Game Twenty-One: Habs vs. Islanders

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Islanders scoring chances through 40 minutes:

- With Price in net, do the Habs attempt to do a lead sit for 20 minutes? There really shouldn't be any good reason to even think about trying.

- I suspect Therrien's rationale for putting Gallagher back with Eller and Galchenyuk is to get the later on the scoresheet. There comes a point where you have to give the damn a poke to get it broken.

- Save for the Islanders'  second goal, sure doesn't look like there was much rust on Price tonight. The guy is astounding.

- Habs are playing a sort of lead-sit game here, zone dump and puck chips a-plenty, it's giving the Islanders a fair amount of open ice between their zone and the Habs blue line. Montreal seems comfortable just trying to block shots. Don't think this is a very good strategy.

- Well, there you have it. Nelson's second goal of the night, as the Habs inevitably get pinned in their zone because their tired line got pinned off an icing call. 4-3.

- The consequences of that blown call by the referees, even with the luxury of a replay. The Islanders are given a goal they didn't deserve, and because of that, Therrien not only loses his ability to make another challenge, he loses his timeout. Galchenyuk line gets stuck on the ice, and the Islanders score to make it 4-3.

- Okay, I'm totally perplexed. Petry flips the puck out of his zone, lands in the Habs bench, and Petry is called for delay of game?? Therrien holding the puck IN HIS HAND and slamming it on the boards, all to no avail. Astounding.

- Habs dodge the penalty, and the Islanders nearly tie it up as Price struggles to get across to stop of soft wrister. Puck goes through his legs and literally across the line. Huge bullet dodged, but more importantly, it's another example of a play you'd never see Price make. At least, not a healthy Price. Anyway, Markov saves the day and (for now) the game-tying goal.

- Less than 5 minutes to go. Can that Habs scratch their way to a victory? I have severe doubts that won't win without a 5th goal, but stranger things have happened.

- Not a great night for Price, at least by his standards. I guess there really is some rust with his game, or he's not 100%. His mobility certainly not nearly as crisp as usual. At times he's looked downright awkward moving side-to-side.

- Price tackled, and I mean, literally tackled in his crease by Nelson, helmet send flying - but the officials make no call.

- As I was saying, Habs are gonna need a 5th. Gallagher the empty netter. Two points in the bag. But only barely.

- Hard-earned victory of the Habs tonight, nice to have Price back in the net, which I'm sure gave his mates a shot of enthusiasm, as Montreal came strong out of the gate. Canadiens mostly dominated the first two periods, before settling into a protective shell for most of the 3rd.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Islanders through 20 minutes. That was a pretty solid period for Montreal, as the chart illustrates.

- Well, hey there, Halak gets the hook, and Greiss is put in.

- Hamonic makes it 3-2 with a 60 foot slapper that, shall we shockingly, beats Price easily glove side. Price might have been screened, but it's still not the kind of goal that he normally lets in. That's concerning.

- Dang, Semin stopped on a breakaway, glove save. He and Galchenyuk, just not being rewarding on the goals sheet.

- Greg Pateryn. Certainly an upgrade from Alexei Emelin. And Tom Gilbert, for that matter.

- So ... Therrien puts out Smith-Pelly with Plekanec and Pacioretty, for reasons that are beyond my ability to comprehend.

- EGG line is back together again, and even though Semin has been generating scoring chances (and actually scoring points), he's being buried again.

- Petry again? Shot from the line during the powerplay eludes Greiss, with traffic in front. As we noted in period one, the Habs were getting pretty good slot penetration, off some soft Islanders defending. 4-2 Habs. It is a Petry goal - first time in his career that he's scored two in a game.

- Still trying to figure out Therrien's thought pattern with DSP on the top line. I know it's always good to do the occasional experiments with line combinations, but what exactly is to be gained? DSP is not, and will never been, a top line winger. So why waste his time (or Pacioretty and Plekanec's?). Makes no sense.

- Plekanec and Desharnais line have been surrendering more than average scoring chances, the only responsible lines tonight have been Galchenyuk and Flynn (who both have the least amount of ice time). Therrien's deployment continues to be mystifying.

- Habs maintain two goal lead headed into the 3rd period, but that 2nd period was very strange, in particular Therrien's deployments and line combinations. Gallagher with Galchenyuk, DPS with Plekanec, Semin buried, Byron still fruitless not playing on the 4th. Some strange moves that are usually made in games where you are winning easily or losing badly. But not in the middle of the 2nd period of a one-goal game. Therrien "gut-based" strategies rears its ugly head.


FIRST PERIOD:

- Alex Semin. First Habs goal tonight. BANK IT.*

- *conditional that Therrien actually gives him a shift.

- Semin is slotted on the 4th line (yeah okay Michel, whatever), first shift, produces!!! Petry banging home a loose puck, assisted by nice forechecking by Semin who picks up the assist. Did the Habs actually score the first goal? YUP.

- Petry nearly scoring his second before the game is even 6 minutes old. Habs with plenty of intensity to start this game, Galchnyuk looks, as he did last night, terrific. He WILL score tonight.

- Islanders with a very slight possession edge, but their shots have been pretty meek, at least through the first half of the 1st. They'll need to do much better than taking permitter shots on Price. Like, way way way better.

- Therrien putting Byron on the 2nd line, but IT'S NOT WORKING. Plugging 4th line guys on the 2nd line, and 2nd line forwards on the 4th line is stuuuuuupid.

- Nelson pokes home the loose puck, but it sure looks like Nelson pushed Price before the puck was shot in. I think this could/should be overturned.

- Unbelievable, it's a goal. The National Hockey League is fast becoming a joke over what does and does not qualify as interference.

- Fleischmann (righteously) puts the Habs right back into the lead 35 seconds later, Halak looking sluggish moving to his glove side off a perimeter shot. Desharnais line looking very slick so far in the period, passing the puck extremely well.

- Habs really getting good penetration moving into the Islanders slot, which has helped them generate some quality scoring chances this period. Overall, the Habs are way ahead on quality shots, even if their raw totals are fewer.

- Problem with this League's approach to determining goal interference is that they're leaving the decision up to the on-ice officials, instead of going to a central location where, AT LEAST, the decisions could have some consistency. The officials tonight don't appear to be very good (terrible holding call just made on Subban), so if you have bad referees, you're going to have bad decisions made. Exasperating.

