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Posted at 2:40 PM EST.

7:35 PM EST. What a difference two weeks can make.  On November 23rd, the day after the Canadiens dropped their fifth straight game on the road in Nashville, the sky was falling in Montreal.  That wasn't the first multiple game skid for the Habs either.  Don't forget this team also dropped seven in a row early in October when Carey Price wasn't right.  After a stint on the IR, Montreal's $10 million man has been nearly unbeatable.  Price returned on November 25th against Buffalo and recorded a shutout.  Since, he's allowed just six goals and backed the Habs to five straight wins, including a 10-1 thumping of the Red Wings on Saturday night.  Now, everything is rosy in Canada's Sin City, which is evident after head coach Claude Julien cancelled today's morning skate.  How many mornings off do you think these guys got when the Canadiens were racking up losses.  Putting up 10 goals, especially on a high profile Saturday night game leaves an impression in the market.  The Habs were an undervalued team for so long, but that is no longer the case.   Montreal is now trading at a season high, but it has been Price who has kept the Habs in it over their last five outings.  The Canadiens have been outshot in three of those five games, including twice by double digits.  With the reliable Price back in net, Montreal is now living the good life after having to fight and claw for every point when they were losing.  For a team as hot as the Habs, this short price has to look appealing to anyone just checking the box scores or reading the lineups, but it's never that easy.  Montreal has gone soft, which will not serve them well against the desperate Blues.

St. Louis is struggling after a solid start to the season, but as a goaltender goes, so do the victories.  In two of their last three games, the Blues have been a 2-1 favorite or better, but lost outright to both the struggling Kings and Ducks.  St. Louis chased the disappointing end to that five game homestand with a 2-1 overtime loss at the Wild, but there is no doubt the Blues have been the better team on the ice in every one of its losses during this three game slide. St. Louis outshot Minny 42-25, L.A. 40-28 and Anaheim 39-30, but had the worst of the two 'tenders in those contests.  Jake Allen wasn't even bad against the Wild, but a third straight loss makes everything look worse than it is. 

Like the Habs earlier in the season, the Blues are playing well but can't buy a save.  The difference is, while Carey Price was hurt or out of the lineup and Montreal had to roll out dregs like Antti Niemi, Charlie Lindgren and Al Montoya, the Blues still have their number one man between the pipes.  Allen has proven time and time again he's good enough to play in this league, and his effort against the Wild looked like a step in the right direction.  St. Louis' stock is low after some bad losses when its price was inflated, but it's time to buy the Blue Notes now that they are being sold short.  

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