MONTREAL – For the past month, the Canadiens players have managed to consistently apply the recipe ordered by head coach Martin St-Louis and this has allowed them to find themselves above the .500 mark after crossing the mid -season.
What is most surprising about the recent successes of the Montreal hockey club is that it has had a string of victories against top teams in the NHL. During their recent holiday trip, they defeated the last four Stanley Cup champions.
Then in the final week, he beat the Vancouver Canucks and the Washington Capitals, leaders in the Eastern Conference. He then snatched a point from the Dallas Stars, who won a seventh game in a row.
“I think it helped us find some rhythm,” defenseman Kaiden Guhle said after the 2-1 shootout loss to the Stars on Saturday night.
“We know what to expect from these teams. It’s fun to compete against them, to try to steal points from them to climb the rankings,” he added.
According to St-Louis, its players are currently reaping the fruits of a decision made collectively as far back as after an embarrassing 6-3 defeat against the Capitals on October 31 in Washington. If St-Louis had said after this match that its players had “vomited on themselves” in the third period, the shock wave that followed can explain the team’s success in recent weeks.
“From that point on, we changed our approach. A huge decision was made and even though we weren’t immediately successful, you could feel the tide turning,” St-Louis said.
“The players have the best interest of the team at heart, not their individual interests,” he added. Guys are engaged and if they’re not, they look bad. »
St-Louis now believes that its players understand its recipe and are succeeding in applying it consistently.
-“We’ve been working on this recipe for a long time,” he noted. That’s the mature side. We have taken an important step, because we are showing more consistency. And it starts with the attitude, the state of mind. You have to do a lot of things on the ice that don’t show up on the scoresheet, but that are going to lead you to success. These aren’t always fun things to do, but they are important. You have to want to take care of the team and that’s what the guys do.
“It becomes contagious. You are experiencing success and your confidence is growing. But it starts with consistency, being able to repeat the same thing every night. When the referee puts the puck in play, the league doesn’t care where you stand in the standings or how you’ve been playing recently. Every time the puck is put in play to start the game, you have to deserve to win that game,” recalled St-Louis.
The Canadiens have recently managed to quickly turn the page, whether they win or lose – another important aspect in the eyes of St. Louis.
Although the Habs delivered a good performance against the Stars and could have obtained the two points, the Montreal players have no time to feel sorry for themselves.
“We’re not going to look down on ourselves,” Guhle said. We’re not happy, but we can’t be too disappointed either. »
The Canadiens will look to continue building on their recent momentum on Tuesday, when they visit Utah HC for the first time. They will meet the Stars again, Thursday in Dallas, before returning to Montreal for another doubleheader, Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, then Sunday against the New York Rangers.
“I think the most important thing for this group is to realize that we are continually raising our standards,” said rookie defenseman Lane Hutson.
“I don’t think we’ve reached our ceiling. We want to continue to push our limits and become the best team we can be. And I think we are moving in the right direction,” he concluded.
