Game 53: Caps vs. Habs

Washington 3, Montreal 2:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Well, those lineup questions we asked have been answered, and while adjustments have been made (highlighted), it's not what we were speculating. Desharnais is a healthy scratch (!!), while 2nd and 3rd lines have been blendered up:

Pacioretty/Danault/Radulov

Lehkonen/Galchenyuk/Byron

Andrighetto/Plekanec/Shaw

De La Rose/Mitchell/Flynn

Weber/Emelin

Beaulieu/Petry

Markov/Nesterov

- His point totals aren't very high, but Lars Eller is having one of his best seasons ever - he and his line have had excellent possession numbers - Lars has really established himself as one of the better two-way players in the NHL.

- Beagle top corner beats Price, and barely 3 minutes into the game, it's 1-0 Caps. Mitchell line just too soft in coming back to cover the zone, Beaulieu also not playing the slot nearly tight enough. This could be a long afternoon ahead.

So that's where Brad Marchand stays when he is visiting the Bell Centre. pic.twitter.com/pOgubGuyy2

— Mitchell Tierney (@mitchelltierney) February 4, 2017

- Caps are playing a rigorous trap right now, the Habs offence has been almost totally snuffed out. 

- But it's Radulov to the rescue with a Beagle-like snap shot of his own, beating Holtby blocker side to tie the game. Great work by Danault to work the puck to Radulov in the slot.

- Plekanec somehow misses a tap-in goal. That's the kind of play he was making while mired in a near half-season long slump. 

- Galchenyuk seems to be struggling, still not convinced he isn't deal with some issues related to that knee injury. His linemate, Artturi Lehkonen, however, has played a rambunctious period. 

- Caps stormed out of the gate, and looked intent on putting this game away early - and then the board behind Holtby broke, and it seemed like everything just ebbed away. So while the Caps were the discernibly better team in that first frame, it could have been a whole lot worse. Canadiens will be very happy to go to the 2nd tied up, especially against a team that so far this season, has dominated their opponent in the first period.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Caps with a very good, not-quite-dominative first period, Habs really hurt by some struggling shifts by the Danault and Mitchell line. Plekanec and Galchenyuk lines were "okay", Lehkonen playing some hard, fast shifts. Meanwhile, the Eller line (Lars included) has been a Habs-killer today.

- Habs first powerplay comes up blank, with Bordeleau matching up Eller against Shaw (no contest) on the first wave. Canadiens still hurt by the ongoing issue of disorganized zone entires with the man advantage. It's difficult to generate offence if you can't set up.

- Galchenyuk line being taken to the shed defensively - they've been a two-way mess today. So it's little surprise that the Caps take the lead, with Burakovsky (that Eller line!) with a nice snapper that beats Price top corner. That goal doesn't happen if the Galchenyuk and his mates make a simple play gaining the Caps zone, and bother hustling back after coughing up the puck. They did neither. 

- Andrighetto does a nice little pirouette do fool the ref into giving Orpik a tripping penalty. I guess we'll take it.

- Another zippo powerplay, Galchenyuk made a brief appearance and looked ... not good. I just don't see how he's playing at 100%. He's almost certainly still hurt, which begs the question, why the hell is he even playing?

- Eller line is having a monster day - just dominating the Habs almost every shift they've had in this 2nd period,

- Okay, Caps *dominated* that 2nd period, if not for a couple of goalposts saving the day, the score could easily be 4-1 Washington. Canadiens really hurt by some very sub-standard performances, most glaringly Alex Galchenyuk, who almost appears to be hobbling around the ice. When he's barely skating, he's been making bad decisions with the puck. Just no idea what's happening there (well, pretty sure he's still playing with a not-healed knee injury, but I digress). Canadiens have no answer to the Caps top three lines, which beside their offensive abilities, have had little difficulty in snuffing out an semblance of a Montreal attack - bottling up the neutral zone, and forcing the Habs to make mostly fruitless puck dumps. Everything is pretty much set up for a very ugly 3rd period for the Canadiens.

