Game 58: Habs vs. Bruins

Boston 4, Montreal 0:

FIRST PERIOD:

- As mentioned in the pregame preview, there won't be a first period blog due to a scheduling conflict, we'll be joining in for the start of the 2nd period.

- That said, there's apparently a heavy contingent of Colorado Avalanche decision makers at the game, which is fueling speculation that a deal is in the works involving Matt Duchane. As I've said before, this trade is *not* going to happen. The Avs demands for a rental player are far higher than Marc Bergevin could hope to offer.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Looking at first period stats, looks like the Habs had a good period, with exception to Boston being the only team who scored.

- First shift of the 2nd period, excellent work by Gallagher. He's a welcome sight for this team, and adds a pretty irreplaceable dynamic that seemed to be missing on quite a few occasions during losses since early January - a general lack of intensity.

- Spooner to Chara who dipsie doodles around a couple of flailing checks and beats Price top corner blocker side to make it 2-0. Shorthanded goal just to rub in a little more salt. Habs powerplay has gone from being unable to score, to giving up soft goals. This is bad. Very bad.

- Canadiens being very sloppy with the puck, especially in their zone. Bruins are also swarming the low slot at will, Habs are basically playing on their heels.

- Hard to say for certain what's happening, but I suspect its a combination of the Bruins rolling, while the Habs stumbling. Combined, Price is getting blitzed in this period, plenty of chaotic defending. Emelin icing the puck and Therrien calls time out to give his line a rest, maybe this will reset the Habs to stem Boston's overwhelming momentum. 9 minutes left in the period.

- Habs need the Bruins powerplay. Krejci finishing a pretty passing play, Habs PK doing a poor job closing the lanes, and at 3-0, it's hard to fathom this game not being over.

- Habs, let's face facts, are a dysfunctional mess. They had an incredible month of October, but since then, they've largely repeated last year's losing pattern, *with* Carey Price in goal. If they hockey gods are attempting to tell Marc Bergevin something, they're screaming it. This team needs a fundamental change in another direction.

- Beaulieu with a bad penalty to end the period. He's frustrated, Galchenyuk's frustrated, Price is clearly irked - this is a very unhappy hockey team. Unhappy teams are losing teams - no matter what you do, no matter how many lines you shift, no matter what system you put in place, if your players are on a negative bent, the season is lost. For the Montreal Canadiens, they are now approaching the danger zone of playing themselves into yet another lost year.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Bad 2nd period for the Canadiens, not only because they were soundly outshot and outscored, but because the team looks like it's pretty much tossed in the towel - certainly for tonight's game, and maybe even for the season. Moral is pretty much close to, or at, zero:

- Desperate times, so why not at least try Galchenyuk back with Pacioretty and Radulov. Down 3-0, how could it hurt??

- Nope. AK27 still nailed with Gallagher and Byron. Oh, well.

- Haha ... Therrien does juggle his lines, by moving Pacioretty and Radulov apart. A mind-boggling adjustment. It's at thought he lives in another universe.

- Having trouble figuring out what Therrien is doing. It appears as though he now has McCarron playing with Pacioretty and Gallagher? Well that worked out great, as Vatrano scores to make it 4-0. We're on the cusp of a blowout.

- Carey Price being taunted by the Boston Bruins faithful. Could this be any more humiliating?

- A dismal loss to end a dismal week that had a favourable schedule, but turned into almost zero points gained. The Habs have gone from a comfortable Division lead to being in danger of missing the playoffs. Life comes at you fast, and this Montreal Canadiens team is in dire need of a huge shakeup if they have any hopes of salvaging their season. With five full days off, that shakeup might come this week. The only question is, does Marc Bergevin have the intestinal fortitude to make the tough decision?



GAME PREVIEW: THE SWEET MERCIFUL BYE WEEK HATH ARRIVED!

The Montreal Canadiens, who have the League's 3rd worst winning percentage after the 11th game (which fortunately, they won 9 of), take on the Bruins of Boston tonight in Massachusetts. For the Canadiens, tonight's game is the last before the team enters its bye-week, a welcome 5 day rest for a team that frequently appears to be playing on weary legs.

The Bruins, meanwhile, are coming off an eventful week which saw the dismissal of long-serving head coach Claude Julien, replaced by Bruce Cassidy, who was formally head coach of the Washington Capitals way back in 2004 (before he was dismissed).

The response to the Julien firing, at least from game results, has been positive for the Bruins. In the two games since Cassidy took the reigns, Boston has gone 2-0, with wins over the Canucks and Sharks.

It's been a weird year for Boston. They're in a extremely precarious position for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, even though they've put up some the best possession stats in the NHL. As of today, Boston's raw Corsi is 55.6%, the best in the League. That Boston, which numbers that are usually put up by teams competing for Stanley Cups, has barely registered a winning record this year,  is a fascinating statistical anomaly.

One gets the feeling the Bruins, backed by good fundamental numbers, are on the cusp of making a bit of a run as we near the home stretch of the regular season. Imperative to them making a move will be converting more of their offensive opportunities. The Bruins shot percentage, a merger 7.7% this season, has been a big reason why they've had difficultly putting together a sustained winning streak.

The Bruins will also need more dependable goaltending from Tuukka Rask, whom by his standards, has not had a good season. Rask's save percentage is an NHL career worst .910. If you put together Rask's iffy netminding with his team's poor shot percentage, you'll find yourself a losing team - regardless of how well it does with puck possession.

Over on the Habs side of the ice, Brendan Gallagher will return to action tonight, after having his hand shattered by a 98 mph slap shot courtesy of Shea Weber in early January. That Gallagher is returning to game action barely a month after having two fingers nearly severed off his hand is a medical miracle - the Habs medical staff obviously deserving much credit for the quick recovery.

Plenty of questions are dogging the Habs, in particular primary and secondary scoring. The debate remains fierce as to whether Michel Therrien usage of Alex Galchenyuk, who's been mired on relatively unproductive 3rd line duties since his return from a knee injury. Whether or not Therrien will change course and reunite Galchenyuk with more familiar linemates like Max Pacioretty and Alex Radulov, is yet to be seen. One thing is clear - the Canadiens are struggling to score goals, and the current line combinations aren't working.

Carey Price, who struggled in his 5-4 OT win against the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night, will start for the Habs. Rask for the Bruins. Puck drops at 7:40 EST, and because of a scheduling conflict, no live game blogging until the start of the 2nd period.



HABS ARE TERRIBLE! LIFE IS BAD! WE NEED BEARS!

As is per tradition when the Habs are going up against the Bruins (formally replacing Tuukka Rask losing his shit while playing), it's time to watch bear videos, just 'cause it makes us all feel better.



We'll have Habs updates and game preview (Brendan Gallagher returns!) in a bit. In the meantime, just watch the bears, and forget all about how terrible the Canadiens are. Ahhhhh ... that feels better already.

Game 29: Bruins vs. Habs

FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Early on, Habs not nearly as aggressive with the forecheck either in the neutral or offensive zone - at least in comparison to how they played the Avalanche. 

- Krejci/Pastrnak look kinda dangerous - remember, they're a new line. They haven't played an even strength shift together this season. 

- McQuaid muggs Radulov with a hard hold. Ref makes the easy call. McQuaid's response: "HOLD?!!??!?!!? WHAT?!?!"

Yeah, nice try.

- Nathan Beaulieu misses open net setup that Markov would make in his sleep. I guess that, among other things, is what separates him from Andrei.

- Lehkonen continues to get a little bit better every game, every shift. I think the Habs might have obtained another nice diamond in the rough.

- Bruins PK is very, very good ... it looks even better when they play against a Habs powerplay that hasn't still figured out how to gain the zone.

