It's a bird, it's a plane… no, wait, it's… Andrei Markov?
Perhaps no less than a Superman in Montreal, the Canadiens' blue-liner made his triumphant return to action Saturday versus the New York Islanders.
After suffering lacerated tendons in his leg in the Habs' season-opener Oct. 1 versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, Markov was initially told that he would, in all likelihood, be out of action until the Olympic break in February. However, the All-Star defenseman has seemingly healed up well ahead of schedule and even granted himself an early birthday present when he returned to Montreal's line-up a day before his 31st birthday.
While one may have been hesitant to throw Markov to the wolves so quickly, the fact of the matter is that Montreal is in dire need of the Russian's services. Coming into Saturday, the Canadiens were riding a shameful five-game losing streak and had lost nine of their last 11. To make matters worse, the team has embarked on a season-high seven-game road-trip, which began Saturday in Long Island.
"Obviously, without Markov there, that's a big whole to fill," said Habs defenceman Josh Gorges of the team's struggles this season without their go-to defenceman.
However, looking at the team's performance two nights ago, the struggles just may be over.
After missing 35 games, Markov returned in glorious fashion Saturday, potting two goals in a 3-0 victory. While noting after the game that it took a few shifts to get comfortable, Markov looked as though he hadn't missed a beat, and the Canadiens couldn't be more excited.
A native of Voskresensk, Russia, Markov was drafted 162nd overall by Montreal in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Playing in his ninth season with the team, he has appeared in 573 regular season games, notching 76 goals and 255 assists for 331 career NHL points.
The glaring stat for the Canadiens, however, is that in those nine seasons, the team is 21-36-5 without Markov in the lineup. When he went down with a shoulder injury with four games to play in the 2008-09 season, Montreal squeaked into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, only to be eaten alive in four games by the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.
"You always miss Markov; he's one of the top defencemen in the league," said Canadiens defenceman Ryan O'Byrne. "He's out there 25, 26 minutes a night doing it all - penalty-killing, power play - and excelling too. So, there's no way you can replace him."
Last season, Markov enjoyed a career-high 64 points, one point shy of fellow countrymen Alex Kovalev for the team lead.
"He's a big part of our team," said forward Matt D'Agostini, Markov's teammate in Montreal for the last two seasons. "Losing him is a big loss."
One area where the Canadiens were surely chomping at the bit to re-insert Markov was on the power play, which has been average, but respectable thus far this season thanks to Marc-Andre Bergeron, who was scooped up from the free agent market after the injury to Markov. Bergeron is tied for the team-lead with four power-play goals; in just one game, Markov is already halfway there.
In recent years, Montreal has lived and died by their power play, and a major component of its success has been Markov. The vet has been part of some lethal blue-line combinations over the years, alongside hard-hitting Sheldon Souray, crafty playmaker Mark Streit and veteran defenceman Matthieu Schneider.
With Markov manning the points alongside Souray and Streit respectively, Montreal enjoyed the league's best power-play unit two years running. It would struggle in the former half of last season, only to be re-born with the insertion of Schneider, as he and Markov rekindled the team's power-play magic. However, when Markov went down in the final days of the regular season, so did Montreal's power play and it failed to register a single goal in the post-season.
Fans of Les Canadiens must be salivating at the thought of Markov and Bergeron manning the blue line together this season, as it will no doubt give Montreal's power play a much-needed shot in the arm. All three Montreal goals were scored with the man-advantage on Saturday, and in one game, the team's power play has already jumped from 12th to 8th in the league.
Special teams aside, the Montreal Canadiens were - and until they consistently prove otherwise, are - in dire straits, and need to turn their season around quick, or the 2010 playoffs will be little more than a pipedream.
While Markov won't be able to enjoy any of the comforts of home - Montreal's road-trip doesn't wrap up until New Year's Eve in Florida - the Habs have little time to waste as points are becoming more and more crucial with each passing day.
As the mid-point of the regular season fast approaches, you can consider this gut-check time in Montreal, as Markov looks to provide the jolt that the Canadiens need in order to find themselves above the cut-line this April.
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