April 12, 2023, 11:26 p.m
It was a 10 minutes, 18 seconds that Joel Tisdale will never forget.
Never mind that he was a minus 2 during that streak in his NHL debut. The two goals the New York Islanders scored on the ice have nothing to do with it and in no way should shape or form diminish how special this night was for the Repentene family. , que.
Tisdale was born and raised a Montreal Canadiens fan, and the idea of fulfilling his dream of one day playing for the team could not have been further away than it was 16 months ago when he finished rehabbing his second knee in just three. years.
But Tisdale’s dream came true in New York on Wednesday in a match in which the Islanders needed a point to move into 16th place.there Putting together a team in the league to clinch a playoff berth and another was largely irrelevant to the Canadiens, who lost and held their bottom fifth and lottery-top position from the inactive Arizona Coyotes.
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Everything was irrelevant to him.
The 24-year-old hasn’t been cut. After five years in the QMJHL, he was far from making the league healthy, with a skating move that probably wouldn’t get him past the AHL, and that was before he suffered catastrophic injuries that made this debut an unlikely prospect.
Can you imagine how Tisdale felt after Monday’s 4-0 win over the Laval Rockets, when he was called into coach Jean-Francois Holly’s office, greeted by Canadian general manager Kent Hughes and coach Martin St. Louis, and said he was going to play his first NHL game? the National? the National ?
It must have been quite a surreal experience on Wednesday, especially at UBS Arena, from warm-up to final game, as the Islanders celebrated the 4-2 win that earned them their playoff tickets.
“There was a lot of tension for me in all of this,” Tisdale told reporters after the game.
I didn’t come for 38there Player dressed for the Canadians this season.
Again, the athlete is not. 38 was on the ice for two goals against him, but the minus -2 was not at all representative of his performance.
Teasdale was responsible alongside him, good at penetration, hard checking forward and inches away from scoring on a turnover that showed all those qualities.
In the first period, he ran on Samuel Bolduc, hitting him and forcing him into a spin, then dived into the net as Michael Peseta drove in and created a rebound opportunity.
Tisdale hit him off the air, knocked him out of the mail, and was an inch away from one of the most memorable moments of his life.
Regardless, he was an NHL player and had, on that night, 10 minutes and 18 seconds that he will save forever.
“Tisdale also played a really good game,” said St. Louis. “His touches were excellent. We know he’s good in front of goal and almost scored first. But he was able to keep the puck. He took some good touches to do that, and I really impressed.
We suspect St. Louis was surprised.
If he hadn’t realized that Teasdale was the AHL’s leading scorer from mid-December to mid-February, he was left to wonder how far the player was keeping the Rocket afloat in the North Division playoff chase.
It’s not like Tisdale didn’t earn the opportunity St. Louis offered him.
Ironically, he came now, mainly to keep Rafael Harvey Benard and Jesse Ylonen playing for Laval, and to support Tisdale as they progressed in the NHL. He was instrumental in their success and won’t be around for a decisive 6-3 win over Harvey Bennard of the Toronto Marlies and Yelloonen’s fingerprints are everywhere on Wednesday.
But Tisdale deserved the chance, and he might get more depending on how he manages it.
His chance of playing the Canadiens’ final game, when they take on the Bruins at the Bell Center on Thursday, is almost certain. And if he plays as well as he did on Wednesday and continues to be the player he was with Laval (whether in the playoffs this year or next regular season), he will prove to be an option in the NHL.
Nick Suzuki with Goal of the Year award nominee
Watching the Captain chase down Bolduc and defeat Ilya Sorokin with one hand on his stick was unbelievable.
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It was also emblematic of Suzuki’s impressive effort throughout the season.
The goal was his 25ththere and his 65there a point. In the 35 games he has played since teammate Cole Cofield was suspended with a shoulder injury, he has produced nine of those goals and 28 points.
And as the Canadiens teetered and injured beyond repair throughout the second half of the season, Suzuki kept a steady hand at the helm, always leading by example in practice and in games and never giving up. Frustration gets the better of him.
“It’s very comfortable,” St. Louis said. “He has a good thermostat. He’s able to cool him down when it’s really hot, but he’s also able to boost him up when he needs it.”
Suzuki has another chance to do so this season, as he becomes the only Canadian player to appear in all 82 games.
