Canadiens defensemen rank second in NHL points, credit HC Martin St. Louis' system

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier is probably not wrong when he says that the team's offensive success is partly due to Martin St. Louis giving his players some rope to work with.

The same goes for his teammates. Lane Hutson likely wouldn't take as many risks at the opposing blue line if the head coach were more rigid. Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson wouldn't carry the puck through the neutral zone as easily if they were forced to dump it into the offensive zone as soon as they crossed the red line.

This certain freedom is the reason why the Canadiens' defensive unit ranks second in the NHL with 134 points since the start of the season. Unsurprisingly, the Colorado Avalanche's powerhouse sits in first place with 151 points.

Canadiens credit coach St. Louis for trusting his defenders

"We have that flexibility," Carrier stated. "It's part of our philosophy. We know we can contribute offensively, that we can make plays in the offensive zone, and that we can go to the net."

Obviously, the chemistry between Ivan Demidov and Hutson, who already has 52 points on his record, cannot be overlooked when analyzing the contribution of the Canadiens defensemen.

In fact, the pass the Russian made to Hutson, without even looking, was still a topic of discussion near the Canadiens' locker room a dozen hours after it happened.

"There are players who see certain things, who have wider peripheral vision than others. Demidov understands the play in front of him, but he's also aware of what's behind him," said St. Louis, explaining this type of play we're likely to see often.

However, Carrier was keen to give credit to the team's forwards, who have recently been showing up a lot more in front of the opposing net. "It gives us a big advantage," he emphasized.

"That's the kind of thing that wins you games," noted Zachary Bolduc. "Especially in the playoffs when the game tightens up, and there's not as much space and time."

He continued, "We're sort of preparing ourselves by developing that playoff mentality."

In fact, on Tuesday night, it was even more evident as if the message had finally gotten through.

"Last night [Tuesday], our defensemen did a heck of a job getting pucks to the net," mentioned Bolduc. "On our end, we provided traffic, which produced results. It's the kind of goal we can create with our defensemen."

An extra type of goal, because the range of skills of the Canadiens defensemen is broader than just putting pucks on net.

"They have so much talent that they can join the rush at any moment," praised Bolduc. "Yes, they do it in the offensive zone, but they also do it on the counterattack, which creates odd-man rushes."

The kind of support that makes the Canadiens dangerous across the entire surface of the offensive zone.