Canadiens-Panthers: Ugly Wins Count Too!

Montreal 5 Florida 4 (BankAtlantic Center)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

Was it the early 5 p.m. start? Perhaps it was the distractions of the pool, the beach or that it was New Year's eve. Maybe it was that odd feeling of having Habs' fans outnumber the home side at the BankAtlantic Center.

Whatever the reason, we can safely say that this was not a classic. No need to worry that the game recording will be clogging up PVR hard drives of Habs' fans. Having said that, it was an entertaining match.

Its best that Jacques Martin and crew simply forget about this game, one that was characterized by sloppy play, and poor goaltending.

"A tremendous hockey game," coach Martin said. "We battled hard and they battled hard. It could have gone either way."

Well, it seems that Martin is not yet ready to forget.

Just when you thought the Canadiens were getting back to full health, a number of Canadiens went down with injuries in the game.

It's probably due to the blue moon that people were talking about.

The medical alerts started even before the game began with Sergei Kostitsyn experiencing a lower body injury. Fortunately the Canadiens have instituted a no-sleeping policy during games so it wasn't hard to find Max Pacioretty. He was in the dining room enjoying a meal and was rushed into service taking Sergei's spot in the line-up.

Andrei Kostitsyn went to the dressing room in the second period and did not return after receiving a low hit from Keith Ballard. Glen Metropolit, Marc-Andre Bergeron and Matt D'Agostini also were injured to a lesser degree.

Josh Gorges continues to look out of place on the number one defense pairing with Markov. Keith Ballard easily walked around Gorges for Florida's first goal. Gorges was victimized again on the Panthers second goal as he was caught too deep giving Nathan Horton a breakaway.

The Canadiens penalty killers have been superb during the road trip, but it should be clear that Max Lapierre and Benoit Pouliot are not effective penalty-killers. They were on the ice for the Panthers power-play goal tonight.

Lapierre held his own in a fight with Ballard. Lapierre went after Ballard for his low hit on Andrei Kostitsyn that put him out of the game. Pouliot scored his second goal in a Canadiens' uniform.

Many questioned Jacques Martin's decision to start Jaroslav Halak especially given that Carey Price was the number one star in the Tampa Bay game. It would seem the question was justified. Halak looked uncomfortable and shaky all night. At least three of the Florida goals could be considered soft.

Tomas Vokoun wasn't much better at the other end of the ice.

But it was an important win, giving the Canadiens six wins in seven road games. The month of December was supposed to be one of the most difficult given the schedule. The Habs are no doubt pleased with their 9-7-1 record.

Andrei Markov continues to prove just how valuable he is. The Canadiens are 7-1-0 with him in the lineup. Markov had three more assists tonight giving him 11 points in eight games.

The Canadiens return home for a game against the Sabres on Sunday afternoon.


Rocket's three stars

1. Andrei Markov
2. Nathan Horton
3. Tomas Plekanec

Special mention: Brian Gionta

Material from wire services was used in this report.

(photo credit: AP)

Canadiens-Lightning: Coach Martin is not Olympic Bound

Montreal 2 Tampa Bay 1 OT (St Pete Times Forum)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

Today, the talk turned to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, now only six weeks away. Montreal will be well represented by six players: Andrei Markov, Russia; Tomas Plekanec, Czech Republic; Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarus; Jaroslav Halak, Slovakia; and Yannick Weber, Switzerland. All are deserving selections.

There were some murmurs of protest from the Mike Cammalleri fan club. But with all the talent to choose from, Team Canada's general manager Steve Yzerman can pass on snipers who can't play defense and struggle to score on the road. Vancouver is a long way from the Bell Centre.

RDS didn't have time to worry about any Canadiens left off the team. The RDS commentators whined non-stop about the non-inclusion of Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St Louis despite the fact that there were far better players let off the Team Canada roster. It didn't come to their attention that neither St Louis nor LeCavalier is the best player on a mediocre Tampa team.

It was a sad pathetic display of tabloid-type journalism by RDS who have lost all objectivity and credibility as a sports network. Instead they employ a a group of crotchety old men who act as political cheerleaders. It's a truly pathetic sight!

On a day of Olympic discussion, what I found interesting were the words of Team Canada coach Mike Babcock. "I like the ability of our four lines to really come at you," Babcock said, in a TSN interview. "I think we're going to have the ability to be physical, play with and without the puck and just be relentless."

While Babcock will be working with some of the most talented forwards in the world in Vancouver, I get the sense that the word "relentless" is part of his philosophy whether coaching with Team Canada, Detroit or Spokane.

Babcock and Jacques Martin are both professional, experienced coaches. But a coaching strategy that pushes his team to be relentless is part of what determines that Babcock is successful in the post-lockout NHL, and Martin is not.

In tonight's game, the Canadiens forechecked and were aggressive in the Tampa Bay zone for the better part of two periods. In the third, coach Martin threw up the 'All Stop' sign to protect a 1-0 lead. The Habs exerted no offensive zone pressure and easily let Tampa gain the Montreal zone.
As a result, the Lightning outshot the Canadiens 13-to-4 in the final period.  To no one's surprise (except maybe coach Martin), Tampa tied the game.

Carey Price was superb in the third period, keeping the game close. It was an impressive effort by Price who was under pressure to perform.

It would seem that coach Martin was satisfied to end the game with a tie hoping that the Canadiens strong overtime/shootout record would prevail. It did so again tonight.

Tomas Plekanec scored the winner in overtime. Plekanec is without question, the best forward for the Canadiens even when he has a linemate who is struggling. Mike Cammalleri isn't playing well offensively or defensively on this road trip. Tonight, he was held without a shot on goal.

Brian Gionta scored tonight and once again led by example on the ice, driving the puck to the net on numerous occasions.

Matt D'Agostini got a chance on the third line tonight. While it was his best game in a very long time, he is still prone to inconsistency and weak shifts. Max Pacioretty is a much better fit with Glen Metropolit and Travis Moen. It was a surprise that Pacioretty was scratched tonight instead of D'Agostini or Max Lapierre.

While Benoit Pouliot has done many things right since being inserted in the lineup, he is not an effective penalty-killer. Sergei Kostitsyn and Scott Gomez have developed the chemistry to be a very effective shut-down pair.

Roman Hamrlik played almost 23 minutes and was very good tonight in his return from injury. It was wise to see Hamrlik play once again with Jaroslav Spacek. The two had formed an effective tandem during Markov's injury.

Unfortunately coach Martin chose to match Josh Gorges with Markov. While likable, Gorges has had a poor season and as history as proved, only gets worse when he plays over 20 minutes. Gorges should have remained with Hal Gill.

Ryan O'Byrne once again led the team in hits, and his physical presence is needed beside Markov. O'Byrne is most like Komisarek who was a good complement to Markov.

The Habs went 0-for-3 with the man advantage and did not look like the number one power-play in the league.

The Canadiens will play the Florida Panthers on New Year's eve to end their seven game road trip.

Rocket's three stars

1. Carey Price
2. Mike Smith
3. Tomas Plekanec

Special mention: Brian Gionta, Andrei Markov

Material from wire services was used in this report.

(photo credit: AP)

Canadiens-Senators: Habs Keep Shots Down but not Goals

Montreal 2 Ottawa 4 (Scotiabank Place)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

Many of the talking heads were crowing about tonight's game being the best played on the Canadiens' road trip. But Jacques Martin has designed his game plan to win with excellence from his goaltender and special teams. Tonight the goaltending by Jaroslav Halak was average and on special teams, the Habs gave up a goal while shorthanded, and strangely enough, they didn't have a chance on the power-play.

While the Canadiens didn't have their best first period of the year, -- that would be the Centennial game against Boston -- it was a good example of how we can expect the team to play as it gets healthy. They looked very good. With Brian Gionta back in the lineup and Georges Laraque in the press, the team had four legitimate NHL-caliber lines.

The Habs used their speed, they forechecked, and had a 2-0 lead by the 10 minute mark of the first period for the second consecutive game. Mike Cammalleri broke out of his goal scoring slump on a beautiful passing play by Andrei Markov and Andrei Kostitsyn. Tomas Plekanec created havoc in front of the Senators goal.

The goal by Cammalleri was number 20,000 in Canadiens' franchise history. "It's pretty special to be part of the history," said Cammalleri. "It's not the result we wanted though." The historic goal comes in the 6,056th game.

Benoit Pouilot scored his first goal in a Canadiens sweater. Pouilot is not afraid to go to the net, has great hands to make skilled plays and has good hockey sense, characteristics that were absent in his predecessor's game. It's early to make any judgements about his future, but it is clear already that Pouillot is a significant upgrade on Guillaume Latendresse.

Pouillot and Brian Gionta had 12 of the Canadiens 31 shots. Gionta was everywhere in the first period. While Andrei Markov was injured, there was a huge void in the Canadiens line-up. But let's not underestimate the value of Gionta and how much he was missed for 21 games while injured. With his return, the Canadiens had two effective top lines for the first time this season.