THIRD PERIOD:

- That 2nd period, woah ... so much ugly. The Eller line has been fantastic, the Caps defence across the board has been excellent, the Habs defence, also across the board, has been miserable. There's been some speculation the past couple of weeks about Marc Bergevin going "all in" for a Stanley Cup this spring, which if fine, Marc. Go for it. But if you want to win a championship, you'll have to find employment with another team, because as this game is illustrating, the Canadiens aren't even close to competing.

- Not sure why, but NHL refs don't like Alex Radulov. So many borderline (or just plain wrong) calls against him this season. Radulov goes to the box for a (very) borderline hook on Ovechkin behind the Caps net.

- Backstrom, 3-1. Habs PK again a weak link, just too much traffic is being allowed in front of Price. 

- Pacioretty via Radulov makes it 3-2. The Habs dare to dream of somehow making something out of this nothing game? Stay tuned.

- Alex Galchenyuk appears to have woken up in this 3rd period, thereby making the first 2 period all the more mystifying. Anyway, Habs been pushing pretty hard here past three minutes looking for the tying goal. 7 minutes left on the clock. We still have hope.

- Annnnnnnnnddddddd ... que Andrew Shaw ill-timed penalty. 

- Not a good day for the referees. Sure, call Shaw for that hold, but then you can't let the other team get away with pretty clear-cut holds and hooks and "let it go". You set a standard, you have to live by it.

- Price pulled, Habs swarm, Holtby holds. At least unlike the Flyers game, they're not going out with a whimper. 

- Two point blank shots with less than 5 seconds left for Shea Weber, and he fans on both. Caps hold on for the victory, deserved. But still, one gets the feeling that an opportunity missed for the Canadiens to pull a game out of the fire. Are you getting a sense that must-wins are now arriving for this team? I do. Tomorrow's game against the Oilers critical in helping this Habs team find the winning track, which somewhere along the line of getting healthy again, they've lost.

GAME PREVIEW: UGH. THE CAPS. I GUESS IT'S TIME TO GET SERIOUS

So how's everybody feeling after the debacle in Philadelphia Thursday night? Hey, it could be worse - you could be Andrew Shaw. Feel the shame, Shaw. FEEL IT.

Therrien on Shaw - "We can't accept to take that type of penalty as a team. Pretty simple."

— Dan Robertson (@DRTSN690) February 3, 2017

Five more years. Five. More. Years. That's how long Shaw's contract extends. That's how long Shaw will be playing in Montreal, unless somehow, some way, another G.M. believes his team's fans "will love" having Andrew Shaw.

Anyway, enough about that. It's time to get serious - and hoo boy, what a weekend awaits for the less-than-stellar Habs, as per the now Super Bowl tradition, they host back-to-back afternoon games, starting Saturday with the League's best team, the Washington Capitals, and then Sunday, Connor McDavid and the actually-gonna-be-in-the-playoffs-this-year Edmonton Oilers.

The Caps have, on most nights, dismantled their opponents this season, the latest being the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. The Caps have only lost 3 times this calendar year - interestingly enough, to underwhelming opponents that included the soon to be Hartford Whalers 2.0, the New York Islanders and the Ottawa Senators (oh yeah, and a thumping from the Black Hawks). Anyway, there's hope for the Habs!!

Across the line, the Caps are putting up elite League numbers. 7th in possession (51.2%), 5th in offence (3.22 GF60), 1st in defence (2.09 GA60), 4th best shooting percentage, 2nd best save percentage, on and on it goes.

The only "weak-ish" spot are the Caps specialty units. Their powerplay, is currently ranked "only" 14th overall, and their PK, which is 5th best, has struggled of late, having surrendered 7 goals the past 10 days. Otherwise, you've got roster world beaters like Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie, Lars Eller having another excellent (and as usual under-the-radar) season as the 3rd line center ... defending Vezina winner Braden Holtby putting up more trophy-worthy numbers, and going into Montreal, winner of 10 straight. Yi. Yi. Yi.

The Habs - what to say. They're almost totally healthy for the first time in almost 3 months, and then they go a drop a turd on Broad Street. Apart from Shaw doing his stupid thing, the Canadiens were held to a pathetic 16 shots, the low mark for the season, against a Flyers team that's on the playoff bubble.

