6 for 6 On the Road, So Far

Tonight's, and last night's games were ones that really should have been won, regardless of the tight schedule. Thankfully, they didn't disappoint. Last night's game was a little more lively, which probably led to a game with some tired legs tonight. Coming off le temps des fêtes, les boys have recorded 6 out of 6 points so far on the road trip. No complaints here, time to head to New Jersey with some confidence under our belt, along with some holiday turkey, of course.

Who would of predicted this of Maxim Lapierre? If he keeps taking shots like that in the shootout, I would take him over Koivu in a heartbeat! This guy is showing everyone exactly why he's here and not Chipchura (not that I wouldn't like to see him). He isn't the smoothest skater, but boy is he fast. Since the start of the season, he has put up solid efforts. It seems that he's learned to slow the game down and be more patient. I've never really been a fan of the dump and chase but Lapierre plays it perfectly. He's got great speed and superb fore checking abilities. A hat trick, and totaling 11 points is all you can ask from a third/fourth line center, and more.

While we do have some pros to this streak, surely some cons will follow? The powerplay was terrible, again. We went 1 for 14 in the past 3 games, and the one goal was a 5 on 3. It's simple everyone, we're missing that big point shot. It may not be the only problem, but it's a major one. Those big shots in the past 2 seasons were provided by Sheldon Souray and Mark Streit. Let's look at some stats, shall we? Souray has 26 points (11G, 15A), 12 of them on the powerplay while Streit has 28 points (7G, 21A) and 18 points on the powerplay. The stats speak for themselves, I'd say.

I'm slowly changing my mind about A.Kost-Plek-Kovy. Plekanec is starting to play with some confidence and is starting to make those familiar cheeky passes from last season. Kostitsyn is taking those familiar laser shots from the left wing. Kovalev is playing like his familiar self, but if this line works again, expect him to add to his 9 goals on the season.

Yet another injury, and probably a long term one (based on our luck). According to RDS, Tanguay himself said that his number 13 is bringing him de la malchance. Well, Lady Luck is taking the year off in Montreal, I guess.

Photos courtesy of: Yahoo! Sports

Career Nights for Price and Kostitsyn

Having had no games scheduled between the 22nd and 26th of December, the coaching staff in Montreal decided to give the team a break. No practises or workouts planned until yesterday. The break seemed to have led to a laid back effort from the Canadiens tonight, for most of the team. The team's 3 stars won the game for Montreal, and are as follow's:

Star 3: Tomas Plekanec (2 assists). Plekanec set up 2 of Kostitsyn's goals, and made it real easy for him. Both times he went behind the net and made beautiful passes to the older Kostitsyn. To be honest, I wasn't with Carbo's decision of reuniting A.Kost-Plek-Kovy. I didn't think Plekanec was going to do much but he played very well tonight and deserves third star.

Star 2: Andrei Kostitsyn (3 goals),the hat-trick hero. He scored all three goals in a 3-2 win and honestly, this guy has been due for a good night. At 6 goals in 29 games, we all knew this wasn't the AK-46 we knew from last season. Hopefully he can build on this, and light the lamp more consistently. A first career hat-trick is always a night to remember.

Star 1: Carey Price (32 saves, 2 goals against). Many of you might disagree with Price over Kostitsyn for first star. But Carey was the one who won the game for Montreal. He frustrated Malkin, Crosby, Dupuis, etc. so many times tonight, I lost track of his game-savers. Unbelievable. If it weren't for Price, Montreal loses this game 5-3, no doubt in my mind.

Other good performances include 26 minutes of Komisarek and Markov. Workhorses as a pair, blocking shots and working hard on the PK. Josh Gorges is now 9th in the league in plus/minus. He was a +3 tonight and +17 on the year.

Overall, this was not a very convincing win. Not a team performance but rather, an individual one. A few players stepped up and won it for us, simple as that. This one could've gone either way, and it really shouldn't have been this close. We had a break while Pittsburgh was packed with games. Next up we play back-to-back in Florida and then in Tampa.

Photos courtesy of: TSN, Yahoo! Sports

Just Food for Thought...

ALL NUMBERS OVERALL PICKS

- 1999 entry draft: We picked Eric Chouinard (who?) 16th. Later, Simon Gagne goes 22nd and Scott Gomez 27th. But we did get Andrei Markov 162nd and Michael Ryder 216th.

- 2001 entry draft: We picked Alexander Perezhogin 25th. Later, Derek Roy goes 32nd, Mike Cammalleri 49th and Jason Pominville 55th. But we did get Tomas Plekanec 71st.

-2003 entry draft: We picked Andrei Kostitsyn 10th. Later, Jeff Carter goes 11th, Zach Parise 17th, Ryan Getzlaf 19th, Mike Richards 24th. But we did get Jaroslav Halak 271st.

- 2004 entry draft: We picked Kyle Chipchura 18th. Later, Mike Green goes 29th and Johan Franzen 97th. But we did get Mark Streit 267th.

- 2005 entry draft: We picked Carey Price 5th (Thank God) Notable late drafts: Matt D'Agostini 190th, Sergei Kostitsyn 200th.

-And going waaaaaaaaaay back to 1989: We picked Patrice Brisebois 30th. Later, Niklas Lidstrom went 33rd, Sergei Federov went 74th and Pavel Bure 113th. Oh boy, the years do breeze-by don't they?

An all-time NHL draft list is on this link, it really is a great site: http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/index.html

How to Make Carolina Look Good: Play Montreal

I'm just going to start off by saying that this was an awful game. Right from the get-go, Carolina, once again, were winning the one-on-one battles, beating us to the puck and scored the first goal. God, I am so sick and tired of losing to this mediocre team. Day in and day out against these guys, we fall asleep when the puck drops. Horrendous performance tonight, and the only reason why we got a point out of this one, because the Canes suck. In the very few number of games that WE come out flying, we win them. Why isn't that our goal for every game? It doesn't take a genius to figure that out!

I don't know who decided to put Price in net, but the Price was not right tonight. Here's a guy, who just returned from an injury and was bound to be rusty. He let in 2 weak goals including the OT winner. Had I had a say in the matter, I would have chosen Halak as the starter. Halak has played unbelievably well for us, so why stop playing him? It just doesn't make any sense at all. Price did, however make a few good saves, but lost the game for us with weak goals.

Before anyone says that our powerplay is back on track, you must take into consideration the facts. Sure, they have 6 goals in 4 games, but have they really been that nice of goals? Take last night for example, one was on 5 on 3, which should be a gimme, even for Toronto, and the other 4 on 3. What did Montreal create 5 on 4? Nothing. And tonight's goal was a little lucky in my books.

Can anyone tell me what has happened to Tomas Plekanec? He's a completely different player, no confidence, bad decisions and no points (now 0 in 9 games). I don't think there is any chance of a possible A.Kost-Pleky-Kovy resuscitation. What's it going to take for Plekanec to turn his game around?

Well, if I have to pull out one plus, it's Lats-Lapierre-Kostopoulos. The go-to line for energy tonight. Very impressed by the fore check. A line full of hard workers playing for a spot.

To sum the night up, it's a game wasted away that could have easily been a win. We did come back and get a point, but these are points that Boston is banking on in. They are moving further and further away from us in the standings. Why didn't we just work hard? Go into the Christmas holidays with 3 in a row under your belt! Now we have a 5 day break with nothing to be happy with. Not very impressed, not at all.

Photo courtesy of: Yahoo! Sports

Players Starting to Turn it Around

A second consecutive win for the Canadiens, in comeback style. An exciting one for sure, but another morale booster for the team. To be honest, after our first period performance, I thought we were going to pull another "well, they're not in the playoffs, so we'll win without trying," but seemed to turn it around after some energetic shifts from the Begin-Lapierre-Kostopoulos line. Begin in particular, had a good night. 7 hits including one shift where he made at least three. I'm loving what I see of this guy, night in and night out.

