Game Twenty-Three: Habs vs. Islanders

First Period

- Plenty of pre-game fears that there would be a letdown after the big win in Boston, and so far Islanders are skating harder.

- Never mind. Ryder (wasn't he supposed to play the sniper role?) does all the hard work creating the turnover behind the Islanders' goal, feeding the puck to Plekanec for the early lead. Ryder continuing to pay dividends.

- Habs playing a much more cautious style in their own zone. They haven't forgotten how the Islanders utilized their speed advantage to win in their previous contest.

- Have to say, Kaberle continues to impress. He's been excellent positionally - it's almost as though he's been reborn as more of a defensive defenseman.

- Love those two second powerplays. Methinks there was a little embellishment. But who am I to judge, that's Claude Juliun's forte, right?

- Routine period, not especially memorable. Habs clearly the better team, but again, the same was said two weeks ago after they grabbed a 2-0 lead on the Islanders. Avoid the letdowns, and all ought to be fine.

Second Period

- Islanders with their first legit powerplay of the game. This was their key to victory last time. Habs simply had no PK response.

- And here we go. Again. And guess what? It's Moulson. Game tied.

- Islanders propelled by that goal. Price making couple of key saves.

- Habs pushback. Ryder nearly potting his first as a Hab (again).

- Gorges' play of late is a mystery. He's slow, and not blocking nearly the same amount of shots. Purely speculative whether he's playing through something, but something ain't right.

- Habs simply must strive to stay out of the box. So far, they aren't complying.

- Hoo boy. Eller goes for a trip, and Islanders two man advantage.

- And the burn is applied, as Prust loses his man, and Martin is left all alone in front of Price. 2-1.

- Did I mention enough times how important it is the Habs avoid taking penalties?

- Grabner left unchecked in front (Ryder's assignment) and its 3-1. Too many Habs forwards not covering their assignments. New York eating them alive.

- How many players have a harder shot than Subban? When he's close enough and has the full windup, stopping is impossible. 3-2.

- Habs one goal away from 20,000 all time for the franchise. Lots of motivation on that bench, I'd say. Who wouldn't want the bragging rights?

- Neilsen off the bar on the 2-on-1, Price did not look confident.

- Period was a mess for the Habs. Bad penalties, sloppy zone coverage, especially by Habs' forwards. But still, the deficit is only one. Not insurmountable by any stretch.

Third Period

- Gallagher soooo close to being the 20,000 man. Had Nabokov dead to rights, puck slipped off the blade of his stick.

- Newsy Lalonde #1. Larry Robinson #10,000. Brian Gionta #20,000. How's that for the trophy case?

- Anticipating Pacioretty to have his moment here. He's been buzzing in the 3rd.

- First poor rebound control, then a 60 footer by Martinek handcuffs Price. He's fighting the puck. Has been for a week. The Habs find themselves down once more.

- Habs more aggressive puck pursuit here, opening the game up. Just 7 minutes left.

- Shots 30-19 Habs. Not for taking penalties, sloppy letdowns, and not-quite stellar play by Price, Habs should certainly be leading this thing.

- Okay, this is interesting. Play stopped suddenly. Are they looking at a possible goal scored, but unnoticed?

- Nope. Habs called for too many men. Seems only fitting that such a sloppy mistake made late in the third.

- If the Islanders were to somehow qualify for the playoffs, their powerplay alone would make them a dangerous series opponent.

- Dagger applied. Habs simply too many basic errors in their zone tonight.

- Deserved loss tonight, points streak stopped at 11 games. This team has these mysterious letdowns against inferior opponents. This must be corrected ASAP.

It's GAME DAY!

Nothing to say much for now, except WATCH THIS AWESOME VIDEO. Yeah, it sums everything up nicely.

About Last Night ...

- Hawks win again, ho-hum. Their point streak now extended to a mind-boggling 28 straight regular season games. Actually, they should have lost yesterday if it wasn't for some clunky puck clearances by the Wings' defense, giving the Hawks all the powerplay time they needed to tie it late in the 3rd, and win in a shootout. Here's hoping these two meet again in springtime.

- Rangers ever-so-slowly seem to turning their sinking ship around, beating the Sabres in a shootout. The game marred by a pathetic check from behind on Brad Richards by Buffalo goon Patrick Kaleta, who'll probably serve 3 or 4 games for the offense. Ought to be more.



