‘You just throw up all over yourself’: Habs critical of showing in loss to Caps
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The Montreal Canadiens didn’t rebound the way they were looking to Thursday night after being on the wrong end of a lopsided loss the game before.
After being blown out 8-2 by the Seattle Kraken in Montreal on Tuesday, the Habs allowed the Washington Capitals to score six times in the final two periods Thursday night, falling 6-3 and sending them to their sixth loss in eight games.
Montreal led 2-1 midway through the second period, but the wheels came off when they allowed two goals in less than a minute to give the Caps the lead. After Nick Suzuki got one back for the visitors to even things, two quick ones gave Washington a two-goal lead. Alex Ovechkin put things away later in the frame, scoring his fifth of the season.
“Our start showed that we were patient and disciplined,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said via NHL.com. “We’re in a good spot going into the third and you just throw up all over yourself.”
"We're going through some things right now, and the frustrating thing is it's repeating mistakes by all of us,” Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. “As individuals, I think we need to be more accountable toward the team. Once again, we're sitting here disappointed. We lost a game we felt like we handed it to them.”
"It was the next shift we got scored on [again],” Suzuki said of Aliaksei Protas’ third-period marker, which came just 36 seconds after Connor McMichael gave the Capitals the lead. “That's been a trend lately, and that's got to stop. You can't give up two goals back-to-back like that."
The Canadiens are tied with the Colorado Avalanche for last in the NHL in goals allowed per game at 4.18 and have allowed a total of 21 goals in their past three losses.
Ovechkin picked up two assists alongside his goal and now has three goals in his past two games. Thursday’s was No. 858 of his career, putting him 37 behind Wayne Gretzky for the NHL’s all-time lead.
“He’s been awesome,” Protas said of his linemate. “The way he celebrates, you feel like it’s his first NHL goal when you know he’s chasing one of the unreal records. You see the look in his eyes, just feels happy to be there, celebrating like a kid. It’s special.”
The Canadiens will be back in action on Saturday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.