Martin St-Louis takes the bull by the horns and shakes up his entire lineup
With eight losses in the last 10 games and players dropping like flies, Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis has little choice but to shake up his team in the hope of sparking a turnaround.
Indeed, it began with a special training session last week, focusing on finishing. Then, the coach threw Brendan Gallagher under the bus in connection with his late-game penalty against the Golden Knights.
Finally, St-Louis conducted a punitive practice on Monday, raising his voice repeatedly towards his players. It's not a lack of respect; it's called sending a message, and the players see it positively. Performances like the one on Saturday in Boston, where there's no emotion and effort, are unacceptable.
The coach wasn't done with his lineup shake-up. He significantly changed his lines to try to create balance. Here are the new combinations:
Newhook - Suzuki - Gallagher
Caufield - Dvorak - Slafkovsky
Pearson - Monahan - Anderson
Pezzetta - Evans - Ylonen
Matheson - Barron
Guhle - Kovacevic
Struble - Lindstrom
Seeing Gallagher back on the first line is peculiar, especially for a series of away games. The reunion of Suzuki and Caufield was thus short-lived.
Anderson will be able to play with two veterans who have been producing since the start of the season, which might help him solve the mystery of opposing goalies and finally score his first goal of the season.
| POLL | ||
Do you like Martin St-Louis' new line combinations? | ||
| Yes | 90 | 46.2 % |
| No | 105 | 53.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
