Martin St-Louis Sends Clear Message to Patrik Laine After Disappointing Playoff Performances
Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Martin St-Louis, was very direct during his press conference following last night's loss. You could really feel a change in his tone, and it was clear that his patience with certain players had reached its limit.
As you likely noticed, three players were benched by Martin St-Louis late in the game, Emil Heineman, Joel Armia, and Patrik Laine.
Heineman and Armia barely played, while Laine didn't play at all.
And indeed, in his post-game press conference, Martin St-Louis confirmed that the reason all three players didn't see ice time in the third period was a coaching decision.
It had nothing to do with injuries or anything of the sort.
Martin St-Louis announces that Patrik Laine, Emil Heineman, and Joel Armia were benched and that their removal from the game had no connection to any injury
This aligns with what we mentioned earlier.
Martin St-Louis also announced that complacency is over, and that he's going to seriously change how he handles certain lapses.
His patience and tolerance have been exhausted, and he wanted to put players on the ice who could actually help the team win.
It seemed to work, as the Canadiens had an excellent third period.
St-Louis was especially blunt regarding Patrik Laine.
He wanted to address that situation directly during his televised press conference.
"Honestly, I went with the nine or ten players who I felt could help us."
- Martin St-Louis, who clearly saw that Laine, Heineman, and Armia weren't helping the team.
- Martin St-Louis, who clearly saw that Laine, Heineman, and Armia weren't helping the team.
That says a lot about what's coming next.
Specifically regarding Patrik Laine, St-Louis made it very clear where things stand.
"The guys I trusted in the third period did an excellent job," he added later."
"The group responded. I felt that shortening the bench gave us a chance to win."
- Martin St-Louis
"The group responded. I felt that shortening the bench gave us a chance to win."
- Martin St-Louis
Let's just say his response says a lot about his current level of trust in Laine.
All the details are in the article below, but it'll be fascinating to see what changes are made for the next game.
Previously on HabsFanatics
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 24 | 2297 ANSWERS Martin St-Louis Sends Clear Message to Patrik Laine After Disappointing Playoff Performances Do you think Patrik Laine will be in the lineup on Friday at the Bell Centre? | ||
| Yes | 745 | 32.4 % |
| No | 1552 | 67.6 % |
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