Every thing that could go wrong, did go wrong, and they still won. Jacques Martin said it quite well remarking "You can't control the result. You can only control your effort and your execution."

The Habs did as well as they could possibly do on those fronts, but with five posts hit in a game they dominated, it seemed like the Gods were going to again shine their light somewhere else.

Until finally, they broke down Atlanta's shockingly good goalie Ondrej Pavelec in the shootout.

In the locker room after the game, the winning goal getter in the shootout Scott Gomez didn't get interviewed, he held court. Gomez gave credit for his best game as a Hab to his blue Canali suit that made him feel comfortable and good. He also thought his parents being in town helped him, but added considering they're Mexican he's a little worried they might not leave. He also joked that it's a little insulting that upon returning to the bench after his rocket shootout goal that all of his teammates were surprised that he could shoot the puck that well. But in the end he really thought the key to his good game was his comfy blue Canali suit. You got the feeling that Gomez was dying to have a little fun.

Mike Cammalleri and Hal Gill echoed the thought that the team doesn't feel all the wins will be 1-0 or 2-1 but they are prepared to play that way if they have to.

The most important point for me to count is this: It could have been a snowball gathering speed down a very steep hill if they didn't come away with a win. Losing streaks early in the year are much more powerful. No one has a fallback position to rely on. You can't say we are better than this because without history you are not really sure if you are. Early season slumps are the kind of disappointment that is harder to recover from. A mid season slump and you just try to find the old ways. For that reason, if they go on to string some wins together now, this could be one of those big wins, much bigger than they should be in October.

Final point: this team tried hard against Atlanta. They gave it their all. They played for their coach. They followed their game plan. The jury is still deliberating how much talent there is here, but they won't be dogging it. The leadership from Gomez to Gionta to Cammalleri to Martin seems to be there, and if there are any lazy players trying to cut corners, I don't think they will get away with it.

That doesn't put the puck in the net more, but it is a start.