- Flames beat the Canucks. Is Vancouver an elite team? I thought they were. Maybe not? The Canucks are like west coast weather, wait 20 minutes, and they'll change. So maybe by this time next week, it'll be clear sailing?

- Sens seem to be taking that inevitable tumble downwards, losing to the Islanders. Sorry guys, you can't defy gravity forever.

- Oilers lose AGAIN. This time to the uninspiring Wild. The big problem for Edmonton? They can't score. Something's going to hit the fan if this team finishes out of the playoffs.

- Speaking of Edmonton, The Leafs traded goonhead Mike Brown to the Oilers just so they could get rid of Mike Brown, I guess.

- Injuries of a significant nature are starting to creep up. Jose Theodore's out for 6 weeks. Carolina just lost Cam Ward for 6-8, and they say they're gonna ride the rest of the season out using their 2nd string and a call-up.  Let's see if they stick with that strategy once they start plummeting down the standings ... oh nevermind, who are we kidding? They play in the Southeast, the NHL's most pathetic Division. They'll probably finish 3rd in the Conference with 38 points.

- And LAST BUT NOT LEAST, LES HABS A BATTU LES BRUINS!



Oh yeah. Claude Julien? Shut up already.



I have a three word response to your nonsense: FIRST PLACE BABY. And if you want to talk about embellishment, you might want to explain that word to your own players:

Game Seventeen: Islanders vs. Habs

First Period

- Excellent start, Islanders caught off guard by aggressive forechecking by Habs 4th line, Moen with a nice snapper off the post. 1-0.

- Habs really taking it to the Islanders, transition game looking sharp as a tack. New York struggling to react and adapt.

- Subban, Desharnais, Pacioretty. Tic. Tac. Toe. As pretty as they come, Habs lead 2-0. Islanders reacting in slow motion. This game could spin out of control quickly.

- Pacioretty's PP goal first team man advantage score in five games. Yeah, it's been bad lately.

- All Habs first. 14-3 were the shots on goal. Canadiens continue to impress defensively.

Second Period

- There's that Islanders powerplay, Streit the point shot, Moulson with a pretty tip. New York back in it.

- Islanders transition game miles better this period. Looking dangerous.

- Prust trying to score gets hauled down, really should have been a tripping call. NHL officials seemingly will never call anyone who hauls Prust to the ice.

- Pacioretty is all cylinders right now - like all excellent goal scorers, his positioning has been perfect. Receive the pass, fire it home. 3-1 Habs.

- Joe Finley boards Eller, Prust drops the gloves in response. Finley is 6'8"' 250 pounds. That's why they love Prust in Montreal. Fearless, borderline insane.

- Montreal stopped moving their legs, Desharnais called, and a good test here for Habs PK, Islanders chance to get back in this.

- Habs fail the test. Moulson again, left untouched in the slot, no chance for Price. Islanders man advantage very impressive. 3-2.

- Habs with mental letdowns, Islanders able to draw penalties and convert. Habs have to be very careful and disciplined in the 3rd, or this one could slip away.

- Habs seem to have rediscovered some momentum.

Third Period

- After going nearly 70% in the faceoff circle on Tuesday night, Lars Eller just 20% tonight. Their line not nearly as dangerous as they were against the Rangers.

- Tavares line comes out storming to start the period. Islanders revving, Habs totally flat footed.

- Ryan White pushed in Nabokov, gets called for interference. Killer Islanders powerplay goes to work.

- Plekanec with a lazy and terrible hook in the neutral zone. Left the ice shaking his head. I suspect at himself.

- Taking a page out of the previous game playbook, Habs icing every opportunity. Attempting to slow the pace of the game.

- Another icing. Islanders totally outskating and outhustling in the 3rd. Habs have to find a way of turning the tide very quickly, or this game will soon be tied.

- Surely by now the Canadiens lead the League in icings. Surely.

- Bourque doesn't hustle back to check his man, and as we saw it coming, Islanders' Nielson ties it up. Be tempted to call for time because right now the Habs are skating in quicksand.

- Solid shift for the Eller line, trying to inject some momentum and energy into a pretty sluggish Canadiens roster.

- Pacioretty won't get an easier chance for a hat trick than that.


Overtime:

- Islanders don't score that winning goal if Taveres doesn't make an unbelievable pass while flat on his stomach. Islanders fully deserved victory. Winning streak over.

