Jake_Allen

MONTREAL - The Canadiens suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to the Canucks on Friday night at the Bell Centre.

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Following the game, forwards Jonathan Drouin, Nick Suzuki and Tomas Tatar, and interim head coach Dominique Ducharme, spoke with reporters via Zoom.
Here are a few highlights from their respective chats:
Drouin was asked about the Canadiens' failure to put the Canucks away in OT:
I don't think one team controlled the overtime. Both teams had their chances. We missed ours and they capitalized. We have to finish. Those are big points for us. We have to find a way to score a big goal and get two points. We still have work to do.

Drouin on the team's strong 3rd periods

Drouin also commented on the team's sluggish start to the game as well:
We didn't play poorly, but we didn't make their lives difficult. It was easy for them. When we put the puck behind their defensemen and we forechecked, it was tougher for them to exit the zone. We didn't do that for two periods. We can't wait until the third to find our legs and our game. It was too late. We got a big point, but we would've gotten a better result if we played better during the first two periods.

Suzuki discussed the Habs' struggles all season long in the extra frame:
It's obviously not going to help us, but if we get in these situations again, coming down the stretch, something's got to change. I don't know if we're in our heads about it. Andy had that breakaway, which was really close, and then they came down and the guy went around me. Everyone has to do better in overtime to get those wins.

Suzuki on the work being done to improve 3-on-3

Suzuki also assessed his play in recent weeks:
I think I've been trying to find my confidence again. Today included and the two Winnipeg games, I thought I was playing better and getting a few more chances. But, it's a tough league. There are good players on the other team. When those chances come, you've really got to bear down, execute and make plays. Today, I thought I was executing pretty well.

Tatar was asked to explain how players are feeling heading into overtime, given the team's lack of success in that department:
We always believe it will go our way. It's a 50-50. There are a lot of chances on both sides. We had a breakaway, we didn't score. They had a rush back and they scored. We want to pick up more points in overtime. We're working on it. We're starting to play better. It's tough, but every game is different. We just have to put our heads up and believe in the next one that we'll take the extra point.

Tatar on his recent play

Tatar talked about goaltender Jake Allen deserveing a better fate, too:
He's playing great. When he had a chance, usually they were back-to-backs. Those are not easy. You kind of feel it, and he always gave us a chance to win a game. We feel bad for him, but he was great again today. He gave us a chance. He played great, so hopefully next time we'll battle and win one for him.

Ducharme, meanwhile, reflected on the Canadiens' lack of consistency on Friday:
We had highs and lows during the game, especially in the second period. We didn't have our best first period. We turned over pucks in the second period and we missed coverages. We fought back in the third period. We had a lot of chances. We managed to score late in the game to force overtime.

Ducharme on the lack of consistency against Vancouver

With respect to J.T. Miller's game-winner, Ducharme had this to say:
When we use three forwards in overtime, we expose them a little bit more on a play where they're forced to skate backwards. With two players there, we should've killed the play. We had a breakaway a few seconds earlier with our best shooters on the ice. It's unfortunate because we had our chance on that play.