The Carolina Hurricanes finished their recent road trip with an impressive 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec on Monday night.
As many heralded the win as coach Kirk Muller’s triumphant return to the city where he celebrated winning a Stanley Cup as a player and where he helped develop his coaching ‘chops’ as an assistant with the Canadiens for five years, the team’s return to Montreal also brought back memories of a very low point in the season for Carolina.
Back in mid-November, the last time the Hurricanes faced off against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre, they left scoreless and dejected after being handed a 4-0 loss that pretty well signified the beginning of the end to former coach Paul Maurice’s tenure.
After that game, captain Eric Staal stated, “we didn’t show up, we didn’t play, and got what we deserve.”
Return engagement
During Monday’s return engagement with the Habs, Staal definitely showed up and the Hurricanes got what they deserved – a win.
Staal led all scorers with two goals and he assisted on the eventual game-winning goal scored by defenseman Jamie McBain – doing it all during the third period.
The win capped off the end to a productive road trip during which Carolina claimed four out of six available points.
“Yeah, it was a very satisfying win,” Staal said after the game. “It was a big win for us.”
When referring to his performance that included scoring the tying goal while playing shorthanded and capping the game off with the empty-net insurance marker that beat the Canadiens at home, Staal nonchalantly stated, “I felt like my game was pretty good.”
Coming a long way in a short time
For Muller, who assumed his head coaching duties during a challenging time for Staal and the team, he couldn’t be happier in how far they have progressed since then.
“I really like the way we’re playing right now,” Muller said.
The win created many positive feelings for Muller, Staal, and the team to return home with.
Now possessing a new set of memories to draw from when leaving Montreal, this team can finally release those experienced during the dark days of November.
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