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Monday, March 11, 2013

BIGGER! STRONGER! FASTER!!!

We can rebuild it... we have the technology...

HABS FAN IN LEAFLAND has OFFICIALLY MOVED!! New blog! Whoopee!!

Continue the fun, the good times and all things Habs at:

HABSFANINLEAFLAND.COM

Bookmark it. Share it. I don't care what you do just get down there!!

"Look Maw.. they got there a ding-darn Habs blog now":

HabsFanInLeafLand.com

Hey if Guy Lafleur, Peter Mahovlich and Jacques Lemaire can get into this blog, so can you. PS: These three former Habs greats do not officially endorse this blog. But they do like to hug each other.



It's Hab-errific, Habs-tastic, and Habs-tacular!!

Come up with your own Habs pun. Everyone is a winner!!

Stick tap to Brian and Tom at Uniseo Inc. for their outstanding work in getting it done just in time for the Habs to sweep their 2 game sojourn in the Sunshine state.

Ahh, I could use some sunshine, but at least I got me a great blog!!

We're going to the big leagues folks; got the call up today... and I owe it all to you. But don't expect any money.

Don't forget to follow me on that thing they call the twitter: @habsfanleafland

PS: This is the last time I will be posting here.
I know it's sad, but just go to HABSFANINLEAFLAND.COM and you'll feel much, much better.

Buh-bye.


Friday, March 8, 2013

CP Rides High In 'Cane Country

Carey Price makes 42 saves in leading the Canadiens to a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes
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So what was it that I was saying?

Last post, that game against the New York Islanders!?

Oh yeah, about Carey. Carey Price. You know!? The young star goalie of the Montreal Canadiens. Right.

Carey Price made 42 saves on the night helping the Habs beat the Canes 4-2. AP

And what was it that I was asking him for?

To steal a game? Actually, to stand on his head and win the Habs a game.

Well I don't know if CP reads this blog but if he does, the message was received loud and clear as last night the Canadiens might have played one of their worst games of the season in Raleigh yet still managed to get out of there with the two points.

Price made 21 saves in the second period alone which was a completely one-way affair, the Canes coming at the Canadiens like a dog on a bone.

Actually the Habs started this game strong, taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Prust and Gorges -- who seemed to be channeling Andrei Markov on this night.
In Prust we trust? Brandon Prust got three points in the Habs 4-2 win against the Hurricanes. AP









Then the Hurricane onslaught began in the second; and if it wasn't for Price the Habs could've been down by a few going into the third.

But alas, Price kept his team in the game and though he'd probably like that second one back, it's tough for a goalie when a forward has the time to wind up and blast one from the faceoff dot. The puck can go anywhere. Yet he was strong in potentially the turning point of the game on no other than Eric Staal, making the save on a penalty shot with a little more than five minutes left in the middle frame.

The Canadiens then regrouped and came out strong once again in the third, getting goals by Lars Eller and P.K. Subban on the power play.

Prust continues to make Bergevin look like a genius, tallying a goal and two assists on the night. The guy brings the sandpaper but can also play. Eller and Gorges also had strong games, as well as Galchenyuk.

Michael Ryder? Not so much. He was benched for the third.

There were too many passengers on this night. Did Desharnais and Pacioretty even play?

And poor Yanick Weber. In his first game of the season he looked a bit rusty, getting caught flat footed on the second Carolina goal, then left the game early with a lower body injury.

Habs now head down to the sunshine state where we can only hope they get the same results like the last time. That is, fly out of there with some sun and four big points.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Islanders Have Habs Number!

Habs points streak ends at 11 games; Gionta scores 20,000th goal in Canadiens history in 6-3 loss to Isles

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Not a great game all-around, Habs vs. Isles on the island.

The defense was sketchy; Price didn't have the bounce back game we had hoped he would; and the Islanders took full advantage. So let's give that mediocre team the kudos they deserve for doing what they needed to do to get the two points.

Get it together Carey. Your team, your fans... need you to be at your best. Isles beat Habs 6-3 on Long Island. AP

But nevertheless, the Canadiens lost the chance to get two points against a team that does not play well at home; a team that probably won't make the playoffs; a team starting an aging, past-his-prime goalie in Evgeni Nabokov.

Michael Ryder had three assists and Captain Brian Gionta scored the Canadiens' 20,000th goal in its history. But it still wasn't enough.

Defensively, the Canadiens have been making a lot more mistakes of late. And Carey Price is getting the shaft because of it.

You know I'm his biggest supporter. As a goalie myself, I understand what it's like to play between the pipes.