- Galchenyuk might be snakebit scoring goals, but it's not going to stop him from making sweet rushes with the puck, as he dishes off to Beaulieu who snaps a shot past Halak blocker side. Another "iffy" goal against the Islanders netminder. 3-1 Habs.

- Very, very good period for the Habs. Passing was crisp, speed much faster than their opponent, Islanders really struggled to contain Montreal's rush, and it's helped to generate a solid scoreboard lead. Halak looking a little off, Carey Price looking very on. Islanders shouldn't even have a goal, but that's the NHL for you.


LAST MINUTE UPDATES:

SEMIN WILL BE ENTERING ... the lineup. Tonight. SO ... watch out.

- While it's good news to see Semin back in the lineup, it's only because Torrey Mitchell is out due to injury (unspecified). But, we'll take what we can get.


TONIGHT, WE FINALLY GET THIS BACK:

So Mike Condon. Hey bud. Thanks for coming out. You looked fantastic for a good solid month. You helped this team get (once upon a time) to the very top of the National Hockey League. FANTASTIC.

But then, about 10 days ago, something went "crash", and I think that might have been the sound of your confidence shattering. Or mabye it was your body breaking in two from the intense strings of games rarely experienced by someone who's been a career-long backup. Over the past four starts, your SV% is less than .850, which is ... sorry to say this, kind of putrid.

At ease, Mr. Condon. At ease.

So all hail the return of the greatest hockey player on planet Earth. I think it's safe to say, the Habs, at least if they had any aspirations of maintaining their comfortable lead in their Division, needed Price back and between the pipes.

So tonight, a significant challenge. The Habs face off against the New York Islanders in their terrible new hockey arena in Brooklyn. The Islanders have just finished up a west coast sampler, putting together relatively impressive wins against the Sharks, Ducks and Coyotes. Actually, the Islanders handled Arizona with relative ease on Monday night. I wonder what that must feel like?

Speaking of Monday night, that was the last time this Islanders team played - so they're rested. Very rested. The Habs, who played less than 24 hours ago - not as rested.

Over in Habsland, the drama continues over the decision to mothball Alexander Semin, which continues to look like the wrong direction with every passing game. Last night, Torrey Mitchell gave his hand a try next to Lars Eller and Alex Galchenyuk, and for the most part, looked completely out of place - playing more a witness to the fabulous efforts by his linemates - in particular Galchenyuk, who's come down with a serious case of goal-scoring snakebite. Something's gotta give there - either with Semin returning, Galchenyuk scoring, or SOMEBODY shoving Therrien aside, and putting an actual 2nd line winger on the ACTUAL SECOND LINE.

There's also drama with the Islanders this week, with young start defenseman Travis Hamonic formally demanding a trade to Islanders G.M. Garth Snow, to a western-based team (including Winnipeg!! He really REALLY must want out).  So now the Islanders find themselves saddled with a disgruntled piece of their blue line - which is about as un-ideal a situation as you could wish for.

This should be a pretty good game. Two young, very talented, very deep hockey teams - two of the best teams in the entire National Hockey League, with the very best hockey player back on the ice.

Oh yeah, and Jaroslav Halak will be playing as well. Wearing the Islanders awful, awful, awful all black jerseys. Cockroaches on skates. It's a New York thing.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game Fifteen: Islanders vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Islanders through 40 minutes. As you may note, Islanders dominated possession and shot attempts in that 2nd:

- Byron definitely not meshing with either Galchenyuk or Eller on that second line. And the merry-go-round of 4th liners continues.

- Brendan Gallagher is simply an outstanding forward in the attacking zone. I can think of few others, actually, I'm hard pressed to think of anyone else, who has the same level of physical presence and puck command. He's borderline elite.

- Huge break for the Habs as a puck played up the boards on what would have been an icing, hits the linesman and gives Fleischmann an odd man break with Desharnais. 2-1 Habs. A quintessential puck luck play in favour of the team that's arguably been outplayed so far.

- This is very much 2014-15 Habs type of game - so the next obvious question is, will they try to sit on a one goal lead with 13 minutes left?

- We have our answer, and it is no. A beautiful shift by the Plekanec line, and even more beautiful is the way they cycled the puck in the New York zone. Gallagher to Plekanec to Pacioretty to Gallagher for the tip in. A work of art. And a 3-1 lead.

- Condon has had more than a few strokes of luck this season, giving up rebounds from the point, and diving on his belly. Lots of missed opportunities by his opponent so far, but eventually, that luck is going to run out.

- Habs now trying to protect the lead by stacking their blue line - which is an okay strategy as long as you ensure your opponent can't gain the zone. If they do, you're in trouble. Islanders have done it a couple of times.

- Habs just chipping everything away in sight. Islanders are generating more and more chances, as Montreal is pretty much surrendering two-thirds of the ice. Four minutes remain.

- Apart from the sit-mode that the Habs are working on right now, Montreal much better with zone exits this period. It certainly helped them to sustain some pressure after taking a one goal lead.

- Plecks with the empty netter, a conservative victory tonight against a pretty fast and skilled Islanders team. Sometimes you don't aways have play better to win games. Habs simply took advantage of the chances that were provided (puck off the linesman), while the Islanders did not (Tavares missing the empty net). Good teams, really good teams, tend to do that a lot.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Islanders after 20 minutes, Montreal with a distinct edge:

- Still not convinced Tavares isn't 100%, missing a wide open net during the Islanders first powerplay.

- Okposo opens the scoring off the rush with the powerplay running out, Subban/Markov a bit too passive retreating on the rush, and Condon is caught flat-footed. That's Condon's big weakness - there are periods where he's not moving his feet enough, making him particularly vulnerable on snap shots and breakaways.

- Powerplays, even if they don't score goals, can help produce lots of momentum, and get forwards moving their feet faster. The Islanders, since that man advantage, are distinctly quicker than the Habs right now.

- Almost halfway though the 2nd, it's been almost all New York this period. Shots, shot attempts, zone pressure. Habs are getting steamrolled.

- Fans definitely not getting their money's worth. Islanders have focused on carrying the zone, but haven't been able to string together those passes to finish scoring plays. Habs are looking like last year's team - lots of puck dumps, lots of chases. Very boring hockey.

- Most exciting part of the period comes with less than 10 seconds left. That pretty much sums it up.

- Islanders much better period - they're implementing a strategy that focuses on their speed advantages, Habs playing very much a road game at home tonight. Very close checking, very risk-adverse. Makes for a pretty ho-hum game, which is probably just fine from New York's perspective.


