The Canadian has lost his last four matches and there seems to be no better time to leave for a 10-day trip that begins with a week-long stay in California.
The Montreal team will face, in order, the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday evening, the San Jose Sharks on Friday afternoon, then the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon. After a day off Sunday in Los Angeles, it will then travel to Columbus on Monday, before facing the Blue Jackets on Wednesday, September 29.
“We can’t keep losing,” said captain Nick Suzuki. We are going to face teams that we can beat, if we play well. It’s up to us to get back to our level of a few weeks ago. We have to work hard, make plays and get our confidence back.
“It’s always nice to travel with the group. It limits distractions, he added. At home, there can be a lot going on due to family responsibilities. Abroad, we go to dinner together, we go to the arena together. We have some of our best experiences on these trips. »
If the Canadian hopes to regain his bearings abroad, he will have a hard time facing the Californian clubs. The Kings are off to a good start to the season, while the Ducks have a young core that has been surprising so far. On the other hand, things are going less well for the Sharks, who are swimming in the bottom of the NHL standings.
The Canadian’s history during this trip particularly works against him. He hasn’t won at least two of three games during his trip to California since the 2009-2010 season. At that time, Juraj Slafkovsky had not yet celebrated his sixth birthday, Montreal was experiencing the start of the Price-Halak debate and Brendan Gallagher, today the player with the longest tenure on the Habs, was going to be drafted in June.
And in recent history, after the disruptions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Habs have compiled 1-2-0 records in their last two trips to California.
“I think it comes at a time when the team needs it,” insisted coach Martin St-Louis. Of course when you travel to the West, there is time difference, and that’s part of the challenge. But the league is always going to challenge you mentally, whether it’s with travel or something else. »
St-Louis, however, later claimed that jet lag was never a problem for him during his 1,134-game NHL career. We can therefore wonder why he mentioned it as a challenge.
Forward Sean Monahan, who spent most of his career in the Western Conference with the Calgary Flames, even recalled that the trips made by Western teams were generally much more tiring than those of teams from ballast.
“We often have long trips out West, while in the East you’re going to come back home more often,” he noted. If you take care of your body, you will be ready. »
The impact of the time difference, if it is truly significant, will also possibly be lessened by the fact that the Canadian will play two of his three matches in California in the afternoon.
By virtue of its recent slide, the Habs now find themselves in last place in the Atlantic section. St-Louis was particularly critical of his troupe’s last two performances.
If the team wants to demonstrate that it has progressed compared to last season, it cannot afford to accumulate defeats at such a pace.
“Defeat is never pleasant. You take it personal and it stays with you, Monahan said. When you lose, you think about what you should have done differently. You don’t want to stay in this bad state of mind. You want to get back on the right path immediately. »
This is what the Canadian will try to do during this trip.