floating past the net. He

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. Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Monta Ellis scored 15 of his 30 points in the final quarter, and the Dallas Mavericks held on for a 106-102 victory over the Raptors to snap Torontos six-game winning streak. Chandler Parsons contributed 16 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 15 and Al-Farouq Aminu scored 14 for the Mavericks, who have won two straight and eight of their last 10 games. Kyle Lowry had 25 points and Amir Johnson contributed 20 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who fell to 13-3 on the season. Torontos leading scorer, DeMar DeRozan, exited the game early in the third quarter with a left groin strain. DeRozan, who entered Friday leading the Raptors with 20.7 points a game, was held scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting from the field. Ellis 3-pointer widened Dallas lead to 97-83 with 2:21 left, but the Raptors made a furious charge and closed within 104-102 on Lowrys bank shot with 9,9 seconds remaining. Devin Harris then sealed the outcome at the foul line for Dallas by making both attemptss with 6.dddddddddddd seconds left. Lowry scored 13 points in the final quarter to help the Raptors stay close. Toronto scored the games first 10 points, but trailed 26-21 after 12 minutes. Dallas led 48-43 at halftime and was in front 69-54 following an Ellis 3- pointer with 3:24 left in the third. Earlier in the period, DeRozan dribbled past Nowitzki on the right side of the lane but had his left leg slip, causing him to fall to the floor with 8:23 remaining in the frame. DeRozan was writhing in pain before eventually getting to his feet and walked off the court gingerly. The Mavs led 71-64 going to the final quarter. Game Notes Nowitzki went 1-of-7 from 3-point range, but became the 23rd player in NBA history with 1,500 career triples ... Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle earned his 300th victory with Dallas. He joined Don Nelson (339-251) and Dick Motta (329-409) as the only other Mavs coaches to reach the mark ... Lou Williams scored 16 points for Toronto. ' ' '