even simple things can seem scary to an immigrant child, from what a classroom looks like here — many of these children attended school outside or in tents — to going to a cafeteria for lunch. And they often are behind in subjects such as reading and math, especially given the language barrier, Merdassa said.

“It’s like falling into the middle of the ocean without any survival skills,” he said, adding that this is an example of ETSS programs trying to fill gaps. “They start isolating themselves. They experience desperation and don’t want to go to school.”

An hour of play, learning a new skill and a visit from Blue Jackets mascot Stinger can work wonders, Merdassa said. Hockey is something that they can share with their American peers.

“A lot of these are kids who have never picked up sticks,” said Renza, fan development coordinator for the Blue Jackets. “It’s very elementary — how to hold a stick, passing, shooting and trying to relate to some experience they may have had.”

Although the Blue Jackets have held many clinics across central Ohio during their 20 years of existence, the program’s mission has taken on new life with the recent ETSS partnership, Renza said. It marks the first time the team has donated full sets of adult and youth street hockey equipment to one of its clinic sites — in this case, enough for 20 adults and 20 kids. It also will host training for ETSS staff.

“ETSS is ready to run their own street hockey program,” Renza said. “They’ll be self-sufficient, and the Blue Jackets are giving them the nudge to create a program where they can play year-round.”

Part of the relationship’s success has come from how engaged the young people are, ETSS executives said.

The volume level, which could be heard outside of the cafeteria at Columbus Global Academy, demonstrated the participants’ excitement as the pupils raced to put on jerseys, cheered on classmates during a drill and erupted with each score.

“It felt good when I shot it,” said 10-year-old David Sang, a fifth-grader at Valley Forge Elementary School. “And I got to meet Stinger.”

Kim Cing, 12, a seventh-grader at Woodward Park Middle School, said she was nervous but had fun. She said she found scoring to be the most difficult part.

“If you don’t do it right, you won’t get it in,” she said.

Still, she was able to score a few times during a drill.

Those who work daily with the children said they have seen improvements in the kids’ confidence, social skills and overall mental health due to the street hockey program.

“It creates a sense of belonging that only sports can bring,” said Jennifer Drury, ETSS lead youth program coordinator. No matter what their experiences have been, knowing that someone, such as the Blue Jackets, in their newly adopted community cares for them helps with their assimilation, said Lilu Terefe, ETSS youth program manager.

“At the end of the day, whether refugee or American, they’re just kids,” Terefe said, “and they want to get away from the pressures of life and just play.”

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 11.12.2019

Blue Jackets' Nick Foligno may be suspended over hit

By Brian Hedger – The Columbus Dispatch – November 11, 2019

MONTREAL, — When the door to the visitors locker room swung open Saturday night, it wasn’t hard to find Nick Foligno inside.

The Blue Jackets captain stood in front of his locker with a flat-brimmed ballcap on his head and a grim look on his face. After watching replays of his illegal hit on center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare late in the second period of the Jackets’ 4-2 loss at the Pepsi Center, Foligno knew there was explaining to do.

“I actually didn’t know I hit him in the head at all,” he said of Bellemare, who left the game and didn’t return. “That’s the reason I was reacting the way I did (on the ice). And then I saw the replay.”

Foligno, who was assessed a major for charging and a game misconduct, learned Sunday that he will also have a hearing by phone Monday with the NHL’s department of player safety. That often leads to a suspension and/or fine, which would be no more than five games since the hearing is by phone.

Fines and a suspension, however, were not foremost on Foligno’s mind after the game.

“My main concern is that he’s all right, and it sounds like he’s feeling all right, not too bad,” said Foligno, who sought out an update on Bellemare before the game ended. “It just sucks. I’ve never been in this situation before in 13 years I’ve played. It’s a hard one for me. Never want to hurt anyone.”

Foligno’s history and widely held respect across the league should help, but it was also a hit that looked bad from every angle — from his skates leaving the ice to his right forearm impacting Bellemare’s jaw, sending the veteran forward backward in a fall that led to his head bouncing off the ice.

In a number of ways, it was exactly the kind of hit the NHL wants to eliminate — where the principal point of contact is the head. Nobody understands that more than Foligno, whose postgame comments were contrite and reflected the serious nature of what happened.

“There was no intent to hit him like that at all,” he said. “I’m trying to line him up at the time, and then he kind of turns back and makes that play."

Foligno is no angel on the ice, willing to drop the gloves and throw big hits, but he has played it clean throughout his career. “My track record speaks for itself,” he said. “I would never maliciously try to hurt somebody. And it made me sick (to see the replay). I’m still sick to my stomach the way he kind of went down, but I mean, that’s the way this game goes sometimes. It happens so fast. My main concern is that he’s OK, and we’ll go from there.”

Roster moves

Sunday was a travel day for the Blue Jackets, who will practice Monday in Montreal. They did make four roster moves, including rookie goalie Elvis Merzlikins returning from the Cleveland Monsters.

Matiss Kivlenieks, also a Latvian rookie, was reassigned to the Monsters to make room for Merzlikins, who was sent to Cleveland on Wednesday to get playing time while Joonas Korpisalo handled the starting role on the Blue Jackets’ road trip.

Merzlikins wound up with just one start, making his debut Friday with 28 saves on 30 shots in a 2-1 loss to the . Korpisalo had more anger issues following goals allowed against the Avalanche, so it will be interesting to see which goalie starts Tuesday against the Canadiens.

The Jackets also placed defenseman Markus Nutivaara (upper body) on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 5, and recalled forward Eric Robinson in a move likely to replenish forward depth if Foligno is suspended.

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 11.12.2019

NHL suspends Blue Jackets’ Nick Foligno for three games

By Brian Hedger – The Columbus Dispatch – November 11, 2019

BROSSARD, Quebec — Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno got a chance to explain his side in a hearing Monday with the NHL’s department of player safety, but the league had the final say.

After the hearing, Foligno was suspended three games for an illegal hit against Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in a 4-2 loss Saturday night at the Colorado Avalanche. Foligno was given a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct, but the league’s explanation video for the ruling called it elbowing.

"It is important to note that Foligno is in control of this contact," the video explanation said. "This is an attempted body check and cannot be classified as excusable or accidental contact, where Foligno raises his arm reflexively to brace for sudden contact or to attempt to avoid a collision."

Foligno indicated in his postgame comments that Bellemare recoiled after playing the puck, forcing him to adjust his body to make contact. The league said the "onus" was on Foligno to take a better angle of attack against Bellemare, who was struck in the jaw and then hit the back of his head on the ice.

Bellemare left the game, didn’t return and has a concussion.

"Nick Foligno, the way he plays the game speaks for itself," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said after a practice Monday that included Foligno. "He’s certainly not looking to hurt someone. That’s just not in his DNA. He plays hard. He was looking to drive him, drive that player. Things happen in such a quick moment …"

Those words echo what Foligno said after the game.

"There was no intent to hit him like that at all," he said. "I’m trying to line him up at the time, and then he kind of turns back and makes that play. It just happens so fast, and I felt sick to my stomach when I saw that I hit him in the head."

Foligno is expected to comment Tuesday at the , where the Blue Jackets play the to conclude a three-game trip.

Barring an appeal, he will miss that game plus home games against St. Louis on Friday and Montreal next Tuesday.

This is Foligno’s first suspension in 858 games, though he was fined $2,500 for an illegal check to the head in 2010 while playing for the Ottawa Senators. Foligno will forfeit $88,709.67 in missed salary this time, which will be given to the Player’s Emergency Assistance Fund.

Homecoming

Thanks to his father’s side of the family, Pierre-Luc Dubois never had a shortage of Canadiens gear as a child.

"They would buy me Canadiens pajamas and for the pillow cases on my bed," said Dubois, who grew up a little more than an hour from Montreal in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec. "Whatever you can buy, my grandma would buy for me."

Dubois didn’t become a Canadiens fan, going against the grain as a kid, but always loved hearing his grandfather’s stories of legendary Canadiens players.

For that reason, playing in Montreal will always be special.

"It’s my home," said Dubois, who leads the Blue Jackets with six goals and 11 points. "My family and friends are going to be there, and even looking up (at the rafters), you see the Maurice Richards and Jean Beliveaus and guys like that. It’s pretty special for a young Quebecer that grew up, in a way, idolizing them. I never watched them play, but they’re still such a big part of French (Canadian) culture."

Columbus Dispatch LOADED: 11.12.2019

Nick Foligno suspended three games; Joonas Korpisalo benched; Blue Jackets’ season needs saving already

By Aaron Portzline – The Athletic – November 11, 2019

MONTREAL — As the hockey-loving world began ramping up to the 2019-20 season, the Blue Jackets — from GM Jarmo Kekalainen down to the players — expressed bemusement, defiance and even anger as experts and pundits made their predictions.

The loss of No. 1 goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky would be devastating, most predicted. The departure of point-a-game forward Artemi Panarin and No. 1 center Matt Duchene, among others, would turn the Blue Jackets into a pedestrian club offensively.

The Blue Jackets fumed at this thinking because, they said, it didn’t take into account the potential of goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who had waited three seasons as Bobrovsky’s backup. It was flawed thinking, they said, because it didn’t account for the proud and accomplished veterans who remained under contract and want to be Blue Jackets.

But the start of this season, especially these past two weeks, has done nothing but prove the skeptics right. The Blue Jackets’ goaltending is a major question mark in more ways than one, and the club’s inability to score goals has been alarming.

On Sunday, the day after a 4-2 loss to Colorado, the Blue Jackets summoned Elvis Merzlikins from minor- league Cleveland to make the start Tuesday against Montreal in Bell Centre.

This was a change of plans, brought on after Korpisalo had two stick-wielding blowups with his goalposts during Saturday’s loss.

