1) About a week ago, after that mailed in effort against the Buffalo Sabres, when the Canadiens capped off 10 games, capturing 19 of 20 available points, I suggested a winning record over the final seven games before their Christmas break would go a long way towards ensuring they don't crash into the wall.
Since then, the Habs were predictably smashed by the Los Angeles Kings. You may have thought a bounce back was in store against Philadelphia, facing the Flyers after they had a tough road trip that culminated in a humiliating loss to the Blackhawks, the night before. They got beat soundly.
The Canadiens didn't play any better against the Islanders on Saturday, but the Islanders didn't play nearly as well as the Flyers had on Thursday. The Habs squeaked out a 1-0 win before flying home to take on the Panthers at 6:00pm Sunday.
So, the Habs have to beat inbound Phoenix tomorrow, take care of the Blues in St. Louis Thursday, and wrap it all up with a win in Nashville, so they can rest comfortably near the top of the Eastern Conference standings over their seven-day break.
2) Michel Therrien says they're out of juice. Who would argue with it?
13 games in 23 nights, and we just went over how tough the week ahead is.
The Lightning are just two points back, with two games in hand. The Wings are four points back, and the Leafs are six points back with a game in hand. All three teams will play on Monday the 23rd, while the Canadiens sit idle. The Bruins, ahead by three points with two games in hand will also play on the 23rd.
This division is getting as tight as you'd have predicted it would be at the beginning of the season.
3) Peter Budaj has deserved every start Therrien's given him this year, and it seems obvious, Therrien had to have had Sunday's game marked for Budaj well in advance.
The need to rest Carey Price whenever they can is obvious. Price will participate in the Olympics, and he might be doing a lot more than warming the bench there.
But with the team gassed, coming up against a Panthers' team that had won four of five headed into last night, and with Price coming off a shutout against the Isles, why not go back to him??
4) The Canadiens were on top of their game with the following combinations:
Pacioretty-Desharnais-Gallagher Briere (Moen)-Plekanec-Gionta Galchenyuk-Eller-Prust Moen (Briere)-White-Bournival
One dramatic loss to the Kings, and everything needed to be turned upside down. It looked like Therrien broke the blender over the last couple of games.
Last night, he finally put Gallagher back with Pacioretty and Desharnais, and the trio finally looked like they had a bit of energy.
Briere hasn't looked good next to Pacioretty and Desharnais at all. The line just doesn't work. But, he played his best hockey so far next to Gionta and Plekanec. Why not tap into that?
So, Galchenyuk and Eller were slumping a bit with Prust, but there's enough talent and energy there to bust out of it.
At a certain point, even with energy waning, you need some consistency, otherwise chemistry is impossible to come by.
5) A lot of talk about George Parros' future after a fight with Eric Boulton rendered him concussed for the second time this season.
The first one with Colton Orr-- that was a freak accident.
Does this second one happen if he hadn't been through the first one earlier this year?
No definitive answer to the question, but has he looked alright in any of his fights since that terrible moment in the first game?
He looks terribly off-balance, and that was the problem as he was on his way down to the ice Saturday when Boulton caught him clean on the jaw with a thundering right hand.
Parros has played 461 games in the NHL, and if most of his fights had ended the way most of them have this season, he'd have not made it past year one.
He was clearly stunned by the punch Boulton landed. He skated to the penalty box anyways, until the refs came to him and told him he had to head to the quiet room. There was nothing to argue about...
6) With an exhausted lineup, it's rather peculiar that Therrien would turn to Parros against the Flyers and Islanders.
With no intention to play Parros for more than five minutes, Therrien willfully skated through both games with 11 forwards; the Islanders game being the first of back-to-backs in less than 24 hours.
Why?
7) There's nothing flashy about Ryan White's game, but here's a guy that's done everything that's been asked of him this season.
They asked him to cut out the stupid penalties, and with the exception of a trip in the offensive zone last night, he completely has.
They ask him to be physical, to provide energy, to kill penalties, and he's done all of it and more. For the first number of games, he was excellent in the faceoff circle. Bouncing in and out of the lineup has probably hindered his timing a bit.
Does he deserve to sit as a healthy scratch for seven games so far?
8) The Habs have slipped back down to 21st in the league in goals/game. At that rank, the team's hovered around .500.
If they can improve slightly in this department, it would have a dramatic influence on their win percentage. They remain as the second stingiest team in the league, with a goals against average of 2.06.
NHL.com team stats go as far back as 1997-98, and the Habs haven't been close to their current goals against average in any of the years between now and then.
Take that, Jacques Martin!
9) Brendan Gallagher has two goals in his last 19 games, and you couldn't knock his effort in any one of them. He'll break through, but he's got to be fuming at this stage.
10) Lars Eller played well this week, but he hasn't scored a point in his last six games.