After a slow start to the season which saw the Canadiens win 1 of their first 6 games, they have turned it around and gone 8-3-1 since and climbed into firts place in the division. The top line of Joe Pavelski, Tomas Plekance and Carl Hagelin have been leading the charge, and Mike Smith in net has been getting better every game.
Pavelski is leading the league in goals, PP goals and SH goals. Plekanec is leading the league in points, and second in the league in goals. Hagelin is just along for the ride, but the line obviosly has great chemistry right now and will hopefully keep up its play for a while.
On the backend, Duncan Keith was brought in from Colorado this summer to help with the PP, and he has done that plus some. After struggling last year on the PP, the Canadiens are currently in 2nd place scoring on almst 25% of their chances. Keith is currently tops in defenseman points, and and is playing about 25 minutes a game in all situations. He has been a great addition back there, and has gelled well with his defense partner Dustin Byfuglien.
Not to be outdone, Mike Smith is tied for the league lead in wins, and has finally got his save % above .900 after a slow start to the season. With this being a contract year, Smith needs to have a big year in hopes to get one more big contract befoe hanging them up.