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In what was perhaps the lowest event hockey game ever (I’m barely exaggerating here) the Canadiens dropped another decision, bowing down to Marc-André Fleury and the Hawks by a score of 2-0. Fortunately, that’s the result everyone wanted to see last night, including Habs fans. Say what you will about the Canadiens’ fans, but they know their hockey. In a lost season, during a very boring game from the home side, they were no boo boys, the crowd was just happy to watch history being made and as the final seconds trickled down, they were chanting the hero of the night’s name. They didn’t watch a 2-0 loss last night; they watched a great goaltender get his 500th career win.
It didn’t matter that he was playing for the Blackhawks, getting 500 wins is a remarkable feat and he joined Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy in this elite club. Masters of the net he grew up watching and idolizing, and while Fleury might have played behind some great teams, at the end of the day he still had to stop the pucks to win those games. Right now, the top 4 goalies win wise in the history of the game all hail from Québec: Brodeur, Roy, Fleury and Luongo and it was quite fitting that Flower entered the 500 club in Montréal.
In his post-game comments, Fleury seemed overwhelmed and even said that he thought people hated him in Montreal and that those cheers meant a lot. That’s the thing about Montréal fans’, even if they do hate you in the heat of the game, they respect game. This is the crowd who cheered on Zdeno Chara when he played game 1500 in front of the Bell Center crowd, of course they were going to cheer on Flower. Kudos as well to David Savard, Mathieu Perreault and Chris Wideman who stayed on the ice to acknowledge Fleury’s achievement.
What else is there to say about that game? Not a whole lot. Jake Allen once again had a great save percentage (.920), but you can’t win games if you don’t score and it’s as simple as that. Ducharme system is based on playing a solid defensive game to prevent high quality chances, and in a nutshell, it pretty much handcuffs the attack. While fans were fine with watching history in the making last night, sooner or later they will get fed up with low-event hockey. There won’t be any playoffs in Montreal this season, but the fans at least deserve to be entertained and unless something changes, they won’t even get that.
FLEURY, FLEURY, FLEURY 🗣
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 10, 2021
Centre Bell saluting 🌸 on an unbelievable achievement, all class @CanadiensMTL 👠#Fleury500 pic.twitter.com/rUF7uvWT4A
Dans ses commentaires d’après-match, Fleury avait l’air submergé par l’émotion et il a même dit qu’il croyait que les fans de CH le détestaient et que leurs applaudissements et encouragements voulaient dire beaucoup pour lui pendant cette grande soirée. C’est typique des fans montréalais, ils peuvent vous détester dans le feu de l’action, mais ils respectent le sport. à‡a reste la foule qui a applaudi Zdeno Chara a tout rompre quand il a joué son 1500 match en carrière devant la foule du Centre Bell, évidemment qu’ils allaient applaudir MAF. Chapeau également à David Savard, Mathieu Perreault et Chris Wideman qui sont resté sur la glace pour souligner et applaudir l’accomplissement de Fleury.
Qu’est-ce qu’il y a d’autre à dire à propos du match? Pas grand-chose. Jake Allen a encore fait des pieds et des mains et avait un excellent pourcentage d’arrêts (.920), mais c’est impossible de gagner en ne marquant pas et c’est aussi simple que ça. Le système de jeu de Ducharme est base sur un jeu défensif solide pour prévenir les chances en or de marquer de l’adversaire, et malheureusement, ça menotte également l’attaque. Bien que le public se soit accommodé de regarder l’histoire s’écrire hier soir, plus tôt que tard, il en aura assez du jeu terne et sans éclat. Il n’y aura pas de séries à Montréal cette année, mais les fans méritent au moins d’être diverti et si rien ne change, il n’aura même pas cette chance.
FLEURY, FLEURY, FLEURY 🗣
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 10, 2021
Centre Bell saluting 🌸 on an unbelievable achievement, all class @CanadiensMTL 👠#Fleury500 pic.twitter.com/rUF7uvWT4A