https://naviga.triblive.com/sports/gritty-canadiens-showing-some-character-going-toe-to-toe-with-heavily-favored-penguins/
‘Gritty’ Canadiens ‘showing some character going toe-to-toe’ with heavily favored Penguins
Wednesday’s 4-3 victory was just the 20th in regulation for the Montreal Canadiens over 74 games they have played during the 2019-20 season.
They were “sellers” at the trade deadline, seemingly content that this season was a wash and with building for the future. Participation among the Canadiens for the NHL’s “Phase 2” of its return-to-play was sparse, initially.
When the qualifiers series began last week, East No. 12 seed Montreal was the biggest betting underdog in the round.
Yet here the Canadiens are, up two games to one against the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins.
“Any player will tell you when you have confidence, it’s a completely different game for them,” Montreal defenseman Ben Chiarot said during a video conference call with media Thursday. “The game slows down and you aren’t playing as if you might make a mistake. … Everything kind of slows down when you are feeling good and feeling confident.”
The Canadiens are feeling large doses of both of those things after scoring the final three goals and erasing a two-goal deficit in Game 3 at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. Combined with a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 1, Montreal is on the verge of eliminating the Penguins. Game 4 is 4 p.m. Friday.
.@MarkMaddenX: The Penguins are a stink sandwich. Every person involved has to take a bite. If Montreal eliminates the #Pens, it’s the most embarrassing playoff elimination in franchise history. https://t.co/4YYcon5sKT— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) August 6, 2020
“We’ve shown some character,” center Phillip Danault said, “and we’re going toe-to-toe with them. We embrace the challenge — that’s the best way to say it. We are here to win, and we are here to have fun — and that’s what we’re doing right now.”
The Penguins have won two of the past four Stanley Cup titles, and they finished 15 points ahead of Montreal during the coronavirus-shortened regular season. The Canadiens finished in the bottom half of the league in scoring, and only seven of the 30 other teams allowed more goals against.
Still, there they are, needing only one victory in the next two games to advance to the Round of 16 of this unique NHL postseason.
“The mood hasn’t changed at all,” Chiarot said. “The job isn’t done; you have to win three games. I wouldn’t say we feel any different than we did after our first win. We are feeling good and positive and we built some belief in our team. But you try to keep that even-keel in the playoffs. You have to have three wins, and the job’s not done so we are still a very focused group.
“I’ve been impressed with how gritty we’ve been. Everyone’s sticking their nose in there and getting dirty and that’s a big part of the reason the series is where it is right now.”
Keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long.
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