‘They’re going to be fine’: St. Louis brushes off top line’s struggles as Canadiens seek series stranglehold
It’s amazing — or not — how the mood of Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis changes following a playoff victory.
Taciturn earlier this week with the media after of the teams’ playoff series, St. Louis was relaxed and jovial Saturday morning while some players were on the Bell Centre ice for an optional practice.
The coach revealed he watches reruns of the comedy Seinfeld to unwind following a game, noting he occasionally only listens to the dialogue, without watching the screen, since it’s a show about nothing.
“To me, Seinfeld is the show that can let me disconnect from everything,” St. Louis revealed. “It’s a show about nothing — so you can think about nothing. You don’t even actually have to watch it; you can just listen to it, because you know the characters. It’s easy (after) to fall asleep.
“This is nice. I like these questions. They’re not hockey questions.”
The coach undoubtedly will have an easy time sleeping, again, Sunday night should his team capture the fourth game of the teams’ best-of-seven series at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690, 98.5 FM). A second consecutive win on home ice would provide the Canadiens with a 3-1 stranglehold lead, putting the Lightning on the brink of elimination.
While the series has been close, and each game has gone to overtime, the Canadiens held serve Friday night; providing Montreal with a 3-2 victory.
“Momentum is everything,” St. Louis said. “In the playoffs it’s all about momentum. It’s always what’s next. You have a couple of good shifts, great. We have the momentum. What’s next? The next line has to try and keep it. If you lose a game the other team has the momentum and you have to go get it. Win a game and you have the momentum. You have to rebuild it all over again. Every action is about momentum. There’s not one action that can’t flip it, one way or another. You have to stay alert.”
The Canadiens have every reason to feel good about themselves. They seized home-ice advantage in the series with their win in Game 1. And they’ve now already captured one more playoff victory than last season against Washington, as the NHL’s youngest team continues its evolution.
“The mood is pretty good, especially after a game like (Friday),” said Juraj Slafkovsky, whose three goals paced the Canadiens’ Game 1 triumph. “We don’t really feel that tired and it boosts your confidence and energy. We’re feeling good and ready to go. Everyone is super-dialed and super-focused.
“I just believe in our system and all my teammates and the coaching staff,” he added. “I feel we’re all prepared for any scenario. When we play our way and we have the puck a lot and are good defensively, I feel like we can for sure win the game (Sunday).”
With his younger brother — Washington defenceman Cole — and family visiting, it’s likely Hutson had little difficulty falling asleep Friday night, following his heroics.
But what’s more impressive was how he managed to thread the needle in overtime; his shot eluding numerous bodies before beating Andrei Vasilevskiy high to the stick side. There were four Lightning players, along with teammates Kirby Dach and Zachary Bolduc, in front of the netminder who remained upright, craning his neck and 6-foot-4 body in an attempt to discover what was about to transpire.
“I didn’t really see a lane directly to the net,” Hutson said. “I saw the two forwards coming out to me. They kind of split. There was a hole between them. That’s about all I saw.”
While Hutson continues to pass too frequently when he should rely more on his ever-developing shot, he did produce 12 goals this season — along with 78 points — while playing a full 82 games.
“I feel like I’m always trying to work on it as much as I can,” Hutson said. “There’s still lots of room for improvement, I think. Luckily I scored. I guess it was my biggest moment up to this point. Now we have to move on. It doesn’t matter what happened last game. It’s important to focus on the next one.”
While the Canadiens appear to be in the driver’s seat — for now — in the series, can they continue to flourish without even-strength production from their top line? Cole Caufield, the team’s leading goal scorer this season with 51 goals, is still seeking his first playoff goal.
“You’re talking about really elite players,” St. Louis said. “I feel like they probably want to generate more, but you have three elite players that are trying to answer the critics without hurting the team. It’s a fine line. What if they explode five-on-five and we lose 5-4? What are we going to talk about? Those guys are always a big part of our success — whether they’re on the scoresheet or not. They (play) a lot of minutes against some really good players.
“They’re going to be fine.”
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com
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