Laval returned home from the road for a trio of divisional games before the All-Star break, including two against a team close to them in the standings. They took care of business, winning all three, giving them a six-point lead in the division at the break.
The Habs wrapped up their pre-Olympic portion of the schedule with a pair of road games against the Central. While they couldn’t snap their extra-long losing streak in Minnesota, it was still a successful week in the standings with Montreal picking up three of four points.
After a big win on Wednesday to start their home stand, Laval looked to make it four straight victories as they hosted Cleveland on Friday. It took some extra time but they did just that, coming away with the 5-4 overtime victory.
Laval’s long road trip came to an end this past week. While they left points on the table in Calgary to start, they rebounded well to take a pair of key divisional matchups and gain a bit of ground as they look to hold onto first place in the division.
The Habs have made a roster move a little before the upcoming trade freeze. On Tuesday, they placed winger Samuel Blais on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to AHL Laval if he clears.
The Habs had a tough week on the schedule to close out the month of January. However, that didn’t matter as they played three strong games and came away with all three victories to move back into third place in the Atlantic Division.
Goaltending has been an issue for the Habs this season and on Wednesday, the team has made a move to try to address it. The team announced that goalie coach Eric Raymond has been let go. Laval goalie coach Marco Marciano will fill the role for the rest of the season.
After two straight losses where they deserved a better fate, the Habs were back in action on Tuesday as they hosted Vegas. They couldn’t hold the lead again but it didn’t matter as Jake Evans scored on a two-on-one in overtime to give Montreal the 4-3 victory.
It was a rare Western Canada road trip for Laval last week. Once again, they continue to scuffle in terms of their performance but they were able to bounce back in the win column, picking up five of a possible six points.
While the schedule gets lighter for the Habs in terms of no back-to-backs for a while, they’re in the middle of facing some tough opponents. And while they deserved a better fate than they got, it wasn’t a particularly successful week with just one win in three games.