Game 82: Habs vs. Wings

Montreal 3, Detroit 2 (OT):

FIRST PERIOD:

- Well this is really baffling. With literally half the regular lineup not playing tonight, you'd have figured Galchenyuk would be a cinch to be playing up the middle tonight. But, nope:

Byron/Danault/Gallagher

King/Shaw/Lehkonen

Galchenyuk/Ott/Martinsen

Flynn/Mitchell/McCarron

Incredible.

- Hockey is going to be dreadful in this game tonight. I should get hazard pay for watching this.

- Mrazek robs Galchenyuk, who crashes the Wings netminder hard. Early on, Galchenyuk playing with a little meanness. Wonder what might be inspiring that ...

- Not sure how it's even possible, but Habs have been more dangerous tonight than at any point last night against Tampa. Maybe the Habs issues Friday were too many players going through the motions. Doesn't appear to be the case early on.

- Oof shift by Ott and Martinsen, the Wings storm the Habs zone, and after incompetent puck movement, finally Nielsen tucks the puck past Lindgren. 1-0. We're just getting started.

- Just have to keep reminding myself, this is just one of those stupid games we have to muddle our way through watching, and that Ott and Martinsen and Flynn aren't going to be playing next week. At least, they better not be playing (or we're hooped).

- This is horrible hockey. Not even AHL-level quality. Not even midland AHL level quality. To Detroit's credit, they're playing a lot of their kids tonight, but the net result is a game with little flow or intensity.

- The game is beyond any sort of criticism or analysis. It's mainly consisting of broken plays, bad passes, players falling, pucks dumped - it's a B-level beer league scrimmage.

- 20 minutes in the books. I guess the Habs aren't going to lose 12-0 tonight? With a lineup consisting of too many mediocre or bad hockey players, we're getting exactly what we expected. Wings only slightly less bad than the Canadiens. No way else to describe it.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs first period CF just over 42% (as anticipated, bad). Galchenyuk/Ott/Martinsen line a putrid 16% combined. Heat map stuff, scoring chances were 11-4 Detroit (again, bad):

- Habs powerplay finds the back of the net, and it's Nathan Beaulieu, which is nice to see. There are a handful of players on this Canadiens roster who will need to elevate their game for the playoffs, and Beaulieu might be at the very top of the list - at least, if Montreal wants to go very far in the post-season.

Beaulieu steps into one and blasts it past Mazek #Habs pic.twitter.com/klAJJeIUgi

— Shayne Pasquino (@shaynepasquino) April 9, 2017

- Lernout a little more self-contained tonight - maybe he's playing with less nervousness. Mistakes have been notably reduced.

- Mike McCarron needs to score one tonight - at least for the family in the stands. He's put up with a lot being shuffled in and out of the lineup to make way for nobodies like Martinsen, Ott and King. I the hockey gods be watching, let this happen.

- Habs send out fresh 4th line, who promptly get caught badly up-ice, Larkin a one timer that eats Lindgren up 5 hole to make it 2-1.

- Lehkonen ties it up off a Nesterov shot. That's his 18th goal of the season, which is extremely impressive for a rookie winger who's been shuffled around the Habs lineup most of the season.

Lehkonen wins the battle out front, gets rewarded with the goal #Habs pic.twitter.com/9XErpSwgnM

— Shayne Pasquino (@shaynepasquino) April 9, 2017

- Better second period for the Habs than the first, which is to say the Wings are pretty awful. Gonna be long 3-4 years ahead for Detroit hockey fans. For the Habs, it's one more period to endure.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs bounce back 2nd period, CF at even strength was 63%, high danger scoring chances 5-0 for the Canadiens:

- Lehkonen putting up some excellent possession stats tonight, and this is with two line mates he's had very little time playing with this season. I'm not sure if Habs fans, generally speaking, have grasped just how good he's been this rookie season.

- Lindgren doing lots of flopping, Beaulieu swoops in to sweep the puck away as it's entering the net. An exciting play! That just happened!!

- I mean, good grief, why even give him the start instead of a night off? This is ... abysmal:

- Charlie Lindgren still has lots to learn about playing in the NHL - which includes it's generally a bad idea to come out 20 feet to stop a shot attempt from the point:

Ayoye pic.twitter.com/1b6KyVPYZw

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 9, 2017

- Last 2 minutes were actually enjoyable. Good end to end action. The rest of the game? Thank god it's over.

OVERTIME:

- Gonna be interesting, I suppose - with the Habs barely any capable forwards playing tonight. 

- Let's just let the Wings win this, for the fans. 

- Brutal give away by Green to Nesterov, who feeds Galchenyuk for the game winner. How ironic. Habs win the final game of the season, and Charlie Lindgren has never lost a game in the NHL.

Nesterov slides it to Galchenyuk who wires the OT winner home #Habs pic.twitter.com/a8tmzPjoB6

— Shayne Pasquino (@shaynepasquino) April 9, 2017

GAME PREVIEW: FINALLY. IT'S OVER. 

Yay. Game 82. No more regular season pregames to write. No more game blogging. Just syrupy anticipation for the first game of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

That is, unless, you're a Detroit Red Wings fan. Your season, in fact, your arena, has just two games left in an otherwise miserable year.

For whatever reason, the NHL saw fit to have the Wings play their final game at Joe Lewis Arena against the New Jersey Devils, the League's most boring team, instead of a rival or original six team. Seems almost a crime they're going to shutter the doors after playing Jersey. What about Toronto? I mean, com'on NHL. Think about it.

Anyway, the Habs, after rolling out the red carpet last night for the Tampa Bay Lightening behind a Canadiens defence that bore a distinct resemblance to anorexia nervosa, will put forward an even more pathetic lineup tonight against Detroit. This means, no Shea Weber, Jordie Benn, Alexei Emelin, Carey Price, Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty, Andrei Markov AND Alex Radulov.

That hardly any regulars will be playing tonight also means opportunity for others to get some NHL game time. This includes Charlie Lindgren, who'll get his second start of the season with Al (Tony) Montoya as backup. It also means one more game experience for blue chip prospect Mikhail Sergachev, who'll play his first game since October 20th of last year.

So with all of these players out of the lineup ... I'm guessing Alex Galchenyuk will get to play centre again, and ... really, it's anyone's guess at this point how Claude Julien will craft a lineup out of whatever's left over.

The only thing we can say with great confidence is that Lindgren will see plenty of puck tonight. Let's hope the final score isn't too much of a humiliation.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

Game 73: Wings vs. Habs

Detroit 2, Montreal 1 (OT):

FIRST PERIOD:

- Beaulieu nailed right off the bat for an interference penalty that might have gone either way. Abdelkader scores on the infusing powerplay to give Detroit the early lead. Not sure what Julien thinks of Beaulieu's play, but reply shows he was finishing his check. I'm inclined to think the coach will let that one slide.

- So when is the Habs top line going to start producing? Habs can't keep leaning on secondary scoring support indefinitely.

- Danault line looks good yet again tonight - they're got a very persistent and aggressive forecheck going, which is something I've seen absent the Galchenyuk line the past little while. Spark of intensity might be one significant reason why that top line has struggled to score lately.

- Habs powerplay tinkering - Pacioretty put at the point. Puck possession was good, zone maintenance was good, but no shots registered. That might be the end of that little experiment.

