MONTREAL -- Dominique Ducharme laughed when asked about the prospect of the Montreal Canadiens having to fly into Tampa on Tuesday with Tropical Storm Elsa bearing down on Florida's west coast.
The coach said it's the latest example of adversity they will have to overcome this season.
"It's no surprise anymore," Ducharme said. "Anything that happens right now and for a while, we just take it and look at it and say, 'It's probably our destiny.'
"It's been crazy, but we're a crazy bunch of guys in here."
The chaotic ride the Canadiens have been on during their quest to win the Stanley Cup has prepared them to take on any and all obstacles, whether it be Mother Nature or the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Canadiens ensured there would be Game 5 at Tampa Bay on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS) with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 4 of the best-of-7 series at Montreal on Monday.
The Canadiens season appeared to be on the brink when defenseman Shea Weber was called for a double minor for high-sticking with 1:01 left in the third period and the game tied 2-2. But a successful penalty kill, followed by Josh Anderson's goal 58 seconds later at 3:57, symbolized Montreal's never-say-die attitude that has brought it this far.
"This whole season has been kind of chaotic, kind of hectic," forward Corey Perry said. "We've kind of gone through everything between COVID, the way we played some nights, to everything. And now, yeah you're right, we are potentially going into a hurricane.
"... We get to play that game tomorrow night and then come back here. So you know we're looking forward to the challenge that's ahead of us and we'll be ready."
Ducharme was promoted to coach when Claude Julien was fired Feb. 24. He tested positive for COVID-19 on June 18 and had to quarantine for 14 days, missing six games, including the first two games of the Cup Final.
It wasn't the first time COVID-19 impacted the Canadiens. Montreal had four regular-season games postponed from March 22-28 when forwards Joel Armia and Jesperi Kotkaniemi were placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol, and the Canadiens finished the season with 25 games in 43 days.
They entered the Stanley Cup Playoffs as underdogs against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round and had to win the final three games to advance. With the win Monday, the Canadiens are 4-0 in possible series-ending games and 6-1 in overtime.
The Lightning outscored the Canadiens 14-5 through the first three games and made goalie Carey Price look fallible. Price made 32 saves in Game 4 and was particularly sharp in the first period when Tampa Bay had 10 of the first 11 shots.
"He definitely gave us a chance last night to get our feet wet and then start our engine," Perry said. "It was a little slow to begin with, they came out, they, you know, put a lot of pressure on us. I don't know if we gave up too many quality scoring chances, I'll have to watch again.
"At the end of the day, they did take it to us for the first half of that period, but we found a way to be resilient, he made some big saves, and then Josh got that big goal to really start us and get us going and feel comfortable about our hockey game."
The Canadiens say they feel the same way heading into Game 5, even though they are playing against history. They are attempting to join the 1942 Maple Leafs (against the Detroit Red Wings) as the only teams to win the Stanley Cup after losing the first three games in a best-of-7 Final.
"I think you look at the playoffs as a whole and there's ups and downs and peaks and valleys, momentum shifts here, momentum shifts there," Perry said. "You just have to be ready to play that next game. You know they're going to be playing at their best. So you have to come out, you have to have energy, you have to be confident, you have to play to win and not to lose, and that's kind of will be my message to the guys tomorrow."
Perry won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 and lost the Final to the Lightning last season when he was with the Dallas Stars.
"It's just hockey," he said. "Have fun, be prepared to work. But at the end of the day, it's just hockey and have fun."
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