Josh Anderson’s long journey back to his identity is driving Canadiens’ culture at perfect time

MONTREAL As Josh Anderson settled in for his postgame interview with Marc Denis of RDS after being named the first star in the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 win Tuesday against the rival Ottawa Senators, the first question he fielded was about the fact the Canadiens were now in a playoff spot.

Anderson never even got a chance to answer.

The remaining crowd at the Bell Centre began cheering, and then they stood, chanted Ole Ole and cheered some more.

Anderson just smiled and soaked it all in.

MONTREAL WANTS PLAYOFF HOCKEY! pic.twitter.com/Jn4f7VsQsK TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 19, 2025 He had just scored two goals in a game for the first time since Dec.

16, 2023 his first goal tying the game 3-3 in the third period, the penalty he drew allowing Nick Suzuki to score the go-ahead goal, and the empty-netter he scored from his own blue line icing the win for the Canadiens for their biggest regular-season victory in years and went straight to the bench to celebrate with his teammates.

dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien dis rien...

MA FAMILLE!!! don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it don't say it...

pic.twitter.com/bNrvyJ6hdK Canadiens Montreal (@CanadiensMTL) March 19, 2025 As the crowds swell of support continued to grow, Anderson tapped the CH crest on the front of his jersey and imagined something that has been abstract for much of the past three years but was now feeling tangible, concrete, and most importantly, achievable.

Just how much fun it would be to play in front of this crowd down the stretch, in the playoffs, Anderson said of what was going through his mind during that ovation.

Ive been looking forward for that day to come, and this is just what its going to be about.

Advertisement Its such a passionate city.

They bleed hockey.

It was obviously very special, it kind of brought me back to the support they gave me when it took me 30 games to score my first goal last year and the support I received.

Much love to this city, for sure.

This is not just talk from Anderson.

He grew up a Canadiens fan; his father Gary grew up in the West Island before moving to Burlington, Ont., and passed his fandom down to his son.

For his 16th birthday, Anderson was offered the chance to travel just about anywhere , and he chose to attend a playoff game at Bell Centre and was in the building for a second-round game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2010 playoff run.

When the Canadiens talk about playing meaningful games in March, these games are just a bit more meaningful to someone like Anderson.

Someone who plays a playoff style and who, two years ago, was the subject of rampant trade rumours largely because of that playoff style.

Someone who went through a hellish season a year ago.

Someone who entered this season having worked all summer to make sure that didnt happen again, with a new role and a clarity of thought and mind that has led to real results.

Tuesday night was the most playoff-relevant game Montreal has played since its last appearance in the postseason in 2021, when Anderson played his most impactful hockey in a Canadiens uniform.

And it could not have been more appropriate that Anderson was at his most impactful in this game.

Andersons summer was spent largely at the Canadiens training facility in Brossard working with the teams prospects and director of hockey development Adam Nicholas.

But it was also spent watching video.

A lot of it.

He watched his games from last season, but he also went further back than that.

He watched his games in the 2021 playoffs, most notably against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, when he was a human wrecking ball that struck fear into the hearts of Torontos defencemen.

Advertisement He watched those games and decided that is the player he needed to be again.

Anderson scored one goal in that series, but he had a massive impact on the Canadiens erasing a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the Maple Leafs in seven games.

I watched a lot of games this summer, Anderson said Tuesday morning, just looking back and seeing the way I needed to play.

When Anderson arrived for training camp, coach Martin St.

Louis told him he would have a new role.

He would be killing penalties and would not be on the power play, and his role would be largely defensive and production would no longer be a priority.

On top of that, though, St.

Louis also backed off a bit.

When St.

Louis arrived three years ago, he spoke regularly about the ability to teach hockey IQ , develop a players brain to see the game differently and process information more efficiently.

Anderson was his test kitchen for this theory .

But toward the end of last season, Anderson admitted he was thinking way too much going into games , trying to apply everything St.

Louis was teaching him.

It was heavy.

Now, Anderson says that in addition to St.

Louis taking some of the pressure to produce off of him, he has also backed off on that teaching, on the weekly one-on-one video sessions and the constant attempt to develop Andersons hockey IQ.