Alexei Kovalev, I being his worst critic, seems to be regaining my trust. He now has 3 beautiful goals in as many games. After getting that stupid penalty in the third, he knew he had to make up for it. Sure enough, he gets an assist followed by a goal as the winner. Keep this up, PLEASE Kovy!

Sergei Kositisyn is playing like he wants out of the doghouse. 4 points in 2 games, including 2 goals on the powerplay. Good boy Sergei, here's a treat! Oh and did I mention the powerplay? Montreal has 5 goals in 3 games with the man advantage. Their starting to show some positive signs here, but they need to move the puck around much quicker. Someone needs to stand right in front of the goalie. To pick up rebounds and block vision.

Halak, who made his 6th straight start, had yet another solid performance. He doesn't get credit for it, but he wins games for Montreal. Game after game he constantly makes game-savers, and last night was no exception. However, his rebound control has got to improve, he burns himself like that sometimes.

Even Laraque is playing better. He absolutely ripped apart another victim in a fight, while respecting him the whole way through. The guy falls, he waited for him to get up, then resumed the fight. You can't spell class without BGL. I like the idea of him on Lang and Tanguay's line. Simple, put him in front of the net, and take a shot, no one can see through this guy.

All in all, it was a good night for Montreal. I like the effort and more goals, finally! Now they take on Carolina. Please, I do NOT want to see another loss to these guys. I'm sick and tired seeing these guys beat us!

By the way, and just food for thought. What number do you think Brendan Shanahan will wear for us? Take it or leave it, you heard it here first.

Photos courtesy of: Yahoo! Sports

Lack of discipline Blows Away Yet Another Game

It was powerplay practise for the Hurricanes, who going into the game are 27th in the league. 11 chances, and in a 3-2 win for Carolina, they scored all 3 on the powerplay. Hmm... if you do the math, and subtract the PP goals from the final tally... well yeah, you get the point.

Not impressed at all with the lack of discipline and urgency on Montreal's side. Because of all of these penalties, many players had to ride the bench. Maxwell only saw 10:20 of ice, A.Kost 12:17, Tanguay 12:35 and O'Byrne 9:43. Throughout our first wave if penalties, Plekanec was doing his job, and more. If he wants to get some points, he better keep up that kind of play.

If I had to pick the best of the worst, I'd have to say that Halak is my man. He made 24 saves including a few game-savers. If it weren't for him, the Canes' would've scored 5. It's too bad everyone else falls asleep whenever he's in net. Keep in mind though, Halak's value will continue to soar if he keeps up this solid play.

FINALLY! A goal from Kovalev, and shorthanded no less! He almost made it 2 for the night when he nearly beat Ward with 10 secs to go. Oh boy that would've made my night! Kudos to Latendresse for scoring on his penalty shot (one thing that the refs got right). He hasn't done too much since returning to the lineup, but that was a nice shot. I wouldn't be surprised if these 2 rebound from this point on.

Final Word: Well, if Montreal keeps wasting away these points, other teams will pass them in the standings. If they even want a chance against Boston, they better wake up because Boston isn't showing any signs of slowing down.

Photo courtesy of: Yahoo! Sports

Something's Gotta Give!

Come on! What else do you want? Too many chances, not enough finishing. It's a 2-1 loss that SHOULD have gone our way.

Tanguay has started this trend of hitting the post. I counted 2 post-hits last night and a puck shot over a wide-open net. He scores 1 of the 3 chances, it's a a whole new ball game. Who else missed obvious opportunities? Hamrlik missed an open net, Maxwell shot wide at just about every shot he had and temporary captain in Koivu's absence, Kovy, couldn't find anything but a post. I thought for sure that with Koivu out and Kovalev wearing a C, it was going to be his night. He came close, but came out with nothing.

Washington managed to put 2 garbage goals past Halak, who made his 3rd consecutive start. He's got to work on rebounds though, the first goal was because of just that. He played a solid game though, no complaints for the night.

It's official everyone, our powerplay has officially disappeared. In his own words, Carbo said "You can write whatever you want, right now our power play is non-existent because we get outworked by the opposition, we have an advantage and we don't take advantage of that." I couldn't have said it better myself. Montreal went 0-8 with the man advantage and looked awful every time. Carbo once again went with the fourth line on the PP, and in all fairness they looked more convincing than anyone else. It's starting to get real embarrassing hearing the fans boo the team while on the PP. Unlike last year, I don't get excited when the other gets a penalty anymore...

The reality of it is, Montreal had the number 1 powerplay in the league for the past 2 seasons. Going into last night's game, they're 28th. It's simple, we depended on our PP fo

r goals every year. Now that we don't have that going for us, what do we turn to? The

Habs have always been an average 5-5 team. So there's no alternative. Jarvis bett

er think of something, because sending out the Begin-Lapierre-Kostopoulos line won't get much for you in the end.

To put it into one sentence, the night was blown away because of a lack of finishing. On the homestand, Montreal went 4-2-1. If you look at the losses, Tampa and Washington, those are a wasted 4 points. New Jersey's loss is one I can take, but once again, we need to be winning these points if we want to contending team. Right now, the Habs don't look like that kind of team...

Photos courtesy of: TSN, Yahoo! Sports

Quick Review / Time to Show Our Depth

Having watched the first period before heading off to my soccer practise, I had a very skeptical feeling about the night. St-Louis and Lecavalier scoring a goal each did not sit well in my stomach. The fact that they scored was one thing, but how Halak let in both of those goals is beyond me. He practically doused the Flames by stopping 32 and allowing only a single goal, but only saved 19 and let 3 past him. Goals 1 and 2 should easily have been stopped, no doubt in my mind, but number 3, I'll give him that one.

There certainly wasn't a lack of offence on Montreal's side. 32 shots is a fair amount, but only 1 going in is not so fair. Kovalev could have popped in one, maybe two, Markov hit the post, and Plekanec was flying all night long (not to mention the pretty deke he made).

Looking back when we're towards the end of the season, if we're a few points from division title, these are the points that are going to kill us. Tampa is not a good team at all. It's a very

disappointing loss and an embarrassing one at that.

So now, on top of having to report another 2 points wasted away, we've got injuries! For those of you who don't know, Higgins (4-6 weeks), Dandenault (6-8 weeks), Koivu (Out indefinitely), Laraque (that stupid groin of his), Price (apparently a flew) have all been recently hit with injuries. Now, when we saw Higgins and Dandenault get hurt, we knew that these were no day-to-day injuries. Both of them are huge losses, and for those of you starting trade rumours already, Higgins' value has just dropped so don't include his name in anything. Koivu's injury will hurt Montreal very much. He has been their best and most consistent player since game

1. Captain Saku will be missed. Now on a more positive note. Goaltender Marc Denis and center Ben Maxwell have been called up from Hamilton to fill in the gaps. Maxwell is supposedly going to play in Koivu's place with AK-46 and D'Ags. I'm not too sure about this one. While he may have had a great training camp, he is only playing his first year in Hamilton. Hopefully the pressure won't get the better of the 20 year old.

I'm not buying Price being out with the flu. If they have to call up a goalie to replace him, it must be for something more than a mere stomach ache. Maybe he hurt something, and Montreal is keeping quiet about it, just like they did in the playoffs last season. Either way, expect Halak to be in net while Price is out. Denis will get his time, but he most likely won't start any upcoming games.

Anyway, enough gossiping. Montreal plays Washington tomorrow. They played Ottawa tonight and demolished them 5-1. Semin, Federov and Green are all back in the lineup for the Caps. Hopefully we show up to play tomorrow. I don't feel like swearing at the television again, my throat is too sore for that.

