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OTTAWA -- The Montreal Canadiens couldnt help but feel a sense of payback. The Canadiens have been seeking retribution against the Senators since last spring when Ottawa eliminated them in the opening round of the playoffs. Montreal finally got what it wanted on Friday night as they defeated the Senators 7-4, making Ottawas chance at returning to the post-season that much more difficult as the club sits seven points out of the final wild-card berth with just five games remaining. Max Pacioretty had a hat trick for the Canadiens. "This year we definitely felt like we owed them a little payback for last year in the playoffs and our games have been heated against them," said Pacioretty. "Its not just on the scoreboard that feels good its seeing guys step up and stand up for their teammates. I think thats one of the more rewarding feelings about the night." Andrei Markov, Mike Weaver, Lars Eller and David Desharnais also scored for Montreal (44-27-7) as Peter Budaj stopped 39 shots for his 10th win of the season. Zack Smith scored twice for the Senators (32-31-14) while Ales Hemsky and Mika Zibanejad had the others. Craig Anderson faced 22 shots. Ottawa jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the game was six minutes old, but then allowed the Canadiens to score seven straight times. "Its hard to pinpoint exactly what happened," said Smith. "We lost control of the game. We were up three goals and it didnt take them long to get those back and after that it was hard to get any traction. A couple of soft plays and turnovers and theyre in our net." Smith had few answers as to why or how the Senators could crash so badly, but admitted it wasnt pretty. "We say playing Montreal its an easy game to get up for," said Smith. "Thats embarrassing. Were up 3-0 and they score seven straight." Senators coach Paul MacLean was at a loss for words after the game. "Im numb," he said. "We came out and played and got the lead 3-0 and then we stopped playing. We stopped doing the things that made us successful." With already two on the night, Pacioretty completed his hat trick at 1:09 of the third and Desharnais made it 7-3 midway through the third beating Anderson up high. The Senators finally managed to put an end to the onslaught 14 minutes into the third as Zibanejad beat Budaj. Despite being outshot 15-4 in the second the Canadiens scored twice to take a 5-3 lead after 40 minutes. "Obviously you look at the shots and we got some favourable bounces and thats just the way it goes some nights," said Pacioretty. "It just shows our last two games against them youre never down and out." Montreal took its first lead of the game as Eller jumped on a rebound early in the second to make it 4-3. Ottawa appeared to tie it up on the ensuing play, but the goal was called back due to incidental contact on the goaltender. The call left the Senators extremely frustrated as they felt video review clearly showed there was no contact by an Ottawa player on the play. "It was a bad call, sorry, we disagreed with the call," said Smith. "He was adamant right from the start that there was contact and there wasnt even discussion. Usually when that happens theres discussion, but I have to watch what I say." Montreal made it 5-3 on Paciorettys second of the night as he took advantage of a Senators turnover and broke in alone to beat Anderson through the legs. The game was made that much more interesting after Erik Karlsson checked Brendan Gallagher hard into the boards and Alex Galchenyuk took offense, leading to Karlsson and Galchenyuk exchanging a couple punches. "All season, every time weve played them its been bizarre games," said Montreal coach Michel Therrien. "I liked the way our team stood up for one another. We were down 3-0 and came back and we saw a lot of good things. We showed a lot of character." Trailing 3-0 the Canadiens got on the board as Markov scored off a bad angle down low on Montreals second shot of the game. Two minutes later Weavers point shot made it past a screened Anderson. The comeback was completed as Pacioretty got past Ottawas Eric Gryba on a bouncing puck and beat Anderson between the legs. "Its brutal," said MacLean. "Were at home and we stopped playing. Its not right." After giving up the early lead, Montreals P.K. Subban saw just 37 seconds of ice time in the first and didnt get another shift until the Canadiens went on the power play at the two-minute mark of the second. Ottawa opened the scoring at the two-minute mark of the first as Smith scored his first off his backhand. The Senators made it 2-0 just over two minutes later as Hemsky tipped Patrick Wierciochs point shot and it was 3-0 as Smith scored his second of the game off a great pass from Zibanejad. The Senators played the third without Hemsky, who left with an upper body injury. Ottawa next faces the Rangers Saturday night in New York, while the Canadiens return home to host the Detroit Red