The Montreal Canadiens’ playoff campaign took a dramatic turn after a tough loss in Washington, with head coach Martin St-Louis making headlines for his no-nonsense approach. In a post-game press conference that left little room for interpretation, St-Louis sent a powerful message to his roster—particularly to star winger Patrik Laine.

For the first time in the postseason, the coach benched three players, including Laine, for the entire third period, signaling a clear shift in his expectations and willingness to make bold decisions.

St-Louis was candid about his reasoning, emphasizing that performance—not injury—was the deciding factor in his lineup choices. His comments made it clear that complacency would no longer be tolerated, and that only those fully committed to the team’s success would see ice time when it matters most.

The Canadiens responded with a strong third period, raising questions about how St-Louis’s tough love might impact the team moving forward—and what it could mean for Laine’s role in the crucial games ahead. As the series continues, all eyes will be on the Canadiens’ bench, waiting to see how this high-stakes message from the coach reshapes the team’s playoff identity.

Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Martin St-Louis, was very direct during his press conference following last night’s loss. You could really feel a change in his tone, and it was clear that his patience with certain players had reached its limit.

As you likely noticed, three players were benched by Martin St-Louis late in the game, Emil Heineman, Joel Armia, and Patrik Laine.

Heineman and Armia barely played, while Laine didn’t play at all.

And indeed, in his post-game press conference, Martin St-Louis confirmed that the reason all three players didn’t see ice time in the third period was a coaching decision.

It had nothing to do with injuries or anything of the sort.

Martin St-Louis announces that Patrik Laine, Emil Heineman, and Joel Armia were benched and that their removal from the game had no connection to any injury

This aligns with what we mentioned earlier.

Martin St-Louis also announced that complacency is over, and that he’s going to seriously change how he handles certain lapses.

His patience and tolerance have been exhausted, and he wanted to put players on the ice who could actually help the team win.

It seemed to work, as the Canadiens had an excellent third period.

St-Louis was especially blunt regarding Patrik Laine.

He wanted to address that situation directly during his televised press conference.

“Honestly, I went with the nine or ten players who I felt could help us.”

– Martin St-Louis, who clearly saw that Laine, Heineman, and Armia weren’t helping the team.

That says a lot about what’s coming next.

Specifically regarding Patrik Laine, St-Louis made it very clear where things stand.

“The guys I trusted in the third period did an excellent job,” he added later.”

“The group responded. I felt that shortening the bench gave us a chance to win.”

– Martin St-Louis

Let’s just say his response says a lot about his current level of trust in Laine.

All the details are in the article below, but it’ll be fascinating to see what changes are made for the next game.