Canadiens-Predators: Habs Waste Record-Tying Performance by Price

Montreal 0 Nashville 2 (Sommet Arena)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

Canadiens coach Jacques Martin may have been hired for his language skills but not because he is a good quote. On his goaltender's effort, Martin was master of the obvious, "He performed well, there is no doubt."

Martin was describing Carey Price's 53 save performance that tied a Canadiens franchise record first set by Wayne Thomas in March 1974 vs the Pittsburgh Penguins. Price was brilliant with numerous hi-light reel saves.

Price turned away the Predators who were on a shot per minute pace for the first two periods.

Granted, tonight's game was not in the same class Team Canada's 47-0 win over Denmark at the 1949 World Hockey Championships in Stockholm. Yet, shot totals of 24-to-4 after one period, and 42-to-10 after two are indicative of the lopsided level of play.

Pekka Rinne commented on the lack of Habs' shots saying, "I should have brought my iPod." Indeed. Or perhaps he could have been live tweeting from the crease. Hmm.

With Price making save after save, the Canadiens found themselves only one goal down for most of the game. Steve Sullivan scored his second goal of the game on a 5-on-3 power play with just over seven minutes left in the game.

As coach Martin said, "It's unfortunate that his (Price) teammates didn't take advantage of a performance like that."

Predators coach Barry Trotz chalked it up to a solid game plan. "You break down teams' defense when you put it on net. They are scrambling for pucks, they are reaching, and we are being firm in their offensive zone."

But let's not confuse Nashville with a contender. Coming into tonight's game, the Predators were tied for last in the league in goals with 37.

While the Predators can be credited for their offensive pressure, the Canadiens didn't even look like they were trying. Besides Price, Tomas Plekanec and Jay Leach are the only two players who deserve a positive mention.

Guillaume Latendresse was supposed to spend tonight's game in the press box but got the equivalent of a last minute call from the governor when Brian Gionta couldn't play. So what did Latendresse do with the reprieve? It was another uninspired effort leaving the coach no option but to limit his ice-time to just under eight minutes.

Similarly, Max Lapierre was given the opportunity to start on the first line to fill the spot of Gionta. Lapierre was not up to the task and promptly found himself on the fourth line. Travis Moen and Tom Pyatt were the recipients of extra minutes. Even Ryan White got a turn on the no. 1 line. Andrei Kostitsyn was invisible.

Jaroslav Spacek, still suffering the effects of his leg injury, was not himself. Marc-Andre Bergeron was, which meant two egregious giveaways in the first ten minutes of the game.

Roman Hamrlik continues to log huge minutes but that is no excuse that both he and Spacek gave up on the play that led to the first Nashville goal. Sullivan was left alone to pot his own rebound after Price made the initial save. It was downhill from there.

Injuries aside, the talent level on the Canadiens is not as poor as this team looked tonight. Perhaps after the 20 game mark, it's time for the coach to find a way to get the best out of his players.

Rocket's three stars

1. Carey Price
2. Steve Sullivan
3. Shea Weber


(photo credit: AP)

Live Blogging & Chat: Canadiens vs Predators

Game No. 20: Canadiens vs Predators -- Pre-Game Notes

Pre-game notes

Guillaume Latendresse will be a healthy scratch tonight. Finally, Jacques Martin's patience has been exhausted. Kyle Chipchura will take his place.

Jaroslav Spacek has a leg bruise and will be a game-time decision.

Carey Price will use the tribute mask to his country music idols, Garth Brooks & George Strait, for the game in Nashville.

Canadiens are 7-2-1-1 lifetime against the Predators.

Habs are looking for their first three road game win streak.

Francis Bouillon will face his former teammates for the first time.


Game time is 8 pm. EST. at the Sommet Center.

expected Canadiens lineup

Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri
Plekanec, Pyatt, Andrei Kostitsyn
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Lapierre, White, Chipchura

Hamrlik, Spacek (GTD)
Mara, Gorges
Bergeron, Leach

Carey Price starts in goal for the Canadiens; Pekka Rinne for the Predators.

scratches: Carle, Latendresse, Stewart, D'Agostini (concussion), Laraque (upper body), Gill (leg), Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)

Habs I/O: More Twitter Controversy

Here's a few examples from a humorous look at the Walsh controversy. The complete list can be found at Habs Inside/Out.

Habs Inside/Out
posted by Chris Aung-Thwin
Nov 13 at 1h03 EST

What would Allan Walsh have tweeted during the Montreal/Phoenix game?

Interesting stat… 100% of Price’s wins have come when the Habs score goals…hmmm

Teams have book on Price – miss the net and deflect puck off skate. Look for it – teams will keep taking advantage.

Interesting possibility: if Yotes had re-located to Hamilton with Balsillie, Price would not have won in Phoenix tonight.

@All_Habs – I am very professional.

Interesting observation…. Price can’t stop shots after being hit in the throat with a stick…hmmm

Forbes: NHL Franchise Valuations

NHL Team Valuations
Forbes.com
11.11.09, 06:00 PM

		Current Value1 ($mil)	1-Yr Value Change (%)	Debt/Value2 (%)	Revenue ($mil)	Operating Income3 ($mil)
1	Toronto Maple Leafs	470	5	31	168	78.9
2	New York Rangers	416	1	0	139	27.7
3	Montreal Canadiens	339	2	71	130	31.3
4	Detroit Red Wings	337	11	0	130	27.4
5	Philadelphia Flyers	273	-1	24	101	3.1
6	Boston Bruins	271	3	44	108	11.6
7	Chicago Blackhawks	258	26	0	108	20.9
8	Dallas Stars	246	-10	81	97	12.4
9	Vancouver Canucks	239	1	46	109	20.3
10	New Jersey Devils	223	0	112	97	1.4
11	Pittsburgh Penguins	222	14	45	93	3.3
12	Minnesota Wild	210	-3	54	95	1.3
13	Los Angeles Kings	208	-1	79	92	10.6
14	Anaheim Ducks	206	2	17	94	4.8
15	Colorado Avalanche	205	-11	16	84	3.4
16	Calgary Flames	200	-2	15	95	-0.8
17	Ottawa Senators	197	-5	66	90	-3.8
18	Tampa Bay Lightning	191	-4	55	80	-2.2
19	San Jose Sharks	184	3	24	84	-5
20	Washington Capitals	183	15	37	83	-4.9
21	Carolina Hurricanes	177	5	51	82	-4.6
22	St Louis Blues	176	9	68	80	-2.7
23	Buffalo Sabres	170	1	29	79	-5.2
24	Edmonton Oilers	166	-5	60	83	9.4
25	Columbus Blue Jackets	165	5	27	77	-9.9
26	Florida Panthers	159	-2	50	74	-13.6
27	Nashville Predators	156	-5	52	71	-5.7
28	New York Islanders	149	-3	67	62	-5.6
29	Atlanta Thrashers	143	-10	46	68	-1.8
30	Phoenix Coyotes	138	-3	101	66	-18.5

Revenues and operating income are for 2008-2009 season. 1 Value of team based on current arena deal (unless new arena is pending), without deduction for debt (other than arena debt). 2 Includes arena debt. 3 Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Canadiens-Coyotes: Special Teams are Truly Special

Montreal 4 Phoenix 2 (Jobing.com Arena)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

It was a good night for the Canadiens' special teams. The Habs scored two power play goals, on two opportunities, and a four-on-four goal. Their final goal was scored into an empty Phoenix net.

Canadiens' penalty killers were perfect on four power play chances by the Coyotes. The Canadiens had several short-handed scoring chances, most notably by Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec.

The driving force behind the power-play and penalty killing unit is Plekanec. No Habs' forward plays more minutes on the two units than Plekanec. He tallied three assists to become the Canadiens' leader scorer for the season with 17 points.

Plekanec's consistent, high-level effort is deserving of the number one center spot, in my opinion. The Canadiens would be far more effective icing a first line with Plekanec, Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri. Gomez could be matched with Andrei and, dare I say, Sergei Kostitsyn, on the second line.

Cammalleri had a goal and an assist on a team-leading four shots. Gionta also had two points with an assist and an empty net goal. Glenn Metropolit was the other Habs' scorer on the power play.

Marc-Andre ended his eight game scoring slump. While Bergeron continued to struggle in his own zone tonight, he contributed a goal and two assists.

As has been written on these pages before, strong special teams' play can compensate for a number of team shortcomings. Tonight, it helped some overlook a weak first period in which the Habs had three shots on goal. By the end of the second, that number had only climbed to ten shots.

"There are two factors in determining a game: special teams and goaltending," said coach Jacques Martin. "Both of them tonight were key factors."

Carey Price faced only 20 Phoenix shots but had a solid game when called upon. Luck was not on Price's side for the two goals by the Coyotes. Price was accidentally stabbed in the throat by Paul Mara's stick, knocking him into the net. With Price out of the way, former Hab Robert Lang scored into the open side.

Phoenix's second goal was directed in off the skate of Paul Bissonnette.

On defense, Jaroslav Spacek left the game in the second period with an unspecified injury and did not return. His load was picked up by Mara, Roman Hamrlik, and Josh Gorges.

The announced attendance was 10,064, the fourth-highest total in nine home games this season. Arizona-based media report that the fans in the arena numbered approximately 6,500, with a significant portion donning red Habs gear.

Chants of "Ole Ole" were heard throughout the night, with fans singing the traditional "Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye" near the end of game with the Canadiens ahead.


Rocket's three stars

1. Tomas Plekanec
2. Mike Cammalleri
3. Adrian Aucoin


(photo credit: Getty)

Live Blogging & Chat: Canadiens vs Coyotes

Game No. 19: Canadiens vs Coyotes -- Pre-Game Notes

Pre-game notes

On today's Twitter topic of unpublished NHL books, my entry: "Tips for Promoting Your Client. Hmm." by Allan Walsh.

Carey Price plans to wear the Remembrance Day mask tonight that will later be auctioned to support Canadian Forces' families.

Ryan O'Byrne is skating with the team and joined the Habs on their two game road trip.

Thunder Bay is well represented tonight with Tom Pyatt playing for the Habs & his brother Taylor for Phoenix. Former NHL'er Nelson Pyatt (Detroit, Washington, Colorado) is the father of Tom and Taylor.

Robert Lang will be in the Phoenix lineup to face his former team for the first time after a season-ending achilles injury against the Bruins.

No targets on the jersey of Kurt Sauer who won't be in the lineup for the Coyotes. Sauer delivered a vicious head-shot that put Andrei Kostitsyn out for a few games out with a concussion last season. It was also memorable as Georges Laraque decided to pass on fighting Sauer. BGL said that Sauer, at 6'4" 225 lbs.,was too small to meet 'the code'.

Game time is 9 pm. EST.

expected Canadiens lineup

Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri
Plekanec, Pyatt, Andrei Kostitsyn
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Lapierre, White, Latendresse

Hamrlik, Spacek
Mara, Gorges
Bergeron, Leach

Carey Price starts in goal for the Canadiens; Ilya Bryzgalov for the Coyotes.

scratches: Carle, Chipchura, Stewart, D'Agostini (concussion), Laraque (upper body), Gill (leg), Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)

Flames-Canadiens: Habs Lack Firepower versus Flames

Montreal 0 Calgary 1 (Bell Centre)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

You have to give the Canadiens credit. It could have been worse. Much worse. Calgary is a very good hockey team. They have size, skill and three all-star caliber defensemen. And let's not forget a demanding coach in Brent Sutter who obviously designed the superior game plan tonight.

For a change, the Habs didn't leave their goaltender high and dry. They were able to play good defensive hockey. But it would seem that the Canadiens are not a team that can play well at both ends of the ice in the same game.

With a better defensive performance, Jaroslav Halak wasn't required to be spectacular, but he was solid all game long. The goal that beat him wasn't a hard shot but it was fired through the screen of Josh Gorges by Jarome Iginla.

Halak padded his stats with three wins in the third week of October though he wasn't a factor in any of the games. Tonight, Halak played very well and was challenged more than in those three games put together, yet didn't get the win. Welcome to the world of Carey Price.

It's simple. You can't win if you don't score.

The Canadiens kept the game close, and were even on the verge of tying the game had Scott Gomez not lost the handle on a breakaway. But more-so, the Flames seemed poised to break the game open at several points in the game with the Habs just holding on.

You have to love the hometown enthusiasm of the off-ice officials at the Bell Centre. The goal judge, perhaps hopefully, flashed the goal light in the third despite the fact that the Habs didn't come close. In addition, inexplicably, the official score-sheet shows that the Canadiens outhit the Flames 26-21.

For those watching the game, you will probably agree that the Habs were out-muscled in every zone of the ice. A telling statistic is that Ryan White led the Canadiens with five hits in only 5:19 of ice time.

For his part coach Jacques Martin didn't seem disappointed with his team's performance. "We need to create more on offence, but you have to give credit to the Flames -- they have one of the best defences in the league," said Martin. "We need more of a presence in front of the net, but that's something we'll have to work on."

