7:00 PM EST. The Montreal Canadiens are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games. Their switch to Claude Julien behind the bench has not created the spark general manager Marc Bergevin was looking for, as this Habs’ team looks totally lost. Bergevin is now squarely on the hot seat in Montreal, as the local media searches for answers to what's ailing the Canadiens. The pressure to play well in Montreal is so intense that it comes as no surprise that the Habs are grabbing their sticks really tight at the moment. With just four goals since Julien's arrival, the Canadiens' players have got to be looking over their shoulders. This time of year can be stressful on a locker room and this is the second straight season Montreal has stumbled its way to the finish line. What makes this year different is that the Habs are still in the playoff hunt so Bergevin could be pressured into making a move. Montreal is now just two points up on Ottawa for first place in the Atlantic Division with the Panthers, Bruins and Maple Leafs all breathing down their necks. Something is not right in that locker room. 

The Maples Leafs scoring extravaganza came to an end last time out against the Rangers but it's unlikely that Mike Babcock is going to get away from this team’s “run and gun” style. The Buds find themselves just four points back of division leading Montreal with a game in hand but there is a lot more than that on the line here. You see, Toronto has now dropped 13 straight games to Montreal, which is the longest winning streak one team has over another in the league. It is so hard to beat any team four or five straight, let alone 13. For years or even decades, Montreal has been the superior team in one of sports’ biggest and most hated rivalries. Montreal/Toronto is to hockey what Boston/New York is to baseball. Now, for the first time in decades, Toronto is the superior team and it is time to end that nonsense. This is playoff hockey and perhaps a game against the Maple Leafs will wake the Habs’ up but we wouldn't bet on it. The Habs are playing tentative hockey on their heels while the Maple Leafs continue to be aggressive and confident. That is going to be the difference here that ends the streak.              

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