Josh Anderson has been waiting for this moment for 24 games and just over 59 minutes. He scored his first goal of the season with a simple free kick in his own territory after the Kraken had removed Philipp Grubauer for a sixth player.
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With this empty net goal, the Canadian confirmed his 4-2 win against the Seattle Kraken. For Anderson, it was a liberation.
Samuel Montembeault immediately recognized the significance of the play, rushing to the right corner of the ice to celebrate with Anderson and his teammates. The masked man hugged Number 17 tightly.
“A little more and I went to the bench to shake hands with my teammates,” Montembeault laughed. But I was really happy. It confirmed our win, but it was also Josh’s first goal. Everyone was happy for him. Even after the game, all the boys congratulated him.”
“I don’t know if it was my biggest clean sheet goal, I’ve scored a few in the past,” Anderson added. However, I can tell you that I am relieved.”
“I wasn’t really surprised by Monty’s reaction [Montembeault], he continued. It shows that there is love between the players in this dressing room. Sam plays great hockey for us, but he also has leadership qualities.
Martin St-Louis also spoke about his players’ reaction after his team’s fourth goal.
“It’s a group that loves each other very much,” noted the head coach. We have a lot of empathy. We were all happy for him.”
Only the CH players were not happy after this goal in an abandoned cage. Fans in the Bell Center who hadn’t yet turned around to avoid traffic or escape the METAL! mascot recognized the symbolism of the moment by giving Anderson a warm round of applause.
“There are so many good fans in Montreal,” Anderson said. I know it can be difficult at times, but they have continued to encourage me through my difficult times. That’s why I love playing here.”
Another good start
Montembeault didn’t just hug in this game. He also blocked several pucks. In his first start since signing a three-year, $9.45 million contract extension (3.15 million per year), No. 35 blocked 31 shots.
Photo Martin Chevalier
He scored two highlights in the first third with quick pad saves against Alex Wennberg. At the end of the match he also frustrated Jordan Eberle, who found himself alone in front of him after a clearance from a Kraken teammate.
“I felt good, I could move my legs well,” Montembeault said. After the emotions of this week, I also wanted to play a big game with my contract.
We have already written it. But we will do it again. Montembeault deserved to play more often. He’s done it again against the Kraken.
The end of lethargy
It wasn’t just Anderson who curbed his lethargy. Sean Monahan, who scored two goals, had not scored in his last 14 games. Tanner Pearson, meanwhile, stopped a streak of 19 scoreless games.
In the morning, St-Louis spoke of an intuition behind his decision to insert Juraj Slafkovsky to the right of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Slafkovsky proved his coach right by playing a good game. He recovered several pucks in the back of the territory and kept pace with his two teammates.
“I liked the way our trio played, we ran well and the game was fun to play,” Slafkovsky explained. When I am successful at foresight, I gain confidence.”