1) You, the Canadiens fan, might be empathizing with Bruins fans right now. A good portion of last night's game would have you feel like there's nothing the Canadiens can do to reverse their fortunes against Tampa Bay.

And then Brandon Prust drilled Ben Bishop behind the net and everything--almost everything--changed.

The Canadiens fell once again to the Lightning. The feel out process; the psych out of facing the unvanquished buried them before they could show their true colors.

But once frustration and anger brought something new to the table for Montreal, it sure looked like a different hockey game. And you shouldn't be taking that away from the Canadiens and chalking it up to a letdown from Tampa.

The emotions got hot, and under those circumstances, it became a one-sided affair in a way you might not have thought possible.

2) What's the difference?

Is it Max Pacioretty's unimaginable mistake?

A bad line change that led to Victor Hedman's goal?

Lars Eller's late game penalty?

Maybe it was Galchenyuk not burying that chance on the powerplay in the opening minutes. Maybe it was the puck off the iron from P.K. Subban. Maybe it was that mad scramble in front of Bishop, saved at the last second by Matt Carle fishing a puck out of the crease with his hand.

How do you think the Canadiens saw it?

3) I don't think the Habs were pissed at the Lightning. I think they were pissed at themselves.

Mad about not converting their early opportunities. Mad about feeling it out against a team they wanted to step on. Mad about gifting a team that's owned them a 3-0 lead.

Whatever it was, mad got the pot simmering. Now it's time to see if they'll let that percolate to a boil against Florida.

4) Losing five of six was a healthy wakeup call at this stage of the year. And if you look at most the top teams in the league, they're going through similar things. It's those who emerges out of these phases to carry momentum into the playoffs that isolate themselves from the pack.

The game against the New York Islanders to halt the skid was a real good foundation for a late season push.

The game against Tampa could have knocked the Canadiens right back into confusion and doubt, but I get the sense it'll send them in the opposite direction, whether it's carried through on tonight in their third game in four nights, or it kicks in when they get back from this road trip Thursday to face Carolina.

5) At best, that was a 50-50 call on Eller. When you consider how the game was being called, I thought it was a very poor call to make. Eller wasn't trailing behind. He kept his feet moving and pulled even. He got called for taking his hand off his stick to shove J.T. Brown on what was turning out to be a non-threatening rush.

A penalty is a penalty. It's hard to argue with that. But when the referees decide to let most of that stuff go (i.e. the hold on Pacioretty on the previous rush), you don't expect an arbitrary call with two minutes left in a one-goal game.

If people want to hang this on Eller, I think that's misguided.

6) If the Canadiens lose tonight in regulation, the Tampa Bay Lightning--who are now tied in points--take the lead in the Atlantic Division on the ROW (regulation+overtime wins) tiebreaker.

7) If Carey Price were playing tonight, he'd have been pulled and saved after that third goal.

My speculation, but I think it's pretty safe, Dustin Tokarski was the plan for tonight. He'll get the nod.

I know a lot of fans would like to see Price go back-to-back, but there's a difference between going back-to-back and doing it as your third start in four nights. There's no reason for Price to do that 70 games into the season, if ever. And the Canadiens are playing again Thursday and Saturday.

8) I'd wager Pacioretty was more upset when he gave that puck to Stamkos, but that wound widened when he missed the breakaway opportunity Dale Weise offered him.

I would also wager that Pacioretty took the blame for the loss with his teammates last night. I'm sure they didn't agree with him, but I'm sure he wore it.

He faced the media after.

This is character.

And while we're betting, Stamkos for sure called for that puck.

9) Brendan Gallagher and the Canadiens can pretend all they want that he was just trying to spark them with his fight. Of course, that was the net result.

But Gallagher got into that fight because he was pissed. He was fuming in the box. That emotion was harnessed by his team. It was entertaining.

10) Torrey Mitchell down. Brian Flynn down. Devante Smith-Pelly lost.

The Canadiens can use some of the speed they fed to their minor league affiliate. In my evaluation, Christian Thomas, Sven Andrighetto and even Michael Bournival have offered more than these three players, but forget about the first two, they've clearly offered more than the third.

Smith-Pelly's being given a chance to acclimate, but his rope isn't going to be endless. Mitchell and Flynn offer a right-handed option in the faceoff circle and have more potential to do something on the ice than Manny Malhotra does.

Dale Weise may not be a first liner, but you could feel him pouting with Smith-Pelly taking minutes away from him. He played 8:50 last night. Prust had two fights and played 7:50.

We'll see how this shakes out.

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