Martin St. Louis expresses his frustration after disastrous game against the New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis expressed his frustration after last night's disastrous game against the New York Rangers.
When the 2024-25 NHL season began, goaltender Samuel Montembault was praised by his team and the whole hockey community when he had a shutout against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, since then, he has struggled to keep the same level and it culminated last night.
The New York Rangers were in Montreal and beat the Canadiens 7-2, despite spending their Sunday night partying in the city. Montembault allowed four goals on the Rangers' first ten shots, including three before the first commercial break. With just under 10 minutes left in the first period, the Canadiens' head coach Martin St. Louis decided to replace Montembault with Cayden Primeau.
Primeau, the Habs' number-two goalie, stopped 32 of the 35 shots fired at him by the Rangers.
After the game, St. Louis commented on his team's tough loss, saying it's hard to win when you allow three goals before the first commercials.
In his own words, as reported by Arpon Basu:
Of course, he wasn't referring only to Montembault's tough game, but also the rest of his team. If the Rangers were able to score three quick goals, it's because players gave them chances. The Rangers are one of the best teams in the League and they will capitalize if they have opportunities.
In six games this season, the Rangers have a 5-0-1 record and are at the top of the Metropolitan Division. Coming off a Presidents' Trophy-winning season, the team looks poised for another impressive campaign. As for the Canadiens, they will look to bounce back from their tough loss on Saturday against the St. Louis Blues. It'll be interesting to see how the team will adjust after their blowout loss. St. Louis will need to make a decision on Xhekaj, who was controversially left out of the lineup for the second straight game.
