Tired of hearing about his special teams struggles, Martin St-Louis wanted to set the record straight at the end of morning practice before their matchup against the Washington Capitals.
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“I haven’t heard much about our five-on-five game,” he noted.
“YOU [les médias] They focus more on the negative, on what needs to be fixed. It is normal. I understand, society is like that. Also, for every positive word in the dictionary, there are four negative words,” he added.
An analogy worthy of the masters of positive thinking and motivation. A real Jean-Marc Chaput.
Caufield the hero
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Facing an unrecognizable Capitals at the start of the season, Martin St-Louis’ men proved their coach right. At the same strength, the Habs have only allowed three goals since the start of the season. Conversely, he scored 10 points.
Yesterday, the team’s first three lines spent more time in the opponent’s zone than around Jake Allen.
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard’s enthusiasm and Nick Suzuki’s speed were instrumental in Cole Caufield directing 13 shots towards Darcy Kuemper. The last one, giving the Habs victory.
In overtime, Caufield retreated to his team’s bench when he saw Suzuki retrieve the puck and get into position to make a long pass.
“Overtime is difficult. You want to be able to make some appearances, so you try to change quickly. But I saw that I had the opportunity to grab a breakaway. So I tried my luck,” explained the hero of the game back in the dressing room.
Juraj Slafkovky once again showed that he was gaining self-confidence. The man pushed his way into enemy territory several times to allow him and his comrades to continue the attack.
Speaking of enthusiasm, Brendan Gallagher, who sometimes seems to be struggling to breathe, scored a goal that was typical of the type of player he is. Arriving in the second wave, he put Sean Monahan’s counter shot into the net before following the same trajectory himself.
Reaction of special forces
The Habs also allayed concerns by scoring first during a massive attack. However, he couldn’t use around fifty seconds at 5 against 3.
“They made a big deal out of it (the mass attack issues). In any case, Caufield emphasized, there were more than us involved in Monahan’s goal. Only four games will be played this season. But it definitely feels good. »
Due to the indiscipline of the Canadian players since the start of the campaign, there was still reason to fear that the channel would eventually land. Especially with the presence of Alex Ovechkin, the one-timer specialist with the man advantage.
The Canadiens players offered the visitors five numerical superiorities. Each time everyone held their breath. However, the Tsar was unable to work his magic. Once again. And that’s not for lack of trying. Ovechkin tested Allen five times.
Even after four games, the 38-year-old veteran has not yet achieved his goal. It is only the second time in his career that he has started a campaign with a similar drought. Beware, the Capitals’ next opponent, the only time he finished the season with 32 goals in 48 games, this happened.