MONTREAL – Cole Cofield scored his first hat-trick of his career, and the last-ranked Canadians defeated the Presidents’ Trophy Florida Panthers champion 10-2.
Cofield had a stormy end to his season under interim coach Martin St. Louis. After scoring just one goal in the first 30 games of his rookie season, Cofield finished 23rd as the Canadiens’ top scorer.
“It was disappointing, it was difficult,” Cofield said. “It’s hard to get negative comments about you, but I think I’ve learned a lot this year about perseverance, sticking to it and finding yourself and your own motivation. A lot of outside noise can get inside you and do a lot of things that can affect you. “
“It feels pretty good to be back where you feel you should be.”
Cofield finished his hat-trick at 8:12 of the third period and kept one of the hats as a keepsake.
“[Brendan Gallagher] he told me to go get one, and I just said, “Okay,” Cofield said. “I think it would be great to look back one day.”
In his 700th career start, Kerry Price made 37 saves to record his first win of the season. Price’s last victory came in match 4 of the Stanley Cup finals.
“It means everything to us,” Cofield said of Price’s victory. “He is the backbone of our team, he is the person you want to play for. Having him in the room every day was just something special and you just feel the energy he carries, whether he’s excited or not.
“I think he won this game, it means a lot,” added St. Louis. “I put myself in his shoes, fighting with the way he is fighting, the level at which he has played in this league and he has his own expectations. The best guys in this league are really tough on themselves. So to end it like that, I’m really happy for him. “
While Tyler Pitlick scored Montreal’s tenth goal of the evening, “Man!” Guy! Person!” chants rained down from the beams of the Bell Center in honor of the death of former Habs legend Guy Lafleur.
“I think it’s crazy that we scored 10 goals tonight,” said Cofield. “You can’t think of these things, everything happens for a reason.”
Significance echoed on the other side of the ice, where even Panthers coach Andrew Brunett acknowledged the coincidence.
“He was my father’s favorite player, and for many people of that generation, it was all about Guy,” Brunette said. “It’s a pity we lost him so early, but what a hockey player he was. You don’t find too many guys, but I wish we didn’t give up on 10. “
The Panthers will find solace in winning the presidential trophy. The brunette and his team will try to shake off the double-digit loss and focus on the Washington Capitals, which they will face in the first round.
“We are still looking at the bigger prize and this group was really good at supporting it every day and moving forward,” he said.
The brunette claims that his team has veterans like Joe Thornton who understand what it takes to qualify for the playoffs, but that they are leaders in the league has its weight. Since the 2000-01 season, only three teams have won both the Presidential Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season. The Detroit Red Wings are the only team to do so twice.
“They will be the target and there will be all kinds of talk,” Brunette said. “They’ve probably never been seed number one in a long time, and these are different things we have to deal with.”
Jonas Johansson spent a difficult night in the office, conceding 10 goals from 37 shots.
Jordan Harris scored his first goal of his career from the point with the first shot of the evening.
Mike Hoffman hit a loose puck in the crease to increase Hubbs by two goals. Kauffield then struck with his wrist to lift Montreal by three.
Gallagher added a marker for a powerful game to give Montreal a 4-0 lead.
The Panthers reduced their deficit to three when Ben Chiaro scored in a power game at 18:23 from the first period.
Cofield compared his shirt number to his 22nd goal at 1:33. Pero followed his fourth of the campaign.
Pitlick contacted Jake Evans alone in front of the net at 6:08 p.m. Dvorak then scored Montreal’s eighth goal.
Pitlick scored Montreal’s tenth goal of the night about two minutes later.
Noel Aquari added a late Florida marker with an embarrassing 10-2 loss.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 29, 2022.
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