Game 53: Caps vs. Habs

Washington 3, Montreal 2:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Well, those lineup questions we asked have been answered, and while adjustments have been made (highlighted), it's not what we were speculating. Desharnais is a healthy scratch (!!), while 2nd and 3rd lines have been blendered up:

Pacioretty/Danault/Radulov

Lehkonen/Galchenyuk/Byron

Andrighetto/Plekanec/Shaw

De La Rose/Mitchell/Flynn

Weber/Emelin

Beaulieu/Petry

Markov/Nesterov

- His point totals aren't very high, but Lars Eller is having one of his best seasons ever - he and his line have had excellent possession numbers - Lars has really established himself as one of the better two-way players in the NHL.

- Beagle top corner beats Price, and barely 3 minutes into the game, it's 1-0 Caps. Mitchell line just too soft in coming back to cover the zone, Beaulieu also not playing the slot nearly tight enough. This could be a long afternoon ahead.

So that's where Brad Marchand stays when he is visiting the Bell Centre. pic.twitter.com/pOgubGuyy2

— Mitchell Tierney (@mitchelltierney) February 4, 2017

- Caps are playing a rigorous trap right now, the Habs offence has been almost totally snuffed out. 

- But it's Radulov to the rescue with a Beagle-like snap shot of his own, beating Holtby blocker side to tie the game. Great work by Danault to work the puck to Radulov in the slot.

- Plekanec somehow misses a tap-in goal. That's the kind of play he was making while mired in a near half-season long slump. 

- Galchenyuk seems to be struggling, still not convinced he isn't deal with some issues related to that knee injury. His linemate, Artturi Lehkonen, however, has played a rambunctious period. 

- Caps stormed out of the gate, and looked intent on putting this game away early - and then the board behind Holtby broke, and it seemed like everything just ebbed away. So while the Caps were the discernibly better team in that first frame, it could have been a whole lot worse. Canadiens will be very happy to go to the 2nd tied up, especially against a team that so far this season, has dominated their opponent in the first period.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Caps with a very good, not-quite-dominative first period, Habs really hurt by some struggling shifts by the Danault and Mitchell line. Plekanec and Galchenyuk lines were "okay", Lehkonen playing some hard, fast shifts. Meanwhile, the Eller line (Lars included) has been a Habs-killer today.

- Habs first powerplay comes up blank, with Bordeleau matching up Eller against Shaw (no contest) on the first wave. Canadiens still hurt by the ongoing issue of disorganized zone entires with the man advantage. It's difficult to generate offence if you can't set up.

- Galchenyuk line being taken to the shed defensively - they've been a two-way mess today. So it's little surprise that the Caps take the lead, with Burakovsky (that Eller line!) with a nice snapper that beats Price top corner. That goal doesn't happen if the Galchenyuk and his mates make a simple play gaining the Caps zone, and bother hustling back after coughing up the puck. They did neither. 

- Andrighetto does a nice little pirouette do fool the ref into giving Orpik a tripping penalty. I guess we'll take it.

- Another zippo powerplay, Galchenyuk made a brief appearance and looked ... not good. I just don't see how he's playing at 100%. He's almost certainly still hurt, which begs the question, why the hell is he even playing?

- Eller line is having a monster day - just dominating the Habs almost every shift they've had in this 2nd period,

- Okay, Caps *dominated* that 2nd period, if not for a couple of goalposts saving the day, the score could easily be 4-1 Washington. Canadiens really hurt by some very sub-standard performances, most glaringly Alex Galchenyuk, who almost appears to be hobbling around the ice. When he's barely skating, he's been making bad decisions with the puck. Just no idea what's happening there (well, pretty sure he's still playing with a not-healed knee injury, but I digress). Canadiens have no answer to the Caps top three lines, which beside their offensive abilities, have had little difficulty in snuffing out an semblance of a Montreal attack - bottling up the neutral zone, and forcing the Habs to make mostly fruitless puck dumps. Everything is pretty much set up for a very ugly 3rd period for the Canadiens.

