Montreal’s playoff run hasn’t been a surprise to Robinson, who attended Game 1 of the first round in Tampa and has seen the rest on TV.
“They’ve just been, above all else, a fun team to watch,” he said. “They’re a bunch of kids who love each other, who love playing with and for each other. They compete.
“And they’ve basically taken on the personality of the gentleman behind the bench,” he added of coach Martin St. Louis. “That’s the way that Marty played the game, with a lot of passion, a lot of heart and a never-say-die attitude.”
Goalie Jakub Dobes has stunned Montreal and stoned the Lightning and Sabres for much of the playoffs, quite the way rookie Patrick Roy performed in 1986 on the march to the Stanley Cup, Robinson’s sixth.
“Dobes reminds me a little bit of somebody else who nobody knew much about when he came into the net and suddenly was the talk of the town,” Robinson said of Roy, laughing. “They seem to have very similar personalities. I’ve never met Dobes so I can’t speak first hand but he patrols the net very much like Patrick did, so for Montreal that’s good to see.”