With team in a slump, will GM act before trade deadline?

The last time the Canadiens went into a slide, head coach Claude Julien was fired.

It's unlikely the club will jettison two coaches in the same season, so Dominique Ducharme can rest easy for now. But with the NHL'S trade deadline coming Monday at 3 p.m., it wouldn't be shocking to see general manager Marc Bergevin make more moves, if only to shake his team out of its doldrums.

Then again, Bergevin repeatedly has stated how much he likes the club he assembled.

“We like our team,” Ducharme reiterated Saturday night. “It happens that you lose three games in a row. How are you going to react and get back to your own way? That's what we're focusing on.”

The Canadiens are playing some of their worst hockey this season, having lost three successive games — punctuated by the 5-0 drubbing administered by the Winnipeg Jets at the Bell Centre on Saturday.

This marked the third time this season the Canadiens have been shut out — all three on home ice. While Montreal suffered a season-high five-game losing streak Feb. 20-27 — which ultimately cost Julien his job on Feb. 24 — three of those defeats came in extra time. This is the first time this season the Canadiens have lost three straight in regulation time, and it might force Bergevin's hand.

“I've been in this sport long enough to understand that's the time of year where anything can happen,” said centre Eric Staal, recently acquired from Buffalo.

For all the depth Bergevin believes he assembled, the Canadiens have been held to seven goals in four games — and they required OT and a fluke bounce for two of those. They haven't scored the first goal since April 1, at Ottawa, and don't appear to be a team that can play from behind.

On Saturday, Staal, Tomas Tatar, Josh Anderson, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki all failed to register a shot. Anderson, Jonathan Drouin — who has now gone 20 games without scoring — Jake Evans and Jeff Petry all had plus/minus ratings of minus-2.

Drouin, clearly snake-bit, had an open net midway through the first period and couldn't score. The Canadiens recorded the opening six shots, had some chances, and then seemingly disappeared as Winnipeg seized control.

“We have to be better,” Ducharme understated.

The forwards might be creating opportunities, but lack the confidence to finish. It's as though they're scared of making a mistake. And there have been plenty. Even defenceman Shea Weber was guilty of a turnover on the Jets' fifth goal — not that it mattered by that juncture.

And now, the next move is Bergevin's.