Let's hope that Martin also starts to give some attention to the Canadiens' struggling special teams. The power play went 0-for-3 and didn't threaten. Marc-Andre Bergeron is a nightmare in his own zone and is not contributing to the power play.

The Habs were able to kill of all five Flames' power play opportunities but Calgary seemed to have their way in the Montreal zone with the man advantage.

While Jay Leach didn't make any glaring errors in his first game as a Canadien, he can't continue to be shutout in hits and blocked shots in future games if he hopes to stay in the lineup.

The Canadiens head out on the road for their next two games in Phoenix and Nashville.


Rocket's three stars

1. Miikka Kiprusoff
2. Mike Cammalleri
3. Jarome Iginla


(photo credit: Getty images)

Live Blogging & Chat: Flames vs Canadiens

Game #18: Flames vs Canadiens -- pre-game notes

Pre-game notes

Canadiens will wear the green and red sweaters of the 1910-11 Le Club Athletique Canadien.

Jay Leach makes his debut for the Habs in place of Mathieu Carle. Leach will wear #20 most recently worn by Robert Lang. Most notable #20's for the Habs include Peter Mahovlich and Phil Goyette. (It's a list that also includes Jyrki Lumme, Kjell Dahlin and Patrick Carnback) On his first game as a Canadien, Leach says, "I hope to be a non-factor in this game." (as per Marc Antoine Godin of La Presse)

expected lineup

Gomez, Gionta, Andrei Kostitsyn
Plekanec, Lapierre, Cammalleri
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Pyatt, White, Latendresse

Hamrlik, Spacek
Mara, Gorges
Bergeron, Leach

Jaroslav Halak starts in goal for the Canadiens; Miikka Kiprusoff for the Flames.

scratches: Carle, Chipchura, Stewart, D'Agostini (concussion), Laraque (upper body), Gill (leg), Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)

Canadiens: Cammalleri supports the courage of our troops

Tuesday, 10.11.2009 / 9:22 AM
Montreal Canadiens
PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL – Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Cammalleri launched a personal initiative that will provide tickets to 21 Canadiens home games in 2009-10 for Quebec soldiers and members of the Canadian Forces. The ticket donation program known as Cammy’s Heroes is Michael’s way to pay tribute to the men and women in the Forces and recognize the hardships and sacrifices they are faced with during their tour of duty.

This generous contribution made through the Military Families Fund will enable 21 members of the Canadian Forces and their loved ones to enjoy a memorable experience at the Bell Centre.

“I wanted to get involved with our troops and come up with something for the soldiers, because I have a great deal of admiration for their courage and commitment,” explains Cammalleri. On each of those 21 game nights, Michael’s guests will have the opportunity to meet with Michael for a few moments prior to the game, have their photo taken with him and receive a souvenir gift. Personalized greetings will also appear on the central scoreboard during the games.

“On behalf of the 2,000 soldiers from Quebec in the Forces who have courageously served our country overseas and who have returned from Afghanistan just a few days ago, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Michael Cammalleri for his gesture towards our valiant troops by inviting them to be part of the game,” said Brigadier General Guy Laroche, Commander of Land Forces Quebec Area.

About the Military Families Fund

The MFF allows for several areas of support beyond the limits of those programs already in place, by way of grants, including rehabilitation, education, financial assistance in the case of injury or death of a Canadian Forces member due to service, and urgent and extraordinary financial demands where the ability to provide family necessities is at risk.

Do Not Adjust Your Sets...

The Montreal Canadiens will wear the sweaters of the 1910-11 Le Club Athletique Canadien for their game on Tuesday night versus Calgary. 1910-11 was the second year for the franchise and the first to use the name "Canadien".

CAC competed in the National Hockey Association in a five team league with the Ottawa Hockey Club, Renfrew Creamery Kings, Montreal Wanderers and Quebec Bulldogs. The teams played a 16 game season.

The stars of the 1910-11 Canadiens team were Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre and the 'Chicoutimi Cucumber', Georges Vezina.

Canadiens Skills Competition

Mike Cammalleri versus Glen Metropolit

Both Cammalleri and Metropolit skillfully hit all four targets but Metropolit was awarded the victory as his shots were all slapshots, the last being a one-timer.



Video posted to YouTube by Willrick998

UPDATES: Walsh controversy

* Dave Stubbs of Habs Inside/Out has an excellent article in today's National Post and Montreal Gazette regarding Allan Walsh.

Agent creates instant goaltending controversy in Montreal

* It would appear that Allan Walsh miscalculated the outcome of his tweet about Carey Price. Perhaps he hoped to ignite the brush fire but be out of sight by the time other users fueled the blaze by re-sending his message throughout the twitter-verse. He probably didn't count on being challenged, and as a result, got burned.

Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that Walsh deleted the Price tweet and all messages sent to All Habs from his Twitter account. However, here's a screen shot of Walsh's account prior to the deletions. (thanks to @miss_georgia)



* You can watch Kelly Hrudey's reaction to my back and forth exchange with Allan Walsh in the following video clip at CBC. Discussion begins at about 5:15.

Hockey Night in Canada - Coast to Coast, Nov 7


* Here's another perspective on the controversy from Steven Hindle at Hockey Buzz:

Bad for Business - CBC and Allan Walsh Stir Habs Goalie Controversy


* The original article detailing the issue at All Habs

Hockey Night in Canada Takes Interest in All Habs' Feud

Hockey Night in Canada Takes Interest in All Habs' Feud

posted by Rocket
All Habs

Shortly after the final siren to tonight's game, as disappointed Habs fans were 'licking' their wounds, Twitter users read the following message:

"Interesting stat of the night....Price is 10W, 32L in last 42 starts. Hmm."

There was a fair bit of blame to go around for the loss, but this one couldn't be pinned on Price. But this is Montreal, and with no shortage of Price-haters, the "interesting stat" began to be re-tweeted.

Unknown to many Twitter users was that the source of the original message was none other than Allan Walsh, player agent for Jaroslav Halak. Walsh isn't exactly an objective source or a disinterested party.

I decided to reply to one user who had re-tweeted Walsh's original message and copied it to Walsh. My message set off a short back and forth between Walsh and I.


All Habs: "Not exactly an objective source. That stat came from Halak's agent. Advocacy like that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. @walsha"

Walsh: "Sorry you don't like the stat, if the stat was wrong, you may have a point..I was pointing out an interesting stat for fans."

All Habs: "I think we both know what the intent was. I would prefer seeing you present to fans, stats for your own client."

Walsh: "It's no secret who my client is....and very relevant stat as it relates to my client."


The Twitter conversation was monitored by Jeff Marek at Hockey Night in Canada. He raised it during the Coast to Coast segment during the first intermission of the Calgary Flames -- New York Rangers game.

Walsh's comments struck a nerve with HNIC's Kelly Hrudey.

Hrudey jumped on Walsh's comments saying, “It makes me sick. I hate it and I’ll tell you why. I have no problem with an agent sticking up for his client and telling management and whomever that this is what I think about my guy, the team and the direction and all that, but to make that public really annoys me."

Hrudey continued, "If I’m Carey Price, that’s already starting a fight between me and the other guy. I would actually go to the goalie the next day and say ‘You know what? Tell your agent to shut up!’ You know what, we have to work together in this whole thing and we do need competition and we have to battle through this but don't start doing that. Don't pit us against each other. Don't make a separation between the two of us that are in this together. That annoys me!”

Ron MacLean added,"It's a good point about the feud he's beginning without really knowing it."

I don't object to player agents advocating on behalf of their clients. It's their job. Whether they should be making a case to an NHL general manager rather than trying to shift public opinion is up for debate. But what I really object to is Walsh posting disparaging statistics about another player in order to indirectly promote his client. And it was done in a way that many fans would not recognize it was coming from the Halak camp.

Now Walsh is a self-described Sports Agent/Lawyer so a glib remark might be that its unrealistic to expect ethical behaviour. But I prefer to believe otherwise. In my opinion, it is outrageous to trash a client's teammate in public. It's also very unprofessional. Walsh was out of line trying to turn fans against Price in order to promote Halak's standing.

As Hrudey said, it could also ignite a dressing room controversy between Halak and Price. Is Walsh really trying to pit the two against each other?

It's not in Halak's best interest to have an agent who is creating drama. Jaro should be reigning Walsh in.

After the segment aired on CBC, Walsh sent the following Twitter message to Marek:

"It was a tongue in cheek comment not meant to be taken seriously, forgot it was Montreal and everyone loses a sense of humor."

So within the time period of a few hours, Walsh's description of his original message went from a "very relevant stat as it relates to my client" to essentially, a joke. And according to Walsh, it was the kind of joke that was lost on the citizens of Montreal.

Dave Stubbs, of Habs Inside/Out replied to Walsh on Twitter:

"Allan, Habs goaltending is NEVER a laughing matter, hasn't been since the days of Georges Vézina"

Stubbs is right. This is Montreal. Everything hockey-related is taken seriously. Walsh should and does know better. He knew exactly what he was doing. He is well aware that people are ready to pounce on any goalie controversy in this city.

But by doing it in a public way, Walsh wasn't doing his client any favors. This will hurt Halak in the end. I don't expect that his underhanded techniques are going to be good for business either.

After a Canadiens loss where goaltending was not to blame, Walsh's low maneuver was rather unwelcome. The last thing the Habs need is someone stirring up controversy for selfish reasons.

Lightning-Canadiens: Habs Strangled by Bolts

Montreal 1 Tampa Bay 3 (Bell Centre)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

Uninspired. That's the single word that comes to mind to summarize the Canadiens' effort in tonight's game.

How could that be? The Habs were coming off a big win over Boston on Thursday night. It was a game that they probably didn't deserve to win but for the brilliant play of Carey Price. Tonight the team had a chance to repay the favor.

They did not.

The game summary will show that the Canadiens outshot the Lightning 37-to-21, including 15-to-4 in the third period. I suppose that's why I slotted Bolts goaltender Antero Niittymaki in the third star slot. But as I write, I wonder if he needed to be there at all. Because what the game summary won't tell you is that very few of the Canadiens' 37 shots were good scoring chances.

Tonight's game summary also shows the Habs with a respectable 17 hits versus the Lightning's 23. But the Canadiens were getting knocked off the puck in all zones.

Given the way his team was playing, Price needed to be spectacular to have a chance to win. But tonight, he couldn't make up for the miscues of his teammates.

Shots after the first period may suggest a rather even play. But after a good start, the Canadiens were outshot 10-to-2 in the final 13 minutes.

The Canadiens had trouble clearing Tampa Bay forwards from in front of the net. On the Lightning's first goal, Ryan Malone was able to stand among three Habs and score after Price made two good saves.

Alex Tanguay scored his first career goal against the Canadiens to make it 2-0 after Price failed to steer a rebound to the corner and Roman Hamrlik lost coverage.

The third Tampa goal was scored in the last two minutes of the second period and resulted from some soft play in the Lightning's end. Coach Jacques Martin assigned blame to Guillaume Latendresse and Maxim Lapierre. The pair didn't see the ice in the third period.

"When we shortened the bench, I thought we've got to win some battles and get some production and I went with the people who were willing to go to war," said Martin.

Tomas Plekanec was the target of Vincent Lecavalier all night. Plekanec took the punishment (some penalty-worthy, yet uncalled) and played a good game. He finished at 79 percent in the faceoff circle.

In the second period, Plekanec was joined by Andrei Kostitsyn and yet another new linemate, Ryan White. Kostitsyn got the biggest ovation of the night when he destroyed two Lightning players on the same sequence while racing for a loose puck.

A disappointing game for all Habs fans which resulted in a few unanswered questions.

The fact is that the Canadiens have only scored one goal in each of their last two games. They were fortunate to win one of the games due to Price. Is Martin's system hampering the offense?

After a day or two of practise, will Jay Leach be a stop-gap measure until Ryan O'Byrne and Hal Gill are ready to return? Because Marc-Andre Bergeron is just not getting it done in his own zone.

And will Martin assign White to one of his top six forward positions for Tuesday's game or will he finally relent and admit it's time for Sergei Kostitsyn to rejoin the team?

Pre-game

Marie-Anne Fiset's rendition of the anthems left ears bleeding and most wishing for a quick return by Charles Prevost-Linton.

expected lineup

Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri
Plekanec, Lapierre, Latendresse
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Pyatt, Andrei Kostitsyn, White

Hamrlik, Spacek
Mara, Gorges
Bergeron, Carle

Carey Price starts in goal for the Canadiens; Antero Niittymaki for the Lightning.

scratches: Chipchura, Stewart, Leach, D'Agostini (concussion), Laraque (upper body), Gill (leg), Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)

Victor Hedman did not play for Tampa Bay.

Rocket's three stars

1. Ryan Malone
2. Tomas Plekanec
3. Antero Niittymaki


(photo credit: AP)

Live blogging & chat: Lightning vs Canadiens

Regulation Zeros / Overtime Heroes

Mike Cammalleri on his way to score his shootout goal versus the Bruins Thursday night.(Photo taken from habsinsideout.com).


posted by habsbloggergirl

Price’s expression at the end of the shootout Thursday night said it all. The game’s first star was a mixed bag of emotions; confident, tough, determined and even a little frustrated. And, he had every right to be.

