The Canadiens are the only team in the NHL with a record above .800 over the last 30 days.

Can we say that the Canadiens are the team of the moment in the National Hockey League as we write these lines?

The answer to that question is yes.

We could even answer the question by saying: “Absolutely”!

In the last 30 days, the Canadiens are the club that has won the most games in the NHL (tied with the Dallas Stars).

The difference, however, is that the Stars (14) have played one more game than the Canadiens (13).

But where it really stands out is when we see that the Canadiens are the only club in the NHL playing above .800 for the past 30 days.

No one could have predicted that a month ago:

(Credit: StatMuse)

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There are several factors that can explain this phenomenon.

For me, these are mainly the ones that catch my attention:

  • The emergence of Lane Hutson
  • The return to play of Patrik Laine (even though he has missed some games)
  • The arrival of Alexandre Carrier
  • The performance of Monty AND Dobes
  • The awakening of Kirby Dach
  • The brilliance of the 4th line (before Emil Heineman’s injury)

But what works is the fact that the Canadiens are playing the right way.

The guys remain focused even after giving up a goal (which was not the case before), the special teams are doing the necessary work to achieve success… And Martin St-Louis has started to coach for real.

We sometimes see the Canadiens’ coach shorten his bench (like yesterday with Pezzetta) to use his best players, and we also see that he makes decisions to win. Expectations are changing after all…

All of this means that the Habs are currently fighting for a playoff spot, which was not expected at the start of the season.

At least, considering how the team performed in the first weeks of the campaign… It made sense to believe that the playoffs should be forgotten.

Tomorrow’s game will be interesting, therefore: the Dallas Stars will be on the menu, and as I mentioned at the beginning of my text, the Stars and the Habs are the only two clubs in the league that have won 10 games in the last 30 days.

It promises!

In brief

– Despite everything, the Habs must not give him any gifts tomorrow.

– He deserves it.

– Hmm. I would go with Thomas Vanek. What about you?

– Well, another thing. The LIV still seems complicated…