Game 61: Islanders vs Habs

GAME PREVIEW: THE ISLANDERS ARE SUDDENLY ALL INJURED

Hey Habs fans, you thinking winning streak? TWO GAME WINNING STREAK!? Man, we haven't had one of those since the Reagan Administration. I might be off a couple of weeks, but you get the point. This team has gone a long time without a sustained string of victories.

Tonight, the Canadiens host the New York Islanders fresh off their dramatic Tuesday night win over the New York Rangers. The Islanders, on the 2nd leg of a massive 9 game road trip, come into Montreal with a slight limp or sixteen. Their victory Tuesday in Detroit came at big expense, as New York lost not only winger Casey Cizikas, but star winger Cal Clutterbuck to an undisclosed LBI. Also out long term is defender Travis Hamonic. The injury woes come at a bad time for a team that's desperately trying to make up ground in an exceptionally difficult Division.

Over on the Habs side, not a lot of changes are expected tonight - there are still rumblings and questions surrounding the long-term status of Greg Pateryn, since Marc Bergevin officially let everyone know he intended on dealing the capable 3rd line defender. The story still makes as much sense as Bergevin's handling of his organization's defensive depth.

After losing Mark Barberio, another more-than-capable 6th defender, to the waiver wire (an entirely avoidable conclusion), the Habs, who just a few weeks ago had good defensive depth, now suddenly find themselves scrambling.  Recent acquisition Nikita Nesterov hasn't shown much since coming to Montreal, and neither has Zach Redmond or Joel Hanley.

So maybe Marc should just take a step back, and be happy with what he's got in Pateryn? Just a wild thought.

In any case, it's likely the Habs will repeat their Tuesday lineup against the Islanders, with coach Claude Julien hoping for another strong performance from the Thomas Plekanec, Artturi Lehkonen and Andrew Shaw to help push his teams to (wow!!) another victory.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST. Yours truly is traveling tomorrow, so it's unlikely I'll be able to post live game blogging updates.

Game 60: Habs vs. Rangers

Montreal 3, New York Rangers 2 (SO)

ALL HAIL CAREY FREAKIN' PRICE:

CAREY PRICE WHAT?! pic.twitter.com/agnGIchkar

— NHL (@NHL) February 22, 2017

And for good incredible riddance, this, my friends, is a remarkable photograph:

FIRST PERIOD:

- And, this happened during warmups:

Paul Byron stung Carey Price with a shot to the left shoulder in warm up. Price left the ice with 3:00 left on clock.

— Dan Robertson (@DRTSN690) February 21, 2017

No update as of yet as to whether he's been seriously injured, but this thought which was a daily occurrence during most of last season has started to resurface: Is the season over yet?

- Here's video of the shot, courtesy Paul Byron:

@DRTSN690 @BuchneGOAT pic.twitter.com/2U5lXqUaO2

— VeseyGod (@JCcapsboy11) February 21, 2017

- Okay, as you were:

#Habs: La nation peut respirer. Carey Price obtient le départ.

— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) February 22, 2017

- Pretty decent first round of shifts for the Habs - good energy, which is to be expected from a team that's played just one hockey game over the span of 9 days.

- Whelp, there it is. Habs strike courtesy some excellent forechecking by Plekanec deep in the Rangers zone, Shaw slamming in a loose puck with Lundqvist caught wide, and it's 1-0. Game plan looks pretty clear right now - high energy game, lots of forechecking by the forwards.

- Another bad play with the puck by Emelin generates high percentage scoring chance for the Rangers. We continue to wait for his inevitable demotion.

- Not sure if the Habs penalty kill will improve much even with a new coach behind the bench, with 60 games worth of bad habits developed, but one thing I know for certain, it's not good when your defenseman knees your goaltender in the head. Shea Weber making this a rough night for Carey Price.

2 min for goaltender interference imo

(also a pretty nice defensive play despite the accidental contact) pic.twitter.com/fZg4Ibs6gM

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 22, 2017

- Habs were in control, at least until Emelin stepped on the ice, and made a mess of everything, getting routinely beat wide side by Fast, allowing for a quick pass in front to a streaking Oscar Lindberg, and the game is tied. My goodness Claude Julien. If you hadn't been getting the hint that Emelin requires a demotion, surely you're receiving now.

- This is what slow, bad defence looks like:

Not a great look for Montreal's first pairing. 1-1 pic.twitter.com/GdBAejeEWs

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 22, 2017

- Pateryn looking good. I mean, really, really strong. Why would Bergevin even think of moving him elsewhere? Are his wife's twitter comments really a deal breaker? Couldn't he find a team interested in Emelin instead?

- Wasted period. Habs got out of the gate strong, took an early lead, were essentially bagging the Rangers in their own zone, and then with one very poor play by Emelin, the lead not only vanishes, but so to momentum. Habs can ill afford to keep giving certain players slack, because it's costing this offensively-starved team goals, which is costing games.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Solid first period for the Habs, but it only takes one bad play for it all not to matter, at least as far as the scoreboard is concerned:

- Habs (actually) score on the powerplay, although the setup is underwhelming. Markov across to Weber who basically shoots through Lindqvist. We'll take the goal, but the Habs need to up their structure and creativity if they hope to make their man advantage an asset again.

- Rangers catch Habs defence (Beaulieu/Pateryn) napping, feeding puck up the middle to spring Nash on a clear-cut break. Price with an excellent save. But com'on, guys. Understand who you're playing and guard against these preventable breakdowns.

- Rangers turning the table this period, so far outworking and the better forechecking team. Price doing what he can, but it seems almost inevitable that New York will be evening things up in short order.

- I guess my warnings weren't headed, as Nash again exploits a bad Habs defensive breakdown, Markov pinching but unable to get back, Petry just watching Nash skate past to receive another breakaway pass, this time Price does not bail his defenders out, and the game, as we suspected would happen, is tied.