For what seems like the millionth time, the Habs played one of their signature wishy-washy games: good enough, but not wonderful, for most of 3 periods, only to have it crumble in the last few minutes.

Another night, another trip to overtime. It’s so common this year that it’s not even that much of a novelty anymore. We have only had 1 win in regulation. ONE. It reminds me of those Leafs jokes that have been going around the past few weeks, you know the... “What does a triangle have that the Leafs don’t?” ones (the answer being 3 points)? Kinda sad that it can easily be applied to us (3 points in regulation anyway).

But then again, is it? Sad, I mean. We may not be able to finish during the game but we sure as hell finish during the extra five and the shootout. Our goalies seem to handle the extra pressure extremely well (in fact in most cases Carey and Jaro were the real heroes), and our forwards and D-men step it up. And we win. Every single time.

I don’t know about you, but lately I have almost felt relief when we went into OT. Sudden death OT should not = relief.... but for some reason, this year it does. We know how to finish and we want to, but can’t seem to do it in regulation... but in OT something changes.

Maybe we are just generous. Here Toronto... 2 games, 2 points on us, free of charge! Atlanta? Here’s one for you too, no need to even ask! And the Islanders... since we beat you by so much the first time, one for you too, no big deal!

Maybe we thrive in pressure situations.

Maybe we are only willing to take a risk when it matters most.

Who knows?

But more importantly, who cares? Its working right... why question it?

The thing is, there may come a day (cross your fingers that it’s not in the foreseeable future) where we won’t be able to finish. What then?

What then indeed.

Instead of waiting for that day to come, let’s hope the Canadiens can go on a scoring spree the next few games and rack up a few regulation wins. They have been working overtime this season (no pun intended), and with all the injuries on defence, they deserve a little bit of a break.

Though it’s a little too early to think about playoffs (though come to think of it, it’s never too early), today we sit in 8th, just one point ahead of Tampa. Coincidentally, we are playing them tomorrow night. We need to win, and although the Habs love to give, it’d be nice to be on the receiving end of two points tomorrow night, within the 60 minutes.

Though if we do go to overtime, I wouldn’t be too worried.

Canadiens: Jay Leach claimed off waivers

The Montreal Canadiens also announced that Alex Henry, D, currently playing in Hamilton, has been placed on waivers.

Friday, 06.11.2009 / 2:15 PM
Montreal Canadiens
PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL --Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey announced Friday that defenseman Jay Leach was claimed off re-entry waivers from the New Jersey Devils.

Leach, 30, has amassed 3 points (3 assists) and served 10 penalty minutes in 12 games with the AHL Lowell Devils this season. Since 2005-06, the Syracuse, New York native registered 1 point (1 assist) with an even +/- rating and 28 penalty minutes in 28 career regular-season games in the NHL, with Boston, Tampa Bay, and New Jersey. Leach played in 24 games with the Devils in 2008-09.

The 6’05’’, 225 lbs defenseman who shoots left was the Phoenix Coyotes fifth round pick (115th overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He totalled 480 penalty minutes in 353 regular season games in the AHL.

Fighting: Just like Chess

by Hawerchuk
Behind the Net
Nov 5, 2009 9:15 AM EST

So how do we figure out who the best fighter in the NHL is? First, we need to know who won every fight that takes place in the league. Hockey-fights.com is an absolutely indispensable resource in this regard - its users vote on who won and lost every fight. But it's not enough - a heavyweight who fights only in his weight class might have a .500 record despite being one of the better fighters in the league.

As usual, chess has the answer we're looking for: the ELO rating system, which handicaps players based on their past performance. Using ELO, the loser of a bout between top-ranked fighters will be penalized far less than if he lost to an unknown or a poor fighter. Here are the rankings for serious fighters using all fights during the 2006-07 through 2008-09 season:

Player	Ft	In	Wt	Fights	W	L	T	GP	Fights/82
Georges Laraque	6	3	253	30	24	3	3	177	13.9
D.J. King	6	3	229	22	16	2	4	89	20.3
Derek Boogaard	6	8	257	29	21	6	2	133	17.9
Donald Brashear	6	3	234	37	23	9	5	220	13.8
Wade Belak	6	5	225	28	17	7	4	165	13.9
Milan Lucic	6	3	228	24	18	4	2	149	13.2
Aaron Downey	6	1	215	15	9	1	5	81	15.2
Raitis Ivanans	6	4	256	39	21	11	7	215	14.9
Colton Orr	6	3	222	52	31	16	5	209	20.4
Eric Godard	6	4	214	44	20	15	9	164	22

No matter how you slice the data, Laraque was going to be #1. His 24-3-3 record against no-one but tough guys is unmatched.

And what about the less-frequent fighters?

Player	Ft	In	Wt	Fights	W	L	T	GP	Fights/82
Zdeno Chara	6	9	255	7	5	0	2	237	2.4
Sheldon Souray	6	4	233	8	7	0	1	188	3.5
Gary Roberts	6	2	215	6	5	1	0	137	3.6
Kevin Bieksa	6	0	205	15	13	1	1	187	6.6
Craig Rivet	6	2	210	13	10	0	3	209	5.1

This group definitely includes some solid fighters who've made the highlight of the night with their fists. Just missing the top five were Robyn Regehr and Rick Rypien, who fight less often but have had good success against serious fighters.

And who have been the worst fighters in the league? Presumably, legitimately bad fighters will stay away from fights! But among those who do fight repeatedly, Corey Perry (0 wins in 7 fights), Greg Campbell (1-16), Brendan Witt (1-9), Alex Burrows (0-15) and Tom Kostopoulos (1-23) stand out as particularly poor. Those decisions come from Hockeyfights.com users - if you watch the fight videos yourself, your mileage may vary.

Canadiens-Bruins: Price Grabs Two Points with a Sneer

Montreal 2 Boston 1 SO (TD Bank Garden)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

This was a statement game. The Canadiens, winless in nine previous games versus the Bruins, were able to leave Boston with an important two points. But it wasn't the Canadiens who delivered the statement, it was goaltender Carey Price.

Price has been unfairly maligned for a variety of non-performance-related reasons, by fans and media alike. On most nights, he has suffered the critical consequences of his teammates' poor play. But in this game, Price would not let anything separate him and the Habs from a win. His intensity and determination was evident all game, but particularly in the shootout.

The Canadiens have three wins in eight road games. Price, almost singlehandedly, has been responsible for all three wins.

The Canadiens defense did not have a good night giving up too many shots and quality scoring chances. Price made 42 saves on 43 shots by the Bruins and stopped all three in the shootout.

While defense was the focus in practise prior to the Boston game, it appears that coach Jacques Martin's system and methods are not very effective. The Canadiens' defense did not play well particularly in the second period.

It was a quiet night for the 'big' three. The Bruins were effective in shutting down Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez who collectively were limited to five shots on goal. Cammalleri, with only one shot during regulation time, scored the game-winner in the shootout.

Glen Metropolit continues to shine. Metropolit had a goal waved off in a controversial play that was ruled goalie interference on Travis Moen. But Metropolit would get another goal on a tap-in set up on a beautiful rush by Andrei Kostitsyn.

Kostitsyn played physically and had a strong game at both ends of the ice. He even provided direction to his two young linemates, both playing their first game in the league.

Tom Pyatt and Ryan White didn't look out of place in their NHL debuts and were an upgrade on Kyle Chipchura and Greg Stewart. White led the Canadiens with four hits and picked up his first NHL point with an assist on Metropolit's goal. Pyatt even found himself earning brief penalty-killing duty.

The Canadiens' penalty killing was perfect on three chances by the Bruins. However, Boston was ranked 29th in the league on the power play coming into the game.

The Habs missed the services of Hal Gill (or Ryan O'Byrne) in the last minute of the game on the tying goal by Boston. Jaroslav Spacek was no match for Zdeno Chara who had parked himself at the lip of the Montreal crease.

Spacek gave the Canadiens a scare when he went into the boards heavily after helping to break up a Bruins' three on one rush. Spacek didn't appear to be 100 percent but would return to the game.

Spacek's brief absence put additional pressure on an already-depleted Montreal defense corps. Mathieu Carle was steadier in this game. Marc-Andre Bergeron continues to be a train wreck on defense and his signing was a giant mistake by the organization.

But this game belonged to Price. His continued good goaltending was finally rewarded with a win. Price proved that he was the right choice as a starter and will find himself between the pipes for the Saturday night game against Tampa Bay.


Pre-game

expected lineup:

Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri
Plekanec, Lapierre, Latendresse
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Pyatt, Andrei Kostitsyn, White

Hamrlik, Spacek
Mara, Gorges
Bergeron, Carle

Tom Pyatt and Ryan White called up from Hamilton and make their NHL debuts.

Carey Price starts in goal for the Canadiens; Tim Thomas for the Bruins.

scratches: Chipchura, Stewart, D'Agostini (concussion), Laraque (upper body), Gill (leg), Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)


Rocket's three stars

1. Carey Price
2. Patrice Bergeron
3. Andrei Kostitsyn


(photo credit: Getty)

Live Blogging: Canadiens vs Bruins

Canadiens: Habs call up Ryan White, Tom Pyatt

Wednesday, 04.11.2009 / 5:00 PM / moves
Montreal Canadiens
PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL – Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey announced Wednesday that forwards Ryan White and Tom Pyatt have been recalled from the Hamilton Bulldogs. The two players will join the Canadiens in Boston for the game against the Bruins on Thursday night.

Tom Pyatt, 23, is in his first season with the Bulldogs after being acquired from the New York Rangers with Scott Gomez and Michael Busto on June 30, 2009. This season Pyatt has suited up in the Bulldogs 11 games recording 9 points (6 goals and 3 assists) tied for first place on the team. The 6’ and 185 lbs left winger has scored his six goals, including one on the power play, on only 25 shots on goal. Pyatt shows a +/-plus 8 ratio and was also assessed two penalty minutes. Last season, playing with the Rangers’ farm-team in Hartford, he recorded 37 points (12 goals and 25 helpers) in 73 games with the Wolf Pack.

Ryan White, the Canadiens fourth selection, 66th overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, entered his second season with the Bulldogs in 2009-2010. Last season, the 6’ and 193 lbs forward played all 80 games of the regular season (along with Yannick Lehoux) with the Canadiens affiliate in Hamilton, recording 29 points (11 goals and 18 assists) with a +/-plus 10 and served 68 penalty minutes. So far in 2009-2010, White has tallied 7 points (3 goals and 4 assists) and is fourth place on the Bulldogs scoring list. The 22-year old centreman who hails from Brandon, Manitoba, is also second among Hamilton forwards with 22 penalty minutes.

Thrashers-Canadiens: Habs Comeback Falls Short

Montreal 4 Atlanta 5 (Bell Centre)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

Ilya Kovalchuk is a true sniper and superstar in the league. With him in the lineup, the Atlanta Thrashers are a potent offensive team. With Kovalchuk on the sidelines due to injury, what would happen?

It was lesser-known names like Peverley and Little who would supply the offense for the Thrashers. Let's not sugar coat it. Tonight, the Canadiens defense was terrible.

Hal Gill has been a target of criticism by an unnamed sports network and a number of fans. He wasn't even in the lineup tonight. But Marc-Andre Bergeron was. Gill may have shortcomings, but Bergeron is a liability in his own end on every shift.

Tonight, Bergeron had only 10 minutes of ice time tonight. It was painful to watch. Whatever his limited contribution to the power play, it is not worth it.

Bergeron was not alone in his poor play. Josh Gorges has been struggling for several games, and was out of position too often tonight. Mathieu Carle is simply not ready for the NHL. Carle, Roman Hamrlik and Jaro Spacek had five giveaways each.

Special teams continue to be ineffective. The penalty killers gave up a goal to Atlanta and the Canadiens power play did not score on three opportunities.

Carey Price was left alone much of the game. Price was brilliant in the first period and was the sole reason that the game was close.

"They had some really good opportunities," said Brian Gionta, "too many back door and too many open in the slot. That's defensive breakdowns."

Ondrej Pavelec was also very good. But his aggressive play allowed the Canadiens more opportunities than they advantaged.

Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta, Mike Cammalleri and Scott Gomez were stars for the Habs. The Canadiens showed character in coming back from a two goal deficit.

There was not much to be positive about tonight. The Canadiens have a problem on defense and despite having a coach who is considered defensive-minded, he has not been able to do anything to solve the problem.

Pre-game

expected lineup:

Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri
Plekanec, Lapierre, Latendresse
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Chipchura, Andrei Kostitsyn, Stewart

Hamrlik, Spacek
Mara, Gorges
Bergeron, Carle

Matt Carle called up from Hamilton will make his NHL debut.