THIRD PERIOD:

- That 2nd period, woah ... so much ugly. The Eller line has been fantastic, the Caps defence across the board has been excellent, the Habs defence, also across the board, has been miserable. There's been some speculation the past couple of weeks about Marc Bergevin going "all in" for a Stanley Cup this spring, which if fine, Marc. Go for it. But if you want to win a championship, you'll have to find employment with another team, because as this game is illustrating, the Canadiens aren't even close to competing.

- Not sure why, but NHL refs don't like Alex Radulov. So many borderline (or just plain wrong) calls against him this season. Radulov goes to the box for a (very) borderline hook on Ovechkin behind the Caps net.

- Backstrom, 3-1. Habs PK again a weak link, just too much traffic is being allowed in front of Price. 

- Pacioretty via Radulov makes it 3-2. The Habs dare to dream of somehow making something out of this nothing game? Stay tuned.

- Alex Galchenyuk appears to have woken up in this 3rd period, thereby making the first 2 period all the more mystifying. Anyway, Habs been pushing pretty hard here past three minutes looking for the tying goal. 7 minutes left on the clock. We still have hope.

- Annnnnnnnnddddddd ... que Andrew Shaw ill-timed penalty. 

- Not a good day for the referees. Sure, call Shaw for that hold, but then you can't let the other team get away with pretty clear-cut holds and hooks and "let it go". You set a standard, you have to live by it.

- Price pulled, Habs swarm, Holtby holds. At least unlike the Flyers game, they're not going out with a whimper. 

- Two point blank shots with less than 5 seconds left for Shea Weber, and he fans on both. Caps hold on for the victory, deserved. But still, one gets the feeling that an opportunity missed for the Canadiens to pull a game out of the fire. Are you getting a sense that must-wins are now arriving for this team? I do. Tomorrow's game against the Oilers critical in helping this Habs team find the winning track, which somewhere along the line of getting healthy again, they've lost.

GAME PREVIEW: UGH. THE CAPS. I GUESS IT'S TIME TO GET SERIOUS

So how's everybody feeling after the debacle in Philadelphia Thursday night? Hey, it could be worse - you could be Andrew Shaw. Feel the shame, Shaw. FEEL IT.

Therrien on Shaw - "We can't accept to take that type of penalty as a team. Pretty simple."

— Dan Robertson (@DRTSN690) February 3, 2017

Five more years. Five. More. Years. That's how long Shaw's contract extends. That's how long Shaw will be playing in Montreal, unless somehow, some way, another G.M. believes his team's fans "will love" having Andrew Shaw.

Anyway, enough about that. It's time to get serious - and hoo boy, what a weekend awaits for the less-than-stellar Habs, as per the now Super Bowl tradition, they host back-to-back afternoon games, starting Saturday with the League's best team, the Washington Capitals, and then Sunday, Connor McDavid and the actually-gonna-be-in-the-playoffs-this-year Edmonton Oilers.

The Caps have, on most nights, dismantled their opponents this season, the latest being the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. The Caps have only lost 3 times this calendar year - interestingly enough, to underwhelming opponents that included the soon to be Hartford Whalers 2.0, the New York Islanders and the Ottawa Senators (oh yeah, and a thumping from the Black Hawks). Anyway, there's hope for the Habs!!

Across the line, the Caps are putting up elite League numbers. 7th in possession (51.2%), 5th in offence (3.22 GF60), 1st in defence (2.09 GA60), 4th best shooting percentage, 2nd best save percentage, on and on it goes.

The only "weak-ish" spot are the Caps specialty units. Their powerplay, is currently ranked "only" 14th overall, and their PK, which is 5th best, has struggled of late, having surrendered 7 goals the past 10 days. Otherwise, you've got roster world beaters like Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie, Lars Eller having another excellent (and as usual under-the-radar) season as the 3rd line center ... defending Vezina winner Braden Holtby putting up more trophy-worthy numbers, and going into Montreal, winner of 10 straight. Yi. Yi. Yi.

The Habs - what to say. They're almost totally healthy for the first time in almost 3 months, and then they go a drop a turd on Broad Street. Apart from Shaw doing his stupid thing, the Canadiens were held to a pathetic 16 shots, the low mark for the season, against a Flyers team that's on the playoff bubble.

