It was his first game back since suffering fractures to the top of his left tibia July 9. It was his first game in a knee brace. And, most notably, it was his first time wearing the captain’s “C” on that fabled Montreal Canadiens Hoodie.
“It was a very special feeling,” said Pacioretty. “It’s obviously just pre-season, but I still took a lot of pride in wearing it.”
It was good to get it out of the way. Much like it was to get his first shift out of the way, a 42-second sprint up and down the ice — nothing memorable about it.
A few shifts later, the Canadiens were on the power play, and Pacioretty did make something memorable happen, picking up the primary assist on Nathan Beaulieu’s sneaky back-door goal.
“Probably the easiest assist of my career,” he mused, crediting Beaulieu for finding the opening to leave the blue line to make his way to the goal line.
Not everything was easy about this game for Pacioretty. With five minutes and change left in the first period, he found himself on his off-wing in the defensive zone, and with his timing being less than perfect, he gave the puck to Ottawa’s Cody Ceci, who scored the first of five unanswered goals for the Senators.
The second period brought about a physical challenge, as Pacioretty found himself entangled with Ottawa forward Zack Smith after rushing to the opposing net at full speed to try to redirect a shot past netminder Craig Anderson. carey price jersey.
“It was definitely a test because you know I’m planting with that leg and I’m trying to stop so I don’t run into the goalie and into the net, and at the same time I had someone leaning on me and pulling me in a different direction,” said Pacioretty. “And maybe I’m not as strong as if I’m mid-season form, but it’s one of those times where I’m probably thinking about it and I’m testing it and I’m happy with the way it reacted.”
It being pre-season, there were several instances where Pacioretty relented, purposely, so as not to overexert himself over the course of this first challenge. The power play and penalty kill were opportunities for him to get comfortable without much physical pressure, and an unscheduled three-on-three session after the 5-2 Canadiens loss gave him the chance to air out his skating stride a little.
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As for playing with a knee brace, Pacioretty admitted that was something that would take some time getting used to.
“I noticed it, but as the game goes on you completely forget about it,” said Pacioretty. “It’s just like everything else; it sounds weird but you kinda have to warm up the brace as you go along. You put it on and maybe it feels a little tight and you think you have to adjust it, but as you get warm the brace kinda gets warm with your body.”
And he was given plenty of time to get warm, particularly in that first period. Only Lars Eller played more than Pacioretty’s 6:13 in the first frame. He finished the game having played a shade over 15:00, recording a single shot on goal, two that were blocked and two that missed the net.
Coach Michel Therrien wanted to get Pacioretty integrated quickly before scaling his ice time back as the game went on.
“I thought that to be able to make a comeback the week before we start the season — he needed to go through that process,” said Therrien. “For sure, the guys who have been there since Day 1 [of training camp] — their conditioning is a little bit higher and he’s starting right now; it’s stage one. But it’s nice to see him back out there.”
Defenceman P.K. Subban Jersey agreed.
“You’re first game is always the toughest, no matter how hard you work in the gym or in practice there’s nothing like a game,” said Subban. “So I thought he did really well for his first game back and it’s good to see. We’re happy to have him back, for sure.”
You couldn’t wipe the smile off Pacioretty’s face after the game. The first seven weeks of his 12-week rehabilitation were spent mostly in bed. There were times when it seemed as though a return in early October would be out of the question. To take this step a week ahead of schedule was huge for his confidence.
“I felt pretty good — maybe a little better than I thought,” he said. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could just focus on what I could control. I can’t control the situation I’m in, I can’t control what I have to wear on my leg, I can’t control a lot of the stuff I’m dealing with, but I could control having the right mindset.”
As far as he was concerned, Pacioretty accomplished his mission.
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