How much better are the Montreal Canadiens from last season?

The Montreal Canadiens absorbed perhaps the best shot the Toronto Maple Leafs could muster Saturday on their way to becoming the first team in NHL history to only require regulation time to start a season 9-0.

It's been a laudable stretch for a team who reaped its fair share of criticism for not surrounding the greatest player on the planet, Carey Price, with more talent this summer. But so far, management's decision to merely tinker with the team's lineup has been justified, and the Canadiens are steadily invalidating claims that without the linchpin in net, they aren't much more than a middling NHL roster.

But before the Canadiens depart for their Western Canadian road trip - where Tuesday versus the Vancouver Canucks they will try to establish an NHL record at 10-0 - let's determine if relatively unchanged Montreal really is that much better.

UP FRONT

Through the season's first nine games, Montreal's attack has been its greatest thrill. The team's 35 goals is tops in the NHL while its 3.89 average output - second only to the Washington Capitals - is 1.28 goals more than it was last season, when the Canadiens finished 20th in scoring.

Oh, and Max Pacioretty alone has scored more goals than the Anaheim Ducks.

There will be regression from this nine-game sample, obviously, but there's also a marked difference in this team's offense compared to last season's initial appetizer.

Montreal set the tone for another 100-point season with an impressive 7-2 run to begin 2014-15, but in manufacturing just 23 goals in those games, three of the victories required either overtime or the shootout.

Finally, last season, the Canadiens required a 15th opportunity with the man advantage before producing their first goal, and they eventually finished 3-26 on the power play through the season's first nine games. This year, Montreal ranks No. 8 with the man up, scoring eight power-play goals, and has forced the opposition into taking an average of four minor penalties per game.

ON D

It's always been difficult to analyze Montreal's rotation on the back end, with Price having the tendency to mask mistakes and the highest-paid members of the unit largely touted for their offensive prowess.

But making matters more complicated is Montreal's continuing tendency to allow a ton of shots. It was the league's best team last season in terms of goals against despite allowing more than 30 shots on average - a trend that has continued this season.

And despite the brilliance of P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov, who have combined for 20 points thus far, Montreal's back end has actually been relied upon to provide offense less than last season. Just over 25 percent (22 from Subban and Markov) of Montreal's points belong to the back end, whereas the defense had been responsible for almost one third of the team's total points in 2014-15.

Having Jeff Petry around for a full season has given Montreal a marked improvement on the kill. In fact, the Canadiens rank No. 1 with a man disadvantage, despite having committed the third-most penalties, with Petry - last season's addition from the Edmonton Oilers - leading the team in short-handed ice time through nine games.

IN NET

It's still impossible to fathom Price being better this season than he was last, but he's exceeding those dazzling numbers and been even more impressive when analyzing the season's first nine games.

He fashioned a 6-1 record to start his banner 2014-15 season, making seven-of-nine starts, but did allow 18 goals on 208 shots (or what works out to a .913 save percentage). He was pulled three starts into the campaign when he was lit up for four goals in his loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Today, he's a perfect 7-0 and on pace to eviscerate his Hart Trophy totals.

* Ranked among regular starters

And even on top of that, Montreal's new backup goaltender, Mike Condon, is outperforming the man who held the role last season, Dustin Tokarski. He's 2-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .947 save percentage in his first two NHL appearances.

MORE STATS

TAKE

In many ways Montreal is the same team that finished with 110 points last season, relying entirely on the epic performance of their goaltender and a cluster of players capable of producing offense with regularity.

Give up shots, but pull just a few out of the net. Cash when you can.

But as it stands now, those subtle changes that initially failed to cleanse the unsavory taste from the team's disappointing exit last spring - namely adding Alex Semin and shifting Alex Galchenyuk to center - seem to have provided a major jolt to the offense working in front of Montreal's fortress.

Or, just proving that with Price, a little help can go a long way.