Author of two goals against the Rangers yesterday, including the victory, Jeff Petry “has been giving good hockey recently,” said Martin St-Louis.
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“He is more involved offensively, underlined the head coach of the Canadiens in a press briefing. He skates more. We see that he has talent, a good shot and a good offensive side. I’m happy with what I’ve seen lately. »
Better late than never, gossip will say. After a very disappointing season that earned him the center of many trade rumours, the veteran defenseman has now collected six points in his last four games.
Sure, his play in his territory could be polished more – he is posting a -2 differential during the same stretch – but St. Louis is happy to see Petry end the campaign on a high note.
“I feel like this season has been a marathon [pour lui], he pointed. Every campaign is one, but I’m happy to see him sprint to the finish line after a long run. I like this. He puts himself in a better mental state, which he can carry through the summer. »
Finally the button “reset”
If the coach is delighted that Petry is bouncing back, he is also satisfied that his team has “stopped the bleeding” by slowing down its long streak of failure.
” It feels good. We are now going to want to play a good last game [demain contre les Panthers], which I think we will do, because it will be our last meeting, that we will be at home. »
This final part will sound the death knell of a nightmarish season, and St-Louis does not hide the fact that it is time for it to end.
“We want to end on a good note and get away from hockey a bit. […] In a season like this, it’s normal to want to push the button reset and that’s what we’re going to do. »
Against his former club
By directing a game at Madison Square Garden, St. Louis returned yesterday to the amphitheater where he played the last seasons of his career.
And as was the case against the Flames and the Lightning since his arrival behind the Canadian bench, the rookie head coach managed to extract victory from his old team.
“We beat Calgary in Calgary, Tampa in Tampa, then New York… I would have liked to play for more teams,” he joked.
The Canadian indicated, after the game, that Carey Price had met his doctor in the evening and that the organization would have more details to give on the state of health of his goalkeeper today.