There's still a lot of quality coming out of Quebec.

Yeah, I don't think it's nearly as much as you see in other leagues, and I don't have the figures in front of me, but I know that with the response that we've seen from Hockey Quebec of late, that it seems to be that there's a bit of panic, and that they would like to see if they can batten that down and deliver the quality that Quebec has been able to deliver in the past.

But, you know, you guys know because you're associated with minor hockey and you understand how it works that it is so desperately fractured right now.

And there's an emphasis, you know, where rather than, you know, having everybody at the top of the pyramid, they're trying to make things a little bottom heavy and have everybody feel good about it.

And it is a way to do it.

I don't know if I don't happen to think it's the best way to do it.

If really, you know, you're trying to drive the top end.

I like that you're giving Bolduc a chance.

Like why are you doing it? How does a coach convey to elite hockey players that we can't continue to take penalties like this? And how do you reprimand elite hockey players when they're taking bad penalties? I don't think it has to be the coach all the time, Simon.

I really don't.

And I'll get to the coach after the point that I want to make, though, because I think it's a great question.

But did you see Carrier's reaction after the goal goes in in overtime? Did you see his reaction? That is a reaction, not of a guy who is pissed off to be on the ice because he's on the ice for the, the OT winner from Celebrini.

He's pissed because of the way that he's been forced to be on the ice.

He's defending on a power, on a penalty kill that should never have been.

And tactically guys will let you off the hook.

you get

What'd you see on the tape today?

You know, I, I d- I go back and, and, you know, when I'm, when I'm driving back from, from, uh, the Bell Centre or, you know, when we're, when we're out there, I, I, I question myself a lot.

I, I, I wanna see the, to, to make sure that what I'm saying, uh ...

You know, I, I have opinions, and I, and I g- and I know that I see things properly, but you always wanna make sure that you're saying the right stuff, right? And because it's, it's easy to be critical.

And, and you wanna make sure that if you're, if you're, you're offering critique, that you're doing it in a, in, in a, in a, in the right way.

That, you know, I look at it, there, there's no reason to take potshots.

Uh, it, it's just, it's not professional, and it's not how I do it.

So fair to say, even though they said it was about Fowler deserving a second opportunity to play, it was more about their concerns with Dobesh's game right now already back then?

How many times have you ever been cut from a team, JP?

You know what? The first time I got cut, Sean, was when I turned pro.

I had gone to Hershey, and Bob Hartley was the coach, and I had known Bob for a long time, and I was excited to get there.

They had just won the Calder Cup, so they were, they were in a little bit of a rebuild.

They had some guys who, at the time, had gone up to Colorado and, and, uh, who was the affiliate at the time.

And I got there, and I was strong as a ox- as strong as a ox.

I was ready to go.

[laughs]

think that the answer, if you think the answer's in the room, that's fine.

Well, you know, seven, eight years is a long time, isn't it? And I don't know if it's there.

And if it is there, then what does that price look like? So I happen to be one of the guys who's still happy to wait and see what happens with some of the guys that we have in-house.

And what I think primarily, I think of David Reinbacher there.

And I know that if there are deals to be made, that I'm sure David Reinbacher will be bandied around.

But if he remains a Montreal Canadian, I'm curious to see what he looks like.

I...

But when it comes to Suzuki, what can the addition of a second line center, someone who can do a bit of that heavy lifting as well, just due to his overall game?

What do you think he meant by that?

You know, there's a lot of kind of Martyisms that have come out here in Montreal over the last, you know, the last little while.

And I think some of them are, you know, are the proverbial Jedi mind tricks, David.

And I don't think this one is.

I do think that there's the understanding that Rod Brindamore's crew are a well-oiled machine.

They're a veteran group.

They're guys who have been to the playoffs.

So I guess when do we stop talking about how good the Canes forecheck is and we start demanding better execution with the puck, getting some skin in the neutral zone from the Montreal forwards to slow down that forecheck a little bit? What kind of adjustments are they talking about in the room?

Maybe just let our listeners in on that type of atmosphere, what it's been like covering this team on a deeper playoff run, J.P.?

Well, you've got to remember, guys, that the last time that the Canadians had an opportunity to go on this run was during COVID.

And, you know, granted, I think you could look to it and say the Canadians maybe get a little bit lucky with matchups.

Either way, they end up punching the ticket to the finals.

But the whole way through there, there was nobody in the building.

So, you know, Montreal has been starved for this for a while.

And last year, you get a little bit of a taste for it, albeit short against Washington, who kind of run Montreal out of the building, played a really physical type of series.

So I guess when do we stop talking about how good the Canes forecheck is and we start demanding better execution with the puck, getting some skin in the neutral zone from the Montreal forwards to slow down that forecheck a little bit? What kind of adjustments are they talking about in the room?

I think this went so well for Montreal, uh, for, for the Montreal Canadiens, and fans have to be es- ecstatic with the game one.

Well, y- you know, I'll, I'll take it a step further and, and I'll say that for a Montreal Canadiens team who are coming off short rest, um, you know, you, you look at some of the time on ice tonight and, you know, where you're used to seeing Hudson hovering up in the 26, 27 mark, you know, you're, you're able to get out of that game because of the, the lead that you create yourself, and you're able to downshift a little bit, aren't you? And, and, you know, roll guys out that maybe wouldn't be seeing the, the same amount of time.

I mean, Struble ends up over 13 minutes tonight and, and, uh, and, you know, Hudson comes down, uh, Dobson comes down.

You know, Dobson's been logging all kinds of minutes.

I'm still not too convinced about, about the, the overall health of his hand.

Uh, but he's still been logging lots of minutes out there.

And for those guys to, to be under the 23-minute mark this evening, and Mike Matheson just over 21, I think is huge for the, the long-term benefit of, of the D core.

Like, that was, that was a sick move.

the final score is eight to three what happened here at the bell center tonight

it's incredible right and it almost feels like uh the the goalie change was was the key moment right is is just to get your team to to settle down and you know you're not trying to isolate one player and blame them but the fact is is that lion looked uh very beatable tonight and and bringing Lukanen in was really the only choice that Ruff had, I think, to keep this from getting ugly.

And getting ugly early, it settled his team down.

But if I'm looking at this and trying to figure out, trying to wedge a point in where I think that the game really turns...

You know, the most important goal for me is the goal that makes it 3-2, is, you know, maybe six or seven minutes left in the first period that takes the game from being a 3-1 kind of runaway or looking like it's going to be a runaway to get it back to 3-2.

And then obviously right after that, Benson...

the you know the the pocket that makes it through dobesh there is it is a tough one and then right after when quinn gets his uh the one-timer you know that he shoots the puck a ton everybody knows that but uh that's a goal i don't think that can go in and you know it that the three two goals is where it changed for me and and then you could just see the momentum just continue to build

They've won 2 of 6.