After packing 38 games into 81 days, the Montreal Canadiens are wrapping up a full week off, returning to the icy oval Saturday at 7 p.m. in Tampa Bay after last playing in Nashville a week prior.

The Habs' players spent the week mostly off the radar, even laying low on social media, except for Alex Galchenyuk, who tweeted a photo of himself high seas fishing - undoubtedly already in Florida – while P.K. Subban posted Christmas photos of a family gathering, likely in his hometown of Toronto.

The Habs (22-13-3) sit two points behind a Tampa Bay team (23-11-3) that has enjoyed far more success than in the past couple of years and are enjoying a near worst-to-near-first scenario that should be familiar to the Canadiens, as it's one that they themselves underwent last season.

The Canadiens finished second only to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference last season, notching 63 points in 48 games after totalling a conference-worst 78 points in 82 games the year prior.

Similarly, the Lightning's current pavement-to-penthouse rise has seen the Bolts ascend from 14th place in the Eastern Conference last season with 40 points in 48 games, to their current third-place position with 49 points in just 37 games.

The Lightning showed off their new-and-improved form against the Habs on November 11 as goaltender Ben Bishop made 28 saves through 65 minutes, as the Lightning beat the Habs in a shootout 2-1, a game which saw Carey Price make an impressive 44 stops.

The Lightning are suddenly respectable in every category: they give up 29.3 shots per game, which ranks them 13th in the league, compared to the Canadiens, who give up 30.1 shots per game, good for 17th.

The Lightning take, on average, 29.4 shots per game, good for 18th in the league, compared to the Canadiens who take 28.8 shots, good for 22nd place.

The only clear advantage the Canadiens have had over the Lightning lies in their special teams, as the Habs have the league’s eight-best powerplay in the NHL, scoring 21.4 percent of the time, while Tampa scores 16.2 percent of the time, good only for 20th.

And the Canadiens’ penalty-kill is the league’s fourth-best, successfully killing off 86.4 percent of penalties, compared to the Lightning's clip of 83.5 percent, good for tenth.

The Lightning are showing no signs of missing longtime Captain Vincent Lecavalier, who was bought out in the off-season, nor are they short on the offence that their third-overall draft pick - the phenom Jonathan Drouin – might have brought had he made the team rather than staying in the juniors with Halifax.

Even the loss of top sniper Steven Stamkos, who has missed the last 14 games with a broken leg, has not slowed the Lightning down, as the Bolts have gone 7-1-2 in their last 10 games without Stamkos.

Reigning Art Ross trophy holder Martin St. Louis is again on a point-per-game pace, as the diminutive 38-year-old forward from Laval is tied for 12th overall in NHL scoring, after leading all NHL point-getters last year with 60 points in 48 games.

But perhaps no other story has signaled the team’s turnaround as that of new coach Jon Cooper.

Cooper, 45, who bounced around for a dozen years coaching various minor and amateur clubs, has never played professional hockey and previously worked as a lawyer in Michigan.

The B.C.-born Cooper is described as sociable and an excellent motivator and communicator who brings his team together like a family.

Cooper's first-ever coaching gig saw him lead the Lansing Central Catholic High School team in a season which saw them take their first title in 25 years. He then moved onto the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL, where he once again turned a lamentable team into a champion.

He then moved up to the Norfolk Admirals and led the team to a Calder Cup championship in his second year on the job.

Eight of his AHL players now play on the Lightning, including Beaconsield’s Alex Killorn, who played on the Lac St-Louis Lions before being recruited Harvard University.

Killorn, who plays centre, has been one of many pleasant surprises for the Lighting, with 9 goals and 12 assists in 37 games.

Victor Hedman, the 6’6” Swede chosen second-overall in the NHL entry draft of 2009, has already equaled his 44-game output of 20 points in just 31 games this season.

Ben Bishop has also been strong, as his .935 save percentage is seventh-best in the league.

Canadiens' goaltender Carey Price, meanwhile, has also been no slouch this season and has kept to his strong form in recent games. With the exception of the five goals surrendered on December 19 against the Blues, Price has ceded only seven goals in his four other most recent games.

The Canadiens suit up again less than 24 hours after the Tampa game, as the Sunday tilt begins at 5 p.m in Sunrise, Florida.

The suddenly-resurgent Florida Panthers have gone 7-3-0 in their last 10 games. But the Panthers still sit in 14th position in the 16th team conference.

The Habs then travel to Carolina to play the Hurricanes Tuesday on New Years Eve before heading to Dallas to play the Stars on Thursday.

They finally return home on Saturday January 4 to play the Senators and then host the Panthers on January 6.