Canadiens have fun while improving their game
David Desharnais said he and his linemates felt they owed something to their teammates after a costly miscue last week in Edmonton.
Desharnais’s line was on the ice when a turnover led to an Edmonton rush, which produced Leon Draisaitl’s winning goal with 62 seconds remaining in the game.
“That’s a game we should have won,” said Desharnais, whose line has been on a mission to atone for the 4-3 loss.
On Friday, Dale Weise scored his first hat-trick to lead the Canadiens to a 6-2 in Calgary.
On Sunday, it was Desharnais and Tomas Fleischmann leading the way. Fleischmann scored two goals and an assist while Desharnais had a goal and two assists to spark a 5-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
“We felt pretty bad after the Edmonton game,” said Fleischmann. “You don’t want to give them the winning goal with one minute to go.”
Desharnais said the third-line’s weekend heroics are a reflection of the Canadiens’ depth.
“That’s the way this team is,” said Desharnais. “Sometimes it’s the first line, sometimes it’s the second line and sometimes it’s the fourth. That’s the way we are and that’s why we’re successful.”
The Canadiens used their speed and forecheck to create odd-man rushes against the bigger Winnipeg defence.
“It was one of those nights,” said Desharnais. “Sometimes everything’s rolling for you. They’re on a back-to-back, they played last night and they might have been tired and made some mental mistakes. We have a 1-1-3 and we put pressure on them to get the puck back and beat them in transition.”
Fleischmann said the chemistry on the line began to develop in training camp, and Desharnais noted: “It’s progressing for sure, we can still be better, but we’re having fun out there putting up points like that.”
Fleischmann isn’t the only new face to have an impact Sunday night. Paul Byron made his Bell Centre debut and scored a shorthanded goal for the second consecutive game and Mike Condon filled in for Carey Price and ran his record to 4-0.
Price is on the sidelines with a lower-body injury.
“We’re hoping he comes back soon,” said Condon, who looked pretty comfortable in his first regular-season appearance at the Bell Centre.
“Nothing changes,” Condon said. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. It’s the same preparation every day and it will be same thing going forward. The more you play, the more comfortable you feel.”
Condon had a quiet first period, but he was tested in the second when he made a glove save off Blake Wheeler in a short-handed situation and then made back-toback stops on Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers.
“Sometimes, there are breakdowns and it’s my job to be there,” Condon said.
Fleischmann said he wasn’t surprised that Condon is off to a quick start.
“I heard he was pretty good in the minors, and he’s pretty good in practice, so I thought he’d be pretty good in the games,” Fleischmann said.
Condon played a preseason game at the Bell Centre, but noted that it was a “lot louder, a lot more fun.”
When asked whether he was disappointed to lose his shutout late in the game, Condon replied: “Not at all. I got the W, that’s all that matters — got the win.”
Condon showed his Boston roots when he talked about not looking too far ahead like Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
The goaltender is one of the Canadiens who will be sporting a moustache this month as part of the Movember campaign to raise awareness of men’s health issues.
“I did it in college,” Condon said. “It’s a pretty lonely month when you’re a single guy.”