Back to the Future -- Again!!

GM Bergevin pulls trigger on deal with Dallas Stars trading Erik Cole for Michael Ryder and 3rd round pick

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I was just about to get into the shower after a hard "insanity" workout. Then I heard from the television downstairs on RDS saying the Canadiens made a trade today. My immediate thought was "...oh what draft pick and prospect now!?"

But then I was shocked to hear the Habs traded big power forward Erik Cole with two more years on his four year 18 million dollar contract to the Dallas Stars for Michael Ryder and a third round pick!

Wow! Was I blown away.

Welcome back Ryder. Times have changed in Montreal. Good luck in Dallas Cole. Let me know if you find out anything I don't already know on the JFK assassination.

Why? Well Cole had a terrific season last year with 35 goals. He was off to a slow start, no doubt. But we at least thought that he was a good team guy, a leader and would get going.

I have to admit, I was a bit surprised when this veteran winger who clicked so well with Desharnais and Pacioretty last year came into camp saying he was going to retire at season's end. Seemed very odd. He was definitely rattled by the lockout, and maybe a change of scenery will be good for him.

Kind of a weird way to start a year. And then his play and lack of production has brought up questions about his fitness, leadership and will.

I admire Bergevin for pulling the trigger and making a splash to make his team better.

The big question is: was this the right deal?

From a numbers perspective, after looking at the specifics quite frankly, yes.

Cole has another two years left on an $18 million contract. Ryder is a UFA at the end of this season. So in one swoop, Bergevin frees up money against the cap for next season; gets a natural goal scorer who also scored 35 goals last season and so far this season has 14 points in 19 games -- tying him with team leader Plekanec; gets a player who'll be hungry to get a good contract for next year with whichever team; and gets a pick.

And the other intangible? Bergevin shakes his team up a bit, ensuring over confidence and complacency doesn't set in, and puts some of the other "leaders" on this team on the hot seat (I'm looking at you Brian Gionta).

The other big question? What else does Bergevin have up his sleeve? Is he done?

Ryder struggled under head coach Guy Carbonneau in his last season with the Habs and during his first year in Boston but now he's a veteran player who is confident in his abilities. He's a proven goal scorer, even if he is one-dimensional to some extent. He's a sniper. He'll be expected to snipe.

Erik Cole waived his no-trade clause for this. Maybe he wasn't happy? Maybe he wasn't the leader we were led to believe? Maybe Bergevin wants to purge anything Pierre Gauthier? Whatever the case, Cole can now retire a Dallas Star if he so chooses, while Michael Ryder can enjoy playing on an up-and-coming team that could be competitive in the post season this year.

Time will tell whether this works out for the Habs. In the end, Erik Cole was the best thing that happened to the Canadiens during last year's debacle. But I knew we wasted the best year of his career. Maybe Ryder still has his best in him.

Twitter! It's good, clean fun: #habsfanleafland

Backup Budaj Earns Shutout for Fourth Straight Win

Canadiens outlast Hurricanes scoring three in third to win 3-0 in Montreal
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Captain Kirk was in Montreal Monday night.

Captain Kirk Muller that is -- Head Coach of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Peter Budaj earns his first shutout as a Canadien and picked up his second win in a row as the Habs beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 in Montreal. AP

I like him. I always have. But I don't care much for his team. And goaltender Cam Ward, I'd take him on my team any day. But he always seems to burn the Habs.

Fortunately, not on this night.

On this night, it was Peter Budaj who had the last laugh, netting the shutout as the Habs outlasted the Hurricanes 3-0 for their fourth straight win.

Enjoy it tonight but tomorrow is another day -- they play the Rangers tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden.

With Brendan Gallagher recovering from the concussion he suffered against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night, Ryan White got his chance to re-enter the lineup and prove himself to his coach and team that he is and can be the player they want: someone who brings energy, emotion and momentum to his team from the fourth line. And on this night, he didn't disappoint.

And though he didn't score, rookie sensation Alex Galchenyuk once again proved the difference-maker, stickhandling into Carolina's zone, drawing the defense towards him and somehow managing to get the puck to Brandon Prust who potted his first goal as a Canadien. And it was the game winner on this night, earning the rough and tumble Prust the second star.

But tonight was Budaj's night. Not that he had to stand on his head or anything. But he was there when the Canadiens needed him and that's all a team can ask from their goaltender. He earned the first star and I'm happy for the guy. A lot of fans don't have a lot of confidence in him but as a goalie I know, it's a tough gig coming in when you haven't been playing. He did what he had to do helping his team pick up four big points during Price's bout with the flu. And this will go a long way with his teammates later in the season when he has to take the crease again.

But now what does Therrien do? Go with the hot hand? Err, probably not. If Price is cleared, he'll play on Broadway Tuesday night.

This wasn't a classic hockey game and was reminiscent of the game in Florida last week until Prust scored early in the third. Then Tomas Plekanec took a hard shot which hit high off of Cam Ward's shoulder and bounced in, and the Canadiens were on their way. We could barely get our tweets off about that one when Max Pacioretty finally broke his goose egg by putting a ground ball on net that somehow hopped over Cam Ward's glove hand.

Ward must not have played infield in baseball. Ugly, but I can imagine he was still stinging from Plekanec's shot which caught him up high. Game over.

At least the Habs are improving where they have to. On this night they bested the Hurricanes in the faceoff circle, winning 54% of the draws.

They're not doing it the fancy way either. Nothing wrong with that. Coach Therrien has the squad playing a strong, patient two-way TEAM game where everyone is doing what they need to do to succeed. And they're racking up the wins. Four in a row now. Let's see what they can do against the Rangers Tuesday night.

Pinch Me, I'm Dreaming!!

Habs blow 3-0 lead with less than 6 minutes left in Tampa but hang on to win in shootout
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You know that feeling when you experience something like you've already experienced?

What's that called? Deja-vu?

Uh-huh, that's what it's called.

Though tonight's performance by the Canadiens against the Tampa Bay Lightning could be defined by some as a nightmare.

I happen to be one of those people.

Game well in hand, up 3-0 in the third period, less than six minutes left in the game -- you win!!

The Canadiens almost found a way to lose. Two points yes! A win, yes! But it doesn't feel good.

It feels downright dirty!!

Hard to blame Price on any of the goals though. I know I know, I always take Pricey's side; I'm a goalie.

But the first Tampa goal that got this whole mess started was a defensive breakdown resulting in a two-on-one down low and Price had no chance. The second was a borderline gloved-in goal by Victor Hedman, off of a deflection. And the third with just over a minute left? A Tampa power play goal, after Tomas Plekanec took a tripping penalty in the defensive zone.

Thankfully, the fourth line of Eller-Armstrong-Moen got the message and helped this team over the hump on this night.

Carey Price forces Steven Stamkos into the first move and makes game-winning save in the Habs' 4-3 shootout win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. AP

And Carey Price stopped all three shooters in the shootout, including a nice one to seal the deal against sniper Steven Stamkos; while David Desharnais scored the lone goal giving the Habs the win. Tampa Bay goalie Anders Lindback stood on his head all evening, yet still took the loss. But he gave his team a chance to win, which is all any goalie can do.

Two points? I'll we'll The Habs will take it. A win yet the team is still searching for answers. Coach Therrien spun a very positive message after the game, saying the team played an impeccable game for 54 minutes. The message? The Canadiens need to stay focused and put forward that effort for 60 minutes.

A win is a win. So why do I feel so very dirty. Very, very dirty -- on a night that for all intent and purpose should have been a good, clean win!

Habs face off against Alex Kovalev and the Florida Panthers Thursday night.

Follow me on le twitter: @habsfaninleafland

Habs Tale of Two Cities

Canadiens drop 3 of 4 points in back to back games against Bruins and Sabres
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If I said Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller would give up four goals five straight games in a row, would you think I was crazy? Drunk? Just plain stupid?

(Well I am fighting a cold right now.)

But it's true. Yet still, the Canadiens unfortunately reminded us of the team we painfully watched last year Thursday night in Buffalo when they gave up a two goal lead in the third to lose in a shootout 5-4.

For their part, the Canadiens came back strong after a disappointing loss to arch rival Boston Bruins, falling 2-1 on Wednesday night in Montreal but let the Buffalo game slip away. Twitter-folk were screaming for Peter Budaj's head but the truth is, he had a solid outing and kept the Habs in the game in the second when they ran into penalty trouble.

Thomas "I'm on fire!" Vanek celebrates his game tying goal with 2 seconds left against the Habs Thursday night. Buffalo won in a shootout 5-4.

In the Bruins game the Habs roared out of the gate but an inability to capitalize and a hot goaltender in Tukka Rask did them in. That and the fact that Boston is a strong third period team and with a quick goal 14 seconds into the third, the Bruins stunned the Habs who came out flatfooted eventually leading to the winning goal a few minutes later.

So it goes sometimes. I don't mind the Habs losing like that -- sometimes that's just the way the puck bounces. And Tomas Plekanec finished the night minus two.

But as good players often do, Plekanec bounced back with two goals but unfortunately it wasn't enough.

But what I do mind is how the Canadiens lost the game to the Sabres.

What's worse is how Montreal took leads into the third period only to lose both games. That's also like last year. Ulp!

Ryan White re-entered the fray replacing Travis Moen against Buffalo and you have to wonder what is going on with this guy. Game after game, he's taking unnecessary penalties and putting this team in difficult situations. And with the Canadiens in full control 4-2 in the third period, the guy takes another pointless penalty, opening the door for the Sabres to get back into the game -- which they did when Vanek scored.

Ryan White is essentially playing his way off the team and straight into the press box. Two losses in a row sting and we can feel the pressure ratcheting up. And boy Therrien was pissed -- a very quiet, controlled pissed, mind you -- in his post-game scrum. He didn't call him out by name at first, but it was easy to know who he was talking about. Then right at the end he mentioned White and how it might not have been his best decision to put him in back in the lineup. Oof!

Twitter was ablaze with rants and raves when it was announced that Budaj would get the call over Price against the Sabres but the Habs are entering a tougher part of their schedule and Therrien needs to keep him fresh. This was as good an opportunity as any to get Budaj a start.

And what can you say about P.K. Subban? After sucking it up and taking his two-year "bridge" contract he's clicked right away with Andrei Markov and has put up points in each of his four games.

I was a bit surprised with Subban's reaction to his goal against Boston -- not that it was flamboyant or anything but it was a bit more energized than I had predicted earlier. Against the Sabres, Subban blasted a one-timer off a Markov pass past Miller on a five-on-three and kept his reaction muted.

There's a time and place for everything.

Next game against the Leafs back in Montreal. No need to panic, but is it fair to say it's a must-win for the Habs?

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Big thanks, or in hockey talk, stick tap to Anthony aka HabsHappy on twitter for the brand-spanking new masthead image which now sits at the top of this blog. The guy has some serious talent and he perfectly visualized my Habs Fan in LeafLand handle -- no easy feat. Still need to do some additional work on the design here but again, I can't thank him enough for donating his special skills and generosity. Check him out at www.arttocanvas.com

Follow-moi on le Twitter: @HabsFanLeafLand

HABS TAKE CHARGE IN 4-1 WIN AGAINST CAPS

GAME NUMERO 3: HABS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LISTLESS CAPITALS FOR 1ST ROAD WIN OF 2013

It's nice to be wrong every once in awhile. Once in awhile, okay?

My Habs vs. Capitals pregame thoughts were this: playing in Washington, Caps are 0-2, Ovechkin has yet to score and with all of that, figured we would should could be in for a long night.

Markov is back en force. Habs beat Caps 4-1 in Washington. AP

Then when the Habs took the early momentum on a power play just over a minute into the game and didn't capitalize, I thought "oh boy, I've seen this before." The Canadiens continued to create solid chances but couldn't finish. Brian Gionta open net, missed! Bourque in tight, no go! Alex Galchenyuk barging to the net and flicking a high backhand... nice save by Caps 'tender Neuvirth.

The Habs were skating, clicking, making solid first passes, turning the puck up the ice quickly and the Caps were completely flat. But yet the score was still 0-0.

That always scares me.

What I expected to come then was the Caps would get the first goal and then take the game by the scruff of the neck.

Instead, the Caps took two quick penalties to start the second period, went down 5-on-3, Tomas Plekanec scored his second in two games and the Habs never looked back in a solid 4-1 win in Washington.

The Habs' power play, its bread and butter for so many seasons of late -- except last year -- suddenly seems to have roared back to life with the return of Andrei Markov, who scored the second goal of the game and whose pairing with Raphael Diaz appears to be a stoke of genius on Therrien's part.

Should could would you have ever thought, even dreamt of uttering the following after the last few years of futility and hard times for the Russian:

Andrei Markov leads the Montreal Canadiens in goals!?

Well it's true. The veteran blueliner now has three. Not only that, with his goal and assist tonight he's now the fifth highest scoring defenseman in Habs history. Not bad. He's got to be feeling great for himself and what an impact a healthy, confident and surgically-repaired Andrei Markov has on this team.

When even Josh Gorges gets into the scoring action, you know things are going the Canadiens' way.

With all the good that is going on with the Habs -- for these past two games at least -- let's not forget how bad the Capitals were. Goalie Neuvirth could not be blamed for this one. The Caps came out completely listless. No energy, no tempo, no synergy. And the Canadiens took full advantage.

And all this without the first line really going on all cylinders as of yet. Pacioretty picked up a couple of assists and Erik Cole hit a post but that line has yet to fully assert itself.

Brian Gionta continued the trend of the bounce back with his second goal of the year on a nice set up by Rene Bourque. And you know what? Suddenly, Bourque brings a size element to the Plekanec line. Another nice move by Therrien. The man is pushing the right buttons so far.

And where was Ovechkin in all of this? Did he play!? Personally, I think he's not into it. He doesn't want to be in Washington. If he's going to play in the NHL, the guy wants to win. And it looks like already, the Capitals' time has passed.

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Last night I had a bit of a negative twitter exchange with a hockey writer (who shall remain nameless) who was absolutely adamant that trading P.K. Subban would be an absolute disaster, and that I was completely WRONG for suggesting that he could be traded for the better of the team. Personally I found his tone completely unprofessional and insulting. But I guess that's the twitter-verse.

While I like P.K. and think he's a great player with so much upside, I also think that he isn't bigger than the team, and if Carey Price and Max Pacioretty can take the so-called "bridge" contracts of two years before they cash in longer term (which they did) then so can Subban. What makes him so special?? He didn't win the Norris. He didn't drive into the ground lead the power play last year. He still needs to grow up.

If Patrick Roy can get traded, anyone / anything is in play. Geez Wayne Gretzky was traded!! This talk that trading Subban would be a disaster is utter nonsense and is a purely emotional response. I'm not saying I want him to be traded. I'm saying if the deal is right, it's an option.

And the Canadiens all of a sudden seem to have depth on the blue line. Raphael Diaz is taking full advantage of the P.K. situation playing with Markov. Frankie Bouillon is eating up solid minutes. Josh Gorges is doing his thing as usual. And Kaberle is trying his best to stay out of their way. And with Tinordi and St. Denis just a call away and Nathan Beaulieu working on his development... well, I'm not saying I want Subban to be traded, but what I was trying to communicate to this "writer" was that Bergevin should do the best move for the team... whatever that should be.

With tonight's victory and Markov, Diaz and the rest of the defense pairings performing as they did, the score is now:

Bergevin 2 - Subban 1

It's certainly bringing up a lot of emotional responses from Habs fans. But hey, if we could get a Sean Couturier from the suddenly nosediving Flyers, well, why not?

It dawned on me today that the ebullient Subban is the Canadiens' version of Gary Carter. Carter was a bit despised by his teammates when he played in Montreal because he was always smiling, always camera-ready and always available to talk to reporters. He was misunderstood. We know he wasn't grandstanding. As we probably know that P.K. isn't grandstanding.

But the difference is, Carter took more than a few years to assert himself as a leader on the Expos' teams of the late seventies and early eighties and he did it with style, integrity and grit. Not to knock P.K. but it's true, the guy has rubbed some of the veterans on this team the wrong way; and if you know hockey, you know how tight the room has to be for a team to win.

I personally feel P.K. needs to sign his "bridge" deal, find his place on the team's pecking order, and keep his flash for the ice.

Next game: The Devils are in Montreal for a somewhat rare Sunday night tilt at the Molson Centre.

And by the way: Alex Kovalev is no longer leading the league in points. :)

Follow moi on le twitter: @HabsFanLeafLand

THE NEW ALEX IN TOWN

GAME NUMERO 2: PK WHO? & GALCHENYUK POTS FIRST OF BEAUCOUP TO COME AS HABS DOWN PANTHERS

One game does not a season make. Err, or something like that.

Maybe it's only a 48 game season this year but it's going to be intense and concentrated. Teams are going to play multiple games in multiple nights. That means there will be hockey on the tube practically every night.

I like that.

First goal for Alex Galchenyuk, first point for Brendan Gallagher and first win for the second coming of head coach Michel Therrien. Habs beat Florida Panthers 4-1 in Montreal. AP

So the Habs who hadn't played since their loss to the Leafs on Saturday night were able to take advantage of a somewhat sluggish Florida Panthers team playing their third game in four nights, taking them down 4-1.

What a confidence boost for beleaguered dman Andrei Markov, scoring two power play goals -- the first on a two man advantage in the opening period giving the Habs a 2-0 lead after Tomas Plekanec opened the scoring less than four minutes in off a nice feed from Brian Gionta.

Markov and Diaz looked pretty darn good quarterbacking the power play, for this game at least.

What a confidence boost for the power play.
What a confidence boost for the players, for the franchise.
What a confidence boost for Markov's orthopaedic surgeon...

That's how you take the pressure off of GM Marc Bergevin in the Subban contract negotiations.

Subban 1 - Bergevin 1

Who will blink first?

Markov's second of the game restored the two goal cushion after penalties caught up to the Habs allowing the Panthers to cut the lead in half with a power play of their own. Actually this game was riddled with penalties but this time around the Canadiens won the special teams battle and that's how you win hockey games.That fact alone might just have saved the Canadiens a few million bucks with Subban.

That's the first time Markov has scored two goals in a game in four years!

"Hey Carey, just saying hi." Alex Kovalev floats through this one. Get used to it Florida. AP

No doubt there's lots of work to be done, but the Habs came out with a lot more intensity than on Saturday. So much so that Alex Kovalev seemed more interested in watching the game rather than actually playing in it.

We've seen that before. Well Florida fans, welcome to the enigma that is ALEXEI KOVALEV.

And who should score, one #27 to another but the new Alex in town -- ALEX GALCHENYUK. First of many for his NHL career in bleu-blanc-rouge.

Pretty much across the board to a player the team played with much more urgency and intensity. And Kaberle wasn't really noticeable and that's probably a good thing too. Hopefully the team can sustain this as they head out to play the Capitals in Washington.

Lars Eller was the one who took the brunt of the new culture that Therrien is trying to instill. You don't compete, you don't play. Ultimately he wasn't the only one that deserved the wrath of Therrien but with the victory tonight, hard to imagine the lineup will change against the Capitals.

It's going to be pretty interesting if the Canadiens can string a few more victories together and if Galchenyuk and Gallagher can put some more points up on the board. Very interesting.

Et la premiere etoile, da first star ALEX GALCHENYUK!!! Remember voted by the fans (not by me). But nevertheless!! Let the lovefest begin.

Enjoy it dude. And keep it up.

Follow moi on le twitter: @HabsFanLeafLand

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

The Big Day... Well Sort Of

Intersquad game at Molson Centre; Scott Gomez Saga Continues; No News on P.K.; Who Will Win the Habs/Leafs Season Series??

Spirits and optimism runs high as the Canadiens continue their training camp. Today the big news was the return of Tomas Plekanec, whose status for the season opener on Saturday is still up in the air. But with his return we were provided a glimpse into what the starting forward lines might shake up to look like:

Cole - Desharnais - Pacioretty

Gionta - Plekanec - Galchenyuk

Moen - Eller - Bourque

Armstrong - White - Prust

Galchenyuk definitely looks like he's going to get his chance, at least for five games until a decision needs to be made. But the biggest surprise, according to what everyone is saying, is dman Jarred Tinordi. At 6"6, the power defender could be a cross between Craig Ludwig and Zdeno Chara. The coaching staff seems to be impressed with his progress. He may not make the squad, but he definitely could be a mid-season call up if the situation arises where his services are needed.

The Canadiens are trying to treat the intersquad game at the Molson Centre like a preseason game. So it should be good. It'll probably be a mob scene down there as entry is free. Enjoy it.

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The NHLPA and NHL have made some adjustments to the whole buyout clause as you may or may not heard. Funny how the two main characters in this saga, Wade Redden and Scott Gomez, are both in this situation due to the contracts they signed with Glen Sather and the New York Rangers.

Today both were placed on waivers. If they clear waivers as expected, both can then be bought out  before the puck drops on Saturday. That at least gives both players the chance to be picked up by another squad. The consensus is that the Canadiens did the right thing with Gomez, but I'm also happy that Gomez at least has the chance to get picked up and play this year. Even happier it'll be with another team. Maybe the Bruins!? :)

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No news from the P.K. Subban contract negotiations. Yahoo had a story on it today. My comment was that the Canadiens probably want to sign him to a two year deal -- like they did with Carey Price -- see how he matures, and then he can get his big deal. P.K.'s a big personality and it's no secret that he may have rubbed some of his teammates the wrong way inside the room. He needs to know his place and save his outgoing personality for the ice. Well I got three thumbs up in any case:

3Rate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0

AriG  •  8 hours ago

If the Habs brass wanted to sign him to such a deal they would've before the lockout. They signed Price to a two year deal then gave him his term. That's what ideally they'd like to do with Subban, especially since he may rub some of his teammates the wrong way in the room. I think management would prefer to see how he matures over a couple of years rather than gamble on a longer-term contract.

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Who Will Win the Habs/Leafs Season Series??

The Habs play the Leafs five times this season... and no matter how bad they are, the Leafs always seem to play the Habs tough. I'm going to call it 3-2 in the Habs favour. What do you think?

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 :)

Shootout Win!? Oh Joy...

I enjoyed last night's game for once.  Not just because the Habs got 2 points against the Penguins. It was a good entertaining game regardless.

Both teams got good scoring chances and both goalies made great saves yet also let in ones they'd like back. There was good back and forth action and I liked the pace overall.

Of course entering the shootout, I expected the Habs to lose as has been the familiar refrain this year. All I asked for was for someone, anyone, to get at least one past Marc-Andre Fleury in defeat.

Tommy Plekanec scored the shootout winner and was last night's first star. Here he thanks Carey Price for following his advice and shooting to Fleury's stick side. 

And my wish was realized in the form of Rene Bourque who sniped a shot past Fleury's glove hand to give the Canadiens the lead. But then in the 2nd round, Evgeni (I'm money) Malkin pulled a spin-o-rama of his own to tie it all up.

Eventually, Lars Eller put the puck in. Then Chris Kunitz tied it up. Finally, in the 8th round, Tomas Plekanec -- who was stopped earlier in the game on a breakaway, put the puck home and Carey Price made the last save to give the Habs the 3-2 shootout win.

Wow!

The funny thing of course is that ultimately -- dare I say it -- I want the Canadiens to lose.

Yes. Lose. Lose big even.

Because I want that top draft pick. I want it, want it, want it!!!!

Finish in the bottom five in the league. Please!!!!!! We're not going to make the playoffs. Please do not pull a Leafs-style late season run only to finish a few points short.

Of course you know now that I mentioned it, they'll probably do just that.

Habs visit the Islanders on Long Island tomorrow night.

Enjoy It!!

Montreal, Quebec. Was that your 2012 Canadiens or the 1977 flying Frenchmen??
A resounding 7-2 victory over the NHL-tops Detroit Red Wings does the Habs body good.

This really was a classic Original Six matchup. The Habs clobbered the Wings just like dem old times!

Bourque opened the scoring with a good ol' dirty goal, driving the net hard while the rejuvenated but still goal-less Scotty Gomez showed some speed and fed the puck into the crease before bouncing off of Bourque's leg.

Alexei Emelin congratulated by his teammates after scoring his first NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings. Habs won the game 7-2.

And just in case you weren't paying attention, because you know I am:

Rene Bourque:
5 GP; 2 G; 1 A; +1; 5 PIM (for fighting)

Michael Cammalleri
5 GP; 1 G; 0 A; -4; 4 PIM

So who got the player in that recent deal, Mr. PuckDaddy???

Desharnais scored two nice goals while Cole and Pacioretty each had one for the line that just keeps on clicking. Tommy Plekanec got one, and Alexei Emelin scored his first in the NHL. Well deserved Alexei. Both Lars Eller and Andrei Kostitsyn also had strong outings.


Desharnais and Pacioretty have serious chemistry together -- something they've put on display since playing together in Hamilton.

Habs now enter the All-Star break on a high and feeling a bit better about themselves, 8 points out of the last playoff spot in the East. At least we can have something to talk about other than P.K. Subban. 3-0-2 in their last five games is good with the clock ticking this team needs all the points it can get.

Two wins in a row is nice. Ten would be better.

Your Habs need to get on a roll. A serious roll, if they want to make the playoffs. It's still not impossible. Nobody is giving up... yet.

Et tu, Markov?

PS: Love Mike Babcock and love his loyalty and allegiance to McGill University -- my alma mater too. Always sports the McGill club tie when he coaches against the Habs. Now wouldn't he look good wearing that behind the Habs bench someday!? What would it take to get the man to coach the Canadiens????

A Familiar Refrain

Everyone all together now:

One-two-three, Habs take the lead.

Four-five-six, their opponents tie it late.

Seven-eight-nine, nothing in overtime.

Ten-eleven-twelve, Habs in shootout hell.

Scotty Gomez getting rubbed out along the boards. He's good at that.

Peter Budaj made the start in Pittsburgh last night and even with two separate two goal leads, the result was the same. The Penguins tied the game with less than 3 minutes left and we could all predict the final result from there.

I for one was hoping the team would press hard in the five minute OT period to do anything to avoid going to a shootout.

Another shorthanded goal allowed, another lead in a game the team should have won, another shootout loss. Another lost opportunity.

In a week of games where the Habs couldn't afford to end with less than four points out of a possible six, the Habs have one point in four as they prepare for their game against the Leafs here in Toronto tonight.

I'm not sure if I understand Coach Cunneyworth's shootout lineup which is seemingly adding to the problem. Just go with our strongest players: Pacioretty-Cole-Plekanec. Done. Live by the sword, die by the sword. Fine substitute with Desharnais or Kostitsyn, but don't deviate. We're going to win with our best players. The Canadiens just can't seem to score on the shootout. Desharnais made a nice move a la Mats Naslund but Fleury made the save. Kostitsyn broke his stick as he was about to shoot -- pretty much sums up the season so far. And Scott Gomez? A guy who hasn't scored in almost a year? He couldn't touch the twine. Websites are even popping up waiting to celebrate the anniversary of his last goal on February 5, 2011. Yippee! The countdown is on.

The Canadiens got goals from Lars Eller, Cole, Pacioretty and Kostitsyn on the powerplay. Earlier that day, I told two different people how I thought the Canadiens needed to station someone in the high slot on the powerplay -- a spot that was often manned by Andrei K. in the past. And where did he score his goal from? The high slot.

Coach Cunneyworth, call me. No excuses because you're in town -- it won't even be long-distance.

Cammalackey!!?? Buh bye.

Professional athletes make a lot of money. Crazy money. They also get privileges most of us never get to experience: meeting the great people; tables at restaurants; women; fame; women; did I say women? -- and other assorted perks.
You know. The good life. Ahh... it's good to be the King.

Pro hockey players get to play a game which I suppose they love. Why else put your body's through that punishment!? Oh yeah, the money, right.

Hockey is a game that I pay to play. And watch. Because I love it.

Pro hockey players also for all intent and purpose get paid handsomely to stay in peak form -- another perk. Getting paid to be healthy. Hmm... must be nice. I'd love to find a gig like that.

In the NHL you have all sorts. There's the Alex Ovechkin types who want to win, put their foots in their mouths and ultimately take the money and run. Then there's the Sidney Crosby types who, although a bit bland and sterile even, say a lot of the right things when all is well.

When a team is winning, it's easy to say what needs to be said. It's easy to act like you're a class act.

Michael Cammallari has been a huge disappointment in a season where he should be leading the team in goals. Pic: Getty Images.

But when the Pens were busy getting beat by the upstart Habs in the 2010 playoffs, methinks me remembers how one Mr. Crosby came off a bit like a sore loser at how the Canadiens were able to beat his team.

You know where I'm going with this, right?

So far, the 2011-2012 season has been a total disappointment for the Montreal Canadiens and its fans. You all know about my prediction back in the summer -- no need to restate. So far we've seen an assistant and head coach fired, an experienced dman traded, a string of injuries including a 3rd knee injury to our best dman, and a possible future captain signed to a 6 year contract. We've also seen the underwhelming performances of many of the team's scorers along with a few pleasant surprises. And of course a language debate that needs no introduction.

But you also all know that I've been calling out Mr. Michael Cammalleri since November for his lack of production. And because he makes 6 million a year, and the fact that the Canadiens need money to lock up my man between the pipes Carey Price, I think numero 13 should be traded.

Now let's look at the facts. This is M.C.'s 3rd (and not his last) team in his career. His highest goals production was 39 with Calgary. Why didn't Calgary re-sign him if he had all this supposed chemistry with Jarome Iginla??

He's shown he can be a playoff performer, especially on that fun run the Habs had in 2010. And he's also shown to be someone who says all the right things, especially about the team as a whole. Of course, if we don't make the playoffs and he can't perform during the regular season, what's it good for?

But that was then. This is now.

A true measure of a professional is not how he/she performs when all is well. It's how they perform and act when things aren't going well. Tiger Woods may or may not have learned this lesson. Keeping with golf, the great Jack Nicklaus is and always will be a class act in my mind, always one who applauded those who beat him, and one who always came out with his best when the chips were down. And when everyone wrote him off, he won the '86 Masters at age 46.

Michael Cammallari has been off right from the get-go this season. Don't ask me why. The problem is, he's bringing others down with him. I already wrote in a previous post that he implied (read between the lines, right? I did!) he didn't like playing with Plekanec anymore. And guess what? Plekanec also doesn't look happy. And he's not playing up to snuff either. But I'm not going to knock Plekanec, still our best 2-way forward.

Sure, the Bell Centre crowd can be fickle. They'll back you a la Kovalev and show you love like no other. But they'll also nail you to the cross if you don't deliver. Scott Gomez knows this. Now so does Cammy. The boos, they were deserved this time.

9 goals is just not enough for a guy who's paid to be a sniper and only a sniper; and when he fails to compete, he's even more of a liability.

Andrei Kostitsyn may not be having his best offensive season, but you can't knock the guy's compete level this year. Plus he's doing a lot of other things on the ice. Sign him now! Then maybe trade him. But sign him!!!

Michael Cammalleri is a one-dimensional player. He's paid to score. Point finale. And scoring, he ain't!!!

So after everything else that's gone down this season, do we really need to hear how the team is preparing to lose and has a "losing mentality"??? Is that so?

Well maybe if you put the puck in the net like you're getting paid to do, the team wouldn't be losing!?

Maybe you can take some responsibility for your game, like Plekanec, Price or Subban have, suck it up and work hard at getting better!? Remember Erik Cole earlier this year!? Slow start, only 10 minutes of playing time, no powerplay!? The guy didn't say a word. Instead, he sucked it up, put his nose to the grindstone and worked, worked, worked and now, he's proven to be our most valuable player this year.

So rather than blaming your team or your coach, how about looking in the mirror and taking some stock? Because it's been known for awhile you aren't the greatest guy in the room and now, way to go at making it worse for the team and organization as a whole.

You're upset about having your ice time reduced?? A move that former coach Martin should've done a long, long time ago? Start performing, see your time go up. Your arrogant and selfish comment about how for the Blues' first goal of the other night's 3-0 loss, your lack of backcheck was due to having had only your 5th shift instead of your 15th as per the past is completely embarassing!!

I knew this guy was off and has been for awhile now. His voice sounds as if he's hurting. Doesn't sound confident. The game back in November against the Penguins, he was interviewed pregame by RDS's Chantal Machabee and he had the same cracking voice. Guess what? First shift, soft forecheck, Penguins rush and goal less than a minute in!!!

So are we to believe those first shifts don't count for you, M.C.???? Who needs primadonnas like this on the Canadiens!? And with Brendan Gallagher waiting in the wings no less.

Hopefully GM Gauthier will just man the phones and wait for the calls for Cammalleri's services instead of shopping him around because he's just lessened our bargaining position. Now the guy is saying he's being misquoted. Well I understood him full well.

Don't want to get misquoted!? Zip it and let your playing do the talking.

Hard Reboot

After losing five straight games, four with Randy Cunneyworth as Head Coach, the Canadiens to a man could go home and take some time during the Xmas break to recharge, refocus and think about what they need to do to get back to winning ways and try to give themselves a chance at playing in the 2012 postseason.

Erik Cole celebrates his powerplay goal with Tomas Plekanec last night in Ottawa. The Habs won the game 6-2. Photo by: Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images.

So starting off their first game back from the break against the Senators in Kanata, what did the team do???

They gave up the game's opening goal within the first 2 minutes then took a minor penalty to go shorthanded less than 5 minutes in.

Hoo boy!

I'm sure many of you all in Habs nation were saying "Here we go again" or some other variation of such which I can't repeat here but fortunately... and surprisingly... the Canadiens were able to bounce back and take advantage of some seriously shaky goaltending by faux first-stringer Craig Anderson, starting with Lars Eller's shorthanded tally during that early penalty kill.

Has Lars been working on his shot??? That's the same wrister he beat the Bruins' Tukka Rask with back in October. It's sneaky fast when he gets it on net. Even still I think Anderson should have had it.

Eller of course as has been harped upon incessantly over the past few days sat in the hapless loss against the Jets, as did Subban. And it was Subban who also put the puck into the Ottawa net, this time behind one time Hab Alex Auld, when completed a nice play by Erik Cole on the rush.

Randy Cunneyworth had nothing to lose. So he decided on a hard reboot for his squad. I'm talking about pulling the plug painfully quick from the wall and jamming it back in to kickstart the Habs' collective hard drive. And Coach Cunneyworth was rewarded with his first win as an NHL head coach against the team he captained near the end of his playing career.

And for one game, it worked. It's no surprise that when you see the names Plekanec, Cammellari, Subban and Cole on the scoresheet, this team is going to win. Cole continues his consistent play. But Plekanec, Cammellari and Subban need to start chipping in offensively with more consistency if this team is going to have any shot at making the playoffs. And the playoff push starts right now.

Cunneyworth also finally showed there indeed is a difference between him and Jacques Martin with his rejigged lines.

No line before the break remained intact. Even Desharnais' line was torn apart -- perhaps also to help the struggling Pacioretty who seems to be in a bit of a funk of late. Michael Cammellari, who doesn't have much chemistry with Plekanec this year and who's been my favourite whipping boy of recent times, seemed to benefit the most from the shake-up, potting a goal and an assist playing on a line with Desharnais and Leblanc. Leblanc also had a goal and an assist.

I have to say this Leblanc kid really impresses me night after night and has been one of the rare bright spots in an otherwise murky season for the Canadiens. He plays like a smart player and seems to have a great head on his shoulders. He keeps it simple and seems to have a knack for knowing how plays will develop and where the puck will go. On Cammellari's goal, he waited a couple of beats before taking his shot so that the other forwards could reach the net and lo and behold, Cammellari was able to pot the rebound into the open side.

It's the little things like that which make all the difference, and it's what the Canadiens need to continue to do, shift after shift, game after game, night after night -- if they want a snowball's chance of making the postseason.

The climb is steep. The rewards great. If somehow the Canadiens could string some wins together and eke into the playoffs to play Boston in the 1st round -- you just never know what'll happen.

500 Hockey = No Playoffs

The Habs picked up a big two points yesterday afternoon in Los Angeles with a 2-1 win over the Kings.

That's good.

Louis Leblanc picked up his first point in the NHL on a sweet play with Kostitsyn and Eller, and now has more points than Aaron Palushaj -- who was sent back to Hamilton today.

That was really good.

The Habs ended their western swing with 3 out of a possible 6 points.

That's not good enough.


The team averted a total disaster by winning yesterday but threw away valuable points in San Jose the previous game. The late 3rd period tying goal by the Sharks was certainly one Carey Price would like back. But we're not going to play the blame game today. All we can hope is the Habs keep working hard and try to get better, because right now -- as I mentioned above -- it's not good enough.

Louis Leblanc and Andrei Kostitsyn fight for the puck in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon. The Habs beat the Kings 2-1, salvaging 3 out of 6 points on their western swing. Photo: Harry How/Getty.

Let's look at yesterday's game. Mike Richards was out and probably helped Montreal's cause as the team came out flat and was lucky to take a 1-0 lead to the 1st intermission on Tomas Plekanec's powerplay goal. Finally the team broke through on the powerplay which has practically flatlined.


Price made a terrific reaction save after a really weird bounce off the glass almost found its way to the back of the net.

Andrei Kostitsyn had a great game and made a great play on Plekanec's goal by taking the hit in front of the net and somehow passing it back to Plekanec at the same time. Then he converted for the winning goal on a terrific play started by Louis Leblanc and finished by Kostitsyn after a nifty give-and-go with Lars Eller.


Obviously, it's easy to already see that Louis Leblanc is an upgrade to Palushaj so it's no surprise he's staying with the team for at least the short-term. The Habs need goal production and hopefully he can help out with his strong work ethic.


Keeping with Leblanc, his parents were able to see him play in Anaheim because of the extreme generosity of Erik Cole. What a class guy... Leblanc's parents had trouble finding last minute flights, and Cole stepped in to make sure it happened. A great example how this guy is a total leader and class act for the team off of the ice.


With the win, the team at least could head home on the 5 hour flight with a lot of positive energy and reload for a must win against Columbus. Max Pacioretty will be back after completing his 3 game suspension for his hit on Kris Letang last Saturday.


And, the update on Mr. Andrei Markov as provided by Mr. Pierre Gauthier is that Mr. Markov is out at least another 3 weeks because he needs to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his surgically repaired knee. Hoo boy...

Mired in Mediocrity

1 out of 4 possible points over the weekend is just not good enough.

Not when the Canadiens keep losing ground to teams in the Eastern Conference.

Not when they are about to embark on a tough western road trip and needed to take 2 points at home.

The Montreal Canadiens are mired in mediocrity, teams have games in hand on them, and if they can't come out of their upcoming western swing with a minimum of 4 points, the team will be in serious trouble.

The Philly game on Friday afternoon, I knew from experience that scheduling didn't favour the Habs.

But last night, the team should have been rip-roaring to go, show Crosby et al that they were ready, and take the 2 points in their building. AND IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY TO BOOT!

So what happens? They give up a goal 21 seconds in to Malkin.

The Desharnais - Pacioretty - Cole line has been the team's best and most consistent line so far this year. But it's not enough. Photo: Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images.

And to be completely frank, even with the Canadiens within minutes of taking 2 points last night against Pittsburgh, for all intent and purpose they had no business doing so. Many turnover, many breaks, many great saves by Carey Price and some timely shooting by the Habs' best line of Desharnais - Pacioretty - Cole carried the team to at least one point.

But the game wasn't without controversy. Max Pacioretty, the guy who should know better, clocks Kris Letang with his head down and snaps his shnozz. No penalty was given. We'll see what action the league takes, but I didn't like the hit.

Two Pens goals called back -- both the correct calls. But did that affect the referees's non-call in OT when the whistle should have blown when Carey Price covered the puck up, only to have it stripped from him by Kris Letang and put into the open net for the 4-3 OT winner???

How many times have we seen a Habs goal called back because the referee lost sight of the puck? On plays where the puck was clearly loose???? Last night, there's no way the referee could see that puck.

Kris Letang checks his marbles after getting clocked by Max Pacioretty last night. The Habs lost 4-3 in OT to the Pens. Photo: Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images.

But let's focus on what's really wrong here:

Why is Letang standing uncontested in front of Price with the opportunity of doing what he did?

Why does Coach Martin not furiously argue the non-call on the OT winner? Why is there no pushback?

On the first goal called back, who is taking Kunitz in front? On the second goal called back, why is Kunitz on a shorthanded breakaway???

Why aren't the Canadiens scoring on the powerplay?

Why is Brian Gionta MINUS 4 on the night??? And the Plekanec line a combined minus 9???

What the hell is wrong with Michael Cammalleri??? His voice was cracking in the pregame interview with Chantal Machabee of RDS and the first goal of the game came off a Penguins rush after an extremely soft and weak forecheck by the sometimes sniper.

Methinks changes are a comin'. Rough night for Gill and Weber. And honestly, I like Cammalleri but his play of late is starting to get me mad. Either he's not 100% or he's not happy. Because if the guy isn't scoring, get him off the ice. Because that's his job, his only job and he's not doing it at all. When a guy like that has less goals than Travis Moen, you know something just ain't right. And nothing against Moen, he's playing great and giving us more than we should expect from him. His goals should be the icing on the cake.

Gionta has on nights been one of our worst forwards and last night -- boy that's a game I'm sure he wants to forget. And now the two are bringing down Plekanec who is our best player. That line was in the shit all night.

The group has a few days to think about it and for Gauthier to work the phones. Giddy up Habs.

Start Weak Finish Strong?

Start weak finish strong? A metaphor for the Canadiens' 2011-2012 season?
Perhaps.

But it was exactly just that with last night's 4-3 shootout win in Carolina over the struggling Hurricanes.

Carey Price and his team started slow, fell behind early 2-0 but fought back to tie the game on two separate occasions to eventually win in a shootout.

A few positives from this game:
a) Nice to see the team come back from behind to win, especially in the third period;
b) The team finally won a shootout on Brian Gionta's goal (even if he was -3 on the night);
c) The team won a game when Carey Price didn't have his A-game;
d) Lars Eller scored a short-handed goal in the 2nd period which gave the team some momentum;
e) Scott Gomez injured!?

Travis Moen tips the puck past Cam Ward last night in Raleigh. Canadiens won the game 4-3 in a shootout.

Yes Gomez did not finish the game with a supposed lower-body injury...good or bad my friends!?

Minus Brian Gionta, who really misses the guy? He hasn't been an impact player at all for the Habs, and frankly takes up valuable playing time away from guys like Eller who was slowly coming into his own when Gomez was out previously.

One game out of 15 in Gomez's case is not good enough. We know that. Jacques Martin knows that. Pierre Gauthier must certainly know that. So why is he playing so much??

For the last few seasons the Habs have kind of limped into the playoffs. I wouldn't mind them getting on a roll late in the season for a change. Maybe this will be the year. After passing the quarter mark, the team is out of a playoff position, but only a few points back. So lots can happen.

And what are the positives thus far?

The emergence of Max Pacioretty as a Johnny Leclair type power-forward for the Canadiens.
The acquisition of Erik Cole, who has finally given the team power and speed on the wing and a net presence.
The ever-present, consistent play of Tomas Plekanec, our best all-around player and one of the NHL's most underrated players.
Josh Gorges regaining his previous form after a tough start -- proving he's the real deal and playing himself into a nice contract starting next season.
Travis Moen scoring more goals in 21 games than all of last season, with 7? Now that's a bonus. He must really want to stay with the Habs for next season.
The young defence play of Yannick Weber, Raphael Diaz and to a lesser extent Alexei Emelin, showing they can play and be effective on the backend in this league. Now you can add Frederic St. Denis to the mix.

And finally ...

Andrei Markov skating with the team... and set to make his return. Soooooon, we hope.

Phew.

There's plenty of room for improvement, including more consistency from Price; more production from Gionta and Cammelari; more production from the powerplay; and more consistency from Subban.

Tough game in Philly on Friday afternoon. Habs need to put together a winning streak to keep pace with the other teams in their division, especially if the Toronto Kesseleafs keep fluking off wins...

Nailbiters Will Be the Norm

It's tough to win games when you're only scoring 2-3 goals a game.

But the Canadiens were able to pull out 2 wins doing just that, with subsequent OT winners first in Phoenix then in Nashville last night. The Habs finally ended their scoring futility against Predators goalie Pekka Rinne and got out of Nashville with 2 big points because of a nice wrister by Max Pacioretty in OT.

For the second game in a row the Habs had to battle through adversity with players coming back into the game after spending time in the dressing room, only to then come back and be difference players.

