VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Claude Julien is living up to the hype.
Julien was cast as a savior of sorts when he replaced the fired Michel Therrien as coach of the Montreal Canadiens last month. There was no shortage of pressure on Julien as he took the helm of a fabled NHL club whose fans have a history of pillorying coaches.
Julien, however, has made what is often described as the toughest job in hockey look easy. The Canadiens (37-21-8) are on a five-game winning streak heading into Tuesday's contest against the Vancouver Canucks (28-30-7) at Rogers Arena.