FIRST PERIOD:

- Islanders seem more determined to hit bodies than to construct meaningful offensive rushes. At least so far. If this is the Islanders "formula" for winning, that is, hitting like it's 2006, then they're in for a shock come the playoffs.

- Pretty tight checking period - both teams doing a very good job forcing wingers wide on the rush. Shots are either being easily blocked, or easily saved.

- When the play isn't being forced to the permitter, it's being dumped in. Both teams doing a lot of that in this period, Habs especially so. Their strategy tonight looks to be very, very conservative.

- Islanders penalty kill is a clinic. Absolute perfection covering passing lanes in their zone.

- Amazing how many times Subban has hurt his own teammates with that cannon from the point. I know this is a terrible thing to write, but are they shots impossible to avoid from 40 feet? Smith-Pelly the latest victim.

- Smith-Pelly might be able to drive the net, might be able to draw penalties, but he has almost no ability to score actual goals. Therefore, he's no business playing on that 2nd line. Oh well.

- I give up arguing that Dale Weise should never be on the powerplay. He scores yet another one off a nifty deflection off a Petry point shot, Weise's 8th of the season. He's having a crazy incredible season so far.

- To put Weise into perspective, most reasonable estimates would have Weise top-end season goal production at 15. He's already more than halfway past that mark, 1/6th of the way through the season.

- Good period for the Habs, they played it very safe, but still had control of the tempo with the Islanders focusing more on hits. Net result, the Canadiens had most of the offensive zone play, leading eventually to the opening goal. So far, so good.


HABS AND ISLANDERS GAMEDAY GAME STUFF

You know, I'm still bummed out about the whole Semin situation, so I'm going to keep this to a minimum, in point form.

- First big story - John Tavares, who was reportedly sick as bedridden dog over the weekend, will play tonight, although there's no indication he's at 100%.

- Habs will play the same lineup tonight, which means it's Smith-Pelly on the 2nd line.

- Here's some things to keep an eye out for as you watch the Islanders tonight: The Islanders' numbers into this season are slightly worse than last, possession-wise. But then again, they've been a little Jekyll and Hyde, winning and losing by larger than average margins.

- Islanders' special teams are ... kinda really pretty good so far. New York has the 3rd best powerplay in the League clocking in at 27.6%, while their penalty killing unit is top-rated, with a 90.9% success rate. In other words, the Habs would be wise to just keep this game 5v5 for as much as possible.

- New York's goaltending has also been solid, running under a split system. Thomas Greiss, who's the Islanders' 1b netminder, has posted a .924 SV%, while Jaro Halak, goaltender 1a, comes in with a .936 SV%. Halak will get the start tonight.

- Even though he's missed 3 games from illness, Tavares still leads New York with 11 points. Contain Tavares, and you contain the Islanders.

- Well writing that didn't work. I'm still bummed out about Semin. This team ... I tells ya ...

IT'S OVER BEFORE IT BEGAN. THERRIEN BREAKS UP WITH SEMIN AFTER FIRST DATE

So this is how it ends? So abruptly? So rudely? So ingloriously and ignominiously?

Alexander Semin, if a report yesterday by a very, very old man are accurate, is done in Montreal.

And you know what? It's a shame. A total shame.

Semin's excommunication from the team seemed to start off innocently enough. Semin had a couple of "bad" games (at least by Therrien's standards), so he became a healthy scratch. Brian Flynn took his spot for a couple of games, a fruitless venture since Brian Flynn is, has, and will never be, a 2nd line winger.

Okay, back comes Semin ... oh wait ... nope. Now comes in Devante Smith-Pelly, who's had a few decent shifts besides Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller. That's including the times when, for whatever reason, Eller wasn't benched by Therrien for committing some kind of heinous hockey crime. We're still not sure what Lars did.

Thing is, we're still not entirely sure what Semin did so wrong. Yes, he wasn't scoring goals rapid fire when he suited up, but then again, he didn't need to. The Habs have been one of the top scoring teams in the League this season, to an extent that they've been winning even in spite of also having the greatest goaltender on the planet. The Canadiens have enough depth to overcome periods when a particular line isn't scoring many points.

Besides, when he did take his shifts, Semin, as well as his linemates, did well with puck possession. In 10 games, Semin's 5v5 close adjusted Fenwick was a very solid 56.6%. If Semin can be found at fault, it was for his luck, possessing a 98.6 PDO, on a team whose total average is frequently above 104. In other words, the points were eventually going to start arriving for Semin, given enough time.

However, 10 games are all he got. 107 meager minutes of ice time to prove his worth, which by the way, was and still is a bargain. $1 million for a guy that's a former 40-goal scorer. Of course, we never expected Semin to score that many this year, or for that matter 30 goals. Or possibly even 20.  At the end of the day, Semin was serving a purpose on the Habs second line - he was an asset to his linemates - his line was generating very good possession. Semin was doing what he hoped he would do.

Coach Therrien, however, saw it differently.

And now, with 4th liners trying to fill the 2nd line gap, the Habs are a slightly worse team because of Therrien's decision.

Game Sixty-Nine: Habs vs. Islanders

THIRD PERIOD:

- Parenteau has needed some time to find game legs, and he's gradually improving with each period played. Seems to be meshing well next to Plekanec.

- Habs powerplay looked so good in the second, now firmly pinned to perimitor and unable to get anything meaningful on goal.

- De la Rose high sticked right in front of the official. Comes up slowly. No call.

- Pacioretty might be the most dangerous PK forward in the League. He's been awesome on that unit tonight.

- Islanders dominating possession and momentum with 8 minutes left. Habs desperately need that third goal and fast, or this game could flip very quickly.

- First order of business this summer for DSP: lose 10 pounds. Because right now, he's lumbering around the ice more than he is skating.

- Looks like the Habs are just going to try to hang on, instead of working on getting that killer goal. And now Markov has been penalized. Hold on to something, because Montreal once again is doing everything to make this closer than it should be.

- Just when you think Carey Price can no longer amaze you, he goes and amazes you again. Incredible.

- Plekanec can't get it into the empty net, Pacioretty passes the puck into the middle right on the stick of Bailey, and it's 2-1. And here we go again.

- Lars Eller, thank god. Selfless play by Gallagher to feed him after intercepting the puck at the Islanders blue line. Habs survive themselves and manage to get the win. Good to see the struggling players back on the horse again. Parenteau, Plekanec and Eller. Habs will need more of that if they want to keep ahead of Tampa.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Sweet three way passing play, Galchenyuk showing why he's a natural centre with a perfect pass to the right side right on Plekanec's tape, nothing but empty net. 1-0.

