Zero in five. This is the statistic of the Canadian on the power play in this game against the Lightning. Once again, the CH did nothing good with the advantage of a man. Already at 32e rank in the NHL before the visit to Tampa, the Habs have further deepened their grip on the last position with a meager 13.6%. Nick Suzuki wasn’t afraid to criticize his own team’s play.
“When you don’t get chances to score on the power play, your offense becomes more arid and you kill the rhythm of your game. We have to play better. Our percentage is embarrassing in numerical superiority. It becomes a mental battle. »
–Nick Suzuki
Martin St-Louis will return to his drawing board in an effort to find a solution for his power play. After this 4 to 1 loss against the Lightning, St. Louis recognized the obvious: his players are looking for five against four.
“Guys are starting to doubt the readings of the game. The only way to get out of this is if a few guys have to stand up. For the coaches, we have to continue to help them. There are different patterns you can have. We will continue to watch this. »
– Martin St-Louis
Author of the only goal of his team, Kaiden Guhle was one of five rookies in uniform on the blue line of CH.
“I think we played a pretty good game, but there were a few mistakes. Against a team like the Lightning, you can’t afford bad plays. But the five young people, we worked hard. There were, however, some difficult reads. »
– Kaiden Guhlé
Nick Suzuki also spoke of the presence of five rookie defenders, a first in CH history. As a good captain, he took some of the blame for this loss.
“It was not an easy mission for our young defensemen, we were playing against one of the best teams in the NHL. They did their best, but it’s also up to the attackers to come and help them. »
–Nick Suzuki