Koivu is more of a passer than shooter at the best of times, but of late, he feels he has been a little too generous around the net.

"If you go through a streak when you don't score, you're passing the puck too much and you're not looking for that simple play," said Koivu. "I've just got to keep telling myself to shoot the puck more, keep it simple and hopefully I'll turn it around."

Koivu lived an emotional high as he captained Finland to the gold medal game at the Olympics in Turin, Italy, but said he can't use post-Olympic fatigue as an excuse.

And he's not the only Canadiens' shooter in a slump. Alex Kovalev and Richard Zednik each have one goal in the last nine games. Michael Ryder has one in his last 11.

"On our team, there's not a lot of difference between the nights when we win 2-1 or lose 2-1," said Gainey. "A player like Saku Koivu or Alex Kovalev or Richard Zednik takes that responsibility to be the player who makes the difference.

"It's there, it's real and (Koivu) will come out of it, the sooner the better, with a little more effort and concentration and maybe a dash of lady luck."