"It felt pretty good to be back," said Gionta. "We would have liked the win obviously. When we have a team on a rope we have to find a way to bury them."

As the game wore on, the Habs ran into penalty trouble and began returning to their coach's favorite passive style of play. Unfortunately, this approach mitigates one of the Canadiens assets, speed, and exposes a glaring weakness which is defense.

Marc-Andre Bergeron and Hal Gill can be effective in limited doses, but overwhelmed when opposing forwards gain the blue-line in full flight. Bergeron's giveaway led to the Senators winning goal tonight.

Sergei Kostitsyn deserves special mention. Sergei was moved off the second line to make room for Gionta but accepted his role and played a feisty game. He continues to be paired with Scott Gomez on the second penalty-killing unit.

Officiating was inconsistent at best tonight. While the Canadiens were assessed five minor penalties, Ottawa had none. The Senators had a goal waved off for goaltender interference by Chris Neil. Replays showed that the goal should have been allowed to stand.

This was a very winnable game for the Canadiens. They missed a chance to take advantage of a Senators line-up that was without several injured players including Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Nick Foligno.

"With the injuries we have right now there are certain guys who are going to step up to fill those roles," said Ryan Shannon. "There are a lot of guys that want to fill those roles and we're doing a good job so far."

Carey Price required several stitches to his ear after a puck hit him while on the bench.

The Canadiens now head to Florida for games against the Lighting and Panthers to end their seven game road trip.

Rocket's three stars

1. Pascal Leclaire
2. Andrei Markov
3. Peter Regin

Special mention: Benoit Pouliot, Brian Gionta

Material from wire services was used in this report.

(photo credit: Getty)

Canadiens-Leafs: A Goaltending & Special Teams' Win - by Design?

Montreal 3 Toronto 2 OT (Air Canada Center)

posted by Rocket
All Habs



The game statistics should no longer shock us. The Canadiens will be outshot in most games played. They rank 29th in the league in shots against. Only Florida is worse. The Habs are 28th in the NHL in shots for.

By giving up shots and taking few, the Habs will spend a disproportionate amount of time in their own end. It goes hand-in-hand that the Habs will heavily rely on their goaltenders to steal games for them. Both Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak have done so.

The Canadiens will take more penalties than their opponent. They rank 29th in the number of minor penalties. Philadelphia is the only team in the league that heads to the box more for two-minute infractions.

Given that the they spend so much time in the own end while five-on-five, the Habs will need effective special teams to win games. The Canadiens have the number one power-play in the league and are seventh in penalty-killing.

If the game is time after regulation, the Habs have a very good chance to win the game. They have the best overtime/shootout record at 10-3.

It should come as no surprised that the Habs won tonight. They were outshot 49-23. The game was decided in overtime. The Canadiens took twice as many penalties as the Leafs but the penalty-killers were perfect including enduring a lengthy 5-on-3 by Toronto. The Habs' power-play was successful on 50 percent of their opportunities.

This is the anatomy of a Jacques Martin coached win. After 40 games, if he wasn't happy with the results, he would have made changes. Yet, game after game there are similar themes. A valid conclusion is that these characteristics are part of a coach Martin game plan.

By design, the Canadiens are a passive team that sit back and let the opposition dictate the play. They are very undisciplined but rely on their goaltending and special teams to bail them out.

Tonight, the Habs were able to get an early 2-0 lead before the game was five minutes old. Then, they sat back for two and a half periods while the Leafs ran up the shot count.

Halak wasn't tested in the first period despite facing 16 shots. The Leafs are the number one team in the league in shots on goal and are not very discriminating. Very few were serious scoring chances. But with Toronto outshooting Montreal 33-13 in the final two periods, Halak came up with a number of big saves.

Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn continue to lead the team offensively. Each got a goal with Kostistyn fooling Toronto netminder Jonas Gustavasson with a quick release for the overtime winner.

Mike Cammalleri is struggling especially on the road. Cammalleri has one goal in his last nine games.

Don't look now but Scott Gomez has five points in his last two games. Without Brian Gionta, Gomez had 12 points in 14 games in the month of December.

Sergei Kostitsyn and Benoit Pouliot will be difficult to move off the second line. Sergei Kostitsyn has been excellent when shorthanded and although it's early, Pouliot shows glimpses of his potential.

The Canadiens fourth line is going nowhere fast and is in need of an overhaul.

Andrei Markov had another two points tonight. Jaroslav Spacek may have benefited from the time without Markov to take a defensive leadership role. Ryan O'Byrne brings a simple, physical game and helps us to forget Mike Komisarek.

On Monday in Ottawa, the Canadiens will have a chance to score the 20,000th goal for the franchise.



Rocket's three stars

1. Jaroslav Halak
2. Jason Blake
3. Andrei Kostitsyn



Special mention: Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec, Scott Gomez

Material from wire services was used in this report.

(photo credit: AP)

Canadiens-Hurricanes: Potent Power-Play Silences Hurricanes

Montreal 5 Carolina 1 (RBC Center)

posted by Rocket
All Habs



It's the holiday season, time to give thanks.

Three wins in a row for the Canadiens prior to the Christmas break! Thank you Steve!!

Who's Steve, you ask? I'm referring to Steve Hatze-Petros. His official title is Senior VP, Scheduling with the NHL but usually referred to as The Schedulemaker. In a year where the schedule has been compacted by two full weeks to make room for the Winter Olympics, Hatze-Petros' handiwork has received a great deal of abuse by coaches, general managers, fans and especially bloggers.

Although he would never challenge Gary Bettman for volume of hate mail, Hatze-Petros gets his share while trying to juggle the variables of a balanced schedule, travel considerations and building commitments. It's not a job that will yield too many happy clients.

So let's take a chance to tip our caps to Steve. A three game pre-break road trip could have been much worse. The Canadiens were fortunate to face a middle of the pack team in the Thrashers, who play in one of the deadest buildings in the league. There's no worries about the fans being a seventh-man factor at Philips Arena. The other two teams, Islanders and Hurricanes are cellar-dwellers.

All three, are teams that the Canadiens should be expected to beat. And they did.

Thanks, also, to Tomas, Andrei, the other Andrei, and Jaro. That would be Plekanec, Markov, Kostitsyn and Halak. All have made significant contributions.

Plekanec had three more assists tonight bringing his total to 43 points. Plekanec is sixth in league scoring, one point less than Alex Ovechkin and three less than Sidney Crosby.

Andrei Markov now has four points in four games with three points coming on the power-play. The Canadiens power-play is now an unbelievable eight for 13 since Markov's return vaulting them into the first place ranking in the league.

"[Markov's] a great asset for us on the power play," Plekanec said. "He can make the pass. He can do anything."

Andrei Kostitsyn is simply on fire. He has nine goals in his last ten games and 18 points in his last 16 games. Andrei is also a physical presence in every game, and tonight was the co-leader in hits with Ryan O'Byrne.

In the past Jaroslav Halak has struggled to win on the road, and to play consistently well in more than three consecutive starts. In an effort to make his case to potential suitors, Halak has played three solid games all on the road. Halak has made an incredible 133 saves in those games.

"You've got to be lucky for us to win these games. I got lucky tonight, I got lucky the night before and before (that)," Halak said. "Hopefully it's going to stick with me."

While Halak's goaltending has spurned some over-the-top comments on radio call-in shows, one must also consider that the Canadiens have scored 12 goals in the past three games. One can think of many games during the season when stellar goaltending was wasted when the offense could only manage one goal.

Scott Gomez also deserves some credit tonight. Gomez was temporarily benched and missed a few shifts after taking a double minor penalty in the first period. Gomez returned to notch three assists. Despite all the criticism he has received, Gomez is still the Canadiens' fourth leading scorer.

Canadiens' fans would be very thankful for the return of Gomez' linemate, Brian Gionta. Gionta has missed 20 games due to injury and yet is eighth in team scoring. Tonight Gomez played with Sergei Kostitsyn and Benoit Pouliot. Kostitsyn scored his first of the season. Pouliot looked good in his first game with the Canadiens, handling the puck well, and going to the net.

Let's thank Bob Gainey for two excellent signings that make up two-thirds of an effective third line trio. Glen Metropolit had two power-play goals. Travis Moen is one of the Canadiens' best penalty-killers. The third member of the line, Max Pacioretty, has excelled at going to the front of the opposition net drawing defenders and opening up ice for his linemates.

There's so much for which to be thankful. Now, can you imagine the smile on Canadiens' fans faces if we were to learn that coach Martin received an aggressive forecheck system in his stocking?

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday. Merry Christmas Habsland!


Rocket's three stars

1. Tomas Plekanec
2. Jaroslav Halak
3. Andrei Kostitsyn

Special mention: Scott Gomez, Glen Metropolit, Andrei Markov

Material from wire services was used in this report.

(photo credit: AP)

Vote for Your Favourite Habs Blog (Round 3)

All of us at All Habs: Habsbloggergirl, EP, Kyle & Rocket work very hard to bring you information and candid opinions from diverse perspectives about the Montreal Canadiens.  We are very grateful for your readership.

