Louis Leblanc is finding that being the hometown hero in Montreal is a roller coaster of emotions.
Last night during the second period of Montreal’s 4-3 loss to Philadelphia, Leblanc scored his first NHL goal in front of the adoring home fans. The same fans that went wild when he was drafted there in 2009. The same fans that saw Leblanc play just 49 seconds in the third period.
With the frustrations Habs fans have had with their team this year and seeing the team struggle with scoring goals, you’d think seeing a rookie take charge and score his first goal would result in being rewarded with more ice time. Instead, coach Jacques Martin kept his lines together and rolled them out in machine-like fashion.
Leblanc being on Montreal’s fourth line with Mike Blunden and Yannick Weber meant that in a close game they weren’t going to see much action. Leblanc’s ability to create offense apparently not as important to Martin as his ability to sit on the bench and watch the game. Martin sure knows how to twist fans into a knot.
Curious what a standing ovation for scoring your first goal looks like? Check it out.