MONTREAL — It was a beautifully crisp, bright and cloudless day in the Province of Quebec when Martin St. Louis laid his mother, France, to rest.
Sunday was more than just a day between games, as the emotions that ran through the Rangers organization were still thickening the air when they showed up to the Bell Centre for a practice ahead of Game 2 on Monday. The Rangers are looking for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.
They spoke about a funeral they just attended in nearby Laval, the hometown of St. Louis’ and a place where something was recognized as a lot more important than this Eastern Conference final against the Canadiens.
“The big thing is the timing of it probably leads to a great story, and we want it to be a great story,” said Brad Richards, who is St. Louis’ best friend and whose team has won four games in a row since France’s passing on May 8. “We’re not trying to hide that.”
What is impossible to hide is the fact that the Rangers’ season seemed over and done with when heartbreak overtook them before Game 5 of the second-round series against the Penguins, the Blueshirts down in that best-of-seven contest, 3-1. St. Louis played in that game, a 5-1 rout, and then played Game 6 in the Garden on Mother’s Day, an emotional whirlwind when he scored the game-opening goal in a win that tied the series 3-3.
They took Game 7 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, St. Louis attended the wake on Friday, and on Saturday afternoon the team took Game 1 in Montreal with a 7-2 drubbing, the momentum seemingly just rolling from the initial coming together around such a traumatic event.
Yet what the Rangers found out as a team on Sunday is their play has been more than just a sanctuary for St. Louis in the midst of a grim and difficult reality. Instead, it is the family that has found respite in the Rangers, giving themselves over to this playoff run in an effort to ease the grieving.
“After hearing him speak, I don’t know how he did it,” said coach Alain Vigneault, still emotional after St. Louis was one of two eulogizers who brought tears to many in attendance, which included former Lightning teammate Steven Stamkos, Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur, and Rangers owner James Dolan. “He’s a much better man than I am to be able to do something like that.
“But I think what he’s doing, and his family, his sister, and his father, and his aunts and uncles, and everybody that’s close to him, I think what they’re doing is they’re moving on through our team,” Vigneault continued. “The fact that we’re still playing is enabling them to cope and handle this challenging situation.”
The team has been nothing but impressed with St. Louis since he came over from Tampa Bay in a March 5 trade. Although not playing up his Hall of Fame stature, the leadership the 38-year-old brought has been invaluable, and that very much includes how he has dealt with this difficult situation.
“He doesn’t show it to us,” said defenseman Ryan McDonagh. “He shows up to the rink focused. … This is very important to him, and he knows what he means to our team. To see him show up with that mentality, that focus, that preparation, it only drives you as a player to make sure you’re doing the same thing.”
So there are no more ceremonial services to plan, no more necessities to pull St. Louis away from the rink. Just days now when he will surely be reminded his mother is no longer alive, and he hopes they are broken up by more days filled with playoff hockey.
“What I can say is that the New York Rangers family has been touched by a little Quebec family in a deep, profound way,” Vigneault said. “I think today was obviously the big day as far as helping us turn the page and move forward.”