(Brossard) The recent comebacks of the Dallas Stars and the New York Rangers against the Canadian could have left their mark on the Montreal club.
However, the Habs managed to win against these two teams after playing with fire. He withstood a surge by the Stars, who scored three times after replacing their goaltender with an extra attacker on Jan. 2, then finally defeated the Rangers in a shootout after squandering a three-goal lead on Saturday.
The Canadiens players have accustomed their fans to coming from behind thanks to their will. They may be at the point where they will need to develop better reflexes when they have the lead in a match.
“It’s important for our young group to experience this scenario and understand how to behave in these moments,” said head coach Martin St-Louis on Monday. These are difficult situations to replicate in training.
“You’re going to experience different scenarios during a season and you have to be comfortable in all those situations,” he added.
The two recent situations may have exposed a weakness in the Canadian, the St. Louis troop nevertheless displays a perfect record of 10-0-0 when leading after two periods. However, they have lost four times this season after leading by two goals.
At the start of the season, St-Louis said that if his club had missed the lead, that at least meant that it had done good things to take the lead. This is a bit of what veteran Brendan Gallagher wanted to emphasize on Monday.
“The better we are, the more we are in that situation, and then the more comfortable we are in it,” he said. It’s all a question of experience.
“You don’t want to take too many risks, but you also don’t want to take your foot off the gas too much. It’s a balance to find. You have to continue to make good, smart plays without finding yourself on your heels because the opponent is going to apply more pressure. You must know that the opponent will be more aggressive, that he will change his game plan and that you will have to adapt. »
The Canadian will take charge again on Wednesday, when he visits the Philadelphia Flyers. He will host the San Jose Sharks the next day at the Bell Centre.
Defender David Savard did not participate in the Canadian’s training on Monday, instead taking advantage of a day of treatments.
Savard finished Saturday’s game, when the Canadiens defeated the New York Rangers 4-3 in a shootout. He was employed for 22:19 of play, had an assist and blocked four shots.
The 33-year-old Quebecer missed 22 games earlier this season due to a broken hand. He had three goals and five assists in 17 games.
For his part, striker Rafaël Harvey-Pinard participated in Habs training without restrictions on Monday morning. He missed the Canadiens’ last 23 games with a lower-body injury.
Harvey-Pinard has four assists in 13 games this season.
A spokesperson for the Canadian indicated that Harvey-Pinard had not yet received the green light from doctors to play.