BROSSARD – It was a hard fought battle but in the end, the Montreal Canadiens said Thursday they’re ready to let this season go.
“It’s never easy to see your season end,” said Brendan Gallagher, Canadiens right winger.
“Until the final buzzer rang, we still had that belief in this group that we could do something great.”
The Habs finished top of their division – second overall in the NHL.
It just wasn’t enough to get them through the playoffs.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” said forward Max Pacioretty.
“It’s frustrating that this year wasn’t the year and that our season’s ended but going forward we’ll learn from this and get better from this.”
The battle against the Tampa Bay Lightning was a difficult one from the start.
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The Habs weren’t able to beat them in a single regular season game.
They went down 3-0 to the Lightning in the best of seven series, and though the Canadiens managed to come back in games 4 and 5, they couldn’t evade elimination.
Only four teams in the history of the NHL have ever managed to come back from a 3-0 loss.
“We fought hard,” said centre Tomas Plekanec.
“We played really hard … didn’t let down and played until the last minute.”
READ MORE: Montreal Canadiens run out of gas, eliminated by Lightning with Game 6 loss
One of the big issues – the team’s top scorers struggling time and time again to get the puck in the net.
“We have to find a way to score more goals,” said Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, right winger for the Canadiens.
“At the end of the day, that’s what cost us the show.”
Goalie Carey Price blamed himself for Tuesday’s loss – something his teammates said was ridiculous.
“I said to him, ‘Carey, you were the best goalie in the league all year. You’re going to win MVP. You’re the only reason we were in that position,'” right winger Dale Weise told journalists.
By Wednesday morning, the Habs’ fanjam site had been completely taken down.
It’s now a vacant plot of land, but fans said they’re optimistic “la grande roue” will be back next year.
“They had a really great season and we made a really good comeback in the series against Tampa,” said Lindsay Besner, as she waited for the Canadiens at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.
“I was disappointed but at the same time you have to be optimistic.”
“Hopefully we have the same group of guys, maybe add somebody big and strong in the centre that can kick some butt and add to the team and see where we go,” suggested Patricia Enborg.
For the Canadiens, there’s no time to wallow in self-pity.
The players are going to rest physically — and more importantly, mentally — so they can come back better than ever for next season.
READ MORE: Price takes blame for Canadiens’ playoff exit, Subban says team must be better
“We all have a job to do and that is collectively as a group to win hockey games,” said defenceman P.K. Subban.
“Whether we give up 10 shots or 50, our job is to win.”
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
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