Anthony Richard scores two goals and adds an assist to lead his team to victory in the annual red vs. white game.
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There are two banners hanging from the rafters of the Bell Center with Richard’s name on them.
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The legendary Maurice “Rocket” Richard had his number 9 retired after winning eight Stanley Cups with the Canadiens and there is also a statue in his honor outside the Bell Centre, along with other Hall of Famers Jean Béliveau, Guy Lafleur and Howie Morenz.
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Henri “Pocket Rocket” Richard, Maurice’s younger brother, had his No. 16 retired after winning a record 11 Stanley Cups as a player with the Canadiens.
On Sunday afternoon, there was another Richard on the ice at the Bell Centre, this time wearing No. 90 for the Canadiens in their annual red-on-white game.
Anthony Richard scored two goals and added an assist to lead his red team to a 7-2 victory over the white team.
“Of course, it’s special for me and my family,” Richard said of playing the Bell Center for the first time. “They are huge Canadiens fans, my whole family and friends watch almost every game.
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“When I signed this summer, it was a special moment for me and my friends.”
Richard, 25, has played just two NHL games in his career with the Nashville Predators, who selected him in the fourth round (100th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft after he posted a 43-48 total. -91 in 66 games with the QMJHL. Val d’Or Foreurs.
The 5-foot-11, 183-pound center from Trois-Rivieres went 17-21-38 overall in 71 AHL games last season split between the Milwaukee Admirals and Syracuse Crunch. In July, the Canadiens signed Richard to a one-year, two-way deal that will pay him $750,000 in the NHL and $300,000 with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, where he could become a key player.
Richard said his favorite Canadiens player growing up was Richard Zednik because he wore number 20.
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“I used to wear number 20 in my youth, so he was one of my favorite players,” Richard said.
Juraj Slafkovsky, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft, now wears No. 20 for the Canadiens. But fans hoping to see Slafkovsky in action on Sunday were disappointed as he did not dress for the game. He is expected to be in the lineup Monday when the Canadiens play their first preseason game at the Bell Center against the New Jersey Devils. (7pm, RDS, TSN2, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
Alex Green, Joel Armia, Jared Davidson (wearing PK Subban’s old No. 76), Xavier Simoneau and Arber Xhekaj also scored for the red team on Sunday, while Brendan Gallagher and Lucas Condotta scored for the white team.
The game sold out with tickets costing $10 and there weren’t many empty seats. Ticket sales raised $184,540, which will be divided equally among the Canadian Children’s Foundation of Montreal Y the chefs table.
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Fans had a great time with many families and children in the audience.
There was a front line on each team that could also be together when the regular season begins on Oct. 12 at the Bell Center against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On the red team, Jake Evans was in the center between Jonathan Drouin and Armia, while the white team had Christian Dvorak between Evgenii Dadonov and Gallagher. Those two lines have been in place since training camp began and were at each other’s throats throughout the game.
“Nothing is set in stone and all those decisions go back to Marty (St. Louis),” assistant coach Stéphane Robidas said when he spoke to the media after the game in place of the head coach. “He’s the one making the final calls. But I think what I see with Jake is that he’s a smart player with good energy, good speed. Jo is a very skilled player and Army is just a big guy who can make plays too, strong on the puck. I think they’ve been good so far and who knows what’s going to happen in the future. But so far, so good.”
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As for the other line, Robidas said: “They have been good in scrimmages the last couple of days. Good energy, smart players competing. So I think they could be a very good line for us.”
For Dadonov, it was the first time he had worn a Canadiens sweater at the Bell Center after being acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in June for Shea Weber.
“We were wearing white jerseys, so I stayed on the same side of the bench as before,” the 33-year-old veteran said with a smile.
“I heard there was going to be a lot of people, but I didn’t expect that much,” Dadonov added. “I was almost exhausted. Actually, I think there were fewer people last season when I played here with Las Vegas.”
Sunday was a day for the Canadiens and their fans to try to forget last season, when they finished with the worst record in the NHL.
The fight ended with the fans doing the wave and chanting “Go Habs Go!”
It was a day Anthony Richard will not forget.
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