Gameday Preview:

Let's make it short and sweet. The Habs are gunning for their 6th straight. They've got Carey Price in net, whom, if the vote were held today, would be the Vezina winner.

But right now, that doesn't matter. What matters is that the Habs just keep winning, and keep padding their lead in the Conference/Division. They'll have to handle the Isles John Tavares, who's averaging 1.25 ppg. The Islanders also come in with a pretty decent powerplay, 7th in the League. So they can be dangerous.

On the other hand, they can also be horrible, as witness to the 7-0 shellacking they took at the hands of the Flyers a few days ago.

Habs meanwhile, have some powerplay concerns - it's been pretty wretched the past two weeks or so, even with the team's terrific winning run of late. So keep an eye on any progress for that unit.

Brandan Gallagher continues to rest from his recent concussion, coach Therrien has hinted he might return Saturday night against the Rangers. Meanwhile, as per last game, it's the same lineup for the Canadiens. Keep an eye on the Eller/Galchenyuk/Prust line, they might get some powerplay time tonight as a reward for their excellent performance Tuesday against the Rangers.

Puck drop is at 7:40 EST. ENJOY THE GAME!

Gameday Updates:

Happy Thursday! It's gameday in Habsland. The Canadiens are hoping to maintain (still pinching myself) first place in the Eastern Conference with a win tonight against the Islanders, which would be their 6th in a row. Sweet.

Meanwhile, last night in hockeyland:

- Flyers edged the Pens in one of the wildest games played since these two met last spring in the playoffs. While I'm perfectly fine with Philadelphia never making the playoffs again for eternity, I'd be willing to watch these two teams duke it out in a 7 game set in April.

- In another titanic offensive showdown, the Avs beat the Blues 1-0 ... in OT. Yawn.

- Watch out for those Kings. They won another one last night on their western Canadian road trip, 3-1 over the Flames. You don't fluke Stanley Cup championships, I suppose.

 

First Place in the Eastern Conference.

Doesn't that feel good? Go on, say it aloud. First. Place. In. The. Eastern. Conference.

Now, let's hope it lasts.

Sweet, sweet victory last night in one one of the most forgettable games I've ever seen. What was the score, anyway? Doesn't matter. A win, however boring, is still a win.

Some odds and ends around the League from last night's action:

- So what the heck is going on with the Edmonton Oilers? Weren't they supposed to be routing the League with their studly soon-to-be-superstart countless top-ranked first-round forwards? The Oil lost another one, their offense only managing to score one piddly goal.

Mewonders at what point Edmonton's bench boss Ralph Krueger needs to start looking over his shoulder?

- The San Jose Sharks WON ... finally, breaking a seven game winless streak beating the Blues 2-1. Now I'm all embarrassed for poking fun at the Sharks organization for signing and playing Scott Gomez, and for losing every single game with Gomez in the lineup. Well that streak is over, thank goodness.

What's that? Gomez wasn't in the lineup last night? Ooops.

- Leafs lost in Tampa, as Ben Scrivens' defiance of gravity came to an abrupt end. Oh well.

- Sabres looked horrid losing to the equally horrid Jets at home. Whispers mounting over Lindy Ruff's near-term future. UPDATE: Ruff has been fired. Who'll snap him up?

- Hawks set an NHL record, 16 games to start the season without a regulation loss. When will Chicago lose? 4-3 last night in a shootout against Vancouver. Unlike the Habs/Rangers contest, this one was a very entertaining game.

- I'm going to stick my neck out and predict for the first time in about 459 years, the Red Wings won't be in the playoffs. Nonetheless, one must take great delight from this absurdly wonderful goal by the great Pavel Datsyuk, which I think we can safely say, will probably end up the goal of the year. Enjoy!

Game Seventy-Three: Islanders v Habs

So it's the same injury-plagued lineup tonight as last night (as much of the season, I suppose). Among the wounded and scratched are Markov, Kaberle, Diaz (there's your defense), Moen is still out, Gomez is out and may never return, ditto for Darche, and of course Gionta. So that's a third of your starting lineup right there.

For the Islanders, Staois is out. That's it. One guy. If only we could be that fortunate. Oh yeah ... and DiPietro is out but ... you know ... DiPietro.

Budaj will start for the boys, giving Price a well-earned night off.

YOU KNOW IT'S GETTING REALLY BAD DEPARTMENT: How bad is bad? Bad is when your somewhat clueless coach is finally starting to realize how terri-bad your game is. It comes as somewhat of a mild surprise to see Randy Cunneyworth tear a strip over malcontent enigma Rene Bourque for his ridiculously bad play since ... forever? But that's what happened over the weekend.

