St. Louis Outsmarts Cooper, Habs One Win from Round 2

0:00On April 30th, Montreal-Canadian's coach, Martin St. Louis, is straight up outmaneuvering Tampa Bay Lightning's John Cooper in these NHL playoffs. The Habs now lead the series three games to two after a Gritty-3-2 win in Game 5. St. Louis, a Hall of Fame player, turned coach, is making bold calls that are paying off big time. His first big move came in Game 3 when he stuck with young forward Kirby Doc, despite a costly mistake earlier. St. Louis wanted Doc benched, but St. Louis kept him in and Doc responded with two goals and an assist since then. Then in Game 5, with the series tied to two, he brought in veteran Brendan Gallagher, who had set out the first four games and Gallagher scored. First to spark the victory, players love St. Louis for it. That called him phenomenal for leveling with guys personally and pulling the best out of everyone. That trust comes from St. Louis' own playing days, where he overcame being undersized to become an elite winger. He challenged Doc to fight back against the hate instead of folding.

1:02St. Louis is getting production from his bottom lines, which have nine of Montreal's 14 goals, while Cooper leans hard on his top guys. Add in strong goal tending and a hot power play, and the Canadians control the series. Depth and smart decisions have them one win from the second round. Game 6 heads back to Montreal, where St. Louis might pull another rabbit out of his hat. Expect more gut instincts to keep the lightning on their heels as the habs chase that clincher. That wraps in a Joe News today brought to you with AI.