MONTREAL - What’s old was new in Montreal on Monday night.
On the night of his 1,000th game, longtime Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec displayed many of the very attributes that allowed him to join the prestigious club of NHLers to have hit the milestone.
The 35-year-old looked like the player who once posted a 70-point season in his prime, outskating many players a decade his junior as the Canadiens defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 7-3. Midway through the first period, he faked out Red Wings netminder Jimmy Howard before banking a shot in off defender Filip Hronek to add to the evening’s festivities. Plekanec finished the evening with 13 minutes of ice time, three shots and nine faceoff wins.
Even Canadiens head coach Claude Julien noticed a difference in the center’s energy.
“He looked like he drank out of the fountain of youth tonight,” Julien said. “He was really skating well, he had lots of energy, he was really excited to play his 1,000th game.”
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Despite the significance of the evening, Plekanec went about his business normally. He wore a turtleneck to the rink (as he did when he played his first NHL game back on Dec. 31, 2003 in Dallas, also with Julien behind the bench), and spent time after the morning skate working on faceoffs with a handful of the team’s young players.
“I tried to look at it as a regular game,” Plekanec said. “I didn’t change much. It felt good, especially the win.”
The celebration of Plekanec’s career, which is likely in its final chapter this season, was one of a handful of storylines on the evening. The team once again showed that it had no intention of living up to the draft-lottery contenders that many fans and media had predicted before training camp. Six players found the back of the net against Detroit, and 14 had at least one point. Tomas Tatar had his second consecutive three-point effort, and newcomer Matthew Peca garnered two assists after being a healthy scratch for two games.
“Having a night like that, you don’t want to lose it,” Plekanec said. “You want to win it as a team and be in the mood that we’re in right now.”
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Julien’s squad is playing faster and with more pace than last season. There’s also been a shift in attitude, a word used several times by general manager Marc Bergevin during last year’s final press conference.
“We have belief,” Julien said. “We also have an understanding that we really have to work hard during these games, and so far that’s what we’ve been doing.”
While early on in the season, Montreal fans have reason to be optimistic. Despite starting their season with three games against Eastern Conference elites Pittsburgh and Toronto and a tilt against the physical Los Angeles Kings, the Canadiens garnered five of a possible eight points prior to their win over Detroit. Tatar has perhaps delivered more than expected. Carey Price and Antti Niemi have stymied opposing forwards. and the defence looks more structured. Still, Monday night belonged to No. 14, who undoubtedly will be honored on a much grander scale when he hangs up his skates.
“There [are] all the reasons in the world to be happy and to have a [really] good souvenir,” Julien said. “I was fortunate enough to coach him in his first year and I’m fortunate enough to still be around him.”