Carey Price starts in goal for the Canadiens; Ondrej Pavelec for the Thrashers.

scratches: D'Agostini (concussion), Laraque (upper body), Gill (leg), Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)


Rocket's three stars

1. Rich Peverley
2. Brian Gionta
3. Brian Little


(photo credit: AP)

Live Blogging: Thrashers vs Canadiens

Carey Price wins the Molson Cup for October

This is a good reminder that Carey Price has played very well in the first month of the season. Unfortunately his team has not given him much support on many nights which translates into the deceiving won-loss record for Price.


Tuesday, 03.11.2009 / 2:01 PM
Montreal Canadiens
PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL – Netminder Carey Price is the Molson Cup Player of the Month for October.

Price, who was the overall Molson Cup recipient for 2008-09, is the first winner of the 2009-10 season.

Price collected 13 points in the Molson Cup standings for October by virtue of two first-star selection (4-3 win Oct. 1st at Toronto and 2-1 win Oct. 3 at Buffalo), and one second-star selection (3-2 loss Oct. 31 at Chicago). He finished ahead of teammate Travis Moen, who earned 8 Molson Cup points last month.

Price will be presented with the Molson Cup during a pre-game ceremony prior to tonight’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers at the Bell Centre.

190 Foot Goal On Ondrej Pavelec

Which Onjec Pavelec will be in goal tonight at the Bell Centre for the Atlanta Thrashers? Will it be the Pavelec who was the best player on his team on October 20th when the Thrashers were last in Montreal, or the one in this clip:

Mathieu Carle recalled from Hamilton

from RDS.ca (translated)

The Canadiens recalled defenseman Mathieu Carle after Hal Gill prematurely left practice because of a foot injury, RDS has learned on Monday evening.

Gill was hit by a shot from a teammate, while the Canadiens were preparing to receive the visiting Atlanta Thrashers tomorrow night at the Bell Center.

Carle, who was one of the last players cut during the last training camp of the Habs, totaled a goal and two assists in 11 games with the Bulldogs.

The second-round pick - 53rd overall - in 2006 is in his third season with the Canadiens. He has not played a single game in the National Hockey League.

Leafs - Habs recap: Harder than it needed to be

Maple Leafs 4, Canadiens 5 - Final in shootout (from Montreal, QC).

posted by Kyle

Does it get any more stressful than that? Or do you prefer to call it 'exciting'? Either way, I'm sure a lot of Habs fans, myself included, aged about 5 years during this game. Ditto for Jacques Martin.

After not once scoring the opening goal of any game this year, the Habs were the Leafs slump buster in that area as Alexei Ponikarovski scored early in the 2nd period to give his team the lead. The Habs, who held in the edge in game play fought back to score the next 3 goals, by Metropolit (his 2nd), Latendresse (his 2nd) and Hal Gill (his 1st of the year). Things were looking good at that point, but the Leafs replied right off the next faceoff to make it a 1 goal game again.

After a tight first period which saw the maligned Vesa Toskala play well, as well as (surprise?) Habs starter Jaroslav Halak, the 2nd period saw these teams erupt for 5 combined goals. That may as well be a hundred for 2 teams that have trouble scoring.

The 3rd period saw the Leafs fight back late in the game with 2 goals in the last 4 minutes, just as the Habs faithful thought it would be a good idea to start serenading the Leafs adieu. Oops.
Tomas Kaberle, who in my opinion is the NHL's player of the week, scored on a pinball-type shot to tie it at 4 with just under a minute to go and Toskala on the bench.

The overtime produced nothing by heart palpitations for all involved, so things had to be settled in a shootout.

Mike Cammalleri shot first and he made it look unbelievably easy against a frozen-in-the-headlights Toskala. Top shelf, glove side. Halak, for his part, looked calm and collected in stopping Stempniak and Kaberle, with Gomez doing his best Cammalleri impression and again beating Toskala high, glove side.

It was a miserable night for one Mike Komisarek in his 1st game back to Montreal. He was booed lustily at every opportunity and for his part, he had a wretched night. He was -3, has 4 PIMs and was a solid contributor to the Habs win, just as he was in the season opener. He's now sporting a robust -9 this season. I guess 5 million per season doesn't buy what it used to.

The Leafs played a spirited game, and they certainly didn't look like a team that has just 1 win. They've had a "fairly" successful roadtrip, in which they got their first win, and several OT loss points, so they're not too far from a few W's. Tuesday's return or Phil Kessel ought to help their cause.

On the Habs side, they were their typical Jeckyll & Hyde selves. A totally different team at home than on the road, most notably in the "goals for" department. Just about every forward played a strong game for the Habs...except Andrei Kostitsyn. Again. I don't want to single him out, but he still refuses to put his considerable skills to use. Next stop will be the press box for him. I thought Guillaume Latendresse played a strong game, doing the things he needs to do in order to stay in this league: using his size in the corners, and in front of the net. He was rewarded with his 2nd goal of the season. Hopefully this was the game that opens his eyes on how to succeed.

Metropolit was Mr. Everything for the Habs again, scoring the team's first goal, and making several terrific defensive plays.

If there's an achillies heel for this Habs team, it continues to be defense and special teams, notably the penalty killing unit. Once this group gets caught in their own zone, only divine intervention seems to be able to save them...or a delay of game penalty.

Enter the dreadful PK unit. Not sure what to say about this aspect of the Habs, nor how it can be fixed given the troops on the job, but it is something that Martin MUST continue to work on.

The other urgent aspect to address is turnovers. I know Montreal is a hospitable place, but it doesn't need to rub off on the good guys on the ice. Everyone is culpable here; forwards and defense; 1st line through 3rd pairing.

Jaroslav Halak, to my surprise, and to most Habs fans' surprise was given the start over Carey Price, who played well last night in Chicago.

If Martin is continuing with the "win & you're in" philosophy, we should see Halak again on Tuesday vs Atlanta. Halak seems to be getting the job done, whereas Price, regardless of his personal performances continues to rack up the losses. Halak is now 5-2 on the year, while Price is 2-5.

The Kovalchuk-less Thrashers return on Tuesday and let's pray that the Habs don't take their major absence for granted.

Pre-game expected lineup:
Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri
Plekanec, Lapierre, Latendresse
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Chipchura, Stewart, Andrei Kostitsyn

Hamrlik, Spacek
Gill, Gorges
Bergeron, Mara

Jaroslav Halak starts in goal for the Canadiens; Vesa Toskala for the Leafs.

Scratches: Laraque, D'Agostini (suspected concussion), Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)

Kyle's three stars

1. Tomas Kaberle
2. Tomas Plekanec
3. Alexei Ponikarovski

Special mentions to Glen Metropolit and Mike Komisarek for their valued contributions to tonight's win!

Comments welcome!

Hawks sink Habs. Leafs up next.

Posted by EP

Um yeah, okay, so I did forget to write something up last night. Sorry. I was a tad occupied with the Bulldogs game last night. Anyway, we'll make this really quick.

I was hoping that the Habs would come out firing (especially considering they were just coming off a blowout loss to the Penguins) but alas.... it wasn't to be. I wasn't able to pay full attention to the first period of the game, but from what I saw, it was a pretty sluggish one from the Habs. Things didn't improve when D'Agostini took a hit to the head from Andrew Ladd. D'Agostini apparently has concussion-like symptoms and will be missing tonight's game against the Leafs. I doubt very much that Ladd will get suspended (although being the biased Habs fan that I am, I think he should be). The league has already decided that the Flyers' Mike Richards' quite similar hit on David Booth was legal. At least D'Agostini didn't have to be carried out on a stretcher.

In what's becoming an all too familiar aspect of the Habs game, the defensive failed in many respects tonight. Starting with Kris Versteeg's goal which actually went off the skates of Bergeron. A group effort failure resulted in the second Hawks' goal in the second period. Hal Gill's failure to keep the puck in the offensive zone lead to an odd-man rush the other way for the Hawks. Gorges wound up taking a tripping penalty in an effort to keep the Hawks from scoring. Cue the Hawks power play. With the Habs giving Kane and Versteeg all their attention behind the net, nobody was watching Barker in front of the net, who took a pass from Versteeg and rifled the puck past Price.

Granted it wasn't all the defense's fault. The forwards could have done a lot better job pressuring Huet. Exhibit A being: Huet was completely out of the net, it was completely wide open, Pacioretty passes the puck in front and.... nobody was home to put it away. Brutal. The Habs did get two goals in though. One from Cammalleri late in the second, when the Habs were actually crowding the net. And one from Moen with just seconds left in the second. I actually liked Moen's better (even if it was a lot uglier) because it showed a really good effort from Pacioretty to get the puck to the net. Metropolit was able to keep the puck away from Byfuglien and get it to Moen. Huet helped a bit too by not hugging the post, but hey, I'm not here to complain about Huet's mistakes.

I think Andrei Kostitsyn wants to go out for Halloween as a Habs zombie. He was clearly testing out his new costume last night because he was really out of it. There were numerous examples, but none that sticks out more than when he let Kane walk into the defensive zone. You don't let guys like Kane walk in like that. It's asking for trouble. With 4 mins left to go, Kane walks in and sets up Sharp who.. scores.

Price was solid. I didn't think he showed very many signs of rust. He gave the Habs every opportunity to win the game, despite being left to dry by the defense.

I'm sure there was a lot more to say about this game, but honestly, I've already blocked it all out so let's just move on to tonight's game, k?

Habs vs Leafs (really short) preview

The bad news here is that the Leafs are finally starting to pull it together. They've actually picked up points in their last three games - including their first win against Anaheim. They'll definitely be out for blood tonight.

The good news is that it's quite doubtful that Jonas Gustavsson will be starting tonight. Which means that they'll be putting in Toskala. If the Habs can get to him early, we could possibly see a total collapse... As long as the Habs don't make him look like the next Vezina trophy winner, I won't complain. As much.

The super bad news is that the Habs will be wearing the barberpole jerseys tonight. Ugh.

No word yet on what the lines will be or who will be in nets for the Habs, but I really hope to see Price between the pipes. Like I said, he was solid last night. He's going to need a better effort from the guys up front though. This is probably going to be a super ugly game. I foresee the need for lots of sugar to keep me happy.

5 things

Posted by EP

1. Rocket's away plotting a takeover of Leafsland so until he gets back you're stuck with me. And Kyle. I promised Rocket that I wouldn't turn All Habs into a shrine to Jaroslav Halak and other random goalies, but if you see random images/references/whatever to them, tell Rocket that it wasn't me. And Rocket, if you're reading this... it wasn't me. Really.
   
   
2. Wasn't it just last week month two months ago that the NHLPA fired Paul Kelly and handed his job to Ian Penny? Well, if we thought that whole affair was a mess but somehow the NHLPA would sort itself out.... we were wrong. According to TSN, Penny technically resigned, but it sounds like he had little choice but to do so. I'm really only bringing this up because it could have a serious impact when the CBA can be reopened in two years. And if negotiations go badly... well, let's just say I hope you're like me and like following AHL/Junior/European hockey.
   
   
3. Speaking of AHL hockey.... You might be interested to know that the Hammies Bulldogs are off to a great start. They've picked up points in all of their games and are the only team in the AHL who hasn't yet lost in regulation (they have 2 shootout losses and 1 OT loss). Still early to tell, but I think thus far, Guy Boucher has been doing a really good job.
   
   
4. Would you watch major junior hockey in Montreal if our city actually had a Habs prospect on the team? Would you come watch the Montreal Juniors if Alexander Avtsin came over to play? The Juniors have acquires his rights from the Quebec Remparts and now all they need to do is convince him to come play here. Why am I getting the feeling that this is going to be the super hard part?
   
   
5. Is it mean of me to hope that Mike Komisarek will have another own goal tomorrow night against the Habs? He has two already. Another one can't hurt. Right? Can't hurt us, I mean... it might hurt him if Ron Wilson whacks him upside the head with a waterbottle.... 

Hockey, Numbers and Comedy at RDS

posted by Rocket
All Habs

We like to ridicule some 'homerific' broadcast coverage of NHL teams. NESN and Leafs TV are two of the worst offenders. But in a category all by themselves is RDS. While NESN may present coverage of the game heavily slanted towards the Bruins, RDS warps their broadcast in favor of certain players and against others. We all know who they are.

Golden boy Guillaume Latendresse was applauded by RDS last game for having gone 31 periods without a penalty. Apparently this was more important for us to know than the fact that Latendresse had only scored one goal in 19 games (20 after tonight's game).

Tonight, Francois Gagnon presented a chart comparing Marc-Andre Bergeron with Andrei Markov. Outrageous? Apparently not to RDS.

For fairness, here it is:

(These are post lockout numbers.)

				Bergeron	Markov
Goals				52	44
Power play goals				35	28
Power play points				77	127
Power play points/5 on 5 points				57%	58.50%

Statistics buffs will know that if one selects carefully and narrowly enough, they can make an argument for almost any case.

Gagnon offered the disclaimer that some statistics can be deceiving. No kidding. Like these ones? In that case, why air them?

Why would Gagnon select a narrow range of statistics and present them as if they had meaning, if not to deceive a viewing audience? What purpose did this comparison serve?

Is Gagnon naive enough to not realize that he is only fueling the extreme and bigoted views of the disciples of Bob Sirois?

