Radulov stoic over Montreal return

MONTREAL -- Alexander Radulov sat in the Dallas Stars dressing room on Tuesday, wearing a T-shirt that a game just played had fused to his body. And he was wearing one of the better scowls you'll ever see.
The 31-year-old forward would remember his homecoming to Montreal for, oh, 10 minutes before turning the page.

The Stars had just fallen 4-2 to a bruised, exhausted but opportunistic Montreal Canadiens team in Radulov's first game back in this city since signing a five-year, $31.25 million contract (average annual value $6.25 million) with Dallas as an unrestricted free agent on July 3.
\[RELATED: Stars lose to Canadiens, fail to close gap in Central Division\]
With the Stars hustling to catch their flight to Toronto for their game against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, SN, TVAS, FS-SW, NHL.TV), Radulov was shaking his head at the squandering of two crucial points, even one, in their chase for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Stars (38-26-6) hold the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames.
"Well, it is bad," Radulov said. "We need points. We're in a playoff race and we didn't get it done. We put ourselves in that position. Nobody else. It's our fault, so we've just got to regroup. We've got a big one [Wednesday] and we'll try to get it done."
The evening got off to a warm start for the man who was nicknamed "Radulove" last season in Montreal, Canadiens fans swooning for a demonstrative player who celebrated every goal scored by himself or a linemate with volcanic energy.
Radulov's zeal for the game swelled the hearts of Canadiens fans in 2016-17, their love for him as generous as the gap between the Russian's teeth. That the rugged forward filled the opponent's net 18 times with 36 assists (for 54 points) during his one season here only added to his appeal.

Radulov was still in the Stars dressing room in the moments before the opening face-off Tuesday, his 300th regular-season NHL game, when his name was announced to the crowd as one of coach Ken Hitchcock's starters, a fact greeted by a roar at Bell Centre. He was on the bench, having just skated his first shift, when he was shown on the arena videoboard for a few seconds, another raucous cheer washing down.
"It was nice," said Radulov, who didn't acknowledge the in-game welcome at the time. "I was trying to focus on the game. It's an important time of the year. I don't want to be distracted by anything, [but] it's nice to play here and see all the people."
The 31-year-old played 22:56, earning an assist with a nice pass to center Jamie Benn to set up Dallas' second goal. He had two shots on goal, two hits and two blocked shots. His most memorable moment was tussling with Canadiens defenseman Jordie Benn, Jamie's brother, in Montreal's corner midway through the first period.
The wound of Radulov's departure is still fresh for many fans of the struggling Canadiens, who are ranked 28th in the NHL with 177 goals scored. The healing process hasn't been helped with Radulov having his best season in the League, with 61 points, including 25 goals, which is second on the Stars (behind center Tyler Seguin's 36) and one fewer than the NHL career-high 26 Radulov scored for the Nashville Predators in 2007-08.
The charismatic forward's decision to leave the Canadiens and sign with the Stars almost looked to be a coin-toss. Some questioned his loyalty to Montreal, which seemingly went out on a limb signing him to a one-year contract on July 1, 2016, general manager Marc Bergevin then calling it "a gamble" to lure him back to the NHL from Russia's Kontinental Hockey League.
Radulov repaid Bergevin's roll of the dice with a strong season for Montreal, which led to an embrace from Stars general manager Jim Nill, Hitchcock and a handful of Dallas players who reached out to him when the free-agency window opened.
And if a perhaps muddy negotiation with the Canadiens played a part in Radulov leaving Montreal, that's well behind him now. Before the game Tuesday, he thanked the Canadiens for bringing him back into the NHL, saying he'd been lucky to play for Montreal.
Radulov had been on Hitchcock's radar since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the latter an assistant coach with Team Canada who spent much time observing the Russian both on and off the ice with his country's Olympic team.

It was then that Hitchcock knew Radulov and his "infectious attitude," as the coach describes his presence, would impact the NHL if he found his way back to North America. With Radulov nearing free agency, Hitchcock coveted, then pursued him, believing he would be a physical and influential addition to the Stars roster.
"I'm a B.S artist. I'm a salesman, I've been that my whole life," Hitchcock joked about a courtship talk he had with Radulov, a conversation the player says played a major role in his decision to sign with Dallas. "I hunted him down. … We're really happy we got him. We're lucky."
The Stars have been delighted with Radulov's addition, and the Canadiens have been weakened by his subtraction. On Tuesday, satisfied with his own offensive output this season but with an eye on the bigger picture, Radulov would have preferred a point or two for his team than his own assist and the warm welcome from fans.
"It doesn't matter how your individual season goes, if you don't make the playoffs, nothing else matters," he said. "We just want to get in there and be a playoff team. We're in a tough spot and we know that. We have a lot of games coming (12 left in the regular season) and we need those points. We want to be in the playoffs, that's the bottom line."