St. Louis: Canadiens fans 'spoiled us' during victory over Panthers
The Montreal Canadiens gave the Bell Centre plenty to celebrate during Saturday's 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers, and fans showed their appreciation by chanting "Olé, olé, olé" for 10 minutes in the final frame - all while doing the wave.
"I think, from start to finish, it's one of the best games we've played since I've been here," head coach Martin St. Louis said postgame, per Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "The fans spoiled us in the third, and we want to give this to them.
"It was a great experience for everyone that was in the building tonight, and I had a lot of fun in the third with how we carried ourselves and the atmosphere in there. I want us to earn more moments like that."
The fanfare started when forward Christian Dvorak restored Montreal's two-goal lead before the midway mark of the last stanza, and it even lasted through an entire TV timeout.
"I think it's pretty cool," forward Patrik Laine said of the fans' enthusiasm. "Didn't feel like a regular Saturday - well, I mean, in this building it does. But it was pretty sweet. Couldn't miss that. I think we were just laughing on the bench and just enjoying it."
The Canadians have been one of the league's best teams since the 4 Nations Face-Off, going 7-1-2 over their last 10 games while scoring 3.40 goals per game and allowing 2.20 goals against.
Captain Nick Suzuki has been key to his team's success, recording 12 assists and 17 points over that span.
"I think he's just been showing the way. I think guys are following," St. Louis said. "He's played a huge hand in why we are where we are."
Suzuki, meanwhile, is just happy to give Habs fans a reason to cheer. The Canadiens are one point behind the New York Rangers for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, though Montreal has one game in hand.
"It's been a while since we've been in this position. ... They love their hockey here, they want a winning team and we want to give that to them," the center said. "They're supporting us really good all night."
Like Suzuki, goalie Sam Montembeault has been fantastic for Montreal after the break, posting a 6-0-1 record, .928 clip, and 1.96 goals against average in his last seven starts.
He turned aside all 11 of the Panthers' shots in the third period on Saturday, including a glove stop on Carter Verhaeghe with Florida on a 6-on-4 advantage in the final minutes.
"We're right there," Montembeault said. "I think we control our destiny now. We have 16 games left, and if we play the way we've been playing since the break, we're going to give ourselves a chance. We just showed it tonight. If we play our brand, everybody competes, everybody's dialed in, then we can play with everybody."
The Canadiens will take on the Ottawa Senators - who currently occupy the East's first wild-card spot - on Tuesday.