All Habs has advanced to Round 3 of the The NHL Arena's poll of your favourite Habs blogs.  Unfortunately, the website forgot to inform us of the honour, so we have some catching up to do.

That means we are humbly asking for your help.  If you like what we do at All Habs, please register and cast your vote here:

Habs Blog-Off Round 3

There is also a place to leave your comments on the website.

Thanks for your support!

A Habs Fan's Wishlist

Posted by Kyle


Habs fans are a fairly low-maintenance bunch (snicker) so I figured I'd put together a humble wish list for our beloved bleu-blanc-rouge. The Canadiens are also a very giving bunch, what with all of the turnovers, power plays and faceoffs they surrender, so what's the harm in asking? Like they say: "You don't get if you don't ask".

Without further delay then, here are 5 things on my wish list for the Habs:

1- Secondary Scoring.
Yes, I'm talking about Mr. Gomez. I know his buddy Gionta is still hobbled, and he needs a sniper on his wing, but he's got to do more with what he has. Nobody is expecting miracles, and I don't even think people were expecting a point per game. But right now he's barely going at a point-every-2-games pace, and for nearly 8 million dollars, that's not good enough. Period. He needs to make his linemates better. He has the skills and the vision. If not, he'll find that Montreal is very unforgiving with underachievers and things will only get tougher on him. He also needs to produce in order to alleviate pressure from Tomas Plekanec. If you believe that the smallish Plekanec can continue his torrid production through 82 games, playoffs and Olympics, more power to you. I, however, believe that the grind will catch up with him, as it has in the past. Playing against the other teams' #1 line or against their big shutdown lines will eventually neutralize Plekanec as signs of wear set in. Someone needs to provide support, and Gomez is the guy. He has to be the guy.

2- Improved 5-on-5 Play
Seeing as though modern hockey is designed to be played 5-on-5, is it fair to expect that the Canadiens be better than flirting with last place in the league? It would be wonderful to see Martin adapt to his players strengths rather than try and stuff his passive system down everyone's throats. If the results of his system are snoozefest losses to the Devils and Wild, or skin-of-their-teeth victories while the goaltending puts in 40+ saves, then I don't feel guilty in asking for some changes to the status quo. Coach Martin's flawed game plan relies on special teams and superb goaltending to win games, which makes no sense. No doubt special teams are key, but can we be a little better fundamentally 5-on-5? Which leads me to...

3- Discipline
The Canadiens have been shorthanded 169 times this season, which as of December 23rd, is good for best (or worst) in the league. It's all fine and dandy that the PK has improved to 84% (good for 7th overall), but like I mentioned earlier, hockey is meant to be played 5-on-5, and it's hard to improve your even strength play if you are constantly short handed. Being shorthanded as much as the Habs are also puts undue demands on Plekanec, who is currently logging far too much ice time. He's averaging 20:06 per game, which isn't bad but when several of those minutes are shorthanded, it's a huge energy drain on a guy who is Mr. Everything for the Canadiens offense. It also keeps other offensive forces like Mike Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn on the bench. They're the only guys who are scoring right now, and it's hard to do that if they're on the bench watching their mates run around their own zone doing the headless chicken dance.

4- Siginings
Bob Gainey has signed guys mid-season before. I don't know when he instituted his policy of not negotiating during the season, but he needs to reverse this policy immediately. Carey Price and Tomas Plekanec are both restricted free agents at season's end. (EDIT: Thanks to 2 readers, who pointed out my error. Plekanec is actually a UFA at season's end, not RFA - thanks!!) Imagine this team, already with cap issues, without either of them for next year. Gainey should not expose these players to other General Managers who will throw crazy offers at them, if only just to compromise the Canadiens cap situation even further. If Gainey sees these 2 players as cornerstones of the team for the next few years, then he needs to get to work before the door closes and both leave town. For nothing. Again.

5- Youth Development
Here is where I clearly don't know anything, but what I do know is that promising young players have come up to Montreal, made an initial splash, and then regressed, leaving us all scratching our heads. We saw this with Chipchura, D'Agostini, Pacioretty, Max Lapierre, Sergei Kostitsyn and if you want to throw Latendresse in that mix, go ahead (though we can debate forever how the Habs management screwed up big time 3 years ago vs Guillaume's own poor work ethic and woe-is-me attitude). To some extent, we saw that last year with Chris Higgins, but he continues to regress in New York, so perhaps he has his own set of issues. Chipchura and Latendresse have both already been shipped out this year (both in the past month), and both have already surpassed their production with the Canadiens in less than half the time. They are by no means lighting the league on fire, but that has to say something, however little, doesn't it? Read in to that what you will, but what we can't debate is that D'Agostini, Pacioretty, Max Lapierre, and Sergei Kostitsyn have combined to play 113 games, and have 7 goals and 20 assists to show for it. That's .24 points per game. For guys who have all seen significant ice time, that's a painful statistic. Oh, and they've also combined for a -20, which means they aren't even playing all that well defensively. I want to make it clear that I like all of these players (though D'Agostini leaves me underwhelmed), and want to see them do well, but right now, they're doing nothing. Pacioretty gets knocked around (between the odd flash of potential), Lapierre talks more than he plays, and Sergei reminds me more and more of Oleg Petrov (with some added attitude); he skates well, carries the puck, but ultimately produces nothing (hence the -2 rating). This is not debatable. They're talented, but talent means nothing if it does not manifest itself.
I'm not giving up on any of these guys, but they need to be in a position to succeed and build confidence (i.e. Hamilton) or get someone on the team that will work with them on an individual basis to work on refining their game. I initially believed that Martin had a good track record with young players, but it seems I was wrong. Year after year we tell ourselves that X young player will be better, but it rarely, if ever happens. These kids are your future building blocks. They're on entry level deals that will eventually expire. Will you bring them back, or let them go? How can you make an informed decision if you don't know what they can give you?

So that's it. See? We really are a low-maintenance bunch. Am I asking too much or too little?

What would you add to your Habs wish list?

Canadiens-Thrashers: Habs Escape Atlanta with Two Points on an Overtime Win

Montreal 4 Atlanta 3 OT (Philips Arena)

posted by Rocket
All Habs


On December 12, Atlanta scored an overtime goal to beat Montreal 4-3 at Philips Arena. For tonight's result, just flip the numbers. On December 21, it was the Canadiens getting an overtime goal to win 4-3 in the same building.

Just over a week ago, we were astonished to see the Thrashers dominate the Canadiens in the second period, outshooting them 16-4. Tonight, Atlanta didn't wait that long. The shots were 18-3 for the Thrashers in the first period.

Shots directed at the net (including shots on goal, missed and blocked shots) on December 12 were 67-34 in favor of the Thrashers, a differential of 33. Tonight Atlanta's advantage was 29 with shots directed at the net being 73-44 for the Thrashers.

The Canadiens now rank 29th in the league in average shots per game with 26.7. Habs are 24th in shots against.

Numbers aside, the Habs were fortunate to win this game. While some will point to a porous defense as the culprit, I would suggest that the Canadiens spend far too little time with the puck in the offensive zone. Jacques Martin's passive system has the Canadiens playing retreat, surrendering the neutral zone too easily so that the opposition can gain the Habs' zone with speed.

Instead the game plan seemed to call for productive special teams and for the goaltender to stand on his head. Just as Carey Price had done on December 12, Jaroslav Halak was called upon to make save after save. Halak set a personal best with 47 stops on the game. He now has made 87 saves in his last two games.

"It was one of those nights again," said Halak. "Many, many shots again. But we were able to win the game. That's all that matters."

As outstanding as Halak was tonight, he seemed to be his own worst enemy at times. The shot total against would have been reduced significantly if Halak had been better able to control his rebounds.

Martin seemed to confirm that notion after the game saying that there was less of a disparity betweet scoring chances for the two teams than the shot total would indicate. At the other end of the ice, Johan Hedberg once again looked beatable but he wasn't tested enough by the Canadiens.

Once again the Habs were undisciplined taking twice as many penalties as the Thrashers. The Canadiens allowed one short-handed goal in six opportunites.

The Habs' power-play scored twice in three opportunities with goals from Andrei Kostitsyn and Marc-Andre Bergeron. "No doubt, that was the difference in the hockey game, the two goals on the power-play," said coach Martin.

Martin went on to say that the Canadiens' first "line is coming up with wizardry on the power-play." Centering that line was Tomas Plekanec who was involved each time the Canadiens scored with a goal and three assists.

It would seem that many of the flaws in the Canadiens game should be able to be remedied by the coaching staff: more agressive forecheck; being better prepared to start the game; discipline; faceoffs; and line matchups/personnel decisions.

Preventable mistakes combined tonight to result in a key Atlanta goal, only 22 seconds into the third period, which tied the game at two goals each. Max Lapierre lost the faceoff. Halak gave up a rebound. Martin left his fourth line on the ice to face Kovalchuk and the Thrashers first line.

