In Game 44, the Habs convincingly beat the defending Cup champs

On Thursday night the Florida Panthers descended on the Bell Centre and were greeted by the young and confident Canadiens. The result was a 6-2 win for Montreal.

Here’s what I noticed.

Alex Texier is having fun right now.

That was his first career hat trick. It was only late November when Texier’s contract was terminated on mutual agreement with the Blues because he didn’t fit in their plans and he wanted a fresh opportunity.

He’s made the most of it.

Texier now has seven goals and seven assists in 22 games in Montreal, with six of those coming in the last two. He’s having a good time with Suzuki and Caufield, but he earned that opportunity because he had made himself useful elsewhere.

The Kapanen line continues to work.

It was Slafkovsky and Demidov working hard down low that made Kapanen’s 15th goal possible. They’re a high skill trio, but that skill is accompanied by smarts and work ethic. I don’t see Hughes messing with this until he’s had a very long look.

The Stay at Home Defense era is long gone.

Remember when Marc Bergevin was stockpiling them like teen girls collect lip gloss? The stay at home defenseman (SAHD, pronounced sad) was Bergevin’s trademark. Collapsing down low on their all-star netminder and hoping to eventually outlast the opponent.

Such defenders have their place, for sure, but when you have too many of them you’ll find yourself staying home a lot.

Coach Martin St. Louis has his defensemen implicated in the Canadiens’ offensive approach. Isn’t it strange that when we talk about 200-foot players we always mean forwards? I’m not sure Marty does.

The Habs are in first place in the Atlantic Division.