Julien: 'We needed to start on time'

NEWARK - Head coach Claude Julien didn't hesitate for a second when asked to point out exactly where things went wrong on Monday night.

According to the veteran bench boss, it was rather obvious why his group dropped a 2-1 decision to the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.
With the loss, the Canadiens now have just two victories in their last eight games.
"We didn't start the game off well and that was the whole story of this game. There's not much to say about this game except to say that we needed to start on time," said Julien. "We didn't play well enough to win a hockey game. This time of year, you've got to play 60 minutes and we didn't do that."

His players were of the same opinion, of course. They certainly didn't like their collective effort, especially after the way things played out in Toronto in their previous outing over the weekend.
Max Domi was among several of Julien's troops to share their thoughts on the Canadiens' recent struggles.
"We've got to be better. It's as simple as that," affirmed Domi. "We've got to find ways to score goals and defend better a little bit. That's as a whole. From top to bottom, we've got to find a way to be a touch better in this locker room."
Jonathan Drouin also chimed in on the troubles the Habs have been dealing with of late.
"It's a wake-up call for everyone," stated Drouin. "This time of year, where we are in the standings, we can't lose these games no matter who we play."

If only the Canadiens could get their power play going, that would undoubtedly help their cause.
It failed to click on four opportunities against New Jersey, though.
"We've got to find a way to capitalize. It just kind of goes with being better as a whole and finding ways to score goals," added Domi, regarding the man advantage. "We just have to simplify. Shoot and get in the dirty areas. One will go off a leg or something and we'll start rolling."
The lone bright spot on Monday night was Paul Byron's short-handed goal that cut the Devils' lead in half with 13:30 remaining in regulation, but goaltender Cory Schneider was unbeatable the rest of the way.

No time to dwell on this one
The Canadiens will be back in action on Tuesday night in Detroit, so reflecting on this latest defeat is essentially out of the question. There just isn't any time.
The focus has already shifted to the Red Wings, as it should.
"Every single game from here on out is going to be absolutely huge. We've got to find ways to win as many games as possible," insisted Domi. "We're going to try and win every game and we're going to leave it all out there. We're going to empty the tanks every night and we've got a lot of character in this group so we'll find a way."

Former Red Wing Tomas Tatar framed the situation rather bluntly.
"It's another big challenge for us," said Tatar, ahead of the matchup at Little Caesars Arena. "We need to get two points."