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 against 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.
Usually, teams end up skating the lines because of poor performances, and this intense drill is meant to punish past errors.
Bag skates are part of hockey lore. They were made famous by former United States head coach Herb Brooks, who made the college kids at the 1980 Olympics skate what would become known as “Herbies” regularly.
Ultimately, the skating paid off as the USA won the Gold Medal.
When watching the Canadiens skate on Friday morning, some players, like Lane Hutson, put their heart into it and made every stride count. Not everyone appeared as passionate as Hutson, who has proven ready for a regular role in the NHL.
Meanwhile, some players don’t take the drill as seriously as possible. Although skating the lines isn’t beneath anyone, it’s a reminder 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 responds to the skate. The team announced on 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 swept their weekend back-to-back games before getting outscored 14-5 in the previous six periods.
Whatever worked last Saturday and Sunday went away on Tuesday and Thursday, so hopefully, the bag skate on Friday morning will serve as a reminder that they are wearing the logo of one of the most iconic professional hockey franchises and should never take a shift off.
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