Pacioretty: Time for Canadiens 'to look in the mirror'

Max Pacioretty is taking a bigger measure of responsibility for the Montreal Canadiens decision to fire head coach Michel Therrien and replace him with Claude Julien.

"You feel guilt. We know we have a great team and we know that Michel is a great coach, so we feel like if we had performed better as of late, then he'd still be here," Pacioretty said Tuesday on TSN's 'That's Hockey.' "So you definitely feel guilt, especially as a player but even more so as the captain."

Be that as it may, Pacioretty knows the only direction in which to move is forward, with this move serving as a wake up call for the players.

"It's time for everyone to look in the mirror and say, 'you know, I've got to do more, I've got to play better.' Whether it's confidence or trying to be the difference maker every night, we've got to find it.

"There's not a lot of room for error now, with giving up as many points as we did as of late, so whatever it's going to take, we need everyone to bear down and help us pull together some wins."

The Canadiens posted a record of 1-5-1 over the last seven games of Therrien's tenure, including a 4-0 loss to Boston, who fired Julien on Feb. 7.

Currently in the midst of their bye week, Montreal will return to the ice on Saturday against Winnipeg, and will attempt to right the ship under the direction of their new bench boss.