Caps spoil St. Louis’ coaching debut; top Canadiens

MONTREAL — The Martin St. Louis effect didn’t give the Montreal Canadiens a first win since Jan. 18 but Montreal’s new interim head coach liked the fight his new team gave him.

Despite a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals, the Hockey Hall of Famer enjoyed his first night behind the Bell Centre bench. The Habs are still struggling, increasing their winless skid to eight games, but the players fought and tried to carve out a comeback as they outshot the Caps 44-23.

“It was amazing. I just love how we fought, I feel like we just kept getting better as the game went and that was fun to see,” St. Louis said.

The Canadiens pulled their goalie for the fifth time in six games but unlike other outings, the team picked up steam instead of falling flat.

Down 4-2 in the third period after Cole Caufield broke a 17-game goalless drought, the rookie bagged a third marker for Montreal with just over five minutes left in regulation. A Washington coach’s challenge reversed Caufield’s second marker, ending Montreal’s chances.

“The third goal, you just hope that it’s inconclusive and the goal stands and now you go on the power play,” St. Louis said. “We stayed the course, we didn’t cheat. I really feel that the only thing we didn’t do tonight is win.”

With only a day behind his coaching belt, St. Louis looked to leave his mark on his new team. Thursday morning, he addressed his players and shared what he wanted from them. While the players didn’t want to share his words verbatim, St. Louis found a way to galvanize them.

“He came in full of energy, it looked like he wanted to lace 'em up,” said Josh Anderson. “It was pretty exciting for all of us and you could see a couple of jaws drop.”

“With Marty, the way he talks, the way he presents