Unhappy Hab

With another loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday and the hopes of a playoff berth fading, Canadiens forward Mike Cammalleri sounded off about the mounting frustration in Montreal and his lack of ice time in recent games.

Cammalleri, who was booed by fed-up fans in the third period of the Canadiens' 2-0 loss, played 15:01 against St. Louis, marking the sixth time in 10 games that he played less than 17 minutes. Having averaged 18:24 though 37 games this season - and 18:47 since coming to Montreal in 2009 - the Toronto-born sniper was clearly frustrated after practice Wednesday when asked about his role of late.

"I'm not playing as much, so I need to get a little work here in practice to stay in shape," Cammalleri told reporters.

Cammalleri later followed up the conversation with a reporter from NHL.com and La Presse saying, "On the Arnott goal, he was my guy, I wasn't sharp there. But it was my fifth shift of the game and it was the second period. Usually I've made 15 good plays by that point.

"I'm used to playing 20 minutes a night," he said, while also telling the reporters to "read between the lines."

Cammalleri also mentioned the Canadiens are playing with a "losing mentality," which has led to the team playing tentatively as opposed to the assertive, confident style of hockey that had them within one goal of knocking off the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins in the first round last spring.

With nine goals and 22 points in 37 games Cammalleri is currently on pace for 45 points, which would be his lowest total since becoming a full-time NHLer in 2005-06.