MTL@ARI: A little too late

GLENDALE -- The Canadiens and Coyotes traded two pairs of quick goals on Thursday, but Montreal's came a little too late.

It was Brendan Perlini who tallied two markers -- including the game-winner -- in a 19-second span to start the middle 20, putting the Habs in a 3-0 hole early.

"It's frustrating. We went for a puck and somehow it ended up on their stick. Then we were assuming that we had it, and went into [the wrong] position -- that was how I saw it," described captain Max Pacioretty on the sequence which tripled the Arizona lead in less than 20 seconds. "Obviously 3-0 is a huge hole to come back from, but we almost gave ourselves a chance."
Indeed, the Canadiens looked poised to tie things up in the third after charging out of the gate with two quick goals of their own, at 5:46 and 7:38 in the final frame.
"I liked the way we came out in the third and still pushed. We got the two quick goals we needed, and felt like we had them on their heels" explained Brendan Gallagher, who scored his team-leading 21st of the season in the decision. "But then they executed on the power play and got one back. You can't dig yourself into a hole -- especially on the road -- and that hurt us tonight."
Tobias Rieder's goal with the man advantage at 10:46 in the third killed the Canadiens' momentum in the Grand Canyon State with 9:14 left to play. Less than 24 hours after going 2-for-2 on the penalty kill in Denver, the Habs went 0-for-2 in Arizona.
"Obviously once they scored the fourth goal, it was pretty tough from there," continued Gallagher. "Still, this is a group with pride. We've been through a lot this year -- obviously we haven't gotten the results that we've wanted -- but I'm not going to sit here and let anyone tell me that these guys gave up. We're going to continue working for each other."
DAN THE MAN
A bright spot in Thursday's game was forward Daniel Carr, who returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 1.
Carr led the team with five shots, and scored the Habs' other goal of the evening, ending his night with a plus-1 differential.

But it was still tough for the Sherwood Park, AB native to be too pleased with his effort, given the result.
"I hadn't played in awhile, so there were some little plays that I want to make better. I turned the puck over too many times on our wall, and that hurts my linemates and the team," stressed Carr, who played on a line with Jacob de la Rose and Logan Shaw. "For me, that's one thing I want to get better at, but as a line we did some good things and we've got to continue that going forward."