The Montreal Canadiens have had a rough start to the season, but the last 8 games of the calendar year is hopefully something they can build on.
On December 10, they started on a stretch of 6 road games out of 9 games to finish out the 2015 portion of the schedule, and most of those against the top teams in the East. They were able to beat conference leading Tampa Bay 2 times, pull 3 points out of 4 against Winnipeg, and win 3 other games while only losing 2 in regulation.
The biggest change has been the play of Ben Bishop who is stopping almost everything he is seeing right now and it shows in the fact he has only allowed 7 goals in his last 6 games. In those 6 games, he has been able to win 5 and grab a point in the 6th one. Bishop was the big offseason acquisition in Montreal and he is finally living up to his billing.
Joe Pavelski is leading the offense again this year and currently sits 2nd in league goal scoring. Nobody else on the team is producing near to their potential so far this year, with the defensive tandem of Dustin Byfuglien and Duncan Keith being the biggest dissapointments.  The team as a whole has been scroing better lately which shows in the 24 goals in the last 8 games played, and if the two blueliners start picking it up, the sky is the limit for this team.
Even with these positives, the Canadiens still have a lot of work to do since they sit outside of the top 8 in the East, but the play in the last 10 or so games is encouraging.