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Habs Notebook

February 23, 2015, 2:56 PM ET [3752 Comments]
Habs Talk
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1) Nathan Beaulieu's gaining the confidence to rely more on instinct, and with that, poise and production are coming along.

Since Sergei Gonchar went down two Saturdays ago, Beaulieu's picked up the slack. For three straight games, he's played over 23 minutes. It's forcing him to rely more on his skating; it's forcing him to be more efficient; it's helping him get to the next level of his development.

That pass to Max Pacioretty was a perfect example of a confident play.

He was clear enough to get a shot on net and spring back to the blueline. That was his plan. Instead, he opted for a more complex play because his instinct told him Pacioretty would be waiting in a dead zone.

2) I'm not too sure toe-to-toe is the best fighting style for a small guy like Christian Thomas, but his courage is notable.

His teammates sure got a kick out of how he stood up for himself.

Thomas says he's been in three fights, including one in Junior, one in the AHL and now one in the NHL. They all looked like that.

He was seen sporting a cage at practice Monday. He had to have his nose rearranged after the fight, hence the tampon hanging out of his nose for the rest of Saturday's game and a black left eye today.

3) Steady progression for Greg Pateryn from Wednesday in Ottawa through Thursday against Florida. He was at his best on Saturday, though a late-game penalty put the Canadiens in trouble they managed to escape.

If Jarred Tinordi is able to get some rhythm to his game, he might give Pateryn a run for his money. But right now, it seems like Pateryn's got the edge to stay until Emelin gets back into the fold.

4) Sergei Gonchar's been cleared to play, but Michel Therrien says they'll have to work him back into the flow before he gets into a game. He won't play against the Blues on Tuesday.

Both Gonchar and P.A. Parenteau--who practiced in non-contact jerseys Monday--are making the trip with the Canadiens.

Emelin's staying home.

5) By now, you're well aware that Jiri Sekac found himself as the 13th forward at practice Monday.

Alex Galchenyuk was back after missing two games with the flu, and will be tested out at right wing next to Tomas Plekanec with Lars Eller on the left.

So let's get this straight. Therrien's opting for three centers on his second line; one who has to play left wing, where he's been pretty ineffective throughout his career, never mind that he abhors playing there, and another who's never played the right wing at this level before.

Jacob De La Rose--who has been excellent defensively--and Manny Malhotra--who wins faceoffs and that's it--lock down center positions in the bottom six. Michael Bournival remains on the fourth line at left wing.

Got all that?

Okay...

6) The Habs have scored a total of 19 goals in their last eight games.

Bill Beacon of the Canadian Press asked Therrien about that Monday and the coach replied that goals against matter more, as much as he'd like to see more goals go in for the team.

Therrien said he's happy with the team's focus on winning tight, 2-1 games, and how important that is as the games get more intense.

Sure seems like a big departure from: "You need to score three goals to win hockey games."

Therrien--much to the delight of the Corsi crowd--says the key to scoring more goals is to fire as many pucks as possible at the opposing net.

7) It's hard to believe that Brendan Gallagher's two-goal game against the Panthers was only his second one of the season, the first coming against Boston in October.

It's been an interesting couple of years since Gallagher's rookie season, over which he notched 15 goals and 13 assists in 44 games.

Last season, he scored 19 goals and 22 assists in 81 games.

This season, he's 15 goals and 18 assists in 59 games.

We've yet to see a big jump to the next level from Gallagher, but timing is everything. He's picked up his game in the last week, and this is when you want to see him succeeding.

I'd say there's a strong chance this will be his first 20-goals season, and 25 assists is certainly within his reach.

8) Was on CTV's Sports Extra with Brian Wilde and Francois Gagnon on Saturday.

A fan sent along great numbers to Brian about Carey Price over his last 23 games headed into the match with the Blue Jackets.

A .950 save percentage. That's a crazy number over 23 games.

His numbers keep getting better. He's got a 1.91 GAA and a .935 save percentage. When Jose Theodore won the Hart and the Vezina, he had a 2.11 GAA and a .931 save percentage.

9) Pacioretty takes home third star of the week in the NHL.

No big deal; four goals and a +6 rating last week.

He's got 29 on the season.

Will he beat 39?

10) Trade deadline is rapidly approaching, so I'm putting the question to you:

What is Marc Bergevin going to do?
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