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THE REGULAR SEASON

The Habs’ 2009-10 season may have marked the launching point for an overhaul to both the player and managerial levels of the organization, but the 2010-11 season was all about seeing what benefits those changes had yielded.

The Canadiens’ first order of business in the offseason was to finally put to rest Montreal’s goaltending debate by handing the reigns to Carey Price and trading playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis in exchange for promising rookie Lars Eller. Veteran Alex Auld, acquired as a free-agent on July 1st, was brought in to mentor Price, now the Habs undisputed starting netminder.

The decision would prove to be a wise one as Price would go on to play a franchise-record 72 regular season games for the Habs, tying for first in the league with 38 wins and registering eight shutouts in the process.

While the 2009-10 edition of the Canadiens may have had a captain-less campaign, the 2010-11 squad got a boost of leadership when on the Sept. 29, 2010, with only one game left to play in the Habs’ preseason, Brian Gionta was officially named team captain. Gionta would become the 28th player in franchise history to have the “C” stitched to his jersey.

For the second straight year the Habs found themselves battling against a string of injuries, effectively decimating key elements of the team’s defensive core. While the Canadiens were able to bring some depth to the blueline over the offseason with the acquisition of Alexandre Picard, it didn’t take long before Pierre Gauthier was forced to watch the injury bug plague his team once more. On Nov. 13, after making his return to action only two weeks earlier, Andrei Markov re-injured his knee, ending his season and necessitating yet another bout of surgery and rehab. Josh Gorges would follow suit a few weeks later, falling to a season ending injury and Jaroslav Spacek would also be sidelined for a substantial portion of the year – the latter managing a brief return to action towards the season’s end. To help fill the gaps in their lineup, the Canadiens called upon the services of Yannick Weber, skating as Bulldog at the time, while P.K. Subban watched his responsibilities and ice-time balloon. Subban would finish his rookie season with 38 points and the distinction of being the first Habs’ rookie-defenseman to score a hat-trick – a feat he accomplished on Mar. 20, 2011 against the Minnesota Wild. Pierre Gauthier would go on to further bolster his blueline with the acquisition of James Wisniewski just before the New Year. Wisniewski would go on to post 30 points in 43 games with the Canadiens after his arrival from Long Island. Defensemen Brent Sopel and Paul Mara were also added to the roster during the month of February.

Tomas Plekanec would enjoy another strong showing in 2010-11 after signing a six-year contract extension with the Canadiens in the offseason. Plekanec would finish the year leading the Habs in points for the second straight season with a total of 57, while newly-anointed captain, Brian Gionta, again led his team in goal-scoring, posting 29 regular-season markers.
Injuries to the Canadiens’ offensive core saw even more Hamilton players tapped to fill out Montreal’s lineup. While some of the Bulldogs’ squad would eventually make their way back to Hamilton, others such as David Desharnais, Max Pacioretty and Ryan White made enough of an impact to earn themselves extended stays. Pacioretty’s campaign would come to an abrupt end after he suffered a fracture to his fourth vertebra and a severe concussion incurred from a late hit at the hands of Bruins captain Zdeno Chara on Mar. 8, 2011.

Injuries aside, Jacques Martin’s troops still managed to make things work, demonstrating a consistency that allowed them to wrap up the season ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference, earning them a first-round encounter with the Bruins in the playoffs.