“Everything is relative, and that alone is absolute,” Auguste Comte once said. Martin St-Louis, sometimes a great storyteller himself, was inspired by the French philosopher to describe the eight-day break his players will begin after the Ottawa Senators visit.

“When you’re a team that’s rolling and everything is going well, you think that’s a shame. But when you’re a team that has a lot of injuries, you’re happy,” said the Canadian’s head coach. Watch his full press conference in the video at the top of the article.

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With a dozen players in the infirmary, we can easily guess which side Lavallois is on.

“We’re going to take the ‘break’, that’ll help us.”

Introduced since 2016-2017, this heart-of-season break is intended to offer players a window of calm in the heart of a long campaign. Except that in doing so, the leaders of the circle had no choice but to increase the number of sequences of two meetings in as many evenings.

Jake Allen, who missed three weeks due to a hand injury, will still be happy to welcome him.

“It’s a long season. It will be good to recharge the batteries by staying away a bit, he said. It’s more of a mental problem than a physical one.”

Last week, the 32-year-old claimed the timing of his injury and return may not be optimal given the long break ahead. Although the rules are strict, he still wants to return to work before the official return on February 9th.

“I will jump on the ice before returning, but not the first three days. No chance of that happening,” Allen said.

A victory before the holidays

It has therefore been said that the Habs will play one last meeting before everyone retires to their lands for 10 days. In addition, it is Jake Allen, who on his return had expressed a desire to play two games before half-time, who will defend the Canadian’s cage.

Montrealers, who were beaten 5-0 in the federal capital on Saturday, will surely want to go on holiday on a high note. But in the spirit of St. Louis, getting a good grade doesn’t necessarily mean winning.

“Of course you want to win, but the most important thing is to feel comfortable as a team,” said St-Louis. At our low point of the season, between Christmas and New Years, we figured we would have to use the next month to get back on track. I think we have.”

As of early 2023, the Habs have held a 5-7-1 record. Nothing to write to his mother. But with a few exceptions, the Canadian was much more solid.

“I’m happy with where we are as a team. I like to go with what we are as a team, how we worked and how we got up.

Nick Suzuki press conference

Arber Xhekaj press conference

Jake Allen press conference