At the beginning of the season , I chose the Canadiens to finish second in the Eastern Conference. My opinion was based on a few things – mostly character.
Bob Gainey assembled a new team last year as he added ten players from different organizations and a new coach. Anyone that knows anything about hockey or sports in general , will – for the most part , comply with the fact that by doing so , Gainey would not know how his ‘new ‘group would respond until at the very minimum , half way through the season.
Factors such as how everyone would get along and how well the new guys  assimilate with their new surroundings were at the forefront. Would the team play as a team on the ice and how well everyone would adapt to a new coach  was also very relevant in the big scheme of things.
Mid -way through the season , everyone in Montreal still did not know the answers as four of their top players and two of their new ones were lost for long periods of time due to injury. Gomez and Gionta were lost for twenty -odd games and Andrei Kostisyn , smack dab in the middle of a scoring ‘ tear ‘ , tore up his knee and was gone for almost a month. The absence of Markov , a huge loss to Martin and his game plan , added to the ‘ mysterious ‘ outcome of this batch of Montreal Canadiens.
2010 Play -offs
As players returned and the annual ‘ slipping ‘ into the play – offs was completed , everyone was on board with the exception of Markov. In the back of everyone ‘s mind was the real possibility of a Markov return if the team was able to get past the Washington Capitals. A gelling factor to be sure . The type of ‘ win one for the Gipper ‘ that every coach aspires to in hope of rallying his troops to another level. A level where anything is possible.
As is commonly known – the Habs upset the Caps and then the Penguins. They celebrated the ‘ups ‘ with the return of their star defenceman and cried with the ‘ downs ‘ upon losing him once more. Still , they carried on.
By the time they arrived in Philadelphia on the strength of a two series winning streak – the fans , the players , the coaches and former G. M Bob Gainey, all now knew what type of team they had. Even with the absence of goal scoring from key individuals such as Plekanec , Kostisyn and Pouliot , the Eastern Conference Final defeat at the hands of the Flyers was celebrated as much as it was lamented.
The future seemed bright.
A New Season
Going into the 2010 – 11 season , the Montreal Canadiens had a solid core of veterans along with a group of young talent that gained much experience in the team’s deep excursion into Stanley Cup land.
The Habs ‘ brass made the right choice by keeping Price and ridding themselves of play -off hero Jaroslav Halak. Still , the decision left a huge question mark on the team and was the biggest uncertainty going into a new season. Could Price and newcomer Alex Auld provide the necessary final defence for an offence that proved to be so hopeful and at times , so anemic ?
As the new season got underway , there were a few concerns and many more reasons to be optimistic.
Kostisyn could not be blamed for his scoring funk in last year ‘s play – off. As with any player returning from a knee injury , time was need to re- discover his groove. The play – offs did not offer him the time to do so as the demand on any player to play defence is much more exaggerated in the post season. A bird will not heal in a cage as well as it would in the open sky. Most were sure that Kostisyn would return on the right side of his brilliant talent.
Tomas  Plekanec carried the team all season long and replaced the injured players with more offensive and defensive duties. Tomas was exhausted in Philadelphia and there was no reason not to believe that Plekanec would improve with the presence of healthy teammates and less responsiblity on him. Benoit Pouliot was the sole puzzle. There was no excuse for his absent ways and Habs ‘ management gave him and Plekanec the benefit of the doubt and re- signed the duo to new contracts.
 January 2011
Just past the mid – way point of the season , a lot of questions have been answered and an entire batch of new ones have been added.
Carey Price and Auld have been more than any team could ask for in their hunt for a championship. Dependable and aside for the minor blips here and there , a goaltending tandem for the ages. Every night , if their teammates muster up sufficient power to score three goals or more – their team will win.
There lies the problem.
All the promise that the forwards showed last season have disappeared quicker than a bird on a wire when gunshots are heard. Andrei Kostisyn , after a week long productive  stretch , has proved that family genes run deep. Andrei Kostisyn has been consistently inconsistent every year in a Habs uniform and any aspirations of him being that point a  game player that evolved before his knee injury last season , has slipped into a nightmare for Gauthier et al.
Tomas Plekanec was that player and along with a few others – disappeared just before the Holidays . Every season that Tomas has been in Montreal , he swings for long period of times as the King of the Jungle. Every season , he loses his grip on the sucessful vine and plunges deep into the underbrush of NHL obscurity. Tomas could be a one hundred point player every season. Does his size work against him and the other , bigger players wear him down or is Tomas a victim of Jacqes Martin’s defensive claw ?
Tomas Plekanec , Brian Gionta , Scott Gomez and Mike Cammalleri – the four players that are supposed to provide goals scoring are not . The richest golf foursome in the Province of Quebec  show signs of their productive selves yet for some reason – are not able to prolong any type of attack.
Scott Gomez , is the only one that appears to be the same player as last season but is the least productive of the four. Cammalleri – the darling of female Habs ‘ fans , cannot find anything resembling his former one – timing self. Goal scorers are happy scoring goals and right now , Cammalleri is not happy.
Nor can Brian Gionta be.
The Habs captain was a breath of fresh air when he arrived in Montreal. He was an eye -opener to all the true fans who discovered how far the Habs had fallen in recent years as everyone accpeted Kovalev as a ‘ real ‘ hockey player and our ‘ superstar ‘ . Gionta continues to lead by example – it would be difficult to discover many players around the league that give the effort nght after night as the Captain does. Gionta does not appear to be as creative a player as he was last season. The added responsiblities of the ‘ C ‘ or the continuous revolving door of line mates may be a factor.
Mister Benoit Pouliot has been very reliable as a two way player and his production is indicative of what type of player he is. Nothing fancy , occasional spurts of being a thirty goal scorer and a solid third line player who appears to be happy within his skin. Martin ‘s philosphy has been adopted by Pouliot and as long as he plays the way he is – Pouliot should be a member of the team for a couple of years.
Halpern , Moen , Darche and Pyatt may as well be any fourth line player in the league. Any team requires the muckers and the plumbers to check and attempt to keep the other team’s stars in neutral. Halpern is Dominic Moore. Darche could be Metropolit and Moen is the non – Greek version of Kostopolous. Pyatt simply does his job as could almost any forward that is willing to concede any aspirations of offensive stats.
And then there was Eller…