Everyone's chipping in

MONTREAL - It was team photo day at the Bell Centre on Friday.

And it couldn't have come at a better time as the Canadiens find themselves back in the playoff picture after blanking the New York Islanders.
"It was fun. Everybody is feeling good. There were a lot of smiles, which is obviously important for a picture," said Andrew Shaw with a laugh. "It was also a lot of fun to have the kids with us."

Claude Julien's troops have every reason to be pleased, especially after the way they performed against Barry Trotz's contingent on Thursday night.
The Canadiens are satisfied with their position in the standings, but they know there's plenty of work left in order to secure a coveted postseason berth.
"We're in a much better position today than we were last week. We're in the playoffs, but we know we have work to do," said Julien. "It won't be easy. It might come right down to the end."
Montreal has a one-point lead over Columbus and is just two points back of Carolina. The Hurricanes have one game in hand, though.
"It's definitely positive, but Columbus is right behind us and we aren't that far back of Carolina," explained Shaw. "We have to take things one game at a time and we have to be ready for these games."
The Habs received some help from both the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers, who've bested the Blue Jackets over the last two games.
Brendan Gallagher is happy with the performance of clubs in Western Canada, of course.
"It's good. I have a lot of family there. They're definitely helping us right now," said Gallagher. "We appreciate what they're doing, but we have to focus on us and on the eight games we have left."

A team concept
During Thursday night's victory, every Habs player spent at least 12 minutes on the ice. That's a good indicator that Julien is dividing the workload as best he can.
Another interesting fact is that captain Shea Weber reached the 30-point plateau with his 13th goal of the season. He became the ninth Canadiens player to reach that mark this season. The last time that happened was back in 2010-11.
Contributions up and down the lineup really are an important key to the Canadiens' success.
"We've been saying it since the start of the season. To have success, we need everyone to chip in. We're not a team that can just count on two or three players to do the work. We don't have that. We know it and we respect it. But, that doesn't make us a bad hockey team or a team with bad players," said Julien. "This is how we're having success. We have balance on each of our lines. That allows us to play solid hockey at both ends of the ice lately. We've been able to score goals and play well defensively."

This weekend will be a big one for the Canadiens with games against the Buffalo Sabres at the Bell Centre on Saturday, before squaring off against the Hurricanes in Carolina on Sunday.
"This will be an important weekend for us. It's a key moment," explained Gallagher. "Everyone will have to show up and do their job. We're confident that we can win."