MONTREAL - Head coach Michel Therrien believes it might be time for his club to have a break. After a tough 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre, Therrien came to the defence of a Montreal team that couldnt generate much offence during the game. "Weve played a lot of hockey in less than three weeks," said Therrien. "This team is drained. Theyre empty." The Canadiens have played 11 games in the last 19 days, including a 1-0 overtime victory against the Islanders in New York on Saturday night. The team touched down at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal in the wee hours Sunday, delayed by a snowstorm, and even scratched their morning practice. Therrien didnt blame the loss on a lack of effort or passion, but simply on fatigue. "The lemon is squeezed of all its juice," said Therrien. "When physically, youre tired, the execution is not quite there, and you make bad decisions. They go hand in hand. "Im not blaming (the players). I see what were asking of them. Very demanding. Theyre athletes, theyre human beings. They gave what they could in the circumstances. I know what they could give, and they gave it." The Canadiens started slowly, recording their first shot on net seven minutes into the first period, and were sluggish for most of the game. After two periods, the Panthers led 2-0 and were outshooting the home side 20-12. Montreal came into the third with a burst of energy. With the Habs pressing on the power play, its first of three in the final 20 minutes, Alex Galchenyuk reduced the deficit at 2:28 after banging home captain Brian Giontas rebound from inside the goaltenders crease. But with Floridas Mike Weaver and Scottie Upshall in the penalty box later in the period, the Canadiens couldnt gain control of the game despite playing 35 seconds of 5-on-3 hockey. Galchenyuk had a golden chance in front of the net to tie the game, but fanned on the bouncing puck. "We had an opportunity to win the game, and we wanted to win the game," said P.K. Subban, who registered the only shot on the Habs back-to-back power plays. "We have to capitalize on our opportunities." Panthers goaltender Scott Clemmensen made 17 saves, six of which came in the third period, to earn his second victory of the year. He got the nod in net in place of Tim Thomas, whos sidelined with a groin injury. "Our penalty killing came up big for us," said Clemmensen, looking back on the 5-on-3. "Our guys were diving in front, getting sticks up there, deflecting passes, being in a good position. It was great. Thats how we win games." Peter Budaj got the start in net for the Canadiens, his first of the season at home. He stopped 23-of-25 shots. The Panthers outshot the Canadiens 14-8 in the first period, but neither team came close to breaking the deadlock. Jesse Winchester got the Panthers on the board at 4:44 of the second, beating Budaj to his right with a one-timer off the post and in. Tomas Kopecky started the play, drawing both Montreal defencemen behind the net before feeding the puck to a wide open Winchester, who made no mistake from close range for his fifth goal of the year. Nick Bjugstad doubled the Panthers lead at 7:11, finishing off Floridas 3-on-2 rush by firing a wrist shot under Budajs glove. Florida (12-17-5) extended its win streak to three games. The Canadiens (20-12-3), meanwhile, have now lost three of their last four games, and have only scored three times in those outings. Notes: The game was Montreals third in four nights. … The Panthers have now won five of their last six games. … Montreal sits second in the Atlantic Division, three points behind the Boston Bruins. … The Panthers and Canadiens face off three more times this season. Their next encounter is on Dec. 29 in Sunrise, Florida. 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"Win basketball games," Collins said. He will get at least a few more chances. Collins played the final minutes of a winning home debut with the Brooklyn Nets, who cooled off the Chicago Bulls with a 96-80 victory Monday night.MINSK, Belarus -- In winning its group at the world hockey championship, Team Canada beat goaltenders Jan Laco, Jakub Kovar, Patrick Galbraith, Daniel Bellissimo, Anders Nilsson and Steffen Soberg. None of them are Finlands Pekka Rinne, who stands as Canadas biggest challenge in Thursdays quarter-final round. Even while a young Finnish team has struggled with penalties, turnovers and a lack of offensive depth, Rinne has been a rock with a 1.65 goals-against average, .929 save percentage and two shutouts. "Pekka is our most important player -- absolutely," coach Erkka Westerlund said Wednesday. "We built our whole system so that goalkeeping is No. 1, and then we try to build the strength (of) defence in front of him. Thats how it is, (how) hockey works." Westerlund said he was not yet satisfied with his teams defensive play but expects improvement. Even if that doesnt happen, Finland has a good chance in Canada if for no other reason than Rinne. Fortunately for the Finns, Rinne is not experiencing any injury problems after missing four months of the Nashville Predators season with a hip infection. Naturally, it took a while for him to get back to feeling right. "Its a process, and I think even when I came here (to Minsk) I thought that hopefully I can improve all the time and I didnt maybe feel 100 per cent," Rinne said. "But now I do, and Im really happy and I feel like my game has been getting better and (Im) just feeling more comfortable." Rinne is playing with confidence and instilling it in his teammates, only six of whom are back from the Sochi Olympics, where Finland won a bronze medal. Tuukka Rask and Kari Lehtonen were the goalies then, but as former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov pointed out, the best thing about his country is knowing there will always be great goaltending. Still, this isnt the Olympics. "Its a different roster, its a different tournament," said Komarov, who repeated his desire to return to the NHL last season. "Its a new day, a new life." But the same, old, reeliable Rinne.dddddddddddd Canadian defenceman Ryan Ellis knows all about that from parts of three seasons as a Predators teammate of Rinnes. Unlike a lot of other goaltenders, Ellis said Rinne doesnt let game action detract from his practices. "Every day, every practice its like a game," Ellis said. "He tries so hard in net in practice. I remember by first couple years there, I dont think I scored him in the first 10 or 15 practices. And then every time I did, I was pretty impressed with myself, pretty happy." Ellis said Canada was less concerned with how they were going to score on Rinne and more worried about his puck-handling thwarting attack time. "Hes active back there with the puck, so I think the biggest thing that were focused on is keeping the pucks away from him on dumps and stuff," Ellis said. "He gets out to play them a lot. Getting them in the glass and try to get them out of his reach." Thats especially important to a Canadian team that tries to play a hard, North American style on the bigger, international ice surface. Canada has succeeded at holding on to the puck to create chances and through seven games has averaged 34 shots a game. The strategy against Rinne is the same as many other elite goaltenders. "Were going to have to get pucks and traffic to the net," Ellis said. "Its tough for goalies when they get that kind of presence in front of him. Weve got some big guys, so hopefully we can get those guys going." Whether that happens or Rinne keeps rolling will go a long way to determining whether Canada has a date with the United States or Czech Republic in Saturdays semifinals. Westerlund said the Finns "dont have pressure (because) we are underdogs." Thats true. But Rinne still displays big-game confidence. "Im feeling good and Ive been enjoying hockey," Rinne said. "I think thats the biggest thing, when youre just having fun and just letting it go. Just dont think about anything, just play, and I feel like Ive been doing that." 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