I suppose we should offer Cunneyworth a measure of congratulations for pointing out the blatantly obvious?

ANYWAY THE BATTLE FOR 15TH IS ONNNN TONIGHT. Can you feel the excitement?

First Period:

- Markov is in!!

- Thanks to Montoya for failing to cover the post and giving Palushaj his NHL first goal. Habs take early lead.

- Campoli and Weber team up to play the puck instead of its carrier. Formula for disaster as Bailey gets a break but cant beat Budaj. Habs fans may want to leave the room when those two defensemen are on the ice.

- More argument why Staubitz shouldn't be in the lineup. Ryan White can fight just about anybody, and he also plays a pretty good game.

- Same old story. Habs PP with whole lotta passing but no shots on goal. Subban as the trigger man simply doesn't work because his shot is so inaccurate.

- Islanders taking some really clunky offensive zone penalties.

- Can't believe how many passes this PP unit takes and then finally after 30 seconds of tossing it around, make a shot attempt from a low percentage location. SHOOT THE PUCK.

- Not exactly an enthralling period of hockey. In other words, about what you'd expect when the 14th place team takes on the 15th place team.


Second Period:

- Budaj saving Gorges' bacon there after a pretty clumsy turnover.

- Leblanc another bad holding penalty. Seems to me he takes far too many of these unnecessary calls.

- Wow Streit. A pick by Moulson on White (not called) created a huge gap through the middle. Subban and Gorges needed to be a bit more alert closing the gap. Still, that goal really shouldn't have happened. Game tied.

- Bourque really needs to just look around. A simple pass to his right would have sprung Eller to a clear breakaway. Instead his shoots a weak one off a defender's leg. And so it goes.

- Sleep-inducing action here. Neither team's offense able to do much more than toss the puck at opposing goals.

- A fine shot by Neilsen, but Budaj solidifying his backup credentials with that one. Can't let those past you. 2-1 New York.

- Montoya with terrible decision to rush out for the puck giving Leblanc wide open net. Martin slides across to save a goal.

- Wretched period of hockey. Very sloppy, uninspired, utterly forgettable. Habs just 20 minutes away from a ticket to the basement.

Third Period:

- Great rush and perfect dish by Subban, excellent backhander by Leblanc. Game tied.

- How 'bout that? Even Campoli can make a fine defensive play on a 2-on-1.

- Bad old Habs from the Martin era. Too many men.

- Habs PK with some uncharacteristic puck chasing, nearly gives the Islanders the lead.

- If I'm crossing my fingers every time Budaj is faced with a shot, imagine how his teammates feel?

- Really? Tavares with a two handed high stick to the back of Leblanc's head off the faceoff. How can that be missed?

- How mediocre is the East this year? Division-leading Sens getting shut out by the Leafs right now, Ottawa scoring but two goals in regulation their past three games. What could have been ...

- Leblanc has really been playing well, working hard tonight, has a goal, yet has barely half the icetime of Bourque. Yeah ... it's a mystery.

- Not sure if the shot clock guy has an itchy trigger finger tonight, but can't fathom how the Islanders have 36 shots so far.

- Bourque getting lots of boos from that weak attempt to receive a pass from Plekanec, and even weaker attempt to retrieve the puck. Unacceptable effort.

- Markov nailing Neilsen in front of the Islanders bench. New York enraged - they thought the hit was high.

- The hockey gods giveth and taketh away. Streit with a delay of game. Opportunity to win it here.

- If Habs don't score in regulation they'll have a bit of 4 on 3 time in OT.

- More of the all passing, no shooting. Enough already.

- Figures that it would go to an OT. String the torture of watching really bad hockey out even longer.

Overtime:

- 43 seconds with the man advantage. Will they register a shot on goal?

- The answer, shockingly, is no.

- Well, unlike the last two games which also went to an OT, at least the boys are pushing for a winner here.

- Montoya with an equipment "problem".

- My goodness we are terrible tonight for simply getting the puck on Montoya. Too many blown 2-on-1s to count.

- Seems only fitting that Bourque would muck up another two-on-one, this time at the very end of OT. /headslap

Shootout:

- What strange selection will Cunneyworth make tonight? Stay tuned.

- Desharnais, Plekanec and Pacioretty. How 'bout that? Not bad.