Photos courtesy of: The Globe and Mail, Montreal Canadiens Official Website

2007-08-Like Win at the Bell Centre

Another convincing win in the homestand for Montreal. I was very impressed by the effort from line 1 to 4, and the discipline from Sergei. A 4-1 win against a team who has won 7 out of their last 9 games is something of an achievement. Carbo should have nothing to complain about at his press conference.

3 goals from the Tanguay-Lang-Kovalev line, and maybe some chemistry between these three? D'Agostini maintains his 1 PPG average tonight, by scoring a beautiful breakaway goal. I really thought that I was going to be able to watch the guy when I go see the Bulldogs. I Guess not.

New acquisition Lang really is living up to his $4 million contract. To be honest, I hadn't picked up on his consistency, but with his excellent 3-point performance tonight, he is now 4th on the team with 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists). While Kovalev may not be lighting the lamp, he is helping others do it, he added 2 to total 17 assists for the year.

Halak finally got credited with a win. I have always said that he's started in net in the wrong games but tonight, stopping 32 shots, he got a win. At some point in the near future, Halak will be traded to another team, and will bloom into a starting goaltender, I'm sure of it. It's only a matter of time for Jaro...

A few injuries for tonight. Higgins and Dandenault looked like they got pretty hurt, meaning that O'Byrne and Latendresse will be dressed. They should come into the next game with chips on their shoulders. They were both scratched the last 4 games.

Final verdict: Montreal has racked up 9 out of a possible 10 points in 5 games of the homestand. You can't ask for more than that. Hopefully Higgins and Dandenault's injuries aren't too severe, because god knows we can't afford any more injuries. The Canadiens play Vinny and the Bolts on Thursday. Tampa is bottom of the league, including a record of 1-6-3 in their last 10 games. You know what that means? 11 out of a possible 12 points, that's what!

Notes: With this win, Montreal's record improves to 16-6-5... Markov leads Montreal in points (23), followed by Koivu (22) and Kovalev (21)... Gorges and Koivu lead with a +/- of 12... Laraque, Latendresse and O'Byrne were scratched tonight.

Photo courtesy of The Canadian Press.

Take 1, and Go

Tonight's game was, for the first time this season, a loss that I don't mind to take. New Jersey has always had our number when it comes to goals. They consistently manage to limit Montreal to a minimum amount, even without Brodeur.

All of Montreal's offense came from the first. They had 13 shots alone in the first period, one of them was a goal by D'Agostini. D'Agostini is really showing everyone that he's here to stay. He's a big guy with speed, and he can shoot the puck too. Sorry Latendresse, looks like the train has left, and someone has taken your seat.

Price had yet another solid game. It's unfortunate that Halak has to backup this guy. Price consistently plays so well that it's hard just too sit him. He's only let in 2 goals or less in 9 of his past 10. Hmm, Pretty good for a 21 year old.

We can all blame Kovalev for the OT goal. Whether it was deserved or not, he took a dumb tripping penalty. Although he did mess up at the end, he was creating some opportunities and recorded 3 shots on net. Hopefully this 15-game goalless streak will end sooner rather than later.

Looking back at the game, it's very simple. In the second half of it, the Habs were outskated, outshot and outplayed. The Devils shut down the Canadiens' offense with their boring zone play. The Habs went from 13 shots in the first, to only 4 in the third. Their goalie Scott Clemmenson wasn't to shabby either, stopping 25 shots.

To be honest, I thought we were going to lose this game. Clemmenson wasn't letting anything by him and Elias missed a couple of golden opportunities. However, we'll take the point and move on to the next game. You can't ask for more than 7 out of a possible 8 points to start the homestand.

Notes: Markov and Dandenault both left the game with injuries... D'Agostini scored his 3rd goal in his 3rd game... S.Kostitsyn, Latendresse and O'Byrne were scratches for the third night in a row... Montreal went 0 for 5 on the PP...

Photos courtesy of Yahoo! Sports

Habs Blow Out the Candles on 99th Birthday

An anniversary night with vintage jerseys, veteran players and an Original Six match up at the Bell Centre, was taken over by Montreal. A 6-2 win against a team that Montreal is chasing in the standings is perfect. All around superb play, starting off with the 1st line that saw Kostitsyn mark first. The fourth line were the stars of the game in my mind. Laraque-Lapierre-Begin combined for a total of 6 points and 2 goals by the line (Begin, Lapierre). Lapierre had a Gordie Howe hat-trick, scoring, assisting and then fighting was also awarded 1st star of the night. Other goals for Montreal were scored by Tanguay, Lang and D'Agostini. The 22-year old from Sault Ste. Marie finished the night with a goal and an assist. It's not looking good for our friends in the stands: Latendresse, S.Kostitsyn and O'Byrne. Since their benching, the team has been everything but bad. I don't see any reason why Carbo wouldn't keep the same lineups for next game.
Another thing that I liked about the game, was the fact that every line recorded at least a goal, from first to fourth. And finally, a 60 minute performance!! The Canadiens came out flying, early. The game plan was executed to perfection: score early, and score a lot. This deflated the already tired Rangers. New York went all the way to a shootout last night against Pittsburgh. If this is what they can do without a powerplay or without Kovalev scoring, I'm REALLY looking forward to next game.

Notes: Laraque recorded his first and second points as a Hab, recording 2 assists... Montreal totaled 39 shots and allowed only 20... Brisebois and Dandenault were the only players for the Habs that didn't record a shot on goal. Josh Gorges finished the night with an impressive +4... Markov is second on Montreal to reach the 20-point mark, adding 2 assists tonight.

Sloppy Win Versus Sloppy Team

Another unconvincing win for Montreal. This one, need I remind you, should have been put away early on. Going into the third period, Montreal was up 3-0 from goals by D'Agostini, Plekanec and Markov. At this point, it was their game to lose. Atlanta, because of their first and second period performances, really did look like a last place team. Wayward passes all around, not able to clear the puck out of the zone and the only offense generated was shots from the outside. Yep, this one's in the bag, so why not go out to the third period and not try at all!

Well Montreal decided to do just that. All it took was 59 seconds for Atlanta to score three (sometimes we need 2 games to score 3), starting with a powerplay.. oh, wait Laraque just forgot to step on the ice: Oops! Ex-Hab Ron Hainsey scored 2 followed by one by C.Thorburn... whoever he is. 59 seconds, and now the game's tied 3-3. These guys just never learn. Well, thanks to some awful defending on Atlanta's part, Andrei Kostitsyn managed to pull one back for Montreal. This, followed by an empty-netter from Lang, put the game out of reach. But, Montreal, once again, decided that the game was over. 19 seconds to go, Williams roofs it. Fortunately, the goal meant nothing as Montreal held on to win 5-4.

Another disappointing game for underachiever Chris Higgins. No points, a few giveaways and a penalty. Price was also ordinary tonight, not at his top form, letting in 4 to Atlanta. He better be ready for Thursday. A few players are starting to get some monkeys of their backs, including Kovalev who assisted on 2, Plekanec who scored and Kostitsyn who scored one and assisted on 2. Not bad, but it was Atlanta. When they play New York on Thursday, 5 goals won't come as easily.

Just like in the title, a sloppy game in the third led to a sloppy win. Not impressed at all by the lack of effort towards the end. They better be ready for Thursday's game against the red-hot Rangers.

Notes: Koivu is now the only player on Montreal to break 20 points, (he has 21)... Kovalev is now goalless in 14, but second on the team in points (18)... Laraque's +/- is a team-low -4... Players scratched: Sergei Kostitsyn, Ryan O'Byrne. Guillaume Latendresse.