Lapierre has been a major disappointment this season. He is a prime candidate for a trip to the press box when Benoit Pouliot joins the lineup for the game on Wednesday night. Georges Laraque and Matt D'Agostini are not far behind Lapierre for consideration.

Both Bergeron and Paul Mara received injuries during the game. Bergeron was shaken up when he hit the post while scoring the winning goal. He should be ready for Wednesday. Things are less certain for Mara who received a slash to his left hand.


Rocket's three stars

1. Jaroslav Halak
2. Tomas Plekanec
3. Nik Antropov

Material from wire services was used in this report.

(photo credit: AP)

Canadiens recall Benoit Pouliot from the Hamilton Bulldogs

Benoit Pouliot has been recalled from Hamilton and will joining the Canadiens but will not be in the lineup in Atlanta vs. the Thrashers.

Monday, 21.12.2009 / 10:47 AM / News

Montreal Canadiens

PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens announced monday that left winger Benoit Pouliot has been called up from the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs. Pouliot will join the Canadiens monday in Atlanta for tonight’s game against the Thrashers.

Pouliot recorded three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in three games with the Bulldogs. He also maintained a +1 plus/minus rating, registered 11 shots on goal and served four penalty minutes.

Pouliot, 23, was assigned to the Bulldogs on December 10 for conditioning purposes. The 6’03’’, 199 lbs forward has yet to play a game with the Canadiens due to an injury. Pouliot played 14 games with the Wild this season, recording four points (2 goals, 2 assists), serving 12 penalty minutes with a plus/minus rating of 0 and averaging 11:56 minutes of ice time per game.

A Response to: "Hockey's Worst Fans...By Far."

posted by Rocket
All Habs

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." -- Winston Churchill

Churchill gives us a simple, but dead-on accurate description of a committed sports fan, and I like to think, a dedicated Montreal Canadiens fan.

Habs' devotees immerse themselves in their team in a way that is unequaled in the NHL. 21,273 fans pack the Bell Centre for every game, including the pre-season. Canadiens' fans travel by the thousands to attend road games in many cities including New York, Boston and Philadelphia.

While the dedication to the team strikes many as rather impressive, others are simply envious.

On Saturday night, Canadiens' fans converged on Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (capacity 16,297). While media estimates vary, most reports seem to agree that approximately 7,000 were in attendance for the game between the Islanders and the Canadiens, with two-thirds being Habs' supporters.

The locals blame the poor attendance on a major snowstorm that hit the eastern United States. While it's true that about 28 centimeters of snow fell on the Long Island area, as mentioned in my game review, "the Islanders haven't exactly been spinning the turnstiles on clear nights."

Well, it seems that the enthusiastic 'invasion' didn't sit well with at least one Islander's fan. His name is Dave, and he is Columnits[sic]/Host of Isles Fan Reaction for Islanders Hockey Blog. Dave was motivated to write an article titled "Hockey's Worst Fans... By Far."

* Note: The article has now been removed from the blog.  If you wish to read the full text, you will find it here. *

I have been invited by the blog's editor, Christian, to respond.

As you read Dave's article, it won't take you long to figure out that he is not impressed with Canadiens' fans. "Sensible people like you and I know it, Leafs and Senators fans know it best, that the Montreal Canadiens have the most uncivil, the most insolent fans in the National Hockey League," writes Dave.

But tell us what you really think, Dave.

He continues, "What infuriates me about these boorish, disrespectful, excuses-for-canadian-citizens is that they have the audacity to saunter into which ever arena they're in (the Coliseum in our case) like they own the place."

My glib response is: that's what happens when you abandon your home arena! My second response is to note that while Dave is calling Habs' fans disrespectful, he has chosen not to capitalize the word "Canadian." Proof that his shift key works comes a few words later when he types "Coliseum."

A more thoughtful response begins by noticing that Dave is expressing his outrage using very strong language. You can almost feel the pain in his words as if he has been terrorized by the experience of being intimidated by being in the Islander minority of fans at Nassau Coliseum.

I was almost ready to sympathize until I realize that Dave is writing his article from the safe confines of his computer chair in Florida. Somehow his outrage is becoming more hollow.

Dave is upset by the reaction to the U.S. national anthem writing about "thunderous booing." There have been incidents at the Bell Centre in the past where the anthem has not received the respect it deserves. Regular readers of All Habs will know that I have an unblemished record of expressing my extreme displeasure for such conduct.

While I heard both anthems played, I didn't hear anything resembling "thunderous booing." But while we're on the subject, I do find it somewhat disrespectful that both anthems were not treated in an equal manner. The Canadian anthem was played by the organists while a children's choir performed the US. anthem. However, it was heartening to hear the voices of the Canadiens' fans filling the void.

Apparently Dave was not so enthused with the singing voices of Habs' fans complaining about the chants of 'Go Habs Go' and 'O-le, O-le.' He may have missed the chorus of 'Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye'.

I really don't know how to respond to that except with mild amusement. Hockey games are not golf, nor group meditation, Dave.

Reading his last paragraph, I quickly move from being amused to shaking my head. Claiming that tour coach buses from Quebec park "wherever it so pleases them" is just nonsense. The 'keep your provincial flag at home' comment is juvenile. I don't know what it says about his level of linguistic tolerance that he is offended when "They yell to each other, ... in french."  (In future, use the shift key on 'French' too.)

Dave also went out of his way to link the Canadiens' fans at the Nassau Coliseum to thugs who instigated a riot on April 21, 2008 in downtown Montreal. Dave writes,"we must remember these are the fans that burn POLICE CARS after a first-round playoff victory." Not that facts seem very important to Dave, but the truth is that the riots on that date began more than two hours after the end of the hockey game, and were led by a small group of organized vandals, not Canadiens' fans.

Let's not be under illusions that any fan base is exempt from groups of boorish, ignorant people. I believe that the best method of curbing their poor behaviour is for all of us to speak out (or write) about our own when we see it happening.

While Dave may be upset that Islanders fans were in the minority at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night, his anger is misdirected. He should consider that Habs' fans in attendance were not only from Quebec. The Montreal Canadiens have fans throughout the New York area in large numbers. They could be friends, neighbours and co-workers.

But shouldn't Dave's emotions be directed at the apathy of fellow Islanders' fans? Isn't buying tickets the simplest way to limit the voices of your opposition?

Some will once again raise the snow storm as an excuse for poor attendance. To that I say, if Montreal shutdown every time the city got 20-30 cm. of snow... To which some Islanders' supporters will counter, 'but we don't have a mass transit system like Montreal.' Neither does Ottawa or Edmonton.

Unfortunately the explanations sound more like excuses. And let's not forget that Canadiens' fans from Montreal had the inconvenience of a 1,200 km. round trip to see the game.

In addition, as mentioned earlier, attendance issues in Long Island are not a one-game phenomenon. Even buoyed by the sales to Canadiens' fans, the Islanders rank 29th in the league in average attendance in 2009-2010. Montreal ranks first.

These figures seem to challenge Dave's closing statement, "It's undisputed, The Montreal Canadiens have the WORST FANS IN HOCKEY."

If Dave doesn't appreciate the statistical evidence, then perhaps he will be interested in a recently published article by Forbes magazine who ranked NHL fans. In their estimation, based on last season's calculations of attendance, merchandise and TV viewship, Canadiens' fans ranked fourth in the league.

Undisputed? I think not.

Instead of misplaced and sometimes immature criticism, there could be an opportunity to borrow from the playbook of one of the NHL's most successful franchises and brands.  Dave, I suggest that you wish for the day when your fans will travel cross country in numbers to show their love for the Islanders.


A closing note to Christian at Islanders Hockey Blog: Thank you for the invitation to respond to Dave's article. All Habs welcomes opportunities to work with bloggers from other NHL teams. I commend you for reaching out.
 


(Photo credit: AP)

Who gets to be Price's backup?

Posted by EP

With Halak on the trading block, there has been a lot of discussion among the fans and the media over what the Habs will get in return for him. Some think it will be a second round pick, some want to see him packaged off with the rest of the team for Lecavalier. What people aren’t discussing is who’s going to be Price’s backup. Because I follow the Hamilton Bulldogs and I know a bit about the goalies in the system, I really think this should be up for discussion...

At first glance, it would seem that the Habs should be all set with regards to goaltending. At the beginning of the year, veteran goaltender Curtis Sanford was brought in to replace Marc Denis as the starting goalie in Hamilton. He was going to be backed-up by Cedrick Desjardins who finally got a permanent job in Hamilton last year. As an insurance marker, the Habs also have Robert Mayer who is spending his first pro-season in the ECHL.

When Sanford was signed in the off-season, many saw this a really good move. Marc Denis had struggled in his few NHL call ups and Sanford has had significant NHL experience with the Blues a few years ago. A lot of people felt at the beginning of the year that Sanford was brought in with the explicit purpose that he would become Price’s backup when Halak was traded (trade rumours start early around here!). Desjardins would take over as the starting goaltender and Mayer (who everyone forgets about) would be his backup.

