Canadiens 4, Penguins 3

Canadiens 4, Penguins 3
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- First, the Montreal Canadiens lost Sheldon Souray to a rarely seen equipment violation. Then, they lost a two-goal lead.
Not to worry. These days, nobody does losing like the Pittsburgh Penguins, who must be wondering how long a pair of record-setting streaks will last before they finally end.
Not only do the talent-bare Penguins have the NHL's worst record at 11-36-5-3, their 4-3 loss Tuesday to Montreal was their club record-tying 11th in a row. They're also one loss away from tying the NHL modern-era record of 11 consecutive home losses set by four clubs, most recently by the Atlanta Thrashers during the 1999-2000 season.
"We're always thinking maybe, finally, this is going to be the night," Aleksey Morozov said. "We played hard and we worked hard and did a lot of good things, but in the end, it wasn't enough."
Afterward, coach Eddie Olczyk suggested he's seen just about enough from a rebuilding team that hasn't won since Jan. 12 at Philadelphia or at home since beating Chicago 1-0 on Dec. 29.
Olczyk is taking a weekend trip to scout the Penguins' Wilkes-Barre/Scranton farm club, and it sounds as if he might be returning with some new players.
"If you see four or five guys who deserve to come up, maybe that will be the case. We have guys here who have plenty enough chances," he said.
The Canadiens started as if they might repeat their 8-0 victory in Pittsburgh on Jan. 10 as Steve Begin and Mike Ribeiro scored on Montreal's first two shots -- Begin with 30 seconds gone, Ribeiro 2:03 into the game.
Souray, who set a club record for a defenseman with six points on Jan. 10 on a goal and five assists, got his first assist since by setting up Begin's goal. But Souray was ejected during a fight later in the first period when the officials detected his jersey wasn't properly tied down. The rule is designed so players can't quickly shed their gear during fights.
"It's the referee's decision and you don't have a choice," coach Claude Julien said. "You've got to respect that and there's nothing you can do after it's called."
The Penguins shook off their latest poor start -- they've been outscored at home 49-14 during their losing streak -- to take a 3-2 lead on consecutive goals by Eric Meloche, Konstantin Koltsov and Rico Fata in a span of slightly less than 14 minutes.
But backup goalie Mathieu Garon shut them out over the final 37 minutes, and second-period goals by Saku Koivu on a power play and by Niklas Sundstrom eventually made the difference in Montreal's comeback victory.
"Every time I watch them (the Penguins) play, the team is going in the right direction," Julien said. "You've got to like their speed, you've got to like their determination."
Right now, though, there's not much for Olczyk to like.
"Enough is enough," he said.
Notes: The Bruins (1924-25), the Capitals (1974-75) and the Senators (1992-93) also lost 11 straight at home. ... Souray has 10 of his 34 points against Pittsburgh. ... The Canadiens outscored the Penguins 20-5 while sweeping the season series. ... The Penguins played without leading goal scorer Ryan Malone, who became sick following the morning skate. ... Until this season, the Penguins had never lost more than eight in a row at home, and that occurred over multiple seasons.