For the first time since November 27th 2015, the Montreal Canadiens managed to win two games in a row last weekend. Securing 4 much-needed points will perhaps offer the players and the organization a new hope of squeezing into the playoffs. I believe approaching the notion of them making it to the Spring dance is best done with caution, because after all the Habs beat two very ordinary teams last weekend. They might’ve brought their A-game against an Edmonton Oilers team with quite possibly the most porous defense in the entire NHL, but they had to battle against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon all the way to a shootout before a winner was decided.

Without dwelling too much on two victories that will realistically hardly help the Bleu Blanc et Rouge’s abysmal season, there were at least two very bright spots over the back-to-back matchups. Tomas Plekanec came alive, scoring a goal and adding 3 assists against the Oilers while maintaining a very dominant level of compete the following day against Carolina.

As is customary in Montreal, goaltending controversies cannot be avoided. Perhaps it’s time to consider riding Ben Scrivens for the rest of the season. He was absolutely lights-out this past weekend, dominating the adversary in a display of an unorthodox and highly uncommon hybrid style of stand-up and butterfly goaltending. He allowed only 2 goals on a total of 58 shots, bringing his save percentage to close to .970. With that in mind, he will play against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. He’s at the very least earned Michel Therrien’s trust with regards to that.

Tonight, the Habs face their Atlantic Division rivals who are 6 points ahead with 2 games in hand. The Lightning are 8-2 in their last 10 but play very well at home with a 17-8-2 record. The Habs are roughly a .500 team on the road, and this is yet another example of an absolute must-win for Therrien’s troops. In fact, it can be argued that 18 of their remaining 28 games need to be in the “W” column if they hope to make the playoffs. As I’ve continuously maintained, I’m not entirely convinced that that’s a possibility, and 2 wins in a row did very little to sway me in that direction.

For those of you who have been wondering what’s been eating at Jeff Petry and why his performances have not been up to par with expectations, he will be sitting out tonight’s game with a lower-body injury. I’m pressed to think that’s what might have slowed him down, even if I don’t agree with the criticism he’s received of late. Nathan Beaulieu will make his return tonight and will look to redeem himself in the eyes of his head coach. Therrien has mentioned that Beaulieu needs to work on his consistency, and many wondered if Mark Barberio had overtaken #28 in recent games.

Unlike the Habs, the last time Tampa Bay lost two games in a row was back at the end of November. No significant lineup changes are expected, and here are the trios and defensive duos:


Pacioretty- Desharnais- Weise

Galchenyuk-Plekanec-Gallagher

Fleischmann-Eller-Andrighetto

Flynn-Mitchell-Smith-Pelly


Markov-Subban

Emelin-Gilbert

Beaulieu-Barberio


Scrivens
Condon

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