The long-awaited release of Josh Anderson has finally arrived. The great winger ended his painful drought on Saturday. As Sean Monahan famously said: “He was due for a night like that. »
And it happened in a 5-3 win over the New York Islanders. What could be better ?
Although Martin St-Louis said a few weeks ago that Anderson was “back”, the goals were still slow in arriving. Anderson’s only goal of the season before Saturday came in an empty net. To be honest, the last success of number 17 in front of a goalkeeper dates back to March 13, 2023. It was starting to be a while ago.
The first sigh of relief came midway through the second period. After unintentionally blocking a shot from Justin Barron, Anderson recovered the puck and shot without hesitation, turning around. His low shot – he who had nevertheless practiced high shots in training! – made his way behind Semyon Varlamov.
Buoyed by an obvious increase in energy, the forward added a second goal at the end of the period: he recovered the puck at the top of the slot before rushing to the net like a horse, Mike Reilly on his back.
“It’s good to generate goals and help the team win, I’ve been saying that for a while. Who knows, maybe we would have won two or three more games, if I had taken those scoring chances, but hopefully I’ll get going from now on. »
If he plays like he did after his first goal, that bodes well. The winger took eight shots in the match, six of which reached the goalkeeper.
Anderson wasn’t the only one relieved. His teammates were also for him.
“It’s even better than when you score yourself,” said Cole Caufield with a smile. “He does a lot of other things besides scoring and I think people are a little too interested in that. He’s such a good player for us. Obviously this will allow him to move on, so I’m excited. »
“Andy kept his head down, he continued to work and he was rewarded,” said Nick Suzuki. It’ll give him a spark, that’s for sure. »
Another happy one: Martin St-Louis, who has been defending his attacker for several weeks.
“I’m proud of him,” said the head coach. He fought. It’s like everything else in life: when you give up, one thing is sure, you won’t get what you want. »
“Tonight Josh was rewarded, I’m happy for him. »
The other happy ones, and not the least: the Montreal fans. They gave Anderson a warm ovation when he was awarded the first star. A bit like they did on Wednesday, when the forward appeared in a shootout against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
You had to see the look on his face in front of the enthusiastic crowd.
“Seeing their support in the last nights was honestly incredible,” he said. These are the kind of evenings you remember. It moved me a little on the ice, I won’t lie. It was a very special moment. »
As Monahan said: It was due.