- It hasn't been anything close to the nightmare of the Hawks game last week, but it hasn't been a stellar period either for Emelin. Wings aren't a particularly fast team, but Emelin again appears to be struggling adjusting to Detroit's zone entries.

- Meek period for the Habs, especially around Jimmy Howard. Need more bodies crashing that crease area.

- Kinda mysterious how the Habs find ways of being outplayed by non-playoff teams. Not sure if it's anything to do with the lineup looking at the standings, assuming in advance that the game doesn't require full effort. That's essentially what was missing from the Habs in that 1st period - the concerted effort required to win a game in the NHL.


SECOND PERIOD:

- You'd be forgiven if your eyes glazed over during that first period. Possession was an even split, which means, given the opponent, the Habs were outplayed:

- Habs are buzzing, certainly more than compared to the 1st period, but the Wings are doing a good job protecting the crease/slot area. Canadiens might need to grease one out to get on the scoreboard.

- Flow is certainly a lot more wide open this period, which is something that would generally favour the the Habs.

- Emelin covers up from a Jeff Petry puck handling error. That's all nice, but it underscores the general lack of chemistry and communication between these two since Julien adjusted his defence, moving Markov next to Weber. I think Emelin would be a better pairing with Jordie Benn, and Beaulieu with Petry, but what do I know?

- I know, it was a longshot, but kinda hoped Ott would have a little "oomph" to his game against his former teammates tonight. But then again, it's Steve Ott. Best to keep expectations at around -40.

- Habs with a stormin' powerplay, Howard catching some puck luck, and Lehkonen playing like a monster this period. Pacioretty at the point looking better that attempt. Starting to think this team has a bad case of snakebite against the Wings.

- Just can't seem to find chemistry. Julien mixing the lines up a little to end the period, but I'm not sure that's the issue. Passing is there, but there simply isn't very much traffic in front of Howard, who, for the most part, has seen pretty much every shot directed towards him.

- Habs were the better team in that second period, pushing the envelope to try and get on the scoreboard, but as we mentioned in the previous point, Habs have not done a very good job pushing the Wings net tonight, which has made puck stopping much easier for Howard.


THIRD PERIOD:

- This is a more meaningful illustration of the Habs issue tonight - they might have more shot attempts, but not many in close. Look at all those point attempts. No wonder Jimmy Howard has a shutout going:

- After demonstrating marked signs that he'd finally got his season moving, it's been a mostly down night for Gallagher - 46% CF and a CF Rel of nearly -13 through 40 minutes.

- Habs are playing patient, much like they did earlier season game they had against Detroit, of which they eventually lost 1-0. In that game, the Habs didn't seriously ramp up their game until there was 2 minutes left in the clock. If you learn from your history, then you'd expect the Habs to start taking some chances much sooner in the 3rd.

- Habs haven't shown much, but now they draw an interference. Canadiens came awfully close to scoring their previous man advantage. This would be a good time to finish their attempt.

- Puck hopping and bouncing on the ice, Beaulieu's stick shatters as he attempts to finish the setup with Jimmy Howard's own stick laying in the corner. One of those nights where seems like nothing is going to go right - and for the Habs offence, that's exactly what's happened.

- Habs are definitely not waiting until the last 2 minutes to make their push. With 9 minutes left in the 3rd, it's been the kitchen sink in the Wings zone. Just can't quite seem to finish plays, the ice conditions look poor - puck bouncing a lot on the ice.

- Rough night for the Plekanec line - most of the play has tilted towards the Habs zone while he, Gallagher and Bryon have been on. Offensive chances have been few and far between.

- Lehkonen ties the game with 2 minutes left, given way too much space entering the Wings zone, he fires a wrister that has Howard looking skyward.  Ironic the way that goal was surrendered given how well the Wings have played defensively in their zone tonight.

- Alexei Emelin with all day and all night to set up the play from behind his net, ices the puck with 2- seconds left. WHY?!

- Critical game tying goal by Lehkonen, given that the Sens have already beaten the Bruins tonight. Canadiens doing a nice job pushing in that 3rd period for the tying goal, especially from the 10 minute mark forward.

OVERTIME:

- Shot attempt chart shows the Habs indeed were pushing hard at about the 10 minute mark of that 3rd period:

- Montoya clearly interfered by Mike Green, thrashed into the back of his net, all in front of the referee who lets the play, unbelievably, continue without a whistle. The abysmal lack of goaltending protection in this League continues.

- This OT period is the Al Montoya period. His defenders doing him no favours, that's for sure.

- Hometown boy Anthony Mantha with as pretty a goal as you'll see, making Galchenyuk, who's had a bad night in general, look like a beer leaguer with one move, and Shea Weber his next victim with a slick shot that beats Montoya top corner, and the Habs (actually) lose a game in OT. Montoya deserved a better fate, although the Habs played a pretty disorganized OT period, and roundly deserved the loss of an extra point.

R.I.P. WINGS NOT BEING BAD: 1990-2017

It's kinda crazy, isn't it? The Detroit Red Wings, for the first time in 27 years, will not be partaking in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The remarkable string of success comes from Detroit implementing (and sticking to) the development of a perpetually competitive hockey team by focusing resources on developing players internally through wise drafting and quality scouting (especially in Europe and in particular, eastern bloc nations including Russia).

Over the past few years as other teams finally caught on to the Wings formula for success, Detroit has found maintaining their competitive edge to be increasingly difficult, especially in the salary cap era. Before the cap, the Wings had the luxury of locking up their assets for an indefinite period of time. In today's era, the Wings couldn't dream of maintaining a lineup with the likes of Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Kris Draper, Nicklas Lindstrom, Vladimir Konstantinov, Chris Osgood, etc., etc. (those players were all on the 1997 Wings roster).

So with the official passing of the Red Wings era, Detroit is finishing up their season, coincidently as Joe Lewis, the arena that hosted all of those great Wings teams, will be shuttering their doors for good.

So the Wings, playing the string, will face former teammate Steve Ott and the Habs tonight at the Bell Centre. The Wings, coming off a loss to the Buffalo Sabres last night, are currently sitting with the 5th worst record in the NHL, which reckons to land them a half-decent pick in this summer's entry draft.

Here's the Detroit projected lineup tonight:

Tartar/Zetterberg/Nyquist
Mantha/Nielsen/Sheahan
Athanasiou/Larkin/Abdelkader
Glendening/Nosek/Miller

DeKeyser/Jensen
Kronwall/Green
Ouellet/Russo

The Habs, meanwhile, are still enjoying the buzz of a weekend sweep of the Ottawa Senators, which has given Montreal a 4 point lead for 1st place in the Atlantic Division. Paul Bryon, who got his 20th (and if not for a silly offside challenge his 21st) goal of the season will lead the Canadiens offence in the 2nd game of a 5-game home stand. Meanwhile, Carey Price, who's been stellar since Claude Julien took over head coaching duties last month, gets a well-earned night off. Al (Tony) Montoya (2.71/.910) will start for the Canadiens, while Jimmy Howard (1.97/.933) gets the nod for Detroit.

Here's the Habs lineup tonight:

Pacioretty/Galchenyuk/Radulov
Byron/Plekanec/Gallagher
Lehkonen/Danault/Shaw
King/Ott/Mitchell

Weber/Markov
Emelin/Petry
Beaulieu/Benn

Puck drops tonight at 7:40, EST.