- Old habits die hard. Rangers still running Carey Price. Amazing the chutzpa of this hockey team.

- Unbelievable. Gallagher penalized for goaltender interference only seconds later. Guess who makes the call? Our good friend, Mr. Brad Watson.

- McCarron line has failed to register a shot attempt through nearly 2 full periods of hockey. In any situation. That's ... not ... good.

- Solid, but unspectacular game tonight for Galchenyuk - being responsible in his own zone, but not particularly dangerous in the Rangers's.

- You hate to make generalized and grandiose statements like "the season is on the line", but tonight might actually be that night, even though there are 22 games still to play after tonight. The Habs are team reeling badly from a string of loses, which has taken them from a safe, to a precarious position in their Conference. Tonight is critical for this team to get their season back on track, and they've got one period of hockey to dig deep to win two points, not only precious in keeping them in the playoff hunt, but important in boosting the moral of a team that's still skating with a fragile mentality.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Rangers through 40 minutes. Canadiens barely holding on to even strength possession, 51.8% CF cumulative:

- More ominous signs for the Habs, Rangers are the highest scoring 3rd period team in the NHL this season. So place your bets accordingly.

- Habs unquestionably the better team first 5 minutes, Lehkonen breakaway save by Lundqvist. Shaw clearly trying to amp his effort. 4th line continues to be a no show, and still waiting to see something dangerous from Galchenyuk. Early trend, however, looks promising.

- McCarron really struggling out there tonight - not playing anywhere close to his size.

- Rangers turning the tables on the Habs at the 7 minute mark, after a poor shift by the Canadiens 4th line gives New York a spark of momentum. Ice suddenly tilted in Montreal's direction. Price a couple of key saves to keep the score even.

- Habs need someone to step up and deliver here. There are plenty of potential candidates - Radulov maybe a too obvious one - but is anyone capable? That's something we haven't seen- from this team for well over a month (arguably most of this season) - someone, anyone, grabbing the game by the neck and leading his team to victory.

- Excellent backcheck by Shaw to break up a dangerous Rangers rush. Maybe we're finally seeing Shaw rounding into his "playoff form"?

- Julien effect - Habs really keen to stack their blue line guarding the rush. It's always a little risky against a speedy team like the Rangers, but like they say if you can't beat 'em, trap 'em.

- More adventurous shifts by Weber/Emelin. They really put you through the ringer with unstructured, often scrambled defensive zone coverage and passing.

- 7 minutes left in the 3rd. I suppose it's worth holding on for a point, but really, the Habs very badly need a victory. They're seemingly scaling back the attack to guard against coming out of the night with nothing. Lundqvist largely untested since about the 4 minute mark.

- Emelin hit by an errant stick, and the Habs go to an incredibly important powerplay with 6 minutes left.

- Danault/Paciroetty/Gallagher 1st line powerplay. Interesting combination choice. Galchenyuk and Radulov hit the ice 2nd line.

- Good lord. Andrew Shaw nailed for a trip, while don the powerplay, with the puck deep in the Rangers zone. Beyond my ability to comment.

- Julien sends out Flynn and Mitchell during the 4-on-4 time, which is the kind of deployment that Therrien used to do (and drive the fans crazy).

- Habs survive the Shaw penalty. Less than 3 minutes are left. At this point, Montreal might as well at least hang on for that single point.

- I suppose it's a moral, if not impressive victory of sorts for the Habs to keep the Rangers off the board in the 3rd period, which we'd mentioned they've dominated in this season. But now, they must find a way of getting the extra point.

OVERTIME:

- Heros? If you're a Habs fan, you look for the usual suspects - Pacioretty, Radulov. Maybe Weber can be the person who owns this night in OT. Very, very, very big extra point being played for here.

- Julien sends out Pacioretty, Danault and Petry to start.

- Fierce wrister by Pacioretty snagged neatly by Lundqvist, who we should remind, hasn't seen a whole lot of action the past 30 minutes.

- Radulov declines to go off when he's given an opportunity, and exhausted, gets stuck in his own zone. Rangers nearly capitalize.

- Pacioretty only barely stopped by Lundqvist courtesy a great pass by Markov. Agonizingly close to victory right there.

- Can't believe the crazy good chances Pacioretty has had this OT. Excellent extra frame for him.

- Carey Price has been exceptional - 3rd period and OT especially. This is very good news for the Canadiens - it marks two straight starts of the "old" Price.

- Good god. Plekanec hits the crossbar, resulting in a 2-on-1 Rangers break, and Carey Price makes one of the great saves of the whole damn season, diving to his left to absolutely rob Miller with one second left on the clock. The incredible Carey Price - he's the Canadien who's stepped up tonight to deliver for his team.

- Coin flip shootout. What a shame.

- Flynn? In the shootout? Claude??!?!

- Radulov, a must make, and he's GOOD. What a great backhander. Habs stayin' alive.

- Stepan .... off the goalpost. And now the Habs can win - Pacioretty.

- Great glove save by Lundqvist. What a night for Pacioretty. So close so many times.

- Vesey ... great glove save by Price, returning the favour.

- Galchenyuk for the win .... HITS THE POST. Oh, god.

- Miller ... stopped again. Byron now again for the win.

- LORD BYRON. THE HABS HAVE WON. ALL IS GOOD WITH THE WORLD. CAREY PRICE IS GOD AGAIN. GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK.

What a lovely couple, huh? Picture courtesy Google photo search. Thanks, Google!

GAMEDAY PREVIEW: WHEN HOCKEY WIVES ATTACK!!!

Hey, it's game day, and it's another stiff challenge for one of the worst teams in the NHL (after 15 games) as the Habs take on the Rangers tonight from Madison Square Garden.

Not a whole lot of news to report, visa vie the Canadiens, except for this:

No big shock, but clubs say #Habs GM Marc Bergevin sent out note advising D Greg Pateryn is available. He's in lineup tonight vs. #NYR.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 21, 2017

Now, why Pateryn is suddenly trade bait is a bit of surprise, given that since his acquisition last month, the Habs' other "6th D" Nikita Nesterov has struggled mightily in the Canadiens uniform. Add to the fact that Zach Redmond and Joel Hanley, in their short stints earlier in the season as 3rd line injury replacements also failed to make any impression that either defender was NHL-capable, only adds to Bergevin's puzzling public announcement.

Well, maybe there's other factors at play. Such as, Pateryn's wife, Stefani:

Normally, I'd embed the actual tweet, but since Ms. Pateryn's little pronouncement 3 days online, her account was taken offline. The Internet being a beast that never forgets, and never truly deletes, the damage, as they say, was done. And so, via Ms. Pateryn's rather outgoing opinions about other people, Mr. Pateryn is now awaiting his fate for a one-way ticket out of town (with Ms. Pateryn in tow, no doubt).

So it's showcase time! Greg Pateryn will start tonight it what might very well be his final game as a Montreal Canadien. 

Here's the Rangers lineup Pateryn will be facing:

Vesey/Stepan/Nash

Kreider/Zibanejad/Zuccarello

Grabner/Hayes/Miller

Buchnevich/Lindber/Fast

McDonagh/Girardi

Staal/Holden

Skjei/Klein

Henrik Lundqvist

Over on the Habs side, no changes (except for Pateryn, of course), which means Galchenyuk is back on 3rd line duty - at least to start the game. Maybe he'll get a second crack at the first line (or maybe not). Also keep your eyes peeled for how Alexei Emelin (who's been downright awful for over a month) is utilized. Will he continue to be paired with Shea Weber, or will be be shifted next to Pateryn.

Carey Price starts for the Canadiens. Puck drops at 7:10 EST.


                                                            

Game 51: Sabres vs. Habs

Montreal 5, Buffalo 2:

FIRST PERIOD:

- ICYDH, Jeff Petry is now on a diet of chicken soup, and won't play tonight. So Habs final final final defensive pairings are ... [drum roll]...

Weber/Emelin
Beaulieu/Pateryn
Markov/Nesterov

With Markov finally returning after spending a few weeks on the list, it's unlikely he'll see more than 10 minutes of ice time tonight, ergo the 3rd line placement.

- Habs dominate first 2 minutes, hard shots on Lehner, who may or may not have the Habs number this season (it seems as though he does).

- Crazy but true, Habs have the 2nd best powerplay in the NHL right now, and they're again using the flying V their first man advantage, which is all kinds of great.

- Flynn/Mitchell/Weber/Emelin first PK unit, looks pretty disorganized, as per usual. The PK box is disorganized, frequently not resembling anything like a square. Just one of some of the issues this unit has struggled with the season under the eye of assistant coach J.J. Daigneault (who oversaw the powerplay last year, which was 6th worst in the NHL).

- I know he's been out  for 2 months, but wowzers, David Desharnais looks .... not good. Early days, yes, yes, yes ... but his first 4 shifts, just a mess.

- Speaking of uh .. less-than-impressive-returns .. Greg Pateryn isn't having a period to remember, simply pushed aside while carrying the puck near his blue line results in a clear break on Price. That's clinical bad defence right there.

- Carrying the zone is apparently not part of each team's DNA tonight. We're watching hockey at its most inelegant.

- Yup, Robin Lehner has the Habs number this year. Only option left is to fire it through him, which is kind of how the Habs scored their lone goal when they faced him last week, isn't it?

- Blazing breakout by the Habs in their own zone, Radulov with another dazzlingly smart pass to Pacioretty perfectly positioned to fire a puck that's absolutely impossible for Rehner to stop, and the Habs take a 1-0 lead. Go figure, carrying the zone works, eh?

- We already knew on paper that the Habs are the better team, and howboutthat, they were the better team in the 1st period, which while slow and grinding, at least showcased the edge in depth and talent the Canadiens have over the Sabres. Buffalo had some chances on their one powerplay, otherwise, it was pretty much a cruise control period for Carey Price. Big relief in Pacioretty beating Lehner, who for a while there, looked like he wasn't going to give up a goal for the rest of time. Solid period for the Plekanec line, excellent period for the Danault line.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Yeah, good period for the Habbies, 61.5% CF at even strength.

- Radulov's celebration after Pacioretty's goal. Is there anyone in the League who does this better?

Radulov celebration @Gauts pic.twitter.com/YeT8XqDvrK

— nope (@myregularface) February 1, 2017

- Habs might be tempted to trade their future to land a big named defenseman at the trade deadline, but with players like Lehkonen in the fold, it's tempting for the Habs to just keep building off the great young talent they already have under wing. Would much rather be perpetually competitive than to give much of it away just for one shot.

- Danault line has been driving the Sabres batty tonight not only with their forecheck, but also the backcheck. It's kept Buffalo often pinned in their own zone for extended periods of time.

- Pacioretty scores again, and again it's Radulov with an absolutely incredible setup pass from behind the Buffalo net. I'm not going hyperbole here because I"m a Habs fan, but dammit, there's no other player in the NHL right now at setting up plays (and goal) than Alex Radulov.

- Recall as you might a couple of weeks ago I (and others I'm certain) were speculating about Carey Price's health. Well, his lateral movement tonight has been pretty darned fast - so I think it's safe to say that whatever was bothering Price to "struggle" through December and the first couple of weeks of January had nothing to do with his knees.

- Habs just pouring it on, the forecheck again producing a turnover in the Sabres zone, Andrighetto feeds Desharnais who wrists one against the grain to make it 3-0. Nice way to return for DD, I'm sure the coach is extree happy.

- Danault, Pacioretty and Radulov are playing on some kind of higher level right now, which means that Galchenyuk will almost certainly be working with new line mates come Thursday night. No way Therrien can split this line apart - not now, anyway.

