EDM@MTL: Reset and regroup

MONTREAL -- The Habs will benefit from a rare four days without a game to regroup following a tough few nights at the office.

Just four days ago, Montreal was one bad bounce away from forcing OT against the West's best St. Louis Blues, and possibly extending a five-game win streak to six.
Fast-forward to Saturday, and the club now dropped a third-consecutive decision -- 6-2 to Oilers -- while Carey Price saw his night cut short at home for the first time in nearly a year.
Indeed, the break is a timely one.

"We'll have some time to think about this one," admitted Jonathan Drouin, who returned from a four-game absence on Saturday, but was held off of the scoresheet against Edmonton. "We'll have time to prepare for our next game. We have some big tests coming up, and some big points up for grabs at home and on the road."
Coming off a pair of one-goal losses -- including Thursday's overtime decision against the Flames -- Saturday's result nevertheless sits as an outlier among the Habs' last eight games, a span over which the club went 5-2-1.
"Sticking to tonight, I don't think it's fair to group [the three consecutive losses] together. Everyone has to have the idea that they're going to create offense and go down there and play as a unit of five," stressed Max Pacioretty, who registered an assist on Alex Galchenyuk's second period tally. "I know we've gone through streaks, one way or the other, but tonight there just wasn't any offensive killer instinct."
Not for the Canadiens, at least.
The Oilers for their part jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before the game was halfway done, potting a pair of goals just 73 seconds apart at the start of the middle frame.
The visitors would add two more just 30 seconds apart, later in the third.

"It was tough tonight. We didn't have the start we wanted," admitted Shea Weber. "There's nothing we can do to take it back. Now we've got to put in the work for next week and be ready for New Jersey."
Luckily the Habs will have plenty of time for just that.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE...
With Carey Price pulled at home for the first time since Dec. 16, 2016, Antti Niemi meanwhile was a bright spot in Saturday's outing.
The 34-year-old made 24 saves on the 26 shots he faced, posting a 0.923 save percentage over 37:28 of ice time in relief of Price.

"He played really well, especially with some of those saves early on," acknowledged Pacioretty, as Niemi notably made highlight reel stops on Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the middle 20. "It was 4-1 there with a chance to score at the end of the second -- it could have been 4-2, and then it's probably [a different game]."
"But ultimately, when you go down 4-0, the odds aren't in your favor," concluded the Habs captain. "There's not much more to say about that."