Martin St-Louis believes that his troop has entered a new phase of its apprenticeship and that it must now take responsibility.
The head coach of the Montreal Canadiens explained Wednesday that the victories at the start of the season may have hidden some shortcomings in defensive territory. Now is the time for his players to roll up their sleeves and put on their work boots.
“I reviewed some of our matches [joués] earlier in the season, and when we were winning, our defensive zone play was similar to when we were losing, St. Louis said. But we were getting spectacular performances from our goaltenders, our power play was producing or we were sinking the penalties. There were things hiding the problems. »
“But it was important, for a lot of our players, not to criticize them too much or to not impose too many restrictions on them,” he added.
With losses piling up at a torrid pace for about a month and awkward performances becoming more common, St. Louis admits it’s time for its players to face up to their responsibilities.
St-Louis has been insisting for a few weeks on a full commitment from its players. He also mentioned “passengers”, after defeats in which several players were invisible on the ice.
“Each guy can take it however he wants. It’s up to them to look in the mirror. If a player thinks they were a passenger, maybe they were, but others might be too hard on themselves and believe[ont] that they were too. »
“You have to be engaged physically and mentally, or at least one of the two, otherwise it will be very difficult to be productive. Sometimes you won’t have the legs, but does that mean you can’t be hired? No. There are other ways of doing things. »
St. Louis said he still expected to have to tighten the screw, having given so much freedom to his players since his appointment on February 9.
He now hopes to see them more committed to learning how to work in the defensive zone, which would lead to the team’s success.
“We’ve reached a stage where players have to be responsible for the things we’re working on,” St-Louis said. And those are things that are going to help us win and grow as a team. Victory is part of it. Victory is not a skill. She is a choice. And victory is not fair. You can do everything well and work harder than the opponent and still lose. But, as a group, we want to go in this direction. Culture and logo are important aspects of the next phase for our group. »
Every guy can take it how he wants. It’s up to them to look in the mirror. If a player thinks they were a passenger, maybe they were, but others might be too hard on themselves and believe[ont] that they were too.
St-Louis is aware that there will sometimes be mishaps for his young team, such as the 0-4 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Monday night at the Bell Center.
“It’s like when you have a puppy, imagined the owner of three dogs. You want him to be able to potty train, sit, paw, lie down, etc. But sometimes there will be accidents. It’s part of being young. »
In addition, the Canadian announced that forward Brendan Gallagher will be out for a minimum of six weeks with a lower body injury. It’s believed to be the same problem that forced him to miss 13 games in December.
In 25 games this season, Gallagher has four goals and five assists.
Bouncing back against the Predators
The Canadiens will try to get back to winning ways on Thursday when they host the Nashville Predators at the Bell Centre. The Predators beat the Habs 6-3 on Jan. 3 at Tennessee.
Prior to the game at the Bell Centre, former defenseman PK Subban will be honoured.
“He was an important member of the team,” said forward Cole Caufield. I remember the goal he scored on a breakaway when he came out of the penalty box in a series against the Boston Bruins. »
“He rubbed shoulders with my good friend Jack [Hughes] in New Jersey, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about him. He’s a guy with a lot of energy. It should be a special night for him, ”confided the noh 22 of CH.
The Canadiens recalled forward Jesse Ylönen from the Laval Rocket on Wednesday, and the 23-year-old Finn is expected to be in uniform against the Predators.
St-Louis was unable to confirm whether Samuel Montembeault or Cayden Primeau would defend the Habs net. Jake Allen (upper body) trained alone on Wednesday.