- Krug with a pretty high shoulder hit on Andrew Shaw's face. He's gone to the room, I'm certain for a concussion review. Habs bench pretty upset by the hit.

- Next Krug shift, Gallagher tracks him down a drops gloves. Krug goes down hard and fast, just like we figured he might.

- Here are the hits, which has turned this game suddenly nasty. One hit is perfectly clean, one is borderline not:

Emelin hit on Pastrnak and Krug hit on Shaw: pic.twitter.com/VcW5Lf42mS

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 13, 2016

- Big bodies delivering hard hits right now, this game heating up.

- Radulov little blindside hit on Miller, who takes big exception, and chases him around the ice. Radulov smart to get the hell away.

- Evenly played period, not a ton of scoring chances, most of the focus by both teams on physical play, big checks, some clean, some nasty. Refs might need to bring down the hammer in the 2nd, or this game could get really, really ugly.

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs after 20 minutes, CF at 46.8%, more importantly, it was a very rough period, a game style the Habs really ought not be playing given they're out two top centres for a couple of months.

- Shaw returns to the bench, and is immediately sent on the ice for a Habs 4-on-3 advantage, for baffling reasons. The chance goes ... nowhere.

- Both teams are lining up for hits, which is a dangerous situation. Raises the stake that someone might get seriously hurt. Officials need to send players to to box - a message needs to be sent.

- Bruins powerplay has been pretty bad this year, so they rejigged it for tonight's game. Looks pretty good - puck control and setup. Price doing his job, also aided by a less-than-stellar Habs PK, which has been less than mediocre most of this season. In any case, if that first opportunity was any indicator, Habs would be wise to stay out of the box.

- Holy moly, does Pastrnak have an incredible shot. Far better than I can recall in previous years. No wonder he's tied for the League lead. 

- So Tuukka Rask has a bad record playing in the Bell Centre. You wouldn't know that by how he's played tonight. Handstands in this 2nd period keeping the Habs from scoring 1st.

- Shaw's 1st line powerplay usage is just maddeningly silly - he doesn't move enough with the extra man, just plunks himself in front of the net. Killing a PK is pretty easy when there are only 4/5 players you're defending that are involved with puck movement.

- Zach Redmond just had a horrible shift, totally outskated and outmuscled from the puck in his own zone, Bruins basically taking shots on Price at will as a result. Redmond can't have any more shifts like that, not at an NHL level.

- Whelp, how about that? His next shift Redmond makes a very bad mistake getting caught way up ice trying to make something out of nothing, and resulting odd-man break, Czarnik beats Price short side. 1-0.

- Another more-or-less even period, although the Habs had definable edge in high quality chances, Rask making some rather difficult saves to keep the Canadiens off the board, long enough for someone to beat Price on the other end. Nasty level seems to have been brought down a few notches, it looks as though the teams have sent each other their messages, received, and they've moved on to playing a pretty entertaining game. Canadiens powerplay still looks dysfunctional - hopefully somebody behind the bench will take notice and send out a more potent starting unit (read: no more Andrew Shaw). Otherwise, with Rask playing as he is tonight, Habs could have a big hill to climb in the 3rd.

THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Fancy stats suggest far more dominate 2nd period than I had observed, 66.7% CF (5v5) overall. But down on the scoreboard, unfortunately:

- Scoring chances also clear edge to the Habs, 20-12 overall, 11-7 5v5. 

- Haven't really been happy from what I've seen from Redmond tonight - maybe he still needs time to adjust, but he's not having nearly the same kind of solid effort we witnessed against Colorado and New Jersey. Perhaps it's the opponent quality that's had an impact, the Bruins being far better than the previous two opponents.

- Bruins being pretty aggressive with the forecheck, and it's really hampering the Habs ability to forward the puck - the defence not having a very good night even just clearing the zone.

- 5 minutes into the 3rd, looking increasingly likely the Habs will need to score a greasy goal - Rask really on his game.

- Emelin leaning into Brad Marchand is a beautiful thing. Another clean hip check that brings the faithful to their feet. Maybe help spark a Habs goal? 

- Meanwhile, the Bruins response seems to be hitting back, only they can't do it clean. 

- Brins PK is just so good - their defenders are always moving, winning puck battles along the boards. Habs' anemicly performing powerplay has no chance.

- It appears opposing teams have basically figured Weber out, and are covering his passing and shooting lanes. Because Weber hasn't (and maybe can't) adjust, his scoring tallies have fallen off a cliff the past two weeks.

- Habs defence really struggling with the puck tonight. Just too many mishandles and poor passes. Emelin and Weber have been particularly bad.

- Oy. Habs killing themselves with poor passing this period. Even when they gain the zone, far too many unforced errors are killing scoring chances. 

- Danault line giving the Bruins defence the most fits tonight - their forecheck and skating intensity a little too much for that slow Boston blue line to handle. Really wish Therrien had given this unit more playing time tonight.

- Time running out, just 6 minutes left in a period the Habs have really dominated - actually they've owned the ice most of the 2nd and 3rd periods, but Rask has been too good. From one night where every shot seemed to go in, to a night where there haven't been many positive bounces, hockey as always, is elusive to analyze and predict.

- Gallagher's overdue, right? Man, is he ever. 

- Just not happening. Just over 3 minutes left, Bruins hemming up the passing lanes, and doing a good job preventing the Habs from entering and setting up. The Canadiens haven't helped their cause much either, often being out of sync.

- And just as I post that comment, Byron cashes in a loose puck in the slot, credit to Torrey Mitchell carrying the zone, and driving the net. Mitchell continues to rise to the occasion, and Byron has significantly boosted his number the past week. Two guys who are playing exceptionally well right now.

- Emelin seems only able to focus on levelling rushing wingers, but has been totally inept tonight forwarding the puck out of his zone.

- Wow, both teams aren't playing it safe, really opening things up last two minutes of this period. It's been a pretty entertaining game, even with just two goals scored.

- Pretty good period for the Habs, they pushed most of the period, even if they had trouble coordinating their attack. Hasn't been the prettiest game played, certainly one of the more physical games the Habs have been involved in this season. It's always a sign you have good team when they find ways of coming back in the scoreboard late in games. Habs providing more evidence tonight this might be their season.

OVERTIME:

- Here's hoping Therrien chooses his troops more wisely this OT. That means, no Brian Flynn, Michel.

- Shea Weber coughing the puck up deep to start the OT - not good. He hasn't been good the past week.

- End to end to end so far. 

- Boston scored? Or did they? The ref not indicating one way or the other, with Pastrnak barreling into Price. This must be goaltender interference. 

- There's no way that goal can count. Pastrnak ran right into Price by his own means. Price had no way of stopping the puck because of Pastrnak's interference.

- Yeah, no goal. Interference by Pastrnak. 

- Julien is mad? How can you argue that? Price was tackled into his net. Com'on, man.

- Gallagher. It's just not happening. It hasn't been happening for nearly two months. 

- Not sure what Therrien sees in putting Radulov and Mitchell together, but here we are.

- Radulov trapped in his zone, dog tired. This is bad.

- Yup, Spooner puts it home, because the Habs couldn't make the change.

- Wait. The siren goes. For what??

- Goal is good. Kind of a heartbreaking loss tonight given how the Habs were the better team tonight. But hey, that's hockey.

That said, Habs powerplay is now officially a concern. They're getting opportunities but not cashing in nearly enough times. Montreal must make adjustments, and I'd start by taking Shaw off the first unit. The Habs have other options, but for some reason, Therrien and Kirk Muller seem hung up putting Shaw out there, mostly unsuccessfully.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE BRUINS ARE IN TOWN! TIME TO MAKE FUN OF TUUKKA RASK AGAIN!