Game Preview: Thrashers @ Habs

Tonight the Canadiens play the second of 7 home games in a row. With Tanguay and Laraque back in the lineup, it raises many questions. Questions such as who will be playing, and who won't. On one hand, you've got Laraque who hasn't played since Nov 22 against Boston and on the other, you've got Tanguay who will surely be in the starting lineup tonight. But with at least Tanguay back in the lineup, you need to scratch to make room. So who do you scratch? Lapierre and Begin are playing too well on the fourth line, and Matt D'Agostini needs more time if they want him to bloom. All fingers point to third line Sergei Kostitsyn, who had an undisciplined game against Buffalo. Of late, he has not been exactly filling up the scoresheet. He gets time on the powerplay yet he only has 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) and 2 in his last 10. As far as I know, the lineups for tonight will be game time decisions.
Carey Price is in net for Montreal. He has simply been on fire. I wouldn't be surprised if he records a shutout here and there during this homestand.
This should be an easy one for Montreal, no matter who's in the lineup tonight. Atlanta (8-12-3) is 14th in the conference in front of only Tampa Bay on wins. Their star player Ilya Kovalchuk is in the doghouse and was practising on the fourth line on Monday. This should be an easy blowout for Montreal, but because of past "easy blowout" games, I'm not going to relax, and hopefully Montreal shows the same attitude going into this one.

Satisfying Play by Habs at Bell Centre

Montreal played a good game tonight. A 3-2 win against a recently hot team is a satisfying effort. With the new lineup imposed by Carbonneau, it seemed that for most players, the message has been received. Guys like Andrei Kostitsyn (1 goal, 1 assist tonight), Koivu and Markov (1 point apiece) and even young Matt D'Agostini stepped up to the plate. D'Agostini, who played his first game of the season alongside Koivu and Higgins, saw 13:52 including powerplay time. He played a solid game and from what I saw, he's a big guy with speed. Don't expect him to be sent down anytime soon, this guy's a keeper. Sergei Kostitsyn was awful tonight. He took 3 stupid penalties and 1 of them cost Montreal a goal. After returning to the bench after his third penalty, Carbo benched him for the rest of the game, good riddance. His brother Andrei on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He scored Montreal's first goal and assisted on the winner. Look for him to contribute in games to come. Thomas Vanek scored both goals for Buffalo putting him top of the league in that department.

It was a quiet game, once again, for guys like Kovalev, Plekanec and Higgins. All of whom are unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if Gainey is making a deal involving any of these 3 as we speak right now. They have been the team's top underachievers. Price was once again superb for Montreal, making 26 saves.

This was a good win for Montreal but Buffalo isn't a team that's all that great. If they want to regain some respect around the league, they'll have to stop this seesaw-like effort and show up to every game. They play their next 7 games at home, so the pressure's on to win.

Notes: Price has let in 2 or less in his last 7 games... Markov potted his 3rd of the season, he now has 17 points... Koivu leads Montreal in +/-at 9, while Gorges is right behind him at 8... Injuries: Tanguay (neck), Laraque (groin).

Review & Preview

I apologize for the late entry but I was busy last night and didn't find any time to post a review. Well, for those of you that had already watched the game, I know you don't want to hear this again, but Montreal was blanked by the Caps 3-0. Theodore was perfect last night, just like any French Canadian goalie who plays Montreal. Scorers for Washington: T.Fleischmann, D.Steckel and of course, Alex Ovechkin.

It's really hard to find some positives for tonight. Montreal took 28 shots and were creating chances. Halak played an excellent game once again, but had to stand on his head, putting up with 30 shots. Well that's all I could think of.

Blanked by a 1-man team, who had 9 players injured including 3 of their top point-getters, is embarrassing. How on earth is it possible, that after beating Stanley Cup champions, you lose to a team like this. It doesn't make sense. Something is wrong in Montreal, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. Since going on a stellar 8-1-1 start (which could easily have been 10-0-0), Montreal has only won 4 in their last 12. That says a lot. Interesting enough, within those 12 games, Alexei Kovalev has not been able to find the back of the net. Funny, because the last time he did that was back in February of 2004. Wow, looks like he's really sulking for that contract. Rest assured, unlike Alexei, Gainey does have an IQ superior to -27 and will not buy into his shenanigans.

If someone asked me how the game went last night, the one and only thing that I would need to say, is this: Carbonneau played Dandenault, Lapierre and Kostopoulos on the powerplay.

Moving on to tonight's game in Montreal. This should be a real interesting one. Carbo, who in my mind won't be behind the bench for much longer, is desperate for anything. Matt D'Agostini, who has done wonders for Hamilton (3rd in AHL with 25 points in 20 games), was called up on Thursday and will start tonight's game alongside Koivu and Higgins. The Kostitsyns are with Lapierre, Plekanec is with Begin and Kostopoulos and Lang is with Kovy and Latendresse. But, in my opinion, the most significant change of the night, is Dandenault replacing a scratched O'Byrne. Dandenault, a natural defender, is playing his first game as a defenceman since god knows when. Carey Price will start in net. Tanguay and Laraque are still out with injuries.

Buffalo is a streaky team and will be a challenge for Montreal. They have beaten the Bruins and the Penguins and their last couple games. Players like Derek Roy and Jason Pominville are starting to turn their seasons around and Thomas Vanek is simply on fire. He has 21 points and is 2nd in the NHL in goals (15).

To be honest, I no longer know what to expect from Montreal anymore. But I do know one thing: GM Bob Gainey will not let these guys put this franchise to shame. He will soon make changes, and I have faith that they'll be the right ones.

Game Preview: Habs @ Capitals

Tonight, the Habs will play the first of back-to-back games (tomorrow being against Buffalo). Due to Wednesday's impressive win in Detroit, Montreal should be eager to continue the momentum. They won 3-1 against the Red Wings in what was a superb effort. Although Tanguay left the game early after taking a huge hit from B.Stuart, he is back in the lineup tonight. Josh Gorges, who was blocking shots with almost every part of his body on Wednesday, will also play. Price gets a break while backup Jaroslav Halak will start in goal. The last time Halak started in net was in the 2-1 loss to the Flyers on November 15th. I happened to attend that game and concluded that Halak played very well. You can hardly blame him for either one of the goals.
On the other side of the ice, is a team plagued with injuries. 7 players including hotshot A.Semin, M.Green and veteran S.Fedorov are out of the lineup for Washington. Only 5 defenceman are healthy meaning that last year's Jack Adams winner Bruce Boudreau will have to push some players back. Expect this one to be a high scoring game. Ex-Hab, and our old friend Jose Theodore will start in net for the Caps. Ever since he left Montreal, he has never been able to return to his original form. He's been too inconsistent in Colorado and now in Washington.
Things to remember for Montreal: Shut down Ovechkin, if even possible: He is currently on a 9-game point streak, recording 21 points during that span. Limit the number of shots: Montreal has shown signs of improvement in their own zone. They are allowing fewer shots, and blocking more of them. Reduce the number of mistakes: *Cough* O'Byrne *cough*. They do that, they come home with a win.

