Canadiens vs LA Kings: Santa came early this year.

The Canadiens found a way to win, again.

Lucky.

A fluke.

Smoke and mirrors. 

However you want to describe it, they got the job done Friday night at the Bell Centre with a 6-2 victory over the LA Kings. 

The Kings dominated in the shots department (46-20) and had the puck for the entire game. But it didn't matter because the best player for the Canadiens was their goaltender Carey Price. 

"We totally dominated the first period... Carey Price was really good, wasn't he?" Coach Darryl Sutter remarked after the game. 

In what was a sensational game, Price was beat twice, once by Jake Muzzin on a play where he never saw the puck because Andre Markov couldn't clear Trevor Lewis from the front of the net. The other was a laser off the stick of Drew Doughty. 

"Price wins games for this team all the time," said Doughty. "We wanted to get pucks to the net and as you saw in the third period we eventually started putting pucks behind him." 

So the Habs make it two in a row, with victories over two teams that should be in the playoffs come April. Perhaps the hockey gods wanted to even out games where they deserved a better fate (Buffalo and Chicago.) Whatever the case, Montreal is now just one point out of top spot in the Atlantic division of the NHL. 

It wasn't pretty, and if the Canadiens play like this every night, it's not a recipe for success. 

Jean Beliveau

Perfect.

Many fans, alumni and media members have described Jean Beliveau as perfect.

Tuesday night's pre game ceremony honoring the legendary captain was in the same mold, perfect.

From the video montage, to the moment of silence... perfect.

Having been to the rink following events that called for a moment of silence, it's usually brief and not as silent as you might want. Everyone is waiting for the game to begin.

This moment of silence seemed longer, quieter. Every second seemed like a minute, yet you never wanted it to end...

As the silence turned into applause, the attention turned to his widow Elise. With elegance and remarkable poise, Mrs Beliveau quietly whispered "thank you," and acknowledge the fans of Montreal for their support by simply raising her hands.

Her husband's seat at the bell centre remains lit up with the number four beaming light down on the Canadiens for the rest of the season.

From the Vancouver room post game:

- "When I saw his wife I got kind of choked up there," said goalie Ryan Miller. "You have such a bond with someone, somebody who walked beside him and then to accept that standing ovation and to see her face, how the relationship must have meant so much, it just got me choked up."

- "I think that's a tribute to a great man and his family," said coach Willie Desjardins. "I coudn't believe his wife she's such a trooper, she shook hands all week and she was there and it must have been really hard for her but she was awesome."

- "Once they showed Mr. Beliveau's family, it was another level, it really got to me, and I'm sure alot of other players and fans, it was really emotional," said Alex Burrows.