1) Of the six consecutive games with a point (five of them wins), the best hockey the Canadiens have played may have come for a stretch between part of the first and second periods of Black Friday's tilt with Washington. The Habs were searching that elusive third goal that would've put the Capitals away, enabling a six-game winning streak that would come into effect a night later, as the team would pounce on the Maple Leafs.

As the Habs completely took control of the game, they exhibited what makes them such a tough team to play against. It's something that we've undervalued in picking apart each individual's performance on a given night.

Ignore Francis Bouillon's age, ignore Raphael Diaz's inability to play a physically imposing style, ignore Doug Murray's lack of speed. Too often, we're focusing on the things players can't do as opposed to what they bring to the sum. The sum of the healthy Canadiens is stronger than that of most their Eastern Conference rivals. The balance of the team has been incredibly apparent over these six games--it'll take much more than this streak to secure the team any kind of foothold on a playoff spot--and the Canadiens have shown exactly who they can be.

That third goal that never came would've kept the Canadiens among the top three in the division, a point behind the Red Wings, who with Daniel Alfredsson, took care of the Ottawa Senators last night to move two points up on the Canadiens and Lightning--with the Habs owning a game in-hand, and the Lightning owning two.

The Bruins, who have a comfortable five-point cushion on Montreal, are in town this Thursday. Before then, the Canadiens take on Martin Brodeur and the Devils tonight.

Here's why the team has fared so well, and why they might come close to maintaining the pace while they're healthy:

Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban are dominating games.

Carey Price and Peter Budaj are dominating games.

David Desharnais' line with Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher is gelling at an elite level right now.

Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta and Daniel Briere are not only bottling top lines from opposing teams, they're bottling lightning in the offensive zone.

Lars Eller, Brandon Prust and Alex Galchenyuk aren't scoring the way you'd expect them to, but they are as defensively sound as any of the other lines on the team, and you know they'll find ways to score soon enough.

The mix on the fourth line might be the healthiest example of the benefit of internal competition.

It's true, Francis Bouillon's older, and no, he doesn't need to play as much as Therrien relied on him earlier this season. And yes, it's true, Diaz can't effectively push forwards off the puck. And no, no one would ever accuse Douglas Murray of being a great skater. But all three of these players are bringing something to the Canadiens that gives them one of the best bluelines in the league.

When the Habs are up against faster teams, Bouillon offers them better speed as a sixth man. When they're up against tougher teams, Murray offers them a physical presence that's undeniably valuable. And Mitch Melnick's aptly pointed out a few times over the last week that the team's yet to allow a powerplay goal against with Murray on the ice.

And then there's Diaz. When you have Subban, Markov and Emelin, you might think: What do you need from Diaz?

Well, the guy doesn't get enough credit for moving the puck so effectively. It's a value that's so underestimated on a deep blueline, but each pair on the back end moves the puck to the speedy forwards on the team. If the whole game is speed for the Canadiens, then the premium on moving the puck quickly is enormous. For as little credit as Diaz gets for moving the puck well, he gets even less for what he's been doing in his own end all season. Tied for 10th in the NHL for blocked shots (62), Diaz never moves out of the lane.

A lot of people believe Diaz is easily replaceable with Nathan Beaulieu. Over time, that may prove true. Right now, I'd not argue it's crucial to extend Diaz's contract, but trading him off the team would be a mistake. There's no one coming up in the system that offers as complete of a game as he plays.

2) There are a lot of different elements that make a team good, but over an 82-game season, none are as important as health and depth.

The health of Alexei Emelin has made the blueline so much deeper. It's turned Murray and Bouillon into better players.

The health of Pacioretty has the team winning right now.

The importance of having a healthy Brandon Prust is undeniable.

But there's really something to be said of watching the Canadiens scratch players who deserve to be playing in White and Bournival, and still come out on top with an important win over one of their closest rivals.

On Saturday, against the Leafs, it wasn't the usual shenanigans we've become accustomed to. Therrien was going to play George Parros, no matter what. His decision to play him with Prust and Moen was a brilliant one. This wasn't going to be a minus situation like the Habs ran into in Minnesota a month ago. The line had a tremendous first shift to the hockey game, Parros did his dance with Orr when the latter tried to rally the Leafs, and by the end of it, he sat on the bench knowing his job was done, and done well.

That might be the most intimidating fourth line the Canadiens have dressed in a game since... since I can remember.

3) Speaking of depth and internal competition, who was better than Rene Bourque in the latter half of the Toronto game while Alex Galchenyuk watched on from the bench? Bourque notched five shots on net, on a line with Prust and Eller to close the game, and he was playing with the desperation of a player that knows his job's on the line.

By the same token, how do you think White and Bournival will react when they draw back in?

4) This brings us to coaching. Six games ago, Michel Therrien was trying to pull his team out of the fire. He made drastic changes to the lines, but he never changed the gameplan. The Canadiens played a scoreless first period against the Wild before Pacioretty and Desharnais poked the Habs bear out of hibernation. No one cheated to create the scoring chances that have flooded other teams in the five games that followed.

Therrien's relied on Budaj. His in-game adjustments with the lead have been sharp (see Moen in for Briere on the shutdown line, reducing Bouillon/Murray minutes, playing Subban and Markov in all important minutes), and he has his team playing the right way. His personnel decisions have been excellent.