- Hoo boy. The Islanders powerplay. Slow lazy change after the puck is shot into their zone, Eller says thank you very much and feeds Pacioretty in front for his 34th. Terrible goal to surrender. 

- Habs with that 2-0 lead, can they drive home the killer goal?

- Powerplay doesn't produce but looks good as Habs are able to maintain puck control. Progress.

- Carey Price up to his old tricks, making ridiculous saves to maintain the two goal lead. Habs sitting a bit and the Islanders are doing their best to take advantage. 

- De la Rose doing more excellent forechecking. Habs have as a whole, improved in this area in this period.

- Very good period for the Habs, they intensified the forecheck, giving them mastery in the neutral zone, which for the most part, contained the Islanders' oft dangerous rush. Carey Price as usual his Hart self. The bottom line is whether this Habs team can finally locate and deliver the knock-out 3rd goal? 

FIRST PERIOD:

- Pateryn gets a start, Gonchar sits, and DSP gets a demotion. 

- Tavares doing a nice dive club attempt with Subban and Plekanec following him closely. Officials not buying it.

- Nice work by Galchenyuk along the boards controlling the puck under fierce checking and eventually drawing a powerplay. 

- Habs approach to 5v4 is exactly the same as it is 5v5. The braintrust still hasn't figured out why that's a problem.

- Dale Weise with an incredibly stupid board. Gets just two minutes. League may review that blindside hit later.

- Price with more acrobatics to bail out Weise and the PK.

- Subban being very physical, but he's being smart about it. Islanders forwards are making appeals to the officials for penalties, but they're not buying. It's a bit of a New York weakness, their forwards are skilled and dangerous, but soft. 

- Brandon Prust can't score, and really struggles to skate at an NHL level. His fitness has really tailed off compared to earlier this season.

- Islanders defense needs to tidy and tighten up. Too many breaks surrendered this period. They've gotten away with it, so far.

- Habs doing decent job to prevent rebound shots. Not such a great job stopping the Islanders from taking the first shot, however.

- Habs now reverting to long bomb passes to generate offense. That's never a good sign.

- Islanders with the better period, which comes as no surprise. Price excellent, yadda yadda. Habs simply can't compete tonight with dump and chase strategy. They need to gear up their forecheck to create neutral zone turnovers. Otherwise, we're simply watching a game that will invariably swing in favour of New York.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

Welp. It's the final ever visit by the Montreal Canadiens to the only home the New York Islanders have ever known - the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The ancient building (by North American standards) is being abandoned by its pro hockey team for the glamor of Brooklyn.

The final year in Uniondale hasn't been the usual disaster for the upstart Islanders. They've been competing for top spot in the Metropolitan Division for most of the season, although their hopes for a top Eastern Conference seed has taken a couple of steps backwards in recent weeks, with New York winning just 2 of their past 7 starts.

Meanwhile in Habsland, it's the same old drama. After squeezing through 4/5ths of the season schedule mainly riding the back on future Hart Trophy winner Carey Price, the Canadiens' overreaching fortunes have come crashing back to earth. After taking an embarrassing thumping at the hands of the Senators at home Thursday night, local reports who are finally questioning coach Michel Therrien's "system" of surrendering the puck as frequently as possible, started asking the coach whether the Habs approach to hockey needs fixing. Well, yes, yes ... yes ... yes, very much, it does need significant fixing ... welcome to the club, boys. We've been waiting for well over a year for you to ask you these questions.

Therrien's response was predictable. To paraphrase, the system is fine and won't be changing. Alright then. Live by the system (riding Carey Price) die by the system (Carey Price being human).

So right back on that horse. The Islanders will be hungry for a win, and if Thursday night is any indicator of what's in store this evening, the Habs aren't particularly interested in two points.

Players to watch for? Well, it kind of starts and ends with John Tavares, he of 72 points in 70 games, including 33 goals which puts him dead even with Max Pacioretty (in goal scoring). Speaking of Max, he's the only player seemingly putting pucks into the net for the Canadiens, which is great if you're Max Pacioretty, but not so great if you're the rest of the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs are offensively starved, and badly need some goal scoring contributions by capable players like Lars Eller, David Desharnais and Devante Smith-Pelly, who's been an underwhelming presence since being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks more than two weeks.

So it's the last visit to Uniondale! Unless, of course, these two teams meet up in the post-season, which is a distinct possibility, if the Habs were (as we expect) to fall down the Eastern standings to a 4th or 5th place finish.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

Game Forty-Four: Isles vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Another sluggish and sloppy period start burns the Isles again, too many Habs forwards left unmarked, and Galchenyuk finishes the play with a shot that Halak should have stopped.

- Habs have Isles pinned in their zone. Halak keeping his team alive - barely.

- I don't care what the score line says, Weise has been garbage tonight with Plekanec and Pacioretty. All we can do is hope somebody with decision making ability ends this silly experiment ASAP.

- Islanders have given Habs some really open passing lanes most of the night. I think it's helped make the Habs look better than they actually are.

- Pacioretty to Weise: swoosh. Just about anyone who's qualified to play on a top line takes that pass and it's almost certainly 5-2.

- Why Desharnais needs to shoot more: 5-2. Halak getting steamrolled tonight, his mates have really let him down tonight with some sloppy play.

- And it's a route. Plekanec allowed to waltz in, slips one past Halak, who really has been hung out to dry this period. 6-2. Halak gets the hook.

- Wellll ... Lee with a zippy 65 foot wrister that just plain beats Tokarski glove side. Five minutes left, 6-3.

- Annnnnnd ... make it 6-4. Tokarski really fighting the puck. Handcuffed by a wrist shot that pinballs behind him and finally goes off Subban and in. 2:34 left. 

- Lee with a nifty little slew foot on Subban.

- Empty net, Prust on a break, is hauled down, and somehow it's not ruled a goal. Been a good game called by the officials, except for the final two minutes.

- Anyway, good win. Habs had nice fluidity to their game, managing to outscore their opponent despite a pretty iffy night for Tokarski. Will Price be ready for Tuesday night's tough matchup against the Preds? Habs had better hope so. 

SECOND PERIOD:

- Weise scores seconds into the second period. Islanders defense still taking first intermission nap. 2-0.