Will adjustments be made? Will Alex Galchenyuk be put back on the top line between Max Pacioretty and Alex Radulov? Will Michel Therrien shift the defensive deck chairs, splitting apart the struggling duo of Shea Weber and Alexei Emelin? Will the penalty killing unit under the eye of J.J. Daigneault stop being terrible? Will the powerplay be not as terrible as it was Thursday night? Will Carey Price do all of the work again and carry his team almost single-handedly to victory?

Eh. Probably not. But watch, we will.

Price vs. Holtby. Puck drops at 1:10 EST.

Game 37: Habs vs. Caps

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Caps through 40 minutes:

- Okay, I think a Bergevin intervention is needed. After 40 minutes, forward ice times are 1. Pacioretty, 2. Weise (really?), 3. Plekanec, 8. Galchenyuk, 12. Eller. Lars' CF%, by the way, is 81% so far tonight. Therrien has no idea what's happening. 

- More Therrien follies. Emelin still getting regular shifts, but instead of sending Tinordi out, he's double-shifting Subban to take Tinordi's place. 

- Chimera with the dagger, totally outracing ... guess who ... Alexei Emelin to the puck, and beating Condon high. We've been begging, pleading, screaming all night about how awful Emelin has been tonight, and yet, Therrien has been giving him regular shifts. Well now the Habs are probably toast for the sixth straight time.

- Well, same old story, another game, another loss. But unlike the other losses earlier in the month, the one tonight against the Caps, and others earlier in the week, are different. These losses the Habs have been the worse team, they're failing to produce any sustained offence because their line combinations make little sense. Their defence deployment has been awful, the use of Emelin tonight underscores that. And while their goaltending hasn't been very good, it had zero factor tonight. Condon played well, this game could easily have finished 5 or 6 to 1 for Washington.

This loss also feels different - as though we're on the cusp of a major shakeup. If that happens, or what it is if it happens, is yet to be seen. But it just feels like a shoe is about to drop, because we're now seriously approaching a point where the entire season may be lost. 

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Caps 5v5 through 20 minutes of play:

- News during the intermission that Brendan Gallagher is seeing a specialist this week for a possible green light to play as early as January 1st. 

- Hey, Galchenyuk isn't near the bottom for ice time - 5th most played Habs forward in the 1st period, believe it or not, more than Desharnais. 

- Mike Condon whiffs, it's 2-0. He simply can't miss those shots - not the way the Habs are playing right now. Another killer goal surrendered by Condon.

- Carr gets Habs on the board off a Markov shot rebound, because Carr and Galchenyuk are the only players apparently capable of scoring. 

- Desharnais is just a mess. He doesn't seem to have the slightest clue, perhaps shred of confidence, with the puck in the opposing zone. More inclined to give the puck away then to actually shoot or complete a meaningful pass to another teammate. 

- Alexei Emelin is a one-man defensive disaster tonight. Seems totally unable to track his assignments, is constantly either totally out of position, or scrambling to find position. How Therrien is giving him shifts, and benching Tinordi, is baffling.

- Speaking of disasters, Dale Weise. Constantly played on powerplay, producing nothing, and making horrible passes through the neutral zone generating Caps odd-man breaks, with Condon, full credit, making huge saves to keep his team in this game.

- Condon rising to the occasion, with Emelin being absolutely horrible again. Habs are getting destroyed at the moment, and while the score is 2-1, this game is dangerously close to going totally off the cliff for Montreal.

- I'm not sure if anyone is noticing this, but because Desharnais is so badly failing, his job of centre has largely been taken over by Pacioretty shift after shift. How the coach can't see or recognize this problem is very troubling.

- I think it's a more than reasonable bet that the Habs powerplay, by some time in February, will be near or at the bottom of the League. 

- Caps really flexing their muscle in the period, and while Condon gave up a soft 2nd goal, he more than made up for it the remainder of the period to keep his team, however barely, in this game. The Canadiens are a mess right now - Alexei Emelin is, as we noted in the first period, a one-man disaster, and yet, Therrien keeps giving him regular shifts. The decisions being made right now simply defy logic. The worst you play, the more you get played, while Tinordi struggles to get 6 minutes of ice time tonight, while Sven Andrigehetto watches from above. 

FIRST PERIOD:

- Horrible giveaway by Plekanec with a pretty meek backhand pass behind his net is easily intercepted. Habs generally looking pretty nervous and rattled, lots of unforced errors being made, Caps with early chances.