- Radulov is playing out of his mind tonight. Just about every rush involving him resulting in high percentage scoring chance, the latest being the newly acquired Nesterov.

- More strong forechecking, yet another puck turned over by the Sabres in their own zone, Plekaenc to Markov to Byron, Lehner head on a swivel, it's 4-0.

- That's an outstanding period of hockey for the Habs, most of the play was contained in the Sabres zone, beyond that, perhaps more importantly, the Canadiens have simply dominated the neutral zone, snuffing out any semblance of a Sabres transition, and generating some pretty scoring attempts as a result of essentially owning more than one half of the ice. Just no contest tonight. Total domination.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Yeah, total domination. CF at 62%, Fenwick 61%, etc., etc.

- Dazzling. Just dazzling. Danault line plays keepaway with the puck in the Sabres zone, with the centre setting up Pacioretty for a hat trick slam dunker. Hey, I don't know if anyone has noticed, but at 24 goals, Max is just 4 behind Sid Crosby for the League goal-scoring lead.

- Both teams more or less going through the motions to kill the clock. Sabres know they got hammered, resigned now. Habs will be more than happy to just coast this one home.

- Well, that's a bummer. Kulikov with a hard high shot that deflects past Price to deny Carey the shutout, something he should have also had last week against the Flames.

- Gionta scores off the Habs lacklustre (as usual) PK. 5-2.

- Anyway, both teams still went through the motions, so not much more to talk about during the period. Price played very solid again (more good news for the Habs), the Danault line was fabulous, and yes, even Shea Weber was extra good tonight. Now, decisions, decisions. What to do with Alex Galchenyuk if he returns Thursday. Does Therrien dare break up the Danault line? (he'd be crazy to do so). Likely, Galchenyuk will be slotted on the "3rd" line with Shaw and Desharnais. Whether or not that'll be a waste of Galchenyuk's 1C talent - we'll have to wait and see how it all shakes down.


GAMEDAY HABS NEWS:

Okay, so near as we can figure out at this point:

- Markov was "yeah maybe he'll play" yesterday, but looks good today.
- Pateryn was ruled out yesterday, but is good to play today.
- Petry was doing his thing yesterday, but is "yeah maybe he won't play" today.
- Nesterov is gonna play whether anyone likes it or not.
- David Desharnais is like "hey what about me, I'm gonna play!!" and we're all like "ugh ... right ... Desharnais is back."

More in a bit.


HABS NEWS 'N' NOTES:

How was your weekend? I certainly hope not a single minute was spent watching whatever little showcase sideshow the NHL had organized. Me? I spent it mostly outside enjoying the rarity of a January thaw.

Anyway, the world is all screwed up, in case you hadn't heard or observed, but we'll keep posting Habs news and blog about their games for as long as we're all still around. So what's up today?

- Walking wounded last week were skating wounded this morning, and are imminent return this week? Andrei Markov, Greg Pateryn and David Desharnais all participated in full practice this morning (Alex Galchenyuk did not), and with Zach Redmond put on waivers this morning, it's all but certain that Pateryn will be playing Tuesday night against Buffalo. Will Markov as well?

- I'm guessing Markov won't play tomorrow, meaning the Habs defence will look something like this:

Emelin/Weber
Beaulieu/Petry
Pateryn/Nesterov

If Pateryn can't go, expect Barberio to take a spot on the 3rd line. Nesterov is mortal lock start Tuesday night.

- Okay, so Desharnais is back? I guess the party's over. Here's the Habs likely lines tomorrow night.

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

More in a bit.

Game 17: Panthers vs. Habs

Florida 4, Montreal 3 (OT)

FIRST PERIOD:

- Habs make line adjustments, with questionable results:

Byron/Galchenyuk/Gallagher
Pacioretty/Danault/Shaw
Andrighetto/Plekanec/Desharnais
Carr/Mitchell/Terry

Emelin/Weber
Markov/Petry
Beaulieu/Pateryn

Soooooo ... yeah. Danault has unquestionably been a very positive surprise for the Habs this season, but he doesn't have the speed required to make someone like Max Pacioretty productive again. That's just a poor deployment decision. Also, Desharnais on the 3rd line wing - that he's even in the lineup is a questionable decision, never mind that he's hardly the solution to Tomas Plekanec's big scoring problems.

- Scoring problems extend well beyond Plekanec, of course. Gallagher hasn't scored in 10 games, Pacioretty has only 2 goals the entire season.

- Weak hooking call on Jagr gives Habs early powerplay. Therrien sends out Chris Terry to start the man advantage.

- And there, finally, is a goa for Max Pacioretty - classic Max, he picks the top corner with a ferocious snapshot, and Habs grab 1-0 lead off the powerplay. Max tends to score in bunches, so that might not be the only time we hear from him tonight.

- Poof goes the lead, as Danault makes bad hockey mistake of trying to clear his zone by blinding firing the puck up the middle, it's picked off by Petrovic, who fires a shot likely screened, past Price.

- Kind of the issue with Danault - he often doesn't make the best decisions under pressure - not really the kind of guy you want centring wingers who are struggling to score. Danault's big improvement this year has been positioning - he's putting himself in places to produce scoring. But he's not a quick on his feet thinking type of player.

- Two Habs powerplays, two questionable deployments by Therrien - first powerplay sending out Chris Terry to start the man advantage - 2nd man advantage sending out Desharnais. Both players produce underwhelming results.

- One think is fast coming clear - this Habs team is not nearly as dangerous without Alexander Radulov in the lineup.

- Kyle Rau scores to give Panthers 2-1 lead. Totally unchecked in front, because Byron, who's not a first line winger, but is playing on Habs first line, loses his assignment. It might be presumptuous to draw conclusions, but this Habs team, sans Radulov, ain't nearly the same.

On second thought, "sweet pass" doesn't even begin to describe that dish.

Between the legs. No look. Right to the tape. 🙀 pic.twitter.com/0iKd4xMGGu

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) November 16, 2016

- That as a very bad, no good terribly awful bad bad bad ick ew yuck 20 minutes of hockey by this Habs team, certainly one of their worst all season. The line combinations Therrien has chosen are clearly not working - in particular the Andrighetto/Plekanec/Desharnais line, which was more or less a disaster in that period. Paul Byron also struggled, which should surprise no-one since he's not a first line winger, and never will be a first line winger. In any case, whatever "gameplay" Therrien devised heading into tonight's game is an awful one - some serious adjustments must be made or the Panthers are going to waltz their way to victory.


SECOND PERIOD:

- How bad was that first period of hockey by the Habs?? This bad:

A 29% corsi, and 22% (!!!) fenwick. Yeah. That was bad, bad, bad, bad.

- Desharnais scored? Well, that's not part of the adjustment plan. Markov doing the hard work, though - winning the puck in the corner and making a sweet pass to wide open Desharnais, who beats Luongo top corner. Tie game.

- Roberto Luengo, whose best days are long passed, can still catch a 95 mph puck pretty damn well.

- 8 minutes gone, 2nd period markedly better than the 1st for the Habs - puck possession numbers are beginning to level up a bit.

- Habs dominated first 11 minutes of the period, but since then, Canadiens defence has been guilty of many very sloppy plays with the puck and positioning, giving the Panthers some golden scoring opportunities, stopped only by the usual Price heroics. This has not been a stelar night for the Habs blue line.

- Luongo one big reason why the Panthers aren't trailing right now. Also, Tomas Plekanec continuing to struggle through an atrocious start to his season isn't helping much.

- Hrm, this is concerning. Malgin with a totally routine wrist shot from 45 feet from the off wing that Price fails to even react to with the left pad, and the Panthers are gifted a 3-2 lead. Been a very long time since I've seen Price give up such a soft goal - and it makes me wonder if he's feeling 100%.

- Big rebound period for the Habs fails to pay off on the scoreboard, as goaltending weighs in - although not the way you'd expect it to, with Luongo making many very good saves to keep the Habs from grabbing the lead, while Carey Price lets in an unbelievable softie. Net result, Habs fail to make up any ground headed to the 3rd period.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Pretty good 2nd for the Habs, shame they couldn't make up any difference on the scoreboard:

- Now it's Luongo's turn to make a bad play, Gallagher with a soft shot from along the boards is misplayed by the Panther's netminder, Byron puts home the loose puck to tie the game. Both netminders with some mental letdowns tonight, perhaps wise to just get the puck on net whenever the opportunity arises.

- Yandle suckers the refs into calling Chris Terry for a phantom high stick - he might get a nice little fine from the NHL later this week for the fake.

- So, 10 minutes left, game up for grabs. Not a lot of intensity between these two teams, both teams being rather cautious with the puck, taking few, if any chances, while attacking.

- 8 minutes left, it's been a pretty solid period of hockey by the Habs - they've firmly gained an edge in possession and shot attempts, Price has had little to deal with this period - Canadiens again need some support from players who are overdue (Brendan are you listening?) to maybe get 2 points out of the night after all.

- This has not been a great night for Petry - specifically forwarding the puck to his forwards. Passes have been elected, or just plain off the mark. It's resulted in far too many neutral zone turnovers that should actually be easy Habs zone entries.

- Another strong period for the Habs, good enough to earn them the tying goal and at least a point in the standings.


OVERTIME:

- Habs and Panthers after 60 minutes. Really has been mostly Habs since start of the 2nd period:

- Oy, Jeff Petry. This is not your night. Best to just keep him off the ice, especially in OT.

- Bad breaks for the Habs, as Galchenyuk's stick breaks while the Panthers control the puck in Habs zone, thereby giving them essentially a 3-on-2. Galchenyuk gambles, scurries to the bench, and in the meantime, Ekblad scores the winner on a shot that Beaulieu slightly redeflects, and the Habs home winning streak comes to an end, as does Carey Price's quest to tie a club record for consecutive wins. We said the Habs could have their hands full in the pregame, and that turned out to be the case, even though on the whole, the Canadiens were the better team tonight. That's hockey for you. Good breaks and (literally) bad breaks.


GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

Jaromir Jagr is in the building!! Everything is wonderful again!! Let's put up some stats comparisons to give you an idea that the Habs are going to be facing a pretty decent opponent tonight:

CF% (5v5):
Montreal 48.8 (22nd)
Florida 53.0 (5th)

SF60:
Montreal 29.2 (14th)
Florida 29.9 (11th)

SA60:
Montreal 32.7 (28th)
Florida 28.3 (10th)

PDO: 
Montreal 104.6 (3rd)
Florida 98.7 (21st)

PP/PK:
Montreal 22.9 (7th)/81.3 (18th)
Florida 16.7 (19th)/82.2 (15th)

So if you were a gambling man, who'd you put money on tonight? Carey Price is, of course, starting - but still, significant underlaying numbers give the Panthers an edge in just about every category. But yeah, goaltending - Price's line (10-0-0 .957/1.40) versus Roberto Luongo's (5-5-0 .916/2.30) is pretty lopsided, but still, with Alexander Radulov out of the lineup tonight due to injury, don't be surprised if Florida gives the Habs all they can handle, and stop Price in his quest to make Canadiens goaltending history by tying an 89 year old record currently held by Geroge Hainsworth for most consecutive wins.

Puck drops tonight at 7:40, EST.



GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

A few kitty-sized morsels:

- Alexander Radulov will not be playing tonight because he's caught the flu. THANKS CAREY. Habs have recalled forward Chris Terry, formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes, who was a free agent pickup this summer.

- Greg Pateryn will play tonight, meaning Joel Hanley will be scratched.

- Even though Radulov's absence kind of throws a wrench into the Habs lines, and even though Max Pacioretty is mired waist-deep in a scoring slump, we have this from John Lu:

#Habs Therrien confirms the Pacioretty - Danault - Shaw line will remain intact tonight.

— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) November 15, 2016

- Habs 4th liner Brian Flynn is still out with an upper body injury. No timetable on his return.

- Meanwhile, the Panthers will play Seth Griffith tonight. Griffith, who formerly played with the Toronto Maple Leafs as recently as 4 days ago, was claimed off waivers by the Panthers on Saturday.

- We get to see Jaromir Jagr play. Yay!!

Game preview in a bit.

Game 56: Habs vs. Sabres

FIRST PERIOD:

- Remember all those times this season Sven Andrighetto was a heathy scratch to make way for the corpses of Devante Smith-Pelly and Dale Weise? Yeah. That happened. A lot. Hopefully those days will never happen again, as Andrighetto takes a nice cross-ice pass from Pacioretty and picks the top of the net right under the crossbar. 1-0 Habs early.

- Subban with a hold that sends Patrick Kane bassackwards onto the ice. Yes, a hold, but plenty of embellishment as well. Now Buffalo gets that powerplay, which I said the Habs needed to avoid to improve their chances tonight.

- Legwand scores off a break, Dale Weise, Thomas Fleischmann and Alexei Emelin getting caught up ice badly. Big-time defensive breakdown there pretty much all-around.

- Desharnais, who was 0 powerplay points over the past 33, still remains on the first unit. Also, Tom Gilbert is out there. Deployment issues ... well ... we've talked about it many times before.

- Kane. Another Habs defensive breakdown in their own zone, Markov with soft pass up the boards generates turnover. Sabres are getting badly outplayed offensively, but Habs are making horrible mistakes. 2-1 Sabres.

- Well, what to say? Habs possession was 70+% in that period, the Sabres generating just two measly scoring chances, but Buffalo scored on both. Sabres have no business holding the lead except for the fact the Habs continue to play very sloppy, undisciplined hockey, especially in their own zone, and insist on first trying to bank the puck up the boards to clear the zone, instead of looking to make a fast breakout. It's been burning the team all season long, and it's burning them tonight. Same old story.

SECOND PERIOD:

Habs and Sabres after that period, you can see the separation. Also of note, the "managed" minutes of Markov - he played 8:24 in the period, more than any other on the ice. Sigh.

- Wow. Scrivens. Gorges, yes, Josh Gorges, scores after Scrivens started flopping all over the ice, eventually leaving Gorges a wide open net. Scrivens gets the yank, Condon in.

- LOLz. First chance on Condon goes in. Habs net minding falling apart. Puck misplayed by Condon for about the 8th million time this season, and Habs defensive pair Emelin/Pateryn do poor job covering the slot, and it's 4-1 Buffalo.

- Habs this period look like Habs we've come to know and love the past three months. Utterly incompetent in their own zone. 

- While Desharnais whiffs, Galchenyuk blasts a one-timer past Johnson. Habs now down 4-2. Montreal's powerplay seems to be more willing to do cross ice passing closer to the circle, instead of relying on one-timers only from the line. They seem much more dangerous. 

- Even with the horrendous defensive play, pucks are starting to go in for the Habs, Andrighetto with his 2nd, on a shot that Johnson totally misplayed. Sabres net minding also a huge ? mark tonight. We could have a 6-5, or 7-6 final when all is said and done.

- Fantastic shift by Gallagher halfway through the period, Habs continue to press and dominate offensively, Sabres only ahead because they've literally scored four goals in five scoring chances.

- Sabres defence is pretty soft in their own zone, Habs continue to pour high % scoring attempts on Johnson. Buffalo can't continue this way and hope to hold on to the scoreboard lead.

- Yet another horrible misplay via unforced error, this time it's Galchenyuk with the mistake, and he draws a penalty shot for Foligno, who converts. Habs net minders seem incapable of making many though saves tonight, not to blame them for an otherwise very poor and sloppy performance by most everyone wearing a CH. 5-3.

- Good lord. Galcheyuk. Redemption. A perfect cross ice pass off the powerplay, an almost exact replica from his first goal of the night, and it's 5-4. 

- Wild clash tonight between two teams playing some pretty horrible hockey. Who'll be bad enough to not lose tonight? Stay tuned.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Sabres through 40 minutes, 2nd period not quite so one-sided, but still Sabres hold scoreboard lead. 

- Habs have had a couple of scoring chances, but still not sensing any urgency from this team. This is a game they simply cannot afford to lose, but they're still going though something resembling motions at the moment. 

- Habs hitting posts, pucks loose in the crease off rebounds, Johnson by skill and equal parts luck, keeping the Sabres ahead, only barely.

- Habs totally swarming the Sabres zone and goal, and somehow the puck stays out, while Sabres defence, completely spent, holds on to every red shirt in sight, and don't get penalized.

- Therrien, believe it or not, appears to be shortening the bench with 8 minutes left. No more ice time for the 4th line, some players will be double shifted, I'd reckon Pacioretty and Galchenyuk. 

- It's all Habs right now, time is drawing short, and desperation increasing. Sabres are basically in a mad scramble to keep the puck out. Not sure if they can keep this up for much longer, but against the luck-tough Canadiens, anything is possible.

- Less than 2 minutes left, Condon out. It's now or never.

- And to end the night in the most Habs way possible, puck cleared out to centre is stopped by a linesman not paying attention, turning the puck over to Buffalo, who put it into the open net. Subban furious, is tossed from the game. Habs lose a heartbreaker. Again.

OH, BUFFALO. WHAT WENT WRONG?

Can I admit an error in judgment? Yeah, I know - it isn't much of a stretch to think that I've been wrong over hockey analysis, but boy, did I ever get it wrong when I picked the Sabres as the surprise sneak-in team for the playoffs this year.