- Islanders not being very aggressive in protecting the passing lanes, and it's generating more scoring opportunities for the Habs. Really unimpressed with New York's passive defensive play tonight.

- No freakin way. Gallagher drew a penalty??

- Islanders get a big bounce courtesy a bad pass by Tavares that hits Plekanec's heel, and Okposo wrists one past Tokarski. Just one of those goals.

- Another powerplay goal off a one timer at the top of the circle. So this is how you beat the Islanders. Plecks makes it 3-1.

- Habs more or less swarming Halak now, Islanders defense reeling.

- Yeeks. Gonchar and Beaulieu get all mixed up retreating to their zone to guard a 2-on-2, allowing Kulemin to pick up the puck in some open ice and beats Tokarski low. 3-2. Habs were on the cusp of taking a three goal lead. Now this game is up for grabs.

- Yeah, a 3-2 lead heading into the third against a team like the islanders is tenuous at best. Therrien can't count on someone like Price to carry his outplayed team to victory. So this one shaping up to be a nail biter.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Habs capitalizing off their first powerplay. Subban. Little different look there, with Subban working his way to the top of the circle for the one timer. That close, goaltenders really have no chance unless it hits them. 1-0.

- Prust engages in a pointless fight. Gets TKO'd. I guess he feels this is his way of contributing? 

- Weaver and especially Emeln being far too slow and soft protecting the crease. Islanders should zone in hard against that pairing.

- Not a bad start for the Habs - lots of near misses on Halak, team seems a little more fluid and aggressive than their lame wristed effort against the Sens. Game seems to be settling in a bit.

- Beaulieu with a very good, very physical shift. Maybe a little too physical, but the kind of mean nosed play that coaches love.

- Habs movement through the neutral zone much more organized this period. Islanders are being forced into defensive puck dumpings.

- Beaulieu with tremendous hustle back to save a sure goal by Tavares. Beaulieu has done just about everything but score in this period.

- Decent opening 20 minutes, Islanders had flashes of pressure, but Habs with reasonably competent transitions, especially in the neutral zone, generated a fair number of clean zone entries. The Habs were the better team, no doubt about it.

PREGAME NOTES:

- In case you hadn't heard, Carey Price is day-to-day with an upper body injury sustained in the game earlier this week in Columbus. No word if he'll play on Tuesday. Joey McDonald has been called up to back up Dustin Tokarski.

- Mike Weaver will get his first Habs start in nearly two months in place of ... Tom Gilbert, and not Alexei Emelin. For some reason.

- Jaroslav Halak has never, ever, ever lost playing against the Montreal Canadiens. His career numbers include 0.98 GAA and .960 SV%. Hoo boy.

OKAY, WE GIVE UP:

I think the headline says it all. We just plain old give up. I mean, what is the point? This Habs team, blessed with talent and depth from the top to bottom, can't get it in gear. Today's events, which were more baffling line shifts, underscore the fundamental challenge that faces this organization.

This team can never win a championship with Michel Therrien behind the bench.

This morning, Therrien made that astounding decision to move career 4th line winger Dale Weise - to the Habs first line, to play along side Thomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty. The rationale? To quote coach Therrien: "I like his forechecking and puck retrieval skills."

That folks, is a coach that simply doesn't understand the tools at his disposal. For Therrien, even though on any given night on any given english broadcast, you'll hear the old worn out "Therrien is a totally different coach than when he was in Pittsburgh", the plain truth of the matter is, he's not. Michel Therrien is exactly the same guy today as he was 7 years ago when he was unceremoniously fired mid-season by the Pens because that team was woefully underperforming. Why? Because Therrien had implemented an ultra-conservative defensive, ultra-conservative dump/chase/retrieve offensive strategy that put the Pens outside of a playoff spot.

Of course we know that once Therrien was removed from the picture, the Pens totally turned their season around, and in five months, were carrying around the Stanley Cup.

Fast forward 7 more years, and here's Therrien, coaching a team deep with talent, speed and skill, and he's still using the same old game plan. Dump. Chase. Retrieve. And for the most part, it's gotten this team just beyond the boundary of mediocrity. Some might argue that "hey wait, this team is jousting for first place, what gives?". Well, the Habs (tenuous) place in the standings are a facade - the major reason why this team finds itself just a few points back from the first place Lightening has nothing to do with Therrien, and everything to do with the remarkable play of Carey Price, who on close to a dozen occasions this season, carried his out-played team to unlikely game victories.

So now we have Weise on the first line, David Desharnais, who actually looked half-decent on the wing, now playing centre again. Alex Galchenyuk, who was, at least for a while, gangbusters at centre, back on the wing again, P.A. Parenteau, who was constantly shuffled all over the place, not even in the lineup, Sven Andrioghetto, who was racking up goals and assists one night, playing the 4th line the next night, and now playing in Hamilton.

The Habs lineup is now a joke, literally. Tossing names into a blender, and hoping something good comes out.

Well here's the deal tonight. No Carey Price. No Galchenyuk and centre. No Desharnais on the wing. Dale Weise on the top line. And this against the number one team in the Eastern Conference?

The Montreal Canadiens are a team destined for purgatory as long Michel Therrien is behind the bench. Will this team make the playoffs? Sure. Maybe every year. Will it win a championship? No. Never.

Only when Marc Bergevin comes to realize that his coach is just as flawed today as he was 7 years ago, and 4 years beyond that, then his asperations for bringing glory to Montreal are doomed.

Puck drops at 7:10 est. The Islanders are probably going to have their way tonight.

Game Thirty-Five: Habs vs. Islanders

FIRST PERIOD:

- After two straight starts of reasonable competence starting the first period, Habs back to their bad old ways, outshot 5-0 the first 8 minutes. Defense a little shaky with puck control to make the issues more pressing.

- Now it's 7-0, and Plekanec gets nabbed for a hook. Outskated teams take those kinds of penalties.

- Now 11-0, the Islanders Oskoto finally puts the home team on he board after a chaotic Habs line change. Price hung out to dry so far. We're well on our way to a route.

- Desharnais and Eller on completely different pages. How long will Therrien continue to insist on their pairing? Eller-Sekac-Andrioghetto were barnstorming before Eller's injury. 

- First registered shot, takes 14 minutes. 

- Habs first powerplay, Desharnais had to make a simple four foot pass to Markov for what would have been a tap in goal. Pass was about two feet behind Andrei. Desharnais continues to hinder, not help, the powerplay unit.

- Habs are gonna get pounded tonight if they continue to commit unforced turnovers, especially in the neutral zone.

- Just an awful first period for the Canadiens, outplayed just about every direction possible, with Price keeping the scoreboard from getting out of control. That may very well happen in the 2nd period. Actually, it probably will if Habs don't get their house in order.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Total Horrorshow first period for Montreal, every single player with a Corsi under 33% except for Beaulieu. That's .... unbelievably .... bad.

- Well, well. Andrei Markov shows Subban he's got a cannon as well. Habs, so badly outplayed, are tied. 

- Good news, bad news. Emelin's incompetence has apparently been finally noticed, and he's been played least among Habs D. Bad news, Beaulieu, who's easily been one of the better playing blue liners, has been 2nd least played. Sigh.

- More Galchenyuk line magic, Gallagher with some nice gritty work and excellent pass to Galchenyuk, who beats Johnson on an otherwise stoppable shot. Habs take an unlikely lead.

- Another one of those games. Habs badly outplayed except for one area, goaltending. Price is just so damn good that no opponet can afford to have their netminder have an off night. So far, that's been what's happening.

- So, so unwise to have Emelin on the PK unit. His hockey IQ is not nearly high enough to handle the responsibility. Also, his positioning is awful. I'm exhasperated.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs offense has made far too many long lob, low percentage passes on the transition tonight. It's otherwise muted an offense that could score more than a few off someone like Johnson.

- Beaulieu very quietly having one of his best games in memory. Positionally he's been excellent, and has done a fine job containing the Islanders attack to the perimeter. A real difference maker tonight.

- Habs maintaining an aggressive forecheck even though there might be a tendency to shell up with just 6 minutes left on the clock.

- Gonchar played Islanders one on two horribly, letting Tavaras waltz in for a tough Price save. Carey again bailing poor defensive play. 

- Lars Eller seals the deal with sweet puck control and an even sweeter thread pass to Desharnais to finish this game off. Great, great goal.

- Habs steal this one, no other way to describe it. Well, there is one way - Carey Price. Another spectacular performance giving his team two points that they richly didn't deserve. 45 points at the Christmas break is a pretty impressive total for a team that on most occasions this season, has been pretty unimpressive.

HAPPY JESUS DAY!!

This really is a wretched time of year for hockey fans. Everything shuts down for three days because apparently hockey players have lives and family or something. WE MUST BE ENTERTAINED DAMMIT. I've got four consecutive days off in a row for the first time in about 47 years, so I want my damn hockey fix. AND NO TSN WORLD JUNIORS DOESN'T COUNT. God, TSN, enough with pumping this tournament up 24/7. You'd think the juniors is the only hockey they have left to cov ... oooooooh ... wait. Right.

Well, we've got one more game still stuck in the sock to be unwrapped, and it features our Habs against the sad-sack NY Islanders. Sorry, what's that? They ... what? They're ... where?  First place? No, seriously. Really? Well, I'll be dammed.

So what is the deal with the Islanders? Aren't they supposed to be terrible? It's been so long since this organization has seriously competed for anything meaningful, 30 years, give or take, that most of us have just taken it for granted that New York was the NHL's special little elf team, giving out bonus wins to all the other clubs, just because!!



Well times, they be-a-changin'. No longer is this team a perennial doormat. As we near the halfway point of the regular season, New York has the 2nd best record in the Eastern Conference, currently riding a four game winning streak, 5th rated offense, 2nd rated shots/game, this team is a legitimate threat to be the eastern representative for next spring's final. The Islanders, and it's been a long time coming, are no longer a laughing stock.

Now that all said, a good reason for their success lays in their offense. Look at their centers:  John Tavares (28 points), Brock Nelson (27 points), Ryan Strome (21 points), Frans Nielsen (17 points). That's 93 points right there. How do the Habs four starting centers compare? 77 points spread among Galchenyuk, Plekanec, Desharnais and Eller. That's a pretty healthy spread.

Also part of the story this season is the rujuvinated career of one Jaroslav Halak, whom as you're probably aware, has been bouncing around the League the past twelve months, getting shifted out of town from a Stanley Cup contender in St. Louis to nowhereland in Washington, then getting bounced over to New York, where most of us expected he would, like the team he plays on, fade into oblivion. This year, however, Halak has collected 18 wins between the pipes, which puts him behind only Frederik Andersen, Marc-Andre Fleury and Pekka Rinne, Not too shabby!

So tonight, the Habs find themselves in tough against a team that plays very well at home - the Islanders have lost just 3 of 16 in Uniondale, the best home winning percentage in the NHL. The Habs will be going with the same lineup and line combinations as was used Saturday night against Ottawa.

Puck will drop at 7:10 EST. Carey Price will start for the Canadiens, while Chad Johnson, for whatever reason, will start for New York (big mistake guys, you should have gone with Halak).

MERRY SECULAR HOLIDAYS! 

Game Thirty-Seven: Habs vs. Blues

Happy FRIDAY

Is it vacation yet??!?

SPEAKING of vacation, seems as though more than a few guys wearing a C and an H last night were taking one. As noted, I wasn't able to live blog the game, or see (much), but I read over the game notes and stats and ... yup ... looks like the boys took an early one.

SO WHAT'S COME OUT OF MICHEL'S BLENDER TODAY!???

Line 1: Gionta/Plekanec/Galchenyuk
Line 2: Pacioretty/Desharnais/Gallagher
Line 3: Bourque/Eller/Brière
Line 4: Moen-Prust-Bournival

Meh. Does it really matter any more? I think Therrien should take the "clean" lineup approach, FOR FUNZ.

Line 1: Pacioretty/Plekanec/Prust ... The PPP line ... because, FUN!
Line 2: Bourque/Briere/Bournival ... taa daa! THE BBB line ... because TWICE AS MUCH FUNZ! Plus Briere can't bitch all night about not playing centere.
Line 3: Gionta/Galchenyuk/Gallagher ... THE GGG line ... because THREE TIMES THE FUNZ!! And Galchenyuk used to play centre, I mean IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE.
Line 4: Whatever. Like they'd actually get played.

Do it Michel. Do it. You can just mail in the victories. DO IT.

Lafleur whispered : " Take this torch, it will keep you warm during the long nights in the press box" pic.twitter.com/vid37FzYJY
— Marc Dumont (@Dr_Habs) December 19, 2013

Gameday Game Preview:

I hates doing previews like this. Just hates it. Tonight is gonna suck - big time.

