The Montreal Canadiens remain on break until Saturday, but the rest of the league will be getting back into things with a focus being on the Boston Bruins.
There was no better way to head into the break than with a win. The Montreal Canadiens responded well from a 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers to sour Alex Galchenyuk’s return to Bell Centre defeating the Arizona Coyotes 2-1. The team’s video staff deserve a lot of credit after that match as Galchenyuk nearly got the goal to tie the game up, but Alex Goligoski was called on the offside after handling the puck outside of the zone.
That win added to Montreal’s 5-1-0 stretch raising them to third in the Atlantic Division and now it’s time to take the appropriate measures to ensure they remain there.
Here’s the bittersweet thing about it. The Montreal Canadiens are still on break and won’t play their next game until February 2nd. It’s a good time off for several of the key contributors, like Carey Price, for example, to get a hard-earned rest before the grind of the NHL continues. The bitter portion comes from the fact that the Bruins break is over, and they’re getting back in action come Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets.
The dynamic between Montreal and Boston is going to make the out of town scoreboard all the more interesting after the Jets comes a Thursday night match with Philadelphia and a few days off before the Bruins head to Washington for an early afternoon game on Sunday.
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That marks three opportunities for them to earn points and reclaim their lead over the Habs in the standings.
The Montreal Canadiens first stretch back will be relatively easier. New Jersey isn’t the team they were last season which should result in two points for the good guys. The second half of the weekend back-to-back may be troubling as the Edmonton Oilers are the enemy.
The Oilers come off the break at the same time Montreal does and will have played the Flyers the night before so the fatigue factor should be thrown out the window. What could be a factor however is what’s been going on off the ice in Peter Chiarelli being fired. President Bob Nicolson made it clear the goal is to make the playoffs still, and the window is very much still open as they sit three points out.
Perhaps Chiarelli being let go is one of the sparks the team needed to get going. On the other hand, it would be another testament to the strength of the Montreal Canadiens if they can move past that and stifle those hopes with a win.
The points are as crucial as ever from here on out. The higher the Montreal Canadiens finish in the standings, the better the matchup will be in the playoffs. Falling to the wild-card spot would have Montreal take on the New York Islanders if the regular season ended today, but who knows if Washington, Columbus, or Pittsburgh wind up in the top spot.
This break is going to do wonders for everyone, and hopefully, the team comes together again on the same page to get the job done every night as we’re now in the endgame (any Marvel fans out there?).