Canadiens coach gives No. 1 goalie Jake Allen a vote of confidence

One of Martin St. Louis’s biggest strengths since taking over as head coach of the Canadiens last season has been communication with his players.

So it wasn’t a surprise to see St. Louis having a one-on-one chat with goalie Samuel Montembeault on the ice before the start of Tuesday’s morning skate at the Bell Centre.

Montembeault is coming off back-to-back strong performances in a 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets in Columbus and a 3-2 shootout win over the Blackhawks in Chicago, stopping 61 of the 64 shots he faced for a .953 save percentage. The wins improved Montembeault’s record to 5-2-1 with a 2.48 GAA and a .924 save percentage.

But Jake Allen will be in goal Tuesday night when the Canadiens play the San Jose Sharks at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM). Allen has a 6-7-0 record with a 3.61 GAA and a .891 save percentage.

St. Louis confirmed Monday that Allen is still his No. 1 goalie and gave the veteran a confidence boost by announcing he would start in goal against the Sharks.

What did St. Louis say to Montembeault on the ice Tuesday morning?

“Great job,” the coach said. “That’s really it.

“He’s done a great job and he earned to get two starts in a row. He hadn’t done that yet and he earned that. He did a great job.”

St. Louis will make one other change to his lineup against the Sharks with defenceman Jordan Harris replacing Arber Xhekaj. Harris, a healthy scratch for the last two games and three of the last four, will be with Johnathan Kovacevic on the third defence pairing. Xhekaj will be a healthy scratch for the second time this season.

“I just want to play how I know I can and play off my strengths and hopefully get a win,” Harris said after the morning skate.

“When you’re in and out (of the lineup) I guess it’s kind of tough to build off of each game,” he added. “That’s part of it. That’s why you prepare and take your practise and (weight) lifting seriously so that you’re not losing steps when you might miss a couple of games. You get in the gym, you regain some strength that you might lose when you’re on the run and playing every other night.”

Harris has 1-4-5 totals and is plus-1 in the 18 games he has played this season while averaging 19:27 of ice time. Xhekaj has 3-3-6 totals in 20 games, is even in plus/minus and is averaging 15:50 of ice time.

St. Louis knew nothing about Kovacevic as a player after Canadiens GM Kent Hughes claimed him off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets four days before the season opener. But the 25-year-old has impressed St. Louis with his intelligence on the ice, both offensively and defensively, and been a pleasant surprise. Kovacevic has 0-2-2 totals and is plus-5 in 19 games while averaging 16:52 of ice time. He has been made a healthy scratch twice.

The Canadiens are carrying eight defencemen so it has been a juggling act for St. Louis on the blue line. Chris Wideman will be a healthy scratch for the third straight game against the Sharks and for the ninth time in the last 10 games.

“It’s interesting, I was in a rotation my first year in the American league where I played one of every three games,” Kovacevic recalled about his time with the Manitoba Moose after the Jets selected him in the third round (74th overall) of the 2017 NHL draft. “It didn’t matter how I was playing, I just knew I was just going to play one of every three games. So I have that experience from my first year pro.

“What I realize is there’s two sides to everything,” he added. “You just got to focus on the positive. What I’m focusing on is I’m going to play tonight, I’m going to give it my all tonight because I don’t know if I’m playing the next game. But when I do play I’m going to be fresh, I know that. So you focus on that … it’s just easier that way. I’m going to be fresh when I’m in. I’m going to have an advantage, I’m going to have an upper hand on some guys. That’s the way I’m thinking in my mind. It’s more of a positive situation than anything. It’s a long season, so one game off here and there — you don’t want to do it — but there’s positives in it, too.”

scowan@postmedia.com

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