7 loses. That's it. We're nearly half way through the regular season, and the St. Louis Blues have 7 regulation losses. Nobody has fewer in the NHL. That's what we're up against tonight. And as visitors to boot. The Blues have won 13 of the 17 games it's played at the Scott Trade Center. Whatever a scott trade is.

The Blues are good team. A very good team who just so happen to probably have the very best coaching mind behind their bench. They are a team whom I think is probably the strongest candidate to be the Western Conference representative for next spring's championship.

The Blues are also a team with few, if any glamorous superstars. The brightest spot for the Blues this year has to be Alexander Steen, who's having a career year - 22 goals in 33 games. That's already almost equivalent to his career season high for goals scored - he got 24 in 2009-10, but that was done over 68 games. 

After Steen, the names don't get anymore household. David Backes. 30 points. T.J. Oshie, 27 points. Kevin Shattenkirk. 23 points. Noting a trend? The Blues play by commission, they don't overpower you, they just outmaster you with a well-refined gameplan.

The Habs know this first hand, witness the game earlier in the year, when they were playing a pretty decent game against St. Louis, holding a 2-1 third period lead when St. Louis, who were waitin'-in-the-bushes, game out full throttle for the final frame, and the always cunning Ken Hitchcock, even though the Blues were the visitors, started line matching, and finally caught Michel Therrien asleep at the switch, getting the Steen line out against the Habs depleted 4th line. Seconds later, game tied. And then lost in overtime.

Playing the Blues requires much planning and strategy, which I don't think is exactly the Habs greatest coaching strength today. So for the Habs to even entertain thoughts of somehow coming out of this game with 2 points, they'll have to play a classic road game, which means rigorous forechecking, insufferably consciousness D-zone coverage, and a defense that's able to clear the zone and execute an effective transition - something the Habs have done very poorly the past 6 weeks (coinciding with the club's marked tumble down the fenwick standings).

Oh yeah. And somebody other than Max Pacioretty or Alex Galchenyuk has to score goals.

Just like in November, tonight it's Price vs. Halak.

Puck drops at 8:10 EST. I won't be live blogging tonight because of my son's Christmas concert. Priorities!!

 

AND SO IT BEGINS ... 

 - Daniel Briere ... healthy scratch tonight, to make way for Ryan White.

For those of us Habs fans who still haven't pulled all the hairs from our scalp this season, that's great news!

Gameday preview in a bit. It's-a-gonna-be-ugly.

Lineup Goo:

Expected Blues offensive combos tonight:

Line 1: Schwartz/Steen/Oshie
Line 2: Tarasenko/Berglund/Paajarvi
Line 3: Porter/Roy/Stewart
Line 4: Morrow-/Lapierre/Cracknell

Game Sixteen: Blues vs. Habs

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!

Afternoon News 'n' Notes:

- Travis Moen is a confirmed go for tomorrow night's game in Ottawa.
- Speculation flying all over the place this afternoon that Nail Yakupov will be demoted to the AHL. All I can say to that is, Alex Galchenyuk.
- TSN: shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up SHUT THE FRONT DOOR UP. Thank you.
- "I can't hate someone who's better than me." Erik Karlsson on P.K. Subban, November 6, 2013. Have I mentioned that TSN SHOULD SHUT UP?

Morning News 'n' Notes:

- Louis Leblanc and Martin St-Pierre were shipped back to Hamilton this morning. It must be a rough day for both players; St-Pierre had to wait nearly 4 years between NHL starts, and for Leblanc, his chances of solidifying a starting spot on the big club are now nearly out. After having less-than-stellar pre-season, Leblanc was sent back to Hamilton, where he played well enough to give himself another shot after the injuries started piling up in Montreal. For the most part, Leblanc performed at an acceptable level - granted Therrien didn't put him out very often. But unlike Bournival, Louis simply didn't make a marked impression.

So will Leblanc get one final shot? Hard to say - it largely depends on the health of the Canadiens' forwards over the next few months. If the Habs go through another rash of injuries, then he stands a chance. If not, then I fear that Leblanc is destined for the "good-but-not-quite-good-enough" list of professional hockey fatalities.

Starting practice lines this morning at Brossard:

1st: Galchenyuk-Eller-Gallagher (relieved to see this trio reunited).
2nd: Bournival-Plekanec-Gionta
3rd: Pacioretty-Desharnais-Bourque (with Leblanc and St-Pierre assigned, Desharnais will start tomorrow night)
4th: Moen-White-Parros (yeah, Travis is back. Not a moment too soon).

Also this morning, Prust and Briere are reportedly close to getting a green light for return, so Desharnais' reinstated status might be very brief.

St. Louis 3, Montreal 2 (SO)

Overtime:

- Well, it only took 16 games to get one of these, but we'll take it.

- Dismal OT for Habs so far. Not a single chance on Halak.

- TSN pointing out that by rule, Plekanec had to take that penalty shot, he was the last Habs player to touch the puck.

- Shootout, Price vs. Halak, pretty hard not to put the money on Jaro. 

- I guess this is the ultimate duel.

- Yeah Halak is good at these. Price, not so much. 

- Gallagher. Weak. 

- Last chance. Pacioretty.

- Blah. 37 blocked shots for one measly point.

 

Third Period:

- If the Habs manage to win this game, looking back at that 2nd period save by Price on Stewart is a significant turning point.

- Has Leblanc been benched?

- And there we have it, Gord Miller talks about the glut of Habs defense not signed past this season. Memo to TSN: there is only one player of any significane who will be a UFA: Markov. Please update your note cards.

- Pretty tight 3rd, both teams being very cautuos, the Blues appear to be passively waiting for the Habs to make a mistake.

- Blues now turning on the jets, the game opening up. Hitchcock matching the Steen line looking to catch Therrien sleeping at the switch, which is always a looming possibility.

- Nights like these that you begin to realize Price's elite upside. Must be frustrating to be on the Blues' side of the ice.

- Bah. Lucky redeflects elude Price, Hitchcock finally nailed Therrien who deployed his 4th line and got burned.

- I guess we're not going to see that Habs powerplay tonight.

- Check that. Subban boarded by Reaves, Habs to the powerplay.

- Diaz with the entire shooting alley, missed by 25 feet. Worst accuracy in the game? He's up there.

- The Habs just set an NHL record for shots blocked in a game. 36. Wow.

- Absolutely correct call for delay of game. Habs with a huge opportunity here.

