| ESPN Network: ESPN.com | NFL.com | NBA.com | NASCAR | NHL.com | WNBA.com | ABCSports | EXPN | FANTASY | INSIDER |
|
| |
Tuesday, Nov. 21 7:30pm ET
New coach, same lame result for Habs | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
MONTREAL (AP) -- Michel Therrien's first game behind the Montreal Canadiens bench was no better than Alain Vigneault's last five. "The only thing I can say is that it's going to be tough, but we'll get through this," Therrien said Tuesday night after his debut as Canadiens coach ended with a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. Therrien's club was booed off the ice after the Canadiens lost their sixth in a row. Florida's third goal symbolized the agony of this season for the Canadiens, as Denis Shvidki threw a blind pass from the behind the net that ricocheted off defenseman Patrice Brisebois and into the net behind startled goalie Jose Theodore. The goal at 1:11 of the third period gave Florida a 3-1 lead over the Canadiens, who dropped to 5-14-2-0, worst by far in the NHL. "I didn't think this would be easy," Therrien said. "There's some work to do for sure." Pavel Bure, Serge Payer and Todd Simpson also scored for the Panthers, who improved to 4-8-4-3. Martin Rucinsky had the lone goal for the Canadiens, who have scored only six goals during their latest losing streak. Vigneault and general manager Rejean Houle were fired on Monday in a desperate attempt by president Pierre Boivin to shake his team up. With the lack of talent on the ice, it will take more than the fiery Therrien to turn things around. New general manager Andre Savard will be under fire to acquire help, but it's believed that Montreal's budget is frozen until the club is sold -- possibly in the next few weeks. The Canadiens, who have lost 11 of 12, play at Atlanta on Thursday night. With the memory of a humiliating 6-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs perhaps still fresh on their minds, the Canadiens came out with intensity for their new head coach in the first period, hitting every Panthers player in sight and collecting most of the loose pucks on the boards. "In the first period we had guys who were flying, taking the man," Therrien said. "But we did that for only for 20 minutes." What worried Therrien the most is how the Canadiens faded late. "The thing that I noticed is that we were unable to keep that intensity for 60 minutes," he said. "Until we do keep that energy for 60 minutes, we're not going to have success." Montreal outshot the Panthers 13-5 in the first, but keeping with the pattern that has put them in so much trouble this season, the Canadiens couldn't finish. "We're not making good decisions with the puck in the offensive zone," Therrien said. "That's a sign that the guys are tight." Canadiens center Trevor Linden, on the top line Tuesday with Brian Savage and Craig Darby, agreed with Therrien. "It's frustrating," he said. "Our line is supposed to be scoring and we're not. It's tough. Maybe guys are squeezing their sticks too tight, rushing things." Both teams used the trap throughout, hoping the other would make a mistake that would lead to an odd-man rush. A crowd of 19,009, the smallest this season, gave mock cheers when Bure added an empty-net goal with 26 seconds left. Panthers coach Terry Murray knew the Canadiens would come out hard early. "We addressed that issue before the game," he said. "We reacted very well to that." Theodore had another mediocre evening for the Canadiens, stopping 16 shots. He fell to 1-8-1 since replacing the injured Jeff Hackett on Oct. 24. Game notesThe Canadiens recorded only one shot in the second period, despite three power plays. ... The Panthers are missing forwards Viktor Kozlov (shoulder), Igor Larionov (hip flexor) and Ray Whitney (groin). ... Montreal forwards Benoit Brunet, Jim Campbell and Patrick Poulin, all out with groin injuries, remain day-to-day. ... The Canadiens swapped goalies with their AHL farm team in Quebec late Monday night, sending Eric Fichaud to the Citadelles and recalling youngster Mathieu Garon. ... Oft-injured Montreal captain Saku Koivu said he thinks he might be back by Christmas, ahead of schedule, after tearing a knee ligament in his left knee in early October. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Florida Clubhouse Montreal Clubhouse Canadiens sweep out coach and general manager
RECAPS Toronto 3 NY Rangers 1
Florida 4 AUDIO/VIDEO   Florida's Denis Shvidki's pass ricocheted off defenseman Patrice Brisebois for a goal.avi: 716 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||