Martin St-Louis has drawn up a first positive assessment at the third of the season. The head coach of the Montreal Canadiens said he was satisfied with the performance of his troop since the start of the campaign, even if it flirts with the threshold of respectability (13-12-2, 28 pts).
The matchup against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night was indeed the 27the of the CH campaign, which has 82.
“We are performing. We have shown that we can compete with everyone in this league. Now is the time to take the next step, all together. How can we turn our performance into consistent success? That’s what we’re trying to do right now,” explained St-Louis at a press briefing on Saturday morning.
The 47-year-old Quebecer believes in the same breath that the Bleu-blanc-rouge has a good foundation on which he can build for the rest of the campaign. He also used the recent four-game trip to the West of CH to justify his opinion.
“I feel like we can adapt to a lot of playing styles. In Calgary, we didn’t really have the puck for one reason or another, but you have to give them credit because they applied a lot of pressure. But we managed to block their shots, to find a way to be successful. There wasn’t a lot of space on the rink,” he said.
“Then, in Edmonton, there was a lot of space, and the five-on-three hurt us a lot. In Vancouver, you know, sometimes it looks like a track and field competition and I feel like we can hold our own in that style too. It’s about realizing what kind of game we have to play, while managing the clock and our squads, but I like the fact that we always find a way to be successful. It’s not perfect, and it never will be, but in this league you have to find ways to get out of the game, ”he added.
That view echoed in comments from captain Nick Suzuki, especially after another uneven performance that resulted in a 4-2 loss to the Californians.
“As a team, we have to be more consistent, play for 60 minutes,” repeated the 23-year-old Ontarian. We’ve lacked consistency lately, and we’ve lacked focus at times, which has caused a lot of turnovers. We need to refine this aspect of our game, to be smarter in possession of the puck. We must avoid forcing things; our level of play is good enough to score goals and come from behind. »
St-Louis obviously has to deal with the vagaries of the job, including the many injuries that afflict his club. It was in this context that he moved Kirby Dach from the wing on the first line with Cole Caufield and Suzuki to the center of another unit, with Juraj Slafkovsky and Mike Hoffman – the latter had missed the eight games that preceded the one against the Kings.
“It’s a bit like the situation we find ourselves in now; you have to juggle,” he said, pouting.
The situation is similar defensively, with injuries to veterans David Savard and Mike Matheson. After the game against the Kings, the Canadian said that “Matheson has a lower body injury and his condition will be reassessed daily”. The Habs newcomer was shot on the foot during Thursday’s practice at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, forcing him to leave the rink early.
Despite this, there are many reasons to be positive in the CH camp according to goalkeeper Jake Allen.
“Marty” [St-Louis] instilled his vision, and everyone bought into it, so we’re all on the same page right now. We spent a lot of time together on the road, which helped bond us. It’s beautiful to see this mixture of young players and veterans, who are all on the same wavelength. And give the “C” [à Nick Suzuki] at the start of the season, it allowed him to take his stripes on the ice and in the locker room, and leave his mark on the team. That’s what explains our recent success,” mentioned the 32-year-old veteran earlier this week.
It remains to be seen if these elements of celebration will stand the test of time, because after the visit of the Kings, the Canadian will now have to prepare for that of the Calgary Flames on Monday. And he will very soon have to negotiate the traditional holiday trip – where often it makes or breaks it for him.