“Through Korpi’s actions (during) the game, Korpi sits and Elvis plays,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella told reporters in Montreal on Monday. “That’s all I have to say about it.”

It’s probably best that way, because Tortorella was not happy the first time Korpisalo blew a gasket — Oct. 25 in a 7-4 loss to Philadelphia — and vowed after talking with his goaltender that “it won’t happen again.”

Now it has.

Korpisalo hasn’t shown his temper in Columbus, but this is nothing new. He was known for his volcanic on-ice temper as a youngster in Finland, but he has spoken previously as though he’s left that all of that in the past.

Clearly, he hasn’t.

Most fans seem to like Korpisalo losing his mind in frustration, because that’s how they feel watching the defensive breakdowns, failed scoring chances and the rest from home.

But the Blue Jackets don’t like it at all. It’s the football equivalent of a receiver showing up his quarterback for an off-target pass. It’s a pitcher staring at his shortstop for an error.

Korpisalo might not have been angry at Gustav Nyquist’s blown coverage that allowed Colorado’s Cale Makar to be wide open for the giving the Avalanche a 2-1 lead on Saturday.

He might not have been angry at Seth Jones for deflecting the shot of Colorado’s Nazem Kadri, sending it fluttering over his glove for the 4-2 goal in the closing minutes. But that’s how many will perceive Korpisalo’s reaction, inside and outside the Blue Jackets’ dressing room, especially if it continues to happen.

Korpisalo has had some really strong games lately, including a 2-1 loss to Vegas, the 3-2 win in Arizona and, yes, the 4-2 loss in Colorado. It’s why Tortorella and the Blue Jackets sent Merzlikins to the minors and decided to “let Korpi run” on this road trip.

But between his .895 save percentage — good for 40th in the NHL — and his temper tantrums, he’s not exactly stating his case as a bona fide No. 1 goaltender.

On the other end of the ice, the Blue Jackets aren’t doing Korpisalo any favors.

Pierre-Luc Dubois (6-5-11) continues to improve, Nyquist (3-8-11) has been exactly as advertised, and Oliver Bjorkstrand (4-2-6) has been the Jackets’ best forward in a few games.

But there have been few bright spots offensively.

Cam Atkinson, a 40-goal scorer, is on pace to score 14 goals. Nick Foligno has one goal all season and hasn’t scored in 14 games. Josh Anderson hasn’t looked like himself — he might be playing hurt; the club won’t say — and has one goal in 11 games.

The Blue Jackets learned on Monday that Foligno, the team captain, was suspended three games by the league for his open-ice hit Saturday on Colorado’s Pierre-Edouard Bellmare. (The suspension will cost Foligno $88,709.67 in salary, which goes to the NHL players’ assistance fund.)

Even though Foligno has struggled, the Blue Jackets are a better team with him in the lineup. So for the next three games, the hill gets even steeper.

Before the season started, Tortorella mentioned repeatedly how much more was expected from Foligno and the other leaders on the team. Seth Jones, Atkinson and Boone Jenner make up the Blue Jackets’ leadership group, but others are expected to lead, too, and not with their words.

“They’re good people,” Tortorella said. “It’s not so much looking for the words as far as leadership right now. We’re looking for actions on the ice as far as leadership. We have to find a way to win games. We can talk all about it, use all the rhetoric we want … it’s got to be actions on the ice.

“We’ve sputtered after our first 10 games. I really like the way we looked, but we’ve lost ourselves a little bit, there’s no question. And I think (changing that) has to come by actions on the ice.

The Blue Jackets were led the past two seasons by Panarin, a carefree player who could help carry them through rough patches while the rest of the players sputtered and hacked.

But the Blue Jackets are the furthest thing from carefree now. You can almost feel the stress when they’re on the power play, or when they possess the puck in the attack zone. They are rigid and predictable, not instinctive and creative, and the more they struggle the worse it gets.

“I thought we got over that a little bit,” Tortorella said recently. “I thought as we got going … we built it here the last few years and last year, going through it like we did. But this year it’s kind of been there where we’ve got the big eyes. “Again, it’s what I’ve always said: It’s because they care. Sometimes you just have to stop thinking and just play. I always feel in this game, if you’re thinking, you’re hurting the team. It needs to be instinctive.”

The Blue Jackets are 30th in the league in scoring (2.35 goals per game), 24th in goals against (3.41) and 28th in goal differential (-1.06 per game). Their power play (14.3 percent) is 25th. Their penalty kill (76.5 percent) is 25th.

It should be no surprise, then, that the Blue Jackets are only barely holding off New Jersey to avoid the basement in the Metropolitan Division.

The Blue Jackets have plenty of time to turn things around, of course. The season is barely 20 percent in the books. They’re only six points out of the playoffs heading into Monday’s games.

But they can’t fall too far behind here. Or the playoffs, and their chance to prove the hockey world wrong, will be out of their grasp.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.12.2019

Montreal Canadiens Canadiens Notebook: Jesperi Kotkaniemi still not ready to return

By Stu Cowan – Montreal Gazette – November 11, 2019

Jesperi Kotkaniemi has yet to fully recover from a groin injury and will miss his sixth straight game when the Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Bell Centre Tuesday night (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio).

“Obviously, he’s skating, so it’s a good sign,” coach Claude Julien said after Kotkaniemi took part in Monday’s practice at the Bell Sports Complex in . “He’s still day-to-day. He will not play tomorrow. That decision has been made. The injury is going in the right direction, but it’s one of those injuries — and I mentioned it when it first happened — that you have to bring him to an area where it’s not going to happen again. So we’re trying to make sure he’s 100 per cent and all that’s based on the treatment he’s getting, the workload he’s getting and how much it can handle and whether it can handle it right.”

In 12 games this season, Kotkaniemi has 2-1-3 totals and is minus-1 while averaging 13:02 of ice time and winning 43.1 per cent of his faceoffs.

When Kotkaniemi does return from the injured-reserve list, the Canadiens will have to make a move to free up a spot on the 23-man roster.

Weber misses practice

Captain is battling a virus and didn’t practice with his teammates on Monday.

Julien said the flu bug is always a concern for the Canadiens at this time of the year. “We manage that,” he said. “I’d be extremely surprised if (Weber) didn’t play tomorrow, I’m going to be honest with you. We sent him home today. He was here this morning and we sent him back home. It’s just about managing the situations and this is the time of year where I think everybody — and I hope you (media) guys as well — are getting the flu shots. Especially when we’re around you guys a lot, I’d prefer you did.”

“So it’s not about our health?” asked Dan Robertson, the play-by-play man for TSN 690 Radio.

“No, it’s not about your health,” Julien said with a smile. “It’s about making sure I don’t get your flu.”

The lines

Here’s how the lines and defence pairings looked at practice Monday:

Drouin – Danault – Gallagher

Byron – Domi – Armia

Tatar – Suzuki/Kotkaniemi – Lehkonen

Poehling – Thompson – Cousins/Weal

Mete – Kulak

Chiarot – Petry

Reilly – Fleury

Folin

Counting on Carey

The Canadiens will be counting on goalie Carey Price once again to try and carry them to a playoff spot.

Heading into Tuesday’s game, Price has an 8-4-2 record with a 2.71 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.

Sportsnet’s Eric Engels asked Julien what he has learned about Price that he wouldn’t have known in coaching against him, standing on the opposing bench during his time with the Boston Bruins.

“Just before I left here the first time (as Canadiens coach), he had been drafted and he’d been at camp and stuff like that, so I knew a little bit about Carey,” Julien said. “But he’s a totally different person. He was a kid coming out of junior. Now, he’s married with kids. The whole evolution of an individual, not just on the ice but also off the ice. Family-wise and everything else, he’s just much more mature, if you want to put it that way. He’s a very focused individual, he takes care of himself, makes sure he’s ready all the time. He’s one of those athletes that really cares about winning, cares about having success and he does whatever he can.

“You just have to think about last year, how much we rode him at the end of the year and the opportunity he gave us to at least get a chance at making it to the playoffs,” Julien added. “That was a lot of games for him to play without getting much of a break. But he took such good care of himself that he was able to do that. I mean, on the world stage he’s known as probably the best goaltender around, winning the Olympics, World Cups and all that stuff. Right now, he’s got one thing missing (the ) and I think he’s going to do whatever he can to help us attain that. He wants one for himself, he wants one for the city and he wants one for the organization. So that’s where I see Carey Price today. That’s the guy who won in the American league a championship, who’s won everywhere he’s gone, he’s always been a winner. But not only that, he’s become an even more mature individual that’s really grown into understanding how he evolves and as he gets older how to continue to take care of himself so he remains a champion.”

Important part of schedule

This is an important stretch of the season for the Canadiens. Saturday night’s 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings at the Bell Centre was the beginning of a part of the schedule when they will play eight of 10 games at home, where they have a 5-3-0 record so far.

“You look at it, but that’s probably a little bit too big of a sample,” Brendan Gallagher said about the 10- game segment. “I think we usually look at 3-4 game segments. Obviously, you want to take advantage of these home games. This is a month where we’re at home quite a bit. But you just kind of look a little bit more short-term.”

Fleury earns his spot

Rookie Cale Fleury has earned a regular spot on the third defence pair and will play in his 13th game Tuesday night.

While Fleury is still looking for his first NHL point, he has added physicality to the blue line and ranks fourth on the team with 39 hits, trailing Jeff Petry (45), Joel Armia (43) and Ben Chiarot (40) despite sitting out five games. During the Canadiens’ 4-1 win over the Coyotes in Arizona on Oct. 30, Fleury became the first NHL rookie since Iiro Pakarinen with the in 2016 and the first rookie defenceman since Klas Dahlbeck with the Coyotes in 2015 to record 10 hits in a single game.