Game 45: Habs vs. Wings

Detroit 1, Montreal 0:

FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Wings scratches for today (now official), Tomas Jurco, Ryan Sprout and ... sadly, Steve Ott. Always nice to face an opponent with not very good players in their lineup. Mike McCarron healthy scratch for the Habs, a shame since Detroit is his hometown (and often, these home returns are greeted by exceptional performances). 

- Fundamental difference between a very good defenceman such as Petry and someone who's pretty marginal, Zach Redmond. Petry takes the time to move the puck forward to one of his forwards (or at least makes the attempt), while Redmond's mantra is to dump the puck out of his zone as quickly as possible, be dammed the transition. The effect is, of course, the Habs go from being a pretty good team while someone like Petry is on, to a not very good team when Redmond is on.

- Habs again stumbling out of the blocks with their offence, which is again having trouble executing simple plays, such as short passes. Setup in the Wings zone has been pretty awful - the Canadiens in general have been pretty unstructured the past couple of weeks. Not much different so far today.

- First Habs powerplay not much different than their play even strength. Not much flow or structure. 

- Game itself is not much different from 1st period Saturday night against the Rangers - very sloppy, inelegant. 

- On a scale of 1-10 for good hockey, that first period was -281. What to say? Both teams look rusty? Tentative? Tired? If you're missing the game, you're missing nothing.

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- So how bad was that first period of hockey? This bad:

Not convinced? Let's look at even strength scoring chances:

One scoring chance for the Habs in that period. One. That, folks, is bad, bad, bad hockey.

- The Jeff Petry/Nathan Beaulieu pairing continues to struggle - both are quality NHL defensemen, Petry certainly well above average, but together, they have little to no chemistry. Seems like communication is fundamentally lacking between these two.

- Last point, Habs can't get Markov back fast enough, Petry certainly seemed more comfortable with him, and Beaulieu has more or less, become befitting 3rd line responsibilities.

- One more 1st period point - Habs leaning very heavily on Weber/Emelin, whom each got close to 10 minutes playing time, while the rest of the defence were in the 4-5 minute range, Petry included. This pattern cannot continue indefinitely.

- Galchenyuk line just had their first solid shift of the afternoon. Actual good scoring chance was generated.

- Insane holding call on De La Rose. Simply touched a Wings player with his hand, gets called. There goes all the momentum from the Galchenyuk shift.

- Habs PK continues to be uninspired, stagnant. Not a lot of movement, just a lot of reaction, which is bad if you're wanting to effectively kill penalties.

- Galchenyuk line clearly humming right now - nearly breaks the scoresheet with Pacioretty slipping a nifty back pass to Galchneyuk, Coreau with a brilliant save. Therrien might want to ride that horse quickly with a few extra shifts squeezed in for that trio.

- W're at the 8 minute mark, Habs have become markedly better team as the period has progressed - Wings seem to be lagging much more with the puck, are committing more turnovers as the game has progressed.

- Wings netminder Jared Coreau made a pretty good save off Galchenyuk earlier in the period, and now just plain whiffed off a relatively routine wrist shot by Beaulieu from 40 feet, the goalpost saving his day. So there's opportunity still there for the Canadiens.

- Habs making defensive switch here, Beaulieu has been demoted, paired now with Redmond, while Barberio has been promoted to play next to Petry.

- Even though the Habs have been the more "dangerous" team this period, their even strength scoring chances are still pretty abysmal - only 3 this period with 2 minutes left, 4 overall for the game.

- Bad break for Habs, great break for the Wings, as Vanek scores after point shot hits his body and bounces in. Play was already broken after Mitchell lost his stick off the draw, and after wandering around trying to find it, lost his mark, which left the point wide open for a shot on goal. 1-0 Detroit.

- Habs may have been the better team in that 2nd period, but their lacklustre play was simply begging for trouble - or at least a bad bounce. Danault and Galchenyuk line have had their moments, while the Plekanec line has been pretty invisible, and Mitchell line more or less a vacuum for defensive letdowns. Add it all up, and the Candiens are watching a winnable game against an inferior opponent go past the board.

THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs had more attempts, but still aren't doing a very good job generating quality scoring chances. Been that way for a solid two weeks. Excuses can't be made with Galchenyuk back in the lineup.

- Maybe the total lack of quality scoring chances corresponds with Gallagher's sudden departure? The Canadiens more or less have gone off the cliff in that department since his injury. Makes you wonder.

- Wings are suffocating the Habs offence this period, a not entirely difficult task - but especially more so. Canadiens simply unable to cleanly gain the Detroit zone. Nothing is clicking.

- Galchenuyuk line pretty much the only one capable of getting the Habs on the scoreboard today - I don't think I've seen a single dangerous scoring chance from anyone else wearing a red jersey today.

- Zetterberg fakes a Galchenyuk high stick, referee gets fooled. Just, wow.

- Habs survive a meek Wings powerplay, but two precious minutes are off the clock. 5 minutes left, and no scoring solution in sight.

- 3 minutes left, Habs pushing, opening all the valves, but still no significant scoring chances are being generated.

- Jared Coreau will never have an easier shutout in his life, Habs just sputter away to a loss this afternoon against a team that won't be in this spring's post-season. Wasted opportunity, but Canadiens have no one to blame but themselves, the effort simply wasn't there, and as a result, the Habs generated only a handful of actual scoring chances today. One more "tough" game to play this Wednesday night against the Pens before the Canadiens can finally look forward to nearly a month in the schedule were they'll play mainly sub .500 teams.

GAME PREVIEW: SORRY WINGS FANS. YOUR PLAYOFF STREAK WILL END AT 25

Do you know it's been almost 27 years and 25 NHL seasons since the Detroit Red Wings missed qualification for the Stanley Cup Playoffs?

By professional sport franchise standards, it's an impressive and unparalleled accomplishment in the modern era of sport. Detroit has spent the past years following a relatively simple formula for success: draft wisely, develop talent internally, scout for European talent, and hiring smart people to coach and manage your assets.

Seems simple enough, doesn't it? If you take a look around the NHL today with how teams are operated, many if not most either are (or are tying) to emulate Detroit's 30 year old model.

It didn't used to be that way - many franchises, including the Montreal Canadiens, went down a decidedly different path, which focused on finding talent mainly contained within North America, depending on trading as a "quick-fix" method to help make them playoff competitive (usually without success), and hiring 2nd rate minds to help develop what little youth they had acquired.

Like everything else in the world, whether it's Game of Thrones, the happiness of the first three years of marriage, or a free and democratically governed America, all good things must come to an end. For the Wings, their playoff streak, barring some kind of miracle, will cease as of this April, 2017.

That Detroit won't be in the playoffs shouldn't be particularly surprising - this event has been building for quite a few years, as the Wings have somewhat drifted away from the formula that was once a pretty resounding success. Detroit were once the best team at replenishing and renewing its lineup - constantly developing and if not improving, at least keeping the team perennially competitive. That was then. Now, the Wings have started to wilt under the reliance on decreasingly productive, aging, and largely overpaid players like defenseman Jonathan Ericsson and center Henrik Zetterberg. Toss those guys in with other underproducers like Justin Abdelkader, and (har!) Thomas Vanek, and, well ... Detroit might actually be headed for a few years of missing the post-season, not just the upcoming one.

So Monday afternoon (yup!) the Wings will host the Habs, coming off a sweet 6-3 victory over the top-flight Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Detroit's win this weekend broke a 3-game losing streak, but still, with only 18 wins 43 games this season, at some point in the very near future Detroit is going to have to call it a day, and start planning an exit strategy leading towards a decent pick in this summer's entry draft.

For the Habs, they're coming up a big, if not untidy victory over the New York Rangers. The Habs are getting (somewhat) healthy again, with Alex Galchenyuk back at his proper position of 1st line centre (yay!), while Andrew Shaw is ... well ... do we have to talk about him? Sigh. Fine. Andrew Shaw is back, maybe Monday afternoon he'll actually play a full period before getting tossed from the game for doing something absolutely idiotic? Fingers crossed.

Here's now the lines figure to be for the game. First, the Wings:

Nyquist/Zetterberg/Mantha
Athanasiou/Nielsen/Vanek
Tatar/Sheahan/Larkin
Miller/Glendening/Abdelkader

DeKeyser/Green
Ericsson/Markchenko
Ouellet/Jensen

And for the Habs:

Pacioretty/Galchenyuk/Radulov
Byron/Danault/Shaw
Lehkonen/Plekanec/Andrighetto
Carr/Mitchell/Flynn

Weber/Emelin
Petry/Beaulieu
Barberio/Redmond

Take note, it looks like Mike McCarron will be a healthy scratch, making way for Andrew Carr to get a start. In the meantime, on Sunday the Habs called up Jacob De La Rose, while Chris Terry cleared waivers and is back with the Ice Caps.

Starters? We got the (still struggling) Carey Price against the Wings' Jared Coreau, whom Habs fans likely aren't familiar with because the Canadiens have never faced him before. Coreau, who's been in the Wings system for a few years, got his break this season after regular starter Jimmy Howard was placed on injury reserve back in November (and isn't expected back for another month). Coreau's stat line this season: 7GP, 4W, 1L, 3.12 GAA, .903 Sv%.

Puck drops at 3:00 p.m, NOTE THE TIME GUYS, EST, so polish up your best work hooky excuses.

Game 22: Habs vs. Wings

Montreal 2, Detroit 1 (OT)

FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- In case you hadn't heard the bad news, Charles Hudon is out long-term from a sternum injury sustained from a puck during practice. Talk about hard luck, considering how hard Hudon worked to make it back to the big team's lineup last week. Artturi Lehkonen, who's been out for a few weeks from injury, will start tonight, as will Daniel Carr.

- Andrei Markov is nearly 40 years old. And having one of the best starts to a season, ever. Just a reminder about that.

- First 4 minutes, almost all play in Detroit's zone. Habs being pretty aggressive with the forecheck early.

- How'd Lehkonen miss that opportunity? Sure, it was a great save by Mrazek, but still, if you're wanting to crack a sustained spot in an NHL lineup, you have to finish those plays with goals.

- Habs totally dominating the puck first 6-7 minutes of this game, but unable to put the puck into the net - it's a double edged sword - you can trounce your opponent for only so long without scoring before demoralization begins to set in. Increasingly critical the Canadiens are rewarded for their efforts.

- Petry/Markov pairing have had an excellent half to the period. Really pushing the puck forward, and very sound defensively in their zone.

- Every passing game, the concern meter increases on Plekanec. Habs are playing a pretty flat-footed Wings team in the first period, and are manhandling Detroit - except for one Habs line led by Plekanec.

- Wings are 10-10 on the season, which keeps them on the cusp of a playoff spot. That said, given what I've witnessed this period, I cannot fathom how this team qualifies for the post-season next spring. They simply don't have the horses, in particular defensively, to have much of a hope.

- Bad period for Plekanec line, otherwise, Habs dominated, but didn't score. That may very well come back to haunt them in the 2nd and 3rd periods.


SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs with 63% Corsi in that period, double the shots 10-5. Again, shame they didn't score.

- 4-on-4 first 2 minutes of this period. When this situation arises, it's standard operational procedure to send out your fastest and most talented forwards. Therrien elects to use Torrey Mitchell for almost all of the two minutes.

- Bad centre ice turnover by Barberio gives Abdelkader a pretty good chance on Price. That's a poor mistake, but Barberio is still imminently better than anything we saw out of Joel Hanley.

- Gallagher pretty much snakebit - his Sh% is just above 6, which is poor compared to previous NHL season, where the median is around 8.5 (about the NHL average). So given his attempts, he'd likely have double his goal totals if he shoots his average.

- There is no better PK player in the NHL than Carey Price. Whomever is runner up is a very, very distance 2nd.

- My fears have more or less come true - the Habs failure to score while dominating is hurting them this 2nd period, which has been mostly Detroit. Once again, its the players who are paid to put the puck into the net that have failed to deliver for the Canadiens.

- That said ....

It's been 5 weeks since Gallagher scored his last goal. The next one will come soon. Like that suit guys says, I guarantee it.

— A.J. Bassett (@HabsGameBlog) November 27, 2016

- Habs way sloppier with the puck this period than they were the 1st, especially in their own zone. forcing Price to make more than a few tough saves. Canadiens will be fortunate to end the frame still even on the scoreboard.

- Period ends on a chippy/physical note, good rebound period for Detroit, Canadiens definitely not starting out this long road trip on the offensive note they were hoping for. The Galchenyuk line has been pretty involved, on the flip side, the Plekanec line continues to struggle to find consistency. I'm not sure how long Michel Therrien can keep trying the same thing and hoping for a different result - at some point, he's got to consider moving either/both Pacioretty and Gallagher to another centre. It's just not happening with Plekanec.


THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs and Wings after 40 minutes. After posting a 63% 1st period corsi, Canadiens 2nd period was much poorer - just 38%, for a overall grand total of 50.9%:

- Wings loss of Bertuzzi and Smith in the 2nd period shortens their bench significantly - so there's some pressure on them to establish a scoreboard lead sooner rather than later. Tough orders when it's Price you have to beat.

- Gallagher caught up ice, Plekanec loses his check Abdelkader, who snaps a slot shot over Price's shoulder, and the Wings finally light the red lamp.

- First period definitely haunting the Habs now. So too have been the Plekanec line's letdowns.

- Habs buzzing the Wings zone on the powerplay, but unable to generate high grade scoring opportunity. Jeff Petry 2nd half of the man advantage, really struggled with the puck - it's been that way for him the past few games.

- Price robs Zetterberg to keep it 1-0. That might be a turning point in the period, assuming the Habs are able to actually score, that is.

- Price doing acrobatics to keep the Wings to just 1 goal - basically begging and pleading for his teammates to answer.

- And there it is. Brendan Gallagher. Finally. More than a month without a goal, finally he finds the back of the net at a huge time.

- So that's what world class goaltending does for you. Keeps your team in the game, gives your outplayed team a shot virtually every night.

- Pretty fun period of hockey, Neilsen somehow missed a totally wide open net from 25 feet, with Price totally out of the play. How big will that miss prove to be?

- Entertaining, even, might we say, intense 3rd period of hockey. Habs played a pretty typical road game, but with exception to the 1st period, were outplayed tonight by Detroit - so we'll take the single point, at least. Gallagher gets the scoring monkey off his back, which might be a critical factor during this road swing - especially the California swing.

OVERTIME:

- 3 period totals, you can see Detroit's edge from start of 2nd period, forward:

- Weber with a brain cramp slash that puts the Wings on an OT powerplay. Oy.

- Wings have had their fill of opportunities tonight, but somehow have failed to capitalize. Terrible 4-on-3 powerplay there. Weber then leaves the box, finds himself on the 2-on-1, and hits the goalpost. Wow.

- Radulov, who is second-to-none passer, to Galchenyuk, and the Habs, unbelievably, win the game in OT.  Those saves by Price in the 3rd period making all the difference tonight, there's simply no way the Habs had a hope of getting two points if he doesn't keep the Wings to 1 goal.

Radulov+Galchenyuk=Two points in OT pic.twitter.com/uuW9Dh7uYT

— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) November 27, 2016

Alex Galchenyuk OT winner! #Habs pic.twitter.com/zTDOZiTJ3S

— Peter Alper (@peteralper99) November 27, 2016

IN CASE YOU HADN'T HEARD, THE DETROIT RED WINGS ARE JUST THE WORST

Meet Mike Illitch. He's the guy pictured above. I know, you're thinking, wow he looks good! Appearances, however, can be deceiving.

Illitch is the very, very long-time owner of the Detroit Red Wings. He bought the Wings back in 1982 for the paltry sum of $8 million, which, if you consider that Illitch had accumulated by that time, nearly $2 billion in personal wealth from selling terrible pizzas, was a pretty sweet deal.

Back in those early days, the Wing were playing out of the Olympia Stadium, a ramshackle old barn of a hockey facility that barely sat 13,000 people. Opened in the mid 1920s, the arena was, by the 1980s, well past its expiration date. So in 1979, Illitch and the Wings packed up and moved over to Joe Louis Arena, which has since been updated to seat just over 21,000 spectators, making it one of the larger hockey arenas in the NHL.

For most normal-thinking people, owning a hockey team, not to mention also owning a major league baseball team (the Detroit Tigers), and having billions of dollars in your bank account would be more than enough to call it a day. But no, in 2014 Illitch and his Little Caesars billions took their plight to Detroit City Council, which was dealing with an unprecedented financial crisis, a depressed economy, an overworked an understaffed police and fire service, and entire neighbourhoods comprised of ramshackle abandoned houses that made large portions of the city resemble earthquake zones.

So the City of Detroit, which only a week earlier had filed for bankruptcy, approved $280 million in public financing to Illitch, to build a new arena, which will be known as Little Caesers Arena, which will have its grand grotesque opening in 2018.

So let's get this straight. A billionaire sports owner receives hundreds of millions of dollars from a city that's declared bankruptcy, to build a new arena that's not really needed for his own hockey team that's now estimated to be worth $500 million, which will then be named after the same business that's made him a billionaire, all at mostly taxpayer's expense. While the ink was drying from this sweetheart deal, the city of Detroit's Institute of Arts, meanwhile, was forced into auctioning their collection, just to help the city pay off some of its debt. Priorities!

Stuff like this would be enough to make most people cry, or maybe laugh? It was certainly outrageous enough of a deal to gather the attention of John Oliver, who did a segment that was devoted in part to the atrocious agreement made between the city of Detroit, and Illitch:

Just remember all of this while you watch the Habs take on the Red Wings tonight at Joe Louis. Remember how this Wings organization and its tales from the crypt owner, built from serving up incredibly unhealthy food, took hundreds of millions of dollars out of the pockets of some of the poorest people in North America, just so one guy could top off his already estimated personal fortune of $3.2 billion.

Also remember that the Wings haven't missed the playoffs since 1990 - and if there's a team that's well overdue for a good sit on the NHL post-season sideline, it's Detroit.

Puck drops tonight at 7:10 EST.

Game 15: Wings vs. Habs

FIRST PERIOD:

- So Desharnais actually draws in, with Brian Flynn the healthy scratch. He'll centre the 4th line with Carr and Mitchell.

- The Habs national anthems officially hurts my ears.

- Pretty fast start for the Habs, perhaps picking up where they left off against the Kings? One can hope.

- While the Habs defence struggles to feed the puck to their forwards, that issue doesn't apply to Carey Price, who's probably the team's best player at doing this. He initiates the play feeding the puck forward, creating an odd-man break for the Habs, and resulting scoring chance that's buried by Danault. Carey Price - is there anything he can't do?

- Danault scoring is only going to ratchet up the pressure on Desharnais to demonstrate he's lineup worthy.

- Kind of insane how the then offensively-starved 2014-15 Calgary Flames couldn't find one lousy spot in their lineup for Byron. Chose instead to just give him away for free. What a blunder.

- Hanley with a ground-shaking check that creates a turnover, Byron, who may very well be the fastest skater in all of the NHL, beats Howard on the resulting breakaway, and the Habs nab a stunning early 2-0 lead.

- While there are many issues this Habs team has to focus on (possession, shot allowance and zone starts), they've been remarkably good scoring at even strength so far this year - a stat that was frequently their Waterloo the past few years. Canadiens have 33 5v5 goals this year, 2nd best in the NHL (NY Rangers - 38).

- No excuse, no exclusion - even when Habs players do this. Shaw with a clear CFB on Abdelkader, sending him head first into the boards, which is the kind of play that's going to kill someone, someday. Shaw gets 2 minutes for boarding. In my mind, that should be 5 and a game.

- This is the junk the League must crack down on hard, and get rid of. Unacceptable:

Shaw hit on Abdelkader. pic.twitter.com/04A80Ljb09

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 13, 2016

- Habs big two man advantage here. Chance to drive a stake through the Wings heart.

- Took Habs 4 seconds, literally, for Montreal to convert. Weber a cannon, another man advantage goal, and it's 3-0.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Even with man advantages excluded, still very one-sided 1st period in favour of the Habs, 62.1 CF, 70.6 Fenwick:

- Carey Price looks particularly wall-ish tonight. Wings will likely focus on trying to put in some greasy goals this period, before considering a revert to risky pinches in the 3rd.

- Really bad penalty by Joel Hanley, who surrenders the puck and then high sticks Nielsen drawing a 4 minute penalty. You can't make that kind of play as an NHL defensemen. Certainly not with someone like Greg Pateryn being a healthy scratch so that you can play.

- I will be shocked, shocked I tells ya,  if Greg Pateryn isn't playing tomorrow agains the Hawks.

- Habs revised 4th line with Desharnais at centre and Mitchell on his side has not worked out well tonight. The wing is not Mitchell's natural position, so he's struggled, while Desharnais is laying another egg, as per usual.

- Therrien clearly unhappy with 4th line tonight. It's only been given 1 shift in the 2nd period, just 6 shifts in total. Daniel Carr hasn't had a shift since midway in the 1st period, taken off the line for Gallagher. I guess Therrien is hoping Gallagher will spark something out of the underwhelming Desharnais/Mitchell duo.

- For the umpteenth time this season, Radulov does the hard work, gets the puck to the net, Byron finishes the play. Wings are appealing for goaltender interference - almost certainly won't work.

- Pretty desperate review by the Wings here, but 4-0 is pretty much game-set-match, so can't blame them for trying.

- 7 ridiculous minutes passed to make this decision, which is preposterous. The puck was lose by Howard's skate, Bryon merely poked the puck in.

- Goal disallowed, stating Bryon pushed Howard's pad, causing the puck to dribble in. I don't understand the call since the puck wasn't covered, but whatever. That's the NHL for you. With the goal not counting, Wings elect to keep Jimmy Howard in net, after initially pulling him.

- Max Pacioretty has obviously tried to be more defensively responsible this season, but it's come at a price - lack of scoring. He's still, more or less, doing the right things, being in the right places, but puck isn't coming to him, and he's not finishing his opportunities.

- Radulov and Galchenuyuk are fast becoming inseparable. Another strong shift for that duo, with Radulov doing the usual hard-nosed work, and Galchenyuk strong carrying the puck. They could end up scoring a ton this season, as long as Therrien keeps them together.

- Ericsson with a Joel Hanley-like clumsy high sticking penalty, and Habs almost immediately score with the man advantage, which is suddenly hot. Galchenuyuk one timer hits Shaw's skate, and it's 4-0.

- Without Jimmy Howard this season, Wings might already be thinking about blowing things up. Can't fathom this Detroit team qualifying for the post season, which would break their playoff qualifying streak at 27 years.

- It's a route here, Danault tips in a nice pass/effort by Pacioretty, Wings defence extremely soft, and it's 5-0.

- Wings 4th liners trying to sucker Habs into fights, because they've got little else to play for. Habs would be wise just to skate away and save their energy for a much better Hawks team tomorrow night.

- Another strong period for the Habs, whose powerplay is suddenly hot, and an insurmountable scoreboard lead. Therrien pretty much benched the 4th line since midway in the 1st period, may give them a few shifts in the 3rd, because there's no point exhausting your top 3 lines with a 5 goal lead, and another game in less than 24 hours.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs dominating through 40 minutes, 65.6% CF (SA 5v5), 76.9% Fenwick:

- It's nice to have a 5-0 lead:

Après 2 périodes, c'est 5-0 pour le CH!#RDSCH pic.twitter.com/B3u9uRAeWd

— L'Antichambre (@Antichambre) November 13, 2016

- Canadiens doing their best to slow the game to a crawl - will make for a pretty boring final 20 minutes. Both teams more or less going through the motions.

- Jimmy Howard, who was pulled to start the 3rd period, saw his League-best SC% drop from .961 to .943. Ouch. Carey Price, at the moment, owns the League's best.

- I guess Therrien is outright pissed at Desharnais and, apparently also Mitchell? Barely played in the 2nd period, they've each received 1 shift in the 3rd, 8 minutes gone. Daniel Carr, who's also seen limited time, played with Plekanec and Gallagher, which is likely a sign the coach isn't happy with what he's seen from Andrighetto. Lots of unhappiness behind the bench for a team up 5 goals.

- Carey Price is playing at a level the sport of hockey has likely never seen, and may never see again.

- Max Pacioretty ... doing what he's supposed to do. Coming close. The goals will arrive - it's inevitable.

- Habs PK improving? Still think they're a little too loosey-goosey with the passing lanes, Weber does a nice job guarding the crease, and of course Price is his own human wall, but still there's room for improvement.

- Desharnais with a rare shift, and probably sensing his time is fast running out, plays an aggressive forecheck, making things happen. Too little, too late, though?

- Atrocious shift by Desharnais line late in the 3rd, nearly costing Carey Price his shutout.

- Another impressive win for the Habs, as they set a team record for home wins to start the season (10-0-0). Danault looked excellent again as he settles into the centre position, Radulov another strong outing as per usual, and Carey Price was doing the same old. Habs pretty strong in their own zone, which was a nice little boost to help Price get the shutout. The big questions heading into tomorrow night's game - will Desharnais get another chance? (likely not). What about Andrighetto? And Carr? Therrien not happy with what those three did tonight, so there could be a few more lineup changes before everything settles.


GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

Alright, let's get the lineups out first, because there's some important stuff to note:

First, Detroit:

- Larkin/Zetterberg/Nyguist
- Sheahan/Helm/Abdelkader
- Tatar/Nielsen/Mantha
- Bertuzzi/Glendening/Ott

DeKeyser/Green
Kronwall/Smith
Marchenko/Ericsson

Jimmy Howard

Key here for the Wings are the returns of Anthony Mantha to Detroit's red line in place of the recently injured Andreas Athanasiou. Meanwhile, over in Habsland it's all systems the same:

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

Weber/Emelin
Markov/Petry
Beaulieu/Hanley

Carey Price

Once more David Desharnais and Greg Pateryn are healthy scratches - which is kind of difficult to argue against given that the Habs are coming off what was likely their best game of the season to date, where they controlled a pretty good L.A. Kings team to a relatively straightforward 4-1 victory.

Meanwhile the Wings enter tonight's game riding a two game winning streak, largely due to some very impressive backstopping by Jimmy Howard (2-0-0 .950). If he's spot on again tonight, it could make for a pretty interesting battle between himself and Carey Price, thereby leaving few margins for error.

Both teams have played very well at even strength this season, the Habs 2nd in the League with 31 goals 5v5, while Detroit are ranked 7th with 29. We're highlighting 5v5 prowess because both teams bring what could only be described as mediocre powerplays - it's very likely speciality teams will not weigh heavily into the outcome.

Another area of comparable weakness for each team are shots allowed - Habs are ranked 28th in the NHL, while Detroit is ranked dead loss. These are two teams that don't have an issue with leaning on their goaltending as a means towards victory.

Habs are aiming for their greatest home record start in franchise history. If they win tonight, they'll improve to 10-0-0.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

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 75: Habs vs. Wings

FIRST PERIOD:

- Uh, mad scramble in front of the Wings net, puck enters the net, and for reasons that are totally baffling, Plekanec is penalized for a cross check he never actually made. So ... no goal because Habs did ??

- Pacioretty blatantly hooked on a breakaway. the other official, Brad Watson, does not make the obvious call. So, yeah.

- Horrible officiating aside, Habs taking a very physical, grinding tact so far in the period. It's resulted in some terrible flow, but it has generated a few turnovers near the Wings blue line and in the neutral zone. Habs with lion's share of scoring chances so far, even if their puck possession is low.

- Even with the departure of Mike Babcock, Wings still play a very structured, disciplined game - even with a diminished roster. Real tribute to an organization that values the merits of smart coaching.

- Habs defence attempts to chip the puck up the boards, leads to turnover, leads to goal. For the 934,0348343.94@*&*@(!!&!*  time this year. 1-0 Wings.

- Habs with not a terrible period, but still totally unstructured and disorganized, when compared to their opponent. Shame they had an obvious goal taken away because of officiating incompetence, shame they gave away a goal because of continuing defensive incompetence.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Wings through 20 minutes, Canadiens SA CF (5v5) under 40%, which is pretty bad.

- Smith with blindside hit on Matteau at centre ice, and for reasons that are totally baffling, Matteau is  called for roughing? Incredible.

- Wings score 12 seconds apart, Scrivens is whatever on the 3rd goal. Detroit's second goal abysmal zone coverage by the Desharnais line (SHOCKING!). Game is now pretty much toast.

- Suffice to say the Hanley/Dietz pairing is having an extraordinary evening - extraordinary bad, that is. So many misplays, blown coverages. Both are doing themselves little favour for consideration next season.

- Therrien deploying Mike Brown ALL OVER THE PLACE. On the 1st line with Galchenyuk and Pacioretty, on the 3rd line with Lessio and McCarron, I have no idea what he's trying to do - but the scoreboard results speak for themselves.

- Wings now more or less setting up camp in the Habs zone at will. This game could really, really get ugly.

- Yeah, this game is ugly. So very, very ugly. Habs are getting destroyed this period, the 3rd and 4th lines are total catastrophes, about the only bright spot for the Habs is Max Pacioretty. Otherwise, it's just an embarrassment.

- Hoo boy, Scrivens. Makes a save off the Richard's original shot, and just sits on his pads, totally and utterly unaware he's given up the puck. Martha there for a very easy goal, the first of his NHL career. 4-0. So, so, so embarrassing.

- Yet another low for an organization that seemingly can never touch bottom. Detroit absolutely routing the Habs from just about every possible angle in the 2nd period, this is turning into another night of total shame for a team that probably couldn't compete for a playoff spot in the AHL. Difficult to describe how awful this Montreal Canadiens team is. Actually, it's impossible.


THIRD PERIOD:

- 2nd period stats. Read 'em and weep. Oh yeah - Desharnis' CF (5v5) tonight? 8.3%. Once again. Eight point three per cent.

- Plekanec, who hasn't scored in more than a month, is gifted a goal by Mrazek, who by all means, should be coasting to a shutout tonight. Oh well.

- Whoops. Mrazek muffs it up again, misplaying a very routine wrist shot from the point from Dietz, and Byron slides a big juicy rebound home to make it 4-2. Still a ton of time left, more than 15 minutes. So don't go away just yet.

- Habs more or less casting caution to the wind, just tossing everything forward on the forecheck. So far they've scored 2, the Wings 0 ... so ... hey?

- Um, wow? Pacioretty takes cross ice pass on a hop from Galchenyuk, and fires it at traffic in front of Mrazek, and somehow, it goes in. Oh wait ... the Wings are saying Mrazak was interfered with. Don't think they have much of a hope.

- Goal stands. It's 4-3. With an amazing 12 minutes still left to play in the period.

- I suppose Habs were due some kind of crazy run of goals all at once - heavens knows it hasn't happened in memory. If Detroit somehow manages to lose this game, it'll be totally devastating to their playoff hopes.

- Mike Brown out for the night, lower body injury. Add 'em to the list.

- Desharnais line is an offensive-challenged wasteland tonight. Best to just shove him in a sock drawer, and walk away.

- Therrien deploying Emelin with the net empty, in the final minute. Um kay.

- Habs come up a goal short, but we'll give 'em credit for at least making the game interesting. Nonetheless, little seems to have changed with this organization. Desharnais put back into the lineup, placed at centre, lays an egg of a game, and gets lots of ice time. Garbage in, garbage results out.


GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

8 to go. And then the off season, and hopes renewed that this organization can make some moves that will move the team in the right direction. 8 to go.

One of the moves yours truly was hoping might become reality, would be bold-ish ridding of David Desharnais, who is just finishing up year 2 of a foolish 4 year contract extension. The hope rested in the Canadiens brass buying out the remaining time on that Desharnais contract on June 30th - his injury last month a gift from the hockey gods, in that it gave the Habs an option to bubble wrap DD right through to the end of the season.

Whelp. This morning, we had his:

Desharnais to centre Matteau and McCarron tonight.

— Dan Robertson (@DRTSN690) March 24, 2016

/facepalm.

And so DD, once again at centre, once again displacing other players who should be playing centre over to the wing, once again because the head coach once again insists on pushing square pegs into round holes, take on the Detroit Red Wings, in Michigan.

Who wins, who loses, we care not. Which is not what could be said about the Wings, who are fighting for their playoff qualifying lives, in danger of missing the dance for the first time in 27 years.

So Detroit will be coming out hard tonight. It could be another ugly game.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST. We'll be watching and blogging and bemoaning and wanting this whole season just to be done and over with as quickly as possible.

Game 30: Habs vs. Red Wings

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Wings through 40 minutes, the chart indicating that the 2nd was a pretty good bounce-back period for the Canadiens.

- Fleischmann with a bullet shot off another sloppy Wings turnover in their zone, and the Habs grab the lead. Fleischmann has easily been the Habs best forward tonight, so that goal is really deserved.

- Another strong game for Andrighetto, even though he's being played on the right line. Hudan has been mixing it up nicely, Carr also hasn't been invisible (unlike a couple of full-time, well paid forwards who shall go unnamed).

- Tokarski with a pretty desperate save off some soft Habs defensive coverage off Wings transition. Shall we say he's played well tonight? I shan't say so, for fear of hexing everything.

- Another soft, marginal call goes against the Habs, this time Fleischmann for a hook. Amazing how many times this has happened tonight.

- Wings powerplay comes up completely empty, in large part because of what appears to be some poor ice conditions, resulting in a lot of bouncing pucks. Detroit unable to even set up in the Habs zone.

- He'll almost certainly not stay, but Daniel Carr won't be forgotten, not the way he's worked and pursued the puck, especially tonight.

- Alexei Emelin with a very careless high stick, giving Wings a late game powerplay. Nathan Beaulieu, shall we be reminded, sits in the press box.

- And ... the Wings score. Yup. There ya go.

- And Therrien symbolically flips his bird, sending Emelin right back on the ice. Michel, you playing Emelin for the sake of scratching Beaulieu is your terrible decision-making.

- Pateryn with a horrid turnover right in front of Tokarski. Boom. 3-2 Detroit. How's your decisions working out tonight, coach?

- Truth be told, defence both ends of the rink has been pretty poor most of the night - that there's only been 5 goals produced speaks well for how both Mrazek and Tokarski have played tonight, the later really victimized by some really awful plays by defenders who were brought in as replacements because the team coach doesn't know how to utilize his assets.

- Though not quite as one-sided as last night, Habs lose another game they really probably should have won. This team is officially on a big dive now, continuing to struggle offensively. My finger is pointed right behind the bench at Therrien, who in response to Gallagher's injury, cause unnecessary chaos by putting together lines that didn't mix or match. Now the Habs are in total disarray. How long it will take to get them back on to a scoring track, is anyone's guess. But it won't be happening because of what Therrien has, or will be doing.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Wings through 20 minutes, Detroit as anticipated, the edge in play:

- Fleischmann and Andrighetto look to be the only Habs playing with any inspiration tonight. It's a pretty lethargic Habs group tonight.

- Habs second powerplay goes mostly nowhere, it's nothing like it was earlier in the season. Not sure if this is another casualty from the Gallagher injury, but it's certainly missing another gear, not nearly as intense as it once was.

- Habs sloppy defence finally burns them, as Helm, on his third (count 'em) breakaway of the night finally beats Tokarski. 1-0.

- Some question whether the Helm goal was onside - it certainly deserved a look, but for whatever reason, Therrien and the bench let that go past the board. Hmmm ....

- Andrighetto ties it up, but it's Charles Hudon, his first NHL game, that should have scored - his shot was going in, but Andrighetto slammed it home to grab credit. Am I the only one unimpressed by that?

- I take that back, replay shows Andrighetto, who was well positioned around the Wings crease (other Habs forwards would be wise to follow his example), backhanded the puck in. Otherwise, we'd still be 1-0. But .. assist to Hudon, which is nice.

- Heckova PK for the Habs, Brian Flynn makes a whole hot mess with a clunker of a backhand while alone in front of Mrazek, and seconds later, Plekanec fed nicely for a breakaway, although Plekanec on a breakaway is about as predictable a finish as you'll find in hockey (i.e. no goal scored).

- Habs seem to be finding some legs, but it's mostly youth inspired. Andrighetto, Hudon, and Fleischmann, while not young in age, has been looking young in spirit tonight. It would be nice if a few others would find some inspiration from the example they're setting.

- Refs seem to be going out of their way to not call obvious penalties committed by the Wings, but nail the Habs for marginal-stuff. Just observing inconsistencies.

- Plekanec on yet another breakaway ... and ... well .. you guess what happens.

- So much sloppy defence tonight, so many breakaways, mostly for the Habs, so many missed opportunities, mostly for the Habs. Feels like last night all over again.

- Better period for the Habs, I suppose. Detroit still doing a lot of risk-taking getting their defence involved in the rush, which has given the Habs a ridiculous number of breakaways this game, all of them stopped. That will be the difference maker tonight, if Montreal does end up losing this game - their inability to covert high percentage scoring chances, especially ones presented to them on silver platters.


FIRST PERIOD:

- So Therrien decides to "promote" Dale Weise to the "first line", next to Pacioretty and Galchenyuk, which, of course, makes no sense.

- Huge game tonight for Dustin Tokarski. A career game, really. If he does well, he's back for consideration  as the Habs backup, with Condon flailing of late. If he bombs, it'll be a huge nail in his NHL future.

- First five minutes, Habs the more aggressive team, doing a good job gaining the Wings zone, but as per usual during their recent offensive drought, having a tough time generating quality shot attempts.

- Fleischmann booked for an exceptionally soft hook, his stick just brushing against his check. Refs have an itchy trigger finger early.

- Wings first powerplay comes up empty, they love to carry the puck in, but Habs did a good job covering the passing lanes, and preventing Detroit from really setting up for much of a threat.

- While Beaulieu looks down from the press box, Emelin makes two huge gaffes the first 9 minutes, giving the Wings one clear breakaway, and one clear two-on-one break. Habs fortune to still be even at zero.

- Habs first powerplay with some signs of life, but Therrien keeps putting out the wrong guys - this time it's Weise who's getting time he really shouldn't.

- Habs got off to a decent enough start, but seem to be slipping as the period progresses. Not sure if it's the back-to-back, what with Detroit just a 2 hour plane ride away. Still, Habs seem to slowly be losing the foot races and puck battles.

- This period isn't exactly a defensive clinic. Both teams guilty of some pretty horrid zone coverage, especially off transitions. Mrazek with a couple of nifty saves, Wings forwards having trouble hitting the net off close range shots.

- Wings defence isn't nearly as sloppy as the Habs is tonight, they've been caught because they're being very aggressive joining the play. A good, fast transition game could generate some badly needed goals for the Habs, if they are capable of exporting Detroit's risk-taking play.

- Detroit the better team, certainly more dangerous, faster, and more organized. Habs really shouldn't have exhaustion as an excuse - they played last night, but their schedule hasn't been particularly demanding the past couple of weeks. Montreal looks uninspired, which bodes poorly for the last two periods.

GAME 30: OH BOY. HERE WE GO AGAIN

Well, that came undone pretty fast, didn't it? The Habs lose three tough games, all of which they arguably should have won, if fancy stats are to be believed. The Canadiens have been dominant with puck possession the past while, last night's loss to the Bruins being a prime example, where even strength, the Habs outshone Boston by a 63-37% margin.

By hockey standards, that's a pretty dominant edge. But like the two other losses earlier in the week, the Habs were outdone by not seizing on their scoring opportunities, not producing on their once reinvigerated powerplay, and not getting timely goaltending by their average emergency netminders, all while the team waits patiently for the return of its best player, Carey Price.

Price is the paradox in this story - since he's been the main reason why the Habs have managed to ice a very competitive team the past two seasons. Price's remarkable performances have provided the exaggerated impression of a team better than the sum of its parts, not excluding its head coach, who has benefited fully by receiving a heafty contract extension and vote of confidence from the club's GM, Marc Bergevin.

A measure of credit should go to Therrien this season. Since he re-arrived back in Montreal, the Canadiens have been a team reguglarly out-chanced, out-shot, and out-possessed. Still, the club has been a winner, in large part because Price continuously made the big saves game in, game out, to seal and steal victories.

This season, the Habs have done a bit of a role reversal, with an increased emphasis on maintaining possession, and ditching the dump-and-chase system that was so heavily relied upon by Therrien up until this season. The effects of this change-in-philosophy were immediately apparent - the Canadiens became a more more efficient and dangerous team, helping them to rocket off to a 9-0 start.

But then, injuries sent in - the Habs streak of luck that had kept their roster pretty much injury-free the past three seasons, came lashing full reverse. Carey Price, the best player in the world, hurt something in his leg after stepping on a puck during warmups in Edmonton. The unfortunate, perhaps even freakish injury, thrust Mike Condon into the pressure-backed front burner. Condon, who had an incredible training camp, took away the backup role from Dustin Tokarski, and during the months of October and November, played like a first string netminder.

Alas, the hopes that the Canadiens had stumbled upon a hidden jewel have come undone the past month, as Condon's lofty performance level has more or less, come crashing back to earth. Not to say that Mike is playing poorly - he's still producing numbers approprirate for a backup goaltender. Condon, however, is not producing the performances this team had become dependant upon - he's not made the big saves late in the game, and in some instances, has let in soft, demoralizing goals. The Habs are a team so accostomed to Price's heroics, that it seems incapable of processing or responding to events where their netminder lets them down. Last night, again, is a prime example.

Therrien's response, predictably, has been irrational. For the past two weeks, it's become clear that this team has started to struggle offensively, in large part because David Desharnais, who had a tremendous first six weeks of the season, has fallen off the cliff. Instead of realizing that Desharnais is not (and will never be) a point producing machine, and playing him appropriately as the team's third line centre, Therrien responded by inserting Max Pacioretty on his wing, thereby breaking up the team's first line - a unit that was actually producing offence, in a bid to get Desharnais producing again.

Of course, this failed. Miserably. Why? Because Desharnais is not a goal scorer. For lack of a better word, as a second-third-whatever NHL centre, he doesen't shoot the puck. We're almost halfway through the regular season, and Desharnais, a (maddeding) staple on the Habs powerplay, has produced 6 shot attempts on the man advantage. Still, for some reason, Therrien thought Pacioretty would somehow motitivate Desharnais to behave more like a centre. The experiement lasted all of three games, before, thankfully, it was shelved last night.

Oh yes, about last night. Even though the Habs did all the right things, even though they again dominated their opponent, Therrien's response today was, predictably, irrational and unwise. This time, he's focused his vitorial on, remarkably, Nathan Beaulieu - who's easily been one of the Habs best players on defence the entire season. Why? Who knows - other than for some reason, Therrien seems to have developed the idea that Beaulieu is not "performing up to expectations", a ridiculous notion, if true, because Beaulieu, who night-in, night-out is amongst the club leaders in CF%, has far exceeded anyone's reasonable expectations, given his age and NHL experience.

So here we go again. Out goes someone who's actually playing well, in comes Greg Pateryn, and Alexei Emelin, who was directly responsible for the Bruins' gut-stabbing third goal last night, stay in the lineup.

Puck drops at 7:10, EST.