MONTREAL — Three days can make all the difference in professional hockey, as Kirby Dach discovered this week.
The Montreal Canadiens forward found himself at the center of fan fury following Tuesday’s contest, when his poorly-timed icing call and defensive mistake in overtime set up J.J. Moser’s game-winning score in a 3-2 defeat to Tampa Bay Lightning.
But Friday evening at Bell Centre told a completely different story. With the home crowd roaring their support, Dach transformed his disappointment into triumph, recording one goal and one assist during Montreal’s 3-2 overtime victory that put the Canadiens ahead 2-1 in their best-of-seven series.
“I think you take that night (Tuesday) and you kind of sit on it, dwell on it and understand what you could have done better,” Dach said. “Come Wednesday morning, you’ve got to be able to move on and get ready for tonight’s game.”
The harsh criticism directed at Dach through social media following Tuesday’s defeat became so intense that the 6-foot-4 center was forced to remove his Instagram profile entirely.
Frustrated Canadiens supporters flooded social media platforms and local radio call-in shows, demanding that head coach Martin St. Louis bench Dach in favor of alternatives like Joe Veleno or experienced veteran Brendan Gallagher.
St. Louis rejected those demands completely.
“I’m not going to give up on a player unless he gives up on himself,” St. Louis said. “Kirby Dach is a really good hockey player. Like any good player, they make mistakes sometimes at key moments. It happens to everyone. It happens to a lot of good players. For sure, he was upset but that’s not a reason to give up on a player.”
Montreal supporters in attendance Friday night immediately embraced the 25-year-old player with overwhelming encouragement. During pre-game warm-ups, Dach received enthusiastic applause when featured on the arena’s video board, as spectators began chanting “Kir-by! Kir-by!” both before puck drop and continuously throughout the match.
“I didn’t really expect it, so it was nice,” Dach said. “The fans have been unbelievable for us all year. For me, they’ve stuck by my side through a lot. It definitely meant a lot.”
The supportive chants grew even louder after Dach set up linemate Alexandre Texier’s opening score early in the first period.
Fan enthusiasm reached its peak when officials confirmed Dach’s second-period goal, a shot from within the faceoff circle that deflected off Lightning defender Ryan McDonagh and slipped past netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy to even the score at 2-2.
The recently-assembled forward combination of Dach, Texier and Zachary Bolduc, skating together for their first time this season, contributed to all three Montreal goals, including Lane Hutson’s overtime winner at 2:09 of the extra period. The three players combined for six points and six of the Canadiens’ 29 shots during the evening.
This season has presented significant challenges for the injury-prone Dach, who managed only eight goals and 15 total points through 37 regular-season appearances. Friday’s offensive production represented Dach’s first goal and first point scored at Bell Centre since February 28th. The performance also marked his first multi-point game since January 29th.
“I’ve been through a lot on the injury front,” Dach said. “I’ve gone through the ups and downs of it and the learning lessons of what it takes and maybe what works and what doesn’t work. I’ve kind of found a recipe to be able to stay in game shape and sharp in the mind mentally and physically be ready to go when it’s time to go.”
The series continues Sunday in Montreal for Game 4.
