Penalties: Antoine Roussel points the finger directly at Martin St-Louis

Marc-Olivier Cook
Penalties: Antoine Roussel points the finger directly at Martin St-Louis
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

Last night, Mike Matheson's (bad) penalty late in the game hurt the Canadiens.

And since the start of the season, the conclusion is clear: the Habs are giving their opponents far too many power-play opportunities.

It's a fact… and one that can't be erased with a snap of the fingers.

If we look at it game by game, it looks like this:

  • Three opportunities against the Leafs (no goals allowed)
  • Four opportunities against the Penguins (two goals allowed)
  • Five power plays against the Hurricanes (one goal allowed)
  • Five opportunities against the Predators (two goals allowed)

What's the problem here?

The Canadiens have a bad habit of taking unnecessary penalties at crucial moments in a game. We saw it again last night with Mike Matheson… and it cost us the game.

Antoine Roussel and the other members of Sortie de zone (Guillaume Lefrançois, Simon-Olivier Lorange, and Jérémie Rainville) discussed this very issue in a recent podcast episode. And Roussel, who played in the game, thinks Martin St-Louis is partly to blame.

Penalties are a problem that Martin St-Louis let slide for several years. And now we find ourselves in a situation where bad habits have taken root. – Antoine Roussel

Roussel explains that he's been through this himself… and that his coaches handled it differently because they'd bench him to send him a message.

Something Martin St-Louis has never really done with his players since arriving in Montreal. 

(Credit: Getty Images)

Yesterday, after the game, Martin St-Louis said his team deserved better.

He said, above all, that his team deserved to win.

But that's the problem, in my view: his team wasn't able to come away with the win even though they fought hard… because those darn penalties ended up affecting the game.

The Preds scored the tying goal on the power play and then scored the game-winner on the power play as well. You can't give the opponent those opportunities at crucial moments… but at the same time, the guys aren't being reprimanded when it happens.

The result? It keeps happening, and it keeps hurting the team.

And that's why I agree with what Antoine Roussel said…


In a Nutshell

– It's definitely special.

– I like his start.

– Good news for the Sharks.

– Congratulations!

– Matt Dumba has retired.

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