I know people will think I’m crazy for saying this after a 4-2 loss on a road stretch where we’ve been badly outplayed, but last night things changed a bit for the Canadiens. It was subtle, but after the Canucks scored their fourth goal and all was over, Montreal seemed to start playing the brand of hockey that we’ve been used to. Certainly I wish that the sustained offensive pressure, fore-checking, and crisp passes form the defense to the forwards had happened when the score was 2-1, but when you’re a slumping team you can’t be picky about when things turn around. For much of the third period Montreal was buzzing around the Vancouver net, and the whole time I was thinking “one goal could make all of the difference”, and it did. Montreal wasn’t going to come back from 4-1, but for the first time in a long time, they didn’t quit. They didn’t fall into the trend of blunders that have recently produced lop-sided losses. Yes they lost last night, but for the first time in a long while thats all it was – a loss.

I know Markov and Kovalev will still have to answer for their play. Markov was a minus 3 and Kovalev had no shots on net. Unacceptable. You do not pay them 10 million dollars combined to be your worst players night in and night out. But the thing that I am encouraged by from last night was that the rest of the team finally seemed like it wasn’t afraid to attack the opposition.

Here is the deal Montreal. The trap doesn’t work for you. You’re not that good defensively. Your best defense this year has been to skate and fore-check effectively so that you can attack the opposition and force YOUR style of play on them. To accomplish this you will need to be aggressive. Every player will need to confidently participate, and costly odd man rushes are not an option.

Wow, an interesting weekend for the Habs. Signs that the Habs may be finally repairing their game, and a trade for an old face (pun intended)in Mathieu Schneider. Gainey sent a second and third rounder (for the ’09 and ’10 drafts respectively) for Schneider and a conditional pick which hinges on Montreal’s performance this playoff season. There are a couple interesting developments that have arisen because of this move.

First, there is Gainey’s admission that he has been nursing this deal for some time. He told reporters that he was waiting for a window of opportunity that would allow the Canadiens to make this deal financially. The Habs are only on the hook for $1.7 million of Schneider’s $5.625 million dollar contract for this season. That means that while Tanguay and Lang remain on the IR, Montreal still has about $2.75 million in capspace. Could this mean that Gainey has his mind set on making another deal? Its a complicated scenario with many intertwining factors… so my guess is we’re right where Gainey wants us to be (other than the losing streak). Without a doubt we have learned that Gainey is very calculated in his approach to this team.

The second development hinges on the return of Alex Tanguay. If Tanguay returns from the IR, it will be like having made a trade without losing any players. Having him back in the lineup will add experience on our very young forward lines, powerplay help, and most importantly some scoring punch. If between the addition of Tanguay and Schneider the Candiens’ play picks up, we may not see another addition this year. We would be right near the cap going into the playoffs. The money for Komisarek next season can be found in either Schneider’s contract (if he stays he will make considerably less, should he retire he will free up capspace). One has to believe that almost none of the impending free agents will make anywhere near their current contracts which will also contribute to the cap. Even Komisarek’s value will be lower than most previously estimated.

The third development is is that because of the addition of Schneider, Montreal now has a deep defense core, with three players making over $5 million per season. The question is, does this open the door for a more “blockbuster” deal in which one or more of the Habs expensive pieces could be on the move for that elusive impact forward that Gainey has sought for almost his entire time has GM in Montreal? There was a time when Kovalev or Markov were seen as untouchable. Now there is much more of a feeling that one or both of these players could move before the deadline. Between them they account for $10 million in salary and could bring healthy returns if packaged with prospects or draft picks. It will be an interesting few weeks as the rest of the chips fall at deadline day. My gut tells me that Gainey isn’t finished as this deal reeks of a type of deal to set up another.