Martin St. Louis makes a surprising call before the game, and fans are divided
Martin St-Louis made his call early, and the Canadiens head coach is taking a different road into Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres.
Hours before puck drop at KeyBank Center, St-Louis canceled Montreal's morning skate and scrapped the club's usual pregame routine.
That's not a small call on a night like this.
This is the biggest game of the season, and the Canadiens are walking into it without touching the ice this morning.
The team confirmed the decision on social media Monday morning, making it clear there would be no early session before the 7:30 p.m. start in Buffalo.
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It stands out even more because Montreal hasn't been back on the ice since Saturday night's rough 8-3 loss at the Bell Centre.
A lot of coaches would have used that kind of defeat to push a response. One more practice.
One more message. One more chance to clean up details before an elimination game.
St-Louis went the other way, and that says plenty about how he sees his group right now.
St-Louis is betting on recovery, not panic
This looks like a decision built around reset more than correction. The Canadiens already know what went wrong two nights ago.
The staff clearly believes more rest matters more than another skate.
That also points to trust inside the room.
St-Louis is showing confidence that his players can handle their own preparation and arrive mentally ready without an extra team session.
It's a gamble because every lineup call and every routine choice gets magnified before a Game 7.
When a team is coming off a loss like that, anything outside the norm gets noticed fast.
If Montreal responds with a sharp first period and a composed effort, this decision will look smart.
It will be framed as a coach keeping his team calm instead of chasing emotion.
If the Canadiens come out flat, the noise will get loud in a hurry.
Canceling the morning skate will be one of the first things people point to.
That's the reality of nights like this.
Before the puck even drops, St-Louis has already made one of the game's biggest decisions.
Now the Canadiens have to make it stand up.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 16, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Tage Thompson | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jack Quinn | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Zach Benson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jake Evans | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ivan Demidov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Konsta Helenius | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Zach Metsa | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Arber Xhekaj | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Bowen Byram | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Matheson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan McLeod | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Norris | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||