Let's start with some stupid. P.J. Stock is always a good source:

First off, I love Carey Price. But-how is he allowed 4 blocker punches 2 a defenceless player. Price should've punched Petry. Shoulda been 5

— PJ Stock (@PJStock28) December 9, 2016

You tell 'em P.J.! Hey what is P.J. doing these days, anyway? Obviously critiquing blocker punches and recommending suspensions to the League. Anyway, goalies using their blocker to hit other player, have we ever seen that before?

Ouch. Right to Lupal's face, unlike Price who gave Kyle Palmieri two punches to the body. So anyway, what did Stock have to say about Rask's blocker punch to Lupul's face, which is actually a suspendible offence? Why he said:

Oh right I forgot. Stock had nothing to say about that.

Oh well. Anyway, tonight the Bruins and Tuukka Rask's blocker invade the Bell Centre to take on the Habs, who are coming off resounding victories over the Devils and Avalanche. The Bruins, meanwhile, are coming off resounding victories over ... no one. The Bruins are riding a 3 game losing streak coming at the hands of the Caps, the Leafs and the Avalanche. Yeah, the same Avalanche who managed to keep the Habs from hitting triple figures on the scoreboard Saturday night.

So what's the problem, Boston? Whelp, even though the Bruins blue line is slow and aging, its their offence, which has hit the skids of late. So Claude Julien, whose job again is starting to feel a little heat, is making a few line adjustments tonight in hopes of getting some slumping forwards producing again. In particular, David Backes and David Krejci, each of whom has produce just 6 and 7 points respectively over the past 13 games. Krejci will be moved from the 1st to the Bruins' 2nd line to play next to League scoring co-leader David Pastrnak, while Backes will pair up with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

Indeed, getting their top 6 scoring is critical for the Bruins, mainly because their 3rd and 4th lines have contributed next to nothing. Even with Pastrnak lighting the lamp most of the season, the Bruins still have just the 26th ranked League offence, which has led them to spot in the standings which would leave them on the outside looking in, if the playoffs were to start tomorrow.

So here's the Bruins lineup tonight:

Marchand/Bergeron/Backes
Schaller/Krejci/Pastrnak
Heinen/Spooner/Czarnik
Moore/Nash/Acciari

Carlo/Chara
Krug/McQuaid
C. Miller/K. Miller

Tuukka Rask.

Over on the Habs side, no changes in the lineup or line combinations because, how could you possibly do that after scoring 10 goals?

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game 13: Bruins vs. Habs

FIRST PERIOD:

- You're watching the game? HARD. CORE. Any who, Zane Mcintyre will start tonight for the Bruins, which is probably best for them, since Tuukka Rask has but 5 career wins in 24 starts against Montreal.

- McIntyre is a bit all over the place, but he's keeping the puck out, even with some good early Habs pressure.

- Jeff Petry. Sneaky bone thundering check thrower.

- Habs breakouts, which have been pretty miserable this season, are somewhat improved. Bruins aren't doing an especially good job in the neutral zone.

- Bruins to the powerplay, which for the past week, one might say for the entire season so far, has been pretty damn horrible.

- Bruins getting pucks at Price, but nothing particularly dangerous, at least by Carey's standards.

- Bruins, even though it's second game in as many nights, looking decently sprite out there. But that could and should change as the game wears on.

- Habs forwards definitely having easier time driving the net than the Bruins driving Price. Over a 60 minute game, that tends to favour your fortunes.

- Relatively even period - from Boston's perspective, not bad since they're on tired legs. For the Habs, signs are there over the long run they should be in pretty good shape.


SECOND PERIOD:

- This doesn't fit with the "grit" and "character" formula that's become an obsession for this organization, but Carr makes this lineup a whole lot better than Brian Flynn ever did.

- Weber with another cannon on the powerplay, Mcintyre likely never saw it with a Bruins defenseman blocking his view, and Habs hit the scoreboard first. That's 4 for Weber with the man advantage, currently tops in the League.

- Well that didn't last long. Bruins get a fluke, with Backes point shot that's played aside by Price, hitting the backboards, and bouncing back to hit his leg to trickle in. The unpredictable nature of hockey strikes again. These things happen.

- Having trouble keeping up here. Habs retake the lead only seconds lately, Byron a sweet feed from his line to Radulov, who flips to Galchenyuk, who in turn makes a dazzling backhander past McIntyre. In the matter of about 4 seconds, from the Habs blue line, Montreal takes the lead. The Canadiens have been doing this many times this season - long passes from their zone to the opposition blue line, utilizing their speed to create odd man breaks. It's a risky strategy, fraught with the high possibility of surrendering a neutral zone turnover (and odd man break the other direction), but so far, it's been working.

- Carr having himself a whale of a period here, and as a whole, a most excellent game. There was more than a good argument to be made that he shouldn't have been demoted in the first place, and now he's making quite the statement that he really ought to stay.

- What's Jack Nicklaus doing at a Habs game? Enquiring minds want to know.

- Rudulov can be an exceptional playmaker. I sometimes wonder if he'd thrive just as much at centre as he does on the wing?

- Emelin furious at Marchand at the end of the period, for what, I haven't the slightest clue. I'm assuming the usual - Marchand acting like an idiot.

- Better period for the Habs, shot suppression was much better, Bruins only on the board because of a fluky bounce. Habs speed seems to be just a little too much for the Bruins to handle tonight, not only because Boston is coming off a game last night, but their defence, as you may have noticed, can be awfully slow to adjust.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Early returns from the U.S. Election look ... uh ... not promising. OKAY, HOCKEY IT IS.

- I like this Mcintyre kid - plays a very aggressive game, unafraid to come well out past his crease (kind of a lost art among today's goaltenders). Bruins seem to okay for backup now that it appears their first round Subban pick has turned into a bust.

- Pacioretty/Plekanec/Mitchell? Mmmkay ... that's ... interesting.

- Super stupid interference by Emelin gives Bruins a powerplay 5 minutes into the 3rd. Betcha Boston scores. Opposing teams always seem to with dumb penalties.

- Hah. With 2 seconds left in the powerplay, guess what? Boston ties the game. Pastrnak hammers a one-timer past Price. No chance. Alexei Emelin stupidity strikes again.

- Radulov another gem game. Seemingly he never has a bad shift - ferocious work ethic and creating chances like crazy.

- Mcintrye really does well with pads - flips them quickly, suckers shooters into low shots that are easily turned aside.

- Weber suddenly paired with Beaulieu and Emelin now with Petry. Well, that's interesting.

- Miserable shift for the Desharnais line - Bruins hem Habs in hard, and nearly take the lead.

- Habs pushing, pressing, getting close. Markov with a 50 footer that rings off the post. 2 minutes left in the 3rd.

- Ah, there we have it. Bryon picks up a loose puck as the Habs drive the net - and guess who's the catalyst on the play? Radulov, of course. 3-2 Canadiens with just a minute left.

- No question, Radulov the first 13 games of this season is the Habs MVP.

- Boston challenging the play. Might as well try. But this goal isn't coming back.

- Bruins can't get anything going last minute of this period.

- Brian Flynn out there last minute. That's something I don't understand.

- Habs hold on for the win, much better than their win on Saturday night in that they actually kinda sorta deserved the outcome. Bruins defense not good enough, their offence seemed to run out of gas as the game progressed, and the Canadiens continue to pad their win total for the eventual decline. Whenever that occurs.



HAPPY TUESDAY. AMERICA, PLEASE VOTE!!