“I think when you look at him, he’s been good,” Julien said about Fleury, who is minus-2 while averaging 14:38 of ice time. “I mean, he’s going to make mistakes like everybody else here and there. But he’s a big body, he skates well, he defends well. Very seldom does he get himself in trouble. But is he on the ice for goals against? Yes, like anybody else. But overall I think we talk about if you’re going to develop some players you got to give them a chance to develop and I think he’s shown us enough and dug well enough that he deserves to go into the next game and the game after, and so far he’s been able to keep himself in the lineup. So that’s a credit to him and a credit to his game.”

Kulak gets back in lineup

After being a healthy scratch for six straight games, defenceman Brett Kulak got back in the lineup for Saturday night’s 3-2 win over the Kings.

Kulak logged 13:03 of ice time and was minus-1 with two shots and one hit.

“I felt good,” he said after Monday’s practice. “Coming back after missing six games, it’s different. Practice, you’re going hard and you’re skating hard and things like that. But it’s different in games. Each shift is 40 or 45 seconds and usually you have two or three physical battles and you’re up and down the ice two or three times and so the legs feel a different kind of burn in the first little bit. But as the game went on, I thought things were good. It’s always disappointing getting scored on near the end of the game. But that’s the game, right? Things happen like that. But you can’t dwell on it and just keep moving on.”

Was he nervous before the game?

“I was just excited,” Kulak said. “Six games, it feels like you haven’t played in a long time. So I think more than anything I was just really happy and excited to get back in the game and play.”

In nine games this season, Kulak has one assist and is minus-2 while averaging 15:09 of ice time.

Gallagher upsets Alouettes fans

Gallagher upset a lot of Alouettes fans on Sunday when he tweeted: “Hope everyone in Montreal is tuned in, watching the Alouettes game! So you can watch my Eskimos move on to the east finals.”

Gallagher grew up in Edmonton cheering for the Eskimos.

“I was having fun,” Gallagher said with a smile after practice Monday when asked about the tweet. “It was a great game, it was a fantastic game. I actually hope everyone watched it. If you flipped back and forth between the CFL games and the NFL games, I don’t think there was any question the CFL game was more entertaining for me.”

The Eskimos beat the Alouettes 37-29 at Molson Stadium in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Gallagher is also a big fan of the Cincinnati Bengals, who are the only winless team in the NFL this season at 0-9.

Could the Eskimos beat the Bengals?

“Right now, maybe,” Gallagher said. “It might be close. Sad.”

Rocket on a roll

The Laval Rocket are on a six-game winning streak and were second in the AHL’s North Division through Sunday’s games with a 9-5-1 record, tied with the first-place (8-2-3) in points. Toronto holds two games in hand.

The Rocket have three home games this week at Place Bell against the Belleville Senators on Wednesday (7 p.m.), the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday (4 p.m.).

Alex Belzile leads the Rocket in scoring with 6-5-11 totals, followed by Lukas Vejdemo (4-5-9), Charles Hudon (5-2-7), Xavier Ouellet (2-4-6) and Dale Weise (2-3-5).

Goalie Cayden Primeau has a 5-2-0 record with a 1.69 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage. Charlie Lindgren has a 4-3-1 record with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage.

What’s next?

The Canadiens have practices scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday and 10:45 a.m. Thursday in Brossard before flying to Washington to play the Capitals Friday night (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio). The Canadiens will wrap up the week Saturday night at the Bell Centre against the (7 p.m., CITY, SNE, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio).

Next week, the Canadiens will travel to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio), play the Ottawa Senators Wednesday night at the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., SN, RDS, TSN 690 Radio) and then wrap up the week next Saturday night against the at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CITY, SNE, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio).

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 11.12.2019

Canadiens' record is the same as last season, but are they better?

By Stu Cowan – Montreal Gazette – November 11, 2019

Heading into Tuesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio), the Canadiens have a 9-5-3 record.

Interestingly, the Canadiens had the exact same record after 17 games last season when they finished 44-30-8, coming up two points short of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Through Sunday’s games, the Canadiens were sitting in a playoff spot in third place in the Atlantic Division.

So, how is this year’s team different from last year’s?

“Wow! You guys got a lot of time on your hands to think about those questions,” coach Claude Julien said when asked that question after practice Monday in Brossard. “How is it different? I think it’s just more experience. I think we’re still trying to play the same way. We want to play quick, we want to use our speed, that kind of stuff. I think experience is a little bit deeper this year, even though we have some young players that have come in and we continue to kind of bring our team to the next level. We were able do to it with young players also.

“There’s an experience that was acquired last year in playing a certain way that is showing and, at the same time, we’re really trying,” the coach added. “We said that at the beginning of the year. We got to bring our team to the next level. Last year was a good year — 96 points — but it wasn’t good enough. So the big goal right now is to bring it to the next level so that at the end of the year it’s enough to get us in.”

The Canadiens’ biggest improvement so far this season has come on offence and the power play. Through Sunday’s games, the Canadiens ranked fourth in the NHL in offence, scoring an average of 3.53 goals per game, after ranking 13th last season with an average of 3.00. This season, they rank 12th on the power play at 21.4 per cent after ranking 30th last season at 13.2 per cent.

Defensively, the Canadiens have been worse than last season, ranking 20th in the NHL through Sunday’s games, allowing an average of 3.12 goals per game after ranking 13th last season at 2.88. The Canadiens’ penalty-killing now ranks 29th in the NHL at 72.2 per cent after ranking 12th last season at 80.9 per cent. “We’re happy with the way we’re putting the puck in the net,” said Jonathan Drouin, who leads the Canadiens in scoring with 7-8-15 totals. “From the offensive side of it, I think we’re very excited that we’re up there in the league with goals created and goals scored. Obviously, our defensive side could be better and that’s the thing we really want to focus on these next couple of weeks. We just want to shut down a team when it becomes 2-1 or 3-1 … you want to shut them down and we’ve had trouble doing that a little bit.”

How does Drouin think this year’s team is different from last year?

“There’s new faces, young guys,” he said. “But it’s very similar to last year for me. It’s the same group, it’s the same mentality. We’re still a little mad about not making the playoffs last year. The new guys seem to be hungry at this point and they seem to enjoy it.

“I’ve said it many times, there’s a lot of good leaders,” Drouin added “Not only one, but a lot of veterans, a lot of leaders that say the right thing. They’re quiet and very calm and it’s good to have them.”

Max Domi said this year’s team is “pretty similar” to last year.

“Obviously, a couple of new faces and losing a guy like Shawzy is obviously different,” Domi said about Andrew Shaw, who was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. “I sat next to Shawzy (in the dressing room) and I spent a lot of time with him, so it’s a big change for me, personally, but for the most part it’s the same sort of vibe.

“I miss him a lot,” Domi added about Shaw. “It’s tough. But it is what it is. I’m sure he’s happy in Chicago. I still keep in contact with him a lot and he’s doing well. He misses it here and he’s always cheering us on and watching our games, too.”

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 11.12.2019

Stu Cowan: Canadiens' Max Domi meets idol Bobby Clarke for second time

By Stu Cowan – Montreal Gazette – November 11, 2019

The Canadiens’ road trip to Philadelphia last week was one Max Domi will never forget.

Domi’s idol growing up was former Flyers captain and Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke because they have something in common as Type 1 diabetics. In his new book — No Days Off: My Life with Type 1 Diabetes and Journey to the NHL — Domi writes about how it was Clarke who inspired him to make it to the NHL.

Domi had only met Clarke in person once, when he was 14 and playing at the International Silver Stick Tournament in Whitby, Ont. Clarke also inspired Domi to write his book, hoping he can now inspire others with Type 1 diabetes.

Domi was hoping once the book was published he would be able to meet Clarke for a second time to present a signed copy to him, and that happened last Thursday in Philadelphia before the Canadiens played the Flyers, losing 3-2 in . “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life, to be honest,” Domi said after the Canadiens’ morning skate Saturday in Brossard. “I’m pretty pumped about that. Obviously, I met him already, but that was kind of a real introduction, and thanks to the Flyers for setting that up. A moment I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.

“He’s a great guy,” Domi added about Clarke. “A hockey player, just like I am, and obviously we share something else in common. So it was pretty special. I don’t think I’d be sitting here talking to you if it wasn’t for him. So I’m very thankful for what that man’s done for the sport and also guys like me dealing with Type 1 diabetes — and girls.”

On Sunday, Domi held an exclusive book signing event at the Bell Centre. General admission tickets sold for $75 with all profits going to The Max Domi Fund for Type 1 Diabetes at JDRF. Each ticket holder received a photo with Domi and a signed copy of the book.

“It was great, man,” Domi said about the event after practice Monday in Brossard. “A lot of people … close to 500, I think. It was insane.”

Domi said reaction to his book has been “really good.”

“A lot of people were saying they were reading it in a day or two, which is nice,” he added. “Obviously, that means you can’t put it down. It’s a pretty easy read, too.”

Domi said he enjoyed talking Sunday with kids who have Type 1 diabetes, and also with their parents.

“The parents that can relate to (the book), things that my mom went through and my dad went through,” he said. “I know it’s definitely comforting for them. What they’re going through is something they went through as well and they see I’m living my dream playing in the NHL. So it’s a special feeling and yesterday was just an attest to that and it felt pretty cool.”

When asked if there was one kid who really caught his attention and stood out at the book signing, Domi said: “No. There were a hundred of them and they all stood out in their own way. Getting to spend a few quality minutes with each of them, spending time to talk to them and kind of help them out and the parents as well … that means a lot to me and is something I take a lot of pride in.

