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Were you listening to Martin St-Louis last night, after the Rangers' 5-4 overtime win over the Habs?
The coach wasn't exactly in a good mood. Why wasn't he? Because his club continues to shoot itself in the foot (or continues to vomit on itself, I guess) in its games.
Yesterday, for example, the club pulled away early before letting the Rangers back into the game. And clearly, that didn't make the coach happy .
He's right when he says that it was going well, that the team started making silly mistakes and that this had the effect of breathing life back into the opponent… who wasn't asking for much.
The coach, who repeated the phrase “silly mistakes” twice at the start of the press briefing, said that if his club were more mature, things would be better.
In short, the coach was cursed. And you could feel it.
He gave the example of when it was 3-0. Taking a penalty, getting a goal, and then not being alert on the next sequence doesn't exactly make him happy, let's say.
Let's face it, though: the Canadiens can thank Jacob Fowler for holding down the fort early in the game and putting the Canadiens in a position to take a 3-0 lead.
Because after playing a more… noble defensive game on Thursday, the Habs decided to revert to their old defensive habits for the majority of the game – including at the start. Fowler, who showed Thursday he could get the job done, quickly had to step up.
The Habs have collectively decided not to play much defense to see what Jacob Fowler is really made of as a rookie
– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 14, 2025
In fact, in the first 10 minutes of play, the Canadiens couldn't get a shot on goal. It was once Zachary Bolduc scored that the tide turned… because otherwise, it was tough for the Habs.
And that's where the lack of maturity (as the coach often repeated) came into play.
Martin St-Louis wants a greater sense of urgency and a more marked progression than last year. But right now, we're not really seeing that.
You know, on Noah Laba's goal, Arber Xhekaj (who had just scored) went… over there to let the Rangers keep control of the puck in the offensive zone. That's the kind of thing MSL probably didn't like.
Jacob Fowler did what he could, but at some point, he didn't have enough help either.
And between you and me, I have a feeling that the maturity Martin St-Louis is talking about includes knowing when to take advantage of his chances. I'm tired of Ivan Demidov being Mother Theresa: he doesn't always have to give to the next guy.
A pass too far. From this angle you can see what Demidov was going for, but still, gotta take that shot. pic.twitter.com/4t7z0xINeI
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 14, 2025
There were some positives in the game (Zachary Bolduc scored, Lane Hutson had a go offensively, Nick Suzuki made some great passes, etc.), but we're only remembering the negatives.
And that's normal, in a way.
extension
The Canadiens are back in Montreal. The club's next games will take place at the Bell Centre… starting with tonight's game against the Oilers.
The next four games will in fact take place at home.
Tonight, we suspect that Jacob Fowler won't be sent into the fray. But we don't know which goalie will play, since nothing was confirmed last night.
There's no practice on the menu either.
We'll be watching to see if there are any personnel changes between the Rocket and the Canadiens (the Habs don't need any extra players since they're at home) and if there are any line-up changes.
To be continued in due course.
