MONTREAL - The Canadiens, losers in three of their last four contests, take on the red hot Vancouver Canucks tonight at the Bell Centre. The Canucks are looking for their 7th straight win after mounting a 3rd period comeback against the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday.

Avoiding a longer skid takes on a different complexion, considering the Canadiens will compete against far stronger teams over the following two weeks. A good showing against the Canucks would give the Canadiens the positive momentum they need ahead of their first meeting with their most bitter rival, the Boston Bruins.

After Thursday's game in Boston, the Canadiens will begin a 4-game stint at the Bell Centre, welcoming the Carolina Hurricanes before Philadelphia, Nashville and Toronto make their way to town next week.

As many are suggesting, we'll have an adequate sample to gauge how the Canadiens fare against superior teams, giving us far greater insight on their identity.

Changes on their way

It won't be long before Dustin Boyd's waiver situation is sorted. He'll either be claimed by another team, or remain here in Montreal. Boyd's subjection to waivers opens the door for someone on the farm, whether it's Ryan White, Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais or Aaron Palushaj. We'll have to wait and see.

The move could also set in motion a couple of other changes.

Will the team do anything with Ryan O'Byrne, a perennial pressboxer?

Will Lars Eller be sent down to the farm?

We won't have to wait much longer for this situation to evolve. Waivers are settled before noon.

Pure Stupidity

With so much to celebrate about the game of hockey, it's the proliferation of hits to the head and the rash of concussions over the last couple of seasons that dominate headlines and water-cooler discussions.

How can we ever expect to curtail the unnecessary violence of hockey if the people in charge of preserving the ethics of the game are hotly debating the birth of rule 48 (a rule to make blindside hits to the head illegal)? General Managers from across the league descend on Toronto today; many of them upset about how this new rule has been enforced since it's inception.

People aren't patient enough to let this rule take shape and realize that some mistakes will be made. It's probably best that a questionable hit be punished according to the rule, and if a mistake's been made on the call then so be it. Maybe this will make players reconsider throwing a hit when an opponent is entirely vulnerable--whether it's to the head or not.

The institution of this rule is a necessary step in the right direction. Hockey's culture of unnecessary and excessive violence has been so long ignored that incidents like these--at the amateur ranks-- have become acceptable and applaudable:

London Knights vs. Kitchener Rangers, Nov. 7, 2010 -- YouTube video

See Canadiens first-round pick of 2010 and current London Knight Jarred Tinordi take on Tyler Randall of the Kitchener Rangers in this ridiculously staged fight.

Tinordi drops his gloves at the boards next to the left face-off dot and skates across the ice to his opponent. No refs or linesmen step in to disallow this--something that would've been far too easy to do. And the announcer refers to it as the best fight of the year in Kitchener. No complaint from the fans.

But hey...let's continue to vent about hits to the head and concussions as if staged fights like these don't proliferate the mentality that enables that kind of violence.

Call it a rant, but these kinds of fights are indicative of the problems that currently exist in the NHL--problems that have existed for a long time. If this kind of behavior is not only tolerated but encouraged at the Junior level how will this culture ever change at the professional rank? After all, these are the future players of the NHL.