In the early parts of the season, fans' confidence in the Montreal Canadiens roster and their head coach, Martin St. Louis, wavered. Montreal was one of the worst teams in the league, and it looked like the rebuild was going backward instead of forward. The Montreal Gazette released an article on November 7 after a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils titled, "Canadiens lose 5-3 to Devils as rebuild takes another step backwards". However, comments from the head coach in the article didn't signal any worry.
“Go rewatch the game if you want,” St. Louis said. “I felt good about the way we played tonight. I know we’re down two … we got a broken stick (on Juraj Slafkovsky before the first goal). We turn the puck over, kind of a bouncer, that creates their second goal. I felt we didn’t get much help … I’ll leave it at that. We didn’t get maybe a bounce here and there, but the engagement and the work and the intentions are right where I want them to be. We’re just not getting rewarded right now and that’s OK. We’re going to keep going and we’re going to try to find maybe some answers for some players that are maybe fighting it and we’re going to keep working on the collective game, but I think that’s in a good place.”
St. Louis didn't have any concerns about his team, and those comments proved that sometimes a struggling team just needs someone to believe in them. We had no way of predicting what would happen over the next 2+ months after that game, but it's clear now why Kent Hughes believed that firing St. Louis wasn't the answer.
The Canadiens' next game was on November 9, when they lost 4-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs and was rock-bottom for the team with six consecutive losses. However, they broke the streak with a 7-5 win on Remembrance Day, and it has been full-steam ahead ever since.
The Washington Capitals are first in the league since that day, with a 22-6-5 record and a .742 winning percentage. The Edmonton Oilers are second with a 22-8-2 record and a .719 winning percentage. So, which team is third? Maybe the Maple Leafs or the Vegas Golden Knights. Maybe the surging Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche. Nope, the third-best winning percentage in the league since that day is the Canadiens, with a .656 mark. They are 20-10-2, with a +10 goal differential.
St. Louis believed in the team no matter how difficult the road became. It's a good lesson in coaching and life for everyone who follows the Montreal Canadiens.