The Canadian has been known for coming from behind in a game for some time now. From the first game of the season in Toronto, Martin St-Louis' team lost by two goals after two periods, and the tide quickly turned, with the Montreal team leaving the game with one point.
In five other games, the Canadian picked up at least one more point (4-0-1) while trailing by two goals at one point in the game. In short, no one seems to be panicking, even if the environment is not always the most favorable. So what is the secret of this team that, despite the pitfalls that sometimes arise, always finds a way to stay in the game and stay true to their plan?
“If you panic, it's hard to come back,” said Martin St-Louis after the last game. It's about taking a good breath. It's also about telling the truth. Sometimes you play well and lose, so it's important to keep going. Sometimes the opposite is true. You play badly, but you win, it has to be said [aux joueurs] that you are playing with fire. Everything starts with the truth and we are a very honest group. We know where we stand in a game and can correct ourselves. »
A first for a long time
How long have Canadiens fans been looking at the standings hoping the team will make the playoffs? The last time was in the winter of 2021, in the famous Canadian Division, when the Habs ended the season disastrously before ending up in the Stanley Cup Final.
If we look at the table today, we can see that a win against the Hurricanes tomorrow would be worth its weight in gold. Let's imagine that the team also wins one of the two games in Florida… It is clear that then all hopes will be raised. But exactly… are the players looking at the rankings who clearly stated at the beginning of the season that their goal was to participate in the playoffs?
“Yeah, I look at the rankings,” Nick Suzuki said last week. Our division is very narrow. We are here and will soon have the chance to score important points. Our group is confident and we want to push the climb up the rankings. The way we behave against good teams says a lot about our group. »
The trust in this team is palpable and palpable right now. “I like the position we are in,” emphasizes Martin St-Louis. We have seen great progress, especially in the last month. We have improved our game and raised standards. It's not me raising the standards, it's them, but it's my job as a coach to maintain those standards because we know what they're capable of. »
The day and the night
A year ago you could say the team's standards had dropped drastically. From December 21st to January 5th, the Canadians had lost seven games in a row and it was clear that this team would be much stronger in the race for Connor Bedard than in the race for a playoff spot.
This year, Martin St-Louis looks able to get the best out of his players with a private line-up of Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard. As the head coach himself says, he isn't always a Picasso, but his players always find a way to stay relevant, which is an achievement in itself.