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Monday, November 15, 1999
The Last Word
The Canadiens may be down-and-nearly-out but they have not lost their desire. In fact, back-to-back wins have them talking about a playoff spot.
MONTREAL -- Last Thursday morning, the Montreal Canadiens awoke to find themselves 28th in the 28-team National Hockey League.
By Saturday night, they were talking about the possibility of moving into a playoff spot some time this week.
They are taking an optimistic view but if they don't, who will? And if there is one criticism of the down-and-nearly-out Canadiens that cannot be made, it is that they have lost their desire.
This has been a terrible season for them so far -- so bad they now see back-to-back wins as a sign they are on the move.
Never mind that their first victim, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, played so badly that the next day, coach Craig Hartsburg skated them until their legs fell off as a form of punishment.
Never mind their second victim, the Atlanta Thrashers, are an expansion team which got a weak performance from goaltender Damian Rhodes.
Even though those two unspectacular wins represent no less than 40% of the Canadiens' total this year, they are determined to see it as a positive sign. After all, it is the first time this season they have managed to earn consecutive victories.
It may not seem like a great achievement in the overall scope of things -- and let's face it, it isn't -- but many teams would have folded completely when faced with the adversity that has struck the Canadiens. At the very least, there would be back-biting and blame-spreading, but in Montreal that hasn't happened.
"I don't think anybody in this dressing room lost faith in anybody," said forward Shayne Corson, who played a major role in the Montreal victory Saturday night. "That's why we are fighting ourselves out of this. I think the effort has been there all year long.
SHORT END OF THE STICK
"We came out on the short end of the stick 10 or 11 times by one goal. That could dishearten a lot of hockey teams. That could ruin a hockey team.
"Then (last Wednesday in Pittsburgh) we were up 4-1 with seven minutes to go and lost. We bounced back from that one, too, and won two straight hockey games, so that shows we have some character in this dressing room and that's a good sign for this hockey club. It makes me feel darn proud to be a part of this hockey team."
On Saturday, the Canadiens had their top six forwards healthy for only the second time this season. But it didn't last long. In the third period, Saku Koivu reinjured his shoulder and is out indefinitely.
In fact, if you count Benoit Brunet as one of the Canadiens' top six forwards -- and many hockey people would -- the team has yet to be able to send out its top two lines.
"We haven't made any excuses as players in the media," said Corson. "We haven't made any excuses in this dressing room with the injuries that we've had. Excuses are for losers. We believe in the guys we are putting on the ice and we win and lose as a hockey team."
Corson himself missed 10 games with an outbreak of ulcerated colitis and but he had a strong game on Saturday scored his first goal of the season. He also won a fight against Kelly Buchberger.
Colitis -- basically an inflammation of the intestines -- takes its toll on a professional athlete.
LETHARGIC
"Everything you eat just runs right out of you," Corson said. "You have no energy. You can't do anything.
"I lost about 15 pounds, but I have put about five or six pounds back on. I am still about five or six pounds under my playing weight, but I feel strong and I feel good, so maybe I'll just stay at this weight."
When he was trying to work his way back, Corson spent a lot of time in the gym, maintaining his contact with the other players and even with the young coaches who also spend a lot of time in the gym. That kind of camaraderie, he says, is one of the reasons that the Canadiens still have hope.
"I think that's one thing about our team," he said. "We have held together. That is why were starting to come out of this."
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