Habs Back on Track with Win in Hockey Town

It's okay everyone, you can finally exhale. The Habs just won a game against Stanley Cup favorites 3-1. To be honest, I went into the game with a very pessimistic attitude. Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Islanders, I thought that they would get blown out by the Red Wings in Detroit. But thank goodness that I was wrong.
Their was no scoring in the first period, but rather some stalemate play. While on the PP, Tanguay was bringing the puck up the left side of the ice. He put his head down, and that was all that defenseman Brad Stuart needed to level him down to the ice. Tanguay finished the shift, but missed the rest of the game with what is shaping up to be a concussion.
The second period was where Montreal got all of their offense going, starting off with a goal from Lapierre. Lapierre threw the puck in front of the net which deflected off a Detroit defenseman into the net. Some may call it a garbage goal, and I'm going to have to agree with them. Either way, it was 1-0 Habs. Plekanec was next for Montreal. It was a well constructed pass-pass-shoot play where Kovalev and Markov were the pass-pass and Plekanec was the shoot. It was a much-needed goal for the trio, who are all in desperate need of some points. But the offense didn't end there for the Habs. Just a 1:20 later, Higgins finished off a scramble in front from Koivu and Kostopoulos. Kostopoulos took over for the absent Tanguay and really stepped up to the plate. He played a solid game for Montreal.
The third was a defend-the-lead period. Now up 3-0, Montreal needed to focus on defending, and that is what they did. Up until the 13:31 mark, Montreal held Detroit scoreless. Franzen tallied for Detroit off a steal from O'Byrne's fanned pass. O'Byrne, once again made a mistake that cost Montreal a goal and did not see any ice time for the rest of the game. The Habs held on to win 3-1.
It could have been 4-1 or it could even have been 4-0 (Plekanec had a goal disallowed), but a 3-1 win against returning Stanley Cup champs and arguably one of, if not the best team in the league, is a feat not many teams can accomplish. 8 different players on Montreal got a point including Plekanec, Kovalev, Higgins and Markov who were all recently point-sober. All in all, this a huge win and a moral-booster for the Habs. Now with a much more optimistic look on the Habs, I'm looking forward to Friday's game in Washington!

Notes: Price had another solid game, saving 32 shots... Plekanec snapped an 8-game goalless streak tonight, by scoring his 5th... Koivu picked up his team-leading 18th point of the season... Injuries: Latendresse is day-to-day (day-to-day), Laraque stayed in Montreal (groin).

Embarassing Loss at the Bell Centre

For anyone who has seen this game already, do NOT blame O'Byrne for this loss. While he may have had better nights, I can think of 27 more reasons why we lost tonight: Alexei Kovalev (x27). Kovalev is really starting to get on my nerves. Now at 10 games without scoring, he is putting himself right back on the same level as he was in 06-07 and anything before that. What was he trying to do in the third period? He was hogging the puck, trying to beat the entire NY Islanders team. I don't care if you're two times the player Wayne Gretzky was, it can't be done. I counted at least 3 chances that he missed tonight. On top of that, the unclassy crowd decides to boo O'Byrne. He's a rookie in his sophomore season, he's going to make mistakes! But on top of all of that, the one thing that still has me fuming, is the fact that NO ONE on the bench came to console Ryan. He knows he's messed up, he knows it's a crucial mistake and he knows he's going to get eaten up by reporters if they don't win. Where the hell are you Koivu, Higgins and pfft.. nevermind Kovalev. That is when true leaders step in. If Steve Yzerman was there, he would have gone to sit right beside O'Byrne and talk to the poor guy. That's what's lacking right now in Montreal: TRUE LEADERSHIP. Somebody please rip the A off of Kovalev's jersey and put it on someone who can actually handle it like Komisarek or Hamrlik. Price should not have been in net tonight. He's tired and should have been rested by Carbo. You put Halak in net, Jaro will work his butt off and will let in no more than 1 goal. Price gets a rest, and starts in net in Detroit. Nope, Carbo has other ideas.
This game doesn't deserve a proper recap. 3 goals from Montreal scored by Begin, Gorges and Lapierre. 3 goals from NY scored by Park, Hunter, Weight (O'Byrne's own goal). A.Kostitsyn and Tanguay both missed for Montreal while Hunter missed but Park and Guerin scored in the shootout. Done.
Horrible game tonight. Horrible teamwork, finishing and leadership. A 4-3 loss to a team that won't come close to the playoffs is disgusting.

Game Preview: Islanders @ Habs

The Habs start a stretch of 4 games in 6 tonight. The Islanders (8-10-2) will be showing their god-awful jerseys at the Bell Centre tonight in their second faceoff this season. We all remember that the first meeting was the game that Montreal played for 1 period and won the game. Going into the third period, the Habs were trailing the Isles 4-1 only to score 4 consecutive goals in regular time to win it 5-4. Wow, 5 goals. It seems like a long time since I've seen a game with so many goals by Montreal. In fact, they only have 9 goals in 6 games. Funny how the league's top scoring team from last season is having trouble putting the puck in the net. The lack of offense may have something to do with being in 23rd place averaging 15% on the powerplay. Also, their top guns like Kovalev, Higgins and Plekanec have had trouble showing up on the scoresheet of late. However, we do need to remember that tonight, Montreal is playing the New York Islanders who is in a three-way tie for 11th in the conference.
Price is starting in net tonight, altough I'm a little disappointed by this. He has started the past 3 games and although he has played exceptionally well, this is Halak's chance to be between the pipes and to give Carey a break. They are playing Detroit tomorrow and I don't think Halak will start. Higgins is reunited with Koivu and Tanguay and Latendresse and Laraque are scratched.

Sweet Night Turned Sour in SO

You couldn't have asked for a better effort from Montreal. They were all working with chips on their shoulders, and it's about time. For a change, Montreal was finishing their checks, taking more shots and finally playing with some determination.
After a 1 hour ceremony for #33 Patrick Roy, the much anticipated game started. All eyes were on Laraque and Lucic. When Lucic was on the ice, so was Laraque, following him the whole time. We all knew what he was trying to do, but Lucic had other ideas. Coach Claude Julien must have told him not to fight because at no point in the game did Lucic look like he would take the bait, damn. No scoring in the first period but some good work from Montreal. Best first period I have seen them play this season.
Montreal marked first in the second when Andrei Kostitsyn banged in a rebound from a point shot from Josh Gorges. Later in the period, of all people, Lucic scored off a nice pass from Kessel. But if you look at the replay, we can all agree that O'Byrne didn't do his part by separating Kessel from the puck. He does that, no goal is scored.
On to the third period, which was an exciting one. Boston tallied first off of a somewhat weak goal by M.Hunwick right through the legs of Carey Price. However the Habs, showing so much character, never gave up and continued to battle for those pucks. After about 2 clear scoring chances, including an open net chance shot wide by Markov, Kostopoulos tipped in a pass from Brisebois. At this point, Montreal was creating many scoring opportunities and the game could have easily ended Motreal's way.
Straight to the shootout, as their was not much to talk about in OT. This was the part of the night when the hockey gods were hard on the Habs. Rookie B.Wheeler scored by losing possession of the puck while Price had already slid the opposite way. Kovalev was stoned by Thomas with the glove, followed by a save by Price on Kessel. Markov showed that his one-dimensional play in the shootout won't work anymore, because everyone knows that he goes 5-hole every time, including Tim Thomas. Price saved an attempt from Bergeron but Koivu couldn't finish on the final shot.
While it may have been hard to swallow, all is not lost for Montreal. They played a great game and are showing many signs of improvement. There are still a few players who need monkeys off of their backs including Kovalev, scoreless in 9, Plekanec, pointless in 6 and Higgins, pointless in 5. Things to remember for next game: key faceoffs must be won, passing over shooting should not always be the first instinct but most of all, no stupid penalties while on the powerplay (Lang!).

Notes: Markov played a total of 27:32... injuries for Montreal: Komisarek(shoulder), Latendresse(upper body)... Kostopoulos recorded a goal and an assist... Kostitsyn marked his 3rd of the year... Roman Hamrlik left the game late in the third when he got a puck straight in the face off a stick deflection.

