Never a dull moment in Montreal. Not even during the Canadiens' bye week.

General manager Marc Bergevin fired Michel Therrien on Tuesday, as another promising Habs start to the season appears headed for disaster. Even better, Bergevin replaced Therrien with former Boston Bruins - and former Canadiens - head coach Claude Julien, who was unemployed for about five minutes, in a stunning shakeup.

And make no mistake: It's a shocking move. Sure, Therrien had to have been looking over his shoulder, but surely he didn't think it would be Claude Julien behind him.

Here are three thoughts as we breathlessly await Montreal's next game, four long days away.

'Bout that action

Bergevin deserves credit. He made a move. Everyone was expecting a trade - dreamers in Montreal are still hoping for that bleu, blanc, et rouge Matt Duchene jersey - but ditching Therrien for Julien is arguably more significant.

And time was of the essence. Boston had reportedly been asked by multiple teams to speak with Julien, which makes sense, since a coach in the NHL is fired at least once a week these days, and with Montreal slipping again come winter, Bergevin had to act fast. He did.

It's one thing to fire Therrien and give Kirk Muller the interim head coaching job. Muller wasn't around last year, when Montreal's season went to hell after Carey Price was lost to injury. But it's another to fire Therrien and replace him with Julien, who's French Canadian, has over 500 NHL wins to his name, and a Stanley Cup ring.

The reality is: When you've got Price in goal, you have a chance to win the Cup. Bergevin understands that. He also understands that Price is an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2018. The time is now for Montreal.

But 8 months late

While Bergevin deserves credit for this gutsy move, the truth is, it should have happened last summer, after the Canadiens' brutal collapse, the club finishing 38-38-6 and out of the playoffs. It should have happened before June 29, 2016.

Thing is: It's hard to view Tuesday's coaching decision in a vacuum. It's not Therrien for Julien. It's Therrien and P.K. Subban for Julien. And, sure, that's not exactly fair, but since when is fairness part and parcel of this whole sports fan thing?

When Subban was traded, Therrien won the power struggle. Sure, Bergevin was the one who made the Subban-Weber trade, he made the final call, but he did so with the knowledge that Therrien was his head coach. Bergevin chose Subban, and it was clear Therrien and Subban weren't exactly on the same page.

So, that trade still hurts, despite how good Shea Weber's been, and despite whether Julien prefers Weber to Subban. That trade's going to hurt for a long time, about as long as Weber's monster contract. It simply hurts more on a day like Tuesday, whether that's fair or not.

The Julien effect

The Canadiens, with one win and a shootout loss in seven February games, play only six more games before the March 1 trade deadline. So, the questions - and there are a lot of them - on everybody's minds are pretty simple: Is this it? Is this the Habs team Bergevin intends to go to the dance with, Julien behind the bench instead of Therrien? Or are there more moves coming? Maybe one more move, to go along with the addition of Nikita Nesterov?

What happens if the Canadiens continue to play horrific hockey after their bye week? What if they lose their next three games, and head into Toronto on Feb. 25 absolutely reeling, with the Maple Leafs on their heels in the Atlantic? That would all be something, wouldn't it?

More importantly: Can Julien stop the bleeding? Interestingly enough, he was fired by the league's top possession team (the Bruins are at 55.71 percent), and inherits the third-best club in the Habs, at 52.43 percent. He had a great goalie in Boston, and has an even better one - arguably the best in the world - in his second go-round behind the Canadiens' bench.

Julien always seemed to get the most out of his Bruins teams, especially in the post-2011 Cup years, when Boston was forced to make tough roster decisions, leaving holes on the roster, yet remained competitive. You don't last 10 years in Beantown unless you're doing something right. Now he's tasked with getting the most out of a talented but clearly flawed Canadiens team. Whether he can fix the back end's woes and address the team's suddenly glaring scoring issues will be one of the more fascinating storylines to watch down the stretch.

One thing's for sure: Julien's going to play Alex Galchenyuk more than 16:04 a night. He better. Hopefully that's in the new head coach's contract.

Like we said, never a dull moment. Not even when the Canadiens are on vacation.

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The Dallas Stars were feeling pretty good Sunday morning, and most of Sunday evening.

Lindy Ruff's squad snapped a four-game losing streak Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Stars were up 3-1 on the Nashville Predators after 40 minutes Sunday. And then it all fell apart.

Six minutes into the third period, it was 4-3 Nashville, the final result a 5-3 Predators decision. And for the Stars, more frustration.

"You go into a third period with a 3-1 lead with your lives on the line, and that's the effort and the result that we get? It's unacceptable," captain Jamie Benn said, according to The Dallas Morning News' Mike Heika. "We're fighting for our lives, and that's what we put out there for 20 minutes."

Benn had a goal and an assist in over 22 minutes of ice time, but the ice was tilted in Nashville's favor for most of the final 40 minutes. The Predators outshot the Stars 30-13 in periods two and three combined.

