‘We didn’t show up,’ Subban says after loss
Max Pacioretty says there’s still plenty of hockey to be played, but considering the Canadiens’ performance Monday night, that might not be good news for the team’s long-suffering fans.
Faced with yet another mustwin situation, the Canadiens served up a stinker, losing 6-2 to the Arizona Coyotes in what Tomas Plekanec described as the Canadiens’ worst game of the season.
Pacioretty offered some brave words when he said the Canadiens had to regroup and be ready to face the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday in Denver.
“We have to bounce back,” said Pacioretty, who had one shot on goal and finished at minus-3. “We have to go to the rink tomorrow and help each other get better. There’s still 25 games to play.”
The problem is that Pacioretty said the same thing Friday night in Buffalo after Montreal lost 5-4.
The Canadiens should have been prepared for this game. They flew in late after the Buffalo game, but they had a day off Saturday and should have been more rested than the Coyotes, who were playing their fourth game in six nights.
“We weren’t good enough,” P.K. Subban said. “Everyone has to look in the mirror now and ask themselves if they’re playing their best hockey now. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves, we just have to find a way to play our best hockey. We need guys to elevate their games.”
Subban came into the game with an eight-game points streak and not only failed to earn a point, he didn’t manage a shot on goal. He wasn’t alone — the Canadiens had their second-lowest shots total this season with 19.
The Canadiens remain six points out of a playoff spot and the teams they are trying to catch each have two games in hand.
When asked whether it was realistic to think a playoff spot was still possible, Subban said: “All we can control is the way we play, and we didn’t show up tonight.”
“There was a lack of emotion,” Subban added. “In professional sport, you need that emotion. Sometimes you need someone to cross that line to show that emotion. We need guys to play with emotion, and we didn’t have that.”
That’s not exactly true. Greg Pateryn had it early in the second period when he tried to make some room in front of the net and cross-checked Max Domi. He received a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
When coach Michel Therrien was asked about the incident, he merely said that Pateryn didn’t help the team because his ejection left them with five defencemen.
Therrien said he was disappointed with his team’s lack of energy, but he said the Canadiens were in contention for half the game.
“We were down 3-2 when (Paul) Byron hit a post,” Therrien said. “After that, we didn’t show much.”
Mike Condon took the loss and shouldered some of the blame by saying: “I didn’t execute well.”
Therrien said he and goaltending coach Stéphane Waite decided not to pull the goaltender after he gave up five goals through two periods and Condon supported that decision.
“Sometimes you have to take it like a man,” Condon said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to put (backup goaltender Ben Scrivens) in that position.”