Will adjustments be made? Will Alex Galchenyuk be put back on the top line between Max Pacioretty and Alex Radulov? Will Michel Therrien shift the defensive deck chairs, splitting apart the struggling duo of Shea Weber and Alexei Emelin? Will the penalty killing unit under the eye of J.J. Daigneault stop being terrible? Will the powerplay be not as terrible as it was Thursday night? Will Carey Price do all of the work again and carry his team almost single-handedly to victory?

Eh. Probably not. But watch, we will.

Price vs. Holtby. Puck drops at 1:10 EST.

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 Three: Habs vs. Sens

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs expanding possession advantage through 40 minutes, but as I mentioned previously, it's misleading considering how much (futile) powerplay time Montreal enjoyed in the 2nd.

- Tim Peel is awful. That is all.

- Subban does some marvellous work dancing and spinning around in the Sens zone, offloading a shot that Mitchell redeflects past O'Conner. Habs have an insurance lead. That goal - all P.K.

- Not sure if it's happening, but it sure feels like Habs are taking control of this game - Sens are pinching hard at centre, and it's creating a bushelful of 2-on-1 breaks for Montreal.

- Habs have had the great fortune of playing two very undisciplined teams in the span of 24 hours.

- Montreal's powerplay is just trying too hard, looking for some kind of perfection. Setups are far too complex, and low percentage. 95 times out of 100, you're not going to thread through two  long passes through the lanes without somebody from the opposition getting in the way. Whomever is drawing this system up has no idea what they're doing.

- I've lost count. I think Habs man advantage is oh-for-seventy-kajllion tonight. But I might be lowballing that number.

- Three minutes left, Habs firmly in "sit on it" mode. Hope this doesn't burn them.

- Officiating, while widely in favour of Montreal as far as powerplay time tonight, has not been very consistent. Lots of calls missed, especially slashes, and calls made on plays that really weren't penalties. Mitchell just called for interference for checking on opponent who had the puck.

- Condon goes post to post robbing the Sens of a powerplay goal, while simultaneously taking a stick from Subban's hands as he moved across. Remarkable.

- That was Condon's game. Great start, it's little wonder how he won a job with the big team this fall. Habs played a better game tonight than they did against the Bruins last night, but still their powerplay is a complete mess. Once and for all, somebody needs to take control of that unit and set it on a proper path.



SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs with clear possession advantage in the first period, Ottawa's offence simply doesn't quite have the horses to match Montreal's three line attack.

- This Condon guy is lookin' pretty sharp. Looks like he's been taking some Carey Price lessons.

- O'Conner seems to be settling down a bit. Maybe the jitters were confined to the first period. So far rebound control has been pretty solid in this period.

- Habs man advantage off the Stone crosscheck comes up empty, but had a semblance of competence. Relatively decent puck control in the opposition zone, which is kind of a change.

- Habs powerplay back to the disaster zone, Pageau with a short handed goal.

- And then the Habs can't cash in on 90 second two man advantage. Leaves one speechless.

- I can't understand how this organization could be so bad, for so long, over something so relatively basic as conducting a powerplay. The two man advantage was beyond abysmal. Passing around and around and around only to set up fruitless long range point shots. How long can this go on?

- Not surprisingly, the Sens have a huge boost in momentum from killing (and scoring off) the Habs man advantages. Now Montreal must hold on for dear life.

- Yet another powerplay, and .. well .. you know the rest of the story. It's a running joke now. That's all it deserves to be.

- Habs are going to have a significant edge in 2nd period possession, but it'll be a total facade. Bottom line, the Sens have been the better team this period, the Habs by far the more incompetent team.

- One of the more frustrating period of Habs hockey that I've seen in a long time.


FIRST PERIOD:

- Nobody seems to care much about this game, as most eyes, especially in Ontario, are on the Blue Jays. Honestly, isn't Toronto tired of cheering on choke?

- Rich multi multi-millionaire gets liver transplant. If only hundreds of thousands were half as fortunate.

- Excellent first shift by the Plekanec lines, cycling the puck well in the Ottawa zone, hemming the Sens in for nearly a minute.

- Beware Hoffman and Stone. Therrien would be wise to do line matching whenever possible to contain those two.

