The goal for the Montreal Canadiens remains the same, regardless of winning streaks or losing streak, the Habs are taking a marathon approach to the rebuild.
It's so easy to get caught up in all the noise of very poor losing streaks, and the same can be said about hot streaks. Montreal has been on a heater of late, pulling themselves out of the basement of the league into a Wildcard spot. But this didn't happen overnight, and it wasn't a Christmas special either, the team has battled hard to get to where they are.
Emil Heineman, one of the Habs' least utilized, but most productive players, is also one of the hardest workers. It's no surprise that he and the Habs have found some success because they have grown together. The dressing room is tight-knit, and the group is feeling encouraged, a feeling that they want to hold onto for as long as possible.
Reporter: “What have you guys learned about winning this year?”
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) January 6, 2025
Emil Heineman: “In the start (of the season), we had good games & found a way to screw it up. Like let in bunch of goals & then the game is over. But I feel that we’ve grown together as a group & really tightened… pic.twitter.com/51FbEkezaO
The biggest challenge, or at least one of the biggest of the many challenges in a rebuild is bringing in the right players who are on the same page. It's great to have guys like Ivan Demidov, Patrik Laine and Cole Caufield, but if you ask Martin St. Louis, their defensive efforts are equally, if not more important than what they do with the puck on their sticks. The winning team is the one with more goals, but a strong defence limits the opposition's chances.
Montreal wants to score goals, and they certainly will, but guys like Jake Evans and Alexandre Carrier are just as important as the big-name goalscorers. Playing a run-and-gun style is great for the fans, but not the coaches, and a full 82 games like that will wear a team down. For that reason, having the right mix of players is what all 32 general managers continuously work at building.
Heineman paints a picture of a group of brothers in the Canadiens dressing room, who are all on the same page and continue to grow together. Arber Xhekaj mentioned in the past, that the team hold one another accountable for mistakes. Nobody plays for the name on the back of the sweater, but the famous (CH) crest on the chest.
While he reigns from Leksands, Sweden, Heineman bleeds Bleu, blanc and rouge, and the same can be said about the rest of the Canadiens brigade. Montreal is playing some of their best hockey, and so long as the mentality remains the same, the Habs are in a good place. There has been plenty of criticism about the coach and Juraj Slafkovsky among other things, but the noise hasn't caught the Habs' attention.
Martin St Louis's philosophy
Habs bench boss Martin St Louis obviously holds the players accountable and does his best to guide them in the right direction. The expectations are to win games while doing the little things the right way. But Marty says that he doesn't want the team to win for him but rather for the guys to win for their teammates.
I think it's a great approach, because, it's easy to get pissed off with the coach and maybe let it throw off play. But when a player sees another guy blocking shots or standing up for a teammate, it inspires and ignites some adrenaline. That feeling of celebrating a hard-fought win should get the players feeling inspired for what's next.
So, on a night when the Habs got an overtime win on home ice, the result of a huge comeback, the guys found a way to win. The lines were rolling and the goaltending has been great, which has instilled confidence in the group.