Hey, it's hockey time again, it's the Habs and the Bruins, and boy did they pick a lousy night to play hockey because it's election day in the USA! To all my friends south of the border, DON'T SCREW THIS ONE UP.

We'll have stuff about the game in a bit.


GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

So with all of this election drama, are you gonna be watching the game tonight? I'll be the first to admit I'll be doing some channel flipping, but fear not, we'll be blogging the game!

So here are the lines tonight:

Marchand/Bergeron/Pastrnak
Spooner/Krejci/Backes
Beleskey/Nash/Czarnik
Schaller/Moore/Acciari

Chara/Carlo
Krug/McQuaid
Liles/Miller

Tuukka Rask ... we think?

Over on the Habs side it's:

Pacioretty/Plekanec/Gallagher
Byron/Galchenyuk/Radulov
Carr/Desharnais/Shaw
Danault/Mitchell/Flynn

Weber/Emelin
Markov/Petry
Beaulieu/Pateryn

Carey Price

Now, the Bruins are coming off a nice little shutout win last night over the Sabres, although there are questions about the health of Tuukka Rask, who seems to be dealing with a knee/groin/lower body (??) nagging injury. His start, on back-to-back nights, is very uncertain. Besides, Rask's career record against the Habs can only be described in one word - horrible (5-15-3 to be precise).

For the Habs, who are coming off yet another unimpressive win, Daniel Carr will get a start, his first in nearly a three weeks, in place of Artturi Lehkonen, who's out day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Puck drops tonight at 7:40 EST. But you really should be watching the election instead. You know, stuff that actually matters.

Game 5: Habs vs. Bruins

MONTREAL 4, BOSTON 2: FIVE ONSIDE HABS POINTS

1 - As I mentioned immediately after the conclusion of last night's game, the Habs win, their 4th in 5 starts this season, was an uneven victory. What I meant exactly by that was this. Once again, the Canadiens found a way of claiming victory in spite of the underlaying numbers favouring the opponent. The Habs were soundly outplayed in the first period, barely registering a CF% over 41, although the final shot totals in the period were 13-6 in favour of the Habs. Yet, somehow they were able to hold the line, and find their way to victory. It's been like that since game one - and beyond the fact that the Habs are consistently losing the battle for puck possession, the Canadiens are winning because of two basic reasons: Exceptional goaltending (Al Montoya was outstanding backing up Price for the first 3 games), and puck luck. The Canadiens currently hold the League's largest PDO (108.0), with the Detroit Red Wings ranked 2nd - at 104.2. It's not only goaltending that has helped the Habs to find ways of winning games - their shooting percentage is a sky-high 12.7%, 3rd highest in the League. A typical average NHL Sh% over a 82 stretch is usually between 7-8%. Bottom line here - the Habs have been beating the averages, enjoying the benefits of good bounces. But they never last. They won't last. When the Canadiens revert to the average, this team, unless it starts changing its puck possession approach, will start losing.

2 - One area that did show improvement for the Habs were their faceoff percentages. Entering the game, the Canadiens were ranked 26th overall, but that number improved last night with the Canadiens winning 57% of the drops. Perhaps most critically, the Habs won nearly 60% of the faceoffs in their zone, which certainly helped them to mitigate the puck possession advantages the Bruins enjoyed through most of the 1st period, and at certain points in the 3rd.

3 - Another solid game for Carey Price - not sparkling - but solid. He wasn't overtly busy last night, in part because the Habs were doing a better job winning faceoffs, in part because the Habs defence was doing a reasonable job at shot blocking, in part because the Bruins' powerplay was exceptionally inept. But Price did make key saves at key times scattered throughout the evening, which is all you can really ask and hope for from your number one goaltender.

4 - The Habs powerplay continues to underwhelm, as indicated by a couple of graphics. Here is the Habs high danger scoring chances last night (5v5):

So 14 chances there - a pretty ordinary chart for any given night. Now let's look at the Habs high danger scoring chances with the powerplay included:

The differences are hard to discern, but the arrows point at the 3 danger shots that were generated during the 8:18 of Habs powerplay minutes. When you enjoy about 15% of your game with one extra player on the ice, you ought to also enjoy more high percentage chances than the measly 3 the Canadiens generated. The answer is most likely because the Canadiens continue to follow the same losing strategy - lots of crips perimeter passing, and frequent shot attempts from the point, but very few attempts from anywhere in the slot, and virtually nothing near the crease. This powerplay continues to obsesses over feeding the puck to Shea Weber for one-time shots, which makes sense enough if only Shea Weber were capable of delivering shots on target. With exception to the one goal he's scored with the man advantage this season, Weber's accuracy has been wildly off target - in part because opposing defenders have been blocking shooting lanes, in part because Weber simply isn't very good with his shot - velocity removed from consideration.

5 - I've seen praise heaped on Jeff Petry and Nathan Beaulieu for their work clearing the puck, but the bottom line stats bear out that the Habs best defenseman last night was Greg Pateryn. In addition to doing a fine job feeding the puck to his forwards from his own zone, Pateryn posted the best shot attempt difference last night - a plus 5. 

LIVE BLOG:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Keep an eye on Habs faceoff performance tonight - it's been kind of not good this season, just 45%.

- Gallagher gets 4 minutes for careless use of his stick - Habs PK has been very good so far this year - it'll need to be to handle the Bruins powerplay, which hasn't been particularly effective this year (just 7.1%), but with guys like Bergeron and Marchand and Krejci, watch out.

- Pretty much all Bruins so far, Julien doing some apt line matching, putting his big guns out against the Mitchell line - which has been overwhelmed by Boston's forecheck and speed.

- Carey Price looks pretty sharp, but even he can't sustain the one-sidedness of this game and keep his team's head above water. Bruins gaining Habs zone with ease. That's a huge problem.

- With 7 minutes left, shots are 4-4, but brother, no way it's even out there. Habs have been wretched, the Bruins seemingly unstoppable. Carey Price remains their biggest obstacle.

- Just no way this game is sustainable for the Habs. The Bruins have to score eventually.

- Habs zone starts this season are just over 56% their side of centre, which is the 5th worst in the NHL. It's a big issue for any team when they start most of the play in their own zone. Puts a lot of tough pressure on their defence, even more on goaltending. You cannot hope to win regularly with that kind of weight around your neck.

- Habs 2nd powerplay, good puck movement and passing, but most of it perimeter, and all shots coming off tries from the line. Looks great, but effectively - I'm not convinced this will provide the positive man advantage results the Habs are hoping for.

- If Marc Bergevin wants to win with grit, his players need to start demonstrating grit - including on their powerplay. Greasy goals are still goals. Won't happen if nobody is willing to crash the crease.

- Habs got a couple of decent scoring chances late in the period, but it was still grotesquely one-sided period in favour of Boston. Carey Price will have to pull more than a couple of tricks out of his bag tonight, otherwise, this could be an ugly result.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs somehow outshot the Bruins 13-6 in the first period, even though their CF was barely over 41%. What a weird 20 minutes:

- Habs powerplay goes pretty much nowhere - adjustments made emphasizing dump and chase approach to gaining the zone. Predictably, they fail to register a shot on goal.

- Khudobin has been very solid tonight for the Bruins, but he is giving up some pretty choice rebounds. Problem is, Habs have been so tentative in crashing the slot, that few, if any rebound chances are being taken advantage of.

- Gallagher does a nice job keeping the puck in the Bruins zone, and snaps a shot blocker side past Khudobin to give the Habs a 1-0 lead. The Canadiens being rewarded here by a pretty strong period of hockey - doing a decent forechecking job in the neutral zone, and the Bruins zone entries, where were unchallenged in the 1st period, have hit a roadblock in the 2nd.

- Bruins haven't scored first in a game this season, which always puts you an inherent disadvantage. Boston really outplayed Montreal in the first period, but couldn't finish their chances. Of course, there's the Carey Price factor to consider ...

- Greg Pateryn doesn't get nearly enough credit for his transition game. He's one of the few Habs defensemen that does a half decent job feeding the puck forward. It's played a role this period in helping the Habs to find their game, and mitigate the Bruins' momentum.

- Shea Weber is getting a honeymoon treatment in Montreal, which is to be expected. But unless and until he's actually able to put his powerplay shots on goal, it matters not whether that puck travels at 95 mph, or 495 mph. The results are going to be the same.

- Although, a 495 mph slapshot would be terrifying, as the NHL notes the uptake of on-ice fatalities.

- Bruins taking a few chances here to try and get their offence moving again, get caught up ice surrendering a 2-on-1, with Radulov feeding Danault, who's had an excellent game tonight, to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead.

- Weber gets nabbed for a clunky trip. It would be nice if he took "good" penalties once in awhile.

- Quite the turnaround in fortunes that period, the Habs deftly outplayed the Bruins, really shutting down the Bergeron line as the Habs 4th line finally found a groove. Carey Price hasn't been tested hard, but he has made more than a couple tough saves to keep the Bruins scoreless. I'm expecting the Bruins to come out hard to start the 3rd - Habs need to maintain their discipline and solid forecheck, maintaining good play in the neutral zone, to increase their chances of winning this game.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Bruins after two periods, Montreal nearly 60% CF (5v5) in that second period:

- Remember the days when Zdeno Chara used to dominate this game on the blue line, striking fear into the eyes of his opponents? Man, those were the days. Long past. -5 on SF even strength tonight, he looks old and slow, most likely because he's old and slow.

- Big factor tonight is improvement by Habs in the faeeoff circle. Entering tonight's game with one of the worst percentages in the League, they've won 67.5% tonight. Significant improvement.

- Emelin with a very dumb pinch at the Bruins line to serve up a 2-on-1 break for Boston, Schaller to Moore to put the Bruins on the board. It's foolish plays like Emelin just made that quickly turn wins into losses.

- And now Emelin follows up that bonehead play on his next shift by taking a bonehead delay of game penalty. Stupefying stupid.

- Bryon to the rescue, blocking a point shot, and scoring on the break. 3-1 Habs. Emelin breaths a sight of relief.

- Oops, maybe not. Spooned cashes home a nice cross ice feed from Krug, assist to Markov and Weber for some pretty awful coverage, and it's 3-2. Back to the bench for you, Alexei. Just. Stay. There.

- Weber really struggling with Bruins rushes into the Habs zone, getting beat wide badly, having trouble adjusting to forwards coming hard towards the net. He and Emelin aren't doing Carey Price many favours this period.

- Chara and Markov. Personification of hockey from another time that's long passed them.

- Great forechecking effort by Torrey Mitchell in the Bruins zone, battling for the puck and backhanding the puck past Khudobin. Morrow, meanwhile, gives Mitchell a high stick to the face, a 4 minute minor that gives the Habs a bonus 2 minute powerplay.

- Weber takes a late interference call, again because he's caught flat-footed trying to react to the speed of an opposition rush. Get used to it Habs fans, you'll be seeing much more of this.

- Another delay of game penalty. And now Boston goes on a 6-on-3 powerplay. Yeeeps.

- Horribly executed powerplay. Just. Horrible.

- An untidy win, but a win nonetheless. Habs played poorly in the 1st, very well in the 2nd, and more more less hung on in the 3rd. This team's powerplay continues to look inept, so all the hopes and dreams that Weber was going to turn this unit around don't seem to be panning out - at least so far. Yes, again, it's too early to draw firm conclusions, but the signs aren't looking good that this Habs team isn't anything different than it was last year, except that it has Carey Price in goal. Not exactly reassuring.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

Hey, it's the weekend! And it's the first game of the year against the Bruins! What more could anyone possibly want? HOW ABOUT BEARS IN A POOL??!?



A few notes, in point form:

- The Bruins are off to a pretty decent start to their season, winning 3 of their first 4 games. Brad Marchand, who had a tremendous World Cup, has continued his scoring ways early into the season, scoring 9 points in those first four games. While Marchand has been racking up the points, the Bruins have also received excellent support from their so-called 2nd line, Heinen/Krejci/Backes. After so many up-and-down hears, Krejci finally seems to be getting his form together, which could give the Habs defence plenty of headaches tonight.

- While the Habs do have 7 out of a possible 8 points to start the season, there are worrying signs about whether this team has overachieved. In the four games played, the Habs have a League-leading 108.8 PDO, largely because of Al Montoya's insane .962 SV%.  We've noted since the start of the season how much this team looks like the 2014-15 edition of the Montreal Canadiens - one that not so much thrived, but was reliant on goaltending in order to put together a winning record. Maybe that will change as the season progresses, but so far, early signs are reassuring.

- The Bruins winning record has come from the fine performance of their top two lines, centred by the always excellent Patrice Bergeron, and Krecji. There are ongoing concerns about the health of starting goaltender Tuukka Rask, who's dealing with, to use the words of head coach Claude Julien, "general soreness". So, with all that soreness going on, Rask won't start tonight. Anton Khudobin will start for Boston.

- Habs-related lineup decisions, Mikhail Sergachev and Daniel Carr will be healthy scratches tonight - Brian Flynn and Greg Pateryn will draw in for the Canadiens.

- Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

Game 47: Bruins vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Bruins after two periods:

- Quiet night for the Plekanec line. If their main responsibility is checking, then fine. Check. But don't do with the Max Pacioretty on the wing. 

- Byron appears to be another casualty tonight. Still in the dressing room as we progress through the 3rd period.

- So with Byron apparently injured, the door opens to reunite Galchenyuk with Eller. Therrien, however, elects to put Weise next to Lars. Sigh.

- Another dumb penalty by Marchand, Habs powerplay blue line is Subban and ... Barberio, interestingly. 

- I'm not saying the players have given up, but with the period half over, the effort out there is lacklustre at best. There is no urgency to the Habs game, their pace, their skating. It's as though the team is playing the first period. It's very strange. 

- Eller gets a nice shot off with Rask making a glove save. Apart from that, Habs haven't threatened to score this period. Not once.

- Yeah. That's it. Condon can't move across the net as Pastrnak wraps the puck in. Desharnais, for whatever reason, on Condon's back. Dead silence in the Bell Centre. 

- Marc Bergevin, our sad eyes turn toward you. It's in your hands.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Bruins through 20. CF percentages are even, but don't account for some pretty bad mistakes, mostly by the defence, in that period. Bright spots for Habs was the Eller line, and Barberio and Petry on defence. Condon was also solid. Everyone else? D+ at best.

- Looks like Beaulieu is done for the night. Laugh. Cry. I'm not sure which to choose. 

- We've been on Therrien like a wet rag most of the year for his deployment choices, but functionally speaking, there's no way a Habs defence with this much talent and experience, Subban, Markov, Petry, Beaulieu, Barberio - should be so structurally horrid as it has been for most of the season. Clumsy passes, deep zone turnovers, poor slot coverage, you name it, this defence has done it wrong. That's a definite symptom of a team that's practicing poorly guided by very little structure. If Therrien is to die as head coach, it should mainly be on that hill. 

- Markov gets nabbed for a vicious elbow. That's one very frustrated Russian out there. 

- Oooh, nice. Desharnais to Subban and the line who feed Barberio for a beautiful one timer that left Rask with zero chance. Brilliant shot by Barberio, who's arguably been the Habs best defenseman the past 3 weeks.