- Excellent transition through the neutral zone by the Habs best line so far this year, the Galchenyuk line. Continued clean, accurate passing will generate plenty of scoring chances tonight.

- Matt O'Conner, who as we mentioned in our preview, is playing is first ever NHL start, and is looking more than a little nervous so far. Couple of long range shots have handcuffed him.

- Beaulieu continues to do a fine job covering the slot, his position in anticipation of the play is rock solid. His partner, Gilbert, has really lost a step this summer - his defence is far more reactionary.

- There's the rookie play - O'Conner doesn't cover his post properly, and Plekanec smartly banks the puck off his skate into the back of the net. 1-0.

- Gilbert, who we mentioned is uber-slow, holds Chaisson who easily skates past him on the wing. Can't see how either Tinordi or Pateryn could be any worse, at a fraction of the payroll price.

- Subban is high sticked by Turris right in front of the official ... and I mean RIGHT DIRECTLY IN FRONT. Tim Peel, in his usual daze, fails to make the obvious call.

- Habs defence again making poor long-bomb passes from their own zone, even with plenty of open ice in from of them. That drives me crazy.

- Plecks again. He's having quite the period. Blocks a Karlsson shot, outskates him down the ice, and slips the puck through O'Conner, who again, probably shouldn't have let that past. 2-0 Habs.

- O'Conner surrenders two nervous goal, while Condon looked cool as a cucumber. Habs had good possession, and sans some silly long passes by the defence, worked the puck nicely through centre ice. That might have been the Habs most complete period played this season.


F

WE DON'T HATE THE LEAFS OR BRUINS ANYMORE. HELLO, OTTAWA!!

The Eastern Conference is a funny thing this season. It's mainly comprised of six teams, Washington, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Pittsburgh, and New York (Rangers and Islanders). Each, on its own merits, could be argued to be the best club in the Conference. Aside from those six, the East hasn't got much. It's got dreadful teams (Toronto, Boston, Philly to name a few), and a couple of middling teams that barely qualify as mediocre. What I'm saying here is the east is very top heavy this season. Which means that a couple of not-very-good hockey teams are going to win wildcard spots.

The Senators might be one of those not-very-good hockey teams that sneak into the post season. Ottawa, as you might recall, made a ridiculous run from oblivion last winter, coming from down 740 points in the standings to sneak their way into the post-season (at the expense of the Bruins), only to be ousted in the first round with relatively little ease by the Habs, which ain't saying much.

Point is, the Sens are not a team that can realistically win 22 out of 30 games, which is how they finished 2014-15. They are a team saddled with cap issues, with far too much money tied up in marginal veterans like Chris Neil and Chris Phillips. Having too much cap tied down in the wrong places severly hampered the Sens in their ability to make improvements during the off season. So now Ottawa is now tasked with putting together a decent season with significant question marks surrounding their offense (in particular at wing), and goaltending (in particular Craig Anderson).

But the Sens, at the very least, aren't Toronto-terrible. They've got Mark Stone, who's been a Habs killer, and there's Mike Hoffman, who's been off to a good start in the young season, and of course, there's Erik Karlsson.

In fact, the Sens are just good enough to have made themselves, arguably, the Habs biggest rival at the present. Yes, the anger will always exist between the Canadiens and the Leafs and the Bruins, but it's hard to get the hate on against teams that you know are destined for somewhere near the bottom of the standings. While the Sens didn't have a great off season, it's pretty safe to say they won't be anywhere near the bottom this year - and should be a pretty good bet to earn at least a wild card berth.

Meanwhile in Habsland, it's full steam ahead - the Candiens coming off a (more or less) easy win last night in Boston, and with games coming back-to-back, Mike Condon will earn his very first start against Matt O'Connor, who is also starting his first game for Ottawa. Groovy!!!

Puck drops at 7:10 EST. We're live streaming the game for you to watch while your big screen is playing the Blue Jays game.

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 Sixty-Eight: Sens vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Pageau now draws a penalty. This guy, already.

- Sens convert. Soft defensive crease coverage allows Stone to easily redeflect an otherwise harmless shot past Price. The Habs go from well on the road to victory to losing the game in the span of one period.

- Puempel with an idiotic crosscheck to Parenteau's face. He's very lucky he only got 4 minutes. Fully deserved 5 and a game.

- Habs totally fumbling this huge powerplay away.

- Legs aren't there, and neither is any semblance of intensity. Habs blow the man advantage.

- Penalty over, Habs in sleepwalk line change mode, Karlsson completely unmarked comes rolling in on the right wing and beats Price off a simple pass. Price surrenders four goals for the first time in many weeks. Awful awful display of hockey by the Canadiens. Shameful, really.

- Methot now. Everything the Sens are touching right now turns to goals. 

- Doom has arrived in Montreal. Gravity has finally arrived, and everything has crashed back to earth. Habs terrible system has finally collapsed and dues are now being paid. Have I used enough metaphors yet? This team is in trouble. Big trouble.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Clunky giveaway at Sens blue line, De la Rose makes a rookie error by not tracking his check, which was Karlsson. That's usually not going to end well, and his blast, possibly tipped by a scrambling De la Rose, beats Price high. 2-1.

- Patches now being given credit for first goal, now has 33 on the year. 40 totally within his grasp.

- He still might not being impacting the scoresheet, but Eller is having another strong game. Effort is strong, he's doing a fine job checking. Once the snakebite wears off, surely points will follow.

- Petry does such a nice job feeding, instead of dumping the puck forward. Therrien will soon start disliking him for that.

- Zone entires for the Habs have been pretty easy, as long as Karlsson isn't on the ice.

- Goodbye lead. Poor zone retreat by Habs forwards, Pageau skates around Price who overchases the play, and banks the puck off a scrambling Plekanec and into the net. Habs completely undone by speed there. Irony, given that ought be their chief offensive weapon. Tie game.

- Mystifying. Habs had the Sens totally on the ropes, only needed one more punch, and then find a way of allowing two sleepy goals. This team looked like a world beater first period, and total chumps in the second. All the momentum is surely with the desperate Ottawa club. Habs are just indifferent. 

FIRST PERIOD:

- So will we see the dirty Sens tonight or the scummy Sens tonight? 

- Well, so far, although it's very early, Habs have dished out more hits. Attaboys.

- Four minute powerplay. Let's see what Parenteau can muster up. Maybe a little DSP?

-Desharnais cut by that high stick, Plekanec not on the bench. Ut-oh.

- Subban with a blast that Hammond can't pick up. 1-0. Good, fast, aggressive start for the Habs - miles better than two nights ago.

- Goodness me, short handed production. Pacioretty turns Hammond inside out on a break. 2-0. Before the game Darren Dreger put forth the notion that Hammond was better than Price. How's that working out?

- Gilbert called for high stick on Ryan, who fell to the ice as shot. Stick didn't come anywhere near Ryan. Chris Lee makes the call. Yup.

- Good first period for the Habs, one of their better for awhile. Powerplay looked good and produced, forecheck was pleasantly effective, Price looked solid as usual. So far, so good.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

Oh, Sens fans. We'd find you so adorable if so many of you weren't appalling human beings. Let's just use this as one of many examples. Okay, this (totally appalling) example too. Anyway, you get the point. Sens fans, including the people they employ, live in a land of delusions, where no matter how many losses are suffered, no matter how thin or terrible their lineup may be, the promised land is always just around the corner.

So Ottawa, go ahead with your little "RED SCARF UNION", whatever that was about, and celebrate your lofty visions of finishing somewhere around 10th place in the Eastern Conference. We Habs fans have better things to do. Such as, wringing our hands over the total lack of offense, the ridiculous, NAY, heroin-like addiction it's acquired relaying on its goaltender to single-handedly win every single game, and its maddening coach, who scratches actually productive forwards, plays productive centers on the wing, puts scoring wingers at center, and pushes 4th line guys to the first line.

But wait. What is that I see?? Is ... that ... a glimmer a light? A ray of hope??

It cannot be. Has common sense finally arrived in Habsland?

Here are the lines tonight:

Line 1: Pacioretty/Desharnais/Gallagher
Line 2: Galchenyuk/Plekanec/Parenteau*
Line 3: Eller/De la Rose/DSP
Line 4: Prust/Mitchell/Weise**

* Yay!
** OMG FINALLY

Indeed, P.A. Parenteau returns from oblivion tonight, slotting in the 2nd line (thankfully not the 4th, like the last start). Meanwhile, FINALLY Dale Weise is playing down in the 4th line, which unlike the last 10 days of Flynn/Mitchell futility, actually looks half-decent. Progress!!!

The Sens, bless their hearts, had actual aspirations of making the playoffs after they went on a big winning run in February (combined with a big losing run by the Boston Bruins). Well, those aspirations took a cliff dive two nights ago as Ottawa basically drowned their hopes after losing to the Bruins, putting the Sens 7 points back of 8th place, instead of a possible 3.

That's okay, Ottawa fans. There's always next year, amiright?

In any case, the offensively starved Habs have got to start getting their act in gear as we near the start of the playoffs. The scoring drought has become downright nasty. Witness:

- Alex Galchenyuk: 4 points past 12 games.
- David Desharnais: 2 goals past 14 games.
- Devante Smith-Pelly: 1 measly point since being acquired.
- Lars Eller: 4 points (hoo boy - this is not a typo) past 30 games.

Beyond those players, most of the rest have put up some pretty mediocre numbers. I don't like stating the obvious, but if this team doesn't start to put more pucks on the net, not only will the remainder of the regular season schedule be a painful process, but the post-season will almost be poor, nasty, brutish and short.

Tonight, it's Carey Price against the February pheonom, Andrew Hammond.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game Sixty-One: Habs vs. Blue Jackets

THIRD PERIOD:

- Prust now with de la Rose and Eller. Spend every single second of their shift pinned in their zone. Jackets continue to dominate possession.

- DSP had better be really good in front of the opponent's goal because he hasn't been particularly effective in front of his own.

- Timely and opportunistic scoring. Prust with a totally harmless shot that's wonderfully redeflected by de le Rose, for his very first NHL goal. Dagger has finally been applied. 

- Yeesh, Plekqnec-Galchenyuk-DSP with an awful shift, doing excellent headless chicken impersonations, and the Jackets narrow the lead to two. DSP looking particularly lost. I know it's early days on a new team, but that was really pretty bad.

- Pretty weak sauce tripping call on Calvert, Habs head to the PP. Will we see DSP?

- Even weaker than that penalty is the Habs powerplay, unable to generate simple controlled possession in the Jackets zone, because everybody is focused on chipping and dumping. Which is why the Habs unit is in the League's 20th percentile.

- Powerplay number two arrives almost immediately. DSP now? I thought Therrien was all up on experimentations tonight.

- Improvement. Instead of being awful, 2nd powerplay was just bad.

- de la Rose, his second career NHL goal, empty net. 

- Solid enough win tonight, not entirely happy with how the team sat on the lead even after just 20 minutes. Oh well, it's a win, as the Habs take another step towards solidifying a top tier finish in the Conference. Grats to Carey Price for winning his 10th straight road game, this extending his franchise record.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs with 70% possession in the first, which equates to a near season high for a single period.

- Smith-Pelly with some nice work on the PK. He's not fast but he's sneaky because he seems to have good hockey sense. Play anticipation is strong. 

- Prust basically tossed to the ice like a rag doll carrying he puck into the Jackets zone. Wonder if he's playing through an injury to that bumm shoulder. 

- Instead of going for the knockout punch, Habs in full coast mode this period. Columbus not really offering any pushback, they're just taking what's being given, which Is plenty of open ice. 

- Eller now winging de la Rose and Weise, which is a pretty good sign Lars hath returned to Therrien's doghouse.

- I sesnse not only are the Habs attempting a two period lead sit, but Therrien is doing more line experimentations. They're just begging to fritter away this lead.

- DSP now with Plekanec and Galchenyuk. Goes offside off a rush.

- Pacioretty-Galchenyuk-Gallagher would make a killer line right about now. Each is playing in top form.

- Habs sat on it, but get away without surrendering anything on the scoreboard. Outshoot 2-to-1, this team really should have the game totally in the bank, but seem more focused on line experimentation than actually winning. Oh well.

FIRST PERIOD:

- So Malhotra bumps Thomas out of the lineup, because .. well .. who knows why? In other news, the Blue Jackets just let the Leafs off the hook for the next 7 years, because .. who knows?