Big Win for Montreal in SO

This is exactly what Montreal needs going into home match up against Boston: a win. Not as many mistakes as we have seen in the games before, however, there are still a few headaches that need to be sorted out. The puck is taking too long to get out of their end. The transition game has to be much quicker and to do that, passes need to be much more accurate. Nevertheless, a good win for Montreal given the current circumstances that they are under.
The Sens' started the game as Montreal should have done for the past 3 weeks: flying. They were winning the one-on-one battles, finishing their checks and the fore checking was superb. All that hard work payed off when sniper Dany Heatley finished a scramble in front of the net for his 11th of the season. Later in the period on the powerplay, the Lang-Koivu-Kovalev line showed us just how hard they have been working in practise on the powerplay. Koivu received a pass from Kovy, and wrapped around the side of the net to slide his 7th underneath Auld's pads. It's now the second goal in two games on the powerplay for this line. The period ended 1-1.
There was no scoring in the second period, but Carey Price stopped what should have been a gimme. He slid along the ice and stretched out his pad to just deny the Ottawa player from taking the lead.
Foligno scored the go-ahead goal for Ottawa on the PP. It was a penalty taken by Ryan O'Byrne, who has taken many penalties thus far... Later in the game, Montreal was in desperate need for a goal. Finally, after receiving his own rebound, Markov slapped in a rocket from the point to tie the game. At this point, the game was Montreal's to lose. They were putting on the pressure by creating scoring chances, taking lots of shots and moving the puck around really well. The game could have easily gone Ottawa's way when Latendresse took a high-sticking penalty right before the end of regulation, but Montreal managed to kill off the penalty in OT.
Off to the shootout. Spezza marked on the first shot of the shootout followed by a miss by Kovalev. Price then flashed the pad on captain Daniel Alfredsson, followed by a Markov goal through the legs of Auld along the ice. Ruutu went up next for Ottawa but was completly robbed by Price when he gloved it, this was followed by a Koivu miss. Vermette couldn't maintain control of the puck and missed the net completely. So now, a chance to win for Tanguay. He took the puck up the ice, and brought it to his backhand, and glided, and glided in until he slid it right through the pads of Alex Auld to win? Are you kidding me? How did Tanguay even score that? Well, I'll take that any day, but Montreal wins on one of the lamest penalty shot winners I have ever seen.

Notes: Koivu now is tied in the lead with Tanguay for most points on Montreal with 17... Sergei Kostitsyn added two assists tonight (he now has 9 points)... Price made 21 saves... Lapierre was scratched for the third game straight.

Game Preview: Habs @ Senators

Tonight will be another match up that features two teams who are struggling for points. Ottawa is now 6-9-3 and next to last in the league. It's amazing how a team can go from setting records on wins to completely blowing up. Montreal (10-5-2) is slowly turning into that kind of team. They've been losing games that should have been wins. That might have something to do with the lack of offense. They only have 5 goals in the last 6 games.
New lineups tonight, again for Montreal. Carbo reunites Lats with Koivu and Tanguay, switches Higgins and Kostitsyn's places meaning that Higgins is with Plekanec and Kovy while Kostitsyn is with Lang and Kostopoulos. And, for what ever reason, the fourth line is shaping out to be Sergei Kostitsyn with Laraque and Begin. Don't expect S.Kostitsyn to be there for long though, he's not a fourth liner. Maybe the purpose is to send a message, or Carbo's completely lost his mind.
Price is starting in net once again. Hopefully he'll be able to repeat his next-to-perfect performance Tuesday.

Another One Slipped Away...

Well, the title pretty much says it all. Montreal had the lead and the momentum going into the third but, couldn't get the job done.
No scoring in the first period. Mostly physical play on both sides. Jarkko's brother Tuomo Ruutu (Hey, their names rhyme :D), showed that the ability to be a jerk runs in the family. He hit Plekanec into the Carolina bench, and then cross-checked him.
This was Montreal's most impressive period I've seen them play in the last week or so. Finally, a goal on the PP! Lang finished a nice pass-and-play from Kovalev and Koivu to put the Habs up 1-0. After the goal, Montreal was playing with some real determination. I really thought that they were going to take the game at that point.
The third period's scoring was opened by ex-Canadien Sergei Samsonov. That was Samsonov's 1st goal of the season, showing everyone that he really is worth every penny of his 3.5 million dollar a year contract. Later in the period, defenseman Ryan O'Byrne took a foolish interference penalty on Ruutu (well, you can't blame him for that). This proved to be costly as the Canes' took a 2-1 lead from R.Whitney. This put the crowd and the momentum on Carolina's side. Montreal simply couldn't generate any decent opportunities to score other then a post shot from A.Kostitsyn. Carolina held on to the lead and the game ended 2-1.
Once again, Price had to stand on his head for the Habs, having to put up with 48 shots. Incredibly, only 2 got by him. Tanguay has had better nights, he couldn't string a pass or stick handle the puck if his life depended on it tonight.

Notes: Lapierre and Laraque were healthy scratches for the second game in a row... Kovalev has now gone 7 games without a goal... Montreal totaled 5 penalties tonight... Koivu picked up his 16th point of the season (6 goals, 10 assists)

Game Preview: Habs @ Hurricanes

The second game of Montreal's 3 game road trip is tonight in Carolina. Carolina (9-7-2), who by the way are sporting some new jerseys, is having trouble putting the puck in the net averaging only 1.83 goals per game. A large part of that is the lack production from 24 year old Eric Staal. Staal, who had 38 goals and 44 assists last season, only has 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in 18 games. Players to look out for: veterans Ray Whitney (4 goals, 10 assists) and Rod Brind'Amour (7 goals, 6 assists).
If Montreal would like another W, they need to stay out of the box. They got 9 penalties in St. Louis. Also, hopefully special teams coach Doug Jarvis has erased the board on the powerplay and started from scratch because it ain't working. Montreal has gone 2 and 36 on the powerplay.
Carbo has decided to stay with his new line of Tanguay-Koivu-Kovalev. Montreal needs production and we all have our fingers crossed that this will be it the answer. Price is starting in net tonight and

Habs Edge Blues in Shootout Win

It was a frustrating night for Montreal. Carbo switched up the lines to see what could work. There were 3 post hits and 10 scoreless powerplays for Montreal. But, you have to take into account that Montreal played last night and that fatigue played a factor in the game tonight. All in all, in was another very ordinary game for the struggling Habs.
S.Regier marked first for St. Louis 3:48 into the game. The very dull first period ended 1-0.
Ending his 11 game goal drought, sniper A.Kostitsyn brought the puck from his end of the ice, stick handling his way towards the net sneaking the puck between the legs of M.Legace. It was a much needed goal for the winger, who has not been the same player since being nailed in Phoenix.
Finally, on the 13th powerplay of the night, S.Regier scored with the man advantage. Higgins was the one who took the penalty. In my opinion, Higgins has had better nights. Now 2-1 Blues, Montreal had to get something, and that was what they got. At 15:48, Lang batted in his own rebound to tie the game.
Off to OT, which started with a powerplay for St. Louis. Montreal killed the penalty well, but scary moment in the thick of it. While blocking a shot, defender Bouillon took a puck straight to the throat. However, at the end of the game, we were informed that there were no serious injuries.
For the first two shots in the shootout, all Price had to do was stand in the middle of the net. B.Boyes' shot went over the night and Perron's shot was straight at Carey. Koivu lost the puck in a deke and A.Kostitsyn banged his shot off the right post. K.Tkachuk was stopped by Price to give Kovalev an opportunity to win. Kovalev brought the puck up, and shifted to his backhand, which he made no mistake in roofing.

