Montreal-Minnesota

First off, let me note the exceptional game that backup Cristobal Huet had. It was his first game (and first start) as a Canadien, and he looked solid out there, despite letting in his first goal on only 4 shots. He ended up making 24 saves on 28 shots, and did a fine job of keeping the Habs in the game when they were being (their usual) sloppy defensively.

Despite Huet's performance and the fine play of captain Saku Koivu, it's clear that the Canadiens are in trouble. I know this is going to come off as some rogue fan calling for the heads of everyone but Koivu and Kovalev, but the fact of the matter is that at this point some sort of change is necessary. In the absence of the team's two biggest stars and offensive contributors, the Canadiens managed to win just 4 out of their last 14 games. Clearly, Mike Ribeiro and Pierre Dagenais no longer belong on this team. Ribeiro is being paid almost $1.2 million to play on the second line, and, by extension, step up his game when the number-1 line is slumping or injured. To date, he only has 7 goals and a whole lot of dipsy-doodling to show for it. Wherever Ribeiro goes, Dagenais goes too and his play has been equally as lacklustre. The only difference is that Dagenais really can't skate for his life. It doesn't seem like any team has been showing any interest in either player, but Ribeiro is a free agent at the end of the season and the smartest thing the Habs could do is just not re-sign him.

You have to wonder if a coaching change is coming soon, as well. I really like Claude Julien - I think he's a very intelligent coach, but you would think that a gentleman of his calibre would be able to do something to rally his troops. If anyone knows that it's dangerous to rely on Koivu and Kovalev for success, it's this man. But, if you've ever heard Julien talk to his team on the bench (as is shown sometimes on RDS), you'd realize how nice and forgiving he is every time the team slips up. At some point, though, you have to stop being so generous; these guys are millionaires who are taking unnecessary penalties and playing lazy hockey for the game's greatest franchise. I think Bob Gainey sees this and will hopefully sit down with Julien and have him change the way he reacts to this poor play. If he doesn't, put money on it that Julien won't last the season.