Montreal Canadiens: Will the Habs Benefit or Regress from Time Off?

I suppose we'll find out if rest does a team good when the Montreal Canadiens get back to playing hockey on Friday night against the Ottawa Senators, the Habs' first game since Saturday.

I'm a little worried the time off will act as a momentum killer after the team looked to have turned the corner and went on an impressive three-game win streak at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins—whom they beat twice.

The team has begun to click with three legitimate scoring lines and a very effective fourth line, thanks to the acquisition of Petteri Nokelainen, a solid centreman who is doing a great job at winning draws (he is currently at 60 percent).

Erik Cole is a revelation. Fans are finally seeing why he was one of the prize free agents this past summer. He is using his speed, body and is a threat on a line with David Desharnais. Coach Jacques Martin has stopped being stubborn and has decided to use Cole on the power play.

Guess what? It works.

The Habs' man advantage is climbing its way up from second-to-worst in the NHL (it is now at 24th) thanks to Cole acting as a big-body presence in the front of the opposition's net.

Tomas Plekanec has also emerged from his slumber. He has amassed four points over the last three games. He looks more motivated now the lines have made a seemingly permanent shuffle.

Since Randy Ladouceur took over the defensive coaching duties after Perry Pearn was bizarrely let go on game day, the defense has looked much better. Perhaps it was a communication issue, I'm not really sure, but the blueliners just look like they know who to cover and there have been a lot less missed assignments on the ice.

Carey Price is up to his old tricks. The young goalie was named the NHL's first star of the week after going 3-0 with a .950 save percentage and a 1.33 goals against average.

But will the team continue to perform to these standards after this extended layoff?

One player that may benefit from rest is Max Pacioretty. After he miraculously scored two goals and added an assist against the Flyers after he suffered ligament damage in his wrist earlier in the week, Pacioretty came back down to reality in the games against the Bruins.

Patches was much less effective than he had been during the rest of the games he has played when he was the best player dressed in a Habs jersey. He averaged fewer minutes over the last two games, probably because of his ailing wrist.

Hopefully he is recovering nicely and will be back at the level we have come to expect from him Friday night.

If the team continues to play like they did before their week off, they'll be able to pick up the slack if he's not there yet.

If not, there may be more headaches before the Canadiens turn it around again.

Jason is on Twitter: Follow @jhytel