A former Habs player explains a big rookie mistake made by Martin St-Louis

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Jeff Drouin
February 16, 2022 (3:16 PM)

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After three games, Martin St-Louis is still looking for his first victory as head coach of the Canadiens.

Despite an improvement in the level of effort and the awakening of some players, the new game system that St-Louis is trying to put in place is not unanimous among some experts.

And this is the case, among others, of Alexandre Picard, an analyst at TVA Sports, who declared during the podcast Temps d'Arrêt, in the company of Louis Jean, that St-Louis made a big rookie mistake in trying to implement a man-to-man system, a way of playing that showed some shortcomings, especially during Sunday's game against the Buffalo Sabers.

«I'm not sure how to play in the defensive zone. We saw that it was difficult on Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres. As soon as a guy gets beat up, it gets tough afterwards. I can't wait to see if St. Louis is going to be able to adapt against better quality teams. We cannot yet allow 40 shots per game and as many chances to score."

«I'm not saying it's not going to work, but Martin will have to adapt and implement a bit of a hybrid style if he really wants to put the pressure on to get the puck aggressively. I don't have a problem with that, but you have to establish a structure to get the puck back and try to attack as quickly as possible."

Picard also added that some players were hesitant to go for a good forecheck.

Despite these rookie mistakes, the analyst is generally happy with how St. Louis has done since he arrived and that the games were far more exciting to watch.

Do you agree with the words of the former Canadians defender?

To listen to the full podcast episode, click below.

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