Does Gagnon not realize that Markov is one of the top five defenseman in the league? Does he not recall that 30 NHL teams passed on offering Bergeron a contract during free agency? Has he forgotten that the only reason that Bergeron is employed by the Canadiens is that they lost two defenseman to injury?

Perhaps he does remember all of these facts, and it was just all in good fun. Really?

For those who like comedy with their hockey, be sure to tune in next game as RDS features Gagnon's comparison of Patrick Traverse to Doug Harvey.

I jest. They wouldn't. Would they? Well up to tonight, I would have never imagined that even RDS would attempt to make a comparison between Bergeron and Markov.

Canadiens-Penguins: Despite Winning Ways, Habs not Yet Ready for Pens

Montreal 1 Pittsburgh 6 (Mellon Arena)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

About five weeks ago the Montreal Canadiens played an exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was the first game of the pre-season that resembled a NHL-calibre game. The Canadiens dressed 14 regulars.

The Canadiens were down early and needed three goals in the third period to come from behind and beat the defending Stanley Cup champions 4-3. The turnaround started started when the line of Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez and Mike Cammalleri skated together for the first time. This line along with Andrei Markov were dangerous every time they were on the ice. Gionta finished the night with two goals and an assist.

Tonight, the Penguins got an early lead. But tonight, there was no Andrei Markov. The big line did not score. There would be no comeback. In fact, only rarely did the Canadiens look like a team who could compete with the Penguins.

Against one of the better teams in the league, all of the Canadiens faults were exposed. You know the ones. The ones that the Habs, as a team, had worked on and improved. Despite some saying that the recent winning streak was due to goaltending, it was quite obvious that wasn't true. The bubble of Jaroslav Halak as a savior was burst.

When the Habs didn't play well as a team tonight, Halak wasn't able to do anything to turn the tide. That's not to say that Halak played poorly. The faults reside with the usual suspects: defensive turnovers, inability to clear the zone, giving up too many shots, not competing along the boards, dumb penalties, and ineffective special teams.

These were two fast-skating, non-hitting teams. The Habs had eight hits total in the game with only one by a defenseman.

Every player on the Canadiens was at least a minus one tonight. Gomez must have wondered why he dragged his flu-ridden body out of bed to be part of this game.

There wasn't much to be positive about tonight. The Habs kept it close for a period and created some good chances to score in the first period. But Marc-Andre Fleury was better.

The second line of Tomas Plekanec, Andre Kostitsyn and Max Lapierre looked good. Plekanec had a goal to bring his point total to 11 in 12 games.

But it was Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin who would tally 10 points and dominate the game.

The Canadiens play another top team on Friday night in Chicago. While Blackhawks are far less talented in goal, the Habs can expect a much more physical game.


Pre-game

expected lineup:

Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri
Plekanec, Lapierre, Andrei Kostitsyn
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Chipchura, D'Agostini, Latendresse

Hamrlik, Spacek
Gill, Gorges
Bergeron, Mara

Jaroslav Halak starts in goal for the Canadiens; Marc-Andre Fleury for the Penguins.

scratches: Laraque, Stewart, Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)


Rocket's three stars

1. Sidney Crosby
2. Bill Guerin
3. Chris Kunitz


(photo credit: AP)

A Few Words about Andrei Kostitsyn

posted by Rocket
All Habs

Andrei Kostitsyn could be the most talented offensive player on the Montreal Canadiens. He may have the best shot. What is certain is that he is the most maligned Canadiens' forward.

Right now, Kostitsyn is struggling. That is not in dispute. But he isn't alone. Whereas Kostitsyn has played well in games this season, especially against Colorado and Ottawa, others have not. Yet they remain without criticism.

Guillaume Latendresse has had a terrible start to the season, remaining invisible other than during a handful of shifts. Going back to last season, in his last 19 games, Latendresse has one goal and one assist. In the third period of Monday night's game, RDS ran a set of clips of their golden boy rather than hi-light game stars like Travis Moen or Glen Metropolit. Such is the unfounded praise afforded to the hopes of a 'nation'.

It sickens me to hear the media on both sides of the language divide use Kostitsyn as a speed bag or a punch line to a joke. It is certainly overzealous. It is probably bigoted. It is mostly inaccurate.

Both Kostitsyn brothers and Roman Hamrlik were the victims of rumours, embellished associations, and shoddy journalism by the Montreal media last season. To date, there has been no public apology for the outrageous accusations made by certain journalists and commentators. Some even continue to defame the three by referencing the false stories.

But back to this season. Many fans and media are ready to write-off Andrei Kostitsyn. This is the same player who has proved he is capable of 25 goal and 50 point seasons. Yet, they are willing to give a free pass to the chosen one who has yet to cross the 30 point threshold.

Some would like nothing better than to see the Kostitsyn brothers shipped off as a package. There is obvious interest from a number of teams. Edmonton Oilers Assistant General Manager Kevin Pendergast has had an extended stay in Montreal over the past few games. Word is that Pendergast had his eyes on Andrei Kostitsyn and that the Oilers may be interested in both Kostitsyn brothers.

Is the situation with Sergei upsetting to Andrei? Undoubtedly so. But when asked, Andrei responded by saying, "It's tough for me that he left ... But I want to focus on my season. I am happy in Montreal."

The intention of this article is not to absolve Kostitsyn. He is responsible for his play, his attitude and his work ethic. It's simply to encourage a more balanced assessment of all players regardless of their birthplace.

It is a coach's responsibility to get the most from his players and to find the best method to motivate each player. A coach with the experience of Martin should have more in his bag of tricks than line juggling. Clearly, Martin has to do better. By all accounts, the Canadiens are short a top six forward. It would be a shame to lose another one.

Islanders-Canadiens: Hamrlik's Goal Gives Habs Another OT Win

Montreal 3 NY Islanders 2 OT (Bell Centre)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

The Montreal Canadiens won their fourth game in a row and maintained their perfect record in overtime this season. The Habs are now 5-0 in the extra frame.

Their opponents tonight, the Islanders, have played six overtime games this season and lost five times. What Habs' fans may find sobering is the difference in the standings between the two teams is a direct result of their overtime records.

The margin of victory or defeat is just that slim. Welcome to the world of a Jacques Martin coached team.

Tonight it was Roman Hamrlik playing the role of hero. Hamrlik buried a perfect feed from Tomas Plekanec for the overtime winner. Plekanec beat Mark Streit along the boards and then feathered a pass by Bruno Gervais.

Streit was also victimized by Mike Cammalleri with a nifty move as he set up Travis Moen for his goal early in the third period. Glen Metropolit got the other assist.

Metropolit was a surprise starter after reports earlier in the day suggested that he would be scratched due to the flu. Metropolit not only played but tallied two assists. His linemate, Moen had a first period assist to add to his goal. The third player on the line, Max Pacioretty, played just under eight minutes, but was instrumental in setting up the Canadiens' first goal.

While the third line was shining, Plekanec was being treated to a carousel of mates on the second line. Guillaume Latendresse started on his wing but was dropped to the fourth line after some lacklustre play and a number of giveaways. Andrei Kostitsyn led the team with three hits which was penance enough for Martin to return him to Plekanec's line.

Jaroslav Halak had a much better start to this game. He made a great save on Matt Moulson early in the first period. Halak was solid when he needed to be throughout.

However, it was Martin Biron who garnered the goaltending attention. Biron had much tougher saves, kept the game close, and tonight replayed the form of the 2008 playoffs when he was with the Flyers.

The Canadiens defense played well with the exception of a few lapses by Hal Gill. Since his arrival in Montreal Marc-Andre Bergeron's defensive play has alternated between steady and awful. Tonight it was Bergeron-the-good who had a solid game with his partner Paul Mara. Jaroslav Spacek and Hamrlik each played in the neighbourhood of 25 minutes and both had goals.

It was mostly a dull game with inconsistent officiating and lazy play by both teams. The Canadiens took two too-many-men penalties.

The Canadiens power-play was 0-for-2 tonight and the penalty killing units gave up two goals on seven chances by the Islanders.

The Canadiens have won their three previous games with the help of improved special teams and the firepower of the first line. While that wasn't the case tonight, the support players helped the Habs eke out a victory over a team that they should be able to beat at home.

Pre-game

expected lineup:

Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri
Plekanec, Lapierre, Latendresse
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Chipchura, D'Agostini, Andrei Kostitsyn

Hamrlik, Spacek
Gill, Gorges
Bergeron, Mara

Jaroslav Halak starts in goal for the Canadiens; Martin Biron for the Islanders.

scratches: Laraque, Stewart, Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)

Rocket's three stars

1. Travis Moen
2. Jeff Tambellini
3. Glen Metropolit

(photo credit: CP)

Live blogging: Islanders vs Canadiens

Guest Article: Martin's Decision to Ride Halak

written by beezee05
guest contributor to All Habs

There is a growing amount of discussion surrounding Jacques Martin’s decision to continue starting Jaroslav Halak over the goaltender most considered to be the Montreal Canadiens' starting goaltender, Carey Price. To me it appears that coach Martin had a five game block planned to start the season with Carey Price as the starter; his job to lose. Price got the start in the first two games of the season and in my opinion was a significant factor as to why the Habs won. Halak got the nod in Calgary – the first of back to back games in two time zones - and didn't play well but wasn’t the reason the Canadiens lost.

The start in Vancouver for Price was billed by some to be the opportunity that he didn’t get last season when he and the team were playing poorly and Halak got the start in front of Price’s friends and family. This had followed a sequence of must win games where in hindsight Jaroslav Halak saved the Canadien’s season with some solid performances in wins against some solid opponents such as the Senators, Canucks, Flyers and Sharks. Following Guy Carbonneau’s firing on March 9, 2009, it appeared no matter how poor Price’s performances were, he was destined to be the starter. Many believed Halak deserved to be playing down the stretch both in the media types and fans alike. This culminated in Price’s meltdown/Patrick Roy moment while making a routine save in the Canadiens' elimination game loss against the Bruins.

This season we have a new coach and a certainly a new philosophy. In this writer’s point of view, the safety blanket that Bob Gainey seemingly provided down the stretch last season, has been removed. Price will not get the starting assignments by divine right. This year he will need to earn them. After some suspect performances by Carey Price and team following a five game losing streak - the team with Halak in goal - has put together a winning streak that they will try to extend to five games tonight against the New York Islanders.

Jaroslav Halak will again get the call. A decision that has caused considerable debate. What will happen should a loss be in the cards tonight? Does Price start against Pittsburgh – which he may regardless of tonight’s outcome - after not having played in 11 days? Will he be rusty against the defending Stanley Cup champions? In my opinion no. For the first time in his career Price will have a challenge and one that I think he may relish. Many are questioning Jacques Martin’s decision. Recall that Jacques Martin stuck with mediocre goaltending in Ottawa with Patrick Lalime and made some questionable decision in managing Jason Spezza’s early career ice time. Let’s see how this plays out.

Cammalleri named NHL's "Second star of the week"

Monday, 26.10.2009 / 1:24 PM
NHL.com
PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK (October 26, 2009) -- Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar, Montreal Canadiens left wing Mike Cammalleri and San Jose Sharks center Patrick Marleau have been named the NHL 'Three Stars' for the week ending Oct. 25.

FIRST STAR -- ANZE KOPITAR, C, LOS ANGELES KINGS

Kopitar led all scorers last week with nine points (six goals, three assists) as the Kings (8-4-0) posted four consecutive victories and climbed to first place in the Pacific Division. Kopitar tallied one goal in a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Oct. 19, recorded his first career hat trick in a 5-4 overtime victory over Dallas Oct. 22, notched three assists in a 5-3 win against the Phoenix Coyotes Oct. 24 and scored two goals in a 6-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets Oct. 25. Kopitar, who in 2008-09 became the first Kings player since Luc Robitaille to tally at least 20 goals in each of his first three NHL seasons, is on track for career year. The 22-year-old Slovenia native leads the League in goals (10) and points (21) in 12 games.

SECOND STAR -- MICHAEL CAMMALLERI, LW, MONTREAL CANADIENS

Cammalleri recorded six points (four goals, two assists) as the Canadiens (5-5-0) posted three consecutive victories. Cammalleri notched one assist in a 2-1 shootout win over the Atlanta Thrashers Oct. 20, recorded one goal in a 5-1 victory over the New York Islanders Oct. 22 and tallied a hat trick, including the overtime winner, plus an assist in a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers Oct. 24. Cammalleri leads the Canadiens in scoring with 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 10 games.

THIRD STAR -- PATRICK MARLEAU, C, SAN JOSE SHARKS

Marleau tallied nine points (three goals, six assists) as the Sharks(7-4-1) finished their six-game East Coast road trip with a 3-1-0 record.Marleau posted three multi-point games, beginning with a goal and two assists in a 7-3 victory over the New York Rangers Oct. 19. He recorded one assist in a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Oct. 22 and tallied two goals, including the game-winner, and one assist in a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Thrashers Oct. 24. Marleau finished the week by extending his point streak to five games with a pair of assists in a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers Oct. 25. Marleau ranks second on the Sharks in scoring with 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 12 games.

