It is the nature for people who jump on and off a team’s bandwagon to rise with every victory and fall with every loss.

So here we are, following Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the No. 9 Maple Leafs – and the process almost surely has begun for your Canadiens.

I don’t have a problem with it – until you do the math.

The Canadiens’ victory lifted them to No. 11 in the Eastern Conference – almost a giddy level for a team that has spent so much time in the basement of the Northeast Division. That left them “only” seven points behind No. 8 Washington – until the Capitals added one in their 4-3 overtime loss to the Penguins on Sunday afternoon.

The Capitals also hold one game in hand. Of course, you have to win that game, but if you’re a Canadiens fan hope springs eternal, right? They were also left only five and six points behind No. 10 Winnipeg and Toronto, with the Leafs holding a game in hand over both teams.

Is this the start of something good for the Canadiens? Have they given their supporters a reason to be optimistic in terms of the playoffs?

Carey Price made it happen on Saturday, but a win is a win, particularly after losing a two-goal lead 24 hours earlier in Pittsburgh en route to a 5-4 shootout loss.

The numbers tell a somewhat different story. For example, only three of the conference’s 15 teams have scored fewer goals, which tells us that’s an area in which the Canadiens must improve. Ten have allowed more goals, albeit in a season during which Price hasn’t been nearly as good as he was in 2010-11.

One problem is that the Canadiens’ defence has sprung holes this season. You know all about Andrei Markov, who played in only seven regular-season games last season. The hope was that Markov would rejoin the team for the start of the season. When that didn’t materialize, early November was mentioned. After that, he was expected back in late December. Now, it’s after the upcoming all-star break. Who knows?

Chris Campoli was supposed to be part of the answer – but it hasn’t happened. After suffering an injury in the first game of the season, he’s dressed for only 13 games and has been a healthy scratch in many games.

P.K. Subban’s sophomore season hasn’t approached the one he enjoyed last year. Some of the slack has been taken up with the addition of rookies Raphael Diaz, who scored the winning goal in Toronto, and Alexei Emelin, but rookies can be expected to make first-year mistakes.

Clearly, if the Canadiens are to make progress in their remaining 34 games, starting with the Red Wings’ visit on Wednesday, more goals are needed from people such as Tomas Plekanec, who led the team in scoring with 22 goals and 35 assists last season. Thus far: only nine goals despite playing in all 48 games.

Erik Cole has been exceptional and so has Max Pacioretty. David Desharnais has been very good, but Mike Cammalleri is gone, Brian Gionta has been lost indefinitely, and as for Scott Gomez … duh!

Furthermore, I don’t have to remind you of the delicate situation behind the Canadiens bench following the firing of Jacques Martin.

There is no quick fix in the foreseeable future for this team. There is also little room for errors, which is always the case for a struggling team that needs help from those they’re chasing in order to move up in the standings.

Witness Monday’s schedule of games, for example. The No. 12 Islanders, who are only one point behind the Canadiens and hold two games in hand, are in Toronto. Either, or both teams, could earn points. The same can be said for Winnipeg’s visit to No. 15 Carolina. The only certain loser in these matchups are the Canadiens.

What I’m saying is that when you’re No. 11, almost every game is a four-pointer. You don’t get it done with losses in the shootout (they’re 1-7 with The Gimmick) and/or in overtime. Nine of their points have come that way, surpassed only by Florida’s 10.

Nobody ever said it would be easy, but does it have to be so hard?

I’m leaning toward the latter.

rfisher@montrealgazette.com