Power Rankings: Habs rounding into form just in time
Updated March 15
The Montreal Canadiens don't have a lot of time to waste. And lately, they've been playing like they realize it.
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| Jaroslav Halak has been streaking in Montreal's goal. (Getty Images) |
"We have to make every game count now," Montreal general manager Pierre Gauthier said.
So far, so good.
Montreal had three losses in four games heading into the break and its playoff hopes looked bleak, particularly since its power play -- the league's second best -- was missing two of its key members in Mike Cammalleri and Marc-Andre Bergeron. Both players are still out, and the Canadiens have only scored three times in 22 tries with the man advantage since play resumed, but suddenly the team has become productive at even strength.
To a large extent, that's the result of Montreal getting regular contributions from third- and fourth-line players, who have scored 11 of Montreal's 27 goals during the run. It hasn't hurt the Canadiens to have key offseason acquisition Scott Gomez playing his best hockey of the season and Tomas Plekanec continuing to increase his value as he approaches free agency.
Meanwhile Montreal's blue-line group has settled into three effective, functioning units.
"We haven't been matching pairs against lines because we feel our three pairs can play against anyone," coach Jacques Martin said. "That's also encouraged them to be more involved in the attack because they don't have to stay back or play as many minutes."
Then again, there aren't that many left to play.
The rankings through Sunday night's games:
| Power Rankings | |||
| Current | Team | Previous | |
 | 1 | Rangers · Trends | 2 |
| One of the most impressive things about the Rangers this season is that they've been able to win so many games while getting almost no offense from Brandon Dubinsky, and Brad Richards not putting up the type of numbers they may have expected. | |||
 | 2 | Canucks · Trends | 3 |
| Since the start of the new year the Canucks have lost just two games in regulation. Defenseman Kevin Bieska helped keep that going Saturday in Colorado when he saved an empty net goal by making a diving save at one end of the ice, then followed it up with the game-tying goal at the other end. | |||
 | 3 | Red Wings · Trends | 1 |
| Even before Jimmy Howard's injury the Red Wings looked like a team that was in need of a backup goalie upgrade, and nothing we've seen since his injury has changed that. | |||
 | 4 | Predators · Trends | 5 |
| If the playoffs started Monday, the Predators and Blues would be a first-round matchup. Based on the game they played Saturday night that might be a pretty exciting series. | |||
 | 5 | Bruins · Trends | 4 |
| The Bruins have really fallen back to the pack in the standings recently and haven't won back-to-back games since Jan. 10-12. They are 5-5-1 over their past 11 games. | |||
 | 6 | Blues · Trends | 6 |
| As of Monday there are only five goalies in the NHL with at least five shutouts this season. Two of them, Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak, play for the Blues. That's about Ken Hitchcock, ladies and gentlemen. | |||
 | 7 | Penguins · Trends | 7 |
| The following stat comes via the Penguins Radio Network on Twitter (@PensRadioNet). In his career Evgeni Malkin has played 82 games without Sidney Crosby in the lineup, or what amounts to a full season of games. His numbers: 49 goals, 112 points. | |||
 | 8 | Devils · Trends | 14 |
| The Devils make a big push as they enter the week riding a four-game winning streak and having gained a point in eight of their past 10 games. | |||
 | 9 | Sharks · Trends | 10 |
| The Sharks followed up a three-game losing streak with a three-game winning streak this week, including shutouts from Antti Niemi against Calgary and Columbus. | |||
 | 10 | Flyers · Trends | 8 |
| It's usually a good thing when you outscore your opponent 4-0 and outshoot them 24-1 in the third period, right? Well, not when you entered the period down 6-0, as the Flyers did on Saturday against New Jersey. Too little, too late. | |||
 | 11 | Maple Leafs · Trends | 13 |
| Toronto responded from what could have been a crushing loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night with back-to-back wins, both of which were shutouts with James Reimer in the crease. Could have been an ugly week with the way it started. | |||
