The Montreal Canadiens are back. After years of residing in the basement of the NHL, les Habitants have rebounded this season.
A batch of talented, young forwards, some great coaching and stellar goaltending, have given fans a reason to cheer. And, in many ways, Canadiens supporters can thank the Ottawa Senators for showing Montreal the way.
The Senators owe much of their current success to a cadre of young players including Jason Spezza, Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette. The Senators organization made a point of developing young talent. Now, it seems Montreal has taken a page from Ottawa’s book. Four out of the top five goal scorers in the Canadiens lineup this year are under 25 and two, Andrei Kostitsyn, 23, and Guillaume Latendresse, 20, are playing in their first NHL season.
Kostitsyn has been an unexpected and welcome surprise for the Canadiens. So far this season, he’s scored 17 goals and has 18 assists. Fellow rookie Latendresse has also pitched in with 14 goals and six assists.
Tomas Plekanec, 25, is having a career season. His 21 goals matches his personal best and makes him second in team scoring. Teammate Chris Higgins, 24, is also having a good season with 34 points.
Between them, Montreal’s four young guns have accounted for over a third of the Canadiens’ total goals scored.
This new source of offence has propelled Montreal into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, a position that the modern-day Canadiens have not been in since they last won the Stanley Cup in 1993. In fact, over the past five seasons Montreal has not finished higher than seventh.
Another reason for the Canadiens’ success is coaching. Coach Guy Carbonneau is getting the most from his rookies and while Montreal is not scoring often, their tight defence is preventing other teams from scoring.
Many Ottawa fans might think they have seen this coaching strategy before and they would be right. Jacques Martin pioneered this approach in his years with the Senators but while Martin was accused of stifling talent because of his emphasis playing the trap, Carbonneau has found a middle ground.
Carbonneau’s no-nonsense approach to coaching has won over the veterans on the team, including the ever-cantankerous Alex Kovalev. The veteran winger was rumoured to be unhappy in Montreal earlier in the season, but since then his attitude and scoring have improved to the point where he now leads the Canadiens in scoring.
But while there are many similarities between Ottawa and Montreal, the Canadiens do have something Ottawa has always lacked: good goaltending.
Cristobal Huet has played sensationally for Montreal. His style, while unorthodox, has made him one of the best goaltenders in the NHL and given his teammates the confidence to take chances on offence.
Montreal could go far in this year’s playoffs thanks to Huet’s play. He is capable of stealing games for his teammates, a skill the Senators goalies have been lacking.
But, regardless of this year’s final result, Canadiens fans have many reasons to be optimistic. This team can only get better and in a few years there is a good chance Montreal will be where Ottawa is today – sitting in first place.