- This does not look good. Habs are slow, disorganized, Caps are not. This is just not going to end well tonight. I foresee ... catastrophe. 

- Just ... abysmal. Alexei Emelin, who has no business being in a lineup when somebody like Greg Pateryn is sitting in a press box, coughs up the puck to Kuznetsov, and then fails to even bother covering him as he skates in front of Condon to redirect a high slot shot past Condon. Yup. This is looking really, really bad. 

- Okay, whose bright idea was it to fly the team out this afternoon from Montreal? 

- Soft interference call on Carr off a faceoff. NHL officiating is just a mess - too many referees are happy to call soft stuff like hooks and holds, but steadfastly refuse to crack down on nasty stuff that really slows the game down and creates injuries - stick infractions and nasty boarding checks. League officiating, in general, is a mess. 

- I guess the Galchenyuk line looks the best. I guess. It's hard to tell - the Habs in general look like a sluggish bunch - too much turkey perhaps. Or maybe it was the incredibly stupid decision to have a pointless morning skate and have the team take an afternoon flight. These plane rides, by the way, take much more out of you than any practice, as far as recovery is concerned. 

- Among the many interventions this team needs is to get Smith-Pelly off that 4th line, and out of the lineup. Since he was brought back, his contribution to that line (or any line) has been pretty much nil.

- Well, I guess the score isn't any worse than 1-0, which is a kind of victory. Still, Habs look listless, even somewhat disinterested. Moral looks terrible on the ice, body language on the bench not much better. This is a team slipping towards a full-fledged crisis of ineptitude. Unless something dramatic happens quickly, this spiral won't stop.

GAMEDAY PREVIEW: IT GETS EASIER TONIGHT, RIGHT?? OH GAWD, THE CAPS

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Was Santa good to you? He was? Great! He screwed me over again. I put out some old Crown Royal next to the cookies, and still, nothing. Damn you, fat man. Damn you.

Well at least we have hockey again, right?? December 25 seemed to drag on forever since the only thing on was the NBA, and that's terrible. BUT ... it's full engines go tonight as the NHL mercifully returns to action, with the Habs going to (gulp) Washington to take on the Caps.

Hey, are we gonna get a team that isn't hard to play against ever again? Man, the schedule has been brutal, almost as terrible as Michel Therrien's deployments AMIRIGHT?

Before Santa's night to screw me over, we bemoaned the coach's decision to yet again, scratch Sven Andrighetto leading up to the (loss) against the Minnesota Wild. So with the holiday break, we were hoping, I mean, really, really, really hoping that coach would finally see the light today and tonight. 

#Habs lines vs #Capitals: Pacioretty - Desharnais - Weise Eller - Galchenyuk - Carr Fleischmann - Plekanec - Byron Flynn - Mitchell - DSP

— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) December 26, 2015

... and ... there you have it. Desharnais and Weise get top billing status, because their combines three points since the beginning of the month is the sure-fire solution to this team's abysmal offence.

Oh well. Bright news? Jeff Petry is back tonight - he'll play along side Andrei Markov on the 2nd line, with Jared Tinordi getting a start tonight along side Alexei Emelin. In case you missed the news, Tom Gilbert, who sustained a lower body injury in St. Paul's, won't be playing again for the remainder of this road trip - meaning he's out a minimum two weeks.

So ... what to hope for? Do we hope for this log jam of losing continues to build towards some kind of monumental bench shake up that might involve the dismissal of Therrien? It's tempting, considering how Therrien continues to make the same odd deployment decisions each and every game. Of course, don't hope what you wish for, because if the spiral genuinely goes out of control, then the Habs might find themselves scrambling just to qualify for the post-season. Failure to do so would be a monumental failure - one of the greatest in the 106 years of this team's history.

These are the Caps - the best offence in the Eastern Conference. The second best powerplay in the NHL. The best rated defence in the NHL. Alex Ovechkin. Nicklas Backstrom. Evgeny Kuznetsov. That's just about 100 points right there. If there's any soft spot on this team, it's ... well .. uh ... I guess ... possession? They're 5v5 CF% is a shade under 50%, which is not the number you usually associate with a team that's so dominate in major statistical categories.

Thing is, as Habs fans should know well by now, it matters not how much you own the puck, if you can't bury it, nothing really matters. The Caps, by and large, are a good team at doing the later.

Mike Condon will start tonight, and he'll have to have one of his great lifetime performances if he and his team hopes to end the losing.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

THE END IS NIGH?

Probably not. But it sure feels like we're getting warmer.

Happy holidays.

Game Fourty-Eight: Caps vs. Habs

OVERTIME:

- Officials miss blatant Caps too many to start the OT.

- Lars Eller appears to struggling with confidence issues again, especially carrying the puck.

- OH my goodness. What a brilliant game winning goal by Max Paxioretty, driving the net and tipping a pin-perfect backhanded pass by Plekanec. Play started after excellent stutter step by Plecks, which created space along the wing that created a very narrow passing zone. Brilliant.

- Habs just do it again. Price with 2nd straight shutout, carrying his team through two brutally bad opening periods. This team totally defies gravity, except for Carey Price. MVP.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs better in the third, which feeds into the season-long pattern. Habs, I think, are a horribly prepared team for each and every game, and it takes the players a couple of periods to figure out their opponent and make the adjustments themselves. Coaches are glorified gate keepers.

- Habs powerplay back to being dreadful. Largely because they are again dumping the puck instead of carrying the zone. Net effect is that it takes this team way too long to set up their unit. Everything is systematically stunted and dysfunctional.

- Christian Thomas has arguably been the Habs best (most consistent) forward today.

- Oh man, Holtby has been great this period. Third period has indeed become a goaltenders showdown, unlike the first two when it was Price against the world. Habs will get another point, and for perhaps the umpteenth time this season, two points even though badly outplayed by their opponent.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs adjusted possession in the first period was 36%. I'm not going to say they played badly in the period, but they played badly in the period.

- Ovechkin can't out-muscle Subban in the crease so it's on to plan B: take a flop.

- Manny Malhotra. I actually wonder if he could beat 60 on the shit clock with his wrist shot. 40?

- Stupid, stupid play by Emelin crossing full-flight Ovechkin into a defenseless Price. The guy never observes, never learns, never thinks before "being physical". A true liability in just about every sense.

- Emelin double-downs with the stupid, gets nailed with a cross well after the whistle is blown, put Habs two short. Crazy stupid.

- Two posts hit in the span of five seconds, and Brown flops on top of Price. No interference call. Sigh.

- Ovechkin just took a 4 minute shift. That's Emelin stupid territory.

- Gee, I thought the Habs looked bad in the first period, this second period is making the first 20 minutes look like a walk in the park. Just a terrible, terrible afternoon, execution has been awful.

- The brief moments this team isn't playing on its heals, everything else is off the mark. Passes too far or too short, shots on Holtby wide of the net. It's making this an incredibly frustrating game to watch.

- Speaking of off the mark, Gallagher takes a Subban shot off the leg, and has gone to the room. In considerable pain. Oy.

- Well just a terrible period, even worse than the first. Caps outshooting 16-6. With MVP Price taking on the entire Washington team, and the Habs offense being just terrible, our early game forecast of few goals has come to fruition.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Weise is a significant defensive liability on the first line, and if not for a brilliant last moment check by Markov, it'd be 1-0 Caps before the one minute mark.

- Caps defense blocking everything in sight. Holtby nearly unecessary so far.

- Carey Price being Carey Price again. Therrien looks on and thinks "I'm the coach of a first place team!"

- Speaking of our esteemed coach, he appears to be matching Weise against Ovechkin, which is all sorts of insane.

- More than a few Caps forwards playing with a nasty attitude today. Let's see if that results in some stupid Washington penalties.

- Price appears to be in another Price-level zone today. Goals are not going to come easy today.

- That said, with exception to one or two even strength shifts, Habs are getting their socks played off today. Caps have almost all of the initiative, Montreal in total reaction mode.

- Not a good period for the Habs, they looked ill-prepared for the Caps speed and strong forecheck. It's the regular Habs pattern this year - their game preparation has been, for at least 80% of their games, simply atrocious.

HEY ALEX, MIND BEING DRUNK THIS AFTERNOON?

Woah, afternoon hockey! This Superbowl Habs weekend day game stuff. Whatever. We'll take it! Gets the important hockey out of the way early so the rest of us can devote the rest of our weekend to fun stuff!! Me?!? I ... uh ... will ... probably wash my floors.

Today, Habs will be going with the same lineup tonight as they did against the Rangers, which is fine as long as they play another game like they did against the Rangers, even with Weise on the top line, Emelin and Malhatra in the lineup, etc. etc. etc.

The matchup today is pretty simple. The Caps offense vs. the Habs defense ... sorry, I mean, Carey Price. Washington is playing well, beating the Pens with relative Wednesday night 4-0. They're a better possession team (which applies to just about anyone matched up against the Habs, I suppose), with a 52.5 relative. And of course, there's Ovie - who's leading the League in goals, as per usual.

Habs have been pretty good with these Superbowl weekend events, which of course, means exactly nothing. Washington last lost a regulation game in Montreal back in 2009 which means, of course, everything.

Here's hoping they can somehow overcome their self-imposed disadvantage courtesy Therrien's lineup choices, and muster up another win today. Which is to say, go Carey!

Puck drops at 1:10 EST.

Game Two: Habs vs. Caps

Overtime: 

- OT picks? I'll go with Galchenyuk and Ovechkin. 

- Tokarski and Plekanec with game saving plays. Brilliant.

- Does Desharnais get paid for not shooting the puck?

- Dustin's first NHL shootout? Here we go.

- Oh my god. Galchenyuk in the SO.

- Desharnais. See? Shooting means you score.

- Doh. So close. So very close, Dustin.

- Ovie. Nopes.

- Round 6. Gally eeks it through, and Habs get the extra point. Hellova game.

Third Period: 

- Pretty slow and sloppy start for the Habs this period. Hard to figure this team out tonight.

- Orpik just won't stop with the questionable hits - and why should he? He's not being punished for it by the officials.

- Hoo boy. Bourque bumps Holtby, and it costs the Habs a tying goal, which came after some fantastic work by Lars Eller working to win the puck deep in the Caps zone. Oh well.

- Plecks. The man is unstoppable. Great roofer from the high slot and the game is officially tied. As mentioned before, I thought the Caps might have come out too hard in the first and now lo and behold, they're struggling to keep pace on the ice.

- Bourque with a blast that hits the crossbar. Chris Lee calls it a goal (eventually overturned). How Lee stays employed ...

- Anyway, Habs have owned the third much the way the Caps owned the first. Washington basically trying to hold on to a tie.

- Subban misses his check but Emelin saves the day with seconds left. Won't say that very often.

- Very, very good period for the Habs, coming within a fraction of an inch from winning this game. Now to overtime, which this team was definably mediocre last season.

Second Period:

- Looking for Therrien to maybe focus on running only 9 forwards, at least until the Habs start showing signs of offensive life.

- One significant criticism of the Caps tonight - their shot attempts are mainly coming from 40+ feet away from Tokarski, who's made a few very good saves, but has mainly had to handle routine shots.

- Wretched slashing call on Parenteau. The officiating, sadly but not surprisingly, has been very poor.

- Habs currently on pace for two ... count 'em ... two 5v5 shots. For the entire game. Yeah, really.

- Holy cow, Galchenyuk. Incredible moves with the puck, a glimpse of future greatness, we hope.

- Halfway mark, Caps seem to be regressing a bit here, Habs are finding some legs. Perhaps Washington came out of the gate a little too hard?

- Remember how Eller rocketed out of the starting line last year? Yeah ... those were the days ...

- Orpik has delivered at least three dirty hits tonight, and the Habs are taking matters into their own hands, since the refs don't appear capable of doing it.

- Prust gets penalized for dealing with Orpik, or at least trying to. Caps get an undeserved powerplay.

First Period:

- Couple of good Saskatchewan boys between both sets of pipes tonight. Awesomeness.

- Emelin with Sunbban. How long can this possibly last?

- Eller takes a bad penalty for hook/trip. And .... drink.

- Habs PK looks strong again this season, sans Gorges. Speedy checkers are helping.

- Terrible, terrible turnover by Subban makes it 1-0. When he's great, he's great. But when he muffs it up ...

- Canadiens are uh ... disorganized in their own zone. As in, really, really disorganized.

- Nice pass and shot blocking by Weaver, Habs kill another penalty.

- 5 minutes left in the period, Habs still haven't registered a shot on goal. To say they've been bad would be very generous. To say they're lucky to be only down a goal would be a vast understatement.

- Subban called for a hook after an absurd dive by Ovie. Terrible officiating by guess who - Chris Lee. How is this guy still employed?

- About as bad a period as you'll ever see this Habs team play. Totally outskated through much of the frame, the first shot coming with barely more than 2 minutes left in the period, 15-2 total. Dustin Tokarski the only real bright spot in the period, at least giving his team the opportunity of somehow salvaging what is current a disaster. Would love to be a fly in the Habs dressing room during the first intermission.

LINEUP NOTES:

- Moen in, Bournival out.
- Prust in, Weise out.

As you were.


GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:s

UNDEFEATED!!

Yah baby, what a way to kick off game one of the 2014-15 season - breaking the tiny little hearts of Leafs fans right in their own backyard, with a delicate twist of a heartbreaking knife - the winning goal scored at the 19:17 mark by the Maurice Richard Trophy leader Thomas Turtlepleks Plekanec. So sweet. So very, very sweet.

Ah, but the time to savor such victory is short. The Habs are right back at it tonight in Washington D.C. as they take on the Ovie and Caps. Dustin Tokarski, who wrestled the backup job away from Peter Budja this fall, will get the start for the Canadiens.

As we mentioned in the season's first post, the Habs underwent some significant roster changes this summer. For the Caps, the changes went beyond the starting lineup, starting in April when they fired long-time general manager George McPhee, and replaced him with the relatively unknown Brian MacLellan, whose executive experience entering the office was pretty much ziltch.

MacLellan didn't waste much time shaking up the Caps roster, with a particular focus on shoring up the Caps shaky defense. First, MacLellan signed journeyman backup Justin Peters to backup the consistently inconsistent Braden Holtby.  Then as summer set in, Maclellan latched up Matt Niskanen for a big ol' pile of cash (7 years, $5.75m AVV), and his coup de grace, signing free agent Brooks Orpik for an astounding $27.5m, five year contract. That last mentioned signing was astoundingly perplexing, as Orpik has long held one of the worst possession numbers for a defenseman in the League. To commit so much money for such a long time to a 34 year old player with a terrible stats line won't help the Caps very much in solving their blue line issues this season, or the next, or the one after that, or the one after that, or the one after that.

So tonight! The Habs will send out Tokarski, and our eyes will be focused on whether we'll see another fine repeat performance by the like Plekanec, Alex Galchenyuk, David Desharnais, Max Pacioretty, P.A. Parenteau, and yes, Alexi Emelin. All played very well last night in Toronto.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST. It's already game two!!

Game Fifty-Two: Caps vs. Habs

BECAUSE I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THIS MADNESS

Time finals from last night. Because, insanity.

R. Bourque

15:19

D. Brière

14:36

Got that? Okay, some more:

B. Gallagher

11:09

D. Desharnais

12:51

I dunno. I just don't know.


HAPPY WEEKEND!

So what's the weather like down there? Actually, just kidding about the question. I've still only got one: Has Michel Therrien been fired yet?

Game Twenty-Six: Habs vs. Caps

Shootout:

- Usual disclaimer, I hate the shootout, blah blah.

- Fehr, off the bar. Advantage, Washington.

- Eller, very sweet backhand to forehand foolery. Ties it up.

- Did someone switch Budaj with Price? Ovichkin, 2-1.

- Deshairnas! He's good at this. 2-2!

 - Budaj on Backstrom makes the save, Habs can win this with Galchenyuk.

 - Nopes. Shootout overtime.

- Grabovski. It had to be Grabovski.

- Therrien goes with Plekanec, who's terrible at this, and predictably, his try is disastrous. Game, set, match.

Overtime:

- We'll keep playing this record, but how much time is Subban gonna get in the OT?

- Markov/Subban.

- If Grabvoski scores I'm gonna jump the bridge.

-Subban to wide open Markov, who got a little too cute with Holtby.

3rd Period:

- Habs continue to be excellent on the PK, seemingly since the return of Prist from his injury.

