Less than 24 hours after their heart breaking overtime loss in Game 7 against the Boston Bruins, dressed in jeans and T-shirts, the Montreal Canadiens gave their final interviews of the season Thursday at the Habs training centre in Brossard, Que.
"I’m sad, that’s the way it goes sometimes,” defenceman Roman Hamrlik told reporters.
"We gave it all we had. We left it on the ice. It could have gone either way", fellow defenceman Brent Sopel added.
While dejected with the outcome, many players are happy with how the team pulled together despite the rash of injuries to key players.
"We all pulled together, it was good to see. The future is bright," said captain Brian Gionta.
Canadiens management has some important decisions to make in the off season – namely which unrestricted free agents will be signed, and which ones will be released.
The team has nine players without a contract for 2011-2012 – including Roman Hamrlik, Hal Gill, Brent Sopel, Andrei Markov, and Andrei Kostitsyn.
Many want to be back.
"I think I’m a good fit. I want to stay here", Hamrlik told Global’s Domenic Fazioli.
"The fans here know the game. It’s great to hear someone cheering you when you make a poke check,” Gill said.
While the mood was sombre in Habs nation, a number of Bruins fans were celebrating this morning.
"This is like our Stanley Cup. It’s an unbelievable feeling," die hard Bruins fan Sonny Guerrera said.
Guerrera and three other colleagues, came to work Thursday at HSBC Financial wearing their Boston jerseys.
"Being a Boston fan in Montreal is not easy. Today is great,” Denis Fazioli said.
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