- And Desharnais makes a sweet move.

- Neilsen replies. Budaj ... uh ...

- Pleks misses. Badly.

- Tavares misses on the backhand.

- Pacioretty ... nope.

- Parentrau ... nope.

- Bourque??? He scores!

- Moulson ... eek ... Budaj ... ugh.

- Eller a little too fancy there.

- Okposo ... nope.

- Where is Cole?? Markov now. That was ... terrible??

- And Bailey finishes it off. Where was Cole? Whatever. Sigh.

Game Fifty-Five: Habs v Isles

SO. WE ARE ON A WINNING STREAK!! Two games, baby! And the lowly Islanders tomorrow night to make it three! Well, let's be fair here, the Isles of today aren't exactly the Isles that we've come to known the past 10 years or so. These guys are sorta, kinda building towards being competitive. They have a *very* good first line, and ... well .. after that it gets a bit murky. But point IS you can't take these guys granted for two points any more.

TIM THOMAS IS HAVING A CRAZY MORNING UPDATE: Okay, I don't want to get into non-hockey issues stuff into the even murkier world of nutty American politics, but Tim Thomas has stuck his neck out again on Facebook today, this time in defense of "Catholics in the fight for Religious Freedom."

Anyway, there's nothing particularly scandalous about standing in support of religious expression, or Catholics, or Muslims, or Buddhists, or even for Scientologists. But Thomas also posted a very famous passage on his FB from Marin Niemoller, who was German anti-Nazi theologian.


So what's going on here? Well, there just so happens to be plenty of uproar going on right now among some very conservative folks in opposition to the Obama Administration's enforcement of health care legislation that mandated religious employers to provide birth control to patients and employees.


The jest here being that Thomas is more or less following the same nutty insinuation tactics that Obama is a Nazi-in-disguise by quoting Niemoller. It was Niemoller who fought the Nazi's, and now Thomas is doing the same, see?? We already know that the Tea Party radicals from whom Thomas has expressed commodity with have long made the insinuation that Obama is just another Hitler. So this is just part of that pattern.

So anyway, Thomas is once again expressing some pretty radical views in a very public fashion.

What exactly, he's hoping to gain, we're not sure. Maybe he wants to run for office after he retires? Dunno. But if he continues to wade into these touchy topics, then he'll continue to raise the specter of controversy, and ultimately cause significant distraction upon his current employer and teammates.

Just sayin'.

UPDATE: Deadspin picked up Thomas' posting this afternoon, not really adding much to what I'd written this morning. But his comments are being noticed.

HABS VIDEO GOODNESS: Here's the usual Q&A stuff from morning practice. Enjoy.

Meanwhile, Blunden is probably gone for the season, since there won't be much hockey to be played in Montreal beyond April.

TRADES THAT NEVER HAPPENED: Apparently way back in 2007, the Wings and Devils were very close to finalizing a deal that would have sent Pavel Datsyuk from Detriot to New Jersey in exchange for one [drum roll please] Scott Gomez.

Wow. Sucks to be Jersey. In the end, Gomez ended up signing a monstrous contract with the Rangers, and the rest is history. Too bad that '07 deal didn't happen. Otherwise the pill might not be so bitter over losing this guy.

SPINORAMA SHOOTOUTS: If you read my game blogging from last night, I was in a bit of a tizzy over the spin-o-rama goal scored by Malkin in the shootout, questioning its legality (I mean, com'on, technically the puck and Malkin, if only for a brief moment, stops completely which, if it were a penalty shot, would be ruled illegal). Why the League has two sets of rules for what is essentially the same thing is puzzling. The Habs' site picked up on that a bit more today.

LAME TWEET OF THE DAY: It's not even close. The winner is Brian Burke, Neophyte General Manger of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

You hear that people? Toronto it still the CENTRE OF THE HOCKEY UNIVERSE. It's the centre, because of the glorious winning history of the Leafs, the greatest team in the history of teams.


Anyway, Leafs fans can now stop complaining about never being invited to these silly outdoor games. Whatever. It's all passe now. Toronto can have 'em for the rest of eternity. The rest of the hockey world has already moved on.

Oh yeah ... one more thing Brian. You'd better hope the new CBA gets hammered out, or you could be waiting a long time for your little outdoor scrimmage.

