We are getting very close to knowing how good or how bad the Montreal Canadiens truly are. It was difficult to make any assessment with the best defenceman on the team and one of the best in the league not in the line-up. The Habs poor record without Markov in the line-up is well known. The Habs are simply a poor team without him and much better with him. He has to be the team's MVP, though the way some guys are playing, for the first time in a long time, at least there is an argument to that declaration.
The Habs have struck for three straight wins since Markov rejoined the team. Don't get confused, though. The club is still allowing far too many shots. They have allowed 137 in the last three games and if not for a red-hot Jaroslav Halak, you could be feeling a lot different about the club heading into the Christmas break.
Plekanec's looking confident
Tomas Plekanec has become one of the best centres in the entire league. What he is doing this season is simply remarkable. Where is the self-professed little girl? Plekanec is fighting hard along the wall. He is not afraid to go into the corners. He is heading to the high and low slot with steam and confidence. This new attitude of going to the dirty places has made him so much a better player that I can't even recognize him. Now that he has decided to add the option of going hard to the net he is finding that defenceman are backing off him and the room that has created has made him maybe the best passer in the league, though an argument in favour of Joe Thornton wouldn't cause me too much alarm.
Pouliot's going hard
Benoit Pouliot looked good in his first game. I liked how hard he went to the net on a couple of occasions. He's a tall player, but he is a very skinny player, so for him to show the courage to get that stick-like body into the crease and crash is impressive. I think that Bob Gainey is going to like this trade in two years, if he didn't already like it after night one for Pouliot. Pouliot and Gomez were on the same line together. They didn't look that comfortable with each other, but Gomez did get three assists and that maybe is on hope alone. Hope that he finally has a line that can do something. Sergei Kostitsyn also got his first of the year. If the Habs can get a second line going, that would make a world of difference to their overall ability to stay competitive and make the playoffs.
Mara, Hamrlik, and Gionta are all still gone with Gionta being gone a while already and still the Habs are in the thick of the race. Eighth place heading into the Christmas break isn't spectacular, but the trend is up, and the full line-up has not played a complete game this season. So you can have a Merry Christmas Habs fans. Three straight wins and reason to be hopeful that more wins than losses are in the offing.