I don’t know if that was management’s plan, but that was the plan made sense to the fans. Sounds good to you, right?

Well.. here’s where I think things could get interesting.

Desjardins has widely been overlooked in general - not surprising considering the Habs have had a multitude of goalies over the last few years. After getting shuffled around the ECHL and the AHL, he finally earned a permanent spot with the Bulldogs last year where he backed-up Marc Denis. After a slow start last year, he picked up his game and finished the season with some solid numbers.

This season, Sanford was definitely the undisputed number one goalie for the Bulldogs. He had some great numbers at the start of the season as the Bulldogs got off to a great start. Unfortunately, things started to go downhill a bit for Sanford. At first it was easy to contribute this to the birth of his latest kid. He missed about a week to be with his wife and I figured his drop in performance when he returned was because he lost his edge a bit after not playing at all for a week. Well, we’re now a good month past that and Sanford is still struggling. Luckily for the Bulldogs, but not so much so far Sanford, Desjardins has been playing some great hockey. Much like last year, Desjardins got off to a slow start but he has since picked up his game. And he’s picked it up a lot. He now has four shutouts in his last five game and has let in a grand total of one goal in that period.

With Sanford struggling and Desjardins putting up some great numbers, it would seem obvious that Desjardins should be the next call up. However, in my mind, there’s a few potential issues here. The first is that Desjardins has never played in the NHL before. The leap from the AHL to the NHL is a big one. I’m not saying that Desjardins can’t make that leap, I’m saying we don’t know if he can. There’s a lot of players who do well in the AHL but can’t take that extra step and make in the NHL.

Which brings me to my second point. I don’t want to take away from Desjardins and what he’s done, but I really believe a some credit has to go to the rest of the team as well. The Bulldogs are much more committed to playing defence than the Habs are and this has helped their goalies out. In his string of shutouts, Desjardins has not had to stand on his head like the Habs have needed Price to stand on his head game after game. Again, I’m not trying to take away from what he’s done, but I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to think that he can put these type of great numbers up in the NHL right now - especially with a Habs team that continually leaves their goalies out to dry.

So why not just bring up Desjardins anyway, see how he does and if he fails, bring up Sanford?

I guess there’s nothing wrong in theory with calling up Desjardins anyway... maybe he’ll completely prove me wrong and he’ll be the saviour of the Habs. Maybe not. In the event that he does flops and Sanford comes up to play instead.... I’m going to have to be honest here, I’m not thrilled with the idea of Sanford being Price’s backup. At the beginning of the year when the Habs first signed Sanford, I expressed some concern over this. While it is true that Sanford has had NHL experience and his numbers were pretty good, his more recent NHL numbers are not wonderful. In two years with the Canucks, he only got to play thirty-five games. He was 4-3 with a .888 SV% and 3.18 GAA in his first year and 7-8 with a .906 SV% and 2.59 GAA. I think he probably would have played more with the Canucks when Luongo was out last year if it wasn’t for the fact that he got injured himself. He was eventually sent back to the AHL where he basically sat on the bench for the most part because the Canucks have a stellar goalie with their AHL team in Cory Schneider. Looking back at Sanford's career, you can see that he’s been plagued with a lot injuries. In fact, it looks like every time things seem to be going well for him, he comes down with an injury. His most recent issues have been back spasms which do keep him out of games. I’ve seen him once already this year have to leave in the middle of a game because of this. Not great.

So he gets injured. Send him back to Hamilton and call up Desjardins!

They can’t. Not unless they want to risk losing Sanford on waivers. The way the waivers work for Sanford right now is that he can be called up without any problem, but if the Habs want to send him back down to Hamilton then he will have to clear waivers. Unless the Habs really dont’ care about losing him or unless he really stinks while he’s here, once he gets called up, he stays. Desjardins isn't subjected to waivers this year.

As for Mayer....

From what I’ve been hearing from people who follow the Cyclones more than me, Mayer has been having problems finding some consistency to his game. He was initially splitting the goaltending job with Nasvhille Predators prospect Jeremy Smith (with Smith getting slightly more games). Without following the Cyclones more, I can’t give you more than that, but I’m not exactly jumping for joy at the news.

So really, in short.... Sanford has the NHL experience, but his recent play has been less than stellar to the point where I think he's lost his starting role in Hamilton for now. He's also quite injury prone and it looks like this year won't be any different. Waivers would ensure that once he's called up, he stays put. Desjardins has been playing great hockey recently but he has zero NHL experience. Whether he can maintain this play in the AHL even remains to be seen. Both goalies are aided by a Bulldogs squad that plays very solid defense so I think that's helped their numbers to some extent. And Mayer hasn't found his game in the ECHL yet which isn't a good sign for Bulldogs in the event that they lose Sanford or Desjardins to the Habs.

.............

My personal take on this is that I really believe that the Habs will have to go goalie shopping if Halak leaves. I don't think that Sanford is a great choice for the long term (or even really short term).  Health is going to be a big issue with Sanford. His recent NHL numbers are not particularly encouraging for a team that needs to have solid goaltending right now. While I'm not sold on Desjardins, I think he has more potential. I don't think he's particularly technically sound either.

I guess none of this matters a lot if the Habs are going to take the same route as the Devils, Canucks and Rangers with their starting goalies (ie. Give them 70 + games a year and just pick up any guy as backup and never play him). I think that's a recipe for disaster but I'll save that ramble for another day.... Until the Habs play better defensively (or just plain play better), they're going to need solid goaltending if they are going to win games. I don't think they're necessarily going to get this out of Sanford and Desjardins. That's my personal take on it though.

Forbes: The NHL's Best (And Worst) Fans

Forbes: The NHL's Best (And Worst) Fans

Canadiens' fans are ranked fourth in the league.

Forbes.com

Christina Settimi

12.17.09, 3:00 PM ET

For scoring two goals in game seven to help beat the defending champion Detroit Red Wings and win the Stanley Cup last year, Pittsburgh Penguin Max Talbot earned a spot at the breakfast table in every Pittsburgh household--on the town's "City of Champions"-themed cereal boxes. But Penguins fans deserved a spot on the box too--for being the best in the NHL.

How do we know? For the 2008-09 season, we ranked teams based on average regular-season home game attendance as a percentage of arena capacity, regular-season local television viewers as a percentage of the team's metro area population and team merchandise sales.

Pens fans emerged the most fanatical. They consumed the most team merchandise last season, led by jerseys sales of NHL poster boy Sidney Crosby and Art Ross Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin. Televised games drew an average 72,644 households each on FSN Pittsburgh. On top of that the Igloo, as Mellon Arena is affectionately known, sold out every game in the 2008-09 season--the second year in a row.

Over in Philadelphia, Flyers fans put themselves third on our list, and proved even more die-hard than their cross-state rivals. They too filled their arena, the Wachovia Center, to capacity the last two seasons, but did so minus the wins required for back-to-back Stanley Cup final appearances. Bonus: In an ESPN.com survey of NHL players last February Flyers fans were voted "Most Disruptive."

Despite their team finishing near the bottom of the entire league winning only 41% of their games last season and missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season, the Toronto Maple Leafs fans toughed it out to rank second on our list. Each of the other five Canadian teams finished in the top half of our ranking, including the Montreal Canadiens who ranked fourth. It is a wonder what would have to happen for Canadians to turn their back on hockey.

On the other hand, Florida Panthers won half of their games and ranked dead last, having pulled in the worst TV ratings and least amount of merchandise sales despite being in the ninth largest market. But to boot, each of the other four teams that ranked at the bottom is a Sun Belt expansion or relocation team.

The San Jose Sharks managed to buck this trend of its warm weather counterparts, again. But the news was still hot and cold. While the team skated to the best record in the league, their fans ranked in the middle of the pack, behind teams in smaller markets, and with losing records, like the Minnesota Wild, who ranked fifth on our list.

Boston Bruins fans skated on thin ice too. The B's tied the Sharks for the best record in the league last year. Yet their fans ranked 17th in terms of attendance, putting them in the middle of the pack in our ranking. It was an increase over the previous year, but the worst among the NHL's Original Six. That's wicked cruel.

Best NHL Fans

1.  Pittsburgh Penguins

2.  Toronto Maple Leafs

3.  Philadelphia Flyers

4.  Montreal Canadiens

5.  Chicago Black Hawks

5.  Detroit Red Wings

5.  Minnesota Wild

Worst NHL Fans

26.  Nashville Predators

27.  Tampa Bay Lightning

28.  Phoenix Coyotes

29.  Atlanta Thrashers

30.  Florida Panthers

In Pictures: The NHL's Best (and Worst) Fans

Canadiens-Islanders: Christmas Comes Early for Markov and the Habs

Montreal 3 New York Islanders 0 (Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum)

posted by Rocket
All Habs



He could never be accused of being jolly and he is far more svelte than rotund. As he reminded us this week, his Christmas doesn't arrive until January 7th.