AND NOW YOUR HABS-RAP-OF-THA-DAY:





REALLY? HAS IT COME TO THIS?!? I guess we shouldn't be suprised, after all, Montreal is the place where Mark Twain once observed "this is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window." But since you guys started the ball rolling, has anyone there maybe consulted the Pope about miracles? 'Cause that's what it's gonna take to get this team into a playoff spot.


First Period:

- Well that's a pretty good start. Pacioretty, via a nice little feed up the boards by Cole, catches the Islanders defense napping and beats Nabokov with a nice, albeit stoppable wrister. Pacioretty's 20th of the year.

- Price with eyes on the back of his making two brilliant saves on Okposo. Definitely one of his best this year, keeps the Isles off the board.

- Habs D having some trouble keeping pace with the speedy New York forwards. Price very solid so far.

- OTHO, our defense isn't nearly as slow as the Islanders'. Canadiens are generating quality shots by simply jetting along the wing and firing at will. Nabokov can't stop then all (he's already been beaten).

- Gill probably should have been called for interference playing the body that removed from the puck. Refs are lettin' 'em play.

- And just as I upload that post, Desharnais goes to the box for a hook.

- Pretty even as periods go. Shots were 10/10. Faceoffs 9/9. Blocks 6/6. As they say however, scoreboard is all that matters.

Second Period:

- Islanders with great puck movement on the PP, Price with 3 or 4 gem saves.

- Price simply superb tonight. If I were an Islanders fan the frustration would be mounting.

- Habs very sloppy and sluggish in their own zone. If it wasn't for Carey, Canadiens would certainly be trailing on the scoreboard.

- Kostitsyn with a nice feed to Gomez right in front of Nabokov. Gomez had his stuck way off the ice as the pass drifted harmlessly past. And some are perplexed why Gomez never scores? I'm not.

- Halfway through the second, Habs have one shot on Nabokov.

- That Kaberle/Campoli pairing always leaves me more than a bit nervous.

- Habs very outplayed this period, but Islanders checkers being way too soft on Pacioretty who snaps another past Nabokov (from a better angle) to give Habs a 2-0 lead.

- Bailey can't handle a rebound off of Price. Otherwise he has a wiiiiide open net and all night to snap it in. Bullet dodged.

- Moen and Darche, brlieve it or not, now leading all Habs in icetime tonight. Cunneyworth playing it very close tonight.

- Emelin and Moen combine for a terrible giveaway deep in the zone, but Price is playing out of this world tonight. Islanders can only look up and wonder what it's gonna take to score.

- Gill's days in Montreal are almost certainly numbered. I must admit I'm going to miss watching that lug lumbering around in Habs

- New York with 12 shots so far in the second period, most of then of the tough-save variety.

- Islanders the better team in the 2nd, they battled and worked hard, creating far more scoring chances. Certainly deserved a better fate than being down 2 goals. But so far, this has been Carey Price's night.

Third Period:

- Habs really playing Islanders tight, Price so far pretty much untested through 7 minutes.

- Nabokov doing his part to keep his team still in this game. One more and it's over. Gorges and Kostitsyn just robbed.

- SCOTT GOMEZ. SCOTT GOMEZ. SCOTT GOMEZ. Finally, finally it ends.

- Seriously, Gomez has played a very good game tonight. It's a richly deserved goal, and here's hoping now that the monkey is off his back that a few more goals soon follow after tonight.

- It's very telling how Gomez was swarmed by his teammates after scoring. He's a very popular guy on the team, and I'm guessing his teammates are just as relieved that this long nightmare is over as he is.

- These guys were right on the ball. The site immediately updated: http://didgomezscore.com/

- Eller with a careless high stick giving Islanders a PP and threatening Price's you-know-what.

- Yup. Poof there it goes. Borderline high stick by Moulson but it'll count.

- Ut oh ...

- Gomez give, Gomez taketh away. And now we have to sweat the last 1:40.

- Hate second-guessing after the fact, but you really want Campoli on the ice at that stage of the game? You sure about that?

- If Islanders tie this, Eller might not want to join the team on the plane ride home.

- Habs hold on. Barely. Just barely. Eller breaths a sigh of relief. So do the rest of us. Streak is now three. If they can win another Saturday night, it's gonna start to get interesting.

Game Thirty-One: Islanders v. Habs

There is a sense within the community of individuals who follow and analyze the Canadiens that the team is turning the proverbial corner. The recent acquisition of Kaberle from the Caines (at virtually no cost) and resultant immediate benefits to the powerplay, which has by far been the Habs most glaring deficiency this season, has given the faithful some reason for optimism.

