Canadiens' Renaissance Keeps Its Edge The morning after Tuesday's 3-1 victory against the Rangers vaulted the Canadiens into first place in the Eastern Conference, Montreal commuters waiting for the No. 107 bus were greeted by the words "BRAVO Canadiens" on the display where the route number usually appears. The riders probably approved of the moving tribute, given that their team finished at the bottom of the conference last year, an embarrassing season for hockey's most decorated club, the winner of 24 Stanley Cup championships in a little more than 100 seasons. Thursday's overtime loss to the Islanders ended a five-game winning streak and exposed some lingering flaws. But Montreal entered Saturday tied for the most points in the conference with the Devils and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Only their most delusional fans could have envisioned this early leap to the N.H.L."s upper echelon. Montreal was 11-4-2 through Thursday, its best start through 17 games in 20 years. They were to play a rematch with the visiting Rangers on Saturday. "I think we're all buying into the game plan, and everybody's on the same page," Brandon Prust, a former Ranger, said of this year's Canadiens. We're playing hard. We're realizing what it takes to be successful, and everybody's doing it. Not only were they not on the same page last season, they were reading different books. If there was a plan, it vanished with a 1-5-2 start, the Canadiens" poorest since 1941. They played like a fractured, fragile squad, ending with the fewest home-ice victories in the league, regularly converting early leads into losses. Dysfunction was everywhere. General Manager Pierre Gauthier fired an assistant, Perry Pearn, hours before an October game; he dismissed Coach Jacques Martin in December, replacing him with the unilingual Randy Cunneyworth, igniting a francophone backlash; he traded wing Mike Cammalleri during a January game, having him removed from the lineup after the second period. The team's highest-paid player, center Scott Gomez, endured a yearlong goalless drought that began the season before and lasted into February and made him the butt of jokes. His plight was emblematic of the decline of a once-proud franchise. Seeking a return to what he called the Canadiens" "winning culture," the owner Geoff Molson removed Gauthier in March. The new general manager, Marc Bergevin, had never before run an organization and hired Michel Therrien, a tantrum-prone coach who had previously been fired by the Canadiens and the Penguins. Bergevin's off-season moves - like signing the feisty Prust to a four-year, $10 million free-agent deal and buying out Gomez's contract - seemed modest, and expensive. No one could be faulted for having lower expectations. But Bergevin's changes have proved significant. Therrien has been a model of decorum on the bench, while on the ice, the newcomers Prust and Colby Armstrong joined the rambunctious Ryan White to make opponents think twice about manhandling Montreal's many less-physical skill players. Prust was installed as center between the talented rookies Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher, helping create space for them to thrill the Bell Centre crowd with their electrifying play. When Gallagher went down with a concussion a week ago, Therrien inserted another youngster, Lars Eller, whose play had been uninspiring. Working alongside Prust, Eller drew raves from his coach. Prust said: "I just try to go out and lead by example and bring some energy to this team. That includes getting the captain, Brian Gionta, and defenseman Andrei Markov back from the injuries that kept them out most of last season. Gionta, a former Devil, has skated with Tomas Plekanec, Montreal's headiest skater, and a revived Rene Bourque. A three-time 20-goal scorer for Calgary, Bourque appeared lost and was booed by fans after being traded for Cammalleri. He now hears cheers. As a result, the Canadiens display better offensive balance compared with last season, when only one forward line - Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Erik Cole - was a consistent threat. In fact, that line rediscovered its chemistry only last week as Pacioretty - who has a had an appendectomy and a skate laceration this season - has begun to find his touch. But most notable has been Montreal's team defense. During the five-game winning streak, the Canadiens allowed only five goals. That always starts with good goaltending, which they have received from the large, laconic Carey Price and his backup, Peter Budaj. A deeper defense corps also contributes. Markov's return and the reacquisition of Francis Bouillon as a free agent provide more blue-line depth. Therrien formed three effective tandems, pairing a puck mover (Markov, Raphael Diaz and P. K. Subban) with a physical defender (Alexei Emelin, Josh Gorges and Bouillon). The forwards help out, too, in Therrien's structured defensive system. It is not always thrilling, but it can be smothering, as Rangers Coach John Tortorella alluded to after Tuesday's loss, saying the game featured "two bad teams." Cole said on Friday: "I think we played a smart road game. So you can call it boring or call it whatever. I call it 2 points. They still have lapses and have trouble holding leads. The Canadiens led the Islanders by 2-0 on Thursday before falling, 4-3. Nevertheless, the Canadiens" new brain trust has this bus traveling in the right direction.