Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis explained how his team can climb out of its 3-1 playoff hole against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes beat the Canadiens 4-0 in Montreal on Wednesday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the NHL Eastern Conference Finals. Carolina is now just one win away from playing the Vegas Golden Knights for the Stanley Cup, while the Canadiens’ season is on the ropes as they will have to win three straight games to advance to the next round.
Martin St. Louis Explains How Canadiens Can Climb Out of 3-1 Playoff Hole
For coach St. Louis, this is a place he’s been before as a player. In 2014, while a member of the New York Rangers, St. Louis and the Rangers overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Pittsburgh Penguins to come back and win that series. The Rangers ended up making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals that season, though they ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Kings in five games. So, he knows firsthand that it can be done.
Speaking to reporters after the Canadiens lost to the Hurricanes in Game 4, St. Louis was asked how his team can overcome their current situation, and here’s what he had to say.
“It’s just not worrying about the hole. It’s just winning a game, one game. You can’t look at the mountain, you just gotta look at what’s in front of you and stay present,” St. Louis said.
“You gotta be mentally strong, you gotta believe, you gotta believe that you actually can do it, and to me, I don’t doubt that I believe that we can do it. It wasn’t our best (in Game 4), but we’ll put our best foot forward for Game 5, and we’ll be ready to go, and hopefully we can execute better, and we’ll be better on the road.”
Canadiens on The Ropes
Although St. Louis is confident his team has what it takes to overcome this 3-1 deficit against the Hurricanes, there is no doubt the Habs are on the ropes.
Montreal is an excellent young hockey club on the rise, but this Hurricanes squad has been ready to take this leap into becoming a Stanley Cup champion for several years now. Right now, it really does appear that 2026 is the year the Rod Brind’Amour and the Hurricanes are going to break through and make it back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 20 years, since they beat the Edmonton Oilers in 2006.
Regardless of how the rest of this series plays out, this has been a banner season for the Canadiens, who took a massive leap forward this season. They played incredibly during the regular season and through the first two rounds of the playoffs, though it does appear they are running out of steam at this point in the postseason.
But as St. Louis said, the series is not over yet, and not all hope is lost. The Canadiens still have a chip and a chair, and they are going to do everything they can to get back in this series when they head on the road in Game 5 as they look to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Martin St. Louis Explains How Canadiens Can Climb Out of 3-1 Hole