The Canadian only took one shot on goal during the first period of his November 25 match against the Kings in Los Angeles, a long clearance from Mike Matheson.
However, the head coach of the Montreal club Martin St-Louis does not have such bad memories of this period.
“I didn’t hate our first half, because we didn’t give many chances either. It depends a little on the context, recalled St-Louis, on the eve of a second duel against the Kings, Thursday at the Bell Center. You have to be patient against the Kings. We must not create too many turnovers and we must try to beat the 1-3-1. »
St-Louis admitted that the level of execution of his team in this match explained the final result of 4-0 in favor of the Kings.
He hopes the story will be different on Thursday. However, he is aware of the challenge this will represent for his young group, especially since the Kings tied an NHL record by winning their first 10 games on the road this season.
“It’s a team that doesn’t shoot itself in the foot and that comes with experience,” said St-Louis. It is an organized team, which has success on special teams.
“There aren’t a lot of holes in their playing personnel or their playing system.”
St. Louis also pointed out that the Kings are also capable of having success when they have to open the game, as they did Tuesday night to overcome a 3-0 deficit and beat the Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime , in Columbus.
Asked about the game in Los Angeles, defender Johnathan Kovacevic admitted that the Canadian players felt a little humiliated and that this will serve as motivation as the two teams cross swords again less than two weeks later.
“We’ve played a lot of good teams this season, but I feel like they’re the best we’ve played against,” he added. We’re going to have to give our best effort, because that’s the only way we have a chance to beat this team.
“We had two good days of training and we focused on how to play against them,” Kovacevic also mentioned. I hope we manage to implement all of this [jeudi]. »
St-Louis noted that his team will have to find a way to not just send the puck behind the opposing defense, which is what the Kings try to force the opponent to do. He hopes to see his team make quick restarts to prevent the opponent from imposing their style.
Montembeault again
St-Louis has confirmed that Samuel Montembeault will defend the Canadian’s net against the Kings.
This will be the first time since October 21 and 23 that the Canadian will count on the same starting goalie twice in a row. This will end a streak of 20 games with a different starting goalie.
“It’s important to continue the good pace of the last game,” said Montembeault, who will get a second start in a row for the second time this season. We had two days between the two matches, so I was able to rest well. »
Furthermore, forward Joel Armia did not participate in training on Wednesday, instead taking advantage of a day of treatments.
Armia played 10 games with the Canadian this season and scored three goals. He was in uniform Monday, when the Habs defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-2, then in practice Tuesday.
The 30-year-old Finn also played eight games with the Laval Rocket this fall, collecting six goals and three assists.