A New Hope

Emerging from this season's dark clouds has been a couple of rays of sunshine including the obviously phenomenal play of the Canadiens first line and more specifically David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty.  And although Erik Cole has also been a stud throughout this season, the hope was that he would be - just that - considering the contract that he was signed for.  But what I wanted to focus on was another bright light, a light that may not have shown earlier on in this season and may have faded a tad more recently but that light is just as important to the future success of the Montreal Canadiens and is there new hope, Alexei Emelin.

Alexei Emelin has shown that he can play in the NHL and play well.  Has he made mistakes?  Most definitely.  Has he looked lacked consistency?  He most certainly has.  But what he has shown is the ability to play important minutes against top-tier players and adjust to a North American game in a relatively short period of time.  It's important to note that it takes longer for a defenseman to develop than it does a forward in this league and at the ripe old age of 25, Alexei is just entering his prime.

The Injury Hex Continues

It seems the Montreal Canadiens just can't seem to get away from this cloud that has cast a dark shadow on their aspirations of becoming an elite team.  Injuries are a real part of hockey that affect all teams and are impossible to predict.  Your best defense against them is to make sure your team depth is solid but even the deepest of teams are adversely affected when the injury bug hits.