Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Martin St. Louis finds himself in a difficult situation.
The Montreal Canadiens are down 3-1 in their Eastern Conference Final Series against the Carolina Hurricanes, on the brink of elimination.
While St. Louis has never been in this position as a head coach, he’s overcome a 3-1 deficit three times over the course of his 16-year NHL career as a player.
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Two of those miraculous comebacks came with the New York Rangers in 2014 and 2015.
In 2014, down 3-1 in the second round to the Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis decided to join his team for Game 5 just three days after the sudden passing of his mother.
The Rangers were able to climb their way back in the series, winning three consecutive games.
That second-round comeback was headlined by St. Louis’s emotional Game 6 goal, which happened to fall on Mother’s Day.
The Blueshirts would go on to reach the Stanley Cup Final, but ultimately lost at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings.
One year later, in 2015, the Rangers found themselves in an identical position, down 3-1 in their second-round series against the Washington Capitals.
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Winning two out of the next three games in overtime, the Rangers overcame a 3-1 series deficit to reach the Eastern Conference Final.
Now, St. Louis is using his past experiences with the Rangers to inspire his young Canadiens team, conveying the message that no matter how difficult it will be to come back from their 3-1 series hole, it’s possible.
“He’s done it twice,” Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobeš said of St. Louis’s past experiences coming back from a 3-1 series deficit. “If Marty can do it, we can do it.”
From his days as a player to now as a coach, St. Louis is keeping the same mindset in this situation.
“It’s just not worrying about the hole. It’s just winning a game, one game. You can’t look at the mountain, you just gotta look at what’s in front of you and stay present,” St. Louis said.
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