MONTREAL — Across 240 career NHL games, Montreal Canadiens centre Kirby Dach had never before found himself in such a long stretch of games without a goal.
It had been 19 straight games since Dach last beat an NHL netminder, his only goal of the season having come back on Oct. 26 against the St. Louis Blues.
Thanks to a rather fortunate bounce, however, that goalless drought is now a thing of the past.
“It’s nice,” said Dach after his team’s 3-2 shootout victory over the Anaheim Ducks at Bell Centre on Monday night. “It’s kind of the only way one was going to go in, I guess, was to have a whole open net in front of me.”
With Anaheim having just scored 11 seconds before to grab a 2-1 lead in the game, Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal mishandled the puck behind his own net. Juraj Slafkovsky recovered the puck, sending it in the slot to his linemate, who buried it into a yawning cage.
“I was happy,” said Slafkovsky. “I feel like when you score a couple goals, you get your confidence back. Pretty much that’s what he needs, that’s what I need.
"The goalie leaves the puck behind the net and you get to score, those are the ones where you get your confidence and feel a little better about yourself.”
It has been a long road back to the Canadiens lineup for the 23-year-old Dach since suffering a season-ending knee injury in just Montreal’s second game of the 2023-24 season that required surgery to repair torn ACL and MCL ligaments in his right knee. While having played in all 28 of Montreal’s games this season, Dach has struggled to find consistency. He has played both the centre and wing position this season, alongside a bevy of different linemates.
However, Dach now finds himself firmly ensconced as the team’s second-line pivot alongside Slafkovsky and the red-hot Patrik Laine, who scored his third goal (all coming on the power play) and the game-winning goal in the shootout in four games since returning to Montreal's lineup on Dec. 3.
Despite his struggles this season, Dach says he has been fortunate to count on his teammates, who never wavered in their support of the former third overall pick.
“I think you feel the family, the love and trust we have in each other as teammates and what we are in this locker room,” said Dach. “Guys are happy for other guys’ success. It’s real nice of everybody to kind of help me through the stretch I’ve gone through.”
“Having the empathy and compassion are qualities you need when you’re building something,” said Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis. “The players understand what he’s going through right now. They are there for him. They are happy for him.
"We hope it’s a goal that will help him feel good and put the wind in his sails.”
St. Louis also went on to praise Dach for his work ethic and commitment to his craft, oftentimes staying out late on the ice after practice to work with the team’s Director of Hockey Development Adam Nicholas and his assistant Scott Pellerin.
“Sometimes, in life, when you do the right things, you get a bounce,” said St. Louis “I think he got a bounce on his goal and sometimes, that’s all you need.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2024.
Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press
