Martin St-Louis likes to talk about culture, and Saturday night in Tampa, we had a little idea of what that means.
The culture in question here does not consist in being able to quote Kundera between two exercises in Brossard, but rather, this culture is a state of mind that the coach of the Canadian seeks to establish.
Basically: the team that comes first, and everyone who respects the logo, as they say in the industry.
Jonathan Drouin did not respect the logo. He arrived late to a meeting, and in the world of Martin St-Louis, that is not done. So it gave this: an evening of forced leave for the one who spent his Saturday evening drying out on the bench at the Amalie arena.
At least, the Quebec forward had a very good place to see another defeat for the Canadiens, this time by a score of 5-3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
With the infirmary overflowing, St-Louis had no choice but to give Drouin a jersey, because the initial idea was to leave him in the stands and bet on training with a defender in more. But the injury to Kaiden Guhle did not allow such a scenario.
At the end of the evening, Jonathan Drouin did not show up. In his eyes, the page is turned. He will be training with the Canadiens on Monday, as planned.
It was not an easy day, began by admitting the Quebec player. I missed the meeting (Friday), I arrived two minutes late. This is my ninth year in the National League, it had never happened to me. It sucks that it happens like that, especially in Tampa, but we have rules, and we have to follow them.
Jonathan Drouin
For the details, we note that Drouin “didn’t even hear” his dial, but above all, we note that he still believes he has his place with the team.
“I will be in training (Monday) as planned, he added. Me and the coaches, we are on the same wavelength. We spoke (Friday) Martin and I. I arrived late, there are consequences, and I understand that. »
Already that Drouin’s return for next season was far from certain – the Quebec player is still without a contract – this dial that has not rung will not help matters.
The good news, though, is that such an event, which might ordinarily be considered a distraction, can’t really bother a club of 28e place, many of whose members will no longer be here in September anyway.
“Jonathan cheered on the guys on the bench all night,” captain Nick Suzuki said. It’s a difficult situation, but we have standards, and if we don’t reach them, we don’t play… arriving late is unacceptable. It’s been like this since Martin’s been here. »
Moreover, this punishment will have allowed Suzuki to play quite a bit, for more than 25 minutes, and this diminished Canadian will have demonstrated a certain strength of character, because despite everything, the Lightning did not dominate as we could have believe him. Brandon Hagel, he largely dominated with his three goals.
For fans, this Saturday night suggests that the Canadian is on the right track, with a coach who will not tolerate half measures. Players just have to behave themselves… and make sure their dial sounds the way it should.
Rising
PHOTO JASON BEHNKEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mike Hoffman
If he showed that kind of energy every night, he would be quite the player. In addition, he got a goal and an assist.
Falling
PHOTO REBECCA BLACKWELL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jonathan Drouin
What more can be said ?
The number
PHOTO KIM KLEMENT, USA TODAY SPORTS
Sam Montembeault (35)
1
The number of victories of the Canadian in his last 10 games.
They said
I’ve been with Jonathan for over a year. We have a very good relationship, he’s a guy I really like. These are not easy decisions to make, but they are the right ones. He understands that, he was great on the bench, he was encouraging guys, he was talking. He will show up on Monday, we turn the page and move on.
Martin St Louis
I think I saw a good game overall. I felt good, there were goals from bad leaps, but I’m happy with the guys’ effort.
Samuel Montembeault
I had a lot of playing time, but I felt good the whole game. It’s almost easier to know that we are going to play often during a match, so we keep the attendances short and we keep it for the whole match. I think I played well but (25 minutes and 32 seconds of playing time), it sure is a lot!
Nick Suzuki
In details
Guhle adds to the injured
The Canadian announced Saturday morning that Kaiden Guhle would not be able to face the Lightning in the evening. The young defender injured his left knee in a collision Thursday night at Sunrise. He had suffered an injury to the same knee, also at Sunrise, on December 29, a bad twist of fate that had forced him out of action until his return on February 28. After Thursday night’s collision, Guhle still returned to the ice for four more appearances, in a 9-5 game in favor of the Panthers, and in a game without real stakes for the Canadian. “I don’t know if it was his decision (to come back to the game Thursday night), I don’t know what’s going on behind, replied Martin St-Louis. Me, I’m in the process of directing a match, I don’t have time to know who makes the decision. »
A scare for Anderson
The Canadiens’ injury list, which is already quite long, almost grew even more during Saturday night’s game in Tampa, when Josh Anderson tried to block a shot with his right hand during the third period of this meeting against the Lightning. The striker then went to the locker room writhing in pain, but he was able to return to the game afterwards. He was still able to get an assist on Denis Gurianov’s goal in the second period. This brings to four his series of consecutive games with at least one point, he who collected five points during this good sequence.
Blue jackets for Esposito, Lecavalier and St-Louis
It was the Lightning Hall of Fame Introductory Weekend in Tampa, and the three newest members of this select club were introduced to the early evening crowd. Thus, Phil Esposito, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St-Louis came to perform the ceremonial face-off between the two captains, the three dressed in blue jackets in the colors of the Lightning, while in the arena, portraits were unveiled at the effigy of these three immortals on one of the walls. Several former club players were also in attendance during this dream weekend in Tampa, including Enrico Ciccone and André Roy, who repeatedly made fans laugh with his appearances on the giant screen.