"I don't know what to say," Benn added. "We've got to know by now."

The Stars could have moved without four points of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a win, but remain six points back of the Kings, and now eight points back of the Predators. Both teams have games in hand on Dallas, so Sunday's loss is undoubtedly a big one.

"It really stings," said head coach Lindy Ruff. "That's a tough one. That hurts."

There's been too many painful losses for the Stars this season, who saw goaltender Kari Lehtonen turn in another subpar performance, finishing with a .886 save percentage.

Another big game is on deck: Dallas is in Winnipeg on Tuesday night to face the Jets, and both teams are tied in the standings with 54 points.

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It's that time of year.

With the trade deadline slightly over two-and-a-half weeks away, who's where and who's talking to who will take on added significance. And on Sunday, Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic decided not to watch his team lose in Brooklyn, instead attending the Bruins-Montreal Canadiens tilt in Boston.

Sakic caught up with Bruins GM Don Sweeney during the second intermission, according to The Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa.

What's that? Pics or it didn't happen? Here:

That Sakic is trying to trade Matt Duchene and/or Gabriel Landeskog is the worst-kept secret in hockey. The Bruins have been linked to the Avs' sale, reportedly unwilling to part with young defenseman Brandon Carlo in a trade.

To have been a fly on that wall.

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Hear that? It's the New York Islanders. They're coming.

The Brooklynites on Sunday won their eighth game in 12 since Doug Weight took over behind the bench, spanking the Colorado Avalanche by a score of 5-1. The Isles are 8-2-2 since Jack Capuano was fired, and Weight may have this whole coaching thing figured out.

Weight's crew will go to bed Sunday night one point out of a playoff spot, trailing the Maple Leafs for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Toronto's got 61 points and a plus-4 goal differential in 54 games, while New York's got 60 points and is plus-3. And the two teams will play Tuesday in Toronto, a Valentine's Day affair with a lot on the line.

The Islanders' playoff chances shot up eight percent after Sunday's win, according to Sports Club Stats, and their odds to make the postseason now sit at 45.7 percent.

There is some bad news: While the Islanders improved their home record to an impressive 18-8-6 after beating Colorado, the rest of the schedule isn't kind. New York will play 19 of their final 28 games on the road, and so far have only seven wins in 22 games away from home.

More bad news: The Islanders have a nine-game road trip commencing on Feb. 21, taking them to: Detroit, Montreal, Columbus, Dallas, Chicago, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and St. Louis. The journey will be broken up by the club's bye week, which begins on Feb. 26. But that's a brutal trip and will undoubtedly define the Isles' season.

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The Edmonton Oilers didn't find their offense during their bye week. And neither did Milan Lucic.

After five days off, the club hit the ice again Saturday night, and its offensive struggles continued in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. It's the Oilers' fourth loss in five games, and the group's managed to score only five goals during the funk.

And you can look no further than prized free-agent signing Lucic as the poster boy for the lack of offense. Big No. 27 has one goal in 2017, and it came on Jan. 20. It's the only goal he's scored since the Christmas break.

"We need more guys to step up, especially myself, to chip in with some goals," Lucic said after Saturday's game, in which he wasn't able to manage a shot on goal.

"Our group knows we can score," added Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. "We can't get frustrated. We've just got to keep working and it'll come."

Lucic and co. are home to Arizona on Tuesday and Philadelphia on Thursday before embarking on a six-game road trip.

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The St. Louis Blues understand this whole Twitter thing.

One of the better team social media accounts was at it again Wednesday, as the club prepares to play the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Thursday, while riding back-to-back - the title of one of Toronto icon Drake's songs - shutouts.

Considering how bad the Blues' goaltending has been this season - they're dead last with an .892 save percentage - you can forgive them for really milking the back-to-back clean sheets.

Carter Hutton shut out the Flyers on Monday, while Jake Allen followed up with one of his better games Tuesday, stopping all 30 shots the Senators threw at him.

Toronto was pasted by the Blues last week, 5-1 in Missouri. Like Drake in the summer of 2016, the Maple Leafs will be out there looking for revenge, we presume.

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It's a new day.

The Boston Bruins bench now belongs to Bruce Cassidy, who was promoted from assistant coach to head coach after Claude Julien was fired Tuesday. And it appears things are going to be different, beginning Thursday.

First, a bit about Cassidy:

• He's 51 years old, from Ottawa, Ontario, and is a product of the Bruins system.
• He joined Boston's AHL team in Providence as an assistant coach in 2008, taking over as head coach in 2011-12. From 2012-13 through 2015-16, the baby Bruins won 50, 40, 41, and 41 games, respectively.
• Cassidy has run an NHL bench before, serving as head coach of the Washington Capitals in 2002-03. That team won 39 games, and made the playoffs, but was punted in the first round. Cassidy was fired after 28 games in 2003-04, after Washington won only eight of them.

