Roussel looks to stay out of the sin bin
Antoine Roussel didn't have to look far for incentive Monday at Rogers Arena.
All the Vancouver winger had to do was take a short glance at the opposition bench to trigger his long-standing appreciation of Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Alex Burrows. If that wasn't enough, looking up at the Ring of Honour tribute bestowed on the former Canucks winger should seal the competitive deal.
After all, a pair of Quebec-raised and undrafted wingers, whose games always packed sandpaper to irritate and intimidate in the QMJHL, ECHL, AHL and NHL, were going to strike and maintain a bond despite an eight-year age difference. And Roussel always knew Burrows was going to stay in the game.
“It proves how much he loves it and it's very inspiring,” Roussel said following the game-day skate. “I was inspired when he was a player and in having a great relationship with him. It was just the attitude he had at the gym in the summer and on the ice. I'm sure as a coach he has gathered and rallied everybody.
“He has done it all. He played on a first line most of his career and players can relate easier to a player who had that experience. He talks to players as an equal and that goes a long way in an organization.”
The Canadiens are already acknowledging a better vibe on their bench and an improved power play, thanks to the driven and detail-oriented Burrows. He was promoted Feb. 24 from his AHL assistant position with Laval after Canadiens head coach Claude Julien and assistant Kirk Muller were fired and Dominique Ducharme appointed interim head coach.
Burrows and Roussel are far from choirboys. Burrows had 1,134 penalty minutes in 913 career regular-season games, compared to Roussel's 1,002 minutes through 546 games.
Roussel has a higher rate of infractions than Burrows on the league's most penalized team and he was tied for fourth in most minors with a dozen heading into Monday's meeting with the Canadiens. The Canucks are also the NHL leaders in being short-handed and Roussel kills penalties with Brandon Sutter, so parading to the box is playing a part in killing the team's playoff hopes.
“It's always been not a struggle, but a challenge to walk that line in my career,” admitted Roussel. “Some guys have really good stretches and I just try to stay away from that (penalty) stuff, but games happen. It looks easy from the stands, and I get that, but everything on the ice is so fast. You just want to get going and be after it.
“You want to have an impact, but being the most penalized (team) is not great. We're trying to get away from that. We want to be disciplined, but we don't want to be giving easy exits and easy goals. No free lunch.”