Alexandre Carrier's latest struggles draw criticism as big decisions loom for Martin St-Louis
Photo credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
The Montreal Canadiens' defensive brigade continues to generate discussion, and it is certainly continuing to give Martin St-Louis headaches.
After the loss to the St. Louis Blues, one name keeps coming up in conversations, and not necessarily for the right reasons.
In the past few hours, several fans initially pointed the finger at Carrier after the game in Carolina, and the same thing happened following the game in St. Louis.
Even with a 7-5 win over the Hurricanes, some focused more on his mistakes than on the Canadiens' seven goals. It then escalated further last night in St. Louis.
The harshest comments are still circulating:
"2 of the 3 goals are partly because of bad plays by Alex Carrier. On the Aho goal, he got out battled in front. On the Svechnikov goal, he should have gone below the goal line to support Hutson. Then he chased the puck to the boards. Horrible reads on both." - Puck Talk MTL
That stings, especially when you remember that Carrier is paid $3.75 million per season and that a simple, steady game is expected from him.
Alexandre Carrier targeted by criticism and a collective message is sent to Martin St-Louis
The debate also comes at a bad time, because the defensive unit is already in motion. Mike Matheson has returned to the lineup, and Adam Engstrom found himself in the stands.
When everyone is healthy, decisions quickly become uncomfortable. Would this be the right time to give Carrier a game in the press box, in favor of a young player like Adam Engstrom?
After the loss to the Blues, St-Louis had this to say at his postgame press conference:
"We missed a lot of chances. In the first period, we didn't execute a lot. Our intentions were there, but our execution wasn't. It didn't hurt us much, we were losing by one goal. We built our game after that but we couldn't finish."
- Martin St-Louis
- Martin St-Louis
The message is clear. That's where the question becomes simple, even if the answer is not. Should St-Louis send a message to Carrier, even if it means scratching him for a game? Does Engstrom deserve another chance?
This kind of discussion always comes up when injured players return and the lineup tightens.
As we learned earlier, Josh Anderson is dealing with an upper-body injury and is being evaluated day to day, which keeps a spot open up front. But on defense, there are no free spots, and every mistake becomes a topic. The Canadiens can live with a bad game here and there.
However, when the same player keeps ending up at the center of the criticism, the coach often ends up making a decision, even if only to quiet the noise.
This will be a situation to monitor in the coming hours.
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| POLL | ||
JANVIER 4 | 1217 ANSWERS Alexandre Carrier's latest struggles draw criticism as big decisions loom for Martin St-Louis Should Alexandre Carrier be sent to the press box for Adam Engstrom? | ||
| Yes | 508 | 41.7 % |
| No | 451 | 37.1 % |
| 1 game | 116 | 9.5 % |
| Too early | 142 | 11.7 % |
| List of polls | ||