After the epic battle that was the first round of the playoffs for Montreal, there's no shortage of heroes on the team today.
Lane Hutson's one for playing ridiculous minutes and wiring his hardest shot of the season for the OT winner. Kirby Dach for taking his second chance and running with it when many coaches would have benched him for costing the previous game. Jakub Dobes for calmly shutting the door and outgoaling Vezina nominee Andrei Vasilevskiy. Brendan Gallagher for finally getting into the lineup and immediately making Tampa pay. Nick Suzuki for shutting down the Kucherov line over seven incredibly tight games. Marty St.Louis for being, as his captain put it after the game, "one of the best coaches in the whole world." Josh Anderson for setting the tone for the series by throwing his body at every Bolt who moved. Alex Newhook for bringing the speed needed to get to the puck on the series-winning goal. Really, you could make a case for just about any player in the lineup being the series MVP.
With such dedication and skill all through the roster, it's easy to forget the guys who aren't on the ice.
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After Gallagher opened the scoring in Game Five, the first teammate to greet him on his return to the dressing room was Patrik Laine. Standing there in his ridiculous pink sweater and long hair, Laine wore a grin as big as Gallagher's own. Laine, of course, has been out of the lineup for most of the regular season and all of the playoffs. Instead of asking for a trade or sulking in the corner, he shows up for his teammates and, although it must hurt and embarrass him to be sidelined like he's been, he chooses to smile and celebrate others' successes rather than his own.
Sam Montembeault arrived at training camp as the team's unquestioned number-one goalie, kicking off year two of the three-year contract that promised him and his family stability and a financial safety net. Things didn't go well for him for most of the season. He lost a ton of games, giving up goals on the first shot eight times. He got sent to the minors for a "conditioning stint," got his goalie coach fired and lost the trust of the fans and, likely, the coaches. He hasn't seen the net outside of practice for months, only playing one game in March.
Yet, there he was in the pressbox, standing up and whipping his playoff rally towel over his head like the most frantic Habs fan in the building. He was there with Jacob Fowler to give Dobes a celebratory pie in the face with a big smile. He doesn't even get to dress as the backup, but he still finds a way to be part of the team and show his support for his mates.
Arber Xhekaj got scratched from the lineup, despite playing some of the best hockey of his career, because Noah Dobson was ready to come back from his thumb injury. He could easily have felt unjustly treated, but instead he was in the dressing room dancing around and cheering with the others.
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This isn't just a good group of hockey players. They're absolutely young and talented, but they're more than that. The way they seem to really like and take care of each other is so unusual, observers all over the hockey world are taking note of it.
Part of that is obviously the joy spawned by winning and helping each other meet their goals. Just as important, though, is the appreciation they show to every guy in their room whether he plays thirty minutes a night or sits in the pressbox for months.
When you're young and living your childhood dream, it could be very easy to forget the guys in civvies who may feel they're not part of the fun. This team doesn't do that. Every player in Montreal is worthy and is treated like it, all the way from management, through the coaching staff to behind the dressing room door. They respect each other and the different roles they fill.
Even when a guy is hurt or a healthy scratch, he can still be a cheerleader for his teammates. He can choose to put on a happy face and not become a distraction to the group on the ice. He can slap a pie in a buddy's face and do it with love.
So, while the heroes on the ice are getting all the glory and headlines, we can remember that the guys who provide support are heroes too.
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