Without their superstar netminder last season, the Montreal Canadiens were exposed as dysfunctional and flawed. One week into this season, the belief is that his absence has revealed something different altogether.

With five points in three games without Carey Price, who has been bedridden with the flu, the Canadiens have uncovered confidence in themselves and at the prospects of competing when the goaltender returns.

"No one was hoping (Price) would be out of the lineup, but for us to start without him we understand we have a really good team here. When we get him back we'll only be that much stronger," Brendan Gallagher told NHL.com's Arpon Basu.

"It's not a terrible thing for us to be a team, to not be reliant on one single individual, one single talent, as good as he is. We want to be a team."

Sensitivity to the notion they're susceptible without Price has been omnipresent in the Canadiens' locker room for some time. And while the opening week won't dispel that perception, Gallagher's comments do illustrate just how important it was to have the results not go the opposite route in the netminder's absence.

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