When the Montreal Canadiens lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the shootout on Sunday night, only Cole Caufield was able to find the back of the net. The other two shooters, Nick Suzuki and Alexandre Texier, were both stopped by goaltender Artus Svilos, who had a .200 save percentage in the shootout before then this season.
Suzuki, as talented as he may be, has a 32.4% career success rate in the shootout. He hasn’t scored a shootout goal this season, or even last season. The last time he scored in that kind of scenario was during the 2023-24 season, when he used a Pavel Datsyuk-like move a few times. Since then, he’s been unable to find the back of the net.
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It may just be time for Martin St-Louis to explore other options, especially since the Canadiens do have some offensive talent depth now. While taking shots in the shootout is a big responsibility and may be too much for some players, the coach has at least two players who both crave puck possession and want to be THE man when a goal is needed.
Whenever the Canadiens need a goal late, you can literally see how eager Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov are to get the puck and to try to get that goal. Furthermore, both have some impressive moves and hands. Is the coach trying to shield them from pressure? That would be surprising since both seem to thrive on it.
Is it that Suzuki wants to take the shots even though he’s struggling to score? Well, it’s part of the coach’s job to make that kind of decision; even if the captain wants to shoot, the bench boss has the final say. Much like when it comes to goaltending, you’re only as good as your latest results. If it weren’t the case, Samuel Montembeault would still be in the net, and Jacob Fowler would still be looking forward to getting his first NHL start.
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What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow, and the coach must be willing to explore other options when results are needed.
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