MONTREAL -- No one was hiding during the final stretch of the regular season for the Habs, as the team was at the end of its rope physically and mentally due to the condensed schedule.
After a week off, the team started its playoff run reinvigorated and even though the schedule is just as intense, the Tricolore has regained its early season cohesion.
The Habs won their last five games to eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs and take a 2-0 lead in their Northern Division final series against the Winnipeg Jets. Montreal will host the Jets at the Bell Centre on Sunday and Monday.
At the end of the two-game night series, the Tricolore will have played 11 games in 19 days.
"The mentality in the playoffs is different," said interim head coach Dominique Ducharme during a video conference on Saturday. "During the season, the stakes are not the same. Mentally, it's a different story. I like how the team has grown in those moments and learned to handle the situation much better. There are a lot of factors that make us better at it now. We are handling it better as a team.
"The week we had before the series against the Leafs was good on the ice for us, but also mentally and physically. We haven't practiced since then."
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 5, 2021.
