Happy Days Are Here Again... Finally
December would have easily been a month to forget with no wins,
five ties and six losses before Christmas. However, Santa must
have thought that the Habs had been good boys because since
December 26 the team has won seven of their last eight games.
With the 3-1 win against St. Louis, the Canadiens swept a
three-game home stand to reach the midpoint of their 82-game
schedule at 15-19-7.
To be starting the year on the right foot in this way demanded a
lot of patience on every body's part, but mostly on Alain
Vigneault: "I've said it 1,978 times -- our top lines have got to
start scoring." Fortunately, the acquisition of goalie Jeff
Hackett in November allowed the Habs to get more time to put
their act together. Hackett's great performance over the
holidays earned him the tittle of Player of the Week for the
period ending Jan 3.
However, you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs: A very
unhappy Theodore with a record of 3-9-0 was sent back to
Fredericton in order to improve his game, and according to some,
reduce the size of his ego. "I didn't see it coming," said
Theodore, 22. "I don't really understand it because it might slow
down the development of the young goaltenders in the system." His
replacement: Frederic Chabot, 30, was playing with the Houston
Aeros of the IHL where he posted a record of 16 wins, four losses
and one shootout loss.
Santa did not forget Regean Houle, the Habs General Manager: The
Devils agreed to let Jacques Lemaire go to Montreal to act as
consultant to the GM. Lemaire, 53, spent his entire playing
career with the Canadiens from 1967 to 1979. He won eight Stanley
Cups as a player, two more as assistant GM in 1986 and 1993 and
one as the Devils' head coach in 1994. He is a member of the
Hockey Hall of Fame.
"Jacques will be a real asset to our team. His knowledge of the
League combined with his experience at coaching will help me on a
daily basis to get a stronger evaluation of our own personnel as
well as a better evaluation of the current and future players of
the NHL," Houle said.
Could It Be Too Late?
Surprising goal-scorers have kept the team going during the lean
days. Players like Brunet and Poulin have been keeping the fort
while guys like Recchi, Damphousse, and Koivu have been trying to
get their act together and get healthy. Just think: Brunet (10)
and Poulin (7) have more goals then Damphousse (7) and Recchi
(8). As to find a remedy to cure his top lines, Vigneault juggled
them with Damphousse centering Rucinsky and Recchi, and Koivu
between Corson and Savage in the game against St. Louis. "We need
to jump start these two lines," said Vigneault.
There is still a long way to go before making the playoffs even
if the Habs are playing as well as they have played at any time
in the last five years. Playing catch up to teams that are also
playing well might not be enough. To quote Jack Todd of the
Montreal Gazette: "They've dug themselves an enormous hole - but
if they get it going, it's going to be fun watching the
Canadiens try to overhaul the leaders down the stretch."