Notes: A.Kostitsyn now has 6 points this season (tonight adding a goal and an assist)... Lang scored his 5th goal... 19 penalties were called tonight (38 minutes), and only 1 goal was scored among all of them... Price is 8 for 10 in the shootout

Game Preview: Habs @ Blues

Tonight's game will showcase two struggling teams. St. Louis finally snapped a 6 game losing streak on Friday. I'm curious to see what Carbo will do to win this game. Having watched the previous game at the Bell Centre with my dad, brother and uncle, we have formulated a few conclusions as to what the Habs need to do.
Line 1: Higgins-Koivu-Tanguay. This has been the production line for Montreal this year. However, they move the puck around way too much. There are too many blind passes and attempts for flashy plays that just aren't working. New game plan: Slow it down, and make it simple. Fire more pucks at the net (and actually hit the net).
Line 2: A.Kostitsyn-Plekanec-Kovalev. The former first line for Montreal. What is with these guys? There isn't the same drive as last season. As Carbo said at the press conference following the last night's game: "We did some nice things last year, but last year is last year. When you start a new season you don't start with 20 goals or 13 assists or 40 assists, you start at zero. You have to work for those points, and right now we have guys who think they're working, but they're not working."
Line 3: S.Kostitsyn-Lang-Latendresse. The one thing that has to improve on this line is shot accuracy. They are creating opportunities, but not hitting the net. The master of blowing away goals is Lang. I count 5 should have been goals wasted by the Czech. With a salary of 4 million, he better smarten up.
Line 4: Laraque-Kostopoulos-Lapierre-Dandenault-Begin. Don't change a thing. Each and every one of these guys are playing for a spot in the lineup and with a chip on their shoulders.

All Defenseman: Markov is playing like a 5.5 million dollars a year player and Gorges and Bouillon have solidified their spots on the starting lineups. O'Byrne has the potential and if he keeps playing with a veteran (like Hamrlik). Komisarek played a shaky game against Boston making many mistakes and the Breezer's got to go.

Goaltenders: Inconsistency is the problem with Price and Halak. One night, they'll look like stars, and the other, could be a flat performance. They both have the potential of number 1 goaltenders and are promising for the future. The thing to remember: Don't get discouraged after letting in weak goals.

Another Game Blown Away

On the day that I went to go see the Habs, they blew it once again. It wasn't that the effort wasn't there, it was the finishing. Montreal missed injured Mike Komisarek (out for three game road trip with sore hand/shoulder) on the blue line. There were too many holes in the back and the Flyers must have had 4 odd man rushes for the night.
The first period was relatively even, Montreal couldn't capitalize on back-to-back powerplays. Remember last year, the Habs had the number 1 powerplay in the NHL. It's a problem that has to be resolved quickly. However, there was one positive coming out of the period. Big Georges Laraque silenced his critics by utterly destroying J.Gratton in a fight. He landed a few punches, knocking off Gratton's helmet and never slowed down. Gratton never had a chance and, fell down to end the fight.
5:30 into the second, S.Upshall tipped in a shot from M.Richards for the Flyers. This, followed by a breakaway goal scored by J.Carter, were the Flyers only goals in this game. The period ended 2-0 Philly.
The Canadiens came out flying in the third. They had all the possession and were moving the puck around real well. Carbo rotated the first three lines around, putting Lats back on the Koivu and Tanguay line, Higgins with Plekanec and Kovy and A.Kostitstyn with his brother and Lang. This seemed to work out well for the Canadiens. At 9:44 into the game, Tanguay scored in front of the net off a pass by Koivu. At this point, the stadium was ready for another comeback. The Habs were really pressing and created many opportunities and even had a powerplay with just over 3 minutes to go. This was it, Montreal's chance to tie the game, the crowd was ready, I was ready but were they ready for it? Nope, they tanked for the rest of the game and couldn't get any chance to score.
4 losses in the last 5 games, "Ca presse" as they say in Quebec. They better start picking it up, or we could see some very drastic changes real soon.

Notes: Jaroslav Halak played a solid game, making 29 saves... Steve Begin played, having been scratched for the past 4 games... Plekanec, Kovalev and A.Kostitsyn have played three games without recording a point

Game Preview: Flyers @ Habs

I don't think I have to remind everyone of Montreal's brutal effort last game. But as a wise man once told me, "you wipe it up, and move on". And for some odd reason, as I prepare myself for to depart for the Bell Centre in a few hours, I believe that that is just what the Canadiens will do.
Philadelphia is another team with a Montreal monkey on it's back. The Habs have beaten the Broad Street Bullies seven-times consecutively in the regular season outscoring them 28-13. However, with red-hot Simon Gagne back in the lineup, the Flyers could prove to be a good contest. Gagne has 10 goals and 8 assists. Him and Captain Mike Richards lead the Flyers with 18 points each.
Mike Komisarek has been placed on the injured reserve list. After a scrap with Boston's Lucic, he hurt his right hand in what appears to be a fracture. So, the stay-at-home defenseman will likely be replaced by the Breezer (whom we wish would just stay at home). Whether Sergei Kostitsyn is playing or not will be decided in the pre-game warm-up. Halak is starting in net and Steve Begin is in the lineup.
The one thing for Montreal that hasn't really clicked up until this point, is former first line: Kostitsyn-Plekanec-Kovalev. They have all had average starts so far this season, but my instincts tell me that they will break out and return to their original form, sooner rather than later.
Well, this is a big night for the Habs. If they lose, they'll have lost 4 in the last 5 and the panic buttons might have to be pressed. But that's only if.

Montreal Gets Taste of Their Own Medicine

Coming off a superb performance on Tuesday night, Montreal followed it up by one of the worst games of the season. What is it going to take to get the message through their thick heads? This was Montreal's game to lose. The Bruins returned to Boston at 3:45AM this morning after a long game going to a shootout in Chicago which left many Habs fans asking the simple question: How on earth did we lose?
The Bruins played the game plan to perfection: Get a big lead early, and defend it. And that is exactly what they did. S.Thornton, S.Yelle and M.Sturm scored to put the Bruins up 3-0 at the end of the first.
A couple of penalties were taken by Bouillon and Price at the beginning of the second. Boston capitalized from a goal from Sturm. It took the Canadiens 13:34 to record a shot in the period, which Koivu scored on.
There is not much else to say in the game. Yelle scored his second of the night in the third period.
Komisarek's head was up in the clouds on the first goal and frankly, for the entire game. He made wayward passes, got beaten to the puck and even lost a scrap to Milan Lucic. Carey Price was far from the shutout performance from last night allowing 6 goals in 31 shots. The only positive thing about the night was the fourth line (Dandenault-Lapierre-Laraque). These guys were the only ones working their butts off. As they say on RDS, Chapeaux a eux.
The coaching staff has done their part, now it's time for someone to step up in the dressing room. Koivu's going to have to slap all of these guys across the face for Carbonneau a second time around. A 6-1 loss to the Bruins, having gone 12-0-0 against them is just as embarrassing as losing to the Buds.

Game Preview: Habs @ Bruins

Tonight will be the toughest game of the week for Montreal (9-2-2). Montreal is currently enjoying a regular season 12 game winning streak against the Bruins which goes back to the 2006-07 season. However, Boston has made huge steps of improvement every season. Under the management of former Habs coach Claude Julien, Boston is 9-3-3 and leading the Northeast Division. Montreal won the last meeting 3-2 in a SO which was not a convincing win. The game could have easily gone Boston's way.
Thomas has been exceptional for Boston, having let in only 7 goals in his last 6 and a stellar 1.76 GAA on the season. Higgins, coming off a hat-trick performance on Tuesday, will look to keep the momentum going tonight. Many are saying that his season will now kick in to gear. Look for him to contribute tonight. Also, look for Boston's Shawn Thornton to be his idiotic self, and most likely be looking for trouble. Hopefully he bumps into Laraque along the way.
As they say, good things must always come to an end, just hopefully not tonight.

Ruutu Suspended for 2

Ottawa forward Jarkko Ruutu got nailed by the league with a 2 game suspension because of his elbow to the head on Montreal's Maxim Lapierre. I believe that his wave to the crowd during his exit might have to do with it as well. This suspension, is rightfully deserved.