ESPN Preview: Islanders vs Canadiens

NY Islanders at Montreal

7:30 PM ET, October 26, 2009
Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Islanders-Canadiens Preview

Regular Season Matchup
	W-L-OT	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
NYI	1-4-4	1-2-2	0-2-2	0-0-1	1-2-4
MON	5-5-0	3-2-0	2-3-0	2-1-0	5-1-0
· Complete Standings

Team Stat Comparison
19	Goals	26
32	Goals Against	30
6	Power Play Goals	7
7	Power Play Goals Allowed	8
2	Shorthanded Goals	1
0	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	1
109	Penalty Minutes	147
12	Average Penalty Minutes	15

Goalie Breakdown
	GOALIE	GP	W	TGA	GAA	SO	SV	SV%
	Martin Biron	5	0	16	3.57	0	128	.889
	Dwayne Roloson	5	1	16	3.36	0	130	.890
	Carey Price	6	2	20	3.36	0	156	.886
	Jaroslav Halak	5	3	10	2.36	0	93	.903

Team Stat Leaders
G	Matt Moulson 5	Mike Cammalleri 5
A	Kyle Okposo 5	Tomas Plekanec 7
PTS	Matt Moulson 8	Mike Cammalleri 11
PIM	Tim Jackman 17	Paul Mara 23
SOG	Matt Moulson 32	Mike Cammalleri 40

STATS LLC

Mike Cammalleri's first six games with the Montreal Canadiens didn't provide the offensive production they expected after signing the speedy winger to a $30 million deal in the offseason.

His last four, however, have more than fit the bill.

Cammalleri's scoring binge included a hat trick in his latest game, and he'll look to lift the Canadiens to their fourth straight win Monday night when they close a six-game homestand by facing the New York Islanders for the second time in five days.

Four of Montreal's top six goal-scorers from last season became unrestricted free agents July 1, but general manager Bob Gainey was prepared to assemble a new top offensive unit. He traded for center Scott Gomez on June 30, then a day later added Cammalleri and Brian Gionta via free agency.

Gionta had four goals in his first eight games, but Cammalleri had only four assists for the Canadiens (5-5-0) in his first six contests. He's turned it around with five goals in his last four, though, and registered his third career hat trick Saturday night against the Rangers. He opened the scoring in the first period, tied it at 4 late in the second, and gave Montreal a 5-4 come-from-behind victory on an unassisted goal 2:42 into overtime.

"I think most goal scorers tend to produce in bunches," Cammalleri, who scored 39 goals with Calgary last season, told the Canadiens' official Web site. "I just go out there trying to score on every shift."

Gomez and Gionta had two assists apiece, with Gionta assisting on Cammalleri's first two scores.

"He's a creative player," Gionta said. "He's a goal scorer but he also sees the ice extremely well and he finds that open guy when it's there."

Montreal hasn't won four in a row since Feb. 21-28, but figures to have a good chance to make that happen against the Islanders (1-4-4). Cammalleri was one of five Canadiens to score Thursday in a 5-1 win over New York, and has one goal in all three career games against the Islanders.

New York is still looking for a regulation win, and it's had some rough luck when a game's gone longer than 60 minutes. The Islanders have lost twice in shootouts and twice in overtime, including Saturday's 3-2 loss to Washington after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period.

They've been outscored 16-6 in the final 20 minutes.

"We're not paying attention to details. It always happens around the 7-minute mark," defenseman Brendan Witt said. "We just have to fix it and find an answer for it.

"We think we had a good effort, but we should've gotten the two points."

Only Florida and Toronto are averaging fewer than the 2.11 goals the Islanders have scored, and top overall draft pick John Tavares doesn't have a point in his past three games after recording three goals and four assists in his first six.

Another offensive option, captain Doug Weight, will miss his third straight game Monday while recovering from the flu.

It's unclear who will be in goal for the Islanders. Dwayne Roloson (1-1-3, 3.36 goals-against average) started Saturday, while Martin Biron (0-3-1, 3.57 GAA) played in the loss at Montreal.

There's equal uncertainty surrounding the Canadiens' starter, but it would seem difficult for coach Jacques Martin to go back to Carey Price given the way backup Jaroslav Halak has played. He's been the starter for all three recent Montreal wins, posting a 1.91 GAA, and is 3-1-0 with a 1.25 GAA lifetime against the Islanders.

Rangers-Canadiens: Cammalleri Caps Canadiens' Comeback

Montreal 5 NY Rangers 4 OT (Bell Centre)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

Bob Gainey must have been proud tonight. His 'big' acquisitions from the summer free agency period, Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, and Mike Cammalleri totaled eight points in the Canadiens victory. But it was Cammalleri who was the sniper for the Habs with a hat trick. Cammalleri scored the tying goal in the third period and then the winner in overtime on a beautiful end to end rush.

“He did a great job controlling that puck and cutting to the middle on that play and then he wired one heck of a shot,” said Gionta. “We’ve been getting our chances so far and pucks have just found ways not to go in for us. Cammy always goes to the net and it sure paid off tonight.”

With a four point game, Cammalleri takes over the Canadiens' scoring lead from Tomas Plekanec who is having a great start to his season,picking up an assist tonight. Scanning through the list of the top scorers, one finds Cammalleri, Gomez, Gionta, Paul Mara and Jaroslav Spacek, all recent additions by Gainey.

Facing their former team for the first time, Gomez had two assists with Mara blocking three Ranger shots. Chris Higgins was benched for the third period by coach John Tortorella in his first trip back to the Bell Centre as a Ranger.

Matt D'Agostini and Marc-Andre Bergeron were the other two goal scorers for the Canadiens. D'Agostini created a turnover by pokechecking the puck from Brandon Dubinsky and then finished the play by scoring on a feed from Max Lapierre. Bergeron partially atoned for some dreadful defensive play with a blast from the point which found the back of the net on a 5-on-3 power play.

Canadiens were unsuccessful on three other power play chances and didn't look very good. They need much quicker puck movement and more traffic in front of the net.

The Rangers had scored a power play goal in eight straight games but were blanked in their two opportunities by some strong penalty killing by the Habs.

Goaltending was not stellar at either end with Henrik Lundqvist making 26 saves and Jaroslav Halak with 23. Halak was not at his best giving up three first period goals while struggling with his rebound control.

Poor defensive zone coverage and careless turnovers by the Canadiens gave the Rangers far too many chances. Bergeron, Hal Gill and Josh Gorges all had difficulty with the aggressive Ranger forecheck. However, the third New York goal was a stoppable one.

Adjustments in the second period had Habs' forwards coming back deep to help the defense. Halak played better but it was the players in front of him who limited the Rangers to five shots in the third period and only one in overtime.

The Canadiens are starting to gel. After a tough first period filled with bad habits, they used their speed to come back from a two goal deficit. The Rangers were a tough test but the Habs showed that they can compete with the better teams in the league.

After tonight, it would appear that the Halak hype has come back down to earth. Expect to see Carey Price start the Canadiens next game on Monday versus the Islanders.

As proud as he was of his team tonight, let's hope that Gainey has one more move up his sleeve. Imagine the potential of this team with one more top six forward.

Pre-game

expected lineup:

Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri
Plekanec, Andrei Kostitsyn, Lapierre
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Chipchura, Latendresse, D'Agostini

Hamrlik, Spacek
Gill, Gorges
Bergeron, Mara

Jaroslav Halak starts in goal for the Canadiens; Henrik Lundqvist for the Rangers.

scratches: Laraque, Stewart, Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)

Rocket's three stars

1. Mike Cammalleri
2. Brian Gionta
3. Michael Del Zotto


(photo credit: Getty images)

Live blogging: Rangers vs Canadiens

McGill battles Harvard and Habs top draft pick to a draw

McGill battles Harvard and Habs top draft pick to a draw
Oct. 23, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Doug Rogers scored with 2:05 remaining in regulation as Harvard rallied with a pair of late goals to earn a 3-3 overtime tie against McGill in an exhibition men's hockey before 1,006 fans at the Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge, Mass., Friday.

Senior Guillaume Doucet of Anjou, Que., scored twice for the No.8-ranked Redmen in what marked the first draw between the two academically-renowned institutions since they began playing each other more than a century ago. McGill has registered a 26-11-1 lifetime record against their Ivy League cousins.

The game marked the collegiate debut for Harvard freshman Louis Leblanc, the Montreal Canadiens top selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Leblanc, a native of Pointe Claire, Que., assisted on Michael Biega's first-period goal, narrowing the score to 2-1. Leblanc also drew three minor penalties, had a game-high eight shots on net and was +1.

Sophomore Francis Verreault-Paul of Mashteviatsh, Que., also connected for the Redmen, who blew a 3-1 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the third period.

Alex Biega made it 3-2 at 10:49, setting the stage for the equalizer by Rogers, who stole the puck near centre ice and skated down the right side. He weaved his way through the defence and placed the puck over goaltender Hubert Morin's left shoulder, tying the game, 3-3.

McGill received a stellar outing from Morin, the sophomore from St. Georges de Beauce, Que., who made 46 saves -- including 20 on the power play -- as Harvard outshot the Redmen 49-18. McGill was 1-for-6 on the power play and killed off 11 of 12 shorthanded situations.

The Redmen, in the midst of their 134th season, are 5-2-1 overall and play Dartmouth in another non-conference affair, at Hanover, N.H., on Saturday at 7 p.m. Harvard kicks off their 110th season officially at Ivy League and ECAC Hockey rival Dartmouth Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.

Globe: Life rough in Habs crease

Sean Gordon
GlobeSports

It's all their fault: Through the decades Montreal goaltenders often take the heat for the team's lack of success despite their brilliance in the cage

In 1979, at the tail end of a season during which he would lose only 10 games and lead the Montreal Canadiens to a sixth Stanley Cup in eight years, Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden was booed mercilessly.

In Game 2 of the final series, the people wanted Michel (Bunny) Larocque and would have had him if the luckless netminder hadn't taken a shot on the melon during warm-up.

In 1992, someone bought a billboard on one of Montreal's busiest commuter arteries that demanded the Habs trade Patrick Roy, arguably the greatest goaltender in history. Naturally enough, he carried them to the Cup the following season.

But such is the job description for the hardest gig in hockey.

“People are always going after the goalies in Montreal, they're going to create a controversy even when there is none,” said former Habs coach Jacques Demers. “It's always the goalie's fault when they lose. I think it's because the fans have been spoiled with great goalies over the years, the legacies of the Roys and Drydens.”

Goaltending in Montreal is only fractionally less combustible an issue than the National Question, and certainly a more immediate obsession.

As in the political debate, the ardors are often more visceral than logical: You don't jeer two of the best who ever lived with your head, you do it with a wounded heart.

Part of it has to do with cheering for the underdog, the guy who sits uncomplainingly in the background as a more heralded player takes centre stage – Cristobal Huet, Brian Hayward, all the way back to Larocque and beyond.

Part of it may also lie in the restlessness of a fan base increasingly nostalgic for past championship glories.

Whatever the reasons, the heat is again on Carey Price as breathless talk of a goalie controversy ramps up on talk radio and fan forums despite the season being barely 10 games old (“Ridiculous,” said Demers).

Price, 22, stole two games to open the year, lost five starts in a row and has sat out the past two games in favour of Jaroslav Halak, his nominal understudy.

One Bell Centre fan flashed a sign on Thursday night proclaiming “The Price is Wrong”.

Halak, a 24-year-old Slovak, won both his starts this week and has posted rock-solid numbers.

So now what?

Only one man knows: Canadiens coach Jacques Martin. And he's not saying.

Perhaps the only thing as tricky as playing goal in Montreal is having the responsibility of picking the guys who get to play goal.

But Martin has coached more than 1,000 NHL games; as a consequence, he is completely unfazed about wading into the most contentious aspect of life as Montreal bench boss, a fact he readily recognizes.

“I accept fans and journalists are going to have their opinions, and I respect that, but I have a job to do,” he said this week.

Martin said he'll make his assessments on a game-by-game basis, and that the evaluative criteria are not immutable and will change from week-to-week. (By that logic, Price could start against the Rangers tonight.)

“People want to know (who will start), people are passionate, but unfortunately they'll have to wait for the day of the game. I make decisions based on what's best for the team and best for the individuals involved,” he said.

To Demers, the former Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers coach is the right person to deal with the unending goaltender mania because “he's been around, he's seen it all, no one's going to tell him what to do.”

And he doesn't seem especially concerned about managing personalities or dressing room allegiances.

“It's important for athletes to recognize there are some things they don't control, like playing time … it focuses your preparation and forces you to stay in the moment,” Martin said.

Indeed, internal competition for jobs is something Martin is keen on fostering.

As an assistant coach on Team Canada's gold-medal winning Olympic team in 2002, he had a long conversation with Wayne Gretzky about what drove him to be the best player on the ice every night.

The Great One's answer: Mark Messier.

“They were always competing for ice time, power-play time,” Martin said.

“To me it's all about creating a healthy competition.”

