(Raleigh) Before he even set foot on the plane, everyone knew that the Canadian was embarking on a difficult journey.
As judiciously analyzed The Press, the American southeast is a region where Montrealers are generally not welcome. However, we must admit that with a harvest of four ranking points out of a possible six, the result of two shootout defeats in Florida and a victory in Nashville, things are not going bad at all until here for the men of Martin St-Louis.
However, if the teen films of the 2000s have taught us anything, it is that the ultimate destination of a journey can be fraught with danger.
It’s been almost eight years since the Habs won in Carolina. We must obviously take this data with a grain of salt, since the current edition of the CH does not have to answer for the difficulties of its predecessors in thwarting Cam Ward. But it is certain that the duel on Thursday evening will be the opposite of a game of pleasure.
In its last visit here, on December 28, the team was completely muzzled by the Hurricanes’ tight defense in the third period. In fact, when we look at the Hurricanes calendar, we notice that the club found its way to go during the Holidays. Now the North Carolinians are where we expected them to be, among the best defensive machines in the NHL.
They are also a club that applies irresistible pressure on their opponents at five-on-five. Martin St-Louis assures that his troops are ready to face it.
“Presence after presence, we have to be alert and play according to our regulations against pressure,” he said Thursday morning. We need all five guys on the ice to do their job to beat this. »
When its team is at the top of its game, St-Louis believes it can compete on equal terms in this regard. “It’s a style that we are capable of applying,” he believes. But it is a physically and mentally demanding style. We are getting closer to these teams, we have improved a lot compared to a year, a year and a half ago. We are getting closer [des Hurricanes] on how to manage this pressure. We have to bring that against them and make them feel that they won’t have much space. »
Otherwise, the coach sees this trip as a “success”, emphasizing that the Canadian could well have three victories under his belt.
“I think we have good momentum right now. The way we play, we give ourselves the chance to finish this trip well. That would be amazing [de gagner]when we think of the teams we faced…”
The lineup deployed against the Hurricanes will be the same one that beat the Predators in Nashville. The only exception, as is often the case, is in front of the net, since Samuel Montembeault will be the starting goalie. Michael Pezzetta and Johnathan Kovacevic will be left out again.