Josh Gorges is a proud man. He plays the game the right way. He puts the team above himself. He leads by example. When he speaks in the room and on the bench, his teammates listen.
This is not how he wanted to make his return to Montreal.
The Buffalo Sabres team is ranked dead last in the NHL standings. Their fourteen straight regulation losses are piling up like Lake Erie lake effect snow. The Canadiens are once again an Eastern conference power with designs on making a second straight trip to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Sabres chartered to Montreal after their loss in Vancouver on Friday night. They spent the weekend in Montreal. They watched the Super Bowl there. Gorges and Brian Gionta had to be feeling the nostalgia of their shared experiences from their days in the Original 6 city. After Monday’s practice, a visibly emotional Gorges met with the Buffalo and Montreal media. Gorges was injured when the Sabres played Montreal last December. Tuesday will be his first appearance against his former Habs club since being traded to Buffalo in July in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2016.
“I hadn’t thought much about it much until this morning,… Gorges said. “I’m not really sure what to expect until tomorrow. It’ll be good to get that first shift out of the way. Let some of the butterflies settle down.
“There’s always certain games that have a special meaning to them. You prepare for each game the same way but, obviously, playing your first game back in a building you spent so much time in, there’s different emotions.…
Gorges has been struggling with his own personal performances. He wants to be a better leaders to his young and inexperienced Sabres teammates in this historically terrible season. Gorges will drag his career worst -27 rating into the battle. The plus/minus rating can be misleading because it doesn’t quantify the entire body of work. The Buffalo Sabres are the NHL’s worst goal differential team. In 50 games played, the Sabres are -90. They are a team that cannot keep the puck out of its own net. They have scored only 88 goals for while allowing an NHL worst 178 goals against. Gorges has played in only 41 games this season due to a knee injury that knocked him out of the lineup for an extended period of time. In recent games he appears to be hampered by the lingering effects of his previous injury. Despite his struggles, Gorges is ranked second overall in the NHL with 134 blocked shot. He also has dished out 69 hits.
Gorges is sensitive about his disappointing -27 rating. He doesn’t want that ugly number associated with his impressive NHL body of work. Despite his lopsided plus/minus rating he’s been a great role model for his younger, struggling teammates.
Thanks, Sabres.com
I fully expect Gorges to deliver his best effort to lead his Sabres team in Montreal. He will block shots, deliver heavy body checks, and make life miserable for the Canadiens forwards.
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The Montreal Canadiens have recalled forward Jacob de la Rose from the Hamilton Bulldogs.
In 37 games with Hamilton this season – his first year in the American Hockey League – de la Rose has recorded 11 points (six goals, five assists) and 11 penalty minutes. He also recently captained Team Sweden at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. In seven games at the tournament, he recorded four points (two goals, two assists) and four penalty minutes.
Before joining the Bulldogs this season, the 19-year-old spent one season in the Swedish Hockey League with Leksands IF. In 49 SHL regular season games in 2013-14, the 6-3, 203-pound forward recorded 13 points (seven goals, six assists) and 18 penalty minutes. De la Rose was selected by the Canadiens in the second round (34th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft