GET YOUR POPCORN READY!!!

GAME NUMERO 1: HABS VS. LEAFS

Well it's finally arrived, the start of the 2012-2013 NHL season. Kings fans must be ecstatic -- they can at least raise their one and only Stanley Cup banner and get on with it. We know the media is jumping for joy -- they now get to do what they're paid to do.

For us poor sod fans, we don't get much except what we wanted all along. That is, the chance to root for our home teams and debate about it at work. Is that so much to ask for???

But what about those rumours of free NHL CentreIce for us fans? What about something concrete to make us feel better about having our one and only pleasure watching hockey being robbed from us??

You know what we got? An apology... an apology from the NHL in the form of a letter, which ran this week in various sports pages, thanking us fans, asking us for forgiveness, and mentioning that our local team will be running special promotions for us.

Sounds like Nixon's famous secret plan to end the Vietnam War.

Feh!!!

I'm not coming back because of anything other than the fact that I love hockey in all its forms and rooting for the Montreal Canadiens is who I am! I'm not going to let "them" take that away from me. I (we) already lost the Expos. And even if the Habs were "lost" last season, at least there was something to talk about, carnivalesque or otherwise.

And just so it's clear:

• I'm not spending any money on anything NHL-related this season;
• I'm not paying to see a single hockey game in person and if I do (should tickets should fall into my lap), I ain't spending a dime at the rink. I'll bring my own popcorn, thank you very much.

SO GET YOUR POPCORN READY!

Here we are: a 48 game season kicked off with the Habs vs. the Leafs in Montreal. And what can us fans expect? Who knows!? Probably a lot of injuries.

Already Carey Price has tweaked a groin and as a goalie, I'm a bit concerned. I played through a groin injury one season a few years back and what happens is that it gets better as you rest it, then you play and it gets re-aggravated.

"I'm sorry. There will be no free NHL CentreIce this, or any other, season. I still get my huge salary though."

Over and over and over. Until you say finally, "I can't play for a few weeks" to let it heal once and for all. And that was just playing twice a week. So let's say I hope that Price and the medical staff know what they're doing, because it can really affect his performance and without a Carey Price at top form, the Habs are toast this year.

But will that be such a bad thing? Should our hopes really be high for this year!?

There's so much up in the air with this team, but one thing is for certain: the atmosphere has changed for the better, the talent on the ice is bigger and stronger, and a lot of players have a lot to prove:

1. Andrei Markov: can he be the gamer we knew and loved? And keep those knees together?
2. P.K. Subban: can the team move on without him, if necessary? (see 1.)
3. Colby Armstrong: playing for the team he grew up loving, can he stay healthy and still play an effective, physical game?
4. Rene Bourque: can he shut the naysayers up and show he's got what it takes to perform in the pot of pea soup that is Montreal hockey?
5. Brian Gionta: can he lead this team once again with grit and perseverance, and stay healthy?
6. Michel Therrien: from the land of RDS, can he stay within himself and not let his emotions get the better of him?
7. Tomas Kaberle: fitter than he was last year, can he show that he still has it?
8. Tomas Plekanec and co: can the pivot play with the same wingers for more than 3 games this year so he can form some sort of chemistry with them?
9. Alex Galchenyuk: you made the team and that's great. But can you show us that you are ready for this stage full-time?

Scott Gomez of course would have been on this list too... speaking of which:
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LEAGUE UPDATES, ETC.
So now that Scott Gomez has been officially bought out by the Canadiens, the man is free to sign with another team and good for him. There's reportedly been a lot of interest, and he may end up back in New Jersey.

Veteran defenseman Wade Redden signed a one year deal with the St. Louis Blues. Wow talk about coming out of exile. He played for the Hartford Connecticut Whale in the AHL last year. He must be happy to at least show he still may have a few years left in the tank. Or it could be a disaster, but from the Blues' point of view, there's not much to lose.

And our old friend Steve Begin has signed a league minimum one year deal with the Calgary Flames. Couldn't happen to a better guy. He never gave up, trained his arse off and came to camp ready.

Now what about Matthieu Darche? No contract as yet, but he's still with the team.

