Tonight they visit the Senators, whom they handled fairly easily last week and came away with a 4-0 win. Confidence should not be an issue, should it?

New lines for tonight:

Latendresse - Koivu - Tanguay
Higgins - Plekanec - Kovalev
A.Kostitsyn - Lang - Kostopoulous
Laraques - Begin - S. Kostitsyn

Canadiens Top Stories
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The call of the net
Tanguay powers Habs in shootout
The ultimate competitor
Bulldogs report
Who needs to cut down on the cologne?

The Habs are hurting. On the ice they have looked terrible in 2 of their last 3 games. Individual players are starting (continuing?) to struggle. An added dose of injuries and suspension haven’t made it any easier.

It shouldn’t be any easier tonight welcoming the Flyers who no doubt will play their normal physical game. A style that continues to give the Canadiens fits.

The Habs have owned the Flyers in regular season play, but they’ve also owned the Bruins going into Thursday’s game. We all saw how that turned out.

A streak in today’s game, that borders on ridiculous. How long can it last?

This is the first time the Habs have had real trouble. Time to panic or bump in the road? Which team shows up?

Can anyone understand why in less than a month, the Habs have had two very long spans of no activity?

Does this hurt or help the team right now? Are the Habs going to be overwhelmed with games at some later point in the season?

Is it tough to stay sharp or focused when you are not playing? The team comes from obscurity again tonight and will face the Blue Jackets and then the Maple Leafs 24 hours later.

The Habs only regulation loss was to the Ducks after the first layoff, a game where they definitely started slow.

An easy walk in the park for the Canadiens? Or do they take them too lightly and have a hard time against a struggling team?

The Canadiens are finally meeting some competitive teams and getting tested. They meet the Wild in Minnesota tonight. The Wild have an identical record and are known to be notoriously stingy at home.

Notably, the Wild’s Captain is Saku Koivu’s ‘little’ brother Mikko. Always fun to watch two brothers face off against each other.

The Wild of course are coached by and start several French Canadians which always adds some competitive fire to the mix when playing the Habs.

The Habs came out flat after a long lay off and found themselves down early. Is Jaroslav Halak alone to take the blame or were the Habs as a team weak defensively? Was Chris Higgins as sharp as he normally is? Was Andrei Markov? Why can’t the Canadiens seem to beat the strong Western Conference teams?

The good news is the Habs are healthy. AK46 will soon make his return to the lineup. The not so good news is the Hurricanes happen to be the next opponent. The Canes are notorious Hab killers and play especially well in Montreal.

The Habs in the peak of a 5 game win streak have not played since Monday. Will the break help or hurt the Canadiens?

After a brutal start the Ducks have put together a couple wins. Is Anaheim the team that will present the Canadiens their first real challenge?

Chris Higgins starts his first game of the year, and Jaro Halak will guard the net once again.

The guys who are supposed to produce are producing, the goalies are stopping the puck. Any doubts about newcomers have quickly been put to rest up to this point.

Alex Tanguay has started on fire, averaging more than a point a game. Not to mention providing an important shoot out winner. Georges Laraques has certainly more than answered the bell whenever necessary. In only 2 starts he has overhauled the whole perception of the Habs.

The injury to Andrei Kostitsyn is the only real concern at this point. He will join Chris Higgins on the sidelines for the time being. The Canadiens are deeper than ever, and the impact should be little if any.

Will the 2-2 Panthers be the first team to really test the Canadiens? If not, who will? A long break follows tonight’s game until Saturday against the visiting Ducks, dead last in the league at this point.

Are the Habs benefiting from an easy starting schedule? Or are they just that tough to play against?