A week ago, after the Canadiens’ 4-0 loss to the Kraken (an 8th place finish in nine games), we felt a wave of panic, but thanks to the players and coach Martin St-Louis, the bleeding stopped.
It was getting worrying and St-Louis was visibly irritated by the poor performance of their players. Losing is one thing, but losing the way is another and it had become unacceptable.
For the first time since arriving in Montreal, St-Louis has been the subject of criticism and we even found him a bit too positive given the circumstances. Without exaggerating, St-Louis showed that he had reached his tolerance level and the players got the message.
The Habs have won two of their last three games and even in the 2-1 loss on Long Island the team was competitive.
With a team like St. Louis amputated by a few other injuries, success inevitably has to go through the goaltender. We have to acknowledge that in the absence of Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault had four consecutive quality starts without which it might be a total loss today.
Like a number one
We saw that last year at the start of the season and it was an endless spiral. Luckily the players rallied last week but most of all Montembeault reacted like a real number one and that’s his credit. When things go bad, it becomes discouraging when the goalkeeper doesn’t make the big saves.
A weak team needs a goalkeeper who can fix mistakes and give them a chance to win. Montembeault’s work was very important and without saying that the team is saved, I believe that it has taken a very important step in its development.
There will always be difficult times for any team and we have found solutions, at least in the short term, to turn things around. This is a lesson that will serve in the future.
opportunity for young people
Without wishing bad luck on anyone, injuries are sometimes a thorn in the side of the coach. The Montembeault case is a good example. He would have earned back-to-back starts earlier in the season, but St. Louis always came back with veteran Allen.
We can draw a parallel with the Brendan Gallagher case. Without disparaging him, his absence allows St-Louis to give more ice cream to young people who deserve it without causing discomfort. Sometimes the coach feels compelled to play against his veterans.
Another example. Injuries to Joel Edmundson and Michael Matheson earlier in the season forced St. Louis to use their young defensemen more than expected, and the effect has been positive.
In a season like this, I think it’s good to give young people who deserve more responsibility. Sometimes we have nice surprises.
positive selfishness
I said last week it was a great opportunity to be selfish and Montembeault not only helped the team but did himself a favour. He has shown in St-Louis that he can play more and at the same time he is closing the door on Cayden Primeau.
My mentality has always been not to give another goalkeeper a chance to take my position and that’s exactly what Montembeault did last week. Imagine if he screwed up and played Primeau the hero. Suddenly we would have found ourselves with a controversy on the web and a source of distraction.
Montembeault literally closed the door and he won a lot of points. It’s up to him to move on.
– Interview by Gilles Moffet
excerpts
Two departures in two days
With two outstanding performances in 24 hours, Samuel Montembault shown that the coaches’ obsession with using two goalkeepers in two days is unjustified, especially when there is no travel planned after the first game.
The PK Subban Party
I adore P.K. Subban, but I feel like we wanted to reward the audience with their tribute night as much as honor them. I wonder why we had such a night for PK the day after he retired if we haven’t already done it for Andrei Markov who has played in Montreal for 15 years. I could add Chris Chelios and a few other former Canadians to the “forgotten” list. I like flamboyant personalities like PK, but I wonder what we’re waiting for to highlight Markov’s career.
Tribute to Mike Bossy
The Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs know how to make it big at tribute nights, but that’s not always the case on smaller markets. I found that in the evening mike bossy was fairly sober on Long Island, considering his stellar career. It was sincere and heartfelt, but no more.
Goodbye Gino!
The death of Gino Odjick I am very sorry. I played with him for a season in 2001-2002 and he was my neighbor in the dressing room. I loved it. What a friendly guy! He liked to smoke his little cigarette with Michel Therrien and laughed out loud in my face when I told him he had ashtray breath. Pierre Gervais offered to change him and I said no. All my sympathy goes to the family.
