MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens dressing room remained closed to the media for a long time after their 5-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday night. And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. "We have nobody to blame except ourselves and we have to be a lot more resilient moving forward." The Canadiens (27-20-5) have lost four in a row and five of six, allowing Eastern Conference rivals to move closer to the playoff spot they held by a comfortable margin until recently. The slump has rumours flying of trades and has some questioning whether coach Michel Therriens job is safe, although Gorges doesnt see a need for a change. "I cannot see one guy that has lost faith in anyone in this organization," he said. "Thats not who we are. "Collectively, were just in a rut and were finding ways to beat ourselves. Tonight, once we got down, mentally we didnt have that resiliency. But in no way, shape or form are we quitting on anybody." The Canadiens half-effort, in which they were outshot 27-3 at one point in the second frame before closing the gap to 34-21, was just what the struggling Capitals (23-21-8) needed. Alex Ovechkin returned from missing two gamjes with a lower body injury to start a four-goal second period as the Capitals ended a seven-game winless run. The Caps had scored only eight goals in their seven previous games. "Its a big win, a good win for the boys," said Ovechkin. "It brings some confidence back. "This building is an exciting place. Its good." John Erskine, Jay Beagle and John Carlson also scored in the middle period and Casey Wellman, who was recalled Saturday from AHL Hershey, scored on a feed from Ovechkin on a 2 on 1 counterattack 8:38 into the third period. Erskine, Beagle and Wellman each got his first of the season, while Ovechkin got his league-leading 36th. Carlsons goal at 10:31 of the middle period chased goalie Carey Price in favour of backup Peter Budaj. It was a sixth straight game in which Montreal allowed four or more goals. Caps goalie Braden Holtby improved his record against Montreal to 5-0-0 with two shutouts. The Canadiens talked among themselves about the rut they are in after the game, but it was management that ordered every player to stay in the room to face the media. They had been booed mercilessly by the 21,273 Bell Centre fans, who also gave a mock cheer when they were held without a shot on goal until Daniel Briere got only their fourth of the game at 12:25 of the second period. "Its probably the biggest cheer I ever got for making a save," said Holtby. "People should be frustrated," said Montreal defenceman P.K. Subban. "Im frustrated. Everybodys frustrated in here. "But thats life. Thats part of the sport. Its how you respond. I think we have the right attitude in here. We just have to work through it." Therrien said every team goes through bad patches in a season and its up to them to play their way out of it. "That the players had a meeting shows they want to fix the problem," he said. "I have confidence we will bounce back from this." Price said the meeting should help. "We need to tackle this problem as a team," he said. "Doing things individually is what got us to this point. So this was a good step. "At this point, our support isnt good enough. We have to battle better for our teammates. You have to count on the guy beside you. Right now were not doing that." The Canadiens seemed to go to pieces once Washington got the lead. Ovechkin fed Troy Brouwer on a power play for a shot that was disallowed when video review found it entered the net a fraction of a second after the first period ended. The man advantage had just ended when Ovechkin produced magic in the second period when Jason Chimeras rebound looked to be floating past the net. He tapped the puck twice in the air to keep it from getting away, then he lifted it into an open side for his 36th of the season. "It was kind of a tough angle, but its in and well take it," said Ovechkin. Less than two minutes later, Erskine saw his sliding pass go through a surprised Prices legs after Subban lifted Brooks Laichs stick in front of the net. Beagle scored on a set-up from Tom Wilson at 6:21 and Carlson added one on a long shot Price didnt see. The Capitals have won seven in a row at the Bell Centre since March, 2011 and are 9-1-1 in their last 11 visits. Notes -- There was a standing ovation in a pre-game ceremony for Anthony Calvillo. The CFLs all-time passing leader retired this week from the Montreal Alouettes. . . There was also a moments silence for victims of the Ile-Verte fire. . . Montreal defenceman Raphael Diaz was scratched for a fourth game. . . While Ovechkin returned, centre Mikhail Grabovski sat out with a lower body injury. . . Adam Oates coached his 100th Capitals game. cheap jerseys from china . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. cheap jerseys china . -- The Oakland Raiders have traded wide receiver Louis Murphy to the Carolina Panthers for an undisclosed conditional draft choice. http://www.cheapjerseyschina.cc/. The Browns have relaxed their media limitations to see rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel practice. cheap nfl jerseys . Both Lawrie and his manager agree it isnt preferable. What it is: a consequence of a game played without the designated hitter. "Im a third baseman," said Lawrie. wholesale jerseys . Workman maintained his pitching rhythm in a batting cage during the second of two rain delays. Upon his return, the right-hander was virtually unhittable.HOUSTON - Andre Johnson is having another great season for the Houston Texans. The star receiver certainly isnt celebrating it with the Texans mired in a franchise-record 13-game skid. He told The Associated Press this week that dealing with another terrible season after already suffering through the lean times early in franchise history has taken the joy out of playing the game he loves. "You dont expect to go back through it," said. "You think youre past that stage as a team ... it is no fun at all." Despite his frustration with this year, Johnson has remained Houstons most reliable leader. "Its amazing. Andre is just the consummate pro. Hes always positive," interim coach Wade Phillips said. "Hes always making plays. Its tremendous the number of plays hes made ... that just says so much about him. And if you know him as a person, hes even better." This has been the most painful season for Johnson because the Texans were coming off consecutive playoff appearances and were expected to contend for a Super Bowl. Instead, they need a win at Tennessee on Sunday to avoid matching their franchise-worst record of 2-14 from 2005. If the Texans lose on Sunday, they will be guaranteed the top overall pick in Aprils draft. Johnson is the only player remaining on the team from the 2005 season. He has been with the Texans since their second season after being drafted third overall in the 2003 draft. He went through four losing seasons with David Carr at quarterback before the Texans picked up Matt Schaub and the franchise began to turn around. The Texans won back-to-back AFC South titles and looked to take the next step this season. But Schaub had the worst stretch of his career and was benched after six games in favour of Case Keenum. But the losing continued with the undrafted, record-setting University of Houston quarterback running the offence. Now it looks like Johnsoon is likely to be catching passes from another quarterback next season.dddddddddddd Johnson isnt spending time worrying about Houstons quarterback situation, especially because the Texans dont know who their coach will be in 2014 after Gary Kubiaks recent firing. "You just have to wait and see what happens," he said. "You dont necessarily know if its going to be a rookie quarterback or a veteran guy. We dont even have a coach yet." Johnson is second in the NFL with 103 receptions in 2013 and his 1,358 yards receiving are fifth in the league. He tied an NFL record for most seasons with at least 100 receptions on Sunday, reaching the mark for the fifth time in his career. This Sunday he has a shot at setting another NFL mark. Johnson needs 142 yards to become the first player in NFL history to have at least 100 receptions and 1,500 yards receiving in four seasons. This is Johnsons seventh season with at least 1,000 yards receiving and he surpassed 12,000 yards for his career earlier this year. "I think the ultimate goal is to win and win the championship," Johnson said. "So I think the records and stuff like that is something youll look at once your career is over to see what youve accomplished since youve been in the league." Johnson will turn 33 this summer, raising the question how much longer hell be able to play at this level, and if time is running out for him to reach his goal of winning the Super Bowl. But this tough season hasnt dampened his optimism that Houston will turn things around next year. "You can make moves and put yourself into contention," he said. "There are going to be some decisions made this off-season with the new coach and everything like that. Hopefully, as an organization, well make some moves to put us in contention where we can go out and compete to hopefully win that Super Bowl." ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org cheap jerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