- Markov is a mess right now, can barely handle the puck. Clearly exhausted. Maybe even trying to play through an injury. Whatever. He needs rest. He needs a game or two off.

- Subban with a near 4 minute long shift. I don't think I've seen anything like that before. Thing is, it was a great shift. Every second. The guy is amazing.

- Habs have Bruins on the ropes, and then Emelin bodychecks Condon into his net, Bergeron easily deposits the puck in. Words escape me. 

- Habs with a little push after the Bergeron goal, but it's futile. Really feeling the doom settle in here. Team must be ready for the insane asylum, given how absolutely nothing seems to ever work out. 3rd period may very well determine the future of this team, not only for this season, but years down the road. A loss tonight would be absolutely devastating.

FIRST PERIOD:

- So Barberio starts tonight, his 10th game of the season, meaning he can't be sent back to the Ice Caps without clearing waivers. Which means the Habs have likely chosen to stick with him from here until the end of the season.

- Well, if the first shift is any indicator, the players aren't tossing this one away to get their coach fired.

- Eller line is flying tonight. Two shifts so far, both of them excellent, really working forecheck hard.

- Another fine shift by Eller and his line mates, Lars denied an empty net goal by an overly anxious referee who blew the whistle with a lose puck right in front of him.

- Classic examples. 3-on-2 break, Desharnais carries the zone, passes over to Weise, who immediately floats a useless slow weak shot 20 feet high and wide of the net. Then Subban dances in all alone on Rask, and instead of shoot, passes off to nobody. We wonder why this team can't score? That's way.

- Hoo boy. Sloppy Habs D springs Talbot in alone, Condon a great save, and then Markov inexplicably passes the puck right back to Talbot, who buries it. 1-0 Boston. Hoo boy.

- That Bruins goal appears to have had a significant impact on bench moral. Habs now getting overrun by Boston, where moments before, they were dominating.

- Bruins to the powerplay, last 10 scoring chances in this game, all taken by Boston. Ouch.

- And Beaulieu heading to the dressing room early, apparently injured. Make. It. Stop.

- Habs started strong, and seemed to be going well enough, but then the Talbot goal, and everything just fell apart. This Habs team is ridiculously mentally fragile, every little mistake gets magnified 10-fold. And so the Bruins dominated the period. Looks like another same-old tonight for the Canadiens.

GAMEDAY PREVIEW: IS THIS THE LAST CHANCE FOR MICHEL THERRIEN?

The Montreal Canadiens host the Boston Bruins tonight in a game that some believe, will be Michel Therrien's final broken straw if the Habs, mired in a near two month long losing streak, go down in another defeat.

Yesterday the speculation about Therrien's future heated up following an interview with Francois Gagnon of RDS, who stated that it's likely Therrien would be dismissed if the Habs were unable to beat the Bruins tonight.

Funny how things change. It was just two months ago that Habs fans, specifically yours truly, were counting down the days remaining in Claude Julien's tenure as head coach for the Bruins. Back in those days, Boston, who started the season badly, looked destined for a near last place finish in the Eastern Conference, while the Habs looked like a cinch not only to make the playoffs (which at the time was a foregone conclusion), but as the probable Eastern Conference first place team.

Then December came, and the world, at least for Habs fans, began to crumble.

It's been a remarkable fall of grace for Therrien, who not so long ago, appeared a coaching genius, commanding a team that for a few fleeting weeks, looked unbeatable. But then, suddenly, injuries, something the Habs had been riding a near two year streak of good fortune, started happening. First Carey Price stepped on a puck during a game warmup in Edmonton. Then three weeks later, Brendan Gallagher had his hand broken off a slap shot. 

And the Habs, who knew in advance their early winter schedule, went into a tailspin to beat all tailspins. The past 50 days for the Canadiens have been the worst period of losing in 80 years, since Adolf Hitler was in power. This being, except for the injury of two key players, the same team that had only weeks previous, gotten off to their greatest season start in the 106 years of franchise history.

Therrien's reaction to the Price and Gallagher injuries did not inspire confidence among his directors, who focused on his deployment decisions. Specially, Therrien's willingness to give players who struggled to produce, namely David Desharnais and Dale Weise, top line minutes, while scaling back minutes of players who, statically speaking, were far outproducing, name Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller. 

The net effect, of course, was a near dead-stop, team wide, goal drought. From positing easily the best GPG averages through the first two months, the Habs have tumbled all the way to the League's basement in most offence categories. 

And the losses mounted. And still, Therrien refused to change course. When he wasn't mixing and matching a dizzying assortment of line combinations, he was continuing to give favourable time to unproductive players.

There comes, of course, a breaking point. A team can lose only so many times, fall down the standings so far so fast, before actions are taken. Ergo, the speculation about a major shakeup has really gained traction this week, with rumours (mainly baseless) that the Habs were in hot pursuit of Tampa Bay Lightning's Johnathan Druoin. Complicating the Habs ability to make a bold move, is widespread knowledge among everyone around the League that the Canadiens are a desperate hockey team. Other team G.M.'s are fully aware of the crisis in Montreal, so any trade offers that Marc Bergevin might want to enter would come at a very steep price tag.

Which is to say that trades aren't particularly realistic for the Habs- at least, not ones of substance. Assuming a "shakeup" isn't possible via the trade front, the only other recourse is to look internally. That usually means a management shakeup. More often than not, it means the replacement of the head coach.

So tonight, the Habs, who just three weeks ago manhandled their Boston rivals at the annual Winter Classic, could, quite literally, be playing for their coach's future.

The question is begged. Does this hockey team want to continue full steam ahead with Therrien behind the bench, or does it want to take itself in another direction?

The answer may lay in the hands of 20 hockey players over the span of 60 hockey minutes.

Puck drops at 6:40 EST.

HAVE WE FINALLY REACHED THE END OF THE ROAD?

Take it for what it's worth, but Francois Gagnon thinks Therrien's down to his very last chance - tomorrow night against Boston.

Me? I'm surprised it's taken this long, and gone this far.

Do we cheer for the hated Bruins tomorrow night?

Game 40: Habs vs. Bruins

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Bruins after 40 minutes. Yup.

- Dale Weise won't return today (upper body injury). Now we wonder how serious the injury is, and whether this opens the door for Andrighettos' return.

- Bruins seem to be out with a little more oomph this period - Habs seem to be pretty indifferent about allowing them to gain zone entry without too much difficulty.

- Gallagher blocking shots from the points. The rest of us hold our breath.

- Bruins score, their "oomph" finally paying off as the Habs are being way too passive this period. McQuaid with a shot that might have changed directions.

- Okay Habs, are we awake now?

- Habs with some decent possession - waters calming a little bit. Still, one doesn't quite have the sense that the lead is totally safe - not after the trauma endured throughout December.

- Mad scramble in front of Condon, and with bodies flying everywhere looking for a loose puck, Rinaldo sucker punches Subban in the face. Classy.

- This game is way too wide open, Bruins really coming hard at Condon, zone entries have been far too free-wheeling. Ut oh.

- Boston pressing hard, pinching hard, and it finally bites them. Off a turnover at the Habs blue line off a bad pinch, Gallagher feeds Pacioretty who buries this game once and for all. 4-1.

- Brendan Gallagher. It's like he never missed a game. He's not missed a beat today. If Pacioretty is this team's best forward, Gallagher makes a pretty good case for being a close second.

- Garbage time hockey now, so Habs need to be aware of garbage plays by garbage Bruins players who've taken numbers.

- Claude Julien, as per how he is as a human being, sends out his goons for the final shift, Rinaldo included.

- Not much of a "classic" game, given how one-sided the game was. Habs were soft in the 3rd, which I suppose is to be expected. Still, it was an excellent day all-around for the Canadiens, who played like an entirely different team with Brendan Gallagher back in the lineup. With Therrien finally being forced to move Pacioretty off of Desharnais' futile wings, the Canadiens immediately became a more balanced, more dangerous team. So the new year starts on a very positive note - the Habs will now enjoy an extended break before playing their final game of this nightmare 8 game road trip. But one gets the sense from today's game, that things are going to be okay with this team.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Bruins after 20 minutes. Habs 5v5 corsi (all situations) was an incredible 86.7%:

- I would fully expect the Bruins to come out pretty hard, given the assumed tongue lashing the received during the intermission. We'll see how the Habs respond.

- Habs more strong forechecking to start the period. Winning a lot of puck battles along the boards.

- Same thing, pays off finally. Forecheck another turnover, puck won along the boards, and Byron slams home a rebound off an Emelin point shot. 2-0. Habs continuing to dominate here.

- If not for Rask, this game could (should be) 4 or 5-0. There's literally been almost zero action on Habs side of centre.

- Habs shot attempts are about 6/1 ratio, which is all kinds of domination.

- Phantom hooking call on Eller. Officials trying to intervene on what has been a massacre so far.

- Another amazing soft call against the Habs, this time a holding call on Beaulieu. Officials seem determined to give the fans something, anything, to cheer about.

- Dale Weise in the dressing room. Pretty sure his absence won't have the same effect as Gallagher's.

- Habs all kinds of pressure off some pretty fierce zone entries, Gallagher missing a glorious chance point blank in front of Rask. Habs agonizingly close to salting this game away for good.

- Welcome back, Brendan Gallagher. Nifty tip in off a Pacioretty tip towards the net. 3-0 Habs. A few weeks ago when nothing was going right, a play like that probably wouldn't have resulted in a goal. Now the bounces are finally going Montreal's way.

- Plekanec with astoundingly stupid play, batting a meaningless puck high in the air with his stick and directly over the glass, giving him a delay-of-game. Mike Condon with a second left, bails Plecks out.

- Another dominative period for the Habs, with possession evening up slightly, but the Canadiens justly rewarded with two more goals to take a stranglehold of this game. Again, Habs tenacious forecheck paying off huge benefits, basically taking Boston completely off their game. Bruins only really able to generate some kind of offence via two gift penalty calls by the officials, but it made little difference. Most lopsided game I've ever seen played between these two teams in the near 40 years of watching this game.


FIRST PERIOD:

- This:

- Okay, this pregame stuff, the horrible music, the gun shooting, the flames of fire, the trumpets ... ridiculous spectacle.

- Habs defence right off the bat, chipping pucks up the boards instead of looking for forwards free to receive a pass in the neutral zone. Hope we're not reverting back to last year's Habs, because that's something last year's Habs did constantly.

- Well that's a nice start. Weise a shot that Rask flubs, Desharnais bats home the rebound, and Habs take a quick 1-0 lead. Desharnais' first goal in nearly 1/3rd of an NHL regular season.

- Kevan Miller is the Bruins' version of Alexei Emelin, only worse. Therrien would be wise to match up heavy whenever he steps on the ice.

- Julien being pretty passive about line matching - if Therrien is paying attention, there are opportunities at hand. Powerplay now.

- Zero-for, but Gallagher was camped right in front of Rask, who had to make a couple of good saves off rebounds. Already seeing an improvement from that unit. Why others with size have been unable or unwilling (*cough* Smith-Pelly *cough*) to use their size during Gallagher's absence, I'll never understand.

- Habs with massive possession advantage first 10 minutes of this period. Bruins struggling to move the puck effectively out of their zone, and generating almost nothing via zone entries. Habs look pretty organized so far, certainly more so than they looked during their swing through Florida.

- Habs well over 80% possession as we near the end of the 1st period. Habs would certainly benefit from padding their lead a little - they've certainly earned that.

- Habs forecheck has been relentless, really pushing the Bruins off their game. It's not a sustainable strategy, but it certainly appears to be causing much frustration on the Boston bench.

- Gallagher was injured? Sure doesn't look like it from what I've seen this period.

- Total domination by the Habs in that period. As I said, this isn't sustainable, with possession nearly 90%. But still, Habs looked far, far more organized than they have in at least two weeks. Bruins simply looking unprepared, and if not for Rask, this game could easily be 2 or 3-0.


HAPPY WINTER CLASSIC DAY!

For reasons I'm not going to get into detail, there's not a lot I'm posting in advance of this Winter Classic game. So instead of a full-blown game preview, here's a monkey washing a cat:



Okay, okay. Maybe a few notes about the game:

- Michel Therrien is scratching Jared Tinordi and Greg Pateryn, which means Alexei Emelin starts. Also on the you-can't-play-list, Devante Smith-Pelly.

- Oh yeah. Another guy will play today. Somebody named Brendan Gallagher. Name rings a bell.

- Even though Ben Scrivens looked pretty damn good in Sunrise, Mike Condon will start today.

- HEY, here are the Habs lines:

1: Pacioretty/Plekanec/Gallagher
2: Eller/Galchenyuk/Carr
3: Fleischmann/Desharnais/Weise
4: Flynn/Mitchell/Byron

- Little greasy rat-faced-bastard, sorry, I mean, Brad Marchand, won't play because he played dirty a few nights ago and got caught. Serving 3 game suspension.

Game 29: Bruins vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Bruins through 40 minutes.

- For the most part, Therrien has been rolling the lines pretty evenly, nearly identical split for the Plekanec and Galchenyuk's lines.

- Rask is keeping his team in this. Could/should be 3-0 at this stage, but he's stoned Pacioretty and Plekanec in the 2nd and 3rd periods.

- There's the Rask effect, and Eriksson scores shorthanded, the puck bounce gods shining down on the Bruins.

- Oh dear, Ferraro with a snap shot that Condon must stop. And suddenly, it's 2-1 Boston.

- Habs corsi, when all is said and done, is going to be north of 60%, which means it's another game they've lost where they should have won. Hockey is maddening because you can never, ever figure it out.

- And that's the game. Emelin and Galchenyuk made horrid mistake deep in their zone, Emelin follows the puck and makes a terrible body check attempt, which completely turns the puck over deep, and all alone in front of the net is Bergeron, who turns Condon inside out.

- Now down two goals, and late powerplay, Therrien finally uses Eller. Asset management for a team that's struggling offensively continues to be baffling.

- Using Desharnais on the powerplay. Again. Just keep knocking my head against a brick wall. Therrien keeps sending him out, he never, ever shoots, and his passes are frequently off the mark.

- Therrien pulls Condon, puts out for the 6th man ... wait for it ... Brian Flynn.

- Okay, that officially sucked. But Tuukka Rask did it ... finally. He came into the Bell Centre, and stoned the Habs, kept his team in the game, and finally, the Bruins caught a couple of breaks, took advantage, Condon with some iffy late goaltending (again), Habs couldn't muster much on their powerplay, and it all equalled a loss, regardless of puck possession, which the Habs dominated. Dustin Tokarski tomorrow night.



SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Bruins through 20 minutes. In case you were wondering, there were a ridiculous 32 faceoffs in that period, Boston won 18 of them.












- An almost completely uneventful first 5 minutes, expect that Habs continue to contain the neutral zone, which has slowed the game down significantly, and the Bruins' attack to a near crawl.

- Habs are generating puck control in the Bruins zone, but their passing and shooting has been mostly permitter. They need to drive more traffic towards Rask, much like they did to open the game scoring. Since then, they've been very tentative, in particular the Galcheyuk line, which looked so good early in the 1st.

