Carey Price's shoulders slumped in frustration as Steven Stamkos was awarded a penalty shot, less than 2 minutes into a third period the Canadiens needed to own if they were going to escape Tampa with two points.
Stamkos' Spinorama was the icing on a sloppy cake; one made of seven losses in nine games that preceded a day off in sunny Tampa. The Canadiens were supposed to be relaxed -- they looked anything but.
Stress turned to worry when Stamkos finished this one off with the easiest of his 31 goals, scored in an empty net less than three minutes after demoralizing Price on the penalty shot.
"We got the lead early and then the lack of focus and lack of concentration cost us some penalties," Coach Martin said after the game.
I'd suggest it cost them much more.
The Canadiens got down on themselves when Martin St. Louis tied the game with a powerplay goal, early in the second period. They got down on each other as the game went to 2-1, ten minutes later. The penalty shot -- early in the third period -- was the ultimate deflator, but you'd have expected anger or outrage as a reaction, not depression.
And now we're left with that ugly word, familiarly uttered during real tough times the Habs suffered last season: Fragility.
How fragile are the Canadiens?
Seemingly not as fragile as some in the fan base; some who wish to see players they praised mightily throughout the first third of the season swept out of town; some who wake up every morning and pray that Jacques Martin will be handed a pink slip, and the Canadiens will then mutate into the high-flying offensive juggernaut they were built to be.
Did they forget that the team won 19 games before this mid-season collapse? Did they forget how those games were won?
When the Canadiens find their way back to that system -- the one that had the fans of this city rejoicing last spring and this fall -- they'll be redeemed. Until then, they'll have to deal with the fragility of their fans.
As for their own fragility, the road back is a hard one to travel. It's getting harder with every loss (especially ones like last night, where effort was abandoned because morale was broken). But the Habs should have a little faith, and so should their fans.
This team has the system, the coaching, the leaders, the character and the goaltending to regain their swagger, and they have the money to improve.
For their sake, a win against the Panthers today would be crucial to finding the first step on the road back to success. A loss plunges them further into fragility.