And then there's l'Artiste... AK27, way down in white-belt, white-shoes-land. ALEX KOVALEV MADE THE FLORIDA PANTHERS!!! The man is back, and not only that, he'll be in Montreal on Tuesday to play against the Habs. LOVE IT!!! Will he pull a Guy Lafleur and score a couple of goals? I hope so (Habs 6, Panthers 5).

Btw, I was following and tweeting about Kovalev all week without any fanfare, response or mention by any of the pro sports media. Then he gets a contract and it's news. You know, this twitter thing let me tell you, it's cool for instant info, but then you get hundreds of people tweeting the same thing and it's kind of boring.

TELL ME SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW!!

That's what I'm trying to do folks. Follow me: @HabsFanLeafLand

Gilmour Sighting and The Game

So one of our brethren Habs Fan in LeafLand sent me this story: last week he and his party were waiting for their table at a nice restaurant here in Toronto and the folks who were just leaving included one Dougie Gilmour. Yes that Doug Gilmour, the one who starred with the Flames and Leafs, before playing (somewhat admirably even if he bleeds blue and white) with the Habs.

As Gilmour is leaving, someone asks him: "Hey didn't you play for the Leafs?"

He smiles and utters some friendly thank yous through some burps...

Anonymous Habs Fan in LeafLand: "Wait! You also played for the Habs too!"

Gilmour: "Errr, yeah."

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Last night, yours truly went to the Leafs/Sabres game at the ACC with Riva. It was her first game here in Toronto. Actually she's never even been to ACC, not even for a concert. So I'm happy to report she had a great time and really appreciated the entertainment value that MLSE puts on for their overpaying customers.

Big shout out to Billy M. for supplying the tix.

And guess what? The Leafs, who hadn't won at home for the past 10 games, finally got a win -- with their AHL goalie to boot -- defeating the Sabres 4-3. Good game actually, because really for most of it the Leafs were dominated by a Buffalo team that had a lot riding on the 2 points; yet the Leafs were opportunistic and managed to eke it out.

Habs Fan in LeafLand at last night's game. The Leafs won their first home game since early February, beating the Sabres 4-3. Pic by Riva.

Up 3-1 entering the 3rd after scoring with .6 seconds on the clock to end the second period, the Leafs almost blew it. This one might really hurt the Sabres though since we know the Caps took 2 points from the Canadiens in Washington last night and Ottawa also won.

The Sens also won today, officially stamping their ticket to the postseason. 

The Leafs win was also important for the Habs to make sure Montreal finishes under the Leafs for the higher draft pick. It's looking more and more like the Habs will finish 3rd worst in the league, but they still have a chance at 2nd worst if Edmonton can win a few this week.

Speaking of which, good on the Canadiens to at least come back from a 2-0 deficit last night with goals from Erik Cole and Tommy Plekanec. I know Plekanec has had an off year, but he's still managed 16 goals -- and I gotta give the guy credit. He's had a clusterf@#k year playing with Cammellari and practically everyone else yet still finds ways to contribute. Hopefully he'll have a bounce back season next year playing with a healthy Brian Gionta.

Another shoot out loss. Wow. The Habs have 15 combined OT and shoot out losses this year. Something they definitely have to improve on next year.

This is the last week of the regular season folks. So we're out of the playoff dance, but take solace in the fact that it'll be a fun offseason :)

Markov, Draft and Laffs

So the Habs as a team have decided they do have pride, they do care, they do want to win. And it actually looks like they're having fun again. Better late than never I guess.

How else do you describe 7 points out of a possible 8 when the season is gone gone gone... I mean lost!?

I'm so happy to see Pacioretty get to the 30 goal mark and Erik Cole now with 27 and closing in fast.

It seems lately they're the only ones that score, along with Desharnais and Subban.

I'm a bit concerned though. Now the Canadiens have 67 points and are tied with Carolina and Long Island, but only remain last in the Eastern Conference because those two teams have a game in hand which they use tonight. It looks like our best chance to pick up Grigorenko over the summer is to finish 3rd last but this might be tough now, with the team playing for pride and now even the lowly Maple Leafs, on a death spiral unmatched by any other team in the league this year, are only 1 point up on the Habs.

Oh yeah? Speaking of Cole's goal in last night's 3-2 SO win over the Senators, he officially takes the cake for one of the funnier moments for the Canadiens this year by high-fiving the referee after scoring:



Sigh. What can't this guy do??? He scores, makes us laugh. His 27 goals this year tops his 26 scored last year for the Hurricanes. Great job Erik!

