from Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette,

The best way to describe the mood in the Canadiens’ dressing room after Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Rangers was delusional.

There were the usual clichés about how the game could have gone either way in overtime, but there was only one predictable outcome from the way the Canadiens played from the start of the third period until Mika Zibanejad redirected a shot from Chris Kreider for the winning goal.

“There were opportunities to close out the game and (Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist) made some good saves and they got a bounce on that goal,” captain Max Pacioretty said. “But nothing we can do about it now. We have an opportunity now to show what we have in this room. We’ve come back a lot this year and hopefully we can do it in this series as well.

“It could have gone either way, it really could have,” added Pacioretty.

No, it couldn’t....

The Canadiens took a 2-1 lead after the first period, but coach Claude Julien said the seeds of destruction were sown in the second period.

“In the second half of that period, we spent less time (in the Rangers’ zone) and when we got the puck in there, it came right back out,” Julien said. “We spent more time chasing and defending than we did controlling the puck and that can be tiring. They got some energy in the second half and they brought it into the overtime like we did a few games ago.”...

“In order to get through this, we’re going to need more from a lot of guys,” said Julien. “It’s time for certain players to elevate their games and have that confidence and desire to be better. There’s no doubt when you lose games and you’re behind 3-2, you can’t be satisfied as a team and you know there are certain players who can give a little bit more.”

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