There's a synergy on the bench. The planning and communication seems to be working. It's easy to pick out players for praise or criticism when things are going well or not-so well, and it's easy to pick on the coach when the decisions he makes don't seem to make sense (I wouldn't have tapped Tomas Plekanec for the shootout in Washington, either). Coaching is about timing and chemistry too, and right now, the bench group has it.

5) If Rene Bourque hadn't suffered a lower body injury, we may not have seen Briere jump into his spot next to Plekanec and Gionta. I wouldn't have guessed that Briere's biggest success would come at left wing. The chemistry on this line is undeniable, and it's freed up Briere to build up his confidence. I don't know if it's that Briere looks faster and more comfortable, or that the chemistry has him skating to the right places on intuition, but he's got some jump to his game right now, and he's making crucial contributions at 5-on-5. And he's doing it in about 12 minutes of ice-time, on average.

Briere has three goals and an assist over this six-game streak of awesome hockey for the Canadiens--this against the toughest competitors from each team they've played.

6) Over these six games, David Desharnais has two goals and four assists, +5. The numbers are indicative of the effort he's put in over that time. Before this six game streak, surely you knew, he only had one point.

I want to segue into a thought I had over the weekend:

I bet you never, ever thought you'd be thanking Marc Bergevin's for Desharnais' deal.

Desharnais signed on March 15th of last season. He had put up 17 points in 26 games to that point. Add those 17 points in 26 games to the 60 he scored in 81 the year before that, to the 22 he scored in 41 games the year before that, and to the one point he had in his first six games as a Hab, you get: 100 points in 154 games.

At 26 years old, Bergevin signed Desharnais for four seasons at $3.5 million per. This was after he had 60 points, 100 in 154 games with the Habs, lest we forget that before he got to Montreal, he led the AHL in scoring, and the year before that was named the ECHL player of the year.

Here's where I'm going with this:

In May, Lars Eller will be 25. In 236 games played, Eller's got 92 points. Eller was selected 13th overall in 2007 (Desharnais, undrafted, has a total of 118 points in 203 games).

There's no doubt, Eller's game is more complete. His potential is greater. But when the time comes (any time between now and this summer) how will Eller argue he's worth more than what the team pays Desharnais?

What kind of happy dance will you do to have Eller under contract with the Canadiens for four years at $3.5M?

Sure, inflation's a factor. But the negotiation for Eller--the RFA--is completely in Bergevin's court.

7) Were you upset that Galchenyuk sat out the rest of the Toronto game after a stupid penalty in the offensive zone, followed by a couple of quick goals with him on the ice?

If you were, you were probably more upset than he was. He was on the ice smiling with his teammates, celebrating a win. He knows why he was sitting, and Michel Therrien was certain he'd learned the lesson.

There's nothing wrong with that. Galchenyuk hasn't had to be served too many lessons in his time as a 19-year old in the NHL.

I predict he'll have a good game against the Devils.

8) Roberto Luongo's playing well, and so is Mike Smith. I'd be shocked if the goaltending scouts for Team Canada are putting the play of those two on the same level as what they're seeing from Carey Price. Doesn't seem to matter who the opponent is, or what the situation is (national audience, Saturday night, Leafs-Habs), Price has been remarkable.

A while back, Ray Ferraro floated what he would do if he were coaching Team Canada. He'd play Luongo in the first round robin game, and Price in the second. Choose from there. If Canada elects to do that, does Price start with the advantage?

If it really is a 50-50 toss up, can you imagine Price not winning out?

9) I'm too close to it, but I don't think there's a defenseman in the league that's playing better hockey than Markov is for the Canadiens.

10) Speaking of defense, oh boy...

Dion Phaneuf is excellent. Morgan Reilly showed some great jump on Saturday, and Jake Gardiner has a skating stride that should never be on the sidelines in favor of Mark Fraser. But that Leafs defense is brutal. BRUTAL.

Carl Gunnarsson was a turnstile against the Canadiens. Paul Ranger's effective when he's moving his feet, but not exactly reliable in his own end. Reilly's a rookie. Gardiner has no rhythm after jumping in and out of the lineup. Defensive commitment from the forwards without key cog Dave Bolland is almost non-existent. Mason Raymond can't do the job all by himself.

From an offensive outlook, you can see what makes Toronto dangerous. Bozak, Kessel and Van Riemsdyk are extremely dangerous. Add in Lupul, and the offense has a completely different look to it. I'd imagine Clarkson would come alive on a line with Lupul and Kadri (or you could throw Raymond in and move Clarkson down) with the top line completely healthy. Then they could have a third line that has Kulemin, Raymond/Clarkson and Smith/McClemment.

Without Lupul, Kadri was invisible. Down two goals in the third period, Kadri may have touched the puck twice, both times in the defensive zone. This was after he got squashed by Murray earlier in the game.

James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier were stellar to start the season, but the no-defense strategy in front of them is hanging them out to dry. And once the goals start going in, the confidence dries up. Frustration sets in. Finger-pointing is next.

And there's no chance, absolutely none, that this is the style of game that Randy Carlyle is planning. Leaders in that room need to convince the team to play much harder without the puck, and until that happens, none of this changes.

The Leafs may eek out wins against teams that are willing to trade chances with them. And, given all that's good in Toronto, there are certainly a lot of team they're better than. But these habits will bury them in the end.

Would a Leafs fan disagree with that assessment?

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