Coyotes – Canadian | A match and an abacus in the background

The Canadiens host the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night in a game that is a four-point game for the abacus, but the players don’t want to think about that.

The abacus, of course, is this increasingly important object for lower ranking clubs, because it is eventually used to determine the order of the draft. In such a framework, the worse the record, the more favorable the abacus percentages become.

So obviously, a prestigious face-to-face like this, between two important clubs with a view to the next draft, becomes a source of discussion among those who do abacus simulations every morning.

But it turns out that Mike Matheson is not one of those people.

“I don’t pay any attention to those things,” explained the defenseman Tuesday morning at the Bell Center. It’s certain that there will always be people with these ideas, but there’s no point wasting energy on this. My job is to help the club as best I can. It’s important to save energy for the good things and not for what is being said elsewhere. »

But what can we really say about a meeting between a club of 27^e place and a club of 28^e place ? The Canadiens have two wins in their last 10 games, and the Coyotes have not won in their last 10.

“This is where it becomes important to remain optimistic in the locker room,” said another defender, David Savard. We made a video recently to see what we do well on the ice. There are times in a season when you don’t have the results, it’s more difficult, it gives the impression that we’re doing things less well.

“In Montreal it’s going to be talked about, no matter what it is, as was the case with (Connor) Bedard last year. The draft is something that will have an effect in three, four or five years. It’s never guaranteed either that the guy you’re going to draft is going to become a great player. But we don’t think about that. »

Coach Martin St-Louis also confirmed that Jayden Struble, injured, would miss Tuesday night’s game at the Bell Centre. Samuel Montembeault will be in front of the Canadian’s net.