MONTREAL (AP) 鈥� What a difference 72 hours made for Kirby Dach.
On Tuesday, the Montreal forward drew the ire of fans after an ill-timed icing and a defensive lapse in overtime led to J.J. Moser鈥檚 winning goal in a 3鈥�2 Game 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
By Friday night in front of a roaring Bell Centre crowd, Dach flipped the script, turning frustration into redemption with a goal and an assist in the Canadiens鈥� 3-2 overtime win that gave Montreal a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.
鈥淚 think you take that night (Tuesday) and you kind of sit on it, dwell on it and understand what you could have done better,鈥� Dach said. 鈥淐ome Wednesday morning, you鈥檝e got to be able to move on and get ready for tonight鈥檚 game.”
The vitriol spewed online toward the Dach following the Game 2 loss, forcing the 6-foot-4 center to delete his Instagram account.
Many Canadiens fans also took to social media and local sports talk radio phone lines, calling for coach Martin St. Louis to scratch the forward in favor of Joe Veleno or veteran Brendan Gallagher.
St. Louis wasn鈥檛 having any of it.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to give up on a player unless he gives up on himself,鈥� St. Louis said. 鈥淜irby Dach is a really good hockey player. Like any good player, they make mistakes sometimes at key moments. It happens to everyone. It happens to a lot of good players. For sure, he was upset but that鈥檚 not a reason to give up on a player.鈥�
Canadiens fans in attendance on Friday were quick to shower the 25-year-old player with love from the get-go. Dach was given a hearty ovation when shown on the scoreboard during warm-ups, with fans chanting 鈥淜ir-by! Kir-by!鈥� both before and throughout the game.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really expect it, so it was nice,鈥� Dach said. 鈥淭he fans have been unbelievable for us all year. For me, they鈥檝e stuck by my side through a lot. It definitely meant a lot.鈥�
Those chants only increased following Dach鈥檚 assist on linemate Alexandre Texier鈥檚 opening goal early in the first period.
The applause reached a crescendo following confirmation of Dach鈥檚 second-period tally, a shot from inside the faceoff circle that bounced off Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh and past goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to tie it at 2.
The newly-formed line of Dach, Texier and Zachary Bolduc, playing together for the first time all season, were on the ice for all three Canadiens goals, including Lane Hutson鈥檚 overtime score 2:09 into the extra session. The trio finished the game with a combined six points and six of Montreal鈥檚 29 shots on goal on the night.
It has been a trying season for the oft-injured Dach, having scored just eight goals and 15 points across 37 games during the regular season. His offensive output Friday marked Dach鈥檚 first goal and first point at the Bell Centre since Feb. 28. It was also the forward鈥檚 first multi-point outing since Jan. 29.
鈥淚鈥檝e been through a lot on the injury front,鈥� Dach said. 鈥淚鈥檝e gone through the ups and downs of it and the learning lessons of what it takes and maybe what works and what doesn鈥檛 work. I鈥檝e kind of found a recipe to be able to stay in game shape and sharp in the mind mentally and physically be ready to go when it鈥檚 time to go.鈥�
Game 4 is Sunday in Montreal.
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