That said, Martin took the unusual step of flying out to Calgary this summer to meet with Price and has spoken in glowing terms of his talent level and his belief he is the man to lead the team.

So has anything changed his view?

“Not at all,” he said, adding he expects Price to play a key role as the season wears on.

The care and feeding of the Habs goaltenders was an issue for former coach Guy Carbonneau – and is widely regarded as one of the reasons for his ouster – and GM Bob Gainey has been open with his admiration for Price's considerable talent.

But for all the whispers of temperamental fragility and his self-admitted lapses in confidence during an up-and-down sophomore campaign in 2008-09, Price doesn't seem fussed.

“Everyone wants to play, I'm no different, but as long as the team wins everyone will have a smile on their face,” he said. “Jaro's playing really well and we're getting Ws. That's what's important.”

It also helps that Price had to deal with similar talk last year.

“I guess I'm kind of getting used to it . . . there's always a controversy,” he said.

That's not likely to change any time soon – Halak insists he's content to continue proving his worth, but his agent indicated before the season his client wants an opportunity to be a full-time starter. After all, as Martin pointed out, there are still 73 games left this year.

And unless he breaks with current practice, he'll face the same question before all of them.

ESPN: Rangers vs Canadiens Preview

NY Rangers at Montreal

7:00 PM ET, October 24, 2009
Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Rangers-Canadiens Preview

Regular Season Matchup
	W-L-OT	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
NYR	7-3-0	4-2-0	3-1-0	1-2-0	5-2-0
MON	4-5-0	2-2-0	2-3-0	2-1-0	4-1-0
· Complete Standings

Team Stat Comparison
37	Goals	21
26	Goals Against	26
12	Power Play Goals	6
7	Power Play Goals Allowed	8
2	Shorthanded Goals	1
0	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	1
138	Penalty Minutes	138
14	Average Penalty Minutes	15

Goalie Breakdown
	GOALIE	GP	W	TGA	GAA	SO	SV	SV%
	Henrik Lundqvist	9	6	20	2.41	0	236	.922
	Steve Valiquette	2	1	5	3.00	1	31	.861
	Carey Price	6	2	20	3.36	0	156	.886
	Jaroslav Halak	4	2	6	1.87	0	70	.921

Team Stat Leaders
G	Marian Gaborik 7	Brian Gionta 4
A	Vaclav Prospal 9	Tomas Plekanec 6
PTS	Marian Gaborik 13	Tomas Plekanec 8
PIM	Donald Brashear 21	Paul Mara 23
SOG	Marian Gaborik 43	Mike Cammalleri 36

STATS LLC

The New York Rangers raced out to perhaps the most surprising start in hockey by bouncing back from a season-opening loss with seven straight victories, but they have hardly been impressive in their last two contests.

New York looks to avoid its first three-game regulation losing streak in nearly two years Saturday night when it visits former Ranger Scott Gomez and the Canadiens, who continue a six-game homestand seeking their third consecutive win.

New York (7-3-0) lost 3-2 at Pittsburgh in its season opener, but outscored its opponents 30-12 in cruising to seven victories in a row.

That outstanding start had the Rangers looking like they could contend in the tough Atlantic Division, but two recent home losses have shown they still have some work to do. New York jumped out to a 2-0 lead Monday against San Jose but lost 7-2, then fell 4-2 Thursday to division rival New Jersey.

After the collapse against the Sharks, though, Rangers coach John Tortorella was pleased to see his team battle back from a two-goal deficit against the Devils.

"I thought we stood up pretty well when we were down 2-0," Tortorella said. "This is when you start finding out about your club when you go through stuff like this."

Montreal (4-5-0) was stuck with perhaps the league's strangest schedule to begin the season, opening with a five-game road trip followed by six back home at the Bell Centre.

Three losses to end the road trip weren't made better by two more to open the homestand, but the Canadiens have shown signs of getting turned around in their last two games. Brian Gionta scored in regulation and the shootout in a 2-1 win over Atlanta on Tuesday, then five different players scored Thursday in a 5-1 victory against the New York Islanders -- Montreal's first regulation win in 13 games dating back to last season.

"We're making it hard on ourselves," said winger Michael Cammalleri, who scored for the second time in three games. "Every game's been so tight, and it's important to try and win in tight games and find ways to win those games but at the same time you can't do that 82 times a year... ."

Gionta leads the Canadiens with four goals, but Gomez -- traded to Montreal in a seven-player offseason deal despite tying for the Rangers' lead with 58 points -- will be the focal point. Gomez scored 16 goals apiece in his two generally disappointing seasons in New York, and has five years and $33.5 million left on his deal.

That move freed up space for the Rangers to sign Marian Gaborik, who already has seven goals and six assists.

Henrik Lundqvist will almost certainly be in net trying to keep the Rangers from their first three-game stretch without a point since Dec. 3-7, 2007, but he's struggled in recent visits to Montreal. The All-Star is 2-1-1 in his last five road starts against the Canadiens with a 4.51 goals-against average.

It's far less certain who will get the starting call for Montreal. Carey Price has been benched for the last two games and is 2-4-0 with a 3.36 GAA, while Jaroslav Halak has surrendered one goal apiece in the Canadiens' two victories.

Neither has fared particularly well against the Rangers. Price is 1-1-1 with a 3.35 GAA, while Halak is 2-2-0 with a 3.26 GAA.

Coach Jacques Martin wouldn't commit to a starter.

"Well, when it comes to goalies I usually wait until the night before to sleep on it," Martin said. "I get my bright ideas then."

Chicago Wolves Name Don Lever Head Coach

This is very good news for Don Lever and Ron Wilson. Lever, in particular, was treated very shabbily be the Montreal Canadiens at the end of last season.

Lever is an excellent coach and he and Wilson did a superb job in Hamilton. Were it not for language considerations, Lever was one of the top candidates for the position of head coach with the Canadiens.

Wolves Name Lever Head Coach
October 21, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL) Chicago Wolves

Chicago WolvesThe Chicago Wolves have named DON LEVER the team's new head coach. In addition, the club has named RON WILSON assistant coach.

The 56-year-old LEVER becomes the seventh coach in Wolves history and brings 20 years of professional coaching experience to Chicago's bench, which includes winning the American Hockey League's Calder Cup in 2007 as head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The South Porcupine, Ontario, native has compiled a 235-184-21-8-17 record and .555 percent winning percentage in 465 games as a head coach in the AHL, which includes two seasons with the Rochester Americans (1990-1992) and four with Hamilton (2005-2009). He was awarded the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the league's coach of the year in 1991, his first season as a head coach.

LEVER also served as an assistant coach with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres (1987-1989, 1992-2002), St. Louis Blues (2002-04) and Montreal Canadiens (2008-09), recording a .538 winning percentage in 1,129 games (525-440-146-16-2), which includes an appearance in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals with Buffalo. He began the 2009-10 season as a pro scout for the NHL' s Chicago Blackhawks.

A veteran of 1,020 NHL contests, the former first-round draft pick registered 313 goals, 367 assists and 680 points in 15 seasons of NHL action with the Vancouver Canucks (1972-1980), Atlanta Flames (1979-80), Calgary Flames (1980-1982), Colorado Rockies (1981-82), New Jersey Devils (1982-1985) and Buffalo Sabres (1985-1987).

WILSON comes to Chicago after serving as assistant coach in Hamilton from 2003-2009, which includes being on LEVER's staff there from 2005-09. He also served as head coach of the Bulldogs for the final 15 games of the 2008-09 regular-season (10-3-0-2) and Calder Cup playoff run, where they lost in the North Division Semifinal, after LEVER was promoted to Montreal's staff in March.

The Toronto, Ontario, native entered the coaching ranks as an assistant coach with the AHL's Springfield Falcons in 1996 and has posted a 487-404-80-31-23 record and .540 winning percentage in 1,025 games as an assistant in the AHL with Springfield (1996-2000), Saint John (2000-03) and Hamilton.

Prior to his coaching career, the 53-year-old WILSON tallied 326 points (110G, 216A) and 415 penalty minutes in 832 NHL tilts with the Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis and Montreal, spanning 14 seasons (1979-88, 1989-94). He also appeared in 427 AHL matchups, amassing 438 points (159G, 279A) and 396 penalty minutes with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs (1976-79), Sherbrooke Jets (1982-84, 1985-86) and Moncton Hawks (1988-90).

In accordance with team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

LEVER and WILSON will be behind the Wolves bench on Friday when the team hosts the Manitoba Moose at the Allstate Arena at 7:30 p.m. For more information, or tickets to the game, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit chicagowolves.com.

Islanders-Canadiens: Welcome Back Metro!

Montreal 5 NY Islanders 1 (Bell Centre)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

Let's play: Who Am I?

I play on the Canadiens' special teams, both power play and penalty killing units.
The power play is much more effective when I am in the line-up.
One of my roles is to shut down opposition forwards.
The Habs are unbeaten when I play.

The obvious answer is Andrei Markov. He is clearly the Canadiens' best player and they are a much better hockey team with Markov in the line-up.

But what may be somewhat surprising is that you would also be correct if you answered: Glen Metropolit.

Last season, in Guy Carbonneau's system, Metropolit was little more than a spare part with an undefined role. This year, Jacques Martin expects Metropolit to be the shut down center. Its similar to the responsibility that Metropolit was given when Bob Gainey went behind the bench last season. Gainey also had Metropolit killing penalties as he is doing this year.

But coach Martin also has Metropolit on the power play and tonight, gave him more than 18 minutes of ice time. The result was two assists for Metropolit and he was chosen the game's first star. Metropolit also helped to elevate the play of his linemate, Max Pacioretty, who scored and had his best game of the season.

"I've played power play before, but my role has changed over the years. But it was good to be back there. I'm just trying to make room on the ice in front of the net," said Metropolit.

The Canadiens were two for 26 coming into the game on the power play. The power play unit connected twice on six opportunities. Metropolit was on the ice for both Canadiens goals. Metropolit now has four points, and is the Canadiens' fifth best scorer after appearing in only three games, due to his rib injury.

The Canadiens won for the first game in regulation time this season, and the first regulation victory in 16 games going back to last season. They dominated from start to finish and out shot the Islanders 43-to-22.

Brian Gionta, Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec continued their excellent play. Cammalleri and Gomez each had a goal while Plekanec tallied two assists. Gionta led the team with six shots on goal.

Kyle Chipchura and Max Lapierre both played better than in recent games. Lapierre broke his scoring slump with a goal and Chipchura squared off with Nate Thompson.

The Habs defense were very good at closing off scoring chances from the Islanders. Paul Mara had one of his best games as a Canadien. It was a great bounce back game for Marc-Andre Bergeron who looked much more confident and recorded a goal and an assist.

Jaroslav Halak had another easy night seeing only 12 shots over the first two periods. It was a puck-handling error by Halak that resulted in the single Islanders goal.

There is the temptation to diminsh the win as it came at the expense of the lowly Islanders with a slow defense. But the Habs lost to the Long Island team last season. It was important for the Canadiens confidence not only to win, but win decisively.

The Habs followed Martin's game plan to sustain offensive pressure on the Islanders. The Canadiens' attack sent 82 shots in the direction of goaltender Martin Biron. Biron has had some success at the Bell Centre when he was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canadiens now prepare for the game against the New York Rangers on Saturday night at the Bell Centre.


Pre-game

expected lineup:

Gomez, Gionta, Cammalleri
Plekanec, Andrei Kostitsyn, Lapierre
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Chipchura, Latendresse, D'Agostini

Hamrlik, Spacek
Gill, Gorges
Bergeron, Mara

Jaroslav Halak starts in goal for the Canadiens, Martin Biron starts for the Islanders.

scratches: Laraque, Stewart, Markov (ankle), O'Byrne (knee)


Rocket's three stars

1. Glen Metropolit
2. Max Pacioretty
3. Tomas Plekanec
3. Marc-Andre Bergeron

(photo credit: AP)

Live blogging: Islanders vs Canadiens

Top court overturns Quebec restrictions on attending English schools

Why is this story posted to All Habs? Those familiar with the difficulty in luring unrestricted free agents to Montreal are aware that one of the concerns that has been expressed is the ability to choose the language of choice for educating a player's children.

The other impediments for players and their families to sign with the Canadiens are are high taxes, weather, and some media who are hostile to and biased against non-francophones. Bob Gainey somewhat overcame the obstacles by overpaying for the free agents he acquired this summer.

While it is too early to know what the response will be from the provincial government, the Supreme Court's decision could potentially have a positive affect on future free agent signings.


By Mike De Souza
Canwest News Service
October 22, 2009 4:59 PM

OTTAWA — The country's top court has given the Quebec government one year to modify its French language charter after ruling that legislation which restricted access to English schools was not constitutional.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Bill 104 which was adopted by the Quebec government in 2002 to close a loophole in its charter that had enabled some students who weren't eligible to attend English schools to gain that right.

They did so by attending an unsubsidized English private school for at least a year. Many then switched to English public schools, prompting the legislation introduced by the former Parti Quebecois government and adopted unanimously in the national assembly.