- Ovechkin can be an enigma - so many nights he totally dominates the game, some nights he's just another NHL forward. Tonight it's a lot of the later.

- My goodness, the warp speed passing by Habs on their PP. I'm literally dizzy. Markov brilliantly set up by Desharnais, Holtby has to make three saves.

- Budaj the back end of the best one-two netminding duo in the game (delusional Leafs fans be dammed). Budaj sans the 2nd period stick handling brain cramp has been pretty much flawless.

- Subban has had Ovechkin's number all night. Ovechkin now trying to sucker the officials into calling a penalty. Not working.

- Bournival soft on his check, Emelin slow to react and nemesis Grabovski ties the game with 6 minutes left. Budaj would tell you'd he'd like that one back.

- Very good teams find ways of winning these games. Let's see how Habs respond.

- Caps smell blood. Intense pressure here.

- Budaj is gonna have to rob a couple of Caps if the Habs hope to hold on to the point.

- Ovechkin, at the slightest contact, goes down. Always looking for the penalty call. Ridiculously transparent.

- Overtime it is. Habs really should have won that in regulation. 

2nd Period:

- We be a bit late to the game, I said it before I'll say it again, anytime either one of Briere or Desharnais scores for the Canadiens, this team becomes very difficult to beat. Briere with his 5th to give Habs 1-0 lead.

- Plekanec scoring a minute after Budaj with a brutal giveaway behind his net, giving the Caps a gift first goal of the game.

- Max Pacioretty showing some rare physicality with a huge hit on Latta. Impressed!!

- Desharnais drives the net, nearly tips one past (hits the post). The formula ain't really that hard - drive the net and you'll be rewarded.

- Habs powerplay. When Subban swings and misses with the one-timer, everyone feels the breeze.

- Bournival seemingly slipping further into Therrien's doghouse, only two shifts this period, on track to play less than 8 minutes tonight.

- Bournival gets a shift, nearly beats Holtby with a snapper. He's out there gaining chances on most shifts, but for whatever reason, is on a very short leash.

- No way this Caps team, as I've seen them play tonight, make the playoffs.

- Even though shot margin favored Washington, Habs with lion's share of zone pressure, Caps had sporadic bursts, but no real sustained puck control. Really should be at least a two goal margin in favor of Habs, but if the game continues as is, they really ought salt this away in the 3rd. 

Friday News 'n' Notes:

HAPPY FRIDAY. OH GLORIOUS FRIDAY WHY CAN'T IT BE FRIDAY EVERYDAY?

Okay, a couple of notes:

- Peter Budaj will start tonight. We reported that a couple of days ago.

- Deck chairs shifted again, Doug Murray will sit, Frankie Bouillon will start. Tomorrow night they'll probably switch again.

- HABS GAME BLOG MOVEMBER TRAFFIC: Almost 39,000 visits!! Thank each and everyone who comes out to look at this little blog. Knowing that more than a few people are reading is great motivation.

Game Twenty-Three: Habs vs. Caps

First Period:

- Warching the period from a bar, anytime you have both Desharnais and Briere producing, you have a team that's basically impossible to beat. Habs looking a lot like they did against the Wild. Impressive.

No BLOG tonight.

I repeat, NO blog TONIGHT.

Yeah, yeah ... I know, what kind of a game blog am I running here if I'm not actually, you know, blogging the games, dammit? Sorry folks, I've other pressing obligations in Toronto tonight, and in case you were wondering, they've nothing to do with the Mayor. Although a Friday evening with His Worship might be an awful lot of fun. 

Anyway, TONIGHT. Canadiens take on the Capitals. Two roster shifts for the game - even though he's had some pretty shoddy history against Washington, Peter Budaj will get the start tonight. Peter had better bring his A+ game because for reasons that are completely baffling to yours truly and just about anyone else paying nominal attention to the Canadiens, Doug Murray will get a start tonight, while Frankie Bouillon will enjoy cocktails from the pressbox. Looking down at, no doubt, the Caps pounding the snot out of the Habs by sending out the Ovechkin line every time Murray steps on the ice.

It won't be pretty, me sadly suspects.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST. I'll do my best to sneak a peek at the carnage.