The version of Anderson he watched on video in the 2021 playoffs is the version of Anderson we are seeing now, and it is a version that plays a north-south, forechecking, physical, pace-based game; a game he has played his entire career.

It is a version of him free of unnecessary thought, a version driven by instinct and a belief in the style that got him to the NHL and made him so in demand at the trade deadline two years ago, because it is a style that is most effective at this time of year, under these circumstances.

Advertisement Its been a little bit refreshing, but you still want him pulling you aside and teaching those things, Anderson said Tuesday morning.

Obviously playing with (Brendan Gallagher) and (Christian Dvorak) has helped a lot, playing that north game that Im used to playing.

But from St.

Louis perspective, those weekly video sessions are paying off now, even if Anderson has returned to his most effective identity, his most comfortable identity.

I think were at a different stage of our relationship between a player and coach, St.

Louis said before the game Tuesday.

I feel when I first took the job I was trying to have him see the game a certain way, and I feel hes applied that.

Hes playing way more free on the ice.

That relationship has developed to such an extent that St.

Louis refers to Anderson as a culture driver because the way he plays a risk-free, forechecking, physical game is very much the way he wants the Canadiens to play.

St.

Louis spent a lot of time talking earlier in the season about the need for his team to trust the forecheck.

Hes never had to worry about Andersons ability to trust the forecheck.

The forecheck is what Anderson is all about.

The way we want to play, I think he represents that a lot in terms of his effort, his relentlessness, his physicality, his pace, his attitude, St.

Louis said.

To me, hes a culture driver, not just the way he behaves in the locker room, but the way he behaves on the ice.

Anderson has been playing hurt for weeks.

Months, even.

He rarely practices, but come game time, he brings that physicality, a style that is surely extremely uncomfortable for someone playing through something.

But he does it, because these games are meaningful, and hes wanted to play these meaningful games for years.

Its contagious, the attitude he brings, St.

Louis said after the game Tuesday.

Advertisement We have seen a different version of Patrik Laine in the past two games.

He has looked engaged at five-on-five, tracking back hard, checking, doing things defensively he was not doing before.

Laine is, in some ways, evidence of how contagious Andersons commitment can be.

And of all the players on the team who can make a difference in the Canadiens playoff hopes, Laine is at the top of that list, because he has game-changing offensive ability.

But he needs to be trustworthy on the ice to change games; thats the only way hell be on the ice in game-changing moments.

As a coach, youre always selling to convince your players, and thats what Im doing, St.

Louis said of Laine.

The last two games hes played more, and I want to play him more because he can be a very dangerous player.

So hes earned those more minutes.

...

We need him to play more, for sure.

But hes got to do things that are non-negotiable to me for him to continue playing more.

The last two games Ive been very, very happy with him, and hes helped us.

This is not necessarily because of Anderson.

But if you can put yourself in Laines shoes, would it not be difficult to see how Anderson is helping the team through injury and not be inspired to do your part, to do what the coach is asking of you and join the fight? Thats what it is to be a culture driver.

Anderson was upset two years ago when his name was in trade rumours.

He didnt want to leave, even if it meant not playing playoff games.

He wanted to play playoff games in Montreal because thats what he signed up for, and thats what hes always dreamed about.

Literally.

Its just something about playing in this market, Anderson said.

You think about it all the time, you go to bed dreaming about winning here.

I grew up watching these guys my whole life, my family was Habs fans.

So obviously its emotional when you get the opportunity every day, youre so fortunate to play for such a franchise, organization, a winning organization, you just want to bring it each and every night.

Advertisement I think (the fans) deserve that, for players to compete each and every night.

Perhaps the best indication of how Anderson is a culture driver on this team came from Suzuki, who scored the game-winning goal on a power play Anderson earned by doing what Anderson does, playing with pace and intensity and defensive responsibility to grab a puck in the defensive zone and head up ice with it before Shane Pinto tripped him.

He plays playoff hockey all the time, Suzuki said.

If the Canadiens continue playing this way, Anderson will get the opportunity to play actual playoff hockey all the time and demonstrate to Suzuki and everyone just how much more he has to give to a team he always dreamed of playing for.

(Photo: Eric Bolte / Imagn Images).

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