What Martin St-Louis said about Bell Centre fans after humiliating loss stunned everyone

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David St-Jean
May 28, 2026  (5:28)

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Martin St-Louis didn't flinch when asked about the "shoot the puck" chants raining down at the Bell Centre during a 0-4 loss to Carolina Wednesday night.

The Canadiens fell behind 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Final. The third period was painful. The crowd let them hear it.

St-Louis took the question head-on after the game and refused to push back at the building.

That's not the voice of a coach blaming the fanbase. That's a coach who watched his team get shut out at home in a conference final and accepted the verdict.

Jakub Dobes stopped 39 of 42 shots. Not the issue. The issue was the 0 on the scoreboard for Montreal, on home ice, in a game they couldn't afford to give away.

Lane Hutson finished a -3 with a single shot on goal in 21:00 of work. The minutes were there. The dent on the scoresheet was not.

Nick Suzuki led the team with 3 shots. Cole Caufield, Josh Anderson, Zachary Bolduc and Noah Dobson managed 2 apiece. That's the entire top end of the lineup.

Ivan Demidov went -2. Kirby Dach got 8:00 of ice time and didn't register a shot. The depth never showed up.

So what exactly were the fans supposed to chant? When a team rolls up shots without bodies in the crease and pucks dying on the perimeter, the building reacts. That's how Montreal works. It always has.

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St-Louis knows it too. Hence the response that didn't beg for patience and didn't lecture anyone in row 12.

Montreal heads to Carolina for Game 5 on Friday facing elimination. Last time these teams played in Raleigh, the Habs won 6-2 on the first Game. That's the only piece of recent history that helps right now.

The crowd has earned the right to be honest. The coach just confirmed it. Now the question is whether anyone in red, white and blue can answer with a win, come back in front of their fans and play their heart out for them.

Previously

Gavin McKenna makes it known which NHL organization he wants to be drafted by

Martin St-Louis is attacked by Canadiens fans directly after Game 4 loss at the Bell Centre

Canadiens mascot Youppi turns heads with gesture targeting fans while down 0-4

POLL

1 HOUR AGO   |   70 ANSWERS What Martin St-Louis said about Bell Centre fans after humiliating loss stunned everyone Were Bell Centre fans right to be frustrated?

▢    Yes

▢    No

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