In Montreal, it cannot get much uglier than this. On Thursday night, the Canadiens lost their eighth straight, this time 4-2 to the visiting Edmonton Oilers.
The loss came after the Habs had taken a 2-0 lead.
“Every little bounce seems to be going the wrong way,” Montreal captain Shea Weber said. “At the other end, bounces don’t seem to be going in. And I don’t know, it’s one of those snowball effects. It’s not easy to explain, but it just happens, and you’ve got to find a way to correct it.”
Montreal is 0-7-1 in this skid.
Mike Smith made 35 saves in the win.
“I’m really happy for him because he did have a tough December and he’s come back,” Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. “But I’ve known Mike for a long time, he’s a good pro. He prepares, he’s an unbelievable athlete, and I’ve seen him get on rolls before, and he’s a really good player when he’s on a roll. And we’ve kind of ridden him on this trip out here and he’s played very well, so it’s good to see.”
Phillip Danault and Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored for the Canadiens.
Edmonton’s Riley Sheahan got the rally started with a second period goal to cut the Habs lead to 2-1.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Alex Chiasson scored in the third period to put the Oilers ahead 3-2.
“The way we came back and worked for it in the third was huge,” Oscar Klefbom said. “We’ve got to learn a lesson from this game, obviously the first two periods, and take the third with us for a good confidence boost.”
Josh Archibald added an empty net goal to seal the win.
[WATCH:Â All Oilers vs. Canadiens highlights]
Carey Price made 22 saves in the loss.
“We haven’t thrown the towel in as individuals or as a team,” Canadiens head coach Claude Julien said. “We show up every game and compete. But, you know, a mistake here or there ends up in our net, an opportunity here or there that we should bury doesn’t go in. So those are the challenges that we have, and somehow you’ve got to overcome those things and you kind of try and turn those things into your favor, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
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