“There’s obviously a lot that only the kids would be able to relate to (in the book) because they know what it feels like to go low and to go high (with blood sugar levels),” Domi added. “What I just tell them is the same thing I tell everyone: You got a dream and you can still do it. You take control of your diabetes rather than the diabetes taking control of you. You do that and you dictate all that and then you set yourself up for success. As much as you can do everything everyone else can, you are different. I don’t like using that word, but you do have to do things that your buddies and your friends don’t have to do. You have to be responsible at a young age, you got to understand how your body works. The responsibility at that young of an age and the discipline it takes to be healthy is something that actually helps you grow and mature a lot faster than everyone else.”

Last Thursday, Domi and Clarke sat down together with Pierre Houde in Philadelphia for an interview on RDS’s Hockey 360 pre-game show, with Domi calling it “a dream come true.”

“It’s pretty humbling when you hear a National Hockey League player say that about you,” Clarke said about being Domi’s idol. “Having diabetes …. on his part he made the NHL because he can play hockey. It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that he’s a diabetic. But he’s an NHL hockey player with diabetes and that’s pretty special, I think.”

It certainly is.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 11.12.2019

Blue Jackets at Canadiens: Five things you should know

By Pat Hickey – Montreal Gazette – November 11, 2019

Here are five things you should know about the Canadiens-Blue Jackets game at the Bell Centre on Tuesday (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio).

The matchup: This is the first of three meetings between these teams this season and the Canadiens have home ice for two of those games. Montreal earned five of a possible six points last week and has moved into third place in the Atlantic Division with a 3-2 win over Los Angeles Saturday. The Blue Jackets are coming off a 4-2 loss in Colorado Saturday and they have a 1-3-1 record in November. A lack of offence has Columbus six points out of a playoff position. The Blue Jackets rank 30th in the NHL with 2.35 goals a game.

The goaltenders: How many games will Carey Price play this season? At his present pace, the answer will be closer to 70 than 60, which would be manageable if the Canadiens want him to have anything left for — dare we say it? — the playoffs. This is Montreal’s 18th game and Price will be making his 15th start. It’s safe to say the Blue Jacket miss two-time Vézina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky. Starting goaltender Joonas Korpisalo has a 6-7-1 record with an .895 save percentage. Elvis Merzlikins, who was regarded as the best goaltender outside the NHL when playing in Switzerland, has a 0-1-2 record.

Drouin on top: Jonathan Drouin is finally living up to the expectations the Canadiens had for him when they acquired him from Tampa Bay for defenceman . After two good but not great seasons, Drouin is off to a hot start with a team-high 15 points, including seven goals. He’s on the top line with Phil Danault and Brendan Gallagher, who also has seven goals. Tomas Tatar has been in head coach Claude Julien’s doghouse of late because he has been taking too many penalties, but he’s second in team scoring with 14 points, including five goals.

Kotkaniemi continues to sit: If practice is any indication, Jesperi Kotkaniemi has recovered from his groin injury, but he’ll miss his sixth consecutive game. Julien said the 19-year-old is day-to-day, but he’s still on the injured-reserve list. This seems to a case of the Canadiens delaying the decision on how they’re going to use their three young forwards. Nick Suzuki and Ryan Poehling, who started the season in the AHL, are playing well and that takes away some of the urgency in bringing Kotkaniemi back. Flu- like symptoms kept captain Shea Weber out of practice Monday, but Julien expects him to play.

Panarin’s absence felt: Bobrovsky isn’t the only player from last season who is missed. Artemi Panarin, the Blue Jackets’ leading scorer, jumped to the Rangers who gave him US$81 million over seven seasons. Pierre-Luc Dubois, a 21-year-old from Ste-Agathe, has a team-high six goals and he and Gustav Nyquist share the points lead with 11. They are the only Columbus players in double-digits in scoring. Alexander Wennberg has 12 points (one goal) in 13 games against Montreal. Brandon Dubinsky hasn’t played a game this season because of a wrist injury. The Blue Jackets are also missing defencemen Ryan Murray (broken hand) and Markus Nutivaara (upper-body injury).

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 11.12.2019

What the Puck: It was time for Rogers to put Don Cherry out to pasture

By Brendan Kelly – Montreal Gazette – November 11, 2019

An apology wasn’t enough. Sportsnet needed to fire Don Cherry. And that’s exactly what they did, on Remembrance Day appropriately enough.

In fact, the latest controversy around arguably the most famous broadcaster in English-speaking Canada underlines that Rogers Media and its sports subsidiary, Rogers Sportsnet, should’ve politely nudged Cherry into retirement when they first got the rights to the pricey National Hockey League package in 2013. That was the perfect opportunity for Rogers to announce that it was ushering in a new era for and that it would be an era without the old-school rantings of a guy who appeals to the worst elements in Canadian society.

Sportsnet had a chance to politely say goodnight to Cherry when they started the 12-year, $5.2-billion deal, but instead they didn’t take the high road. And this is where it got them.

On Saturday night’s Coach’s Corner segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Cherry went on an angry diatribe based on his belief that immigrants don’t buy poppies to commemorate Remembrance Day.

“You people love, they come here … you love our way of life, you love our milk and honey. At least you could pay a couple of bucks for poppies or something like that. These guys pay for your way of life that you enjoy in Canada. These guys paid the biggest price,” said Cherry.

Outrageous. And just as outrageous was that Cherry’s sidekick, Ron MacLean, just sat there letting Cherry spew this vile tirade against people who are apparently not “good Canadians.”

MacLean apologized on Sunday on Rogers Home Town Hockey.

Bart Yabsley, president of Sportsnet, at first apologized and then issued a statement after Cherry was fired.

But the apologies weren’t enough. It was time for Cherry to go quietly into the night. There simply isn’t any place in the Canadian media in 2019 for that kind of talk. So good on Sportsnet for taking a stand.

As of this writing, Cherry had still not apologized, which is telling. I agree with my colleague Stu Cowan — I’m not holding my breath waiting for him to suddenly turn contrite. The former coach of the Boston Bruins, a guy famous mostly for losing a key playoff game to the Montreal Canadiens, represents everything that is wrong with the hockey media in Canada and the incident just underlined how woefully out of touch that hockey media is with contemporary Canada.

The reaction to Cherry’s odious comments came from all quarters and it was heartening to see how many were understandably outraged by his remarks.

Don, let me introduce you to “#youpeople”

In Quebec, this latest embarrassment just reinforced our long-held view that Cherry has no place in our lives and that lack of enthusiasm for the star of Coach’s Corner is one thing that unites anglophone and francophone Quebecers. Most of us prefer to watch our Canadiens games on RDS in part because we don’t enjoy Cherry’s pugilistic view of hockey and life. It also doesn’t help that he makes no secret of the fact that he’s a fan-boy of the Bruins and the , the two teams Habs fans love to hate the most. And he’s rarely had a kind word to say about the Canadiens on Coach’s Corner during his 30- plus-year run. It’s all part of the disdain Hockey Night in Canada holds for Montreal, a bizarre state of affairs for the country’s flagship hockey broadcast.

The other strange subplot here is that Hockey Night in Canada still airs on CBC nationally even though the NHL rights are held by Rogers. CBC has a sub-licensing deal with Rogers that almost no one outside the executive suites of the two companies understands and the bizarre thing is that our national public broadcaster airs the show, but has no editorial control of what is said on the broadcast.

For years, Cherry was an embarrassment to CBC given his frequent xenophobic comments about francophone and European players and his overt support for fighting in hockey. Cherry is, in theory, Rogers’ problem, but the fact is most ordinary hockey fans see the game on CBC and assume reasonably enough that it’s a CBC show.

How is it that a public broadcaster airs a top-rated show that it has no editorial control over? Very strange.

Rogers finally did the right thing and told Cherry enough is enough. Hockey unites Canadians of every imaginable background and that’s more true than ever before. But Cherry — and Hockey Night Canada — continue to cover the game like it’s the 1950s.

And that’s one of the reasons that hockey maintains such a conservative culture, a culture that’s woefully out of touch with the fan base.

Montreal Gazette LOADED: 11.12.2019

A chat with Sean Burke, the least-mentioned big name in the Canadiens’ front office

By Marc Antoine Godin – The Athletic – November 11, 2019

GLENDALE, Ariz. – As the Canadiens scrambled to pick up the shards of a broken 2015-16 season, assistant general manager Scott Mellanby expressed a wish to his boss, , to add an extra body to do professional scouting in the Western Conference.

The name Mellanby brought up was Sean Burke, the former NHL goalie who had recently left the Arizona Coyotes organization and planned to spend that year deciding on his next professional challenge.

Burke had been an assistant GM and the Coyotes’ goalie coach until John Chayka’s arrival as manager, and was doing some scouting for Hockey Canada in preparation for the 2016 World Cup when the phone rang.

“Berg called me, he knew I was available, and I said ‘you know what, I’ve never have really scouted much’,” Burke said in an interview with The Athletic. “But I wanted to continue to add to my experience in different areas and I thought this is a good way to stay around. I was going to do a lot of Team Canada stuff as well, so I said, this is a great way to stay around the NHL and work for a good organization.”

To Burke’s way of thinking, a “good organization” is one that, among other things, allows its employees to split their time with Hockey Canada. Since his formal association with the Canadiens started, the former national team netminder has served as general manager for Team Canada at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, GM for several international tournaments in Europe, and also as assistant GM at the World Championships – twice, in fact.

“It’s a totally different experience,” he said. “It’s managing, it’s putting teams together, coaching staffs together, and I really enjoy it. But I feel lucky that I’ve had so many different experiences. Because scouting was not something that I probably appreciated as much – for sure when you play, you don’t appreciate it – but even when you get out of the game, and you coach and you do different things, you never really appreciate the scouts, and I think that’s been a good experience to learn what it is.”

