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.