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Greg Wishynski
multiple authors
after two costly mistakes Montreal’s Game 2 loss in tampa, canadians Ahead Kirby Dutch She faced so much harassment online that she deactivated her Instagram account.
They didn’t know what kind of reception to expect as the series shifted to Montreal for Game 3 on Friday night. But when fans chanted his name in warm-ups, Dach knew they were supporting him – and he responded with a monster night 3-2 overtime win This gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead in the series. lightning.
“Really didn’t expect it,” Dach said. “It was cool. The fans have been incredible and stuck with me all year.”
In the overtime period of Tuesday’s Game 2, Dach iced the puck to give Tampa Bay a faceoff in the attack zone. As the Lightning controlled the puck, Dach casually tried to defend the defenseman. JJ Moser As he hit a shot that beat the Canadiens goalie jacob dobbs For the game winner.
Some fans blamed Dach for the loss, to the extent that the 25-year-old forward deactivated Instagram due to the flood of messages.
“What happened in the last game was unfortunate,” the Canadiens center said. nick suzuki Said. “It was great to see the fans supporting him tonight. Got some ‘Kirby!’ There’s chanting in the warm-up.”
Before the game, Montreal coach Marty St. Louis encouraged fans to support Dach after his Game 2 mishaps.
“It’s tough. We need everyone on deck. That includes the fans,” the coach said. “We’re not perfect. People will make mistakes, but we have good intentions. I would say, ‘Stick together.'”
Dach said his coaches and his teammates helped him through some tough times after Game 2.
He said, “As a competitor, you want to be able to come back and do your best. But at the same time, we have a great group of people here. Everyone was picking me up and helping me, the training staff and the coaches. So it definitely wasn’t just me digging myself out of that hole. I had a lot of support.”
Dach responded to the positive feelings with a strong effort in the Canadiens’ Game 3 victory. he had a secondary help alexandre texierThe opening goal of. In the second period, Dach sent Canadiens fans into a frenzy when he scored his first goal of the series to tie the score at 2–2. The dash line was also on ice lane hutsonThe winning goal in overtime. Overall, he was plus-3 in 11:32 of ice time.
“I love playing here. I love the fans. They’ve been with me through many tough years,” Dach said. “Sometimes you make a mistake. It’s about how you respond to it.”
Game 4 takes place Sunday night in Montreal.
