Pacioretty's dad draws assist on series winner

Canadiens winger Max Pacioretty hadn't scored a goal in the first three games of the series against the Lightning, but The Montreal Gazette relays that he received some motivation from his dad. This was actually only the second time he had watched Max play in person this season.

“He’s always been supportive and he always says the right things, and he calmed me down tonight,” said Pacioretty. “He said: ‘You’ve scored 39 goals this year and maybe you should be more confident.’ I had no confidence. I was hitting posts, missing breakaways, missing empty nets. It shows that the difference between scoring goals and not scoring goals is so mental.”

He also noted, “It’s insane that we talk about three games as a slump, especially with the opportunities I was getting. I would have really been down on myself if we hadn’t won the first three games. I think when you can win the series with one shot, a lot of that frustration goes away.”

Source: Pat Hickey, Montreal Gazette