But, without question, Andrei Markov returned to the Canadiens' lineup bearing gifts tonight.

We wondered how long it would take for Markov to make a contribution. He hadn't played since the first game of the season on October 1. Would it take him one game to regain his form? More? Had he come back too soon? On the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Guy Carbonneau was quick to point out that Markov look rusty in his first shift or two.

It wouldn't take long for fans to learn the answers to their questions. Some broadcasters were left eating their words. Markov's impact on the Canadiens was immediate.

Markov scored his first goal of the season on the Canadiens' first power-play opportunity. He sneaked in from the point and tapped one past Martin Biron. Markov got his second of the game, and the season in the second period, again on the power-play. This time he used a big shot to beat Biron.

Instantly, the Canadiens' power-play becomes less predictable, and gives the opposition more to cover. The Habs scored their third power-play goal of the game when Glen Metropolit converted a nice passing play by Max Pacioretty and Scott Gomez.

Markov's presence also boosted the play of his teammates especially the defense corps. As a group they were quicker to gather in rebounds and to clear the zone.

"He's an all-star defenceman that has great vision and moves the puck well," said coach Jacques Martin. "It's nice to get a top player back. Those guys are hard to replace. His execution was really outstanding."

In addition to power-play production, the Canadiens were also perfect while shorthanded. With Tomas Plekanec taking a few penalties, Gomez and Sergei Kostitsyn were stars, each logging more than five minutes on the penalty killing unit.

The formula for success tonight was the return of Markov, special teams and goaltending.

Jaroslav Halak had a heavy workload tonight making 40 saves, several of the brilliant variety, for his first shutout this season. Halak also benefited from his teammates who prevented screened shots and gave up few second chance scoring opportunities. The Canadiens blocked 24 shots,14 in the first period alone.

While Halak has struggled at times in his career on the road, tonight had all the feel of a home game. A snowstorm was blamed for poor attendance although the Islanders haven't exactly been spinning the turnstiles on clear nights. Of the 7000 in the building, broadcasters estimated that Canadiens' fans outnumbered their hosts two to one.

"Our fans were like a sixth player on the ice," said Halak. The description for fan support is usually the 'seventh man' but we'll give him a pass on a colloquialism.

The Islanders came into the game struggling to score at Nassau Coliseum. They have now been outscored 15-3 in their last three home games.

While the Canadiens were much improved, they still gave up 40 shots. With the game in hand, the Habs sat back in the third period and played the Martin system.

Markov's ice-time was being closely managed and kept to 20 minutes. Expect that number to rise over the next few games. The defense will also be improved upon the return of Roman Hamrlik when recovered from his knee injury.

That will also allow Hal Gill and Josh Gorges' icetime to be limited to a more manageable amount. While Gill blocked five shots tonight, he was also responsible for five giveaways. Both Gill and Gorges will be more effective when their icetime is reduced.

The Canadiens will head to Atlanta tomorrow, weather-permitting, where they play against the Thrashers on Monday night.


Rocket's three stars

1. Andrei Markov
2. Jaroslav Halak
3. Andrei Kostitsyn

Material from wire services was used in this report.

(photo credit: Getty)

Canadiens-Islanders: Gameday Notes (No. 37)

CANADIENS (15-18-3) at ISLANDERS (13-15-7)

Pre-game notes

The Canadiens start a seven game road trip tonight in Long Island having lost five straight games. Habs have only scored two goals total in their last two games.

Yet there is great optimism in Habsland as tonight's game marks the return of Andrei Markov, their Norris-calibre defenseman. Markov hasn't played since being injured in the first game of the season with a sliced ankle tendon.

Markov may not be able to log the ice-time normally expected from him, but he will have an immediate impact on moving the puck out of the defensive zone and on the power-play.

Mike Cammalleri leads the Canadiens in goals with 18 but only four of those goals have been scored on the road. His linemate, Andrei Kostitsyn has been hot lately with seven goals and two assists in his last seven games. Tomas Plekanec centers Cammalleri and Kostitsyn and leads the Canadiens in assists and points.

Markov's return will bump defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron to a forward playing on the fourth line. Brian Gionta and Roman Hamrlik are sidelined with injuries.

Backup Jaroslav Halak will start in goal as he continues to be showcased since requesting a trade.

The Islanders are 4-6-0 in their last ten and have been outscored, 12-3, in their last two home games.

Game time is 7:00 p.m at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.


expected Canadiens lineup

Plekanec, Cammalleri, Andrei Kostitsyn
Gomez, Sergei Kostitsyn, D'Agostini
Metropolit, Moen, Pacioretty
Lapierre, Laraque, Bergeron

Markov, O'Byrne
Mara, Spacek
Gorges, Gill

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

scratches: Hamrlik (knee), Gionta (foot)

Hero's Return

Markov, ready as ever. (photo taken from rds.ca)

posted by habsbloggergirl

To be honest, I’m a little scared for this game. Terrified actually.

This is the day that our defensive star returns after missing 35 games. It’s the game that can become the 6th in a series of losses, or the 1st in (hopefully) a streak of wins. It’s against the Islanders, who have somehow caught up to us in the standings, but are ahead due to their game in hand. We sit in 12th, only ahead of Philadelphia, Toronto and Carolina.

The past few games have been grim at best. With little secondary scoring, Plekanec, Cammalleri and Kostitsyn are dragging this club along, and Plekanec is particular (due to his heroics on the PK) is showing signs of exhaustion. Our defence as a whole is mediocre (if that), and with the loss of the Hamrlik, we’re pretty subpar. We have taken an enormous amount of penalties. To win our goalies have had to have been incredible, but lately they have only been good. Not their fault, it’s hard to be perfect, and with scores like 3-1 and 2-1 in the past two games, perfection would have been the only way for us to win. We know this, and have been going over and over it for a few weeks. It has been extremely frustrating, and the only possible solution is that someone, or rather some people, need to step up.

On L’antichambre the other day, they said that someone needs to get mad in the locker room. Although that may be one solution, most of our team doesn’t fit that role. Perhaps a better one would be for someone to step up and play their heart out on the ice. Now I’m not talking about those mentioned so far. Plekanec et al. do it every night. I’m talking about Maxim Lapierre, Matt D’agostini, Max Pacioretty... The young guys really haven’t been bringing much to the table lately. I’m also talking about Scott Gomez and Marc-Andre Bergeron. Honestly, most of the team has been a bit off lately.

Markov leads on the ice, no question. But we can’t expect miracles from him. He’s just one player (albeit one player who can affect the course of a game). I’ve always been a bit jealous of Pittsburgh, Washington, LA... with guys like Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Backstrom, Kopitar... it’s a little frustrating that they were rewarded for playing badly, but that’s beside the point. They have these “franchise players”... amazing talents. In Montreal, it seemed like we never had one of those uber-talented stars. But I realize that Markov IS in their league, and am quite thankful that we still have him. When Bob Gainey blew up the team this summer, this is one piece I’m thrilled he kept intact. He may not have been 1st overall in the draft (actually it’s a bit unbelievable that he was still around in the 6th round!), but his play in the past 8 years has shown otherwise.

Whether he has a great game or doesn’t, I’m thrilled to finally have him back, because honestly the Habs haven’t felt like the Habs without him. I’m still member of the Markov for captain fan club, and I think no one would do a better job. I also think we need a captain ASAP. At the beginning of the season, when Jacques Martin said not having a captain would work, I knew it was a bad idea. There are a lot of leaders in the room, yes, but without one clear leader, it’s hard for the others to organize themselves. If everyone stepped up in the room it would be too chaotic, and so, though many may want to, no one does, and nothing gets done. Captains exist for a reason, and with our lacklustre performance this season, you’d think Martin would realise that. It won’t solve all our problems, but at least we’d be going in one direction instead ten different ones.

I think we can pull it off tonight. Ending the losing streak now would keep our confidence levels from hitting rock bottom. Markov’s return should give them some form of fuel, and hopefully he can make a difference in the game.

On that note, I’d like to wish him a very happy (early) 31st birthday, and good luck tonight! We’re probably going to need it.

Canadiens assign Pyatt and Weber to Hamilton

PRESS RELEASE


MONTREAL -- The Canadiens announced today that left winger Tom Pyatt and defenseman Yannick Weber have been assigned to the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs. Pyatt and Weber will report to the Bulldogs today in Glens Falls, New York for tonight’s game against the Adirondack Phantoms.


Pyatt, 22, took part in 19 games with the Canadiens since being called up on November 4, including his first NHL game on November 5 in Boston. The 5’11’’, 187 lbs forward was held pointless and recorded 18 shots on goal, while playing 11:09 minutes on average per game.


In 11 games with the Bulldogs this season, Pyatt amassed nine points (6-3-9) and maintained a +8 plus/minus differential. He also recorded 25 shots on goal and two penalty minutes.


Weber, 21, played three games with the Canadiens this season. The 5’11’’, 193 lbs defenseman was held pointless with one shot on goal, while averaging 14:50 minutes of ice time per game.


