Monday, Claude Julien sent a clear message to his players by affirming, during his post-match press briefing, that there had been too many “passengers” in duel no 2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Two days later, the driver of the Montreal Canadiens seemed reassured when he saw his troops close a two-goal deficit and push the gang to Sidney Crosby in the cables.
Check out his post-match commentary in the video, above.
“We won because we worked hard,” said Julien after the Habs 4-3 victory in duel no 3. At the end of the day, we know the experience they have on the other side. . The only way to counter it is through commitment and the desire (to win).
“We are a team that skates well. What we lack in terms of experience, we fill by our level of competition. That’s what allows us to hold a 2-1 lead. ”
Three unanswered goals from the “Pens”
In quick succession, in the first twenty, the Penguins relied on two massive attacks to take the lead 2-1. Then Teddy Blueger scored the third unanswered goal of the “Pens” in the middle period.
Julien then tried to calm his men. While recomposing his trios.
“I found it to be questionable punishments,” he said. They scored a third goal and there was plenty of time on the board.
“I told the players that if we play five on five and skate like we can, we have a lot of time to come back. That’s what happened.”
This resilience, Julien did not miss the opportunity to underline it after the meeting.
“I think the players responded well tonight. Especially when you fall behind 3-1 and you manage to win. We keep repeating the same story: Pittsburgh is an excellent team with a lot of experience.
“We have to give credit to our players. They showed a lot of character. ”
Drouin with “KK”: a matter of time
As for line changes, including the transfer of Jesperi Kotkaniemi to center from Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia, Julien says the idea has been germinating for some time.
“I had already thought about this idea,” he explained. I told myself that at some point, if we don’t manage to create enough offensive chances, a change could be good.
“The changes you saw tonight, I thought they could work well. We did them and the players responded well.
“We won. That’s the important thing tonight.”
