Primeau’s shutout ‘just the beginning’ of larger role with Canadiens

MONTREAL — If you’d have told Cayden Primeau about this night two years ago, he’d have hoped it would’ve come way sooner. And if you’d have told him then it would be worth waiting for, it’s unthinkable he’d have agreed. 

But now, after having traveled a most arduous path to this first peak of his NHL career, Primeau probably appreciates it that much more.

You could feel how much it meant to him as he shone brilliantly under the spotlight on Tuesday, authoring a 41-save shutout in his very first game as the official backup of the Montreal Canadiens. 

Seeing Primeau soak in the love as over 20,000 fans at the Bell Centre serenaded him only reinforced that feeling.

“Primeau! Primeau! Primeau!” they first chanted after he made saves 36 and 37, with 7:15 to go in this 3-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

The next refrain blared at a deafening decibel level, as he stood at centre ice as the game’s first star waiting to be interviewed by RDS’ colour commentator Marc Denis.

Primeau first thanked the fans. He then thanked the Canadiens, who may have made his night a lot more challenging than it needed to be but still blocked 32 shots in front of him, with David Savard knocking down seven of them on his own.

And when asked by Denis about this new chapter of his career, with Jake Allen’s trade out of Montreal’s crease last week finally paving the way for the more traditional two-goaltender setup, Primeau said, “It’s just the beginning.”

By the time he returned to the Canadiens’ dressing room to peel his sweat-soaked equipment off, the adrenaline had barely dissipated. 

With the last piece of his gear bagged, we finally asked: “So, how did that feel?”

“There are no words to describe it,” Primeau said.

Considering the words he used in an interview with Sportsnet on Monday, describing what he went through behind the injury-plagued, down-on-themselves and discombobulated 2021-22 Canadiens, we think “emotional” would’ve fit well.

“I wasn’t myself, I wasn’t comfortable, I wasn’t confident,” Primeau said of the 1-7 run then that saw him post an uncharacteristically low .868 save percentage and meteoric 4.62 goals-against average and sent him searching for solutions he’d never sought out before.

The battle to restore faith in himself, both on and off the ice, started shortly after with the hiring of a mental performance coach and renewed dedication to building up his strength in the gym. It eventually brought him to Tuesday’s pivotal moment in his career. 

How fitting for it to come behind a Canadiens team firing on almost no cylinders.

Oh sure, they scored three goals on their first four shots and chased Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins from his net before six minutes of the game had expired. But as Brendan Gallagher said of Montreal’s first half, with tongue practically scraping the wall of his cheek, “It wasn’t our best hockey.”

We haven’t seen the Canadiens play worse in weeks, particularly after the scoring frenzy in the first period, when they forced Primeau to turn aside breakaway, two-on-one and slot-rebound chances en route to relying on him for 22 saves in the frame.

“He was ready for this game here,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis.

Primeau took more and more control of it as it went along.

The Canadiens gave up a clean break to Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner to start the second, and then gave up several more Grade-A chances through that frame and part of the third before the fans started singing the goaltender’s tune.

“You heard the crowd, they kinda told you how he was playing,” said Kaiden Guhle. “He stood on his head tonight.”

It was a long time coming. 

Primeau played 74 games in the American Hockey League between 2021 and 2023, and he spent most days this season watching Samuel Montembeault and Allen share the Canadiens’ net. He built his game up in practices, in solo sessions on and off the ice with goaltending coach Eric Raymond, and he steadily displayed his progress through his 14 appearances prior to Tuesday night.

NHL on Sportsnet

Livestream Hockey Night in Canada, Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey, the Oilers, Flames, Canucks, out-of-market matchups, the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the NHL Draft.

Broadcast Schedule

None of them — especially not the 13-save shutout he had in his last outing at the Bell Centre, on Feb. 13 against the Anaheim Ducks — forced him to be as good as he had to be in this game.

But all the work Primeau was forced to do on himself leading up to it allowed him to be great.

Even two exceptional years at Northeastern University preceding his professional debut as a 20-year-old couldn’t have adequately prepared the 199^th pick in the 2017 NHL Draft for this. And though he’d have not wished for the hard knocks experienced since, getting through them hardened his resolve and gave him a greater sense of appreciation.

Again, that was evident on Tuesday.

When we asked Primeau what his favourite stop of the night was, he responded, “They all felt good.”

They had to feel galvanizing, bolstering the confidence the Canadiens initially gave him in deciding to hold onto three goaltenders out of training camp mainly out of fear of losing him on waivers. 

That confidence was only boosted when they decided to keep Primeau and trade Allen last week, leading him to this moment. 

If it is, in fact, just the first of many to come — or “just the beginning,” as he put it — the rest will also be worth waiting for.

More from Sportsnet

Canadiens’ Primeau primed to assume role he’s waited patiently for all season

Canadiens’ Matheson ‘best player on the ice’ in showdown with star-studded Leafs