Once upon a time, the Montreal Canadiens boasted a 9-0-0 record.
Those days are now a distant memory, after a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, combined with the New Jersey Devils' victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, dropped the team from the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
"We just really have to get better at putting the puck in the net, but I think the process has been there," Max Pacioretty said, according to NHL.com's Arpon Basu. "At this point, it's just a little bit of a mindset. If you don't have confidence you're not going to score goals."
This is the 10th time in their past 19 games the Habs have scored one goal or fewer.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) January 20, 2016
The Canadiens now find themselves a point behind the Devils for the final playoff position - a position they haven't been in at any time this season.
Related: 3 reasons Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien should be fired
The team has now lost five straight games and 17 of its last 22 since Dec. 1, but despite the slump, head coach Michel Therrien feels the team is playing well enough to win.
"We're not looking for moral victories, we're not looking to win the game on the shot clock," Therrien said. "A lot of these games we've stuck to the process and we've done a lot of good things. If you sit down and watch the game it's really, really hard to say we're playing poor hockey for a lot of this stretch. We've just got to be a little bit better, and we've got to execute."
Hard not to get the impression something severe is coming for Habs if (when?) they lose this. Don't know what exactly, but something.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) January 20, 2016
With the victory over the Flames, the Devils extended their winning streak to two games. As for the Canadiens, the team will be back in action Saturday when they take on the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs.
