Goaltender Samuel Montembeault revealed that forward Cédric Paré apologized during the game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, saying that his gesture towards Patrik Laine was not intentional.
Nearly 48 hours after the events, this unfortunate event continues to generate a lot of ink. Montembeault and defender David Savard, of the Canadiens, agreed to discuss it in an interview with Jean-Charles Lajoie at the premiere of the new season of the show JiC at TVA Sports.
“He spoke to me when we came back for the third period,” said the 27-year-old goalkeeper. […] He apologized, and that, obviously, it’s something that happens quickly and that it’s not something he wanted to do and that he regretted what had happened.”
“It remains a hockey game, a game that happens extremely quickly,” added Savard. I think it’s not his intentions to try to hurt a player. That doesn’t excuse all the things the world will say; He’s a good person, I’ve already skated with him, he’s a good kid.”
Furthermore, despite the injury, Laine’s morale seems rather good, as Savard pointed out.
“He doesn’t look that bad,” he said. Despite the situation, his state of mind doesn’t seem any worse at the moment. Of course we’re all waiting for the latest news, a bit like him, then once we know more, we’ll be able to support him in there.”
A hope still alive and well
Despite this injury to an important pawn on the CH board, the players still have confidence in being in the race for the playoffs.
“I think we have no choice but to keep this state of mind,” admitted Montembeault. It’s definitely a big loss for us and it’s disappointing. We have a lot of young people who have gained a lot of experience who are coming.”
“We sometimes found ourselves in this situation last season where we lost leads,” he said. The guys have more experience, we will know more what to do in these situations to allow us to seek more victories.
Among these young people, there is notably the 20-year-old defender Lane Hutson, who has been turning heads since his arrival in the metropolis.
“He wants the puck in all situations, anywhere on the ice, but it’s fun to watch him go and see his progress,” Savard explained. […] But to see how agile he is, and I think his reading of the game is still good. That’s what’s most impressive.”
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