NYR@MTL: About Thursday night...

MONTREAL - Here are a few key storylines from Thursday night's 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre.

'I don't know what to say'
It wasn't supposed to happen again, but it did.
For the second game in a row, Claude Julien's troops went up 2-0 on home ice and let the lead slip away before ultimately coming out on the wrong side of the scoresheet.
The Canadiens took a 2-1 lead into the third period, but surrendered four Rangers goals in a span of 7:21 down the stretch - including an empty-netter - to drop their second straight contest.
Tomas Tatar was at a loss for words to describe the latest collapse on home turf.
"I don't know what to say. We can't blow it like that. We had 40 great minutes and we were really happy about our hockey game, and then we just dropped it," said Tatar. "I don't know if we're worried to close the game, but something's got to change. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and we can't let it happen."

Like Tatar, Phillip Danault struggled to explain why this group can't seem to finish off their opponents.
"We really have to learn how to play with a lead. It's our biggest problem. We have to find a solution," stressed Danault. "We can't be afraid to play with a lead. If we are, it's better to let the other team score the first goal. We really have to work on that aspect of our game."
It clearly wouldn't be a stretch to say that no lead is safe at the moment, even when Julien's squad goes ahead by a pair.
"It's a big grey cloud over our head that's been following us all year [when we're ahead 2-0]. We have to learn to be stronger mentally, to play hard, and to not play on our heels," added Danault. "We have to play a game the way we play in the first period."
Goaltender Carey Price shared similar thoughts as well.
"You shouldn't be [thinking about previous blown leads]. We should just be pressing on," insisted Price. "They say ever since you're in Pee-Wee hockey to play like it's 0-0, so it shouldn't be an issue."

'We're capable of playing 40 minutes, but we can't play 60'
During his postgame press conference, Julien's disappointment was evident.
He wasn't at all pleased with the way things played out on Thursday night.
"We're capable of playing 40 minutes, but we can't play 60. We encourage the players to play 60 minutes. We tell them to play on their toes, not on their heels in the third period - to play the third period the way they played the first two. But it doesn't happen," said Julien. "At some point, you look at the goals we give up and we're on our heels. We can't play for the players, but at some point the decision has to come from them to stop saying they lack confidence and to start playing the right way. We're asking the players to play 60 minutes the same way."

Equally irritating for the veteran bench boss was watching scoring chances being squandered time and again.
"It could've easily been 3-0 or 4-0 if we buried our chances. We talk about you've got to lift pucks up, once you get a rebound or something. We have to make those things happen, and they're not," added Julien. "That's why we're frustrated right now as players, as a coaching staff. You try and help them out and it's not happening. That's where our challenges are."
Bright spots
Max Domi continued his strong play on Thursday night, scoring his 16th goal of the season.

That extended his point streak to four straight games. He has six points (3 goals, 3 assists) during that span.
For his part, Tatar scored a goal and added an assist to match his career-high in points (58) in just his 66th outing of the year.

He set the mark last season with 25 goals and 33 assists in 80 games.