Julien: 'Our destiny is still in our hands'

BROSSARD - Claude Julien and his troops are relishing the challenge currently before them.

Montreal currently sits third in the Wild Card race and is only two points back from the Columbus Blue Jackets and the final playoff position.
The head coach believes his group is up for the task.
"We still have our destiny in our hands. It's on us to perform well until the end of the season. Nothing has changed since the beginning: we're a young team who's growing as the season goes on," he explained. "The schedule hasn't been easy the last two weeks. We had a lot of travel and a lot of road games. It's going to be a battle until the end of the season. We're conscious of that and we're ready to face the music."
His players felt exactly the same way.
"I don't feel any extra pressure. We have to keep that mentality of going one game at a time and being aware that we're in an important stretch of the season. Every game is important. We know we need to be invested and concentrated for this last week of the schedule," mentioned defenseman Jeff Petry. "If we play well and we earn points in those last 13 games, we can control our own fate."

The Canadiens are coming off a sequence of 10 away games in just 32 days. According to Julien, it was indeed the most gruelling and tough part of the schedule.
"We just went through the most difficult part of our schedule and for sure it didn't help us. We need to grow from those kinds of situations to get better. We have the chance to prepare and take good care of ourselves in order to play our best games until the end of the season," expressed the veteran bench boss. "It's not about being afraid of what's coming, it's about embracing the opportunity that awaits us. That makes a big difference."
The Habs practiced at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard for the first time since February 21. What's more, their game against the Red Wings on Tuesday will be just the fourth played on home ice in 32 days.
Canadiens players will surely be happy to see their loyals fans again and they hope they'll be able to build something solid on the jolt of energy they'll get from the crowd.
"It's a big week for us. We have some games at home, which we haven't had in a long time," outlined winger Jonathan Drouin. "I think it'll be good for us to see our fans, our arena, and to feel the ambiance again."

The Canadiens welcome the Red Wings for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop at the Bell Centre for the last game of the season between the Original Six rivals.