Everyone in hockey knows Sean Burke. He’s an alumnus of the Canadian Olympic hockey program, and made a splashy entrance to the NHL toward the tail end of the 1980s. He never quite lived up to the initial hype, but that didn’t prevent the 6-foot-4 netminder from playing in the NHL for 19 seasons, spread across nine teams.

He’s an affable and highly-respected hockey lifer, an executive with a vast network of contacts (a little like his boss, actually). He’s also accumulated a robust body of experience away from the ice since his playing days ended. That a person with his resume is a mere professional scout in the Canadiens organization is an incredible luxury.

So is Burke essentially in a holding pattern until something better comes along?

“Well, I don’t know if I’m waiting,” he said. “I had opportunities, I was interviewed in Edmonton for the general manager position, I was interviewed in Seattle. I’ve had great opportunities; I’m going to do the Spengler Cup again this year. And that’s all only possible because I work in an organization where they’re flexible with that. That works well for me and hopefully it works well for them, but you can’t get those opportunities in every organization. So I really take the scouting seriously because that’s what my contribution can be. On the other side of it, I get some great experience and I get to do some other things, and it’s led to getting interviewed and those kind of things.” His main takeaway from those interviews has been a better understanding of the incredible level of detail involved in preparing for them; establishing one’s bona fides for that kind of job involves a serious amount of work. It’s one thing to get a call for a top job, having a carefully considered, detailed set of ideas on what you plan to do in it is another thing entirely.

“Why would that organization want you? What are you going to deliver? And you gain an appreciation for the job that guys do, for Berg and for other general managers around,” he said. “There’s a lot of good, smart, hardworking people in this game. It’s very competitive, it’s just as competitive when you get out of the game as a player into the next level. And I respect that. I’m not owed anything, the game doesn’t owe me anything, but I’d like to continue to challenge myself, and those interviews show you that you’re being considered, but there’s a lot of work to do to get to those levels. And it doesn’t guarantee you’re ever going to get there.”

So no, Sean Burke isn’t just waiting. He’s honing his resumé and focusing on improving his scouting eye, which won’t hurt him should someone decide to hand him the big chair at some point.

The Canadiens have assigned him a roster of Western Conference teams, and he’s expected to have an educated and fully-formed opinion on every single one of the players currently toiling in those organizations, such that if a move is being considered the Montreal front office has a trusted resource to call upon.

Burke doesn’t turn up to a game with instructions to monitor a particular player. If one of his clubs is in action, he’ll focus on it, generally as both a whole and its component parts. If both clubs are on his list of teams, he’ll narrow his focus to a handful of players on either side.

“I find it too much to watch if you get started watching 15 or 20 players in one game,” he said. “I don’t feel I can actually do a real detailed report. So I like to try and do about 10 players a game, and of course if it’s only one of your teams, that’s much easier to do it that way. But again, you want to see guys play a lot, you want to really watch them in different situations: on the road, at home, there’s a lot of different variables. But really, to do the job well, I think a lot of it is just the time and the detail you put into it.”

This season, the Canadiens have added another responsibility to Burke’s professional plate: goaltending consultant. Sure, the club has more goalie coaching per square foot than most teams, what with Stéphane Waite looking after the big club, Marco Marciano handling the youngsters with the Laval Rocket, and Vincent Riendeau now tasked with scouring the globe for draft-eligible and amateur goalies.

As a consultant, Burke is mindful to not step on anyone else’s toes. The idea is simply to serve as a fresh set of eyes and to offer his considerable playing experience as a resource to the players and coaches who may need it. In October, he could be seen on the ice in Laval, locked in conversation with Cayden Primeau. He has set himself an informal goal of travelling to Laval at least once a month.

“I don’t go in there to specifically try and do anything with the goalies other than just observe them, try to help what I see, work with the coaching staff a little bit and be around them,” he said. “And I’ve done a lot of that in the past. I did a lot of that here when I was in Arizona, going down to our American League team often and watching it. A lot of times it’s just, when you’re around your team every day, it’s nice to have somebody come in who has a different perspective.” Burke’s initial impressions of Primeau, the club’s brightest goaltending prospect, were unambiguously positive.

“I like the fact that, to me, he sees the game really well,” he said. “All these young guys have skill, they’re all well coached now, they all grow up with goalie coaches. But there’s an instinct to playing the game too. And that’s what I liked: he just naturally has that . . . technically there’s things obviously you can always get better at, and he’ll continue to get stronger. But the thinking of the game, I’ve been impressed that I think he understands. For a young player he’s got really good instincts.”

Prospects are one thing, Burke also has the wherewithal to help the Canadiens’ more seasoned and established goalies. In the days when he was responsible for the Coyotes’ goaltending he supervised the renaissance of men like Ilya Bryzgalov, Mike Smith and Devan Dubnyk. Each was mired in a rough patch, the kind that Burke understood all too well. He saw his younger self in them.

All three also shared a common trait: open-mindedness and a strong resolve to do whatever was required to get better. That’s why the 52-year-old Burke prefers to put all the credit at the feet of his players; he also says that he’s simply taking the instructions he received from Benoit Allaire, who decided to make Burke his reclamation project 20 years ago, and paying it all forward.

“When I came (to Phoenix in 1999), my game was not very good in those days and I was struggling,” he said. “I came here to work with Benoit Allaire and I was like, ‘okay I get it. I can be a better player’. And that confidence really can carry you a long way. So it helped me. I like to say I took everything I learned coaching from Benoit and just stole it. So he actually turned those guys around without knowing it!”

In the mid-1980s, Burke was seen as perhaps the NHL’s best goaltending prospect, a player who, with Kirk Muller, would allow the New Jersey Devils to shed the ‘Mickey Mouse’ tag once and for all. That’s not quite how things transpired. Burke recognizes that contrary to some of the best players of his generation, who were either innovators or completely aligned with the prevailing goaltending zeitgeist, he didn’t master many of the technical aspects of the job until later in his career. Elements that, had he assimilated them sooner, would have improved his on-ice numbers, if not altered the course of his career entirely.

“When I was young I relied on athleticism, and I was a good athlete,” he said. “But as I moved along, I struggled at times because I was never really consistent with my game. I didn’t have the base to go out there and when I had a tough night, to not have the base to fall back on. And then as I got older – not even that old but especially when I came here – I really understood working with Benoit. I wish I had learned that five or six years earlier when I was also younger and athletic and intense all the time. I could have dialed it back because I had the base. I never got that until 10 or 11 years into my career. I figured, you know what, I’m playing the game way too difficult, and I’m getting older so it’s even harder to play that way. And I look back at old video once in a while and I’m like, what were you doing?

“If I just played more simple in those days I would have been a better goalie. But I think a lot of players always feel like they could have achieved more, that’s just normal, I’m sure.”

With the benefit of that experience, Burke feels ready to take on further responsibilities, and to occupy a larger organizational role. Is it likely to happen with the Canadiens? That would probably require the departure of an assistant GM, like Mellanby. Who knows, perhaps he will be the first to leave. In the meantime, he’ll do what he’s always done: work, observe, learn. When you consider that a third of all Canadian workers are over-qualified for the job they currently hold, it makes sense that there would be at least one person in the Canadiens’ organization about whom the same is true.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.12.2019

Melnick’s weekly GBU: It’s called coaching, and Claude Julien did a lot of it to lead a great week for the Canadiens

By Mitch Melnick – The Athletic – November 11, 2019

It was a good week for Claude Julien to take a bow. And not just because he hit a coaching milestone.

Coming off a tepid loss in Dallas and about to face his former team that appears to be on a mission to return to the Stanley Cup Final and win it this time, Julien changed up his defence pairings. After jumping on a Bruins team that had played the night before by taking a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes, Julien saw Boston slowly get back into the game and then seemingly take control of it in the first five minutes of the third period. It looked like they had taken a 5-4 lead before video coach Mario Leblanc got word to the bench that Charlie Coyle’s goal might have been the result of a play that began when he carried the puck in over the Montreal blue line by putting himself offside.

It was no automatic challenge. And maybe the NHL changes the wording to better define the term “possession,” but that was the clear turning point when, four minutes later, Ben Chiarot took a neat no- look pass from his new partner Shea Weber to somehow beat Tuukka Rask’s glove to give the Habs a 5-4 lead and eventually the win.

How did Julien’s team respond to that emotional, impressive win? Two nights later in Philadelphia, they looked even worse than they did in Dallas. For much of the first 40 minutes, I thought I was watching a physically weak Montreal team, circa 1973-74 in the Spectrum against the eventual Stanley Cup- champion Broad Street Bullies. A season that so enraged Montreal general manager Sam Pollock that he used his record five first-round draft picks the following June to select such ruggedly effective players as Cam Connor (who signed with Phoenix of the WHA), , Rick Chartraw and .

Carey Price came to the rescue in Philadelphia, but it was clear that Julien would change things up again for the following home game Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings. Perhaps inspired by the sight of Michel Therrien in Philly, Julien pulled the Therrien blender out of storage and the new-look trios helped Montreal jump out to an early 3-0 lead.

In the end, even though they never really appeared to be in trouble, Montreal did kind of hang on and have now won five of their last seven games plus an overtime loser point in Philadelphia. Among the teams the Habs have beaten through 17 games are the defending Cup champs from St. Louis (twice), Toronto (twice), Vegas and Boston. The only real blemish on their record is an early home ice loss to Detroit, a team that didn’t win again until Friday against the Bruins.

Despite not having a single player in the top 50 scorers, a middle of the pack power play, a poor record killing penalties, virtually no production from a few key players (Byron, Lehkonen, Kotkaniemi) and being one of the worst faceoff teams in the NHL, the Habs have a solid record of 9-5-3.