Excuse me for explaining, but where did this Sabres team have to anywhere but up? Last season they finished with just 54 points, and were first in line for the top draft pick in the 2015 draft, which they lost, as we all know, the Edmonton McDavid's. Poor Buffalo. Still, they didn't come away with zipp - they did draft the wonderfully talented Jack Eichel, and via trades, brought it big names including Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, bolstered by excellent youth such as Tyler Ennis - this Buffalo team was hardly void of capable NHL players.

Unfortunately, the Sabres season hasn't really panned out the way they hoped it would, perhaps more surprisingly, it's been their offence that's been more to blame. Generating a dismal, 2.27 GPG average, made even worse if you factor in that Buffalo's numbers have been helped by a relatively decent powerplay (ranked 8th overall), and you can see this team can't score at even strength to save a season.

So Buffalo, in the midst of a 4-game losing streak in which they've been outscored 17-8, look towards another high draft pick in 2016, one assuming to select somebody who has the ability to put pucks in the net, while the poor fans south of Niagara Falls suffer though another dismal season.

Not to say it's all cinnamon hearts and roses in Habs land, although the Canadiens are seeking to extend their winning streak to 4 games, an inch even closer to the possibility of getting themselves back into playoff contention. The Habs streak has been sparked by excellent play from Tomas Plekanec and Ben Scrivens, which has helped Montreal overcome the continuing lack of contribution from the team's so-called "2nd line" of David Desharnais, (Sven Andrighetto) Dale Weise and Thomas Fleischmann.

As per usual, the Habs lines tonight are all wrong. But here they are:

Galchenyuk/Plekanec/Gallagher
Pacioretty/Desharnais/Andrighetto
Fleischmann/Eller/Smith-Pelly
Byron/Mitchell/Weise

With Beaulieu apparently (?) injured, Greg Pateryn will draw in, so the Habs D will look like this:

Markov/Subban
Barberio/Gilbert
Emelin/Pateryn

Key for winning tonight for the Habs is pretty simple - don't let Buffalo, who really struggle to score goals, score goals. That means, stay out of the penalty box.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

Game Seventy-Three: Sharks vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Gilbert is done for the night after taking a puck in the face at the end of the 2nd. With Emelin in the lineup, expect to see a lot of double shifting of Subban/Markov.

- Sharks loading up their first line, now clearly desperate to find some way, any way, of scoring a goal. They're running out of time 13 minutes left.

- It's mystifying why Subban isn't part of the regular conversation about Norris candidates. Another solid, brilliantly efficient night for P.K.

- Sigh. DSP with a dumb, dumb slash that puts the Sharks on the powerplay. It's uncanny how goals are so frequently scored off stupid penalties. We'll see soon if that happens again.

- Survived. Sharks in pure desperation mode. Could be some odd man Habs breaks coming our way very soon.

- Carey freakin' Price. Incredible.

- That save by Price on Couture was simply incredible. One of the best of the NHL season.

- Gallagher, icing.

- Carey Price. 40th win. 9th shutout. He's playing in another universe. He's playing beyond the NHL. One of the greatest seasons by a goaltender in hockey history. Enjoy it, every precious second. We may never live to see this again.

SECOND PERIOD:

- There's something to be said about the Habs playing Price only half of the remaining schedule, as he's blindside bowled over by Couture. No Price, Habs might as well not bother showing up for their first round opponent.

- Gilbert looks incredibly uncomfortable playing on the wrong wing. Really makes no sense inserting his next to Emelin just for the sake of Emelin.

- Price on the first PK, spectacular. Sharks appear resigned to trying to set up a perfect play if only to get a goal.

- DSP having one of his better starts in a Habs uniform. His hits seem a little more targeted, rather then his past few games where he was just hitting whatever was in his sight line.

- I've given up figuring out Habs lines tonight. I think there have been 20-something combinations used so far.

- Sharks are a mess handling the puck right now. A consistent forecheck ought produce somepretty choice scoring opportunities.

- Another solid period, Habs much faster, more energized, the Sharks have been disorganized, especially in their own zone. San Jose on just the 2nd game of their brutal 7 game road trip, but they already look weary.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Headshot on Malhotra, nothing penalized as the contact was incidental, he's in the room being reviewed for concussion.

- Sharks rolling four lines in order.

- Galchenyuk whiffs at an open net, but he's got a spring in his ordinarily fast step. Keep an eye on 27. 

- Therrien's working the blender early with his line combos. Hardly a shift so far with the actual starting lines.

- Galchenyuk is having a monster period. Everything but the goal so far. One crossbar already in his basket.

- Great end to end action so far, 4 on 4 had a basketful of chances, both goaltenders have been excellent. Habs certainly with a lot more zip than we're accustomed to. 

- Habs score? Against San Jose? Yup. Nice breakout from their zone creates a 4 on 2. Galchenyuk quarterbacking the puck with a nice backhand feed to Plekanec for an open netter. Montreal's transition really on the mark this period.

- Impressive first period. Habs did the stuff you come to expect from a first place team, getting clean zone exits, carrying the puck over the line, agressively pursuing the Sharks goal, and capitalizing on a chance. Price, as usual, so so very good. 

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

The Habs roll out the red carpet to play against yet another team in desperate need of a victory to keep their post-season hopes alive, tonight it's the San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks are yet another club in a string of win-hungry opponents the Habs have had to deal with. On Thursday, the Habs beat the Florida Panthers, who are trying to catch the Bruins for 8th place. Last week, the Canadiens had to deal with the Ottawa Senators (losing), and next week, they'll hit the road to visit fantabulous Winnipeg.

You know the problem with playing teams like this. They're kinda hard to beat. When you're the Habs, a defeat only means a blow to finishing in the Conference top three. For the Sharks, a loss means a probable early end to the year, the dismissal of the coach, the firing of the general manager, the firesale burning of the roster.

San Jose enters tonight's game five points out of a wild card spot, currently held by Calgary, and four points away from the L.A. Kings. So the margin for error, with about 10 games left, really doesn't exist for the Sharks, who haven't missed making the playoffs since 2003.

