(Brossard) The Montreal Canadiens have lost their last five games – three times by one goal, then the last two times in a shootout. What does head coach Martin St-Louis think his team needs to get back on the winning track?
“There is nothing missing,” replied St-Louis on Friday.
The team play of the Habs delights St-Louis and he says he is convinced that if his troops continue to play in the same way, they will win more often than they will lose.
There are 31 teams that won’t win the Stanley Cup and 16 that won’t make the playoffs. How will you measure success under these circumstances? You have to be honest with that.
Martin St-Louis, head coach of the Canadiens
“You have to have a plan and execute it with enthusiasm and honesty. We have a lot of conversations with the players to not stray from the plan. And it’s like in anything, you have to have a good work ethic, a good level of commitment, but also enthusiasm. And hats off to the players! They are one of the main reasons why we enjoy coming to work. »
After the loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday, St-Louis indicated that one of the factors explaining the quality of the Habs’ game and their high level of satisfaction despite the results was the fact that “the collective game is stronger than any individual”.
“Everyone is on the same wavelength,” forward Jonathan Drouin said on Friday. Everyone understands how we want to play. We are more comfortable than two or three months ago. We have fewer questions. We can only act.
“We have a chance to win every game and even though we won’t make the playoffs, that’s what we want to achieve for our future. »
However, the players have to make the necessary efforts to get there, and this is currently the case with the healthy group at the Canadiens.
We are very committed as a group. The work ethic is very high, as is the level of commitment. We are connected and we know where we are going. We have a balance on the ice.
Martin St-Louis, head coach of the Canadiens
Drouin said the concepts employed by St. Louis were not necessarily complex, “especially for offensive players,” he added.
This possibly contributes to the fact that players recalled from the school club like Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Alex Belzile are having success with the Canadiens. St. Louis also cited Chris Tierney as an example of a player seizing an opportunity to take on more responsibility Thursday night when he was promoted to the third line in the absence of Christian Dvorak.
“The coaches are good at explaining their expectations,” said Tierney, who has one goal and three assists in seven games since being acquired from the Florida Panthers on waivers.
“Martin goes into detail during meetings. You can learn a lot by listening to it. Then you have to play and work as hard as you can,” he added.
The Canadian will try to offer another good performance on Saturday, when the New Jersey Devils will be the visitors at the Bell Centre. Jake Allen will defend the Habs net.