After a great playoff run last spring the Canadiens are back at it and on the hunt for the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup Championship. General Manager Pierre Gauthier didn’t make very many changes during the off season but he did tweak the team.

The biggest change to the 2009-2010 Habs compared to the 2010-2011 Habs is goaltending. Jaroslav Halak successfully transformed himself from a decent back up goalie to one of the elite goalies in the NHL last season. It took him all season but he finally managed to grasp Price’s job just in time for the playoffs and I think we all know the rest. Gauthier was criticized for pulling the trigger on Halak to soon and not shopping him around enough for the best possible return.

Pierre Gauthier’s trigger finger brought two prospects: NHL ready Lars Eller and 1 or 2 years away, Ian Schultz, who hopes to compare himself to Milan Lucic once he hits the NHL. Eller is expected to have scoring line potential but he has generated mixed reviews. Some say the Blues were crazy to give him up while others say he is simply an “OK” prospect.

So far Eller has found himself playing down in the bottom six. Eller is hard to play against and exhibits some of the most potential in a forward the organization has seen in quite a while. Eller is only 21 and came over to North America just last year to play for the Blue’s affiliate team in Peoria. More questions should be answered as Eller progresses through his rookie NHL season.

Aside from the Halak deal centerman Dominic Moore and “MetroMan” Glen Metropolit were replaced with Jeff Halpern and Dustin Boyd. Halpern was acquired in early September by the Canadiens and has already made an impact scoring 3 points in 6 games with a plus 2 rating. Halpern brings a veteran presence to the Canadiens along with a safe and conservative style of play. Boyd acts as the Canadiens’ 4th line center and has struggled in this early season going -2. He exhibits good speed and some solid hockey sense.

Montreal, just like last season, is having trouble scoring. The scoring trouble hasn’t been noticed as much as it should because of Carey Price’s stellar play and Montreal’s winning record. After a rough preseason Price has shown up to compete and has played in all of Montreal’s games while posting great numbers.

The scoring troubles stem from Gomez and Gionta who continue to struggle, a lackluster powerplay and some missing offense from Montreal’s defencemen. Gomez and Gionta, who started the season on a line with Pouliot, have struggled and thus provoked Martin to switch up their line mates. So far linemates have ranged from Pouliot to Moen to Pyatt, still with no success. The Canadiens’ powerplay was second in the NHL last year but this year is pathetic, sitting at around 5% success rating. The Canadiens’ defence play a large part in the powerplay’s poor performance. With Markov out of the lineup and Marc Andre Bergeron twiddling his thumbs as a free agent, the Canadiens have trouble bringing the puck up ice and have no threat from the point. Subban who has taken Markov’s job as puck mover on the powerplay isn’t cutting it. Nor is Spacek who takes Bergeron’s place from last season as trigger man. Spacek seems to be caught in an offensive funk since leaving Buffalo and signing in Montreal last year.

Bright spots include the Plekanec, Kostitsyn and Cammalleri line who take the 1,2 and 4th spot in Canadiens scoring respectively. The line has really been sparked by the die hard play of Andrei Kostitsyn who is in his contract year.

The Canadiens sit in the middle of the pack once again this season and have much to work on if they are to improve in the standings and win the Stanley Cup.

Author Bio: Andrew Charbonneau Find up to the second Canadiens news, trade rumors, lineups, pregames, postgames, bios, videos and much more at canadienszone.com!

Category: Sports
Keywords: canadiens,montreal canadiens,canadiens de montreal,early season,2010,2010-2011