Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis must be a big believer in the power of positive thinking.
When St. Louis met with the media in Toronto after Saturday’s morning skate, he said he liked the way his team was playing defensively.
“I’m happy since we made some corrections and stuff,” he said. “I’m happy with the way we’re defending. I feel like we’ve had to defend less, which is a good sign, because I think we’re killing plays earlier and we don’t give the opponents the opportunity to set up their O zone. It starts with the way we arrive and the way we understand what triggers the O zone, so it’s good.”
Heading into Saturday night’s game against the Maple Leafs, the Canadiens were allowing an average of 4.07 goals per game — the most in the NHL — and they were coming off a 5-3 loss to the Devils on Thursday night in New Jersey.
After losing 4-1 to the Leafs on Saturday night, the Canadiens have allowed four or more goals in nine of their first 15 games. They have a 4-9-2 record, sitting in last place in the Atlantic Division and tied with the San Jose Sharks for last in the overall NHL standings. The Canadiens have lost six straight games (0-5-1), which is their longest losing streak since they lost seven straight (0-5-2) from March 2-13, 2023, during the first full season of their rebuild with St. Louis as head coach. The Canadiens had another seven-game losing streak (0-6-1) earlier that season.
Conor Timmins, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares scored for the Leafs, who outshot the Canadiens 27-21. Brendan Gallagher scored for the Canadiens. Samuel Montembeault, making his fourth straight start in goal for the Canadiens, saw his record fall to 3-7-1 with a 3.51 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage.
Gallagher continues to be one of the few bright spots for the Canadiens with seven goals in 15 games. The 32-year-old has scored in each of the last three games and has five goals in the last seven games. Going back to last season, Gallagher has 12 goals in the last 20 games.
Gallagher’s seven goals this season match the combined total for fellow forwards Juraj Slafkovsky (one), Christian Dvorak (one), Kirby Dach (one), Joel Armia (two) and Josh Anderson (two). Slafkovsky and Armia both failed to get a shot on goal against the Leafs, while Dvorak and Dach had one each.
The only Canadien with more goals than Gallagher is Cole Caufield with 10, but he hasn’t scored in the last four games and had only one shot against the Leafs. Captain Nick Suzuki leads the team in scoring with 4-9-13 totals, but has no points in the last four games — during which he is minus-5 — and had only one shot against the Leafs.
Once again, the Canadiens got off to a slow start, getting outshot 7-2 in the first period and they headed into the intermission down 1-0 on a goal by Timmins. The only two Canadiens shots in the period came from defenceman Kaiden Guhle and they failed to get a single shot on goal over the final 15:13 of the period.
The Canadiens fell behind 3-0 in the first 8:24 of the second period after a power-play goal by Nylander and a short-handed goal by Marner, before Gallagher scored at 9:26. But the Leafs took a three-goal lead into the second intermission after Tavares scored another power-play goal at 12:15.
The Canadiens outshot Toronto 10-8 in the third period as the Leafs protected their lead. St. Louis juggled his forward lines during the final 20 minutes, putting Suzuki between Slafkovsky and Dach and Evans between Alex Newhook and Caufield, but nothing worked.
“The mood’s obviously down,” Suzuki told reporters in Toronto after the game. “I thought we had a great first period, unlucky bounce (on the Toronto goal). In the second (period) felt comfortable and then we give up two short-handed goals (with the Leafs on the power play) and then couldn’t climb back. Had a good third period, just couldn’t score. Weren’t able to make that last push.”
The Leafs extended their winning streak to three games and improved their record to 9-5-2. Former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty, who has 2-4-6 totals in 13 games and was leading the Leafs with 38 hits coming into the game, left late in the first period and didn’t return after appearing to injure his left hamstring. The 35-year-old had thought he might have to retire after tearing his right Achilles twice in less than a year, limiting him to 52 games over the last two seasons.
The rebuilding pains are getting worse for the Canadiens, who have 10 players on their roster age 23 or younger. But St. Louis kept a positive spin on things when he spoke with reporters in Toronto after the game. The coach said his players missed the net a lot, including on five good scoring chances in the first period, and played well five-on-five. The Canadiens missed on 14 shots in the game.
“I think we’re a fragile group now that lacks confidence,” St. Louis said.
That looks to be true.
But it’s going to take more than the power of positive thinking to get this team on a winning track.