NASHVILLE | Martin St-Louis is not one to smash sticks or kick trash cans. We’ve never seen him raise his voice to any of his players. But with the way the team has been behaving lately, you can rightly ask yourself whether the pot is about to boil.
• Also read: Canada advances to the semifinals of the World Junior Hockey Championship
“Everything in life has an expiration date. Whether we as humans or the milk on the table. Sometimes patience has an expiry date. »
That’s what the Canadiens head coach said with a grin at the end of the rigorous training session he underwent on the eve of the game against the Predators in the nation’s capital.
A 60-minute training session that included numerous combat drills around the puck, protecting the territory and working in confined spaces. An hour full of intensity.
“It wasn’t a punishment, there was an emphasis on showing off St-Louis. I want us to play with a little more rigor. We must hold each other accountable. »
Too easy to ask
The Austerity is who’s been terribly missing from the Habs since the start of this seven-game journey, which ends Tuesday. Especially during the stops in Sunrise and Washington where the Canadian suffered losses of 7 to 2 and 9 to 2 respectively.
“We’re too easy to hit. We don’t win enough battles, the Laval resident explained. It seems we don’t know what impact this can have. »
“Not just on the game, but also on a presence. If you win a fight in the offensive zone, you have a chance to score. You win a fight in the defending zone, we can go out with the puck. Winning more battles has a knock-on effect,” he continued.
Fast raises
Also at the end of practice Nick Suzuki met his trainer.
“We need to increase our level of competition. Doing that in practice today is a good way to set the tone tomorrow (Tuesday),” said the captain.
Putting aside the effort put in and the intensity used in the back of the territory, Suzuki believes he and his teammates have lost a bit of the essence that allowed them to achieve certain successes in the first quarter of the season.
“Our defensive play and our transition game have lost their shine. You know success when you finish games and quickly restart the attack. We haven’t been able to do that lately,” he said.
“Moving the puck faster and getting the puck straight out of our crease will help our offense,” he added.
With a struggling defensive squad, that might be easier said than done. At this level, the Canadian may get reinforcements. In training, David Savard formed a pair with Jordan Harris.
What is certain is that Samuel Montembeault will be on a mission to stop the Predators’ firing. He’ll be keen to help the team wrap up their seven-game journey with a second win.
“It’s my mother’s first time traveling. It’s fun to have him here, said the Bécancourois. In fact, we owe them something. We didn’t play well in the last game. We owe them a good performance. »
Brendan Gallagher injured his lower body after being punched by Joel Edmundson. He continued to train but didn’t seem to be in top form.