True story: Right after Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes scored the decisive goal on Friday evening, RDS cameras turned towards the perennial blamed player on the Montreal Canadiens. Patrik Laine , as though he were the guilty party or something. It likely should have focused on head coach Martin St. Louis instead.
Perhaps Laine might have chosen to rejoin the game with more determination, yet even if defending were his strong suit (which it isn’t), it would be challenging to see him making a tangible difference. Arber Xhekaj had aimed for a miss-hit on Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake as he entered the offensive zone, causing both him and Laine to lose their positioning around Blake. With Xhekaj not in optimal defensive stance, Seth Jarvis received the puck from Blake and initiated a two-on-one break with Aho against Alexandre Carrier, who remained as the only defender but couldn’t prevent the pass or shot.
Canadians and The Finger-Pointing Game
Therefore, Carrier, who openly acknowledges being vulnerable against the Hurricanes' leading attackers, arguably did not fulfill his role as effectively as Laine on that particular play. While it would be harsh to hold him accountable, blaming Xhekaj becomes quite tempting. In essence, the primary burden of responsibility lies with the head coach (and perhaps this reflects an overreach from the author in singling out anyone but Laine for criticism).
To be honest, responsibility was widely spread in this situation. eventual 4-1 road defeat For instance, experienced defenseman Mike Matheson caused rookie blueliner Lane Hutson to commit a penalty due to a careless turnover in their own zone, which resulted in Taylor Hall scoring the eventual game-winner earlier in the second period, moments prior to the Aho goal. In essence, however, it will be challenging for your team to tally goals against the club allowing the fewest shots per contest (24.9) in the NHL when they only muster 15 attempts. Furthermore, opting to play with 11 forwards complicates matters even more. removing Joshua Roy from the starting lineup in favour of a returning Kaiden Guhle , you're essentially taking a considerable risk, one that didn't pay off for St. Louis at all.
Fair enough, his reasoning makes sense. A highly versatile Guhle on defense is far more beneficial compared to an untested Roy when it comes to offensive plays. Facing a formidable squad like the Hurricanes—who lead the league in shots attempted each game with 31.7—you need every bit of defensive support available. It was nearly miraculous how the Canadiens managed to limit them to just 25 shots during this match... though their success could largely owe itself to the superior quality of the Hurricanes, who played according to Montreal’s strategy yet still emerged victorious against what ended up as a rather lopsided scoreline. This outcome, coupled with the Columbus Blue Jackets securing two additional points, pushed the visiting team out from contention for a playoff berth.
Currently winless in their past five matches (with three consecutive losses in regular play), the Canadiens must take responsibility for their situation. Although they might be able to turn things around during this wildcard push that started after the 4 Nations Face-Off, urgency is key; both the team and particularly St. Louis need to find solutions fast before opportunities slip away.
St. Louis Takes Center Stage as Canadiens' Coach
The initial regulatory setback occurred coincidentally against the St. Louis Blues, resulting in an overwhelming loss of 6-1 where the Canadiens were completely overpowered. The subsequent embarrassment came when they faced the Philadelphia Flyers right after firing their head coach, John Tortorella, following a dismal run of 1-10-1 leading into the match. This time, St. Louis found himself at the center stage due to his ill-fated challenge for goaltender interference during their fourth goal—a move that boomeranged spectacularly as the Flyers capitalized on the resultant penalty to extend their lead to 5-2, rendering further comeback attempts futile. Ultimately, the final tally stood at Flyers 6, Canadiens 4.
Let’s extend some leniency to St. Louis, considering that Flyers forward Bobby Brink indeed seemed to impede Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes during the play, which resulted in Tyson Foerster scoring the goal. It remains uncertain how such video reviews might conclude, particularly since falling behind by two goals with just ten minutes remaining in the final period can feel like the game slipping away. Therefore, it makes logical sense for St. Louis to initially call a timeout to scrutinize the replay personally before deciding whether to proceed with an appeal based on what appeared to be clear bodily contact.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that the Canadiens lost to a team mired in a significant slump, one that deliberately played with fewer players than allowed. removing one of their defenders, Cam York Throughout the entire competition, receiving penalties appears unfavorable. In this instance, the Canadiens faced the Hurricanes despite having an additional player but still couldn’t manage to succeed.
That really looks bad.
It wasn’t as though St. Louis was forced to take this approach. He could have opted for a conventional six-defender setup and simply decided to leave out someone like Xhekaj, who ultimately played only 3 minutes and 52 seconds during the match. Scratching him undoubtedly would have been a difficult choice, yet when confronted with such a dilemma, he likely chose the least favorable option. This resulted in haphazard pairings and an experimental chemistry among players that ideally should have been addressed well before facing a formidable Montreal team at a venue where they haven’t fared well, particularly amidst their ongoing losing streak.
Cut Canadiens Some Slack
Clearly, St. Louis falls short of perfection. He certainly isn’t unfamiliar with its challenges. questionable deployment decisions The decision to have Sam Montembeault, who before the 2024-25 season had never played more than 41 games in any single professional campaign, consistently face off against goaltenders with save percentages under .900 shows just how determined St. Louis is to secure victory. This shared intensity connects him directly with the fervent Montreal Canadiens fan base.
In general, Canadiens fans support both him and the team, hoping for success; thus, they find unforced mistakes particularly difficult to tolerate. Nonetheless, this is only St. Louis’s third full season as head coach. Consequently, such missteps are inevitable. his Particularly within a profession, when an award-winning coach like the Jack Adams recipient can find themselves penalized for putting too many players on the ice during a crucial Game 7 while protecting a slim one-goal advantage, their errors might seem more forgivable. Considering how far the Canadiens have progressed in the wildcard standings—likely surpassing expectations in terms of rebuilding progress—it adds another layer of understanding to these missteps.
In theory, the Canadiens appear to be an underwhelming squad. Therefore, it's remarkably commendable that St. Louis has managed to extract such remarkable performances from them this season. It's important to emphasize that the journey isn't finished just yet. The possibility remains for them to conclude things successfully. Of course, they must improve further—perhaps surpassing expectations—and maintain full throttle after keeping up high pressure for about a month now. Nevertheless, one should certainly cut St. Louis some slack... as well as Laine when evaluating their efforts.
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