Hockey

The habs are one of the worst defensive clubs in the NHL at five-on-five
Marc-Olivier Cook
The habs are one of the worst defensive clubs in the NHL at five-on-five
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At the start of the season, everything was going swimmingly for the Canadiens.

The key players were producing up to expectations, the defense was solid… and Jakub Dobes was playing above his head. As a result, the Habs quickly became one of the NHL's most effective defensive clubs, but that's no longer the case.

Especially not at five-on-five.

After all, the Canadiens today rank 25th (out of 32) for goals against at five-on-five. It just goes to show that the club has trouble defending at even strength, and it just goes to show that the Canadiens' game is flawed.

And ultimately… it's also easy to wonder whether Martin St-Louis' famous man-to-man system is the right one for the club on the ice right now.

The problem is that things have been going badly for a few weeks now… and Martin St-Louis hasn't made any changes.

The coach continues to trust his system, but the players sometimes look lost on the ice. And that certainly affects the club's five-on-five performance… because if the guys don't know what they're doing, they can't cover everyone in the right way.

That's what's lacking right now.

That said, the performance of the goalies in front of the net also needs to be considered. The club may be playing well at five-on-five, but if the goalies can't make the big saves at the right times, that doesn't help either…

Martin St-Louis has to find a way to correct this aspect, because it's not sustainable in the long term. In fact, to put it another way… the Canadiens won't make the playoffs if they continue to be this bad at five-on-five.

Because that's not how it works in the National League.


Overtime

– I'm not surprised.

– Ouch.

– He wasted no time.

– Too strong.

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