Chris: No time to pity each other, says Martin St. Louis

The Montreal Canadiens continued their offseason journey by taking on the Florida Panthers and the result was far from convincing.

In his return to action, Aleksandr Barkov scored three goals and two assists in an easy 7-2 Panthers victory over CH, which left Florida after two stinging losses.

The Hab is going through hard times, but this is not the time for players to pity each other.

“We’re a bit weak at the moment and that sometimes leads to indecision,” said technical director Martin St. Louis. I think every team has a moment like this during the season. We’re living our streak now, but this isn’t the time to say “poor me.”

“No one likes to lose. The positive is our numerical advantage. The negative is that we lost again. But I liked how we stayed together in the third period. I liked our physical side.”

It was a tough evening for the Canadian first line. Cole Cofield and Kirby Dash had one shot each and Nick Suzuki was shut out for the fifth consecutive game and eighth in 10 games.

Jonathan Drouin admitted that the Canadiens players have been frustrated by their recent failures.

“Yes, it’s frustrating and I’d rather see (players fight) than sit on the bench and let time pass. We’re not happy with our game and the results,” said the striker.

The power play produced a goal, but the Canadian was short on a man. The team has conceded 14 shorthanded goals in its last nine games.

However, Drouin praised Arber Xhekaj’s work to excel.

“He has a very good shot and that was the plan: to let him shoot at the reception with two guys near the net.”

Team CH will try to break out of that slack by continuing their trip to Washington during their Saturday afternoon duel.