MONTREAL — There was Kirby Dach in overtime, standing in front of the net as Lane Hutson’s shot went right by Andrei Vasilevskiy for the goal that gave the Montreal Canadiens a 2-1 series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning, celebrating a dream night just 72 hours after one of the most nightmarish ones of his life.
It’s a story that’s almost too good to be true.
Canadiens fans were willing it into existence, chanting “KIRBY! KIRBY! KIRBY!” during warmup ahead of the first playoff game at the Bell Centre this spring.
That was after some had chased Dach off social media following his gaffs in overtime of Tuesday’s Game 2 that led to J.J. Moser’s series-tying goal.
But that seemed like a distant memory on Friday, after Dach helped set up Alex Texier’s goal to open the scoring.
By the time Dach scored the goal that made it 2-2 a little over halfway through the second period to recapture the momentum the Canadiens had lost, his redemption story had already been written.
It was only punctuated by the screen the 25-year-old helped set before Hutson made his decision to wind up in overtime.
“I saw some space, lots of bodies,” said Hutson, “just tried to shoot as hard as I could, and luckily it went in.”
From 49 feet out? And from this elite passer, who quipped that he scored on what might have been his first slap shot of the year?
Kind of like Zachary Bolduc taking Dach’s aerial pass and converting it into an alley-oop for Texier 4:53 into Friday’s game.
On the list of unpredictable things that happened in this game, those three maligned Canadiens playing a role in all three goals their team scored in this 3-2 win was in a realm of its own.
If you had bet on Josh Anderson and Ivan Demidov missing chances to score on breakaways, you won a lot of cash.
If you had bet on 51-goal scorer Cole Caufield fanning on his best chance to score his first goal of the series — on a clear-cut breakaway from centre ice — you’re clairvoyant.
How about Arber Xhekaj playing the opening shift of overtime to cap a game that saw him finish with one assist, a plus-two rating, two shots on goal, five shot attempts and eight hits in what might have been the best 10:40 of his career?
Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis trusted him when it mattered most.
He trusted Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky to fight through their matchup, refusing to get baited into the cat-and-mouse game Lightning coach Jon Cooper established early by quick-shifting Yanni Gourde’s line out for the one centred by Anthony Cirelli.
That matchup gave Suzuki’s line fits through the first two games in Tampa and frustrated it again during this first game in Montreal, but St. Louis lived with that, trusted Suzuki’s line could handle it, trusted his depth, and opted to keep all his lines in rhythm.
But the trust the coach extended to Dach sealed this win.
“He definitely played a big game,” St. Louis said. “I’d never give up on a person unless he’s given up on himself. Kirby Dach’s a very good hockey player, and like all good hockey players, he makes mistakes sometimes. It happens to everyone. It happens to very good players. It’s not a reason to give up on a player.”
Not giving up on a player is one thing.
Empowering that player after a confidence-shattering moment is another thing entirely.
St. Louis didn’t have to do that. He opened these playoffs talking about the wealth of options at his disposal and the willingness to turn to them if need be. And many argued the need was there after Game 2 was fumbled away by Dach.
Either of versatile forward Joe Veleno or proven playoff warrior Brendan Gallagher could’ve taken his place, but St. Louis instead chose to reunite Oliver Kapanen with Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook while putting Dach back at his natural position of centre between Bolduc and Texier.
He talked to Dach, made sure he was in the right headspace to rebound, and gave him a boost when he was in desperate need of one.
“I think as a competitor you want to have a chance to respond,” Dach said. “You want to be able to go out there and prove your worth. This game, it’s hard. There’s a lot of mistakes out there. It’s not like everyone’s perfect, or you’re going to make the perfect play, make the perfect pass every time. I think you have to understand that and move on from it when it doesn’t go your way and you are the one that cost your team that way. But for me, it was never a doubt or waver in my confidence in myself or who I am as a player. I think it made me just dig in a little deeper and come out tonight and be ready to play.”
Texier, who’d slept-walked through the first two games, was also ready, adding a crafty assist on Hutson’s closing goal after pumping the opening one over Vasilevskiy’s right shoulder with authority.
And Bolduc, who had built up some momentum in Tampa, took off in Montreal.
“I’m not surprised,” said St. Louis. “That type of game fits his DNA. I find since the start of the series he’s been very visible. He’s playing to his identity. He’s been very efficient.”
Dach’s way there was more roundabout, but he arrived — driving his line to an 11-4 edge in shot attempts, a 77 per cent share of the expected goals, and a 3-0 advantage in high-danger chances at five-on-five.
Considering how the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., native had to have been feeling after Tuesday night, it was unbelievable.
At least that’s how Anderson referred to it.
“It’s just unbelievable, honestly, what he did tonight,” said Anderson. “Their line was dominant. You could just hear it from the crowd from the start of warmups, chanting his name. Way to turn the page. It was fun to watch, honestly. He was doing everything he can to help the team, and he had a huge night.”
There was hope Dach would’ve had many of them when he was drafted third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019.
Devastating injuries stole those opportunities away after he was traded to the Canadiens at the 2022 Draft.
Each time, Dach fought his way back to his feet, only to get swept off them again.
But there he was Friday, standing in front of Vasilevskiy at the end of the game, three days after one of his worst falls from grace, celebrating the greatest triumph of his career.