Quebec's language laws restrict access to an English education for immigrants or allophones in order to protect the status of French in the province.

The ruling recognized that so-called "bridging schools" represented a threat to the French language since the private English institutions appeared to be set up for temporary students to bypass Quebec's language laws and grant access to a public English education. But it said that the Quebec government's response went too far.

"This legislative response seems excessive in relation to the seriousness of the identified problem and its impact on school clientele and, potentially, on the situation of the French language in Quebec," Justice Louis LeBel wrote in the judgment. "The absolute prohibition on considering an educational pathway in a (unsubsidized private school) seems overly drastic."

Quebec Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre said she was disappointed and angry about the ruling but that under the decision, the government has one year to respond with a new legislative solution to crack down on "bridging schools."

"What the judgment is telling us is that we can legitimately introduce legislation on this issue, and this is what we will analyze," said St-Pierre, noting that the number of students using the loophole was steadily increasing, reaching about 4,000 when Bill 104 was adopted.

In the meantime, the Education Department must individually address the 25 respondents named in the case. One student, Satbir Bindra, whose sister was previously granted permission to attend an English school must immediately be allowed to pursue his education in English.

LeBel recognized that the government was entitled to protect the French language in Quebec from a growth in "bridging schools."

"I do not wish to deny the dangers that the unlimited expansion of (unsubsidized private schools) could represent for the objectives of preserving and promoting the French language in Quebec," LeBel said in the ruling. "If no action were taken to control this expansion, the bridging schools could become a mechanism for almost automatically circumventing the Charter of the French Language's provisions on minority language educational rights, creating new categories of rights holders under the Canadian charter and, indirectly, restoring the freedom to choose the language of instruction in Quebec."

Lawyer Brent Tyler, who represented clients that challenged the legislation, invited the government to work with the anglophone community and its institutions to draft a new solution that everyone agrees with. But he said he was disappointed that many families will still have to wait for their children to get access to English schools.

"It's been seven years to get this judgment and now we have to start from zero again," said Tyler, after the judgment was rendered. "We're hoping that the (education) minister will show good faith and deal with this quickly."

Jonathan Goldbloom, a spokesperson for the Quebec Association of Independent Schools, one of the interveners in the case, said his members were not abusing the French-language charter before Bill 104 was adopted.

"There was no one coming to our schools for a month or a year and switching to the public system," he said. "So we said they (the government) were using a sledgehammer to solve a problem."

He also dismissed suggestions that this would upset the linguistic peace in the province and ignite new tension between anglophones and francophones. He said the issue only affects a small percentage of students, mainly in Montreal.

"I think Quebec has progressed, and that Quebec is increasingly acknowledging that our schools have changed in 30 years," said Goldbloom. "Our graduates are bicultural and speak French much better than I do and they're much better ready to be full participants in Quebec society. So I don't see this being the spark of a major war."

He estimated that 20 per cent of students in elementary schools in the association, equivalent to about 340 students in 2007, were not eligible to continue in the subsidized secondary schools under Bill 104.

That's because the private schools to which Goldbloom is referring, such as Lower Canada College in Montreal, don't receive government subsidies at the elementary level but do for high school. As a result, students need to be eligible to attend English school to study there at the high school level under the French language charter.

The Quebec Court of Appeal struck down Bill 104 in 2007, with the majority on the court ruling it was inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

With file from Brenda Branswell (Montreal Gazette).

ESPN Preview: NY Islanders at Montreal Canadiens

NY Islanders at Montreal

Preview Conversation

7:00 PM ET, October 22, 2009
Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Islanders-Canadiens Preview

Regular Season Matchup
	W-L-OT	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
NYI	1-3-3	1-2-1	0-1-2	0-0-1	1-1-3
MON	3-5-0	1-2-0	2-3-0	2-1-0	3-1-0
· Complete Standings

Team Stat Comparison
16	Goals	16
24	Goals Against	25
6	Power Play Goals	4
5	Power Play Goals Allowed	8
0	Shorthanded Goals	1
0	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	0
84	Penalty Minutes	127
12	Average Penalty Minutes	16

Goalie Breakdown
	GOALIE	GP	W	TGA	GAA	SO	SV	SV%
	Martin Biron	4	0	11	3.16	0	90	.891
	Dwayne Roloson	4	1	13	3.48	0	109	.893
	Carey Price	6	2	20	3.36	0	156	.886
	Jaroslav Halak	3	1	5	2.27	0	49	.907

Team Stat Leaders
G	Matt Moulson 5	Brian Gionta 4
A	Kyle Okposo 5	Mike Cammalleri 5
PTS	Matt Moulson 8	Mike Cammalleri 6
PIM	Tim Jackman 17	Paul Mara 23
SOG	Matt Moulson 29	Mike Cammalleri 33

STATS LLC

The Montreal Canadiens avoided their worst start in 68 years, but they haven't won in regulation in their last 12 games.

Montreal continues its six-game homestand Thursday night, when it hosts a New York Islanders club looking to build off its first victory of the season.

The Canadiens (3-5-0) snapped their five-game losing streak with Tuesday's 2-1 shootout victory over Atlanta.

Michael Cammalleri missed, but first-year Canadiens Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta found the back of the net in the shootout as Montreal avoided its worst start since beginning 1-10-0 with a tie in 1941-42.

"We showed a lot of staying power there," said Gionta, who scored his team-leading fourth goal in the first period off an assist from Cammalleri. "When you lose five in a row and a team ties it up in the third period like that it could kill your confidence, but I thought we did a good job of sticking with it."

Montreal, though, has scored 10 goals in its last six games.

The Canadiens posted overtime victories in Toronto and Buffalo to open the season, but they have not won in regulation since a 6-2 victory over the Maple Leafs on April 4.

Montreal will get an opportunity to change that as it faces the Islanders for the first time this season. The teams split four matchups in 2008-09, with the visiting team winning each contest.

The Islanders (1-3-3) go for their third straight victory at the Bell Centre following Wednesday's 4-3 shootout win over Carolina. John Tavares, this year's No. 1 overall draft pick, scored the clinching goal and the Islanders avoided the franchise's worst-ever start. The 1973-74 team was winless in its first seven games.

"I just tried to think back to when I was a kid and there was no pressure," said the 19-year-old Tavares. "I got to my forehand and I knew I had to get it up and once I saw it go in, it was a great feeling to secure the win."

Defenseman Andy Sutton had a goal and assisted on Matt Moulson's first-period tally. Sutton's last multipoint game was a 4-2 win over Ottawa on Nov. 29 when he had two assists.

He played in 81 games the last two seasons due to a number of injuries.

"Andy is starting to get up to speed after having so much time off in the last two seasons," coach Scott Gordon told the Islanders' official Web site. "He's a big guy for us, not just in a size-sense, but he's a guy that can eat minutes as a defenseman and take up a lot of space, and blocks a lot of shots."

Moulson has scored a goal in a career-high four consecutive games.

Playing for Edmonton, Islanders goaltender Dwayne Roloson went 1-0-1 with a 2.96 GAA against Montreal last season.

Gordon could start Martin Biron on Thursday. Biron, who spent the previous two seasons with Philadelphia, is 13-8-0 with a 2.22 GAA in 23 games against the Canadiens.

Making his second start of the season, Montreal's Jaroslav Halak had 22 saves Tuesday. He is 2-1-0 with a 1.34 GAA in three career starts against the Islanders.

If Carey Price gets the nod for the Canadiens, it will be his 100th career appearance. He is 0-4-0 with a 4.18 GAA in his last four starts.

Montreal finishes its homestand Monday night against the Islanders.

"Why the Leafs Suck" Got Strachan Fired from HNIC Gig

Why Al Strachan was fired by HNIC
October 21, 2009
Truth & Rumours
by William Houston

The inside story of how Al Strachan lost his job at Hockey Night In Canada shines a bright, not so pretty light into the world of sports television and how decisions are made.

Strachan refused to comment on his sudden ouster as a regular on Hockey Night’s Hotstove intermission segment, but publishing sources confirmed today that his departure is tied to a book he wrote with the no-so-subtle title of Why The Leafs Suck.

The book, released a few weeks ago by Harper Collins, apparently incensed the CBC, because Strachan was identified on the cover as being “from Hockey Night In Canada,” despite the fact permission had not been given by the network for the show’s name to be used on the cover of the book.

“Scott Moore (the head of CBC Sports and also head of marketing and advertising for the network) went ballistic,” said one insider.

Moore’s response seems out of character and raises more questions than it answers.

Why wouldn’t the CBC want its leading brand displayed on the cover of a book? Wouldn’t it be good publicity?

Was the content of the book a problem for the CBC? Apparently not. At least, that’s what sources told us.

Was the CBC pressured by the Toronto Maple Leafs to punish Strachan for writing a book that would embarrass the organization? Again, the answer seems to be no.

The principal title is: Why The Leafs Suck, but the book comes with the more hopeful subtitle: And How They Can Be Fixed.

That said, the book takes a tough look at arguably the most incompetent NHL franchise of the past 40 years.

In one chapter, Strachan comes down hard on Leaf general manager Brian Burke, who was hired last winter and is viewed by most in the Toronto hockey community as a top hockey guy.

Given the Leafs are winless and in last place early in the season, Strachan’s assessment of Burke might be worth reading.

But Strachan’s dismissal is only part of the story.

The CBC’s lawyers also demanded that Harper Collins cover over the Hockey Night reference on the book’s front with a non-removable sticker for all future copies leaving the warehouse. Book sellers were also required to cover over the name on the books that they had in stock.

Strachan, for his part, would say about his dismissal only, “The decision was made by Hockey Night In Canada, so you would have to ask them why they made it. But it involves a copyright issue and not an on-camera or production issue.”

Strachan, who lives in the small town of Saint Andrews, N.B., flew to Toronto weekly to appear on the Hotstove. He was paid in excess of $500 a show.

More on this later.

Sergei Kostitsyn suspended and reinstated by Habs

UPDATE:

from RDS (translated)

RDS has learned that Sergei Kostitsyn has finally agreed to return with the Hamilton Bulldogs. He had left the team in the earlier in the day, which earned him a suspension by the Canadiens. The suspension has been lifted by general manager Bob Gainey.

Kostitsyn has changed its tune after a meeting with Gainey in the late afternoon.


TSN.ca Staff
10/21/2009 5:54:30 PM

Sergei Kostitsyn has been suspended for the second time this season by the Montreal Canadiens and Hamilton Bulldogs.

According to several media reports, Kostitsyn left the AHL's Bulldogs on Wednesday and was immediately suspended by the Canadiens. He had four points in Hamilton's first five games after being sent to the AHL just prior to the beginning of the regular season.

"It was his decision, not mine," Kostitsyn's agent, Don Meehan told The Canadian Press during a Wednesday interview.

The agent also told The Canadian Press the forward would be meeting with Canadiens general manger Bob Gainey later in the day. Meehan said he would not be taking part.

According to RDS, the Canadiens now expect Kostitsyn to entertain offers from the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia, where three teams are known to be interested in his services.

"I know that Sergei is thinking about going to play in Russia, but I don't know if he'll go," said Meehan to The Canadian Press.

Kostitsyn, whose brother Andrei still plays for Montreal, was first suspended on Sept. 30 when he refused to report to Hamilton after being sent down by the Canadiens. He asked for a trade from the team, but when one didn't materialize he eventually changed his mind and reported to the Bulldogs.

Last season, the Belarussian native scored eight goals and added 15 assists for 23 points in 56 games. Last Saturday he had two goals and an assist as Hamilton beat the Chicago Wolves 5-4.

THN.com Blog: NHL must come down hard on Kozlov

You can expect league officials to look closely at Slava Kozlov's hit from Tuesday night.
THN.com
Ken Campbell
2009-10-21 11:45:00

Slava Kozlov doesn’t exactly fit the profile of an on-ice menace, but NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell should treat him like one when looking at Kozlov’s cross-check from behind on Scott Gomez Tuesday night.

If the NHL is serious about curbing dangerous hits from behind, Campbell must suspend Kozlov and must have him sit out for a significant amount of time. Five games would be a nice place to start.

Gomez wasn’t even hurt on the play and, in fact, immediately turned around and began punching Kozlov in retribution. But that wasn’t the point.

The point is that as hard as you look, you may never find a more textbook example of a flagrant hit from behind on a vulnerable opponent than Kozlov’s cross-check on Gomez. There was absolutely no grey area on this one. Hit-from-behind apologists like to talk about players turning their backs on a hit, but that clearly was not the case here. Gomez was clearly going for a puck along the boards and Kozlov could see the numbers on his back, but that did not prevent Kozlov from pushing Gomez headfirst into the boards.

Was it a dirty play? We’ll give Kozlov the benefit of the doubt and say no. But was it a reckless one? You’d better believe it. Having that egregious disregard for your opponent is every bit as bad as having an intent to injure him.

And that’s why Campbell has to come down hard on Kozlov. You’re never going to find a more clear example of the kind of hit the NHL wants to take out of the game and Campbell will probably never have as good a chance to show the league means business.