You gotta believe
Canadiens' penalty-killers lead the way

by Jack Todd for The Montreal Gazette, October 14, 2001, exerpted

Last night against the New Jersey Devils, the Canadiens ran their penalty-killing streak for the season to 26 straight en route to their strongest performance against the Devils in recent memory.

True, if a hockey season is like a movie, then we're still on the opening credits. But the record is 4-0-1 for the unbeaten Canadiens. They're in first place in what is arguably, top to bottom, the toughest division in hockey. They've taken five of a possible six points against Beasts of the East (including Ottawa, Toronto and New Jersey.)

And as long as you're giving credit for the brilliant penalty-killing that seems to set the tone for this team, let's remember who's in charge of the penalty-killing unit. As former Canadiens coach Jean Perron pointed out the other night, Guy Carbonneau has to take a bow.

"When you think about it," Joe Juneau said, "if you could find one person in hockey to coach your penalty-killing unit, who would it be? Guy Carbonneau."