Martin St. Louis lit a fire under Canadiens with intermission speech

“He knows when to pick his spots,” Cole Caufield says after coach inspires team to 4-3 overtime win over Blue Jackets.

Author of the article:

Stu Cowan • Montreal Gazette

Published Oct 27, 2023 • Last updated 14 minutes ago • 3 minute read

Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis reacts behind the bench during second period NHL action against the Minnesota Wild in Montreal on Oct. 17, 2023. Down 2-0 after the first period against the Blue Jackets on Oct. 26, 2023, St. Louis addressed his players in the locker room during intermission. “He came in the room after the first and said what he had to say and got us going,” Cole Caufield said after the game, which Montreal won 4-3 in overtime on a goal by Caulfield. “I think it got the room some life.” Photo by Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press

As head coach, Martin St. Louis doesn’t like to spend a lot of time in the Canadiens’ locker room.

He wants that to be the players’ space.

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“We take care of (the leaders) that take care of the team,” St. Louis said last season when asked why he doesn’t spend a lot of time in the room. “So it’s their team, it’s not my team. They need that space.

“Sometimes, it’s for them to have an opportunity for somebody (else) to talk to the group,” St. Louis added. “The answers can’t always come from the coaches and as a coach you have to make sure that you allow time for your team to correct itself.”

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With the Canadiens trailing the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-0 after the first period Thursday night at the Bell Centre while getting outshot 15-9, St. Louis went into the locker room and blasted his players.

The Canadiens responded with a goal by captain Nick Suzuki 27 seconds into the second period and they went on to beat the Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime on a goal by Cole Caufield. The Canadiens have a 4-2-1 record heading into Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CITY, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

After Thursday’s game, St. Louis said he had a “very honest” conversation with his players during the first intermission and he liked their response.

“He came in the room after the first and said what he had to say and got us going,” Caufield said after the game. “I think it got the room some life. It’s always nice to score the first shift after something like that.

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“He knows when to pick his spots,” Caufield added. “(Tonight) there was no doubt in his mind that he had to speak his mind. For us, I think we can learn from that and kind of say some words of our own to keep us more dialled in. As a coach, he picks his spots pretty well and (tonight) we needed to hear it and I think we bounced forward from that.”

The fact St. Louis doesn’t spend a lot of time in the locker room made his strong-worded speech Thursday night more impactful.

“Any time you see a guy like that who cares and when he gets angry like that we can pick it up and play for him,” Alex Newhook said after the game. “It was a good response by us.”

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In order to leave the room to the players, St. Louis needs to have a strong relationship with his leadership group and it’s something he has worked hard at since taking over as head coach in February 2022.

“I feel I’m definitely close to them,” he said. “I think they know that I can relate with everything they’re going through. I’m not trying to tell them to be a certain way. … I’m not trying just to give them the answer on how to act. I’m trying to steer them in the right direction.”

St. Louis certainly did that Thursday night.

“Any kind of leadership, I think it starts at the top,” he said. “I try to lead in my own way and I want them to lead in their own way.”

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