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 57: Blues vs. Habs

St. Louis 4, Montreal 2:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Pacioretty is doing warm-ups, which is a pretty good indicator he'll play tonight (although he could withdrawal even minutes before gametime, if he's too sick to play. If Max goes, then Habs will have the same lineup as they did Thursday, with the same healthy scratches.

- Pacioretty is officially good to play tonight. Out go Desharnais and Flynn.

- Habs pay tribute to a man who had billions of dollars and then got taxpayers of a bankrupt city to hand him over hundreds of millions more for his own arena. Good job guys. Good job.

- Habs start out strong, and then Montoya goes and falls down as Pietrbngelo takes a simple wrist shot from the top of the circle. 1-0.

Played at its highest levels, goaltending is pure grace and beauty, physical poetry, the very form of agility, flexibility, and balance. pic.twitter.com/lvySFBUgIH

— InGoal Magazine (@InGoalMedia) February 12, 2017

- Blues getting good looks at Montoya, and more pucks on goal. Blues doing much better job breaking up any semblance of an attack in their zone, Habs defence again playing their usual passive selves.

- Not sure if this has anything to do with Mike Yeo, but the Blues look far more prepped tonight, even though they've had 4 games in the past 6 months. They're freewheeling in the Canadiens zone early in this period.

- Habs first PK survives without surrendering a goal (or shot), but St. Louis spent most of it with excellent command of the puck in the Montreal zone. That's a worrying sign for future Blues man advantages.

- Canadiens looked good for about the first 2 minutes of this game. Then Montoya fell down, and it's been pretty dreadful since. Can't fathom that the Habs are so mentally fragile that they'd break over a fluke play like that, but they've gone into hiding.

- Masterful job by the Blues defence tying up bodies and stripping pucks from Habs forwards. Canadiens can't muster shots on net.

- Weber with a cannon beats Allen clean as a whistle, Pacioretty adds to his point total, but the whole play started after Radulov gave Pietrangelo a crunching hit, generating a deep zone turnover, and seconds later, the Weber goal. Radulov is ridiculously good at just about everything, including bodychecks.

- That Radulov game seemed to change the dynamics of this game, giving Habs a definite boost. Otherwise, the period was pretty much the Blues on both ends of the ice, the Habs are going to have to match St. Louis' close checking ethic from this point forward if they hope to compete. Also wouldn't hurt to crash a few more bodies in and around Allen, who looked suspiciously weak-ish on that Weber goal.

SECOND PERIOD:

- McCarron gets into a tussle with the marginal Edmundson, which isn't going to help him get a full-time NHL job. I sense McCarron is growing frustrated with his performance and ice-time during this latest call-up, which is a shame since the door has never been this wide open for him. With Gallagher returning, David Desharnais basically is the odd-man out of the Habs lineup, which means that all McCarron has to prove is value over Brian Fynn, which isn't relatively speaking, a huge obstacle.

- Fast transition starting with Allen forwarding the puck all the way to the Habs blue line while the Canadiens were on a change opens the door, Perron with a snapshot that beats Montoya clean between the legs, while Makov and Pateryn are caught flat-footed. 2-1 Blues.

- I had hoped the Canadiens play this period with a bit more checking ferocity, but they seem more mindful of doing puck dumps either out of their zone, or into St. Louis's. Hard to fathom this being a winning approach, already we're seeing it pay off, in the Blues' favour.

- Brilliant shift by Beaulieu, and Radulov again doing incredibly hard work generating puck turnovers in the opposing zone, and I think maybe Pacioretty scored with Beaulieu the assist. In any case, great shift by a Habs defender who's not had the year he, and those who follow this team, had hoped for. But he's having a tremendous game tonight.

- Radulov, we've already said, but bears repeating, does it all - but what he's really good at is winning battles, and churning out positive turnovers. Two of them tonight have led directly to both Habs goals. When will that damn extension contract be finalized?

- Torrey Mitchell really struggling tonight - there's another regular who might be feeling the heat in short order once Gallagher returns and lineup spots become precious. Assuming McCarron sticks, only one of Mitchell, Brian Flynn or David Desharnais can play.

- Pucks haven't been going in much lately for Artturi Lehkonen, but it's not because he's playing soft or poorly. Mainly puck luck, or lack thereof.

- Killer late period goal for Berglund, Pateryn and Markov again playing some overwhelmed defence, not aided much by zone wandering by (zoom!) Andrew Shaw, and the Blues exit the period up 3-2. 

- Shame that late goal, totally preventable if the Habs keep their legs moving, but some (*cough*) were coasting around their own zone, waiting for the clock to drain out. Habs really needed to go to the 3rd tied ono the board against a better playing opponent. Matters are significantly more difficult trailing, as the Blues can now play their game of disciplined zone checking, a huge advantage.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs haven't been bad tonight, quite good actually. But breakdowns in their own zone have helped lead to each of the Blues' three goals tonight, Pateryn and Markov pairing really struggling. 57% CF even strength. Not bad.

- Can't fault the Habs effort so far, but again, as they have so many times this season, the offence is gaining the zone well enough, but they aren't convert many gains into quality shot attempts from good spots. Too many dart shots from long distances, little chance of actual goals being scored.

- Danault line it goes without saying, Habs best tonight, especially creating scoring chances. Radulov doing the gritty work, Pacioretty getting his body into the right spots. 

- Mid period powerplay, lots of shot attempts from Weber and Markov, with Lehtora apparently with a death wish putting his body directly in front of the attempts, but that's about it. Not much Habs traffic in front of Allen, perhaps in fear of getting hit by that Weber shot. Begs the question, what's the point of setting things up that way??

- Blues are stacking the line, Habs barely able to enter the zone. Time is running out.

- 3 minutes left, Habs with little choice now but to roll all the dice and pinch like crazy, as the Blues are doing an excellent trap. The only semblance of offence is coming when Radulov hits the ice. Otherwise, the Canadiens have been totally contained from generating any kind of quality shots on Allen the further this period has progressed.

- Habs going out with a whimper here. 

- Pretty lame attempt tonight. One line showed up. Not gonna be nearly enough to do it.

- Habs just unable to solve the Blues in that 3rd period, who even with just a one goal margin most of the frame, didn't appear to be in any real danger of losing. The NHL today has few margins for error, and tonight, the Habs were undone by early mistakes in their own zone, and after that, they simply couldn't recover. The late 2nd period goal, a direct result from certainly Habs forwards being far too casual in their own zone, stuck the killer blow. A disappointing loss, and another reminder that this Habs team struggles against opponents who are at least above average. This does not bode well for the playoffs, assuming they get there, of course.

GAME PREVIEW: IT'S BEEN A SAD SEASON IN ST. LOUIS

It's hard to believe now, but just 7 short months ago, the St. Louis Blues were playing for a berth into the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. The Blues eventually succumbed in six games to the San Jose Sharks, but even in defeat, there was plenty of reason to believe that St. Louis were a very serious team on the brink of realizing a franchise first Stanley Cup Championship.


Fast forward a few months, and everything that was hoped for after an excellent playoff run, has come to naught. The Blues, instead of running away with their Division this season, have found themselves in a dog fight just to qualify for the post season. With 28 wins in 55 games, the Blues hold down the last playoff spot in their Division, but only barely, just a point ahead of the Nashville Predators minus a game in hand. It'll be a dog fight to the finish.

