Facing the big, physical, and Metropolitan Division-leading Blue Jackets, the Habs turned in an exemplary defensive effort as the game bordered on boring at times but they did enough to get the 4-1 victory.

As the Habs surpassed the midway point of the season, they remained right in the thick of the postseason race in large part due to some strong play between the pipes and on the back end. Our grades wrap up with a look at Montreal’s goalies and defencemen.

On a night where the Habs looked tired for much of the first and third periods, Antti Niemi stole the show with a 52 save performance to give Montreal the 5-1 win over Florida.

Two fast teams, two physical teams, awesome saves, great defending, creative plays, good scoring chances, and tons of drama. Monday’s game had it all and the Habs came through with a 3-2 overtime win in Boston.

Offensive production was hard to come by for the Habs this past week although they were still able to pick up a pair of victories thanks to some strong play between the pipes.

Montreal’s frustration over their offensive struggles boiled over as the team took needless risks and also faltered defensively. The end result was a 4-1 win for St. Louis on Thursday night.

Shea Weber was in uniform, Antti Niemi played a strong game, and the defencemen played a strong third period to get the Habs a win to close off their back-to-back set as they beat Detroit 3-2.

An early injury to Shea Weber and a tendency to hang around the perimeter proved costly as the Habs fell 1-0 to Minnesota on Monday night.