head coach: Alain Vigneault

roster: C - Saku Koivu, Marc Bureau, Darcy Tucker, Vincent Damphousse, Sebastien Bordeleau, Eric Houde. LW -Shayne Corson, Martin Rucinsky, Benoit Brunet, Scott Thornton, Brian Savage. RW - Mark Recchi, Stephane Richer, Turner Stevenson, Valeri Bure. D - Dave Manson,Vladimir Malakhov, Jassen Cullimore, Stephane Quintal, Patrice Brisebois, Peter Popovic, David Wilkie, Craig Rivet, Brett Clark, Francois Groleau. G - Andy Moog, Jocelyn Thibault.

injuries: Marc Bureau, c (bruised thigh, indefinite); Craig Rivet, d (bruised back, indefinite); Jassen Cullimore, d (torn cartilage in left shoulder, indefinite).

transactions: None.

standings:

Eastern Conference - Northeast Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Boston       15   9   5   1    19   41   35
Ottawa       15   8   4   3    19   47   36
Montreal     14   8   4   2    18   44   30
Pittsburgh   16   8   6   2    18   47   44
Buffalo      14   5   7   2    12   35   45
Carolina     15   4   8   3    11   38   47

game results:

10/22 Florida       W 3-0
10/23 at New Jersey L 2-1 OT
10/25 at Ottawa     W 4-2
10/27 Chicago       W 4-2
10/29 Islanders     L 5-2
11/01 Toronto       W 5-1

team news:

by Jacques Robert, Montreal Correspondent

MONTREAL IS DEFINITELY A PROMISING TEAM

One bad loss against the Islanders, and Montreal fans are up to compare the current team with the horrible bunch of guys that posted a miserable 96-97 campaign. No, no, no: The Habs have definitely ushered in a new era this season. And one may be able to prove it. Evidence?

Super Thibault!

Goaltending: Thibault and Moog are interchangable, indeed. No doubt that neither Thibault nor Moog consider themselves as the #1 goalie. The competition is on, for sure! But both goalies pull in the same direction. Hats off to Thibault who is coming out strongly after a season that might have jeopardized his career! Instead, Tbo worked harder than ever last summer, and now he is physically and mentally stronger: against Florida, the Habs posted a shutout win and Tbo, "the new kid in town", was very instrumental in making 26 saves and lowering his goals-against to 0.90...

Malakhov Is Perfect

The defence: As opposed to last year, Vigneault's boys have already cut the goals-against about in half and, in that regard, have the best average in the NHL thus far. Malakhov is no stranger to that situation. This year the Russian stands out, especially in his passing. He's making everything look easy. Bottom line? Vigneault lets him play his game.

In a nutshell, "Vlad" seems to be indispensable to the Habs for the time being. For instance, as the Habs were taking on the Islanders, Vladimir was sidelined and it showed as the Canadiens posted their worst performance this season. Recchi had even this to say after the game: "...We were back to last year's old habits!". In other words, the Habs were a bit overconfident, even cocky. Thankfully, Thibault made a number of brilliant stops, otherwise the outcome might have been even worse: they failed to score on six power-play opportunities and Saku Koivu was unhappy with his performance with only two goals scored so far.

One more note on the defence, a new young defenceman, Brett Clark, is the surprise of the season. He is almost unknown, but it turns out that he might well steal Popovic's job.

Forwards Committed to Win

The offence: As opposed to last year, all lines can contribute to the score. Whenever a line stalls, the others can take over. Take the first line for example. Going into the game against Toronto, a guy like Koivu was not satisfied with his play... No matter! Recchi, coming off a two-goal performance against the Islanders, was able to make up for his teammate's off performance.

Stephane Richer? This forward has the reputation of dragging his feet... No matter! Fresh off a lacerated calf injury, not only did Stephane find a way to score against Toronto but he even led all players with five shots on goal. Go figure! Ditto for the second line. At the start of the season the Habs were a one-line team but since October 1st, Rucinsky, Damphousse (he got the winner against Chicago), and either Brunet (two goals against Toronto) or Bure have been able to provide their team with precious points.

Needless to say that this situation is no miracle. All players are committed both to their coaching staff and to their club. Now everybody knows what his role is in this organization. However, Vigneault's boys really need to improve on 5-on-5 situations by concentrating better and showing more discipline whenever line changing occurs (Montreal lost against N.J in OT when they found themselves with too many men on the ice).

Undoubtedly, the Habs are off to a great season. After 14 games into this campaign, we have good reasons to say that. On one hand, Mr October (Brian Savage), who is known to play well only in the opening month, recorded his first point in... November against Toronto. Wow! On the other hand, do you remember the problem this team had last year in scoring in the first 20 minutes? This year the scenario is way different: out of the 38 Canadiens' goals, 18 have come in the first period. It speaks by itself, doesn't it?

Finally, those facts serve to show that things are really changing in the Canadiens entourage. For good at last. Thank you Vigneault!

ON MY NOTE PAD:

Toronto: still a good seller

The longtime rivalry between two of the "Original Six" is still strong, since the Toronto at Montreal game was played before a sellout crowd. Unfortunately, Toronto is in reconstruction. Can't wait for the time when Toronto will join the Habs in their conference! In a few years, the departed Quebec Nordiques might be replaced as the Canadiens #1 rival.

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