With a haul of five out of six possible points last week, the Canadiens' players certainly took advantage of the Christmas break with a light heart. After all, no one would have dared to predict that Martin St-Louis and his team would be just four points behind the final playoff spot at this time of year.
• Also read: When Slafkovsky gave his father the finger and five stories from Juraj's youth
With two games left on the Lightning and eighth place to boot.
It was fun while it lasted, but it's already time to get back to work. The Canadian begins the second part of his seven-game trip away from the Bell Center on Thursday.
Facing the Hurricanes (Thursday), the Panthers (Saturday) and the Lightning (Sunday), he will have an excellent chance to stay in contention. The Hurricanes are just ahead of the Habs with 38 points and the Lightning with 39 points. The Panthers are third in the Atlantic Division with 40 points.
Not only would the Habs remain at the top of the East race, but they would also have a tumultuous December after pulling off quite a bit in November. The Habs then suffered nine consecutive defeats, with no ranking points. However, the Habs have a 5-2-3 record so far in December.
Photo Martin Chevalier
Three triggers
The Habs' successes in this final month of 2023 are consistent with a few elements.
First, Juraj Slafkovsky in the first line. It took him a few games to get used to it, but he seems to have understood his role, understood how to play to be effective with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
He is much more incisive on the forecheck and no longer hesitates to use his size to create space in the slot. He also stays in front of the net, the place from which he scored his last two goals.
We've also noticed the offensive awakening of Josh Anderson, who has scored four goals in his last four games. We were told that Anderson was a sequence guy. He is currently the heart of a good cause.
Things seem to be clicking as Anderson plays with Sean Monahan and Jake Evans. Hopefully things continue for him.
The signing of Samuel Montembeault finally secured him the title of number one goalkeeper. Since then he has appeared in two of three games. This brings a certain stability in front of the net.
Now all we have to do is hope that Cole Caufield gets his touch back, that the sickbay subscriptions are up, and that the special teams get their work done.