"Fragile group right now": HC Marty St. Louis doesn't mince his words about Montreal Canadiens' current state

Montreal Canadiens coach Marty St. Louis voiced his concerns about the team's ongoing struggles, labeling them a "fragile group." After a crushing 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, he said that most of their challenges are self-inflicted.

Despite the final score, the game told a different story; the Canadiens entered the third period tied at 3-3 but surrendered three unanswered goals that sealed their fate. After the game, Marty St. Louis said:

“We have a fragile group right now for sure. We’re doing it to ourselves. We’re putting our finger down our throat, you know what I mean? We’re not talking about food poisoning.”

"Our start showed we were patient and disciplined ... We're in a good spot going into the third and you just throw up all over yourself."

The Montreal Canadiens have lost two straight games. They sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with nine points after 11 games and are 25th in the league standings. The Habs will aim to bounce back when they face the Penguins on Saturday.

How the Washington Capitals downed the Montreal Canadiens

On Thursday, the Washington Capitals hosted the Montreal Canadiens at Capital One Arena. The first period went goalless.

Tom Wilson opened the scoring for the Capitals with a power-play goal 3:21 into the second period, putting them ahead 1.0. The Canadiens quickly equalized when Cole Caufield scored at 9:52, making the second power-play goal of the period and tying the score at 1-1.

Brendan Gallagher then gave the Habs a 2-1 lead with a goal at the halfway mark of the period. However, the Capitals responded swiftly, with Branden Duhaim and Jakub Vrana giving the Caps a 3-2 lead.

Nick Suzuki answered back for the Canadiens, leveling the game at 3-3 as they headed into the third period.

The Habs started the third period strong, scoring three times in rapid succession. Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas each found the net within a minute, pushing the score to 5-3 for the home team.

Alex Ovechkin capped off the scoring with his fifth goal of the season, sealing a solid 6-3 win for the Capitals. With this goal, Ovechkin has tallied 858 career goals as he continues his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's record of 894 goals.