It started in Sunrise, Fla.
That was on Dec. 28, a win over the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. It went on to Tampa on Dec. 29, Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve, Chicago on Jan. 3 and Colorado on Jan. 4 (never let it be said that NHL schedule makers worry about emissions or common sense) before a return to Montreal via St. Hubert Airport to meet the Vancouver Canucks Jan. 6.
After a break to do their laundry and get reacquainted with their wives, the Canadiens flew to Washington and beat Alexander Ovechkin’s Capitals in overtime Friday evening, arrived home in the wee hours Saturday and took the powerful Dallas Stars to a shootout Saturday night before bowing, 2-1.
They had played eight games in 14 days, six of them on the road. They had travelled an unofficial total of 13,829 kilometres and, because Las Vegas is on Pacific Time, crossed eight time zones. They had lost in regulation only to the lowly Blackhawks and had picked up 13 of 16 points, in the process moving up the standings from hopelessly out of it to genuinely “in the mix.”
Now, with apologies to Willie Nelson, they’re on the road again. They left Montreal Sunday on a charter flight to Salt Lake City, where they play Tuesday evening before flying on to Dallas for a rematch with the Stars Thursday and a flight home Friday ahead of a weekend back-to back against the Leafs and Rangers — logging another 7,144 and four time zones.
Not that the travel for the Canadiens is exceptional. The western teams in the NHL have it far worse and the 2003 Expos, sentenced by Major League Baseball to play 22 games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico, had it worse still — with one road trip including an 8,500-kilometre jaunt from San Juan to Seattle.
The trick is to travel and win, especially against superior opposition. Long road trips can be a killer or a builder. If there are tensions in the room, they are only going to get worse. If your players are together, the bonds will only go stronger during a prolonged stint on the road. For the Canadiens, this season’s holiday trip was definitely a builder.
This season, a team that was already together became more unified and won in Florida, Tampa, Vegas, Colorado and Washington. While the Canadiens were battling the Capitals, the Dallas Stars were resting at their hotel room and Montreal still battled them to a standstill before running out of gas in the overtime.
Still, this young team took 13 out of a possible 16 points through a very tough stretch. In the process, they vaulted from nowhere to somewhere in the standings — in the mix with the Bruins, Senators, Red Wings, Blue Jackets, Penguins, Rangers, Islanders and Flyers for two wild-card spots.
To make it tougher, Ottawa, Detroit and Columbus are all red-hot. It won’t be easy, but Martin St. Louis is a special coach and this is a special bunch. He wants them playing for each other and they are. I wouldn’t bet against them.
One more for the road: The Montreal Victoire also endured a tough road swing. As part of the effort to showcase the game, the Victoire got goals from Laura Stacey and Abby Boreen but lost in a shootout to Boston on Jan. 5 in a game played in Seattle.
From Seattle, they travelled to Vancouver, where superstar Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice in a 4-2 win over the Toronto Sceptres. They wound up the trip in Denver, losing 4-2 to the Minnesota Frost with goals from Catherine Dubois and Jennifer Gardiner.
They’re home Friday to meet the Frost again. The Victoire begin the week second in the PWHL, two points behind high-scoring Minnesota with a game in hand.
Lies, rumours &&&& vicious innuendo: After John Herdman and Bev Priestman and the drone scandal, you would expect Soccer Canada to be reluctant to hire another coach from the U.K. — but it appears Casey Stoney (formerly of Man U and the San Diego Wave) is the new head coach. Let’s hope she’s averse to drone spying. …
Not only is Swedish winger Emil “Heineken” Heineman third in the league in rookie goal-scoring with 10, he also leads the Canadiens in hits with 101, just ahead of Arber Xhekaj and Josh Anderson despite limited ice time. …
Cayden Primeau is 2-0 with the Laval Rocket since he was sent down, with a 0.50 goals-against and a .977 save percentage. Goalie controversy, anyone? …
I don’t know where she finds the energy, but Canada’s Leylah Fernandez still bounces more than Tigger.
Heroes: Kaiden Guhle, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, Mike Matheson, Jakub Dobes, Jake Evans, Josh Anderson, Joel Armia, Emil Heineman, Samuel Montembeault, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Marie-Philip Poulin, Abby Boreen, Laura Stacey &&&& last but not least, Lane Hutson.
Zeros: Soccer Canada, Bev Priestman, John Herdman, the College Football Playoff, Jim Harbaugh, Eric Stahl, Wayne Gretzky, Alexander Ovechkin, Zion Williamson, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria.
Now and forever.