And so the regular season ends, and the post season begins. Its funny, when I think back about the roller coaster that was the Habs season I have to think back about the incredible excitement that I had before the season started for the new additions that the Canadiens made to the roster. As training camp started I wondered how the lines would shake out now that Montreal had acquired Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang. Looking back, I have to honestly say everything that I expected was wrong with regard to this season!

The “top” line – After the season that the Plekanec, Kostitsyn, Kovalev line had last year I thought for sure we were about to witness the emergence of a couple new NHL stars. More specifically, I thought for sure that Andrei was going to emerge as the true offensive superstar that we’ve all been pining after for years. In 06-07 he had 50 points in 52 games with the bulldogs. In 07-08 (which really was his rookie season in the NHL) he had a fantastic 53 points and really took off once he was put on the top line. This year, I can’t help but feel underwhelmed by his 41 points. I’m not willing to write him off as others have done – but next year, when the excuse of the sophomore jinx can finally be laid to rest, this tenth overall pick has to produce for the Canadiens. A great way to start would be to have an impact against the Bruins in this upcoming playoff series.

The off-season signings – The addition of Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang were really cause for excitement heading into this season. Much of the talk was that Koivu’s line desperately needed a talented winger to replace Michael Ryder, and that Tanguay was the perfect fit for the Captain and Higgins. As it turns out Tanguay spent almost 30 games on the shelf, and Higgins had a “Michael Ryder-esque” seaon of his own scoring a pathetic 23 points. Now that Tanguay has returned we are finally able to really judge the kind of impact he could have had for the Canadiens had he not been injured, as he has totaled 41 points in 50 games. To add insult to injury (literally), Robert Lang’s numbers were eerily similar – scoring 39 point in 50 games with the Canadiens this season. One has to wonder what the Canadiens could have accomplished had these two savvy veterans been able to play out healthy 08-09.

The youngsters – While I did point out the underwhelming performances of Andrei Kostitsyn and Chris Higins, it should be noted that the youth movement which was touted as the team’s greatest strength last season took a step in the wrong direction to the dismay of the Habs nation. We all expected great things from Sergei, O’Byrne, Komisarek, and Price and were disappointed with steps back rather than forward. If it weren’t for the inspiring play of Max Lapierre and Gui Latendresse we might talk about the collapse of the youth of the Canadiens this season. The truth is, for much of this year the Habs relied on Mat D’Agostini and Max Pacioretti while those with actual NHL experience fell off of the map. Call it a collective sophomore jinx – whatever you have to do – the young Canadiens will need to step up next year since most of the veterans on this team are UFA’s come the end of this season.

L’Artiste – I’m not sure why, but I didn’t expect the Alex Kovalev disappearing act that we all witnessed this year. That being said, Kovalev has redeemed himself in my eyes since he has managed to catch fire at the end of the season when we need it most. He is back to scoring goals and making beautiful passes. Better late than never? When he and Markov are on the same page, we still have the most dangerous powerplay in the league.

In the end, the players I expected to have break out seasons didn’t, and those I didn’t have on my radar (hello Mathieu Schneider) had an impact that couldn’t be imagined. It was a crazy regular season, and I for one am glad to see it go. We are back in the same position we were last year – a first round playoff matchup with the big bad Bruins. While this team doesn’t have the same swagger that led them to 8 consecutive victories against the B’s, I still think we can beat them. It is a brand new season: time for all of those players who have had disappointing results to step up. It is not too late to turn around this season. We will need all hands to make it happen.