Julien, as usual, has an excellent feel for his team. He’s slowly bringing along a pair of 20-year-old rookies while waiting for a 19-year-old sophomore to rediscover his health and his game. Meanwhile, his 21-year old top four defenceman picked an important week for his first ever multi-goal game.

If the kids are alright, then perhaps the next time anyone tries to convince you that a Stanley Cup- winning coach with over 1,200 regular season games behind him somehow doesn’t know how to properly develop young players, tell them you won’t get fooled again.

THE GOOD

· Shea Weber: Weber is hardly the first thirty-something vet to need a few weeks to hit his stride after the season opens. The game-tying goal he scored in the third period in Philadelphia when he took a pass from Jonathan Drouin that was almost in his skates and in one motion whipped his shot into the top of the net past Carter Hart was awfully impressive. But that was just the warmup act for his opening goal Saturday night against the Kings. It resulted in a post-game question I’ve never heard asked before, courtesy of TSN’s John Lu: “Have you ever played cricket?” Weber will still get caught flat footed at times (see the play that led to the penalty shot in Philadelphia by Carsen Twarynski) but he looks loose and animated on the ice. He’s clearly enjoying himself again. For the first time since the opening week of the season, Weber played over 25 minutes Saturday.

· Ben Chiarot: Julien’s decision to pair up his two physically strongest defencemen worked so well against the Bruins he decided to do it again against Los Angeles. Not quite in Weber territory, but Chiarot is also not alone in struggling to find his way in new surroundings after moving to a new team – in a new conference to boot – for the first time in his career. He has settled in nicely on the left side, managing the puck a lot better while providing some unexpected offence. Total radio silence right now from the crowd that compared him to Karl Alzner.

· Victor Mete: Two goals and the first star in the most important game of the season against perhaps the best team in the NHL. It’s a week that also had Mete being compared favorably to Roman Josi.

· Jeff Petry: The Petry-Mete pairing was terrific against Boston while Petry logged over 28 minutes of ice time in Philadelphia. Perhaps that led to one of his very few off nights Saturday against the Kings.

· Carey Price: Bounced back from a skittish night against the Bruins, which didn’t prove costly, to stealing a point in Philadelphia and looking focused and locked-in against the Kings. The overtime winner in Phily by Sean Couturier is a small slice of what we’ve seen since the NHL forced goalies to go to smaller chest protectors.

· Claude Julien and Zdeno Chara: One of those milestone nights when the Hockey Gods are in sync. If you’re among the crowd that felt the Habs had no business honoring Chara for his 1,500th game because he’s Chara and plays for the Bruins, you just might need to visit a dentist to unlock your teeth. THE BAD

· Tomas Tatar: Finally benched by Julien after taking two more terribly lazy penalties in Philadelphia. Tatar is on pace for his sixth consecutive season of 20 or more goals. But he’s also well on his way to establishing a career high in penalty minutes, which he set last year with 34. The only other time in his career that he hit the 30 PIM mark was in his first full season with the Red Wings in 2013-14.

· Artturi Lehkonen: Lehkonen also took two bad penalties in Philadelphia, but sticking out your skate in the middle of the ice with Tatar already in the box wasn’t just lazy, it was brain dead. Strange to see from a player who normally plays a smart game. Both rebounded against the Kings, especially Lehkonen.

· Paul Byron: Finally scored his first goal of the season when he beat a shaky-looking Tuukka Rask along the ice but otherwise didn’t show any indication of snapping out of an early season-long funk. It’s not just the offensive part of his game that is MIA (just 11 shots on goal in 17 games), Byron is losing way too many battles along the boards while also missing numerous opportunities to get the puck out of the Montreal zone. He just seems lost with the puck on his stick right now. A perfect illustration of this issue was the power play goal by James Van Riemsdyk. Byron was in the right spot at the right time but watched the puck deflect off his skate and missed it with his stick before JVR buried it to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. And we’re still waiting for a typical Byron breakaway or two.

· Max Domi: Domi was so consistent last season it was noteworthy that he had back-to-back subpar games against Boston and Philadelphia. What he was doing was the opposite of Byron – keeping the puck on his stick too long, attempting to stickhandle his way through two or three defenders to get to the net. He looked much sharper and better Saturday against the Kings.

· Power Play: Hard as it is to slam a power play that connected twice in a 3-2 win, the Habs could have used another to put the game away when Kyle Clifford took a double minor for getting the blade of his stick into Petry’s face. Just like Tuesday night against Boston, when they had a 3-1 lead but couldn’t take advantage of back-to-back power plays to ice the game before Boston could come back and tie it. Weber’s first goal against L.A., as rare as it looked, was from the top of the faceoff circle. Or Ovechkin/Stamkos territory (can we now add Pastrnak’s name too?) where the Habs had Weber practicing in training camp. But after six failed attempts from that spot in game two of the season in Toronto, we haven’t seen that set up and/or execution since.

· Jesperi Kotkaniemi: Halloween was nearly two weeks ago but he’s still playing a ghost.

THE UGLY

· Injuries: Sobering reminder against the Bruins when Ryan Poehling stopped a shot with the side of his face just moments after Petry went down after catching his skate in a rut in the ice, followed later by a visibly angry Brendan Gallagher who smashed his stick in pieces on his way to the x-ray room when he blocked a shot with the front of his left glove. All three players returned after missing very little time. In Petry and Gallagher, the Habs simply don’t have the depth to overcome a lengthy injury to either player. They are, like Carey Price, indispensable.

· Peter MacDougall vs Claude Julien: The delay of game penalty MacDougall dished out to Julien after a botched icing call in Philadelphia led to a heated discussion and delay, when it was clear the on ice officials had no intent to huddle up, was a flashback to Julien’s days in the QMJHL. While the Habs coach was working his 1,201st NHL game, MacDougall, who was just elevated to full-time status prior to the start of the season, recently hit the 50-game mark. That’s not a call to make late in a 2-2 tie when the home team has already had five power plays and a penalty shot. He then muddied the situation even more when he missed a blatant high stick on Jonathan Drouin that went down right in front of him, with just a couple of minutes to play. Julien no doubt was fined for his post-game remarks (“He saw it, but didn’t call it…”) but he had reason to be angry about it. So maybe MacDougall was in over his head. But what about all the other Montreal bench minor penalties this season and earlier in that game?

· Don Cherry and Ron MacLean: I’ve never had a problem with Cherry acknowledging our veterans and police officers. It’s the other oft-repeated shtick that got really old years ago. Like many Montrealers, I have a lot of family and friends in Toronto. I’m there often. In fact, I just visited again. And I saw hundreds of white, Anglo-Saxon looking types who weren’t wearing poppies. You people should be ashamed of yourselves.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.12.2019

NHL/Websites DGB weekend power rankings: Early-season surprises slow down, Caps and Blues stay hot and Don Cherry thoughts

By Sean McIndoe – The Athletic – November 11, 2019

If there was a theme to the first months of the season, it was “Wow, the top of the standings are crazy.” We always expect to see a few surprises over the first few weeks, but this year seemed extreme. The Hurricanes were in first place through two weeks, which made some sort of sense because we all figured they’d be decent. But right behind them, we had teams like the Sabres, Oilers and Ducks. Soon enough, the Canucks joined the party too.

Those four teams had missed the postseason by a combined 52 points in 2018-19. And yet here they were, all sporting the kind of records that said they weren’t just playoff teams, but actual contenders. The question was, could it last? Or maybe more accurately, who could it last for?

Well, not the Sabres. They’ve lost five straight (with the last four coming in regulation), including both games in Sweden against the Lightning. Since only the loss against the Caps was a blowout, we’ll hold off on any cliched “same old Sabres” storylines. But after an 8-1-1 start gave them a nice cushion, Buffalo has already dropped all the way out of a playoff spot.

Things aren’t much better for the Sabres’ expansion cousins in Vancouver, where four straight losses have derailed an impressive start. This week should have been an opportunity to bank points against opponents like the Hawks and Devils, but a dynamic offense has suddenly gone cold and left the Canucks teetering on the edge of the wildcard race. That’s not a terrible place for a young team to be; it’s just not where things seemed headed even a week ago. Then there are the Oilers and Duck, who hooked up last night. Anaheim headed into that one having lost five of eight after a 6-2-0 start, while the Oilers came in having lost six of ten after coming out of the gate 7-1-0. The Oilers rolled in that one, earning a 6-2 win powered by a Connor McDavid hat trick. It was their second straight impressive win, while the Ducks have now lost three straight, and scored two or less in eight of ten.

The Oilers are still in first place in the Pacific, and the other teams mentioned are all still in the thick of the playoff race. You’d have to think that if you asked fans of all four teams before the season if they’d be happy with a first quarter that played out like this, they’d all take it. But it’s a reminder that this is a long season, and sometimes a hot streak to start the year is still just a hot streak. All four of these teams may be better than we thought, but it will take a while to figure it out for sure.

As for the Hurricanes, well, we’ll get to them down below. Let’s move on to this week’s rankings …

Road to the Cup

The five teams that look like they’re headed towards a summer of keg stands and fountain pool parties.

Fair warning: This week’s top five is getting a little East-heavy. That’s not the end of the world and will sort itself out over the course of the season, but it’s going to look a little weird. I’m sorry, but after two weeks the Predators are getting put into timeout because I can’t have anyone on the list in a week where this happens:

Should that mean the Avalanche take their place? Maybe, but after a five-game losing streak, we’ll want to see a bit more before they’re back in the circle of trust. Instead, we’ll welcome a new team to the top five.

