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The “same crowd as in Washington” according to Ovi: it’s ridiculous
Mathis Therrien
The “same crowd as in Washington” according to Ovi: it’s ridiculous
Credit: Playoff field hockey is well and truly back in full swing (that is, without the presence of a global pandemic) in Montreal, and it feels really good. We’ve all been waiting since 2017 to see the Bell Centre filled to capacity again for a playoff game, and last night we got it, as the atmosphere […]
Playoff field hockey is well and truly back in full swing (that is, without the presence of a global pandemic) in Montreal, and it feels really good.

We’ve all been waiting since 2017 to see the Bell Centre filled to capacity again for a playoff game, and last night we got it, as the atmosphere was simply electric.

The city really needed this.

Both inside and outside the Bell Centre, people were out in full force, showing once again why Montreal is the best field hockey city in the world.

There’s nothing like the atmosphere of a playoff game in Montreal, and everyone knows it.

At least, almost everyone, because for a certain Alexander Ovechkin, the atmosphere in Montreal is the same as in Washington.

C’mon, seriously Ovi?

This is clearly the comment of a player who is frustrated with the defeat and who doesn’t assume that the Montreal crowd destabilized his team.

There’s no way Washington’s crowd is comparable to Montreal’s, even if Washington is a good field hockey town.

Last night, it was the crowd that carried the CH to victory and made the difference.

The fans never let up on the team, and they made their presence felt at every moment of the game.

And that was just inside the Bell Centre.

Now let’s take a look outside, where hundreds of people gathered to watch the Tricolore game.

Is it always the same as in Washington, Mr. Ovi?

Just look at people’s reaction to Alexandre Carrier’s goal, the CH’s first goal of the game.

It’s insane, and will always be the best atmosphere in all of field hockey.

Okay, now that Ovi’s comments have been proven ridiculous, here’s what else I take away from this game.

1. Everyone on the CH team contributed last night.

What helped the Habs win last night, aside from the crowd, was that everyone played very well.

Every Tricolore player played a good game, as evidenced by the six different goal scorers (Carrier, Suzuki, Caufield, Dvorak, Slafkovsky and Newhook).

Add to this the fact that 12 of the CH’s 18 players had at least one point, and that among the six players cleared from the scoresheet were Josh Anderson (6 checks), Emil Heineman (5 checks) and Arber Xhekaj (4 checks, the players who were most physically involved in the game.

Kaiden Guhle, Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen also played well.

2. Speaking of checking, well, the CH dominated the Caps 45-26 in that department.

That’s a big improvement over the first two games, when the Caps dominated 42-33 and 37-28 respectively.

The CH was very physical last night, and dictated the tempo throughout the game.

3. This brings us to the importance of Arber Xhekaj in the line-up.

Even though he only played a little over ten minutes, Xhekaj’s presence greatly helped the CH and allowed all the players to be bigger on the ice.

It’s no coincidence that the Tricolore dominated when Xhekaj was playing his first game of the series.

Martin St-Louis liked Xhekaj’s game, and that bodes well for the future.

4. Ivan Demidov had his best game of the series.

Quietly, the Russian prodigy is settling in on the ice and beginning to adapt to North American and playoff field hockey.

He had several good appearances in his 15:37 of ice time, and generated some good scoring chances.

Demidov energized the CH power play, and came very close to scoring his first career NHL playoff goal.

5. The Habs’ top line was excellent, giving the Capitals headaches at almost every turn.

Caufield, Suzuki and Slafkovsky all scored, and they really knew how to apply excellent pressure in the opponent’s zone.

11 shots for Caufield is truly impressive, and ties a CH record for a playoff game held by Guy Lafleur.

The best players have to be the best players, and that’s what this trio did last night, and has done since the start of the series.

6. Caps head coach has great respect for CH.

Spencer Carbery said after the game that the Habs were a very good team, and that they’d be tough to beat.

In short, it was quite a game last night at the Bell Centre, and we’re all already looking forward to tomorrow for game #4.


Extensions

The experience that each of the CH’s young players is currently gaining is priceless.

It’s exactly for games like these that everyone wanted to see the Habs in the playoffs, so the team’s young players could learn and see what it takes to win in the playoffs.

Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, Jakub Dobes, and many others are gaining experience at a rapid pace right now, and it’s really great.

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