WPG@MTL: 'We showed a lot of pride'

MONTREAL - The Canadiens posted a 5-3 victory over the Jets on Friday night at the Bell Centre.

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Following the game, defenseman Ben Chiarot, goaltender Jake Allen, forward Nick Suzuki and interim head coach Dominique Ducharme spoke with reporters via Zoom.
Here are a few highlights from their respective chats:
Chiarot on the significance of the victory:
It was huge. It was huge for our confidence, huge in the standings. To score five goals, it gives us the confidence that we can put the puck in the net, so hopefully we can carry that into the games going forward.

Chiarot on rallying from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits against Winnipeg:
We don't really have a choice. These points are so important. You have to stay in the fight every game. There's no taking a back seat. We have to continue to push forward no matter what the score is. It's a good lesson for us. There are going to be games where we get down by two goals again. If we get into the playoffs, that's another situation where you're going to be down two goals at some point, so you have to continue to stay in the game, stay in the fight and continue to push. I thought our guys did a great job of that tonight. We didn't feel sorry for ourselves when we were down two goals and just shut it down. We continued to push and kept playing, and I was proud of the way that we responded after that.

Allen on battling back and gaining confidence as a result:
It's big for our group. We showed a lot of pride. We know what's on the line and we know what's at stake. We could've looked the other way, no question. There have been times in the past where we've done that this year, but we dug in and we found a way to win. It's not always going to be pretty. We got some goals tonight and just chipped away. Now, we've got seven games left and we take them one step at a time.

Allen on Suzuki's outstanding performance:
Suzy is a dynamic player. He really is. I can see it in practice. He's got such a bright future. He's got a really good shot. Once he creates those opportunities for himself on the ice, that's the hardest part, getting those chances. But, when he gets the chances, the goals will come because he's got skills. He's going to be a guy we're going to lean on heading down the stretch here. He's a real offensive threat out there. When he's going, he's tough to stop.

Suzuki on securing a hard-fought two points:
We know how important these games are coming to the end of the season. We're missing a few key pieces and a lot of guys stepped up big tonight. I don't think we should be scared to be down. We're a good team, we can come back, so it's definitely a confidence boost for our group.

Suzuki on his three-point effort:
I'm trying my best to help the team out as much as I can. It was nice to find the back of the net a couple of times. I'm going to try my best to keep that going. There are big games coming up, so I'll try to be at my best and help the guys out.

Ducharme on Shea Weber's injury:
He isn't someone who complains easily. Does he always play fully healthy? Probably not. He suffered the injury at the beginning of the road trip to Western Canada.

Ducharme on completing the comeback:
You can't control everything in a game. You have to make sure to react properly in every situation. We have a plan and we followed it. That's what I liked tonight. We stayed true to our plan and we even pushed a bit more. It paid off in the end.