- Ah, finally. Andrighetto with nifty cross ice pass on the tape to Pacioretty driving to the net, forcing Rask to make his best save of the night.

- We mentioned this in our pregame preview, but to reiterate, a key part of Habs winning tonight is staying out of the box. So far, 0 Bruin powerplay opportunities as we hit the halfway mark.

- Good puck rotation on the Habs powerplay, but the setup is still too far out. Rask moves well laterally, so 35 footers aren't going to beat him.

- There's just no point using Desharnais on the powerplay, beside a person of last resort. Totally unable to finish scoring plays, which is kind of what you need from your centre with the man advantage.

- Looks like Krecji is done for the night, after taking a (clean) hit along the boards from Eller.

- Chara is a mess out there. His decline the past two years has been startling. Sad that Boston still plays him nearly 30 minutes a game.

- Divin' Bruins divin' again, this time it's Krug, and the official falls for it.

- That was an atrocious powerplay for the Bruins. They're one of the League's best? Hard to believe.

- Not exactly electrifying period of hockey, a mostly defensive clinic, the Habs were not able to generate many high percentage scoring chances, as the Bruins have done a pretty good job containing the slot, while the Habs have been (mostly) tentative driving towards Rask. Can't imagine this game finishing 1-0, but stranger things have happened.


FIRST PERIOD:

- Looks like Bruins are making warmup changes, Randell is a scratch, Talbot will draw in.

- Bruins also tinkering with defence: Morrow is out, Seidenberg is in.

- Plekanec line fast out of the gate. He and Eller are overdue for a goal or two.

- Pretty good start for the Habs, with strong offensive zone pressure which has caused the Bruins' slow and clunky defence, mainly the nearly almost always terrible Kevan Miller, to dangerously turn the puck over a couple of times.

- Whistle #16 at the 7:17 mark of this game. That's not a exaggeration. Actual total.

- Plekanec scores. As we mentioned about 10 minutes earlier. Slaps the puck in just below the crossbar.

- In any case, the Habs strong forecheck pays off relatively early, the Bruins are very sloppy around Rask. Poor Tukkaa.

- Byron looks more and more like a Plekanec protege. Pretty good both directions, really assisted with tremendous speed, but lacks the natural skills that turtleplecks brings to the table. Would be more suited to 3rd line duties.

- Still think the Emelin-Petry pairing is inane. Don't know where Therrien gets these ideas and continues to shove square pegs into round holes.

- Not sure what the record is for faceoffs in a period, but we must be getting close to it. 28 faceoffs in 14 minutes.

- Habs seem to be reeling back on the aggressive forecheck, devoting more time to cluttering up the neutral zone. It's reduced their scoring opportunities, but suffocated the Bruins ability to generate any kind of momentum.

- I'm gonna call it here - the next Habs goal, assuming they do score another, will be the Galchenyuk line. Really giving Bruins backend some fits in this period.

- Plekanec goal taken off the board, credited to Byron. It's been nearly two months since turtleplecks scored an even strength goal.

- Subban gives Marchand a little tap, Marchand responds with huge two hander. Ref puts both in the box, which is all kinds of stupid.

- Habs better team in the period, 24 hours more rest, they certainly have more legs than the Bruins, and applied strong pressure from the red line forward, which generated more scoring chances, and mostly confined Boston away from the Habs zone. Even with all the injuries, Canadiens' deeper bench making it hard for the Bruins to adjust and compete.

GAME 29 PREVIEW. PLEASE START TUUKKA RASK. PLEASE START TUUKKA RASK. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE START TUUKKA RASK

Afternoon update: TUUKKA WILL START TONIGHT. YAY!

Tuukka Rask. What's not to love about this guy? The tantrums. The stick breaking. The flip-outs. The sheer psychotic behaviour that makes Rask the classic Boston Bruin hockey player. PLUS HE'S A TEAM PLAYER:



If you're a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, you're a fan of Tuukka Rask. That is mandatory.

I mean, com'on. Rask is the greatest thing to happen to the Montreal Canadiens since ... man ... has anything great happened to this team in 20 years? Anyway, let the stat line tell the tale:

W: 145 L: 88 GAA: 2.20 SV% .925

Hey, those are pretty good numbers. Those are Tuukka's career stats. Impressive! Say, how's he fared against the Habs?

W: 3 L: 17 GAA: 2.74 SV% .906

Uh, yeeks? Well surely those numbers are better the past few season, since those have been Tuukka's prime years, right? Let's look over the past four seasons.

W: 2 L: 10 GAA: 2.72 SV% .904

Yeah, okay. You know what coach Julien? Better not start Tuukka tonight.

(please, please, please, start Tuukka tonight, Claude?)

Anyway, here are the lines tonight for les Bruins:

1: Marchand/Begergon/Connolly
2: Beleskey/Krejci/Eriksson
3: Vatrano/Spooner/Hayes
4: Rinaldo/Ferraro/Randell

Chara/Trotman
Krug/McQuaid
Morrow/Miller

Rask (?)

Scratches: Seidenberg, C. Miller

As per usual, the Bruins offence isn't half bad, the team continues to get carried by its powerplay, even though its defence is either old (Chara), inexperienced, or just plain terrible (Morrow/Miller).

Key for the Habs tonight? Don't take penalties, and if those do get called, kill the Boston powerplay. And hope that a certain player who wears a certain #40 gets to start. NOT SAYING WHO THAT PLAYER IS. But, it'll help.

Habs lines? Who knows, but the Michel Therrien blender seems to be pointed towards spitting up these combinations tonight. At least to start the game. After the first shifts, all bets are off.

1: Pacioretty/Galchenyuk/Andrighetto
2: Eller/Plekanec/Byron
3: Fleischmann/Desharnais/Weise
4: Carr/Flynn/Thomas

Markov/Subban
Petry/Beaulieu
Gilbert/Emelin

Condon.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.


HAPPY GAMEDAY!

Branden Prust, you're a TERRIBLE PERSON for doing this. But in the meantime, let's watch:





HAPPY TUESDAY. THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HABS TODAY

My #WarriorOfTheWeek is Emma. Emma is battling cancer everyday with a smile on her face. We were lucky enough to meet her today @natebeaulieu

A photo posted by Brendan Gallagher (@bgally.11) on Dec 8, 2015 at 1:14pm PST

MONDAY, HAPPY MONDAY - NEWS 'N' NOTES:

The weekend is over. Yay! That means we don't have to linger over losing to the last place team in the National Hockey League anymore.

A few bits of Habs news, of some importance:

- Alexander Semin was put on waivers this morning. Assuming he clears, and there might, just might be a couple of teams out there interested in claiming his bargain-basement salary, he'll report to St. Johns. Habs will clear his salary off the cap, save $150k.

- Jared Tinordi, meanwhile, was called up from the farm, his conditioning stint fulfilled. Whether he'll actually receive actual NHL game action - we'll have to wait and see.

- Hey, that presumption that Devante Smith-Pelly was a healthy scratch? Scratch that. Habs have place him on injury reserve today, lower body injury sustained during Thursday's 3-2 loss to Washington.

- Former Hab George Laraque turned 39 today. Happy Birthday George! Those in Montreal can testify that it's not unusual to see George out and about the city (I have bumped into him a couple of times, my own self). Ah, sweet life of retirement.

- Not Habs-related, but for those of who grew up on 70s hockey will be pleased (and perhaps even somewhat chagrined) to know Gerry Cheevers turned 75 years old today. SEVENTY-FIVE. Jesus. 75. Anyway, happy birthday Gerry! Even though you're a Bruin through-and-through, I have absolutely zero ill feelings towards you, because you never beat us.