Confidence Game

Last Friday the Montreal Canadiens 10 game regulation winning streak came to a crashing halt with a 10-0 stinker against the Columbus Blue Jackets. For the second game in a row the Habs looked listless and it cost them.

What stood out for many was coach Michel Therrien's decision to leave goaltender Al Montoya in the net for the entire game. When most coaches would have said enough after the fifth goal, Therrien opted to let Montoya battle it out on his own.

I believe this was a terrible coaching decision for a number of reasons. Coaches generally switch goalies to hopefully stem the scoring and at least giving the team a chance to win, but also to avoid further damage to the goaltender's confidence.

We have seen how leaving a goalie in for a rout can do more that damage the psyche, it can also create an unnecessarily tense situation within the team. Goalies, like players, need to know someone has their back, and in the case of Montoya, it felt like nobody did.

Yes, it was revealed later that after the second period, when the Habs we down 8-0, that Montoya consulted with goaltending coach Stephan Waite and that the two agreed he should stick it out. I would argue it should never have even come to that. The call should have come about a third into the second period when Montoya bobbled his save and Blue Jackets Andrew Wennberg kicked in the loose puck. Though the goal was called back, it was obvious Montoya was struggling for control.

On social media the bulk of the arguments favoured Therrien's decision based largely on the fact that the Canadiens were playing back-to-back games, so bringing in Carey Price was an unnecessary risk. But why? The argument follows that Price is coming off a knee injury from last season, therefore putting him in could lead to re-injury. The failure in this logic is that every time Price steps on the ice this season he is at risk, but if you've dessimated the confidence of your backup goalie, then you have essentially created the same scenario as last season.

People have been quick to point out that Montoya should know his role and just 'suck it up' because Price is the number one, and he's a just a career backup. For an organization that speaks frequently of the importance of team unity, this logic seem counter-intuitive. What has struck me as most bothersome is how easily people were willing to dismiss the mental aspect of Montoya's experience. 

I don't have specific numbers, but we are all aware of the increased use of psychologists in professional sports. Coaches, players and media often talk about the importance of the mental game. We live in an era of growing awareness of mental health issues and how they can affect performance and even physical strength. So why are we using antiquated phrases like 'suck it up?'

I'm hopeful that Al Montoya will bounce back from this loss and be stronger for it. But there is no question in my mind that the pressure the team placed on him has the potential to be devastating. A coach's job is more than ensuring wins in the short-term, it's about player management which sometimes means protecting a player even when they think they can handle it.

We talk often about the human side of players, but then we expect them to be robotic and unfeeling when it suits our point of view. Frankly, I think it's sad that people still equate a damaged psyche with weakness, but the mental health of Al Montoya was exactly what was at stake when Michel Therrien left him fight his battle alone. And that was a terrible decision.