- See, did it have to be Plekanec?? He's easily the Habs weakest penalty shot man. Ah well.

- Therrien could have selected Pacioretty to take that penalty shot. He chose Plekanec. Because, stupidity.

Second Period:

- First period combine: 73.7% Corsi, 72.7% Fenwick, Blues.

- Pacioretty seems to be fitting in well along side Eller and Gallagher. 

- That Price glove save on Stewart was so good it's almost as good as scoring a goal.

- Bouque off a rebound, the goal wouldn't have happened if it hasn't been for the Markov drive. 

- Halak shaken up after the Bourque goal, just about made a horrible mistake goal passing the puck to Gallagher 20 feet away from the goalmouth. 

- Carey Price circus save, Subban took a rocket shot off his right arm, going to dressing room in significant pain. Habs season now flashing before our eyes.

- Subban back on the bench. And I'm breathing again.

- Halak and Price have a nice little duel going right now, don't they?

- Hockey gods if you've any mercy, please don't allow Lapiere to score tonight, m'kay?

- I can't be down on Bouillon all the time. That was a class A bodycheck on Leopold.

- Gionta creates the turnover, and Bournival with his 4th, a complete bullet past Halak. The Habs take a gritty 2-1 lead.

- And Bouillon makes a terrific defensive play to break up a Blues 2-on-1 break. The world's gone all crazy.

- Blues living up to their stingy penalty reputation. Will the Habs get a powerplay tonight?

- That's a terribly strict too many men call against the Habs. Galchenyuk touched the ice for about a quarter of a second.

- Another penalty kill. Gritty period for the Habs who blocked Blues shots like crazy, the dividends being a 40 minute lead. Habs in a pretty strong position to actually win this thing. Go figure.

First Period:

- Subban and Markov off to sloppy start, very soft around Price, Blues pick up a couple of good quality shots.

- Doug Murray. Oh boy.

- Briere, Parros, Murray - the big summer signings. That's all I'll say.

- Got the feeling we're looking at one of those 4 or 5 goal losses tonight. We'll see, but the Blues are toying with the Habs so far.

- Countdown to Gord Miller talking about the Habs not signing their defense beyond this season in 3 ... 2 ...

- Seeing Diaz on the first line PK .. drives. Me. Up. The. Wall. No wait, seeing Diaz AND Murray together on the PK drives me over the cliff.

- Well, Pacioretty's legs are moving in pretty rapid succession tonight. So that's something.

- Can't afford to take unnecessary penalties to a team like the Blues. We're gonna get burned ... eventually.

- Parros with the decision over Reaves. Don't know the issue, the hit by Reaves on Murray along the boards was perfectly fine. Anyway, Habs had control of the puck in the Blues zone and were setting up a good scoring chance when the gloves were dropped. Parros can't do anything right.

- Bourque was particularly invisible over the weekend, but came within a whisker of tying the game off a rare Halak rebound.

- Price doesn't clear that puck over the glass if Diaz can do the simple task of keeping the puck in the Blues' zone.

- Habs PK unit was totally exhausted, fortunately bailed out as puck drifts to Price, and he covers up. Blues are almost certainly going to strike if they keep getting these powerplays.

- Habs pretty much totally outplayed in the period, the penalties will make the possession stats look particularly bad. At least it's just 1-0. It could be a lot worse.

Gameday Game Preview:

OH ... what's the point??

Jaro Halak returns, and all those in Habsland welcome him back. Also returning is Max Lapierre, but nobody cares. You ain't welcome, Max. Can't say we ever missed you, either.

Blues have better players and more importantly, much, much better coaching. We have good players, and coaching that ... well. Uh. Did I mention that we have good players?

Tonight, the Blues are gonna win, and do it easily.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST. We'll be blogging it all live, for what it's worth.

Desharnais Demotion:

Did I mention early this morning that it's quiet on gameday? Foolish scribble - it's never a dull day in Habsland. When will I ever learn?

The Desharnais demotion/scratch ... however you want to define it, is a real head scratcher for yours truly.  Yes, there is no argument that Desharnais' output this season has fallen way short of expectations, even by his slumping standards. One point in 14 games for any player that was pegged as a top-6 forward will get you a seat in the press box on just about any NHL team.

However ...

These are not normal circumstances in Montreal. The rash of early season injuries which knocked out Parros (first), then Pacioretty, then Prust, then Briere, then Moen - has ravaged the Habs' offense. Even with Parros and Pacioretty back in the lineup, the Canadiens are still struggling to cobble together well-balanced lineup, with particular effect on the team's forth line, which came out very strong early in the year when it featured Ryan White centering Moen and Prust. Since the latter two have gone down, the Habs have struggled to effectively forecheck their opponent towards creating consist waves of offensive pressure. The last two games have been particularly dismal, with the Habs 4th line posting an atrocious -9 against Minnesota on Friday night.  Saturday night, that line pretty much watched from the bench, with Therrien choosing to play just 8 forwards the last half of the game. Little surprise then, as the Habs collapsed in the 3rd period.

So that all said, it strikes me as baffling that Therrien feels the team would be suited to shelve Desharnais tonight, while electing to keep Parros in the lineup. On Saturday night, Parros received 3:57 seconds of ice time - which included just one, that's right, one 57 second shift in the 3rd period.

So there you have it - Parros has been so utterly useless since his return that his main function has literally devolved as a bench warmer.

So yes, Desharnais continues to be a magnificent disappointment and spectacular failure seemingly since the moment he signed that big contract extension, but you'll never make me believe for a split second that having him sit out tonight for a hired goon, against the 3rd least penalized team in the League, makes even the slightest shred of sense.

But then again, we're talking about Michel Therrien, the same guy who wants his best player, point leader, and all-around superstar defenseman, to do more.

News 'n' Notes:

We'll post stuff as it comes in, although it's usually pretty quiet on gameday. So at the very least, preview later.

In the meantime, in addition to the whole Therrien vs. Subban controversy, more feathers have been ruffled by this video which was posted yesterday of a hit Subban delivered on Brenden Gallagher during practice. It's a hard thump along the boards, and the folk are wondering if that kind of contact is "allowed" during team practices (hint: yes, they are).

Still, the muckackers are mucking their muck over this clip.

The drama never ends.

UPDATE: Wow. We figured it would happen, but this quickly? Marin St-Pierre has been called up and will play tonight on the 4th line along side Ryan White and George Parros.

David Desharnais is a scratch.