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(PHOTO OF MATHIEU DARCHE BY ANDREW DOBROWOLSKYJ)

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By PAT HICKEY

(reprinted courtesy of The Gazette)

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MONTREAL - When the Canadiens close out the regular season against the Maple Leafs Saturday in Toronto (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, CJAD Radio-800), Mathieu Darche will be playing on one of the top lines with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta.

"If you look at this time of the season, where it's a tightchecking game and you have to battle for space, battle for rebounds, he's the type of individual who will excel in those situations," coach Jacques Martin said of his decision to use the 34-yearold journeyman with two of his more skilled players. "He might not be the quickest guy, but he's got a good understanding of the game, he's committed, and he does the things that are asked of him, and that's why he's being rewarded."

After a decade of bouncing around the minor leagues, Darche is enjoying a career season with the Canadiens, which is one reason why the Montreal chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association has nominated him for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The trophy is awarded annually by the PHWA to a player who exhibits perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

"It's always nice to be recognized," said Darche, who has 12 goals and 12 assists in 58 games, and also boats the best plus/minus rating among Canadiens forwards at plus-7. "It means you stuck with it and persevered and, for me, it's my dream to be in the NHL and, on top of it, to be with the Montreal Canadiens."

The Canadiens signed Darche to a two-way contract in 2009 and assigned him to Hamilton of the American Hockey League. They thought he would be a role model for the younger players in the organization and that he might be able to provide some help if the parent club needed some experience. He was called up in mid-season, collected five goals and five assists in 29 games, and also saw action in 11 playoff games.

"Mathieu's was a real good signing for our hockey team," Martin said. "He played half a season last year with our club, and we got to know what kind of player he was, where he fit into the lineup and what he would bring."

The result was that the Canadiens brought him back and gave him the first oneway contract of his career. And at an age when many players are facing retirement, Darche believes his career is in its infancy.

"It's funny, I'm close to 200 (NHL) games but 175 of those are after my 31st birthday," he said. "When I was in Nashville the year before the lockout, Ray Shero was the assistant GM, and when I was sent down to Milwaukee he said: 'Matt, never quit because Paul Fenton, who worked for the Predators, played his first NHL game at 29 and he ended up playing 400 NHL games.' That comment from Ray Shero always stuck with me."

Darche, who grew up in St. Laurent, took an unusual route to the NHL.

"I didn't play midget Triple-A, I went to prep school where you play 26 games," said Darche, who went to Choate Rosemary Hall, the Connecticut prep school best known for educating generations of Kennedys. "I played hockey and football at McGill, but I always felt growing up that the more sports you play, the more it helps you in your main sport. In every sport you develop different abilities. You play soccer, you develop your feet; you play baseball, it helps your handeye co-ordination."

Darche said he and his brother, J.P., never thought of professional sports as a goal. But Darche wound up in the NHL and his older brother, who is now a medical student at the University of Kansas, was the long-snapper for the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks when they went to the Super Bowl in 2006.

"The goal was to go to school," Darche said. "It happened, but if you ask my brother he'd say he never thought he'd play in the Super Bowl. I went to McGill to get a great education. Playing CIS, (a pro career is) not the thing you think about, (but) it's always in the back of your mind because it's a dream.

"It took me longer to get to the NHL, but I'm extremely proud that I got my degree. It's not as if I would spend 10 years in the NHL and I don't have to work when my career is over."

Darche has played on all four lines this season and also sees action on the power play.

"No matter who he's playing with, he's going to play his game," said Gionta, who set up Darche for two goals in last Saturday's key win in New Jersey. "He works hard and he finds the front of the net, which is where a lot of goals are scored nowadays. If you're getting there, you're getting your fair share. That's the kind of player he is. He's doing whatever it takes for this team."

Carey Price will start against the Leafs in a game that has some significance in the final standings after Buffalo defeated Philadelphia 4-3 in overtime Friday night. The Canadiens and Buffalo are tied in points with 94 but the Canadiens have the tiebreaker and will finish sixth if they beat Toronto or Buffalo loses to Columbus.

Pittsburgh beat the Islanders and tied second place Philadelphia with 104 points but the Flyers own the tiebreaker.

And Carolina trounced Atlanta 6-1 to pull even with the Rangers for eighth place with 91 points. The Rangers have the tiebreaker and can clinch with a win Saturday afternoon against New Jersey. The Hurricanes finish up with Tampa Bay.

漏 Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

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