And the team, despite recent reports that Andrei Markov's return has been delayed until late January, is getting one more broken body back into the lineup with the return of Chris Campoli, who was injured in the season opener against the Leafs.

And yet, through it all, the Habs are maintaining a competitive presence in their Division, now sitting just two points back from those Leafs, the team, if indeed on the verge of turning things around for the better, is poised to make a move up the Eastern Conference standings. Tonight it faces a team it should beat, and must beat, if it's to make a move upwards (although that all said, the Islanders are a young upstart team that's lost just one game in regulation over its past seven).

First Period:

- Eller takes yet another penalty in the offensive zone. This happens way too often, has it been driven into his head to play a bit smarter?

- Emelin gets the pressbox tonight to make way for Campoli, which makes sense because Diaz is more apt to check New York's fast, skilled forwards. This won't/shouldn't be a physical contest.

- No goal, but Habs PP continues to look miles more dangerous with Kaberle at the point. He was on for nearly the entire two minutes #shockingbuttrue

- Does Subban not know the folly of passing the puck up the middle from his own zone?? I think they teach that in Pee Wee. 1-0 Islanders.

- Welcome back Chris Campoli who picks up an assist on a marvelous goal by Kostitsyn, who basically one-manned a goal through sheer will, muscle and determination. Game tied.

- Habs really need to put someone on Matt Moulson, who's been tearing up the League lately.

- Speaking of tearing it up, Eric Cole is playing like a man possessed in the period. All over the ice generating great chances.

- Darche gets a gift goal on a shot that should never beat an NHL netminder. 2-1.

- FYI Kaberle did NOT get a point on the Darche goal, the first goal scored by Habs that he did not assist on since joining the club.

- Desharnais/Pacioretty/Cole line by far the best on the ice so far.

- Campoli's got a lot of rust on those wheels. Martin may want to scale back the minutes as the game advances.

Second Period:

- Oh fer two, but Habs PP definitely has some swagger going on. Quality chances being generated as opposed to previous versions that had almost nothing happening.

- Islanders with the Hab-esque too many men.

- Habs got seven shots on that powerplay, again coming close numerous times. Apart from not scoring, very pleased with the continuing improvements.

- Eller nearly with the goal of the year stickhandling through the Islanders defense, deaking the pants off Montoya, but somehow missing tucking the puck in the open net.

- Dunno what's gotten into Eller tonight but he's putting on quite a show with some nifty razzle dazzle puck handling.

- Dangerous/dirty hit by Martin on Subban, throwing him into the boards behind the net. PK is OK.

- Habs really dominating the game through two periods but have a lousy one goal lead to show for it. Sigh.

Third Period:

- Perfect execution, Subban to Desharnais to Cole. 3-1. Yup. The powerplay is back.

- Don't think Cole hasn't put the dregs of last season with Carolina behind him yet? He now has more goals on the man advantage at the 31 game mark this year as he did at the 82 mark last year.

- Don't think the Islanders are an up-and-coming team? Then you should watch Josh Bailey's 3rd goal of the season. 3-2

- Habs defense suddenly getting very sloppy at the worst possible time.

- The Bailey goal has created a spark as Islanders really cranking up the offense here, Habs are on their heels.

- Cole hauled down going wide on Staios, slides hard into goal post. Somehow call for tripping not made.

- Cole definitely irked, shoots puck into Islanders net after the whistle. Islanders defense responds with the expected gloves to the face.

- Habs making a push (at least) for an insurance goal, but one gets the feeling we're about to enter the "hold on for dear life" phase of the 3rd period.

- Yup. Sadly saw that coming. Islanders push and Habs break, Campoli gets caught behind his net and New York jams it past Price. Game tied #herewegoagain

- If Isles come away with a 'W' lots of questions will be sent Matrin's way about sending out the rusty Campoli with the defensively challenged Kaberle.

- The second-guessing may be rendered moot as Montoya gifts one more, this time to Nokelinen, 4-3 Habs.

- Kostitsyn has been really strong tonight, where has this been all year?

- Well, it's hang on for dear life time.

- Hall Gill!! With his first and possibly last goal of the season. We'll take it.

- A W is a W, I suppose, but Habs will need to get this third period funk figured out in a hurry, with the Flyers, Bruins and Hawks looming on the horizon.