It’s been a long week for the Montreal Canadiens. They lost to the Seattle Kraken (8-2) on Tuesday and then suffered a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals due to a lackluster third period performance on Thursday.
To motivate the team, Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis ended Friday’s practice by bag-skating them.
Typically, teams skate over the lines due to poor performance, and this intense exercise is designed to punish past mistakes.
Pocket skates are part of hockey history. They were made famous by former United States head coach Herb Brooks, who regularly had the students skate on what would become known as “Herbies” at the 1980 Olympics.
In the end, the skating paid off when the US won the gold medal.
Watching the Canadiens skate Friday morning, some players, like Lane Hutson, put their heart into it and made every step count. Not everyone seemed as passionate as Hutson, who has proven he is ready for a regular role in the NHL.
Meanwhile, some players don’t take the exercise as seriously as possible. While skating on the lines is no small feat, it reminds us that these professional athletes are paid millions of dollars to play a game, and that should never be taken for granted.
It will be interesting to see how Montreal reacts to the skate. The team announced Friday afternoon that they would not be on the ice in Pittsburgh on Saturday morning before facing the Penguins on Saturday night.
Last week, the Canadiens played their back-to-back games over the weekend before being outscored 14-5 in the previous six periods.
What worked last Saturday and Sunday disappeared on Tuesday and Thursday, so hopefully Friday morning’s bag skate will serve as a reminder that they wear the logo of one of the most iconic professional hockey franchises and should never take a break.
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