 | 12 | Blackhawks · Trends | 9 |
| The Blackhawks enter the week on a five-game losing streak, and it's already their second losing streak of at least four games since the start of January. | |||
 | 13 | Capitals · Trends | 12 |
| Even if Nicklas Backstrom wasn't already injured, the loss of Brooks Laich, for however long it will be, would have been a costly one for the Capitals. Fortunately, nobody else in the Southeast seems all that interested in winning the division. | |||
 | 14 | Panthers · Trends | 16 |
| Another game with first place on the line Tuesday night in Washington. | |||
 | 15 | Kings · Trends | 15 |
| New week, same old story. Jonathan Quick is awesome, the offense ... well ... is not. By far the lowest scoring team in the league, well behind Columbus and Minnesota. Not a good sign. | |||
 | 16 | Senators · Trends | 11 |
| The Senators could be in trouble. The losing streak is now at six, and they have still played more games than every team they're competing with for a playoff spot. | |||
 | 17 | Wild · Trends | 17 |
| Like Toronto, another team that overcame a brutal third-period collapse and followed it up with a big win. They picked up a 1-0 victory against Colorado after giving up four goals in the final 10 minutes against Nashville. | |||
 | 18 | Lightning · Trends | 20 |
| Martin St. Louis played his 900th career game over the weekend and celebrated it with a hat trick against the Florida Panthers. The Lightning have been on a roll recently, winning six of seven, with the only loss coming in overtime against Winnipeg, but they're still pretty far out of the playoff race. | |||
 | 19 | Avalanche · Trends | 18 |
| Eventually their shootout luck was going to run out, as it did over the weekend against Vancouver. First time they've lost one going back to last season, and the losing streak is at five starting the week. | |||
 | 20 | Jets · Trends | 21 |
| The Jets should be happy about this whacky divisional alignment, for this year anyway, because the Southeast is the only one they would still have a chance to win right now. | |||
 | 21 | Ducks · Trends | 19 |
| Teemu Selanne never gets old. Watching him play never gets old, and he never seems to show any signs of age when he's on the ice. It's incredible to watch. | |||
 | 22 | Stars · Trends | 23 |
| The Stars picked up the extra point against Minnesota over the weekend, winning in a shootout, but if they're going to jump over the Wild they can't allow them to gain a point in regulation in the head-to-head matchups. | |||
 | 23 | Islanders · Trends | 25 |
| John Tavares continues to be one of the hottest players in the NHL, adding four more goals and two more assists over his past five games. | |||
 | 24 | Flames · Trends | 22 |
| In seven games with the Flames, Mike Cammalleri has two goals and no assists. Not exactly starting off with a bang. | |||
 | 25 | Sabres · Trends | 28 |
| After scoring 31 goals in 62 games last season, Drew Stafford has just eight in his first 50 games this year. | |||
 | 26 | Hurricanes · Trends | 27 |
| And speaking of players having down years, Eric Staal is on pace for just 18 goals this season. The only time he's scored fewer than 29 in a single season was during his rookie year in 2003-04. He scored 11. | |||
 | 27 | Oilers · Trends | 29 |
| Sam Gagner's week was perhaps the best on-ice development for the Oilers since they went to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2005-06. Seriously. His historic eight-point night on Thursday was followed by a three-point first period in his next game on Saturday. Even more impressive is that two-game stretch came against Detroit and Chicago, two pretty good teams. Oilers have won four of their past five. | |||
 | 28 | Coyotes · Trends | 26 |
| The Coyotes are still in the playoff race, but they're headed in the wrong direction having won just five of their previous 17 games. | |||
 | 29 | Canadiens · Trends | 24 |
| Tough times in Montreal as the Canadiens hit the bottom spot in the Eastern Conference over the weekend. | |||
 | 30 | Blue Jackets · Trends | 30 |
| Friday's overtime win in Anaheim snapped what had been the Jackets latest six-game losing streak. So that's a positive for the week. | |||
