HOLY **********#@#@#!!!!

HABS WIN!  HABS WIN! HABS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Death of Depth, the Glue That Sticks, and Malcolm Gladwell

We have a great podcast for you…but unfortunately, Eric is still asleep in Vegas somewhere. Naw, just kidding. He is back home in Montreal, safe and sound. But he is still asleep, actually. So while we wait for Eric to wake up and post the podcast we recorded last week, here’s an actual cogent thought about why the Habs are winning lately, something I don’t see anyone else talking about.

I’ve been thinking about Malcolm Gladwell lately and his book, The Tipping Point.

The book explores the idea that sometimes small changes / phenomena – like how a single person with the flu can start an epidemic, or how hush puppies became huge only after the right fashionable kids in New York started wearing them – can quickly result in big changes or trends.  Applying it to hockey teams, a tipping point could be reached when some minor adjustments result in a big winning streak.

Since the Habs returned from the Olympic break,they’ve won 4 straight, and 5 of 6. They should have won all 6. At the same time, the play of the Habs’ third and fourth liners has been off the charts.

Coincidence?……Is it possible that the Habs have hit their very own Tipping Point as a result of the minor changes in the play of these “minor” players?

I admit, there are a lot of other reasons why the Habs have won 4 straight and 5 of 6 since coming back: The rest definitely helped, especially for the older guys. The Habs are healthier. The Gomez-Gionta-Pouliot line has played very well, and the goaltending has held up.

But all of that is just the price of admission. In order to just have the chance of winning, every team needs to be healthy, to have a good first line and get decent goaltending. But to win consistently, the Habs, and most teams, need everyone on the team to play well all the time.

Before we get to the Tipping Point of the Habs As The Theory That Explains All, look at the other teams in the East: Holes in almost every lineup (save Washington, Pittsburgh, and maybe, maybe, New Jersey). Buffalo has excellent goaltending and a few great front line players, but not much else. Boston, Tampa, the Rangers, Florida, all suffer from the same thing: Lack of steady players once you get past the excellent front liners of Bergeron, Chara, Stamkos, St Louis, Gaborik, Henrik, Vokoun etc. Ottawa and Philly have more good skaters, but for they don’t have standout goaltending. None of these teams have every player performing great. Because not all of their players are great. They don’t have enough depth (I’m simplifying a little bit with certain teams – injuries play a factor with Boston, team chemistry for Philly, for example – but you get the idea).

So why are the Habs winning lately? I believe it’s because their depth scoring has been INCREDIBLE. Metro has 2 points in 2 games (including a career-high 15th goal. I repeat, Glen Metropolit might score 20 goals this year). Brother Sergei had a goal and an assist last night – and he has been the best Habs forward in the last 4 games, save Gomez and Pleks. Down the list we have Travis Moen with 2pts in 2 games.  Mathieu Darche: 2pts in 2 games. Dominic Moore: 3 pts in 4 games.

That’s 5 skaters who have scored 9 points in the last 2 games.That’s an average of almost 2 points per game from the depth players. And that’s before we talk about the specialized skills, steady defense and special teams coverage they have been providing (Brother Sergei was on the ice for the final 3-on-3 scrum last night and has become a very steady penalty killer. Moore wins a lot of faceoffs, most of Metro’s goals come on the power play, etc).

Add all of that to the price of admission – the fact that the Habs best players, Gomez, Markov, Plekanec and (last night) brother Andrei – are performing to their skill level, and now you have a team that wins consistently.

Sometimes, it’s the depth players that are the glue that stick the team together (ex-Habs like Robert Lang and Frankie Bouillon are doing that for their teams). Sometimes it’s the depth players who can serve as the tipping point for the team, that extra catalyst or motivation that causes everyone else to step up their game.

In the past, I’ve expressed my doubts about the depth of this team, especially on defense. But that was before Moore came on board, Sergei started getting actual minutes and Darche won a spot on the team. Now it’s only been a week, and the real test is if they can keep it up. If they do,maybe the Habs have hit a tipping point for their season and will win with consistency.

If they falter, my bet is that this will be just another random hot streak.