Wings. Notes: C Jason Spezza returned to the Senators lineup after missing the last two games. The Senators were without D Jared Cowen (lower body, day-to-day), LW Colin Greening (lower body, day-to-day) and RW Bobby Ryan (sports hernia, out for season). LW Matt Kassian was a healthy scratch. The Senators used the last of its call-ups as it did the paperwork to change Jean-Gabriel Pageaus call-up from emergency to regular recalla Montreal D Douglas Murray served the first of his three-game suspension. RW Rene Bourque and D Nathan Beaulieu were a healthy scratch. RW Dale Weise missed the game with an upper body injury. Larry Csonka Jersey . The Philadelphia Eagles acquired running back Darren Sproles from the New Orleans Saints for a fifth-round draft pick on Tuesday. Miami Dolphins Jerseys . 1 overall pick in the draft by the Houston Texans, is recovering from sports hernia surgery. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolph...Wilkins-Jersey/. 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Cameron Wake Jersey . -- During a players meeting following the All-Star break, Jermaine ONeal promised his teammates to play the rest of the regular season like he would never play again -- because he very well might not. Cameron Wake Youth Jersey . That little deal worked out in a big way for the Mavericks. Nowitzki had 21 points Tuesday night to pass Oscar Robertson for 10th on the NBAs career scoring list, leading the Mavs to a 95-83 victory over the Utah Jazz.Liverpool is out of the Champions League. Thud. Dreams of the glory days returning to Anfield have gone as quickly as they came. The magical 2013-14 season brought back the nostalgia, the mystique of a football club seemingly searching endlessly for their identity in the modern game. Ardent support re-emerged as the team dazzled on the field. Attack-minded, attractive football pushed Liverpool FC to the brink of winning an elusive Premier League title and took them back on to Europes most prestigious stage; the Champions League. The future seemed bright. The present, exciting. Folk heroes were made. Books were written. Titles such as Poetry in Motion celebrating minimal success seem even more preposterous now as the current script more appropriately reads, Stuck in Reverse. Five months of football have seen Liverpool regress back into a team lost in a sea of mediocrity and devoid of any idea how to stay afloat. A 1-1 home draw with Basel relegated Liverpool to the Europa League; a competition more suited to match the teams ability. The Champions League draw putting Liverpool in a group with Ludogorets Razvad and Basel seemed as advantageous as could be. Home and away marquee fixtures against Real Madrid were the icing on the cake at the party. Manchester United were out of Europe and Liverpool back where they belonged. Life was good. To not get out of the group goes beyond failure. Its a statement that Liverpool is not ready to rejoin the ranks of European powers. The failure to launch lay on the shoulders of the manager as much as the players. When the team needed tactical wherewithal the most, Brendan Rodgers was MIA. The teams valiant effort while a man down, pushing forward and searching for a winner, will be overshadowed by coaching incompetence. It was an awful first half performance by Rodgers men. Accountability to a player is one thing; whether Rodgers set up his team to succeed was another. At home, with all to play for in a must-win game, Rodgers elected to play a 34-year old Steven Gerrard in an advanced, attacking midfield role. The average-at-best Lucas and Joe Allen occupied the defensive midfield positions, with Gerrard and Jordan Henderson pushed forward alongside Raheem Sterling. At a time where the game is predicated on speed and inventiveness like never before, Rodgers sent out a slow, predictable unit, looking steadfast to maintain rather than attack. It may have worked pushing Gerrard high against the likes of Leicester City. But this was the Champions League. Again, this was a must-win game for Liverpool. The team selection was shocking. The tactics were negative and unthreatening. The players available for selection leave much to be desired. Thats on Rodgers as well. The disaster that was the summer sale of Luis Suarez has been compounded by two factors: 1) long-standing injury to Daniel Sturridge, and 2) an awful dealings in the transfer window. The prior is troubling considering the loss of one player can have such a profound effect on a so-called elite Premier League team. The latter is predicated on a group of players either not good enough and/or players having yet to earn the trust of their new manager. Rodgers transfer window failures were plain to see Tuesday. Rickie Lambert went off after 45 minutes, leaving Liverpool down a goal without a striker on the pitch. Substitute Lazar Markovic was sent off, seeing straight red for mindlessly hitting out at Basels Behrang Safari. Alberto Moreno was ineffective in the