The ongoing story this year has been goaltending. After an impressive run last year, the Blues made a long-term commitment to Jake Allen, signing him to a $17 million, 4-year contract extension. The deal raised a few eyebrows, not only because up until the ink was drying on his new deal, Allen had only put together one bonafide season of 1st-string goaltending, which of course, just so happened as he headed toward free agency. Previously, Allen had strung together solid, albeit unspectacular numbers in his rookie and sophomore seasons, with save percentages hovering around .910, the kind of stuff you'd normally hope for from a backup, not your main starter.

So when Allen hit the ditch this year, putting up the League's worst goaltending stats for 1st stringers, including a save percentage that hovered around a meek .890, the Blues found themselves in plenty of trouble, winning 8 games in November, 6 games in December, and just 5 games in January. Eventually, the Blues simply told Allen to stay home for a few days, so that he could "reset" his game.

That little ploy happened 3 weeks ago. Initially, it didn't seem to work, after Allen took a thumping at the hands of the Minnesota Wild (who are good) and the Winnipeg Jets (who are bad). And the Blues just kept on losing.

This month however, somethings .... changed? After getting drubbed by the Jets, Allen put together a solid outing February 1st in a 5-1 win over the Blues. He then followed up that with a shutout in his next start against the Senators, and on Thursday night, backstopped St. Louis to a 2-1 OT win over the cure-all Leafs, impressively stopping 31 Toronto shots.

So ... maybe, just maybe, the worm has turned for Jake Allen. The Blues certainly hope so, because without dependable goaltending, their odds of making it to the playoffs, never mind competing for a championship, are slim to nada.

Tonight, the Blues takes on the slumping Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. The Habs are coming off a wild razor-thin victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night, two nights after the Canadiens somehow managed to get trashed by the downright horrible Colorado Avalanche. Max Pacioretty, who was dazzling against the 'Yotes, scoring his 26th and 27th goals of the season, is a game-time decision because of the flu. Meanwhile, Paul Stastny, the Blues first line centre, won't play today because of an LBI.

With Stastny out, St. Louis is likely to go with this lineup:

Paajarvi/Steen/TaraSenko
Schwartz/Berglund/Jaskin
Agostino/Lehtera/Perron
Upshall/Barbashev/Reaves

Bouwmeester/Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson/Shattenkirk
Edmundson/Parayko

If Pacioretty does play, expect the Habs to go with the same healthy scratches tonight as they did on Thursday, with David Desharnais, Brian Flynn and Nikita Nesterov watching from the press box.

Jake Allen vs. Al Tony Montoya. Puck drops at 7:10, EST.



GAMEDAY NEWS:

Let's run it down.

- Max Pacioretty and his entire family have the sniffles. He's a game time decision tonight.

- We already know who's in the front of the line for healthy Habs scratches: David Desharnais, Nikita Nesterov and Brian Flynn.

- Brendan Gallagher won't play tonight, likely won't play tomorrow. So next Saturday it is?

- Speaking of starting, Al Tony Montoya starts tonight for the Habs. Carey Price will play tomorrow night against the Bruins.

- Paul Stastny won't play tonight for the Blues. He's got 35 points this season including 15 goals. Not a guy easily replaced.

- Billionaire Red Wings owner Mike Illitch died yesterday. We wrote about him last November, mainly about all the terrible things he did to the bankrupt city of Detroit and its taxpayers to get himself a new arena at almost zero cost. He will not be missed.

Game preview shortly.

Game 40: Habs vs. Leafs

Montreal 5, Toronto 3:

FIRST PERIOD LIVE BLOG THREAD:

- Scherbak will wear #38. I've mentioned it a couple of times on my Twitter, but I've actually officiated Scherbak - a couple of years ago to be exact. He's a smaller player, about average speed, but very good hands and puck handling ability. 

- Well, that didn't take long - Leafs with soft coverage in front of Andersen allows Radulov to find Pacioretty in front for an easy shot, and it's 1-0 Habs before we even hit the one minute mark.

- More slow-footed Leafs defending, Lehkonen sweeps around his wing and beats Andersen under the arm off a deflection. 2-0 Habs before the 4 minute mark.

- Leafs look pretty sluggish - they did play last night, while the Habs have two days rest, although granted, nearly half their lineup tonight is comprised of guys who regularly play in Newfoundland.

- Radulov, at least early on, is playing with pants on fire. Leafs having trouble handling him. The guy's amazing.

- Plekanec with a pretty preventable and unnecessary penalty. It's been a pretty good season for many Habs players, especially those who have stepped up to help fill injury gaps. Plekanec, though, has been a different story. Possibly his worst season so far as a professional.

- Bozak converts, Habs penalty kill continues to be one of the weaker parts of their game. It's been an issue for this team since the start of the year, but for whatever reason, little or no improvements have been made. Fundamentally, Habs don't play very structured game while shorthanded. More reactionary to the play, which is bad if you're shorthanded.

- Just another thought about Plekanec, he's coming up on 1,000 games in the NHL, which is pretty astounding for someone in his mid-30s. He's played pretty much injury free his professional career, the fewest season games being 67 way back in 2006 (not counting the strike shortened season). That many games over a relatively short period of time take their toll - what we might be seeing is early onset of the inevitable decline. 

- Real, real soft hooking call on Radulov. I mean, if that's the standard for a hook, there'll be a penalty box parade tonight.

- Kardri, tie game. More PK woes for the Habs, and the officials can now take satisfaction they've done their bit to get the game even again.

- Scherbak. Right place, right time on the powerplay. How about that? 3-2 Habs.

Great hands by Scherbak! His first NHL goal: pic.twitter.com/Qh1cVi0DMR

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 8, 2017

- At some point a megaphone will need to blast into the ears of every Habs roster player, STAY OUT OF THE GODDAMN PENALTY BOX. This is killing the Habs from winning easy games easily. While the Radulov hook was soft, the Plekanec slash was totally avoidable. As long as this team fails to make any progress in how it kills penalties, they will continue to get burned. Anyway, penalties aside, pretty solid period for the Canadiens.

SECOND PERIOD LIVE BLOG THREAD

- Habs with 47% CF (SA 5v5) in that first period - the Leafs really feeding off the momentum generated from the Plekanec penalty (first Habs penalty of the game), and then another boost from the Radulov hook:

- Something to keep in mind from what we mentioned in the pregame piece - the Leafs are team that's thrived this year from jumping out on the scoreboard early - their best period this season has been the 1st, their worst the 3rd. They don't play well behind on the scoreboard.

- Radulov converts off an early powerplay, the Leafs also playing poorly shorthanded tonight, structure not there. So maybe a little solace for the Habs poor play shorthanded. Radulov, for what it's worth, continues to play like a man possessed.

- Don't want to raise alarm bells, but Price looked to be favouring his right leg covering the puck up off a scramble. Might have had his leg wacked by a Leafs stick seeking the puck. 

- Yeah. Not 100%, but pretty sure Price is taking it easy with that right leg. Again, he might have had a stick or something hit it earlier from a scramble, and it's no big deal. We'll find out soon enough.

- Matt Martin with a glaring interference on Petry, the refs let slide. Since they won't do their jobs (at least, consistently), the players take matters into their own hands. McCarron and Farnham drop their gloves, McCarron does fine, Farnham reminds us how pretty much useless he is, and that the only reason he's playing tonight is because the Habs have so many injuries.

- Shea Weber shoots hard, hits hard, but does not play smart. Habs are leading by two gaols, and yet Weber is pinching hard looking to pad his goal total, which just gave the Leafs a clear-cut 2-on-1 break. 

- Zach Hyman with clear run on Carey Price, barreling into him hard while cutting to the net - totally inexcusable. 

- Pretty bad powerplay from that Hyman hit on Price, Habs totally go goofy in their own zone, making a series of awful turnovers and sloppy plays, but Price, in combination with a Leafs offence that really hasn't been clicking very well this period, ensures the Habs maintain their 2 goal lead.

- Mitch Marner might be my least hated Leafs player. He's got so much natural talent, Toronto is really lucky to have him.

- Ice Caps get caught chasing in their own zone, and when you're playing against guys like Van Riemsdyk and Marner, you're looking for big trouble. 4-3.

- Marner, man - he's so good. I WANT HIM ON MY TEAM.

- Well, credit to the Ice Caps Habs for giving the Leafs all they can handle tonight - they're out there working hard and producing offence, but the lineup thinness is really hurting the Habs in their own zone - 3rd and 4th lines are getting outmatched pretty badly by this talented Leafs offence. Whether or not the Habs can hang on in the 3rd can be seen, but I wouldn't be overly surprised if the Leafs overtake the Canadiens down the stretch.

THIRD PERIOD LIVE BLOG THREAD:

- Habs with a so-so 2nd period, their powerplay bailing them out a little, and they did, for the most part, play a smarter game in limiting Leafs powerplay opportunities. SA CF a tad under 50%, two-period total.

- Ready for more bad news? Lehtonen may be injured - wasn't seen for good chunk of the last half of the 2nd period. Haven't heard any word from the Habs as to what his status is.

- Tonight's game marks the 14th time the Leafs have entered the 3rd period trailing on the scoreboard. of the previous 13 games, Leafs have won twice. However, with the Habs this injury-riddled, anything is possible.

- Did I mention the Habs were smarter in the 2nd? Shea Weber got nailed for an extra two minutes attempting to punch Hyman's light's out at the end of the 2nd. So ... Leafs can even this up in a jiffy with a clean sheet of ice on a (brief) powerplay.

- Lehtonen on the ice early, so whatever issue he may have had in the 2nd has been sorted out.

- Scherbak works a little decoy, McCarron banks the puck off Andersen from behind the net to give the Habs some insurance. But it's still early. 

- That said, the Leafs have been a bad 3rd period team this year not because of goaltending. They need all the help then can get, Andersen muffing up won't help:

Andersen gets burned from a sharp angle here. He looks halfway between playing it on his feet and wanting to VH. Ends up doing neither well. pic.twitter.com/ZlGnGYJ9Vc

— InGoal Magazine (@InGoalMedia) January 8, 2017

- Leafs are certainly trying, Price has had to make a couple of sparking saves this period - Habs playing a little bit loose in their zone, and a little tight in the neutral zone, so the Leafs are setting the tempo here. Maybe the Habs assume that Price will do the rest of the work? In any case, I wouldn't close the book on this game yet. Not by a long shot. 11 minutes left.

- Lehkonen got high sticked very badly right in front of the official, which somehow was either missed or simply let go. It hasn't been egregiously bad tonight, but the officiating has left a lot to be desires - missed calls, rather inconsistent. As a result, we've seen the players at times attempt to take matters into the own hands.

- Matthews, who's been more or less contained by the Habs tonight (good job there, guys) gets nailed for handling the puck off the draw. He didn't know you can't do that??

- Matthews had a decent scoring chance, but for the most part, the Habs have basically suffocated the Leafs last 10 minutes of the 3rd period. A real testament to some pretty impressively disciplined hockey.

- Carey Price in desperation mode is a sight to behold, if only because it happens so infrequently. Leafs pretty much out of time now, late powerplay, just 40 seconds left.

- Another bravado performance by this Habs team, so shorthanded, and yet, they find way s of winning, even if it's against not very good "good" teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs. And now, mercifully, they now get to play a hockey game at home.

CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE: THE LEAFS ARE GOOD!! (THEY AREN'T)

Have you been watching the sports networks lately? Tuning into sports talk radio? Perusing the latest tweeting and twating? You might have seen, heard and read (repeatedly): THE LEAFS ARE A REALLY GOOD HOCKEY TEAM!!!

We beg to differ, of course - but hey, who are we to say in contrast to what's being cranked out by the media networks??

Why rapidly improving Maple Leafs are good bet to make playoffs https://t.co/4Tb1n8QbYA pic.twitter.com/neaM0rkHXu

— Hockey Night Punjabi (@HkyNightPunjabi) January 4, 2017

Hey, thanks for weighing in, Rogers! Gosh, the team you own and operating and make a kajillion dollars off of in ticket, media and merchandise sales are a good bet, huh?

Okay maybe we're being a little cynical. Let's consult an actual expert how how good this Leafs team really is:

@JeffVeillette Leafs are good might be underselling them?

— James Mirtle (@mirtle) January 4, 2017

Sorry. We got it wrong. The Leafs aren't good .... THE LEAFS ARE GREAT!! Thanks for weighing in Mr. James Mirtle, who recently started up a Toronto-sports-only publication called The Athletic. Actually, The Athletic is a pretty good publication - good core of journalists, well written, has a viable potential to set the standard as a profitable new media operation. But even The Athletic isn't immune to the tunnel vision that frequently affects the center of the universe: The instant a local sporting team wins a few games, the frenzy begins: The Toronto [franchise name] are great! Plan the parade!

So when the Leafs went on their recent little 5 game winning streak run, the chatter picked up in Canada's only city that matters: HEY, the Leafs are gonna do this! They're gonna make the playoffs! HEY ... they ... might be good ... no, wait. They might be GREAT. Is a championship coming out way in just a few weeks!?!!?!?!? 

Well ... sorry Toronto fans, but your hockey team isn't great, and they won't be winning a Stanley Cup this spring. They might not be even the bare minimum - a "good" hockey team.

First, the good things about this Leafs team. It's core of young players are good - actually, let's ramp that up a little - they're dazzling. The Leafs combined rookie scoring so far this season is through the damn roof. Austin Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Conor Brown, Zach Hymen and Nakita Zaitsev have combined to score 141 points in half a regular season. That's crazy high offensive numbers from a set of players with minimal NHL experience.

The Leafs young high octane offence has moved them up to some pretty elite levels in comparison to the rest of the League. At 2.69 GF60, the Leafs have the 3rd rated NHL offence, bolstered by 4th rated SF60 (31.9), 3rd rated in shots attempt, and a half-decent powerplay (21.5%). This Leafs team plays fast, and they play exciting.

So while the Leafs crank out an impressive offence, there are other numbers that spell trouble. While Toronto is apt to pelt opposing goaltenders with plenty of shot attempts, the fundamental stats indicate this is a team with significant defensive issues. While the Leafs my have the 3rd most shot attempts in the NHL, their 5v5 CF% clocks in just under 50% (49.9), which is only good enough for 18th in the NHL. The number of shots the Leafs surrender averages out to 32 per 60, the 2nd highest in the League.

The net effect? Toronto gives up 2.56 GA60, the 3rd most in the NHL (only Philadelphia and the very lowly Colorado Avalanche are worse).

Even worse is the way the Leafs give up their shots and goals - as the game progresses, their defence worsens. Toronto has given up 42 3rd period goals this season (by contrast they've given up 29 1st period goals). When you play progressively worse in your own end, closing out victories over the length of a regular season becomes incredibly difficult. Toronto has been guilty of giving up significant 3rd period leads numerous times this season - there's little reason to believe that trend won't continue.

The bottom line? Even with very good goaltending by Frederik Andersen (2.61, .920), the current premise that the Leafs are "good bet" to make this spring's Stanley Cup Playoffs is, at best, weak. You might be a fun team, with loads of young talent with the ability to score a lot of goals, but if you can't keep your own end in order, over the length of an 82 game schedule, it's very difficult, if not impossible, to win enough times to nab a playoff spot.

Tonight, the "good - no wait, GREAT" Leafs host the Habs at the ACC. For the Canadiens, tonight's game is the end point of an epic 7 game road trip that started a week before Christmas. The Habs, as followers are well aware, will be icing very thin lineup tonight with 7 (count 'em!) regulars unable to play because of injury - the latest additions to the wounded list being Brendan Gallagher (2 months) and Paul Byron (day-to-day).

The rash of injuries, however, has opened the door of opportunity for some of the Habs prospects. Nikita Scherbak will get his first NHL start tonight, playing on the Habs 4th line. Scherbak has had an excellent season with the St. John's Ice Caps, the Habs AHL affiliate, scoring 20 points (10 goals) in 27 games this season.

So it's the "GOOD NO WAIT GREAT" Leafs and Frederik Andersen, against Carey Price and the injury hobbled Habs.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.


FRIDAY HABS NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Okay, we've got a lot of Habs-related news to pass your way today.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first.

Medical update: B. Gallagher underwent surgery last night in Montreal. Fractured left hand. His recovery is expected to be minimum 8 weeks.

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 6, 2017

Given where the shot was taken, who took the shot, and the blood that was oozing out from his hand, we kind of figured it would be a couple of months. The wording is "minimum" is unusual for a prognosis - usually a range of expected return is given, not the minimum return, which likely indicates the injury was very, very bad. So March at the earliest, but don't be surprised if Gallagher isn't back at least until the playoffs.

Okay. Other not-so-bad-news:

- Alex Galchenyuk and Andrei Markov participated in practice today, which puts the former way ahead of recuperation schedule. While today he (Galchenyuk) was officially ruled out of playing Saturday night, Michel Therrien was quoted as saying that both players are "they're close. They're really close" to retuning to the lineup. So, don't be surprised if we see both Galchenyuk and Markov playing next week, which will give this injury-embattled Habs lineup some respite:

Alex Galchenyuk returned to #Habs practice today for the 1st time since a knee injury on Dec. 4. He isn't expected to play Saturday v #Leafs pic.twitter.com/5ClltNSXPV

— CBC Montreal (@CBCMontreal) January 6, 2017

- Can we toss in some bad news again? There's no status update about Paul Byron, who took a hard hit to the head in Dallas, which is usually a bad sign if concussion is involved. So don't expect him back any time soon - another very significant blow to the Habs offence.

- In response to the latest round of injuries, Habs brought up Sven Andrighetto, and Nikita Scherbak - the later of whom is confirmed to start tomorrow night in Toronto. It will be Sherbak's NHL debut. He's likely to be placed on the Habs 4th line, so don't expect to see too many shifts during his first game.

We'll update this page with anything important that comes our way.

Game 24: Habs vs. Sharks

San Jose 2, Montreal 1:

FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Hmm, Mitchell between Pacioretty and Gallagher? That makes absolutely zero sense, but here we are.

- Very, very weak holding call on Barberio sends the Sharks to an early powerplay, of which they've destroyed the Habs with at home over the years.

- Burns with a one timer that Price appears to have overplayed moving left to right, exposing right side of the net, and we're off to the races already, 1-0 Sharks.

- Mitchell back on the 4th line. That lasted all of two shifts.

- Jones absolutely robs Galchenyuk in a play eerily similar to Gibson's save on Lehkonen Tuesday night in Anaheim. That save turned out to be a key play in the Ducks win. We'll see if history repeats itself.

- Sharks are more or less destroying the Habs this period, totally outmuscling during puck battles, generating a ton of shots and shot attempts. This looks like the game will end in a route.

- Alexei Emelin, in yet another display of not thinking, takes a very stupid interference penalty on Lebanc, trying to level a big hit instead of just playing proper defence. Habs back on the PK, something they simply can't afford to do.

- No question Galchenyuk line the best so far in this game, but mainly by default. The rest of the Habs lineup have been pretty much zeros this period.

- Brian Flynn. He's healthy, he's playing, but for the life of me, I've little idea what Therrien sees in him that couldn't be supplied by any number of younger bodies now in St. John's purgatory. 

- Killer. Galchenyuk the turnover, Petry caught way out of position giving Sharks a 2-on-0 break, Markov can't get back, and Pavelski tips home a centring pass from Thornton, and all with less than a minute left in the period.

- 1st period summation in eight words: We can't get out of California fast enough. 

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- To be fair, the Sharks were the better team that 1st period, but it wasn't a slaughter. The Habs did do a relatively decent job, but got burned by the Sharks powerplay and an unfortunate late period turnover that gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead. But if you look at the even strength data, the Habs did an alright job:

- Going through 1st period data, too many underperforming Habs forwards getting lion's share of ice time, while those getting good numbers getting less time. It's the same story with this team. Poor deployments.

- Good first shift, Gallagher draws an interference, and first powerplay shift, Therrien sends out Galchenyuk, Radulov (all good) and Andrew Shaw. I don't understand. I just don't understand.

- Predictably, the powerplay produces absolutely nothing. Not even a shot attempt. 

- Habs scorers (supposed) aren't finishing. Galchenyuk early in the 1st period, and now Pacioretty early in the 2nd can't finish scoring opportunities that ought be finished.

- I have no idea what Therrien is doing tonight. No idea. His deployment strategies make little logic. Seems to be putting Flynn out as much as possible, which is not what the Habs need to do down 2-0, with pucks not going in the net.

- Pacioretty just has no cutch this year, I still think there's something not right with his shot. An unstated injury. Whatever. But at some point, he and Habs need to refocus if Max is unable to finish the hard work of his line mates, towards using his talents to feed the puck to finishers. I think Galchenyuk could be that guy, if Therrien would only be willing to put Paciortty on his wing. But Therrien steadfastly refuses. 

- Quite literally as I posted that last thought, Therein puts Pacioretty with Galchenyuk. Incredible.

- I'm not sure if anyone else is noticing this because of the scoreboard, but the Habs have resoundingly outplayed the Sharks in this 2nd period, and for that matter, this game as a whole. Just haven't finished any of their numerous scoring chances.

- The Habs took it to the Sharks in that period, but because of bad luck, goalposts, bounces, missing excellent chances, and good goaltending by Jones, still find themselves down 2-0. It's a shame, because except for the horrible decision making by Alexei Emelin tonight, the Canadiens really ought be ahead, or at least tied, on the scoreboard. But that's the margin of error in the NHL these days. If you don't take advantage of what's been generated, and if just one of your defenseman puts out a terrible game, no amount of outshooting and out-chancing your opponent makes a spit of difference.

THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs did a much better job with deployments that period, putting out those playing well (Galchenyuk, Radulov, Pacioretty), scaling back those not playing great (Desharnais line), and generally reducing amount of 4th line ice time. Net effect? Habs CF (5v5) in that period alone was 64.9%:

- 45/27/67 look good an puck possession and setting the tempo, but they are struggling with zone entires, almost certainly because they've had next to no time actually playing as a unit this season. If they're allowed to time to mesh, watch out.

- I don't get this. Critical 2nd powerplay for Habs, and Therrien puts Radulov on the line, and again sends out Shaw first unit. Habs lose puck control, and Pacioretty gets nailed for slashing. End of powerplay. I don't get this.

- Petry hits a post, add it to the total of pucks just not going in. Methinks the west coast is jinked for anything Montreal Canadiens.

- Looks like Therrien has given up with Pacioretty with Galchenyuk. They were together for just over 1 period. That's it. What can ya say?

- A "decent' 3rd for the Habs, but apart from the Petry goalpost, not a lot of high grade scoring chances. Sharks play a very disciplined defensive system, really shading the passing lanes and soaking up rebounds.

- Oh boy, Radulov with a nasty high stick high, maybe in his eye. Blood gushing everywhere. Looks horrible. This is dreadful.

- Somebody needs to ask Michel Therrien his obsession over putting Andrew Shaw on Habs first unit powerplay. It's NOT WORKING. It really hasn't most of this season. Why. Why? WHY?? WHY?!?

- Lehkonen finally breaks his drought, converting on the 2nd half of the 4 minute penalty. Lead cut to just 1, but very little time left. Just 87 seconds. Shame.

- California is death. Habs did pretty well tonight, but couldn't score. In other words, they got Habbed. But good play or not, win, loss or tie, it's all overshadowed by Radulov's injury. Hopefully his eye is okay. That's all we can do, is hope. 

GAMEDAY: SAN JOSE. CALIFORNIA IS DEATH. THIS PLACE IS DEATH +++

Let's look at the record. It's pretty horrid, at least if you consider the past 17 years, which, by the way, is how long it's been since the Habs last won a game here. 17 YEARS.

Wins: 5
Losses: 12

Goals for: 38
Goals against: 50

It was November 23, 1999 -  A MILLENNIUM AGO - the Habs last beat the Sharks in San Jose's own building. Actually, if you want to go back to the last time the Habs won in regulation, it was November 7, 1997. We're talking about an entire human generation of ineptitude.

Do the Habs have a shot this year? Probably ... not, but then again, with Carey Price in net, nothing is quite impossible. Fair to assume that there won't be a ton of scoring tonight - the Sharks have had a mid-ling offence this season, the Habs, in particular some of their top scoring forwards, haven't been producing much the past 3-4 weeks.  Toss in that two British Columbia boys, Price and Martin Jones (2.05/.921) are facing each other in goal, and it's fair to assume the margin for error will be pretty thin.

Here's the Sharks' lineup tonight:

Marleau/Thornton/Pavelski
Lebanc/Coutrure/Ward
Boedker/Tierney/Donskoi
Karlsson/Carpenter/Wingels

Martin/Bruns
Vlasic/Braun
Dillon/Schlemko

Martin Jones

Meanwhile, the Habs lineup features the return of Brian Flynn from his month-long stint on the injury list:

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

Weber/Emelin
Markov/Petry
Barberio/Pateryn

Carey Price

Puck drops at 10:40 EST. MORE COFFEE PLEASE KEEP IT COMIN'.


THURSDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Habs are heading up the California coast to take on Brent Burns' beard and the Sharks in San Jose, before heading back down the coast to face the Kings in L.A., before hightailing it out of California. This place is death.

Pretty quiet today on the Habs news front:

- Chris Terry was exiled out of road trip, sent 9,000 miles east to play in St. John's again. Terry's performance since getting called up two weeks ago has been, shall we say, somewhat forgettable.

- Terry's demotion is a pretty strong sign that Habs might put Brian Flynn, who's finishing up injury recovery, back into the lineup as soon as Friday night.

- Hey, the NHL All-Star game voting started today. Yeah, we know. It's a stupid event that basically means four damn days without hockey. Anyway, if you care to stack the voting for deserved Habs, please click here and vote for Carey Price, Alex Radulov, Shea Weber and .. hmm ... anyone else .. yeah ... Andrei Markov.

- Oh, Brendan. Brendan, Brendan, BRENDAN. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

AFTERNOON UPDATE: Hey, here are Habs lines from their practice today:

Bryon/Galchenyuk/Radulov
Pacioretty/Plekanec/Gallagher
Lehkonen/Desharnais/Shaw
Danault/Mitchell/Flynn

Looks like Daniel Carr is the spare wheel for tomorrow night, if Flynn does indeed start.

We'll continually update this page with news as it arrives.

Game 77: Wings vs. Habs

Montreal Gazette

FIRST PERIOD:

- Sabres well on their way to victory tonight, Habs drive for 24th most definitely is alive.

- Lots of empty seats in the Bell Centre, those giving this game a pass not missing much early on, both teams really poor carrying the zone. Hard to believe this Wings team would go far in the postseason, assuming they even qualify (I think they'll come up just short). 

- Pacioretty with a nifty tip off a Hanley point shot, Habs score, Sabres cheer.

- Assuming all are healthy, Wings have a pretty weak one-two goaltending tandem in comparison to the rest of the League. This isn't going to get better for them anytime soon.

- And just like that, Mrazek is yanked for Howard after surrendering a bad rebound to Byron, who makes it 2-0 Habs. Wings goaltending has got to be a spot of great concern.

- Nonetheless, given the display I just saw of the Habs powerplay tonight, I remain confident the Wings will come back.

- Therrien has shoved McCarron off to the wing, while also burying him on the 4th line. More missed opportunities for the org to get a good look at young players at their natural positions.

- Three Habs powerplays, none of them even remotely threatening. Still, Canadiens were the better team, which is a good indicator of how poorly the Wings played - it appears the Sabres took a lot out of their legs last night. Canadiens did a good job with controlled entries, while Condon held the line even though he wasn't really tested. 

SECOND PERIOD:

- I Suppose we can grant some benefit of doubt given this is 2 games in just over 24 hours. Still, the Wings effort meter is barely rising above zero - the Habs really doing minimalist stuff to repel most of Detroit's attack. Maybe the Wings are trying to lull the Habs over a cliff? 

- Emelin subjected to a beat down after delivering a clean shoulder check on Larkin, who falls into the boards. You're really not supposed to go after guys who make perfectly fine hockey plays.

- Emelin given a highly unusual 5 minute interference penalty, which is very arguable, but may be more of a game management penalty.

- 10 minutes left in the period, that Larkin hit seems to have fired up the Wings a bit, skating and puck movement noticeably more intense in the Habs zone.

- Wings strike on the man advantage (Habs bench watches and wonders what it must feel like). We've got ourselves a game.

- Another goal off the Emelin penalty, Habs defence utterly chaotic around Condon, whom himself can't seem to cover pucks, and the game is tied. Just like that.

- Mike Brown, who really really really has no business playing in this game, or any other for that matter, loses his cognitive function and goes trolling for a fight, which lands him immediately in the box. Mike Green scores on the powerplay, of course, and the Habs implode, much anticipated previously, is completed.

- Well, that was a bad period for the Habs, assuming you wanted a win. Otherwise, it appears the Canadiens will finish the night officially behind the Sabres in the standings. Tremendous!

THIRD PERIOD:

- Emelin doing his team little good by scoring to tie the game early in the 3rd. Habs really need to lose tonight. 

- Wings doth protest that Howard was interfered on by Brown. Here's hoping.

- Heh. Mike Brown. Cost Habs the Wings go-ahead goal with bean head roughing minor in the 2nd, now Emelin's first goal in nearly two years here in the 3rd. And yet, he's put into the lineup - again and again and again. 

- Habs score ...? On ... the ... powerplay?!? Plekanec with great slap pass intended for Galchenyuk wide open beside the net, but Andrighetto gets his stick on the way and redeflects the puck past Howard. Shesh. Way to go, Sven. Tie game.

- Max Paciorertty, courtesy some wonderful slight of hand playmaking by Markov, gives the Habs a late lead, and suddenly, it's the Wings' turn to collapse. With Boston losing tonight to the Leafs, Pacioretty may have just saved the Bruins' season. Try to wrap your head around that.

- 5 minutes left, Wings really pushing, Habs hanging on, and getting odd man rushes as Detroit may have suddenly realized their season might be at stake. Howard may have to come up big more than a couple of times to give his team a shot. 

- There's one. Pacioretty and Andrighetto, Howard stretching out to keep it a one goal game.

- Habs win. Sigh. Sabres ... lost. In a shootout. Canadiens now two points ahead of Buffalo. Red Wings totally blow their opportunity to pull ahead of the Bruins with a sloppy loss - a combination of soft and often disorganized defence, especially in the slot, and questionable netminding. Meanwhile, Max Pacioretty appears to be going on one of his scoring runs, at pretty much exactly the wrong time. I guess at this point we can cheer him on to reach the 30 goal mark for the season. Otherwise, with important bodies now returning, the task of losing out the string is going to get more difficult for Montreal.

T-MINUS 6. GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

Some points for consideration.

- Habs will soon be the 3rd most injured team in the NHL this season, surpassing Edmonton for that coveted bronze medal spot. Reaching for an even higher (i.e. catching New Jersey and Toronto) position is about to be hampered by the return of some IRL bodies, specifically Daniel Carr (remember him?) and Brendan Gallagher. Hey, there's even talk that Carey Price might be available to start later this week, for reasons that are completely and totally baffling.

- So aside from Gallagher and maybe Carr, who else might the Habs be getting back this week? Probably P.K. Subban, whose neck is reportedly still not quite 100%.

- Habs will have pretty much the same lineup tonight as they did in a pretty awful losing effort against the Rangers on Saturday, expect that Jacob De La Rose will get a start, while Stefan Matteau will not play.

Meanwhile, over on the other bench ...

- Red Wings continue to fight for their playoff lives, it appears that they and the Boston Bruins will enter the room, and only one will leave. The Wings are playing the second of a back-to-back, last night they just eeked out a win over the lowly Sabres, where this happened:

🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙 pic.twitter.com/3ngSuY74Tz

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) March 29, 2016

- Wings have no huge injury issues, save for Johan Franzen (concusion) and Drew Miller (lower body). So Detroit is a little weak on the left side. That's about it.

- It was not unsual in recent years for this Wings team to be very near the top in puck possession. This year, they've dropped off significantly - from 3rd last season in CF%, to 12th as we type. More reflective of roster and front office turnovers, the Wings aren't rebuilding, but they aren't nearly as deep as they usually are, and have been for about the last ... oh ... 26 or 27 years.

Who's in net? WHY, it's Mike Condon for the Canadiens, and Petr Mrazek (he who nearly blew a 4 goal 3rd period lead to the Habs last week) for Detroit. Puck drops at 6:40 EST.

Game 74: Ducks vs. Habs

Montreal Gazette

FIRST PERIOD:

- Hanley gets another start tonight - I'm fine with taking a look at the organization assets, but really, Hanley ahead of Ellis still makes little sense. With Subban coming back possibly Thursday, it marks another missed opportunity for management to take a better look at players with a more than realistic chance of an NHL future. Hanley really doesn't represent that.

- Both clubs are interesting in the divergence the took with handling their head coaching situations. The Ducks held steady with Boudreau, mainly because the undercurrent of statistical information at hand strongly suggested the Ducks awful season start was an anomaly. Turns out, that assessment was spot on - the Ducks have the best NHL record since then. The Habs, by contrast, made the same decision been though the evidence strongly suggested the Habs biggest challenge was deployment (coaching) issues. They held fast with Therrien, and since their early 9-0 start, have by far the worst record in the NHL. 

- Will the Habs score more than once tonight against a team like the Ducks? It won't be via specialty units, with Anaheim rated #1 in both powerplays and penalty kills. Amazing stat, there. Unsurprisingly, Habs first early powerplay goes totally by the board without remark.d

- WOOT! Plekanec with a 60 foot floater from the line that somehow Gibson fails to pick up, and Canadiens take a shocking 1-0 lead. 

- If anyone questions the Habs "toughness" as a factor (it isn't - not in today's NHL), the Canadiens need only point towards Mike McCarron. A beat down on Manson helps him to advance the cause for making the roster next season.

- Sweet, sweet skill play Byron right on the tape of Galchenyuk who gets behind Gibson, but redirects the perfect feed just wide of the post. Should be 2-0. Byron also stating his case for full-time NHL employment.

- Silfverberg evens the score, courtesy Mike Condon, whom on far too many occasions this year, has gifted opponents goals via routine shots. 

- Just to be realistic, Condon will never be anything more than a backup NHL goaltender. In that role, you're going to expect more than a few goals let in that normally are stopped by the first string. Because Condon's role has become first-string, expectations have been far too high. Still, that Silfrverberg goal was a stinker.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Another Condon gaffe, although not quite as bad as his first period mistake - gives up a pretty juicy rebound off a relatively routine shot by Fowlers, Perry slams home the rebound to make it 2-1. Everything is not back on order. Ducks with the scoreboard lead, can now start padding their way to victory.

- Condon, again. Good grief. Fowler shot, big rebound, batted home by Rakell. Hoo boy.

- Habs saved - for now - Rakell hit it with a high stick. Still, Condon ain't exactly stating his case very strongly tonight.

- Hey, ho. Habs tie the game. Pateryn with an excellent play (showing nice hockey sense) coming in hard up the middle to keep the puck in the Ducks zone, feeding Pacioretty who immediately goes cross ice to Galchenyuk for the one timer. This is why a good offence often begins (and ends) with apt plays by the defence. 

- Ducks more or less imploding, with an awful, awful turnover in their own zone that eventually lands on the stick of a wide open Mike Brown, who makes a nifty deke on Gibson for a 3-2 Habs lead. HUH!! Hanley picks up his second assist. HUH!!!!

- Habs again burned by their stupid, stupid system of trying to clear the zone by chipping the puck up the boards, this time Pateryn with the turnover, Silfverberg ties the game. This play has burned the Habs time and time and time again, and yet nothing changes, because it's considered to the be the "safe" play (pssst - .... it's not ... it's a stupid play that quite often produced high scoring chance giveaways to the opponent). 

- They might have produced a goal, but the Galchenyuk line has spent way too much time hemmed in its own zone tonight - Ducks doing a good job with line matching. 

- Well, at least the game is entertaining, which is something we haven't been able to say about any Habs game in quite awhile. Both teams guilty of some sloppy play - the Ducks in their zone perhaps because they took their opponent a little lightly, the Habs because they've been that way most of the season - so that won't change. Ducks doing a pretty good job containing anything that the Habs have to offer as far as an attack is concerned, the main reason why Montreal is even hanging in tonight is secondary scoring support from places not expected. Could be an entertaining final period ahead.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Here's the 2 period totals, Habs SC CF just over 43%. Galchenyuk line struggling, relatively decent performance tonight by the 4th line. 

- Dietz with a nice play coming in from the point to get a quality scoring chance on Gibson. I'm sure Therrien is already wrapping his knuckles for that play. 

- I gotta say that Ducks blue line, even with a couple of letdowns tonight, looks pretty fierce to face in the post season. I wouldn't wanna play against them.

- Sweet rush and feed deep Markov to Galchenyuk, Gibson forced to make an excellent save. Again, offence is dictated by how involved your defence plays. Chipping the puck up the boards, as has been drilled into the minds of every Canadiens defender the past three seasons, is a formula for failure.e

- Wow, what did Mike Brown eat this morning? Fantastic grinding work behind the net, winning the puck against two Ducks defenders, then feeding Lessio for the one timer, and the Habs take the lead again. 

- Good game for Markov, he's been much more involved tonight, certainly more so with aggressive play in the opposing zone, something we've seen little of since Subban went down. 

- Still don't think Habs can possibly hang on to this one goal lead for a full 11 minutes. That said, we're more than halfway home. How badly do the Ducks want this game?

- Habs collapsing hard around their crease when the Ducks have puck control in the Canadiens zone. Basically the hockey equivalent of hanging on for dear life.

- Ducks really move the puck nicely on the backend, Habs are basically giving them free reign at the blue line, while everyone else guards bodies in front of Condon. It's an interesting passive approach to hockey - not what I would define as a wise strategy, but the clock is being killed. 2 minutes left.

- Condon with a couple of excellent saves during the last minute Duck Storm (hey, that sounds cool ... duck storm) ... to seal a complete unexpected victory for the Habs. Outplayed, outshot, basically a totally inexplicable win, statistically speaking. 

GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Here are your Habs lines for tonight's game:

- Pacioretty/Galchenyuk/Byron

  Eller/Plekanec/Mitchell

  Matteau/McCarron/Danault

  Lessio/De La Rose/Brown

  Markov/Emelin

  Beaulieu/Pateryn

  Hanley/Dietz

  Mike Condon

- Brendan Gallagher and P.K. Subban participated in today's a.m. practice. Subban figures to possibly play Thursday night in Detroit. But that might be a bit of a long shot.

Game 41: Habs vs. Flyers

THRID PERIOD:

- Habs and Flyers after 40. Yes, the Habs lead 5v5, believe it or not. But they're getting killed by the Desharnais line, the aforementioned clocking in with a dismal 31.3% after 2 periods. Therrien, again, must recognize which players are failing to deliver, and scale their times back accordingly, especially in the 3rd period trailing by one goal.

- Clean sheet of ice to start the powerplay, Plekanec is put at the line, forgets that he's supposed to be on the line, and accordingly skates into the corner, leaving the left point completely vacant. Hoo boy. This unit is totally lost.

- Still, good solid start to the period by the Habs, Galchenyuk line really working the puck well towards the Flyers net.

- And all that momentum taken away, with Emelin taking a stupid roughing call. 

- Maybe not. Flyers with a pretty terri-bad powerplay, perhaps the Habs can maintain the initiative after all. 

- Killer. Carr with poor attempt to clear the zone with a blind backhand, shot is fired at Scrivens wide, but rebound off the boards goes right to Couturier who tucks it home. Petry soft around his crease, fails to pick up his man, making that goal, which half resulted from a lucky bounce, a possibility. 4-2.

- Habs 4th line with not a lot to offer - even loss so with Smith-Pelly being demoted there. Still seeing Therrien giving them shifts, but with less than 8 minutes left, Habs need to more-or-less go for broke if they hope to somehow pull a rabbit out of the hat.

- Naw. Not gonna happen. This Habs team is just a functional mess tonight. Looks like a team that hasn't practiced, no intensity, and very little energy. Surely a game like this must concern Bergevin. Surely.

- Carr with less than a minute to go, but it's too little, too late. 

- 30 seconds left, Therrien calls time. Then stands with hands literally in his pockets while assistants draw up a plan. Doesn't something seem wrong with that picture?

- So all that stuff about the Habs turning their season around after the Boston game? Looks like rubbish to me. Pretty woeful display by this team tonight against what was supposed to be a far inferior opponent. Habs continue to be hampered by ineffectual play by forwards receiving too much ice time, and player deployments that make little sense. Maybe this means a return of Andrighetto tomorrow night? Who knows. There's so much wrong with this team, it seems unlikely that any one player could make much of a difference.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Flyers through 20 minutes. As you can tell, the SOG really didn't reflect possession in that period:

- Habs TOI leaders continue to be of concern. Galchenyuk scores the goal, but Smith-Pelly gets more ice time. MMMkay then.

- Habs 4th line gets burned, Montreal really struggling in the faceoff circle tonight, with Brian Flynn failing to win deep draw, and Gostisbehere with a big shot that Scrivens whiffs at, blocker side. 2-1 Philly. 

- Okay, SOG isn't a very good indicator, but eventually it's indicating something. Nearly halfway through regulation, Habs have only mustered 6. That's not going to do it. 

- Terrible hooking call on Subban, with Voracek grabbing his stick and tucking it under his arm to draw the call. NHL refs shouldn't fall for that kind of thing.

- And on the powerplay from that bad call, it's Gostisbehere again with a shot point that's redirected in by Simmonds off the right post and into the net. Again, Flynn losing deep zone draw that leads directly to an opposition goal. Therrien needs to recognize these things that are happening in the moment, and adjust. Is that too much to ask?

- Smith-Pelly had two good shift to start the game. Since then? A disaster. How this guy even makes the lineup, while Andrighetto sits, perplexes me to the nth degree.

- Smith-Pelly now demoted to the 4th line. Carr up.

- Habs 2nd powerplay comes up empty, even though the first line shift looked fantastic, with one exception - Desharnais, who is a blackhole out there, never taking a shot, and hesitating forever when making passes. Also, the one timers to Galchenyuk, two clean passes made, and he whiffs each time. Galchenyuk doesn't thrive off those kind of setups. He's always been apt to score off the rush, or on a rebound. Powerplay needs serious rework.

- Gallagher hits the scoresheet again, tipping in an Emelin point shot. and the Habs are right back in this game.

- Habs 3rd powerplay, Plekanec takes the point, Desharnais off. Progress.

- Not a good period by the Habs, showing great inconsistency with their game - which is always a bad sign coming off a game where they dominated their opponent. The Winter Classic game gave many Habs fans reason to believe that the worst was past for this team, but tonight's effort is only going to cast doubts that this team has profound and chronic problems. Scoring, powerplay, and sloppy defensive puck handling. 

FIRST PERIOD:

- Plekanec line comes flying out of the gate, first shift of this game. Flyers defence, might it be added, isn't very swift. Gallagher might get one or two scrubby goals before the night is over.

- Desharnais line shift, credit to Smith-Pelly, working strong along the boards winning pucks. Time is running out for DSP if he hopes to maintain a regular spot on this Habs lineup, even with Therrien behind the bench.

- Hmm. Galchenyuk carries the zone with plenty of speed, works south-to-north, and dishes off to Markov with the pass just a little bit off the mark, and Barberio, who needs to be somewhere near the play, is nowhere to be found as Schenn waltzes in along and beats Scrivens 5-hole. In the span of about 7 seconds, everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. 1-0.

- That's two good shifts in a row for DSP - as he draws a hooking penalty. Habs to the powerplay.

- First powerplay shift looked pretty good - puck movement was crisp, two failed shot attempts by Pacioretty and Galchenyuk was its undoing. Also still am not convinced putting Desharnais at the line really benefits this unit - with Desharnais steadfastly unwilling to shoot the puck. Don't think for a moment the other teams aren't aware of that.

- Flyers like to play a pretty free-wheeling game, which means they generate/surrender a higher than average number of shots. So far they've been moderately successful in this period, generating a pretty split possession game, and the occasional quality chance on Scrivens. Habs doing a decent job gaining the zone, but struggling to complete quality shots on goal.

- Not a stellar period for Markov, Gallagher coughing the puck up along the boards, with Giroux getting a clear chance on goal because Andrei left his area of responsibility (the slot).

- Galchenyuk tips home a Barberio point wrister to put the Habs on the board. Puck luck evens up this period of the Habs, with Fleischmann hitting the post on an open net earlier in the period. This goal is pretty key template for Habs moving forward - they need to generate more offence via their defence.

- With Barberio settling in, the Habs have too many defenseman, which is a nice problem to have. He, Emelin, Tinordi, Pateryn and Gilbert represent Habs #5-9 on the depth chart. One, possibly two, could be moved within the next 30 days.

- Flyers outshooting Habs 3-to-1, but the period wasn't particularly one-sided - Habs defence guilty of making a few sloppy mistakes, and generally not being nearly as aggressive as they should be in clearing the slot. Otherwise, it was 20 ho-hum minutes of hockey, which is fine if you're the road team. 

GAME PREVIEW: THE FLYERS WOULD LIKE A GOAL. HAVE YOU GOT ANY SPARE ONES HANDY, WOULD YA?

To readers out there younger than ... oh .. let's say ... 25 ... there was a time when playing the Philadelphia Flyers was like attending a Nickleback concert: A long, brutal, and painful 2 1/2 hour experience, all while being surrounded by some of the most unpleasant an unintelligent people on the face of the planet. That's what it felt like to play the Philadelphia Flyers.

But that was 15 ... 20 years ago. Things have changed. Players have come and gone, Stanely Cup have been won - by other teams. And the Flyers, who once were almost always near the top of the League in goal-scoring, have this year, tumbled off the face of the hockey planet.

The Flyers come into tonight's game with some serious challenges. Philadelphia's offence, at 2.11 GPG, is the worst in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers have been hamstrung by a meek powerplay (4th worst in the League). The lack of production starts right from the top - with Claude Giroux leading his team with a mere 12 goals, tied for 54th overall in the NHL. When your team's leading goal scorer can't crack the top 50, you've got problems.

The Flyers' big problem seems more to be a team-wide inability to finish plays. If you dig just a little deeper, Philadelphia's numbers aren't quite as bad as their raw totals. The Flyers have a CF% of 50, which puts them smack dab in the League's middle. Their shot totals per game aren't awful - 30.1, which gives them a 12th overall ranking. Finishing plays however - that's where you see a big dropoff. Philadelphia's shooting percentage this season is a measly 5.8%. Only Pittsburgh and Anaheim have worse percentages.

There is no quick-fix remedy for this kind of problem, as Habs fans who endured December's scoring drought can attest to. If the players paid to score can't score, be it good luck or bad, you're going to lose. A lot.

The Flyers will be tinkering with their lineup tonight, specifically their top line which, as we noted, has failed to produce this season. Girous will centre possible trade-bait Wayne Simmonds along with Jakub Voracek. Meanwhie, defenceman Evgeny Medvedev will be a healthy scratch.

Over in Habsland, as noted, Devante Smith-Pelly will come out of the pressbox tonight at Sven Andrighetto's expense, the later being called up from St. John's on Saturday for what now appears to be for no good reason. Oh well. No firm idea yet who'll be a healthy scratch on the Habs blue line - specifically, whether it will be Alexei Emelin or Greg Pateryn - although Therrien's decision to give Smith-Pelly a start is an indicator of a physical game tonight, which means Emelin will probably play.

Michal Neruvirth will start in goal for the Flyers, Ben Scrivens for the Habs.

Puck drops at 7:40, EST.


GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES

- So Therrien has made his decision. Smith-Pelly in, Andrighetto out. Not like we didn't see that one coming.

HALFWAY HOME AND ALMOST HOME AT THE SAME TIME

Is it over yet? Are we home yet? ARE WE HOME YET?!!?

We've reached the halfway mark of the 2015-16 regular season. Seems like only two months ago that every Habs fan from coast to coast to coast was having a grand ol' ball. And then we lost the greatest player in the world. And then we lost the heart and soul of this team. And then December arrived. And then Santa stiffed me (yet) again under the tree. Stupid Santa. Every damn year. Next time around there'll be a big yawning bear trap for Kris Kringle under my mistletoe, you cheap miserable fat old bastard.

Oh right. Sorry. This is a Habs blog. Anyway, TONIGHT THE ROAD TRIP TO AND FROM HELL ENDS. Eight games. Nearly four weeks. Two wins. Two measly piddley wins. Watch out Flyers. We're mad as hell, us Habs fans, and we aren't gonna take this anymore.

Preview later, but Habs news 'n' notes for those who are unemployed and haven't had the opportunity to actually read anything on the web the past 48 hours.

- Sven Andrighetto was recalled from the Rock because as you've heard, Dale Weise is out for 2-3 weeks with an upper body/arm/wrist injury. Which means Sven will play tonight!

- Oh wait, Michel Therrien has no idea whether Andrighetto will play tomorrow, or if he'll start Devante Smith-Pelly. OH COM'ON MICHEL, ALREADY DUDE.

- Want some good news? YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY. Carey Price hasn't even started skating yet, five weeks into an injury that was originally supposed to last around six. Ut-oh. Is it time to run through the streets with our hair on fire?

- Lots of lolz around the Johnathan Drouin demanding a trade out of Tampa Bay, and some Habs fans (we shunt mention who) actually speculating over whether Marc Bergevin should make a move to get Drouin because as you know STEVE YZERMAN IS A TOTAL IDIOT AND WOULD GLADLY TRADE AWAY A YOUNG STUD TO A DIVISION RIVAL. Good grief guys.

- Did I mention that there's just one more game left on this nightmare road trip? Well, there is.



More in a bit.