After the loss to the San Jose Sharks, head coach Martin St-Louis noted that his club “shot itself in the foot,” “didn’t execute plays well” and “lacked opportunism.
These three explanations have often been part of the Canadiens head coach’s post-game comments this season. And while the Montreal team reached mid-season, St-Louis also reiterated that its group was looking for consistency.
“You have to know what works and repeat it every night,” St-Louis said after the 3-2 loss to the Sharks. We want to be more consistent. It is now necessary to apply the details of the game consistently.
“A lot of factors are going to lead to a victory. You don’t just have to think about the outcome, but rather the process, he added. And even if the process is good, it doesn’t guarantee you victory. You have to be opportunistic, take advantage of big saves, etc. But applying the details consistently will help you win. »
St-Louis may have said that the Canadian had played better against the Sharks than the day before in a 3-2 shootout loss against the Flyers, in Philadelphia, the players admitted to feeling a certain frustration after two poor performances. ‘in a row.
The fact that St-Louis practically repeats after each defeat that it is “small individual errors” that sink the Habs could suggest that the defensive system is too demanding for the group in place. Players interviewed on the subject Thursday evening refuted this theory.
“We have an idea of how the opponent is playing and the opponent also knows what we are trying to do,” recalled veteran Brendan Gallagher. It’s not a particularly complicated system that we use. Yes, we make mistakes sometimes, but we understand that.
“At this point in the season, no one should be confused,” he added. The coaches explain it well and make sure we apply it well. It’s up to us to avoid mistakes. In the last two matches, we applied it less well. »
St-Louis, however, stressed that his group must continue to improve the execution of its hybrid defensive system, which takes elements of zone and man-to-man defenses.
“We should have more consistency at this time of the season,” admitted St-Louis. When guys are alert, it works. But it only takes one guy missing coverage, not being alert, and our effectiveness is going to go down. If there are two, it’s even worse. We’re going to have to tighten the screw at this level. »
The Canadian took advantage of a day off on Friday. It will host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, who tied a team record by winning their last nine meetings.
“I expect us to bounce back with a good performance,” said defenseman Kaiden Guhle. We have a resilient group. We do not take defeats lightly. And it seems like every time we play a good team, it brings out the best in us. »