5. (12-3-1, +13 true goals differential*) – We said they were close to the top five last week. Since then, the win streak came to an end, thanks to a third-period collapse against the Penguins. But they still got a point in that one and then rebounded nicely on Saturday against the Panthers, and with the Predators surrendering their spot that leaves the Islanders with a solid case to slip in. Now the question is whether they can get any higher, or whether they’ll top out right here just like they did last season.

Time will tell. Next up: John Tavares and the Maple Leafs are in town on Wednesday, which is always fun.

4. (8-5-2, -1) – Two wins in Sweden means that for once, the Lightning are making it easier instead of harder for me to keep them in the top five. They get a bit of a break and then close out the week with the Rangers and Jets, so there’s some potential for a winning streak heading into a showdown with the Blues in a week. Hey, speaking of whom …

3. St. Louis Blues (12-3-3, +7) – No Vladimir Tarasenko, no problem for the defending champs. They ran their win streak to seven straight with Saturday’s 3-2 decision in Calgary. That win came in overtime, as have five of the seven during the run, so there’s been a dose of good luck involved here. Still, with pretty much every other contender in the conference struggling to pick up momentum, the Blues are banking the points needed to pull away from the pack. That will come in handy later in the season when the luck inevitably starts going the other way. 2. Boston Bruins (11-3-2, +19) – They hit their first speed bump of the season this week, with two regulation losses after having just one all year. The loss to the Habs came with an asterisk, since that game turned on an offside review that sure seemed to be wrong. And maybe you shrug off the Red Wings game because, like it or not, sometimes contenders have real trouble getting up for teams they know they should beat easily. But they still looked flat in last night’s shootout loss to the Flyers, so we can probably go ahead and call this a slump.

1. Washington Capitals (13-2-3, +18) – Make it six straight wins, including this weekend’s impressive 5-2 victory over the Golden Knights. They lead the NHL in goals scored, and the goaltending is starting to come around, with Braden Holtby looking sharp on Saturday.

All those wins haven’t really let them open up much ground at the top of the Metro, because the Islanders keep winning too; Washington is four points up, but New York holds two games in hand. But with the Bruins wobbling ever so slightly, it’s enough to nudge the Caps into the top spot for the first time this year.

*Goals differential without counting shootout decisions like the NHL does for some reason.

Not ranked: – Man this is a weird team to figure out.

They’ve only played 17 games, but they’ve already had a winning or losing streak of at least three games on four separate occasions. Their 5-0-0 start landed them in the top five for a few weeks, and it was well-deserved. But ever since, they look like a team that can’t figure out what it wants to be when it grows up.

That season-opening win streak was especially impressive because it saw them beating some legitimate contenders, including the Lightning, Capitals and Islanders. But since then, they’ve basically beaten just one “good” team, and that was the Flames so maybe I’m stretching the definition of good. Other than that, they’ve been a frustratingly inconsistent team that will occasionally earn two points by rolling over a bottom-feeder like the Kings and Wings but can’t beat anyone else. And this week they even lost to a few of those teams, dropping regulation decisions to the Rangers, Devils and Senators.

The analytics still say they’re a good team, although even those numbers have taken a dip. So sure, a few of the warning lights on the dashboard are glowing, but none are flashing. Their goaltending has been just OK, but that’s about what we would have expected given who they have. Sebastian Aho has started slow, but he always seems to, and Andrei Svechnikov has looked amazing. Jake Gardiner has been surprisingly quiet, but that’s been offset by Dougie Hamilton looking unstoppable. There’s no crisis here, at least not yet. They’ve mostly been fine. But the Capitals and Islanders have been more than fine, so they’re starting to pull away with home ice.

Maybe that last part doesn’t matter, because we know the Hurricanes either miss the playoffs or go several rounds deep every year, with no in-between. And look, sometimes you just play well and lose anyway, which was the story against the Rangers. But as Sara Civian wrote a week ago, this team just always seems to find a way to make things harder than they should be.

Playing Ottawa is supposed to help, and while it didn’t on Saturday, they get to try again tonight. The next week also brings the struggling Wild and a suddenly shaky Sabres team that might be road-weary from their Sweden trip. There are points here for the taking. And these days, the Hurricanes look like a team that needs to grab them wherever it can.

The bottom five

The five teams that are headed towards the best lottery odds and lots of Alexis Lafreniere junior highlight reels.

Anyone who’s read me over the years knows that I have a lot of time for Don Cherry. He was an important part of my formative years as a hockey fan, for good or for bad. He’s been a fixture on my Saturday nights for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I’d nod along to pretty much everything he said. As I got older, I found myself disagreeing more and more. But that was OK because this was Don Cherry and he was supposed to make you mad sometimes. That was part of the show.

I remember crowding into the concourse at Maple Leaf Gardens to watch Coach’s Corner on a television mounted on the wall, just the shared experience of hundreds of hockey fans crammed shoulder to shoulder and hanging on every word. I remember one of my first nights in an NHL press box, watching the same media guys who ripped Cherry every chance they got go into a mild panic when the volume on the TV wasn’t working and we were going to miss hearing what he had to say. I remember, even as a kid, being annoyed at how so much of the criticism aimed his way seemed predictable, almost like a performance. I remember realizing how weird it was that Cherry often seemed to be the only guy on my television who thought Canada was great and said so.

So let’s just put it on the table: What Don Cherry said on Saturday night was absolute garbage. There’s no defending it. None.

Singling out immigrants – and that’s exactly what “you people who come here” is meant to do – for a special lecture on the importance of patriotism and gratitude is ugly and inexcusable. In today’s world, it’s dangerous. And maybe the worst part, if you’re an old school Cherry fan: It’s un-Canadian.

You can try to spin it into a context that looks better – he does some version of the poppy rant every year, he may have only said “you people” because he calls everyone “you people,” it’s live TV and things can come out wrong. Sure. All true enough. But Cherry has been doing this job for four decades. He’s responsible for his words. And this time, his words didn’t just tiptoe up to a line, they blew past it. He’s said dumb things in the past, lots of times, but this did feel like another level.

I don’t know what comes next. I don’t know if Rogers should just fire him and be done with it. I don’t know if sending him home for a few weeks is enough. I don’t know if we just accept the inevitable wave of apologies, both PR-crafted and apparently sincere, and then cross our fingers that we can make it through one last season without something worse. Honestly, I’m glad I’m not the one who has to make that call.

But don’t defend him. Even if, like me, you’ve found a way to defend the guy dozens of times over the years. Not this time.

Onto the bottom five …

5. Minnesota Wild (6-10-1, -14) – I will admit that I did not have “Darcy Kuemper’s premature trash talk” on my bingo card of things that could turn around the Wild season, but here we are. 4. New Jersey Devils (5-7-4, -17) – The Devils gave us one of their best games of the season yesterday in Vancouver. But more importantly to the big picture, we have another update on the Taylor Hall saga, and this one isn’t good news for the Devils: Elliotte Friedman reports that it’s now “very unlikely” that an extension gets done during the season. If so, that puts Ray Shero in the tough spot of having to decide whether to trade his superstar now or roll the dice that he can get something done after the season.

3. Los Angeles Kings (5-11-1, -23) – Their Eastern Canadian trip yielded three straight losses, and they’ve now got just one win to show for their last eight. With the Sharks starting to find their feet, the Kings are being left where most of us expected them to be: all alone in the Pacific basement.

They’ll get another last-place team tomorrow when the Wild come to town. With five months to go and frustration already boiling over, that game could be a barometer of just how bad things can get.

2. Ottawa Senators (6-9-1, -5) – They made some history in Saturday’s win, scoring the fastest two goals in franchise history.

It was only the tenth time in NHL history that we’ve seen goals that scored that quickly.

1. (6-12-1, -30) – The Robby Fabbri era is off to a solid start. A few days after landing in Detroit in exchange for Jacob de La Rose, the former first-round pick debuted with two goals in Friday’s win over the Bruins. The trade wasn’t exactly a blockbuster, but it comes with some upside, and that’s where the Wings should be focused right not.

Friday’s win also snapped an ugly losing streak that was rapidly draining whatever lingering hope was still clinging to the Red Wings season. There’s still a long way to go, but after losing four straight games by four goals or more, wins over the Bruins and Knights are a reminder that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. The question is how they get there, and how long (and bumpy) we should expect the journey to be. Max Bultman took a deep dive on the subject earlier in the week.

Not ranked: Columbus Blue Jackets – We haven’t mentioned the Blue Jackets much this year, and unfortunately for Columbus fans, it’s because they’ve been pretty much what everyone expected: Not great. Not awful, mind you. Just not very good. The sort of team that fades out of the playoff race by November, and you just kind of forget about.

That’s not what anyone wants to be, although it wasn’t hard to see coming for Columbus after last year’s all-in trade deadline led to this summer’s offseason from hell. They’ve won six games, and all six have been by a single goal. As Alison Lukan wrote this week, this is a team with an exceedingly slim margin for error. And recently, there have been a few too many errors.

That’s led to a few fingers being pointed at coach John Tortorella, whose name has shown up on a handful of those “first coach fired” lists. But while Tortorella has his faults, he wasn’t the one who decided to gamble on the short-term last season or to go into this year with two inexperienced goaltenders. So far, he’s getting about what you’d expect from this roster. That doesn’t mean he’ll be safe, because that’s not how it works in the NHL. But it would feel like a scapegoat move.

Things don’t get easier this week, with a visit to Montreal tomorrow and then a matchup with the red hot Blues on Friday. They may have to play those games without captain Nick Foligno, facing suspension after a high hit on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. And speaking of stars we won’t see for a while, let’s close with a mention of two key injuries from the weekend: Mitch Marner, who’ll miss at least four weeks for the Leafs with an ankle injury, and Sidney Crosby, who left Friday’s game with an injury to his leg or foot. We don’t know yet whether Crosby will miss time or how much, as the Penguins don’t play again until tomorrow. Pittsburgh is holding down a playoff spot by only one point in a tight Eastern race but should be able to withstand a short absence by their captain. The keyword there is short, and we should find out whether that’s the case later today.