But hey! The team needs a big save once in awhile. Lately, Price just doesn't look comfortable in his crease. That's the reality, that's the truth. You can blame the defense all you want, but it's nice when your goalie saves their behinds sometimes... that's what goalies are for!!

And Price just isn't doing it right now. To be honest, he hasn't looked the same since he came back from the flu. Maybe he's not totally 100%. But the fact is, he looks shaky. Point finale!!

Michel Therrien was clearly frustrated in his postgame presser. He was positive in general, didn't throw anyone under the bus, but he did mention how Price probably would've liked the Islanders' fourth goal back.

That's the one that hurt. The Canadiens came back from a 3-1 deficit to tie it up and needed a few saves to keep the momentum going. They didn't get it.

On twitter, Price's defenders were bashing anyone who even suggested Price was at fault for this game. My position was that the loss wasn't his fault per se, but just because the puck is deflected does not mean that automatically should be a goal. I've made plenty of saves off of deflections. So has he. Make some big saves when your team isn't playing its best. The Canadiens need that from time to time. Stand on your head!

When was the last time we said that? That Carey Price stood on his head to get the win for the HABS!? Seems like a long time...

Remember what Ben Bishop of the Ottawa Senators did to us last week? I'd like to see Carey Price do that for us sometime soon.

Hopefully he gets it together. Do we see Budaj or Price on Thursday against the 'Canes in Carolina?? I think Price needs to play through this... but he better get it together quick because it's still pretty tight in the Northeast division.

Hey did I tell you I'm on twitter? I have over 400 followers now: #habsfanleafland

Monday, March 4, 2013

Character Wins Hockey Games

Habs take 3 of 4 points on weekend to reclaim top spot in Eastern Conference

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If there's one thing we know about freshman GM Marc Bergevin is that he likes hockey players with character.

So it was no surprise that his first signing was gritty forward Brendan Prust as a free agent from the New York Rangers. The Blueshirts still seem to be having issues replacing him.

It's players like Prust who provide those intangibles that can often swing momentum from one side to the other.

Brandon Prust taking one for the team from Milan Lucic in Boston. Lucic should really know better and pick on someone more his size, but it says a lot about both of their characters. Habs won 4-3. AP

Last night in Boston, it happened when Prust dropped the gloves to take on beast Milan Lucic and literally got punched out took one for the team.

The Habs were trailing 3-2 at that point and with the Bruins a strong third period team, it didn't look good.

But his teammates took notice, and responded in the best way possible by going out and winning that third period.

They also took notice when Alexei Emelin, steel plate in cheek, took on monster Zdeno Chara -- who received a fighting major and 10 minute misconduct going into the third. Bit of a mistake by the big Z but it paid off for the Habs.

So this year's edition of the Montreal Canadiens doesn't seem to wilt like they have in the past when faced with adversity.

Character.

It can go a long way on a hockey team.

Good teams seem to win games and collect points even when they don't have their best stuff. This weekend was a perfect example of that for the Canadiens. After Saturday night's surreal 7-6 OT loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Montreal, which saw a see-saw battle of giveaways, odd man rushes and somewhat sketchy goaltending, the Canadiens marched in to Boston's barn to begin a five game roadtrip. And they didn't exactly play a perfect game, but they did what they had to do to win, coming back in the third with two unanswered goals for the 4-3 victory.

Coach Therrien went with his gut, sent his team a message, sent his star goaltender a message -- whatever you decide -- by starting backup Peter Budaj in Boston. Twitter was ablaze, per the norm, questioning his judgment. Why start a backup who hasn't played in Boston since 2007 when the top spot in the conference is up for grabs? Doesn't make any sense...

But it does. Therrien is showing consistency in his message and that no player is immune from the team concept this season. You play well, you play. You don't perform to expectations, you sit. And it applies to Carey Price, just like it does to Lars Eller or Ryan White. Doesn't matter what nametag is on the back; what matters is that "CH" on the front.

I'm sure Price didn't like the call, but could respect it. He knows he didn't have a good game against the Pens. He knows he was shaky. He knows he has to be better -- as his team has to be better in front of him. And Price will be better. But in the meantime by starting Budaj, Therrien sent a message to the entire team and not just a single player.

And it worked. Budaj was solid and made a terrific save in the dying moments of the game to seal the deal.

So the Canadiens returned the favour to the Bruins in beating them on their home ice and coming back in the third to win. The Habs have to be happy with 3 of a possible 4 points when they didn't have their best stuff.

Things tend to even out; after all, the Habs had their best stuff in Ottawa last week and only got one point out of it.

Now it's on to Long Island to face the Islanders. Let's hope the Habs return the favour to the Isles from last week...