By Joce, Senior Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

PENTICTON, BC. — Here are a few thoughts on different topics surrounding the Habs as they are having enormous success at the start of the 2014-2015 season. Feel free to post your comments as they are always welcomed.

1- With one week left in October, the Canadiens are up to their best start of the season in over 50 years! Who would have thought, especially after the schedule makers sent the team on the road for the first four games, all to be played in six nights? Their record of 7-1-0 after eight games is very impressive, but they have only outscored their opponents by three goals, thanks to a 7-1 beating at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning on game four of the four game road swing to start the season.

2- Habs’ GM Marc Bergevin gave people things to talk about when he said that he didn’t consider his team an “elite” team quite yet. Some media ran with the quote as the Canadiens were off to a very good start. The fact of the matter is that Bergevin is right. In spite of their record, it’s not like they have dominated the opponents so far and Saturday night’s win against the Rangers might have been the first time that the team gave a full effort for 60 minutes. While I don’t follow (or believe in) rumours, some claim that Bergevin is actively looking to add a piece to his team. Time will tell.

3- Tomas Plekanec is off to the best start of his career (or one of his best) as he already has five goals and nine points in his first eight games, along with a plus-4 rating. Playing with Alex Galchenyuk (3-4-7) on his left, Plekanec is on an offensive line to start the season and he can thank Bergevin for affording head coach Michel Therrien the luxury to do so, when he signed UFA Manny Malhotra, a very capable defensive centre who excels on faceoffs. Ironically, the last time Plekanec put up a great offensive season, he also had number 27 on his side, another Alex (Kovalev).

4- Speaking of Galchenyuk, he has come to camp ready to take the next step. More mature both physically and psychologically, he knows that he can play and even have an impact in this league and he is set to prove it. Perhaps the most surprising stat is the fact that Chucky leads the team in hits early this season with 19 in eight games! I don’t know about you but every time he touches the puck and starts skating, he gets me excited. The last player to have that effect on yours truly was… Guy Lafleur. Galchenyuk is entering the final year of his entry level contract and is set to become a RFA this coming summer.

5- We knew that P-A Parenteau could help the Canadiens offensively. What surprises everyone the most however is his commitment to playing well without the puck and in the defensive zone. We have seen him several times so far with great back checks and he does get the puck out along the boards. Not overly physical, he does use his big frame quite well to protect the puck. Parenteau has five points (including two goals) in eight games so far.

6- Alexei Emelin can hit, we all know that, and he has had a few highlight hits already this season, one against public enemy Milan Lucic the last time the two teams met. Playing on his natural side (left), Emelin has looked better so far although he still needs to find more consistency with his game. If he can’t do that, Jarred Tinordi is making a case for himself to get more ice time and Emelin knows that. Perhaps the most surprising about Emelin is that he has contributed five points in six games so far this season.

7- There are a couple of guys who were having a slow start to the season in spite of the team’s success and ironically, there were perhaps some of the best on the team in the playoffs last Spring. Lars Eller, Rene Bourque and Dale Weise struggled to find their game. Coach Therrien took all three players aside and told them that he needed more impact from them and in a surprising move, put all three on the same line against the Rangers on Saturday night. They responded extremely well as Weise finished the night with two assists and Eller scored his first of the season and while Bourque didn’t make it to the scoresheet, the entire line excelled with strong forecheck and solid scoring chances.

8- Let’s go back to Manny Malhotra for a second. After suffering a devastating eye injury while with the Vancouver Canucks, then GM Mike Gillis told him that he didn’t want to let him play again as he felt that he could be a liability out there. Guess what? Not only did he come back but he had a strong season with the Carolina Hurricanes, enough to justify Habs’ GM Marc Bergevin offering him a one-year deal with the team. So far this season, Malhotra’s impact has been spectacular. Not only is he leading the NHL with a 67.5 faceoff percentage (5% ahead of his next rival), but he has made the team’s other centers better as well. David Desharnais went from 50.8% last year to 57.2% so far, while Lars Eller improved by 3% going from 53.2% to 56.2%. Only Tomas Plekanec did not improve, 0.5% behind last season, currently sitting at 47.5%.

9- It was great to see Jiri Sekac score his first NHL goal and watching his father’s reaction truly was special. While he certainly realizes that the NHL is a huge step from the KHL, the 22 year old Sekac has been forced to play on this off-wing, as a left-hander playing on the right side. This is tough to do in a league where you’re accustomed to playing but at the highest level of hockey in the world, it’s not evident. Still, I really like what I’m seeing in this guy. He seems to be a very hard worker and when he puts some more muscles on his 6’2” frame, he will be an excellent player in this league. I would like to see him play to the left of Lars Eller for a few games to see what those two could to. Big bodies with skills are fun to watch.

10- Long gone are the days when the Canadiens were called the Smurfs. At forward, only David Desharnais, Brendan Gallagher, Michael Bournival and Thomas Plekanec are under six feet tall, the last two missing the mark by one inch only. And on defense, we can only count one player, Mike Weaver, couldn’t go in a ride for under six feet people. Markov and Subban are six feet even and everyone else is over 6’2” while Tinordi towers over everyone from his 6’6” frame. Further, only Desharnais, Gallagher and Weaver tip the scale at under 195 pounds!

11- While there is no doubt that Travis Moen is a well-respected veteran leader on this team, it has become painful to watch him play, to the point where fans cannot see any rhyme or reason to play him ahead of Michael Bournival. Moen was a great player but he simply hasn’t been the same since his last concussion. In order to be effective, he had to play a physical game and he is either incapable or unwilling to do just that. The only somewhat logical explanation I can see to keep on playing him is in hope that a team likes what they see, to the point where they could offer anything to Bergevin in a trade.

12- I don’t know if you have noticed but so far, the Canadiens don’t try blocking as many shots as they used to in the past. The blocked shots leader on the team is Tom Gilbert with 18, while P.K. Subban (17) and Weaver (16) follow. The defensemen seem to be staying more on their feet to leave the first shot to the goaltender while checking a forward in front instead which, in my opinion, is a much better way to defend, especially with the quality goaltending the Habs have. The NHL leader in blocked shots so far this season is… Josh Gorges with 41. He has blocked 12 more shots than his closest counterpart (Kris Russell) in one less game played!

While the team is enjoying its early success, fans can smile and laugh but remember folks: never too high, never too low! This team is not as good as its record is showing right now, and they will go through some rough times during the season. And at that time, we’ll have to keep on reminding ourselves that the team isn’t as bad is it will seem to be. Enjoy the ride! Go Habs Go!!!