Since December 17, 2024, the Habs have been at the top of the NHL for cumulative points, a statistic that has not escaped the American media.
The team, which then occupied last place in the East, now finds itself a few points from a playoff spot, despite yesterday’s loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
As part of the show That’s Hockey broadcast on the airwaves of TSN, Bruce Boudreau analyzed the reasons behind this impressive streak of the Canadian, who has won six of his last eight matches.
So what is the recipe behind this fabulous sequence of Blue-White-Red?
Concrete in front of the nets
The former NHL head coach first points to the exceptional performance of the goaltenders, who allowed only 15 goals during this sequence.
Samuel Montembeault displays a percentage of stops of more than .900 in his last seven outings, while Jakub Dobes made a remarkable debut in the NHL by shutting out the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
Trust as a key element
According to the analyst, it is not so much an increase in offensive production that explains this success, but rather a growing level of confidence within the team.
He particularly highlights the electrifying return of Patrik Lainewhich gave a new dimension to the numerical advantage.
Let’s say that at the start, we didn’t even expect him to score that many at 5 on 5! So it’s a bonus to see him perform so well and score a significant number of power play goals.
It also highlights the improved performance of Kirby Dachwho, despite a negative differential since December 17, has scored crucial goals and collected points in recent outings.
Note that the recent acquisition of the defender Alexandre Carrier also helped solidify the Habs’ defensive brigade.
In short, Boudreau affirms that the Canadian now believes much more in his abilities:
The most important thing is that they have confidence in themselves now. They believe they can do it. They see the group in front of them, they are only 3 points from the playoffs and I think they believe they can come back.
Bruce Boudreau
The question now is how long the Habs will be able to keep this confidence intact.
You can watch the entire interview in English below.
