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Silence was Golden to Honor Mr. Beliveau |
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The social dynamics of today's society have made it so that digital devices own our attention, and rare is a moment when a large gathering is entirely focused on the same thing. Of course, when you ask for a moment of silence to commemorate one's life, you'd expect people to adhere to that convention. Yet, so many colleagues remarked the same thing about last night's moment to remember Jean Beliveau; silence was golden, and it was absolutely undisturbed unlike at other times, when the ambient noise of distraction was notable.
Silence was golden as the players stepped onto the ice; a custom usually marked by blaring Coldplay and waiving flags. The flags waived, but it was silence that blared.
Silence was remarkable as the spotlights shone on Beliveau's seat.
Silence was a barometer of undivided attention as the motion of Mr. Beliveau's life played out in vibrant color before our eyes, first on the ice, then on the big screen. Sure, Ginette Reno was singing her song, but the people in attendance watched silently and dutifully.
The noise was reserved and finally employed to acknowledge the respect of everyone's silence; to joyfully celebrate the life of such a great man after lamenting his loss with great sadness. The noise was reserved for Elise Beliveau, for her daughter, for her grand-daughters. If silence was appropriate to honor the legend of Jean's elegant, peaceful spirit, noise was apropos to support this incredible woman, Elise, who stood behind him in times of triumph and right in front of him through hardship and illness. Noise was definitely apropos for this woman who insisted on greeting tens of thousands of people over the hours her husband lay in wait at the Bell Centre from Sunday through Monday.
There was this tremendous reciprocity of strength between the crowd and Mrs. Beliveau. The crowd (the city, the nation) gave Mrs. Beliveau the strength to endure this tumultuous week, and she unbuckled all the shaking knees of sadness in the building last night with her strength. To see her dance and rejoice as the Montreal Canadiens won a game in honor of her husband, he who had devoted so much of his life to their organization and family was the right type of ending to an otherwise devastating scenario.
Jean Beliveau's seat will remain empty for the remainder of this season. When he occupied it, his vocal on the Canadian National Anthem was a regular contribution to the noise that filled the Bell Centre on a nightly basis. His interaction with the crowd, with the players, with everybody has been silenced. And every time we look at that seat, now adorned with his jersey number and the unmistakable brand of the Canadiens and their colors, I believe we will do so in silent remembrance.
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1) The Habs never get these things wrong. And the players got a greater semblance of their privileged in being a part of the great history and tradition that is the Montreal Canadiens.
Imagine being a player on this team. Imagine knowing that if you model yourself after the greats that have filled the history of the organization with championship richness; that if you model yourself off the ice as Jean Beliveau did, you too can be remembered so meaningfully when all is said and done.
"Being a leader on this team makes this very special," said Max Pacioretty. "It makes you not take things for granted. I hope going down the road, I'm able to remember this night forever and use it to be a better player and a better person."
2) Tomas Plekanec was pretty shaken in the room afterwards. He's always quiet, but he couldn't even be described as audible as he gave his post-game interviews. It clearly meant a lot to him to score the winning goal in this game, and even more to be able to deliver that puck to Dr. Mulder, who then gave it to Mrs. Beliveau.
3) It was a long road trip for the Vancouver Canucks, and it showed last night. But the Canadiens don't pick their opponents, and they certainly don't write their schedules, so no apologies necessary for an absolutely dominant performance.
Leading the charge: Pacioretty-Galchenyuk-Gallagher.
Sure, Gallagher tossed in a prayer for his goal; an absolutely perfect shot that he claimed to have not even seen go in the net. And Pacioretty scored an empty-netter with 1/10th of a second remaining in the game.
Galchenyuk missed four quality scoring chances. Pacioretty and Gallagher missed some good ones too. All in all, this line massacred the Sedin line. Possession numbers (Corsi/Fenwick) for each member of the line ranged between 95-100%. It was an all-out assault that showcased the line's glaring potential.
Galchenyuk also finished the night having won 62% of his faceoffs.
4) Nathan Beaulieu and Tom Gilbert made a big difference in the way the Canadiens played the game. Pacioretty singled them out after for applying pressure in the offensive zone, suggesting this was the best the entire d-core has looked in the offensive zone all year, adding that you need five-man pressure to play a dominant game like they played last night.
5) Marc-Antoine Godin of La Presse remarked to Michel Therrien that after two games, it sure looks like Sven Andrighetto is an NHL hockey player. Therrien was reluctant to use those words, but said he sees a responsible player in Andrighetto, allowing for trust to come quickly between him and the player.
We'll monitor this situation closely, as news was released today that Lars Eller will only be missing 1-2 weeks of action.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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