Home-ice struggles: Martin St-Louis thinks the players are trying too hard

Jonathan Di Gregorio
Home-ice struggles: Martin St-Louis thinks the players are trying too hard
Credit: Capture d'écran Twitter

Tomorrow night, the Canadiens will play their first Eastern Conference Final game at the Bell Centre in front of their home crowd since 2014.

The atmosphere in the stands is likely to be electric as the team returns from Carolina with the series tied 1-1.

However, even though there's a lot of talk about the crowd's spectacular energy and the Bell Centre being an intimidating arena, it's hard to deny that the Canadiens haven't been the kings of their own castle since the start of the playoffs, with a record of two wins and four losses at home.

By comparison, the Canadiens have a record of three wins and three losses on the road since the start of the playoffs.

Strangely enough, not having home-ice advantage has actually helped the Habs so far in their playoff run.

In short, the Habs' struggles in Montreal are hard to understand, and it's a problem the Canadiens will ideally need to address before their next two home games.

And no, asking the crowd to calm down, as Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette suggested, is neither a realistic nor a desirable solution.

Coach Martin St-Louis has reflected on the issue and believes he understands the reason for his team's struggles at the Bell Centre, and it does come down to the fans—but not because they're loud. Here's his explanation:

“The fans have given so much love, so much support, and I feel like we want to do it for them so badly that sometimes we just try too hard; we seem a little uncomfortable…”

Indeed, Montreal is not an easy place to play hockey; the fans are intense and passionate, and there's a lot of pressure.

Furthermore, the Habs are also the youngest team to reach the Eastern Conference Finals since… the 1993 Canadiens, and the players' lack of experience may partly explain their struggles at home during this playoff run.

Let's not forget that what the Habs are going through right now will give them invaluable experience for seasons to come.

However, the Habs players need to learn to keep things simple, even on the ice at the Bell Centre. There's no need to put on a show at this point in the season.

In short, this would be a good time for the Canadiens to reverse this trend by winning their next two home games.


In a nutshell

– Reinforcements for Vegas.

– The podium at the Montreal Grand Prix.

– MLB in Brief.

– Aaron Judge finally breaks out.

– The Marlies win the series.

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