Weber recorded six points (1-5-6) in 24 games with the Bulldogs this season. He added 62 shots on goal and 24 penalty minutes, with a +4 plus/minus differential.

Wild-Canadiens: Mikko Koivu Leads Wild to Win over Habs

Montreal 1 Minnesota 3 (Bell Centre)

posted by Rocket
All Habs



A fifth loss in a row has a way of making folks grumpy.

While the boo-birds reserved their serenade for the return of Guillaume Latendresse, Bell Centre fans instead chose to express their displeasure with their feet leaving a number of empty seats by the end of the game.

Players weren't in a good mood either. “It’s a tough thing we’re going through,” Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill said. “We’ve been playing a lot better, we’ve been in games, we’re just coming out on the wrong end of them and we’ve got to find something to make the difference. We’ve got to dig a little deeper and get some goals and find a way to capitalize on chances.”

However, coach Jacques Martin had a much different view. "We had better discipline tonight with only one penalty, so that's positive after the last couple of weeks," Martin said.

Whether the Canadiens were more disciplined or simply ran into a more tolerant officiating crew, is debatable (Minnesota was only called for two minor penalties). But the coach went on to say that he liked the effort and the ability to create scoring chances.

Reading between the lines of Martin's post-game comments after the loss in Buffalo, I speculated that the coach was looking longingly at the return date of Andrei Markov as a solution to his problems. Tonight the coach seemed to confirm it. "I'm encouraged with how we played, and also that Mara was able to play," Martin said. "We have other players who should be coming back soon, and that should help."

There were some positives tonight. The Canadiens outshot the Wild 31-21, the first time in 14 games that they went over the 30-shot mark. The Habs abandoned their passive system in the second period and third periods, pressuring the Wild and outshooting them 24-10.

Andrei Kostitsyn continued his hot pace scoring his seventh goal in the last seven games. Scott Gomez showed some extra jump with an assist and a team-leading five shots.

With the injury to Roman Hamrlik, Paul Mara was rushed back into duty. Mara didn't look out of place and was physical in the first period but faded as the game wore on. One wonders if Yannick Weber would have been a better choice, or at the very least, dressed as a seventh defenseman. He could have taken the place of Georges Laraque who played only three shifts and had less than two minutes of icetime.

It was not a good night for the defense pairing of Hal Gill and Josh Gorges. Gill was on the ice and a contributing factor to all three Minnesota goals. Robbie Earl used his speed to embarrass Gill on the Wild's first goal.

Earl's goal is one that Carey Price would like to have back. The Wild won the goaltending duel with Niklas Backstrom having a great game. Minnesota's solid defense didn't allow many second-chance opportunities for the Canadiens.

The return of Latendresse to Montreal was a non-event on the ice. He had no shots on goal and 14 minutes of ice-time. "To be honest, I had some trouble controlling my emotions," Latendresse said. "I was very nervous in the first, it kind of dipped in the second, but between the second and the third it came right back. I'd say I was never able to get on top of the situation."

The Canadiens were held to one goal for the second night in a row by a Jacques Lemaire built team. The Habs aren't going to win many if they can't find ways to generate more offense.

Montreal begins a nine game road trip with a game against the New York Islanders on Saturday.


Rocket's three stars

1. Mikko Koivu
2. Andrei Kostitsyn
3. Cal Clutterbuck


Material from wire services was used in this report.

(photo credit: Getty)

Canadiens: Habs call up Yannick Weber

Thursday, 17.12.2009 / 12:00 PM

PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Yannick Weber has been called up from the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs. Weber will join the Canadiens today in Montreal for tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild.

The 5’11’’, 193 lbs defenseman played three games with the Canadiens earlier this season. He was held pointless with one shot on goal, while averaging 14:50 minutes of ice time per game.

Weber recorded six points (1-5-6) in 24 games with the Bulldogs this season. He added 62 shots on goal and 24 penalty minutes, with a +4 plus/minus differential.

Canadiens-Devils: Habs Fade to Give Devils the Win

Montreal 1 New Jersey 2 (Prudential Center)

posted by Rocket
All Habs

"It would seem that the only way for the Habs to win is when their goaltenders are the number one star."

The final sentence of the Buffalo game review seems an appropriate place to start. Carey Price wasn't a game star and the Canadiens lost to the Devils. Price mishandled a rising shot late in the second period that tied the game.

For Price-haters, it will be the only moment that they remember in the game. Conveniently forgotten will be his 25 saves and that Price was the better of the two goalies on the ice. Goaltending was the least of Jacques Martin's concerns tonight, and most nights.

While the Canadiens played the Devils rather even for the first two periods, they could not sustain the effort in the third period. New Jersey took control of the game and outshot Montreal 10-to-3. The Habs had difficulty moving the puck out of their own zone and lost most battles for the puck.

For some players like Tomas Plekanec, Jaroslav Spacek and Josh Gorges, fatigue was an issue in the third. They were warriors who had spent too much time penalty-killing. For others such as Max Lapierre, Matt D'Agostini and Georges Laraque, they were simply not prepared to compete.

Even with Glen Metropolit seeing limited ice-time for his undisciplined play over the past two games, other Canadiens were busy taking penalties. The Devils took one penalty to the Canadiens' five. Of particular concern was another too many men penalty. Should line changes still be a problem in game 35?

The Habs were also down to five defensemen when Roman Hamrlik injured his knee while falling awkwardly in the second period. Coach Martin moved Marc-Andre Bergeron alongside Spacek. The experiment was a failure with Bergeron leaving Patrik Elias all alone for the winning goal.

Mike Cammalleri deserves his share of the burden for the loss as well. While he has excelled at home with 14 goals and a plus ten rating, Cammalleri has just four goals on the road and is minus one.

Ryan O'Byrne led the Canadiens in blocked shots with three and Andrei Kostitsyn had the most hits with four. Scott Gomez was the only Habs' player above the fifty per cent mark on faceoffs.

While their style was sleep-inducing at times, it was the Devils who were patient, more discplined and better coached.

"It was kind of boring, but it was a big win," Brodeur said. "We were playing a team (that's) not doing really well right now so they are trying to keep it simple. They really didn't do much out there and they didn't give us many opportunities."


The Canadiens return home to play the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.



Rocket's three stars

1. Patrik Elias
2. Travis Moen
3. Zach Parise


(photo credit: Getty)

Guest Post: Brazil Loves the Habs too!

As we know, fans of the Montreal Canadiens can be found in numbers in every NHL city in the league.  What may be a little more surprising is that Habs fans around the world passionately cheer for le bleu, blanc et rouge.

Ana Elisa has agreed to share her story (in English and Portuguese) about being a Canadiens' fan in Brazil.  Like many, she learned about the Habs through the music of Montreal's own, "Simple Plan."


Guest post by Ana Elisa

Hello from Brazil!

My name is Ana Elisa, but everyone calls me Ana or Aninha. I am Brazilian, and working in the IT area. I finished high school and I'm preparing for exams for college. I live with my parents, and my younger sister. We are a typical Brazilian family.

When I'm not working or studying, I like to surf the web, talk with friends, go out a little bit, visit family members in other cities, write, and other things! I am passionate about international TV series: Law and Order, CSI, Cold Case, Friends (my favorite series), The Big Bang Theory (i love nerds, haha), among others.

I love to play sports but left about four years ago. I like to play to have fun and not as a competition. I skated when I was seven years with a childhood friend. But nothing "wow". And skates too!

Unfortunately, I have never seen snow; only on TV. As Brazil is a tropical country, it is almost impossible to have snow here, only sometimes on hills and in the far south. But nothing compared to the Canadian cold.

My passion for Canada, came when I was ten. I was in fifth grade, and that same year, were the Pan American Games in Winnipeg. My physical education teacher, asked for all students to do research on the games, athletes, the country... everything related to Canada.

I was very excited about this work, and I think it was one of the best I've done so far! About Canada, I love the architecture, the bands, and beautiful places it has. And cold. I LOVE cold.

My friends say to me that I should live in Canada or Russia, and not Brazil. It's difficult to make a list of what I really like, but the country enchants me somehow. I dream to one day live there or know some cities there. But first I need to graduate from college so I can accomplish such a feat.

As I said I like Canadian music, but I especially like Simple Plan! I love all their music but my favorites are ... "Meet You There", "I'd do Anything", "I'm Just A Kid", "Perfect World", "Everytime", "Promise", "Untitled", "Time To Say Goodbye," "Generation" , "Take My Hand," "Running Of The Time" "Save You" ... and all the others.

I heard the band first in 2005, when I saw them on TV. I remember having seen them on MTV Brazil, performing the debut video for "Shut Up". I liked the music and video, and I got to know them from there. But I like other Canadian bands too, like Downline, John Nathaniel, Alanis Morissete, Nickelback...

I had an interest in hockey and got a taste in childhood. When I watched the American movies, some of them had hockey games. In Brazil, the most popular game is traditional football, mainly because of Pele, Ronaldo, and Kaka.

