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

Bishop Burns Habs

Ben Bishop stops 44 shots to steal win for Sens against Habs in shootout

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Craig Anderson? Who's that guy? Oh yeah, starting goalie for the Ottawa Senators. You know, best goalie so far in the league this season; went down with an ankle sprain last week. Yeah yeah.


Hey, he played a heck of a game, that Ben Bishop goalie person. AP

Ben Bishop? Who is that guy? Isn't he the Canadian candidate for the papacy?

Not even close.

Unfortunately for the Habs, they probably wished they faced Craig Anderson in Ottawa Monday night, and that the 6"7 Ben Bishop was the papal candidate, because he was the difference maker in stealing the two points for the Senators, stopping 44 shots in regulation and OT, then 3 of 4 shooters to win the shootout.

He was very good on this night, and also very lucky. Hey when you're good, you get the luck. The Habs hit five posts in total and Bishop made more than one save with the butt of his goal stick.

As a goalie myself, I love those saves. Not just when they go against the Habs. Sometimes that's just the way it goes.

But the eternal truth is, if the Habs play like this consistently, they're going to win a hell of a lot more games than they are going to lose. The team dictated the play and all four lines really had good chances.

Carey Price looked a bit uneasy from the beginning and unfortunately he whiffed on the Sens' only goal in regulation -- a low slapshot that normally the goalie would have sucked up in his sleep.

After big time saves on Brandon Prust and Tomas Plekanec, Ben Bishop finally let one by when Andrei Markov blasted one from the point on the power play with four seconds remaining in the second period. It was the Habs' 30th shot at that point. Ultimately they won on the shot clock 45-24 but the Sens won the shootout on a goal by Peter Regin.

In the end, it was a pretty entertaining game filled with sharp passing from the Canadiens and good plays. But the Sens' backstop was the better player on this night. And so was the butt of his stick. Nobody on the Habs tried to put it top shelf on the big goalie in the shootout -- they might want to practice that because a guy like that covers a lot of net along the ice.

Nevertheless the Habs still technically hold the top spot in the East with the point but the Bruins still have games in hand. Wednesday night they roll into LeafLand to face the Leafs and hopefully looking for revenge from that 6-0 drubbing of a few weeks ago.

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