Montreal Canadiens: The young and fast came to play

The Montreal Canadiens came away from the Bell Centre with a win over the Dallas Stars, and a lot of their better players stepped up to the occasion.

The Montreal Canadiens and their losing streak ended at five games. The Dallas Stars got things started with a goal from Radek Faksa, but it was special teams that got the Habs the win. Although the Stars were able to convert one of their power play opportunities to a goal, that was it for them.

Montreal killed the other and answered back with three man-advantage goals of their own. It was an impressive feat considering Dallas has a top-ten penalty kill in the NHL (which dropped from 83.3% to 82.4% good ninth in the league).

Jonathan Drouin had a completely different performance than what he displayed for the Montreal Canadiens in previous games. Although he scored against the Columbus Blue Jackets, what he did on the ice last night was what fans and the coaching staff want from him on a more consistent basis. Drouin was dialled in, skating hard, and using his skill to create. He was also 64% in the faceoff circle which has been an area of improvement all season and added two assists to his tally chart.

Besides of the offensive numbers, seeing Drouin on the ice to kill off the late period 6-on-3 was also telling of the kind of night he had. There are still aspects of the young forward’s game that need to be cleaned up, but performances like those surely help.

The rest of the Habs skill was on display as well as Alex Galchenyuk had another strong night for the team with a nifty assist on Arrturi Lehkonen’s first of two goals. Lehkonen is a player who has an underrated shot and likes to get in those dirty areas around the net, and both goals came from that.

More from Editorials

• Montreal Canadiens: Senators Rebuild At Crisis Point As Kent Hughes Moves Forward
• Montreal Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin Continues Charity Work In Montreal After Leaving Habs
• Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Lineup Going To Be Must Watch
• Montreal Canadiens: Jesse Ylönen Contract Extension Analysis
• Montreal Canadiens: Top 31 Prospects – #31 Quentin Miller

Galchenyuk displayed great speed to rush through the neutral zone and find Lehkonen on the wall to rip one past Kari Lehtonen while his second of the night while Drouin found the 22-year-old in front on the power play.

Seeing Brendan Gallagher get his 26th off another brilliant feed from Drouin was great, but the highlight of the night was the Montreal Canadiens third power-play goal. Nikita Scherbak converted on a Stephen Johns turnover in the neutral zone and turned it into a partial breakaway after getting around Dan Hamhuis. It was the fourth goal of the game and the third of the season for Scherbak. Most importantly, it was a thing of beauty.

The youth stood up and took the keys to the car last night. Of course, the game had it’s hiccups as the Dallas Stars tried to push through. After the final buzzer, the Stars outshot and out-chanced the Montreal Canadiens, but it was the Habs who walked away with the two points.

That’s the level of play Claude Julien has been consistently talking about after each game and practice. Efficiency and execution are the two pillars that lead to success in this league. If the Montreal Canadiens can bring that to the arena every night, more of their skill can be brought to the forefront and they lay out the foundation for a better start next season.

Next: It's More Than Hockey

What did you think of the game? Who were you impressed with the most? Let us know in the comments below.