Redemption for the Habs at the Bell Centre

Ah, so there is a god! Montreal just proved to everyone what they can do when they work hard for a full 60 minutes. A 4-0 win against Ottawa is a perfect remedy for that horrible effort in Toronto. From the second the puck dropped, the Habs came out flying. Chris Higgins opened the scoring from a long lofted pass from Koivu. He brought the puck up the left side on the breakaway and sniped it short side top shelf. The period ended 1-0.
Near the end of the second period, Higgins scored his second goal of the night off a pretty pass from S.Kostitsyn. Shortly after, Latendresse scored a much needed goal straight off the draw. The period ended 3-0.
In the 3rd period, J.Ruutu put himself on the same level as Sean Avery. He went headhunting, for whatever reason, and elbowed Maxim Lapierre in the face. F.Bouillon, showing us his true character, stood up for his teammate and dropped the gloves with this fool. Later in the game, Ruutu received a 10 minute misconduct and heard an entire stadium shower him with boos. Being the classy player he is, he started waving to the crowd with a smile on his face. :) Enough with this moron. After a pass from Tanguay, Higgins was set free on the breakaway, making no mistake beating goalie Auld for the third time tonight.
It was tough to choose for the first star tonight: First time hat-trick hero Higgins, Shutout goaltender Carey Price or Montreal's coaching staff for kicking these guys back into gear. I'll let you be the judge of that one.

Notes: Tanguay got his team leading 15th point of the season... Price made 28 saves for his first shutout of the season... Gorges recorded a rare 2 point night

Game Preview: Senators @ Habs

To start off, I would like to point out that coach Guy Carbonneau held a team meeting before Monday's practise. He wanted to point out the many mistakes made by the team, by video, in the embarassing 6-3 loss to the Leafs. This, followed by a highly intense practise, will hopefully send a message to the hard-headed Habs: Don't ever let up!
Tonight will be a test for the team. Ottawa is currently 4-1-1 in their last 6 games. Sens' goalie Alex Auld will start tonight. Auld is leading the league in GAA at 1.84 and is a huge part of the Sens' recent success.
Roman Hamrlik returns to the lineup after missing Saturday's game with a shoulder injury and Price will start in net. Replacing suspended Kostopoulos, is 32 year old Mathieu Dandenault. He said: "I have an oppurtunity tonight, and I want to make the most of it."

Kostopoulos Suspended 3 Games

The league has decided to suspend Tom Kostopoulos for 3 games because of his check from behind on Leafs' defenceman Mike Van Ryn. Because of that hit, Van Ryn broke his nose and finger and got a concussion which will keep him out for a month.

Recap Up to This Point

Montreal is 8-2-2 and 5th in the conference with games in hand on every team. They are 4-1-0 at home and 4-2-1 away. In the conference, they are tied for second in goals against (34) and tied for third in goals for (43).
Having both gotten 14 points up to this point, Tanguay (7G, 7A) and Markov (1G, 13A) are proving to be worth every penny of their 5.25 and 5.5 million dollars a year contracts. Markov is tied for 1st among all defenceman in points.
Kovy and Koivu are playing consistently well, having both recorded 12 points (5G, 7A apiece). Koivu, is leading the Habs in plus/minus at plus 7.
Latendresse is on a bit of a cold streak having only recorded 1 point in his last 7 games. He went off to a quick start getting 6 points in the first 5 games.
Price and Halak both have a GAA of 2.60. Price has a record of 6-2-1 although he and Halak haven't looked as solid as they did at the start of the season.
Players to look out for on the Habs: Plekanec, the Kostitsyns, Higgins.

Canadiens get outplayed and embarassed by Buds

Well, the Habs opted not to show up tonight, once again. Toronto capitalized on that and outplayed the Canadiens in almost every department.
The night heated up when Kostopoulos nailed M.Van Ryn from behind. He got 2 minutes for roughing, a 5 minute major and to top it off, thrown out of the game! On that powerplay, which was extended even longer because of a penalty from Lang, Hagman opened the scoring for the Leafs. The period ended 1-0 in favor of Toronto.
The second period counted a combined six goals (3 from Toronto, 3 from Montreal), making it the most exciting part of the game. M.Grabovski scored on the PP to make it 2-0 Leafs. Then, after three consecutive goaltender interference penalties by Toronto, Montreal capitalized. Lang banged in a rebound in front of the net followed by pretty goal from Plekanec who received a perfect pass from S.Kostitsyn. But, Toronto responded 2 min. later by a second goal from Hagman. Koivu sniped a flawless top right corner shot from the left side side faceoff circle. The period ended 4-3 with a garbage goal scored by Antropov after a scramble in the crease.
There wasn't much good by the Canadiens in the third period. P.Kubina scored 1:13 into the period to make it 5-3. There was a point with about 5 min. to go, where Montreal started to move the puck around nicely, and started to create chances. But, Toronto cancelled any hope of a comeback when M.Stajan scored to add even more salt in the wound.
All in all, it was a very disappointing night for Montreal. Not being able to score a goal on even strength against one of the worst defences in the NHL is something I frown upon. Also, the Habs took way too many penalties. They finished the night with 39 penalty minutes. Maybe the Leafs have changed since the 6-1 blowout back in September. One things' for sure, we won't have to face these punks until January.

Notes: Toronto totaled 41 shots, while Montreal only had 20... 7 Toronto players had 2 or more points... Tanguay and Markov both recorded their team-leading 14th points... Hamrlik missed the game because of a shoulder injury

Game Preview: Habs @ Leafs

Coming off a slightly disappointing 4-3 SO loss to the Blue Jackets last night, Montreal will hope to rebound against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. Toronto, (5-5-4, 18th in league) have been raising eyebrows around the league. They have upset the likes of the Devils, the Rangers and the Bruins. So don't expect another 6-1 blowout. However, if the Leafs would like a chance against the Canadiens, they need to stay out of the penalty box as the Canadiens tallied 3 times on the man advantage last time they played.
Look for Sergei Kostitsyn to be hungry for points tonight. Kostitsyn, who sent the last night's game to OT after scoring with 40 secs to go, has been picked a little after his 7-game point drought. He recorded 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) for the Habs in their last game against the Buds. Also, keep an eye out for our old friend Mikhail Grabovski. Grabovski has 6 points in his last 3 games and would love to extend his point streak against his old team.
No changes in the lineup tonight, except for Price starting in net, meaning Begin, Dandenault and O'Byrne are healthy scratches for the second night in a row.
What the Habs need to remember for the night, is to play hard ALL game long. Toronto will find a way back into the game if they let up.

Habs Drop Point in Shootout Loss

Having had a five day break, the Habs were well rested and healthy. On top of that, they got to play Columbus (now 6-6-2 and 17th in the league), in what should have been an easy one. But, Montreal decided to take it easy. As if they hadn't learned their lesson from playing the Islanders.
After 2 dull starting periods, Montreal went into the 3rd period tied 1-1 (Hab-killer/RJ Umberger scored followed by Tanguay on the PP). Brisebois tallied for the Canadiens on a rare pointshot goal on the powerplay. Now a goal up, Montreal sat back and relaxed, as apparently the night was done. Only 2:30 minutes later, M.Methot and F.Modin scored two quick ones to put Columbus up 3-2. So the tables turned real quickly on the Canadiens. After a few needless penalties, Montreal finally started to put on the pressure late into the game. With nearly a minute to go in the game, Halak was called to the bench and an extra player was sent out. Plekanec pushed the Jackets' defender off the puck, A. Kostitsyn picked up the puck behind the net and made a beautiful pass to younger brother Sergei who one-timed it under the pads of C.Mason to tie up the game.
The shootout was quick and sad. Columbus outplayed Halak on the first 2 shots beating him both times (K.Huselius and D. Brassard) while neither Tanguay nor A.Kostitsyn could score on both their opportunities. The game ended with a final score of 4-3 for the Blue Jackets.

Notes: Plekanec got 2 assists tonight and now has 9 points for the season (3G, 6A)... Tanguay scored his team-leading 7th goal... Markov played a total of 28:32 min... Montreal was perfect on the PK (8 for 8)