HC Martin St. Louis makes his feelings known about $9.45M Habs goalie's Team Canada selection for 4 Nations Face-Off

Ahead of the Montreal Canadiens' game against the Washington Capitals, coach Martin St. Louis spoke about Sam Montembeault’s selection to Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off. St. Louis praised Montembeault’s calm attitude and mental toughness.

"His mindset, his attitude, like he doesn't get too high, he doesn't get too low," Louis said to the media. "You know, he's just very process-driven. And I think it allows him to just have a short memory, whether it was good or bad, he just comes the next day and does his thing. And I think with that, he found some consistency."

Montembeault, who is signed on a three-year, $9,450,000 contract, has been playing well this season. He has an 8-10-2 record, a 2.82 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 20 games.

St. Louis believes this mindset is beneficial for both Montembeault and the team.

"Mental Toughness is a big part of goaltending ... I think when your goalies (are) in a good place. Usually, the team is in a good place. You know, it comes hand in hand ...," St. Louis added.

"I think they are helping us to gain confidence by, you know, every now and then they got to make some big saves, and I think we, we feed off that, and we want to help them out with them even more at that point when they do that, you know. So I think it's, it works together."

Montembeault has played 164 NHL games and has 57 wins and 70 losses. His goal-against average is 3.32 with a save percentage of .899. His solid play earned him a spot on Team Canada for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, which will take place from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

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Patrik Laine praised Sam Montembeault for making it to Team Canada's roster

The Montreal Canadiens beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 at Bell Centre. Sam Montembeault earned his third shutout.

Jake Evans scored first with a short-handed goal in the first period, faking a pass before shooting. Patrik Laine made it 2-0 in the third with a 5-on-3 power-play goal from Lane Hutson’s pass. Joel Armia scored an empty-net goal with 46 seconds left.

Praising Montembeault for his performance and making it to Team Canada, Laine said, per NHL.com:

“He’s (Montembeault) kept us in the game so many times, just unbelievable, and that’s why they picked him for Team Canada, for that reason. He shows up in big moments. 5-on-3 against, when you look at the guys they have and nothing goes in, he’s been unreal.”

Sam Montembeault made 29 saves to secure the win.