Excerpt from the TSN article:


But it is not a meeting or group therapy that coach Guy Carbonneau wants from his team after three straight losses. It is practical, on-ice talking, such as telling linemates where you are and letting them know when an opponent is zeroing in on them.

“It’s something that bugs me sometimes,” Carbonneau said Wednesday. “It’s something I’ve talked about with the players since I’ve been here – trying to get more communication. Sometimes they just stop doing it. I don’t know why.”

With the losses, Carbonneau found his team had become literally too quiet on the ice and on the bench. He addressed that problem in a short speech on ice at their suburban practice facility.

“We need to support each other more on the ice,” said centre Tomas Plekanec. “One guy is working hard and he looks stupid when he’s losing his battle (for the puck) and there’s two guys standing 10 feet away. We need to help each other.”

Defenceman Josh Gorges said talking is a habit players can fall out of.

“It’s a matter of being prepared,” he said. “When you’re into the game and you’re focused, you’re talking.

“Like last game, we took a lot of penalties. Some guys don’t kill penalties. They kind of drift out a bit. Then you kind of fall asleep and guys get frustrated and you’re not concentrating on your game. That’s one thing we have to make sure – that we stay focused and support each other.”