The Sharks feature two big lines (literally) comprised of Joe Thornton (at centre) along with Joe Pavelski and Melker Karlsson, while their second line is Logan Couture (at centre) with Matt Nieto and Tommy Wingels on the wing. The Habs defense will need to contain those forwards if they hope to finally eek out a win against the Sharks.

For Montreal, simply scoring a goal on San Jose could be considered an accomplishment, since that normally straighforward objective hasn't been done since 2011. Yup. It's been that long since the Habs have scored on the Sharks. Tonight, that ends, because it's absurd and it's eventually gotta end.

The Canadiens lineup, at least its forwards, are exactly the same tonight as they were on Thursday against Carolina. There are some changes on defense, with Nathan Beaulieu getting a seat tonight to make way for Alekei Emelin and Greg Pateryn (the later who's looked pretty impressive since being called up last week).

Netminders are predictable. It's Antti Niemi for San Jose, and of course, Carey Price for the Habs.

Puck drops at 7:15 EST.

Game Fifty-Seven: Habs vs. Sens

THIRD PERIOD:

- Subban, or not to Subban. The anticipation is the worst. 

- Subban starts the period. We breath. For now. Let's see how much he plays before we can collectively breath normally again.

- Subban really struggling out there. I fear they may shut him down for the night.

- No way Habs can run with four D the rest of the night, can they?

- Subban looks terrible. They have to take him out. This cannot continue.

- Sens powerplay goal. Tokarski with more rebound control issues. Been plaguing him his last few starts. 3-1.

- Well, well, well, Nathan Beaulieu gets his first NHL goal, a total fluke bounce in off a half dump, half chip towards the net. It's not pretty, but it gives the Habs hope. 3-2.

- If Subban ties this my head will explode.

- Subban can't keep the line, Sens bury the game. Well, it's a loss, but not overtly bad. Still think this team did a disservice playing its most valuable defenseman through an injury in a relatively meaningless game. On to take on Florida, and Carey Price.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Subban looks to be on pace for a 35 minute night. Maybe more as the game progresses.

- I'm all cool with Subban picking up slack, but Therrien needs to play Pateryn more. 3:46 in the period with just 5d is way too low.

- Pretty good start for Habs offense in the period, but play continues to be scrambly around Hammond. Nobody able to muscle a loose puck home (more 4th line please!).

- Guess what? Habs best scoring chance of the night generated by that 4th line, Gilbert given a wide open net off a sweet pass by, guess who - Jiri Sekac. Gilbert totally misses. Should be 1-0.

- Habs forwards have been going high, very high, on Hammond tonight. Not sure if that's the book, but it's not working.

- Habs powerplay. Everything but the kitchen sink. Just won't go in. Galchenyuk still looking awfully good. Com'on guys.

- 11-4 shots on goal for Montreal this period. Subban 15 minutes, we're at the halfway mark. 

- Well, let the floodgates open. Two goals in 8 seconds, tie game. Pacioretty goes low on Hammond. That's where you need to go, guys.

- Wow. Gryba tried to blindside Eller with open ice elbow to the head. Unbelievable. Total scum. Prust comes in to settle the score and gets thumped. Still, Gryba was totally targeting Eller. 

- Hoo boy. Subban takes shot off the foot and goes to the room. Breath deep everyone. Hold it. 

- Pageau. Tokarski no chance. Original mistake by Gilbert which resulted in deep zone turnover. 2-1.

- As we anticipated, another entertaining period, with 32 more shots added to the board. Now 59, and counting. There is only one thing that matters right now, and it's Subban. If he's done for the night, so are the Habs. If he's done for longer, so are the Habs. You get my point.

FIRST PERIOD:

- So Sekac is buried on the 4th line. I guess it's better than being saddled next to Malhotra.

- Ouch. Emelin goes for a foolish body check, stumbles and foes shoulder first into the boards. Methinks Pateryn might actually get more than 5 minutes tonight.

- Galchenyuk smartly trying to test Hammond early. Habs need to hammer shots at him every opportunity.

- Therrien appears to be favouring Gilbert to pick up the slack, with Emelin possibly out for the night.

- Prust. Just can't quite deliver. It's been that way for awhile. With de la Rose seemingly sticking, will he be the odd man out next season?

- Habs announce Emelin is gone for the game. That's almost certainly an indicator of a serious injury.

- Tokarski's and Price's styles couldn't be much different. The former battles the puck, the later just eases into shots.

- Spirted pace so far, Tokarski really fighting the puck.

- Both goaltenders doing quite a flop demonstration tonight. So far it's been working. Barely.

- That tight-checking, watch-your-butt every second game we saw against Detroit has basically been tossed out the window tonight.

- Galchenyuk looks great tonight. Even more so than usual. If there's on guy who's a good bet to make a couple of marks on the scoresheet, it's him.

- Well that was a fun period, 27 shots on goal, both goaltenders were a little bit fortunate to keep everything out, but regardless, both teams's strategies are clear - throw everything possible on net and let's see what happens after the dust settles. Should make for two more exciting periods.

GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES

- JIRI SEKAC IS BACK. Hard to believe, but he's starting tonight. Yay.

- Manny Malhotra is FRICKIN' FINALLY OUT. I mean, what .. why .. who ... how ... is this guy still getting dressed for game action? Monday night against the Wings, Malhotra won 4 faceoffs. Out of 16. I mean, he has no other purpose other than to win draws. He can't do that. He must never play in a Habs uniform again. It's that simple.

- Greg Pateryn is in!! Yay. He'll replace Mike Weaver, which is kind of a boo, since Alexei Emelin will still be playing tonight. Still ... it's progress.

- Dustin Tokarski will get the start tonight. Welllllllllll ... we'll see how that goes.

- On the other hand, Sens will start their backup Andrew Hammond. So that evens that.

More in a bit!!!