second half. Dejan Lovren was bang-average. Emre Can and Adam Lallana were nailed to the bench. And Fabio Borini, who the team decided not to sell, didnt make the teamsheet. No other new players were anywhere to be seen. So much for replacing Suarez. The list of Rodgers expensive transfer misses is damning, with the likes of Iago Aspas, Tiago Ilori and Luis Alberto not to be forgotten considering the current state of recruits. Rodgers failures in the transfer window are the biggest problem plaguing a club unable to recover from egregious spending. He has a goalkeeper who looks amateur with the ball at his feet, no true answer at centre-back, and nothing that resembles a true attacking threat other than a 20-year old in Sterling who is askedd to do too much heavy lifting too early in his professional career.dddddddddddd Liverpool still relies upon the same player in Gerrard who was central to European success 10 seasons ago. Expecting him to replicate the heroics against Olympiakos a decade ago is as far-fetched as disconcerting. His 81st minute set-piece equalizer was a thing of beauty. But the one-dimensional nature of his current game as set-piece specialist doesnt constitute a managerial strategy, rather than acknowledgment of a lack of other options in his tactical arsenal. This is a massive problem. While Rodgers eye for talent is entirely problematic, the emerging issue of how Rodgers is using his team has become just as alarming and raises true question whether he should continue on as manager. Down 1-0 after 45 minutes, Rodgers saw fit to take off his lone striker in a game his team was chasing goals. It was a tactical mess. To be clear, Rodgers response to facing adversity was to play without a striker. Puzzling. The second half tactics resembled a bunch of players merely taking up space, basically playing wherever they wanted. That turned into every player playing wherever they could after the Markovic sending off. So much for intelligence. So much for a calculated approach. The desperate play by Liverpool for long stretches this season hardly resembles the intelligent team football on display last campaign. Few teams across Europe moved better off the ball. No matter the formation at the back, scoring opportunities were produced. Suarez was the true predator who instilled confidence throughout the XI. No matter what mistakes were made, Suarez would come to the rescue. Without their security blanket, Liverpool plays tentative and afraid. Rodgers has tried to compensate by playing a 4-2-3-1. He doesnt have the players to execute and the result is stale, unimaginative play. Rodgers has lost the plot. Blame the players. But make no mistake; the manager is a hopeless mess at this point. One must lead with confidence, not desperation. There is no simple answer for Rodgers. His tactical vision is blurred and he has little to stand on. He has isolated newcomers to the club. And the old guard is not up to the task. Liverpool sits ninth place in the table, six points back of fourth place West Ham. Its a mountain to climb for a team still pre-occupied by European competition. Games against rivals Manchester United and Arsenal lay ahead, with an FA Cup tie with upstart AFC Bournemouth in between. There is no time to rest or recuperate for this wounded side. And there is nothing to suggest Liverpool can come away with all-important points against either Premier League foe. The return to the Champions League seems short-lived, which makes it even more perplexing Rodgers basically conceded defeat against Real Madrid at the Bernebeu, resting his preferred XI. Matches as such dont come around often. It may be quite some time before games of such prestige return. Rodgers masterplan backfired. It looks bad on the gaffer. In the meantime, Rodgers remains on the hot seat. Its hard to picture how this ends well. From League Managers Association manager of the year to fighting for his managerial life, it goes to show how fickle and demanding the football world is at the top level. Manchester United had to go through the similar painful decision-making process last season. The plug was pulled on David Moyes short-lived reign for the long-term benefit of the club. Liverpool must decide whether Rodgers is worth keeping and whether they trust him to set things right. It appears Manchester United made the right move. Will Liverpool do the same? Track record speaks to Manchester United getting it right more often than their famous adversary. Thirteen titles in the 22 years of the Premier League era to Liverpools goose egg provides more than enough evidence. The time to make another difficult decision has come. Sir Alex Ferguson knocked Liverpool off their perch. Will Louis Van Gaal knock Rodgers out of his job? Liverpools trip to Old Trafford Sunday was always going to have heightened importance. Rodgers managerial fate potentially on the line has raised the stakes even higher. @WheelerTSN gareth.wheeler@bellmedia.ca ' ' '