Northeast Division breakdown-Montreal Canadiens...

Montreal tied for second in division,in points,and had one more win than Buffalo(44 wins to 43 wins),and was sixth in Eastern Conference,last season... they have a big ticket free agent,in Erik Cole(admiration for him was talked about,when i broke down the Carolina Hurricanes' chances,for the 2011-2012 playoffs,which i will not repeat here)... the offense will be anchored by Cole,Andrei Kostitsyn,Michael Cammalleri,Brian Gionta(their captain),and Scott Gomez... all can score,and their power play,and penalty kill should be good,they were last season,and no difference this season,and when Max Pacioretty returns from a major injury(noted-blog),he should chip in with a scoring touch,and a passion,to get back to his career... Andrei Markov,Hal Gill,and a tougher than nails,P.K. Subban,who gives you a ton a grit,an attitude,with a scoring touch for critical goals anchor the defense... Montreal re-signed Markov to a three year contract,and beside signing Cole,he was the key to the team,in having Montreal make a run for the playoffs... if goaltender Carey Price can repeat his 2011 numbers(38 regulation wins,6 overtime wins,a .923 save percentage,and 2.35 goals against average,with eight shutouts,and a seven game run in the playoffs,of a .934 save percentage,and a 2.11 goals against average(G.A.A.)),they should be very good this season...