BROSSARD, QUE. -- Martin St-Louis believes his team has entered a new phase of its learning curve and must now take responsibility for its performance.
The Montreal Canadiens' head coach explained Wednesday that the early-season victories may have hidden some weaknesses in defensive territory. It's now time for players to roll up their sleeves and put on their work boots.
"I looked back at some of our games earlier in the season when we were winning and our defensive zone play looked like when we were losing," said St-Louis. "But we were getting spectacular performances from our goaltenders, our power play was producing or we were running off penalties. There were things that were hiding the problems."
"But it was important for a lot of our players not to criticize them too much or put too many restrictions on them," he added.
With the losses piling up at a furious pace over the past month, St-Louis admits it is time for his players to accept their responsibilities.
St-Louis has insisted in recent weeks on a more complete commitment from his players. He also mentioned "passengers" after losses in which many players were nowhere to be seen on the ice.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 11, 2023
