Bonjour Montréal! It's Amélie Boisvert, coming to you from the Bell Centre – and let me tell you, the Bell Tower is ringing a beautiful tune this morning. Last night, 3-1, against *les feuilles*! You hear that? Trois-un! My God, after a week of that… *tension* building up, we needed that. For those who maybe, you know, fell asleep after a long week of work – and I can't blame you, it was a Thursday night – what a first period! Kapanen, eh? Tabarnac, the kid shows up. From Newhook and Demidov, at 4:46, just like that. And then Phil Danault, our *Québécois*, making it 2-0 before the first intermission. Guhle and Hutson, what a setup. We dominated that first twenty, *mon ami*. Toronto barely had a sniff. They pushed back, of course, because that's what they do, and Nylander found a way in the second, but we held on. And then Jake Evans, an empty-netter, from Matheson, sealing it at 19:32 in the third. 3-1, a beautiful regulation win against *them*.
And that's the thing, eh? It wasn't just *a* win; it was a *statement*. We only had 18 shots to their 33, yeah, I know, I know. But Carey Price… I mean, our *goalie* last night, he was a brick wall. He stood on his head, making those saves when it mattered. It wasn't always pretty, no, but it was *effective*. And that's what this team needs to be. Gritty. Tough. And when we get those early goals, when Kapanen and Danault can put us up two-zip like that, it takes the pressure off. It lets us play our game, which sometimes, *des fois*, is a bit more… controlled. Defensive. But it works, especially against a team that thinks they can just out-skill everyone. Not in *our* house, buddy.
This win, it's not just two points in the standings, even though it puts us at 80 points, 3rd in the Atlantic, and our last ten are 6-1-3. That’s a good streak, *ça*. No, this means more. This means the city, it can breathe a little. You can feel it this morning, can't you? People walking a little taller, the coffee at St-Viateur tastes a little better, and maybe, just maybe, you're already thinking about some poutine from La Banquise tonight to celebrate. It reminds us of what this franchise *can be*. Of the ghosts in the rafters, watching, approving. We've got a tough stretch ahead, but this win, it gives us momentum. It gives us belief. And in Montreal, sometimes, that's all you need.
Allez Les Canadiens — Go Habs Go. This is Amélie Boisvert.