The Athletic LOADED: 11.12.2019

'Nothing's ever perfect': Canadiens' Price uses gruelling process to win

By Eric Engels – Sportsnet.ca – November 11, 2019

BROSSARD, Que.— It’s a cliche, but one that proves especially true when applied to the way Carey Price views his own play: The only numbers that matter to him are the ones filed under the win and loss columns.

So when asked about the way he’s started this season, the Montreal Canadiens goaltender’s answer was somewhat predictable given his 8-4-2 record.

“I think things have gone relatively well so far this season,” Price said after the Canadiens practised on Monday. “I’m trying to continue that trend.”

He has a .914 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average, but if the numbers were dramatically better or worse we suspect he’d still say the same thing about them as he did on this day.

“It’s always a work in progress,” Price started. “Nothing’s ever perfect.”

It can be downright boring talking to Price about these things, but the conversation invariably becomes more interesting when you dissect the process with him. Because the process matters most to him in his pursuit of winning more games than he loses.

At 32 years old, and with the hindsight 12 seasons of NHL experience has provided, Price, who’s the winningest goaltender in Canadiens history, has found what he calls a “recipe” that allows him to do what he’s most driven to do: to perform consistently — and not just in games, but also in workouts, warmups and in practices. It’s become clear to him that success hinges on repetition and routine, and that practice days and game-days should be treated just the same.

It’s why the only thing he does differently in the hours leading up to a game is he takes some time to tape his sticks.

Price isn’t like some other goaltenders who need to seclude themselves before hitting the ice and facing off against the next opponent. He likes to be in the mix — chilling in the room with the other players, and keeping things light — just like he would be on any other day at the rink.

Prior to that, his days all start the same way. Price wakes up at 7:00 a.m., he spends some time with his kids and he gets to the team’s south-shore practice facility by 9:00 a.m. “We come and skate in the mornings, so I just kind of come in and workout and warm up,” Price said. “I do a short video session with (goaltending coach) Steph (Waite) kind of recapping the game before, and then I warm up and skate. Then I go home and take a quick nap.

“Next I come to the rink and tape my sticks and do some stretching. Then we do our team video, and then I do some more warming up and get ready to go on the ice.”

As he puts it, “It’s nothing out of the ordinary.”

But it purposely that.

What does Price take out of the video sessions with Waite?

“Just goals against is one thing,” he said. “Things I’m doing well, or some gray areas — situations where I have to make a decision and we just kind of recap those decisions. It’s just nice to get a different perspective on it because things happen quickly out there and you might do somethings subconsciously in the heat of the moment, whether you’re reading something quickly, that you might not have done usually. So it’s nice to get a bird’s eye view of the situation as well.”

The Anahim Lake, B.C., native doesn’t dwell on what he’s seen. He discusses it with Waite, compartmentalizes it and then files it away completely, so he can turn his attention to what comes next.

There are times when that’s harder for him to do. Price said he has trouble sleeping after a game whether he wins or loses. But it’s fair to say losses sometimes keep him up longer, though it doesn’t seem to matter whether or not one comes in a game that’s seen him stand on his head (like the 40-save, 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers last week) or in one that’s seen him play below the standard everyone knows he’s capable of achieving.

“I think it’s just my competitive nature,” he said.

Parking the losses was something Price struggled with in his early years, shortly after the Canadiens chose him fifth overall in the 2005 NHL Draft.

But it’s with time—and with maturity—that he’s been able to put them away by the next day.

Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.

Canadiens coach Claude Julien has noticed. He was here when Price was drafted, but was fired just seven months later. Now in his second go-around with the Canadiens — a stint that began in February of 2017—Julien has seen the difference on how Price deals with everything.

“He’s a totally different person,” Julien started Monday. “He was a kid coming out of junior, and now he’s married with kids. (I’ve noticed) the whole evolution of a person — not just on the ice, but off the ice. Family-wise and everything else, he’s just much more mature, if you want to put it that way. He’s a very focused individual where he takes care of himself, makes sure he’s ready all the time. He’s one of those athletes that really cares about winning, cares about having success, and he does whatever he can. And you just have to think about last year — how much we rode him at the end of the year and the opportunity he gave us to just get a chance at making it to the playoffs. That was a lot of games for him to play without getting much of a break (Note: Price played 22 of Montreal’s last 24 games and suited up in 13 consecutive games before the team was eliminated from post-season contention on the penultimate night of the 2018-19 season). But he took such good care of himself that he was able to do that.”

Price’s teammates marvel at how dedicated he is off the ice.

Canadiens backup Keith Kinkaid said Price works so much on his body and staying loose that he spends most intermissions immersed in a stretching routine. And centre Max Domi said Monday that Price does the workouts the team sets out for him, but also always does his own routine right after.

“I’m in the gym every day,” Price said.

“He works so hard, and he just makes it look easy,” Kinkaid added.

And it’s no secret why Price does it.

“On the world stage, he’s known as probably the best goaltender around, winning the Olympics, World Cups and all that stuff,” Julien said. “And right now he’s got one thing missing and I think he’s going to do whatever he can to help us attain that. He wants one (a Stanley Cup) for himself, he wants one for this city and he wants one for the organization. So that’s where I see Carey Price today, and that’s the guy who won in the American League … He’s won everywhere he’s gone. He’s always been a winner, but not only that, he’s become even more mature an individual that’s really grown into understanding, as he evolves and as he gets older, how to continue to really take care of himself so he remains a champion.”

Sportsnet.ca LOADED: 11.12.2019

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Keith Kinkaid remains the NHL’s King of Emojis

By Frank Seravalli – TSN.ca – November 11, 2019

Montreal Canadiens netminder Keith Kinkaid has a language all to himself on Hockey Twitter.

He types in code, or Kincode, after every Habs win – firing off a tweet that typically generates more than a thousand likes in a matter of minutes.

Kinkaid’s emoji-filled, celebratory keyboard blasts began in New Jersey, but he carried the tradition to Columbus and then across the border this season to Montreal.

The tweets are their own language, appreciated universally in both English and French in Montréal and across La Belle Province.

“I just wanted to have fun with it. Then it kind of took off,” Kinkaid said. “I’ve gone team to team and I didn’t know I was going to have to keep doing it, but it’s fun to get fans engaged. I think the fans like player interaction.

“It’s something to look forward to after a win.” For the most part, Kinkaid’s tweets do not require much translation. Scan the scoresheet and it’s relatively easy to pair the player to his designated emoji through his performance.

But there was one hiccup in New Jersey. The emojis, as they appear on Kinkaid’s iPhone, don’t necessarily correspond the exact same way on Twitter.

So Kinkaid thought he was in the clear picking the clown emoji to represent fellow Devils goaltender Cory Schneider, since the clown had red hair.

Kinkaid wasn’t calling Schneider a clown; he was just playing off the clown’s hair colour that matched the ginger-haired goalie.

One problem: “On Twitter and some phones, the clown has blue hair.”

The joke was lost in translation. Kinkaid had to get the all clear before tweeting. He didn’t want to upset his teammate.

“‘Schneids said it was okay with it,’” Kinkaid said, laughing. “That one was pretty funny.”

Kinkaid, 30, is a fervent Yankees fan from Farmingdale, N.Y. on Long Island. He lifted the idea for his postgame tweet from former Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius.

But changing teams three times in the last season, before settling with the Canadiens on a one-year deal worth $1.75 million, has created a certain amount of pressure for the backup - as if filling in for Carey Price wasn’t pressure enough.

As the new guy, Kinkaid needed to come up with an emoji for each of his teammates.

“I had to think about it a lot,” Kinkaid said. “I didn’t really know everyone’s personality and everyone’s nickname. Some of the emojis are okay, some are easy. But it’s fun - even if some of them don’t even make sense.

“The guys think it’s funny. Some guys follow it. They’ll give it a like or a retweet.”

Kinkaid said Canadiens fans seem to get a kick out of the emoji for defenceman Jeff Petry - a petri dish - and the family emoji for forward Nick Cousins.

Kinkaid took the time to decode the ‘Kincode’ for TSN:

But we put Kinkaid to the test. We challenged his knowledge of Habs history him to come up with an emoji for five of the Canadiens’ all-time greats.

From Howie Morenz as the ‘Mitchell Meteor’ to Larry ‘Big Bird’ Robinson and the ‘Pocket Rocket’ Henri Richard, Kinkaid certainly did not disappoint.

Kinkaid said he’s tried to step his game up by adding another weapon to his celebratory arsenal in the form of GIFs. After each win, the GIF has some sort of relation to the opponent – whether it’s been a trip to Sin City or a victory over the Blues this year.

Even though Kinkaid didn’t appear in a single game for the Columbus Blue Jackets after the trade deadline last year as the third goaltender, he said his GIFs during the playoffs proved popular in the dressing room. “I definitely did some trolling during the playoffs last year,” Kinkaid said. “The guys in Columbus liked it a lot, especially when I made a customized GIF of us sweeping Tampa on the floor. This is supposed to be fun, so I just have fun with it.”

So, all in good fun, could Kinkaid come up with an emoji for his bosses in Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin and coach Claude Julien? The chiselled Bergevin came to mind instantly in emoji form:

“Biceps for days,” Kinkaid said, laughing.

As for Julien, Kinkaid chuckled and reserved answer: “I think I’ll stay away from Claude until maybe I have a real good game.”

TSN.CA LOADED: 11.12.2019