Jacques Martin has become fond of saying "We've only iced a full lineup two or three times this year". He's referring to the fact no one really knows how good the Habs can be.

They missed key players for large and small portions of the season and their man games lost rivals anyone's in the league:

  • Markov out from October 3 to December 19.
  • Gionta out for 21.
  • Cammalleri out for 12 so far though he is now skating.
  • Andrei Kostitsyn out for 22 games.
  • Also out: Pouliot, Mara, Metropolit, O'Byrne.

Actually, it might be easier to simply tell you that only Plekanec, Gorges, Moen and the goalies have not been injured.

Despite all of the injuries, here the Habs sit in 7th place, riding a three-game winning streak, winners of four of five since the Olympic break and looking very much like a playoff team.

The teams chasing them are Atlanta, the Rangers and Florida. They are all playing poorly and a salient fact will always remain the same in all sports: points in the bank are always better than games in hand.

Consistency

Martin has done a masterful job keeping the long losing skid out of the mix. The Habs' longest losing streak was in October at 5, since then there's only been one losing run of three. Quite an achievement considering all of those injuries.

And I will parrot Martin and agree wholeheartedly when he notes we really have not seen the best the Habs can be.

Put Cammalleri back in the mix and the top two lines have all the components needed. Gionta with Gomez and Pouliot, and Plekanec with Andrei Kostitsyn and Cammalleri.

Those two lines healthy will make it a lot harder for opposing coaches to key attention on one line. The whole ice could open up for everyone.

The Habs may not be considerably better with a full lineup, but I know I wouldn't want to face a healthy Habs team in the first round. They might just surprise. Why not? They've been surprising us pretty much every step of the way so far.

Ask yourself this -- Is this team better than last year's team at this time last season? You bet it is and they're getting better.