You da winning goalie!? You get the Subban low-five. Peter Budaj continues the tradition with P.K. after a solid 2-1 OT win last night in Nashville. (Photo: Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)
 
In Phoenix it was Plekanec who took a bad a fall only to then ignite the Habs' offense, while last night P.K. Subban came back to the game after a big hit to then set up MaxPac for the game winner with some nifty puck control in the Nashville zone.

Once again, the Canadiens powerplay went 0-fer, but there was good puck movement and some nice opportunities so if the team continues this way it's only a matter of time it begins to break through with some regularity. Coach Martin has to be a bit concerned though especially with the fact that the team gave up another shorthanded goal last night.

Nailbiters will be the norm if the Canadiens can't score a bit more moving forward. It makes for exciting ends of games but I'd prefer a bit more cushion, thank you very much. In any case it's always positive for a team to win OT games.

Kudos also to the Habs defense for tightening things up for their goalies; Price was great in Phoenix and last night backup Peter Budaj was solid -- which has to be somewhat comforting for Coach Martin especially after Budaj's previous shaky performances.

And the return of Scott Gomez didn't seem to hurt at least. Played on the 4th line and powerplay, perhaps the Habs and Gomez are committed to make that move last. It's not a bad thing...if he can help the 4th line generate some speed and chances, it really makes them that much tougher to play against. Evolving to the 4th line is not the end of the world and it's something the Habs weren't able to do with Saku Koivu as his productivity started to slow. We just can't have a void on the first few lines like Gomez has been giving us. Meanwhile he was still a -1 last night.

Much needed wins help the Canadiens keep pace with their other rivals as things slowly begin to tighten up in the middle of the conference. Now back to playing 500 hockey, the Habs get the chance to build upon that when they play the Buffalo Sabres at the Bell Centre on Monday night. A big game to keep things moving in the right direction and pick up a big 2 points on their division rivals.

The Sabres will be coming in hot and angry after they took a beating from the Bruins last night, highlighted by head goon Milan Lucic's hit on Buffalo goaltender Miller.

DESPERATION!!

DESPERATION!!! And I don't mean Habs Nation should be desperate. I'm talking about the way the Canadiens need to play to be successful.

Carey Price makes the save against the Avalanche's Milan Hejduk last night at the Bell Centre. Montreal lost the game in a shootout 6-5.

Off to a slow start last night and down 1-0 early on, the Canadiens ramped up their energies and began playing with desperation. And it started to show results.

For stretches last night, the Habs put a lot of pressure on Colorado and generated many scoring opportunities. There was desperation to their play and they were able to come back and take leads in various stages of the game, the last coming off of a two goal in 20 seconds spurt in the 3rd period to only give up the tying goal late while killing a penalty by Diaz.

So this is -- as they say -- a work in progress. There were a lot of encouraging signs for the team though. Cole, Gomez and Gionta ended their 0-fers. The Desharnais - Pacioretty - Kostitsyn line was great last night -- Pacioretty showed not only a scorer's touch but playmaking abilities as well on that sweet feed on Desharnais' goal -- which by the way was created only by the hustle and insanely good backhand pass of Andrei Kostitsyn.

Plekanec was... Plekanec. Too bad he hit the post in the shootout but dem's the breaks.

Price had an off night. He knows it and he'll be better. There's no doubt about that. But the defense does look a bit soft. Gill and Subban both had rough nights, Subban having his pocket picked in centre ice by Paul Stastny who then came in alone to slide the puck between Price's pads for Colorado's 4th goal of the game.

This team needs to play hungry, desperate hockey for 60 minutes until their defensive-end coverage finds its identity. It's also obvious for the time being that for the team to win, Price has to be practically lights-out game after game -- and he wasn't last night.

We're getting there. Last year we didn't start hard out of the gates either. And there's more optimistic news. Reports say that Andrei Markov will begin skating with the team next week. Let's hope he's not that far off from making his return. Not that we shouldn't put all our hopes onto his shoulders, but let's face it -- the Habs are a much, much better team with him in the lineup.

Next game is at home against the Buffalo Sabres -- the first real test of the season.

Finishing Strong for an Even Stronger Start

Onwards and upwards for the Montreal Canadiens' 2011-2012 season.

Josh Gorges means business last night after taking on Ryan Malone in the third period last night in Quebec City. Habs won the game 5-1. Photo: REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger.

The Habs in Quebec City? Used to be quite the game when the Nords were still in town. Now backing the team from Montreal, Quebec City residents did their job pushing the Habs to their strongest outing of the preseason with a 5-1 romp in the rubber match against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

This is what we want to see all season: Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Erik Cole and Michael Cammalleri all scoring with a fluid Tomas Plekanec making plays; a solid Carey Price; a powerplay that creates momentum and a tight defense. Mathieu Darche chipped in the other tally for the Habs.

I thought Raphael Diaz had a good game and looked like he's ready to take a spot on the blue line. Campoli was also solid in his second outing as a Hab, but was taken out of the game after taking a shot to the head from reckless maniac Ryan Malone -- who must be having marital issues or something -- because the guy looked like a ticking time bomb ready to go off the entire game and he finally blew his lid in the third.

What I liked was that Hal Gill came to P.K.'s defense when Malone was about to start bashing on him, and Josh Gorges making Malone pay after the Campoli hit.

No doubt in my mind that Malone will get a suspension, given the precedents that Brendan Shanahan has set so far this preseason.

Is this our opening day lineup? The fourth line is still a bunch of question marks with Lars Eller, Travis Moen and Ryan White all recovering from injuries. Lars Eller has been cleared for contact but no word whether he'll lace 'em up for the opening night tilt here in Toronto against the Leafs. Last night it was Andreas Enqvist centering a line between Palushaj and Yannick Weber. And what about tough-guy Yemelin on the back end?

I actually like Weber up front and Palushaj showed a lot of energy last night. RDS' "Antichambre" crew roasted Enqvist after the game and it's true, he's not a big bruising type (he is Swedish after all) but the guy wins a lot of faceoffs and that will probably keep him in the lineup -- for the time being at least.

Mario Tremblay seems confident that Scotty Gomez will have a bounce-back season this year. So far he looks good and the pucks are going in for him. Time will tell but I can say after watching last night's game that he's definitely trying different things especially in going hard to the net so ultimately he's becoming less predictable -- which could make him a very dangerous player if he shoots when the opposition is expecting him to pass.

The Habs head up to Collingwood for a retreat and practice before their opening game here in Toronto. It all begins for real October 6.