It happened again. A start to the match like a club watching his skates while the other team looks at the net.
A start to the match where everything is going too fast, too strong, too early.
And a head coach, standing behind the bench, who looks at his team to be slapped at the outset without even having had time to blink.
By dint of getting out of it in the second and third period, by dint of betting on pride to save the furniture, the Montreal Canadian has forgotten that hockey matches start at 0:00.
And tonight, Martin St-Louis watched his group collapsed as soon as the initial game is put.
“For me, it’s an emergency from the start. We lose face-off, they are in our area. We lose the battle. Can you … Can you not burn during the first period? »»
A short of words. A cloakroom short of answers. And a team short of energy, from the third minute of play.
Faced with private senators from Brady Tkachuk, the Canadian had a golden opportunity to confirm his place in series.
But instead, we were treated to a road trip.
A final shipwreck, where CH has never been in the blow.
And St-Louis did not hide it. He spoke like a man on the verge of exhaustion.
Not a panic coach.
A coach who sees the wall coming.
“I just wanted to get out of this period at 0 … But some evenings are too hard. »»
And tonight, it was too hard from the first presence.
Two fast goals. Asphyxiating pressure.
A game of passes that fall flat.
A defensive that steps back, an attack that seeks its bearings.
And above all, a tenacious impression: CH was not ready to play.
This is where it starts to hurt. Because it is not a question of talent. It is not even a question of effort.
It is a matter of timing.
And CH plays 60 minutes of hockey… starting in the 21st.
Kaiden Guhle, lucid, did not parade after the match.
He put words on chaos.
“I think we were trying to be a little too pretty sometimes. It’s series hockey, there’s not a lot of space. You just have to move the washer quickly, keep it on the bands and get it. »»
Surgical analysis.
Too many perfect game attempts. Not enough simplicity. And above all, no chance to allow attackers to do their job.
“We haven’t really given our forwards to go Forechecker this evening, and it is our bread and our butter. »»
You can’t say better.
And still the defenders know that it leaves all croche, it is that the culture of slow departure has become a habit.
This is where Lane Hutson took over. And at 20, he sounded more mature than certain veterans.
“It’s a difficult start to the match, it’s clear, but it’s not enough. Every day in this league is a blessing. We move on, I imagine. »»
“They did a good job to complicate our task, and we did a job bad enough to get out of their pressure. »»
“We have to empty our heads quickly and be mentally ready from the start. You have to stop entering these matches on tiptoe. »»
Simple words. Right words. Words that accuse the group without excusing them.
Because that’s exactly what Martin St-Louis has been denounced for weeks.
And tonight, he said it between the lines: he can’t take it anymore. He tries. He tries things. He adjusts his trios.
But the fire is still too early.
“I try to act, to maximize the guys, to create match-ups. But sometimes you’re burning … Worse you just want to get out of there alive. »»
The problem?
We start the games as if we were waiting for the opponent to tell us when we can start playing.
And when it’s too late, we start the engine.
Cole Caufield, usually smiling, also sounded the alarm.
“I don’t want to say that there is no emergency, but we have to focus on time. You can’t always come back. »»
“It’s not the panic button. But you have to look in the mirror. You have to face this. »»
So. This is exactly where the Canadian is.
At the crossroads. There are three games left. Two points to seek to confirm a place in series.
But two successful games where the team was dominated from the start.
And not just in the figures.
In attitude. This is the word that St-Louis did not say … but that he left to hover.
L’attitude.
The reflex to play with urgency.
The need to get up before the scoring requires it.
Because there, CH plays like a club that believes that it will always find a way of coming back.
But the series are not a comeback league. It is not for nothing that St-Louis said:
“I think they will answer. They responded all year round. But it was not our game tonight. I think we are an honest group. »»
An honest group.
But who plays with fire. And who is starting to burn for real.
In the press room, no one asked him if he regretted his choices.
But everyone saw his gaze empty when he spoke urgently.
This word, he said it several times.
And each time, it was a warning.
A signal that somewhere will have to decide that alignment should start the matches at 0-0, not at 0-2.
The fatigue of getting from the back is real.
And the National League does not forgive those who wait to lose to wake up.
Tonight, we have not seen a desperate team to enter the series. We saw a group that thought it was still time.
But time … it is almost elapsed.
Misery…