But I don't really like football. I prefer volleyball and handball, although I know some rules of football. My Dad loves football and always tries to teach me the rules, but I don't learn too much and have no desire. I've watched a few times the hockey games on TV during the Winter Olympics. And next year, I'll watch Olympic hockey again, on TV, of course.

I knew the Habs, because of a picture, where the members of Simple Plan, were holding a Montreal Canadiens shirt. But a greater interest in the Habs came a few months ago when I created my account on Twitter. I began talking to some Habs fans including @All_Habs!

I started to watch the games on the official website and read the tweets. Unfortunately, in Brazil, there aren't TV channels showing games, so I get information from websites. So far, I don't know the name of all players, only then I will have a favorite player. I only remember the name of Lapierre, but I think it's because of Pierre Bouvier of Simple Plan. Lapierre ... Pierre, it was easier to learn!

Through Twitter, I also talk to other Brazilians who like the Habs, such as Giorgia, Gabriel (he is my best friend), Stephanie, and my friends, Nicole and Anny. And they all like to one day be able to watch a Habs game at Centre Bell, like me.

We don't have any Habs clothes yet; no shirt, cap ... nothing. But we love the Habs anyway.

'Go Habs Go' from your fans in Brazil!

Olá!

Meu nome é Ana Elisa, mas todo mundo me chama somente de Ana ou Aninha. Sou brasileira, tenho 21 anos e trabalho na área de informática. Terminei o colegial e estou me preparando para as provas para a faculdade. Eu moro com meus pais, e minha irmã mais nova. Somos uma família bem única, e tipicamente brasileira.

Quando não estou trabalhando ou estudando, gosto de navegar na internet, conversar com meus amigos, sair um pouco, visitar minha família que moram em outras cidades, escrever e outras coisas que eu não lembro agora! Eu sou apaixonada por séries internacionais: Lei e Ordem, CSI, Cold Case, Friends (minha série favorita até hoje), The Big Bang Theory (i love nerds, haha), entre outras.

Praticar esportes? Bem, abandonei os esportes faz uns quatro anos, mas adoro jogar, mesmo não sabendo muito. Gosto de jogar pra me divertir e não como em uma competição.
Eu andava de skate quando eu tinha sete anos com um amigo de infância. Mas nada "WOW". E de patins também!

Infelizmente, eu nunca vi neve. Somente pela tv. Brasil, país tropical, praticamente impossível ter neve por aqui, apesar de ter, em montes e no extremo sul do país. Mas nada comparado ao frio canadense.

Minha paixão pelo Canadá, surgiu quando eu tinha dez anos. Eu estava na quinta série, e nesse mesmo ano, teria os Jogos Pan Americanos em Winnipeg. Minha professora de educação física, pediu para todos os alunos, pesquisassem sobre os jogos, atletas, o país, enfim...tudo que se relacionasse ao Canadá. E eu fiquei muito animada com esse trabalho, e acho que foi um dos melhores que já fiz até hoje! Sobre o Canadá, eu gosto muito da arquitetura, das bandas, do lugares lindos que tem. Difícil fazer uma lista do que eu realmente gosto, mas o país me encanta de alguma forma. Sonho um dia, morar ou pelo menos conhecer algumas cidades daí. Mas primeiro preciso me formar na faculdade pra poder realizar tal feito.

Sim, eu gosto de Simple Plan! Eu amo todas as músicas, mas as minhas favoritas são... "Meet You There", "I'd do Anything", "I'm Just A Kid", "Perfect World", "Everytime", "Promise", "Untitled", "Time To Say Goodbye", "Generation", "Take My Hand", "Running Of The Time" "Save You"... e todas as outras. Eu escuto a banda desde 2005, quando eu os vi pela primeira vez na tv. Lembro de ter assistido eles em um programa da MTV Brasil, na estreia do clipe "Shut Up". Gostei da música e do clipe, e passei a conhecê-los a partir daí.

Sobre o hóquei... gosto desde criança. Quando eu assistia aos filmes americanos, e em alguns deles tinham jogos de hóquei. No Brasil o jogo mais tradicional é o futebol, principalmente por causa do Pelé, Ronaldo, Kaká. Mas eu não gosto muito de futebol, prefiro voley e handball, apesar de eu saber algumas regras do futebol. Meu pai ama futebol e sempre tenta me ensinar alguma regra, mas eu nunca aprendo muito e também não tenho vontade. Eu já assisti algumas vezes os jogos de hockey pela tv, durante os Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno. E no próximo ano, eu vou assistir de novo, pela tv, é claro.

Conheci o Habs, por causa de uma foto, onde os integrantes do Simple Plan, seguravam uma camiseta com os nomes deles. Mas o interesse mesmo pelo Habs, surgiu alguns meses atrás, quando eu criei a minha conta no twitter e alguns torcedores do Habs, começaram a me seguir, por exemplo, @All_Habs!

Comecei a acompanhar os jogos pelo site oficial do time e ler os tweets. Infelizmente no Brasil, não há canais de tv que passem os jogos, então eu me informo pelo sites. Até agora, eu não sei o nome de todos os jogadores, então não tenho um jogador preferido. Eu só lembro do nome do Lapierre, mas acho que é por causa do Pierre Bouvier do Simple Plan. Lapierre... Pierre, foi mais fácil de aprender!

Através do twitter, também conheci outros brasileiros que gostam do Habs, como a Giorgia, o Gabriel (ele é meu melhor amigo), a Stephanie, e minhas amigas Nicole e Anny. E todos eles gostariam de um dia poder assistir à um jogo do Habs no Centre Bell, assim como eu.

Nós não temos nenhuma camiseta, boné... absolutamente nada. Mas adoramos o Habs mesmo assim.

Gainey Signals his Intentions Regarding Halak

posted by Rocket
All Habs

''I took this step because it is Jaroslav's wish to have his chance to play,'' Canadiens GM Bob Gainey told ruefrontenac.com. ''He feels ready to play a more important part.''

The "step" is a call that Gainey made to Paul Holmgren, his counterpart with the Philadelphia Flyers, sometime after Ray Emery went down with an injury.  Gainey wanted to gauge Holmgren's interest in obtaining Jaroslav Halak.

'Let's be realistic,'' Gainey told the website. "I received a second round pick from the Washington Capitals for Cristobal Huet and the Flyers gave up a second round pick from Buffalo for Martin Biron."

It is highly unusual for Gainey to take the step of speaking with the media about an impending move. So why this time?  It is possible that he was misquoted but I don't think it is the case in this situation. The more probable explanation is that the move is strategic on Gainey's part.

To a small extent, the public message may have been aimed at Halak's volatile agent, Allan Walsh.  It was Gainey's way of letting Walsh know that he was actively trying to deal Halak as requested.  This would hopefully keep Walsh in check so that he wouldn't cause any further problems in the locker room with another divisive message on Twitter.

While Halak did not explicitly confirm that he asked for a trade, his response when questioned left little doubt.  "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. It's between me and my agent so I'm not going to say yes or no. I have no comment on this," said Halak.

But there was a more important reason for Gainey to openly speak about shopping Halak.

In all cities, but particularly in Montreal, it is important for the GM to manage expectations.  Gainey's message was to the media and fans.  While Halak may be beloved in Montreal, he will not fetch a top six forward in return.

While Halak has decent numbers for a backup goalie, he is adored by Canadiens' fans who have developed a fondness for him. Some love cheering for the underdog, whereas others are Carey Price-haters.  While this may raise Halak's worth in their eyes, NHL GM's don't value those emotional attachments.

They are looking at a young goalie in Halak, who has proved himself to be a very capable backup but little else.  Halak has been shielded from the pressure of the limelight as all of the attention and pressure has been on Price.  Halak, has played against weaker opposition, and more games at home.  His numbers on the road are not impressive.

Realistically, it is unlikely that the Canadiens will receive any more than a second round draft choice in return for Halak.

Some have wondered how this situation differs from Sergei Kostitsyn who also asked for a trade?  Sergei's request was the voice of immaturity reacting to a perceived inequity.  He felt that he was being treated differently from other players (with some justification).

As for Halak, this isn't the first time he's made a 'trade me or play me' request.  Gainey has to be concerned about the effect it will have on the locker room.  One wonders if his teammates can trust Halak if he wishes to prove himself elsewhere?


So given the limited return, what is the rush to trade Halak?  The value of a goaltender doesn't necessarily increase closer to the trade deadline.  Instead, it is more related to injuries and situational need.  So Gainey has to take advantage of opportunities when available.

The injury to Emery provided an opportunity for Gainey to initiate a discussion with Philadelphia..

Halak believes that he can be a number one goaltender in the NHL.  He will be given the chance to prove it with another team.

Since the beginning of the season, fans should have been preparing themselves that Halak will be traded before March 3, 2010.  But given the recent developments, it would seem that a move will be made much sooner.


For analysis of a potential Halak trade read Kyle's excellent article: Battleships for Rowboats