FEELING ‘LUCKY’
Danault returns to practice
It was a scary sight at the Bell Centre Jan. 13 when Phillip Danault took a Zdeno Chara slapshot to the head and was taken off the ice on a gurney.
Danault hasn’t played since that game against the Boston Bruins because of what the team called “concussion-like symptoms,” but was back practising with his teammates for the first time Monday in Brossard. Danault said he never lost consciousness after taking Chara’s slapshot off the right side of his helmet.
What was going through Danault’s mind while he was lying on the ice?
“It was like, ‘Am I going to come back in the third (period)?’ ” Danault said. “That was pretty much it.”
Hockey players are known for their toughness and Danault is obviously no exception.
Danault hasn’t been cleared to play yet, but has been cleared for contact after recovering from episodes of vertigo. Danault had been skating by himself, but Monday marked the first time he practised with his teammates. Danault later joined his teammates on a flight to Denver and hopes to get back in the lineup at some point during the Canadiens’ four-game road trip that starts Wednesday in Colorado (9:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN Radio 690). The Canadiens will play in Arizona Thursday, Las Vegas Saturday and then Philadelphia on Feb. 20.
“Hopefully he gets the green light at some point,” coach Claude Julien said about Danault. “I don’t know when, but we’re bringing him on the road trip because there is a possibility he could at (some) point.”
Danault said he really appreciated Chara and Patrice Bergeron skating over to talk with him while he was being taken off the ice and Chara also texted Danault afterward.
“That’s a big leadership move,” Danault said. “In hockey, we have a competition level during the game, but when something happens like that, everybody regroups. So I really appreciate that. Bergeron, too.”
As for the shot that hit him, Danault said: “I saw it at the last second. Chara’s got a heavy shot and fast, so I got lucky there . ... Unlucky, but really lucky at the same time. It could have hit me in the jaw. It could have been way worse. I’m lucky to be here and happy to be 100 per cent today.”
Danault is also lucky Chara didn’t get all of his shot, which was clocked at 76 m.p.h. Chara holds the record for hardest shot at an all-star skills competition with a 108.8-m.p.h. blast.
“It was a hard shot, but at least it wasn’t like 90 or 95 m.p.h.,” Danault said. “It could have been worse. Like I said, I got lucky.”
It was also a scary moment for Canadiens fans and Danault’s family, so it was really nice to see him back skating with his teammates on Monday.
“I had so much love from the fans and family, friends,” said Danault, who has seven goals and 16 assists this season. “I really appreciate that. I’m going to give my 100 per cent for the fans just for that. They gave me so much love, so I’m going to do the same thing for them.”