Playing better but losing.

The Montreal Canadiens is really having one bizarre season. One night they play awful and win then the following night they play better and end up losing.

That is exactly what happened yesterday. The Habs played a solid game yesterday versus the Atlanta Trashers but finally dropped the game during the shootout session. Final score: Atlanta Trashers 3 - Montreal Canadiens 2.

Sergei Kostitsyn seems a good fit for now on the first line for the Habs. Along with Saku Koivu and Chris Higgins, the young winger is playing better as games go by. Yesterday, he scored his second goal in his last two games.

Vyacheslav Kozlov and Eric Perrin both scored for Atlanta, giving them a 2-1 lead going into the third period. But Alex Kovalev tied the game at 2-2 during the third period with a powerful blast that went past goaltender Kari Lehtonen. The russian now has 15 goals this season and clearly leads the Habs in scoring.

The shootout allowed Atlanta to get away with the victory. Their shootout record this season is simply impressive. Four wins and only one loss. As for the Habs, they continued to struggle during the shootout as they now show a very ordinary 2-5 record.

There will be no rest for the Habs as they will play tonight in Dallas. Montreal will try to break their December 23rd curse as they haven’t won on this very date since 1945!

(Picture: Marian Hossa, Canadian Press.)