With general manager Don Sweeney coming out and saying that Boston's next three games will serve as a "key period of assessment," the pressure's on Cassidy and co. immediately. The club faces the Sharks on Thursday, the Canucks on Saturday, and the Canadiens on Sunday before its league-mandated bye week begins.

Quality, not quantity

And Cassidy's got a plan, writes The Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa. In particular, the new boss wants more pucks directed towards the net from quality scoring areas, as opposed to players automatically sending the puck back to the point.

Owning the puck and firing the puck aren't issues for Boston. The Bruins are the league's top possession team, and average more than 34 shots a game, but they're coming from the outside. Cassidy wants that to change immediately. He wants more goals from around the net, more havoc down low.

Line changes

And come Thursday, it appears more than just philosophical changes are in store. Cassidy's going to tinker with his lines, and he may break up his top line of Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak - one of the best lines in hockey, with a ridiculous 63.14 percent Corsi For rating.

David Backes practiced with Bergeron and Marchand on Wednesday, and Cassidy wants to get Backes going. He needs to get Backes going. Because Backes isn't going anywhere, thanks to poor numbers - 11 goals and 11 assists in 47 games - and and a massive free-agent contract worth $30 million over five years, signed over the summer.

Backes, for his part, is looking forward to it, saying he's never seen two players read and complement each other like Bergeron and Marchand.

"It seems whoever they put there has been complementary and been able to help them have a lot of success," Backes said. "Hopefully it will be no different with me."

That's not all. Ryan Spooner will play center Thursday, if Wednesday's practice is any indication, as Cassidy looks for the 25-year-old to pick up his game. Spooner has only eight goals and 27 points in 54 games, after it was expected he'd continue to break out after a career year (49 points) in 2015-16. And his struggles may be due to the fact he was moved to the wing this season.

"I think he'd prefer to be a center iceman," Cassidy said, adding that only Spooner could truthfully answer the question. "That's what he's been."

Not only is Thursday a fresh start for Cassidy, it's an important reset for Backes and Spooner, too, along with the rest of their teammates.

Here's what we know for sure: The next three Bruins games are must-see hockey.

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Hours after Claude Julien - the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL until Tuesday morning - was fired by the Boston Bruins, another bench boss of an Original Six team recorded a milestone win.

While it wasn't pretty, Alain Vigneault won his 600th regular-season game after the New York Rangers beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1, despite being outshot 44-20.

Related: Rangers continue troubling trend in win over Ducks

Vigneault becomes only the 15th coach to reach the 600-win milestone, according to the NHL, after coaching the Montreal Canadiens for four years, the Vancouver Canucks for seven, and the Rangers for four.

Vigneault won a Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2007, with the Canucks. He's come close to winning the Stanley Cup twice, his Canucks losing the final in seven games to the Boston Bruins in 2011 - to Julien, interestingly enough - and his Rangers losing the 2014 final to the Los Angeles Kings in five games.

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It wasn't going to be hard to do better than Jhonas Enroth, but so far so very good for Toronto Maple Leafs backup goalie Curtis McElhinney.

Enroth and his ghastly .872 save percentage was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 11, one day after Toronto added McElhinney on waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets. And in four games, McElhinney's been excellent.

The 33-year-old started his third game for Toronto on Tuesday, and stopped a whopping 39-of-40 shots the Dallas Stars fired his way in a 3-1 Maple Leafs victory.

McElhinney's at .935 and has a 2-2 record and 2.11 goals against average in blue and white.

As you can see, when McElhinney's been in net, he's been put to work by his new team. And Toronto's going to need him, as the club has a busy schedule the rest of the way, including back-to-back games on Feb. 14 and 15 and Feb. 18 and 19.

With Frederik Andersen struggling since 2017 began, McElhinney may prove to be one of the best pickups of the season by any team should his solid play continue.

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Much of the talk about goalies this season has focused on Devan Dubnyk, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Carey Price. Well, Braden Holtby would like a word.

Last season's Vezina Trophy winner continued his stellar play Tuesday, shutting out the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0. It's his seventh clean sheet of the season, tying him for most in the league with Peter Budaj.

While Holtby's a perfect 3-0 in February, having defeated the Canes, Montreal Canadiens, and Boston Bruins, going back through January, the Capitals have lost only one game - a bonkers 8-7 overtime decision against the Pittsburgh Penguins, in which Holtby was pulled after 34 minutes - he's started of 16 in the new year. The 27-year-old was pulled against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 3 after 20 minutes, but his teammates rallied to win 6-5 in overtime.

In fact, Holtby's never been better. He now has a .930 save percentage, easily the highest of his career when he's been the No. 1 guy. He won the 2016 Vezina with a .922 number.

It's strange that last year's Vezina winner on this season's best team is flying under the radar a little bit, but that's what it feels like, especially since the Capitals are relentlessly putting the puck in the net.

Beware Holtby. Beware the crew from D.C.

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