The Canadian needed all his little change, but he managed to avoid suffering an eighth loss in a row for the first time since April.

• To read also: The Kraken pulverizes the Senators before visiting the CH

• To read also: Slafkovsky in the NHL: the CH has made its decision

Facing the St. Louis Blues deprived of Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly, the Habs savored a narrow victory of 5 to 4. Two goals from Joel Armia paved the way for this victory acquired through hard work, character and relentlessness.

Because no, putting an end to this bad sequence was not easy. Martin St-Louis' squad had to come from behind on three occasions to add two points to the standings.

If, for a few days, we could question the passion of the troops of Lavallois, it was not the case, last night.

"It's probably the energy of Saturday night," said St-Louis, smiling. There was energy in the building. The more the match progressed, the more we built our game. The guys knew that we were playing well. When you come into the third period and you're still in the game, it's easier to have passion than when you're trailing by three or four goals. »

“It feels good to win. We deserved it,” he added.

Drouin passes close

Since the Habs returned from their disastrous seven-game trip to opposing rinks, St-Louis has made sure to focus on the defensive play of its group.

The Canadian had taken a good first step in this direction, Thursday night, by limiting the scoring opportunities of the Rangers.

“We have to build on it,” said the Montrealers.

Against the Blues, that's exactly what they did. They closed the center of the defensive territory so as to limit access to the attackers of the Blues. After two periods, the visitors had fired only 13 shots in the direction of Jake Allen.

“It was one of our good defensive games. We quickly returned to our zone and immediately placed ourselves in a good position, indicated Jonathan Drouin. It's big for us. That's how we're going to get out of the bad streak we've been in lately. »

Speaking of bad streak, Drouin thought he had ended his streak when he saw the puck he had shot cross the red line to give his team what would become the winning goal.

Michel Lacroix even announced that he was the author of the goal. In fact, that's what everyone believed before the NHL revised the sequence and awarded the goal to Josh Anderson. Drouin will therefore have to wait for his first goal of the season.

True to the system

Despite a tighter defense, the Habs allowed the Blues to take the lead for the third time in the game by allowing two goals in just over two minutes in the first part of the engagement.

Contrary to what we have seen lately, everyone has kept their calm.

“We fought. Either way, I recognized our team, praised St-Louis. It was more like us. »

Words that echoed those obtained from Drouin a few moments earlier.

“Even though they scored two quick goals after we scored, we continued to follow our plan and trust our system. It paid off,” he said.

In the victory, Kirby Dach (6th) and Cole Caufield (23rd) also hit the mark.

------------------------------------------------

" It feels good "

-David Savard

This victory will certainly do good. Not only because it put an end to a series of defeats, but also because the effort of the group, which still faced a lot of adversity, was rewarded.

“It feels good to have a victory like this at home. I liked how we continued to work hard even though the momentum often changed sides. »

- David Savard

When sending Joel Armia to the catwalk during the game in Nashville, Martin St-Louis mentioned that he needed production from the Finn. The message got through as number 40 moved the strings three times in two games.

"I wasn't playing well. Sometimes you have to look in the mirror and demand better of yourself. So, I made sure I was mentally and physically ready when I got back to training. »

- Joel Army

Armia was on the playing surface for the last 60 seconds of the game. A minute that seemed endless as the Blues desperately tried to tie the game. At the sound of the siren, everyone, Jake Allen in the lead, heaved a sigh of relief.

“We were nervous on the bench. Especially when Joel (Armia) smashed his stick. But we got two big blocked shots from Joel Edmundson and David Savard. »

- Jonathan Drouin

It is not only at the level of the defensive game that the Canadian has shown an improvement. The massive attack produced a goal on four occasions, but threatened the Blues net on several occasions.

“There were several positives in this game. There was a lot of movement on our massive attack. (Kirby) Dach scored a big goal and (Cole) Caufield hit the post. »

- Jonathan Drouin

----------------------------------------

Caufield among the greats

By scoring his 23rd goal of the season, Cole Caufield equaled his tally from last year (in 67 games). The American has now scored 50 NHL goals. In the history of the Canadian, he is the fourth player to reach this plateau the fastest (117 games). He ranks behind Maurice Richard (76 games), Jean Béliveau (105) and Bernard Geoffrion (114).

Just over 20 shots

It had been a while since the Canadian had fired more shots on net than his opponent. It hadn't happened since the visit of the Flames on December 12 (12 games). In fact, this is the second time the Canadiens have given up 22 shots this season. His lowest total.

The attack unlocks

We talk about the Canadian's defensive play, but it was only the second time in 14 games that the Habs scored at least three goals. Thanks to the contribution of Joel Armia and Josh Anderson who took some pressure off the first unit.

--------------

Joel Army

He took 27 games to score his first goal of the season. He continued his momentum by scoring two in the next game. It was his first double since February 25, 2021, against the Jets in Winnipeg.

Michael Pezzetta

He showed great intensity, but he received two penalties. The first behind Jordan Binnington, 200 feet from his net. As for the second, it allowed the Blues to take the lead in the third period. Pezzetta made just one more appearance after his second visit to the dungeon.