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It was like a dream this past Saturday night. I'm on my couch, game glow from tv washing my face in the dark. I turn to my dog to see him licking himself when I first hear it: "Markov over to Subban..."

Wait a sec! This can't be real. I must be dreaming. I turn back to the tv: "Markov makes a terrific outlet pass to Eller, he's in all alone!!!"

I swear, I felt like crying. I've done enough of that lately with the death of Gary and all, but this was a great moment. It was like looking into the past. It didn't seem real. But it was. And boy did it ever feel good to see that no-look, one-time touch pass from Markov right into Subban's wheelhouse for a goal on the powerplay. Markov jumped into P.K.'s arms. Good for him.

Andrei Markov makes his return to action in his first game since November 2010 against the Vancouver Canucks this Saturday. The Habs won 4-1. Pic: Rich Lam/Getty Images.

I wish you all the best Andrei. Stay well. Your skill and poise makes me wonder what the year might have looked like had you come back in November as originally advertised. I'm sure Jacques Martin is thinking the same thing right now.

Markov's return brings to mind another key figure absent from the ice: Brian Gionta. Oh yeah, remember him?

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The Laffs. Death spiral. What was I singing last year!? "Freefalling" by Tom Petty? Yeah, that's right. The Maple Leafs, no playoffs for you. But you know what really makes me laugh!? It's the way the team has been covered all season by the local press. "The Leafs" have turned the corner." "The Leafs are on their way to the playoffs." "The Leafs need to rest Reimer for the playoffs" blah blah blah.

What a joke!

How can it be that I was the only one to see how that Maple Leafs team led by Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul were seriously overachieving for the first half of the season!? That the team's good start was only going to make their fall that much greater by season's end. I mean, the team was scoring as if it were going out of style. Did you really think Kessel was going to score 70 goals? It's one thing to win games by 6-5 or 5-4 scores like they were earlier in the season, but the thing that was completely overlooked by Leafs Nation was that they had to shore up the defense otherwise, they were doomed. And now, they're doomed.

And that's exactly it. The Leafs were doomed because secondary scoring has been streaky, Kessel and Lupul came back down to earth, and the goaltending didn't change. That is, whoever is in nets is letting in 3 goals plus per game. Not gonna cut it.

And I blame now former coach Ron Wilson 100% for mismanaging the goaltenders. All along they were like "If it wasn't for Gustavsson, we'd be out of it." But then he goes and starts Reimer, the eager yet technically-flawed "real deal" goaltender who -- let's face it -- is having a terrible season. What message does that send to Gustavsson?

True Reimer had that concussion which certainly could account for his play upon returning to action. But look at Ryan Miller. After fighting his own concussion issues he's now playing lights-out hockey. But Reimer has been over-valued. He's not that good. His technique is flawed. He's often out of position. He swims around his crease. He plays too far back. He crouches too low.

He needs help. And now they've fried Gustavsson who for sure has let in more than his share of stinkers this year. But I know goaltending is a tough mental position and when your coach praises you then starts the other guy, tough to play your best. At least Randy Carlysle recognized this and played Gustavsson for the last five games or so. Even if he did lose all but one, that one being against the Habs.

Got to wonder about Burke's decisions as GM for this team. Signs Colby Armstrong -- hurt more than he's played. Signed Matthew Lombardi -- disappointment. Signed Connolly -- disappointment. Signed Reimer to a big contract in the offseason after putting up decent numbers last year when no pressure was on him -- major disappointment. And of course -- and there are others -- trades away the team's 1st round draft pick in 2010 to the Bruins for Phil Kessel. That pick became Tyler Seguin, who is making a name for himself around the league, has tremendous speed, great hands, good head on his shoulders, and best of all, is a Leafs-killer. Phil Kessel? Sure, 30 plus goals. But 20 of those were scored before the end of December... and now Damien Cox is writing that now's a good time to trade him. Yah!? If only they can find a dance partner. Good luck with that.

So check out this great video parody, if Hitler were a Leafs fan!! I gotta start doing some things like this. Next year folks, get ready for HabsFan in Leafland taking it to the next level this summer.