“We consoled ourselves a little”: coaches Andre Tourigny and Martin Saint-Louis understand each other

Not because his team has lost seven of its last eight games, Martin St. Louis has lost his sense of humor.

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When a colleague asked him if facing the Quebec coach was special, the Canadian pilot offered a delicious anecdote. He said he met Andre Tourigny by chance on the streets of Montreal on Monday.

“At first, I didn't recognize him. Then he crossed the street. We talked about our challenges and consoled each other a little bit,” St. Louis said.

Faith St. Louis, there were no tears or consoling hugs. Even if the status of their teams was enough to spark a long discussion.

We must understand that the picture is not rosier on the coyotes side. Tourigny and his team came to Montreal with a 12-game winless streak (0-10-2).

“In the All-Star game, we were four points away from the playoffs. A series of events in this way is morally difficult,” stressed Turrini, whose team is now 15 points behind. “After we came back from the break, we did not play the hockey we wanted to play. We faced rivals.” “It is difficult. We are in a situation that is not easy.”

Similar mandates

Turigny and Saint Louis have reason to understand each other. Both drivers have had similar spells with young, rebuilding teams. They both encourage each other by thinking about the next generation coming into the subnet and the bank of choices their organization has created for the following drafts.

Thus, like his Canadian counterpart, he focuses on progress and development, without always having his eyes fixed on results. That's why he agreed with St. Louis when the latter said that the Habs were experiencing their best moments of the season in six games.

“Indeed. You look at all the numbers and that's exactly it. The scoring chances they create and the chances they miss, they've been better in the last 10 games.

The two coaches seemed to have developed such a closeness during those few minutes they spent together on the street corner that one might wonder if they hadn't come to an agreement. Each team gets a point and we fight for the extra point in overtime, perhaps?

“No, no deal. But Martin ended the conversation by saying that the good news is that one of the two teams will win.”