- P.K. Subban with a blast, unstoppable. Did you know he's probably going to set a career high this year for points in a season? OH ... but he's having an "off year" if you listen to the mouthpieces. Anyway, Habs right off to a 1-0 lead.

- Yeah, yeah. Malhotra won the draw that led to the Subban goal. Whatever. No way he should be in any starting lineup, ever, again.

- Well, there goes that lead. Dubinsky with a shot that I think (I hope?) deflects off Gilbert, and past Price. Otherwise, Carey just let in an easy one. Tie game.

- Having trouble keeping up here. Markov reestablishes the lead, after McElhinney goes wandering off behind his net. The Jackets netminding tonight appears to be a bit ... uh ... suspect. 2-1.

- Pretty certain to say word on the Habs bench right now is "shoot everything at McElhinney." Can't really argue with that.

- Pacioretty with his 30th. Jackets defence looked horribly disorganized leaving virtually every Habs forwards, including Max, completely unchecked. This one has the whiff of a blowout. We'll see.

- Like what I've seen from Smith-Pelly - good positioning around the net, he's generated a couple of decent scoring chances. Don't know how much of a defensive liability he'll be over the long run, but so far, so good.

- Pretty much a Habs period in most respects, Habs looked a little soft on the PK, giving the Jackets a bit too much lane passing freedom. But the slow, disorganized defensive play and questionable goaltending mean the Canadiens should be a pretty good position to wrap up two more points tonight.





GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:What else needs to be said, other than this is yet another of those games against lesser teams which the Habs can ill-afford to give away, assuming one of their main objectives is to finish as high as possible in the Eastern Conference standings.

Tonight, the Habs will be icing a nearly totally healthy roster, including the debut of newly acquired Devante Smith-Pelly. He'll start, we're guessing, on the Habs third line next to, we guess, Brandon Prust and Lars Eller? Michel Therrien said he won't be announcing the starting lines until the last possible minute.

The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, continue their process of playing out the schedule, now losers of three straight games, including an inglorious loss at the hands of the Sabers on Tuesday night (we know how it feels). I don't expect the Jackets' game plan to be much different tonight than it's been previously. They'll come out physical, try to slow down the Habs, and hope they can find a way of somehow beating the best active goaltender on the planet.

Which is to say, it'll be a longshot for the home team.

Habs should win this relatively easily.

Now that I've totally cursed them - puck drops at 7:10 EST.


GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

- Mr. Smith-Pelly has arrived in town. He's even on the practice ice! There's a picture of him above in uniform, courtesy TSN's John Lu.
- Here's a nice little piece about Habs prospect Tim Bozon, who met a 13 year old meningitis survivor (and HUGE Canadiens fan) in Regina, Saskatchewan yesterday. Tim, as many of you are aware, survived a meningitis attack last year in Saskatoon (and spent weeks in a hospital that's not much more than a stone's throw from my house). (CBC.ca)
- Here's a questionable article clearly written by someone who has little idea what's happening with the Canadiens, about a supposed trade offer of 2013 1st round draft pick Mike McCarron to Arizona in return for defenseman Zbynek Michalek. (NBC Sports)
- Not Habs related, but still hilarious. Somebody actually wrote this. Click, and be prepared to have your mind blown away by the inanity of it all. (Sportsnet Edmonton)

More in a bit.

Game Forty-Two: Habs vs. Blue Jackets

THIRD PERIOD:

- Adjusted Fenwick through 40 minutes nearly 60% for the Habs. The game has become a whitewash except for one area - the scoreclock. Plekanec line easily Habs best tonight. 

- Plekanec line has been a monster tonight. Still doesn't let Therrien off the hook for mucking up the rest of the lineup.

- Sekac is now with Galchenyuk and Bournival, Parenteau demoted. That's a good step in the right direction.

- Been awhile since I've seen the Habs swarm puck control in their opponent's like I have tonight. However, it's still not producing shots that are testing Bobrovsky.

- Subban given an atrocious penalty. Called by the official after a very long delay after the supposed violation. Official saw it was Subban and only then raised his arm. This is targeting, pure and simple. It's disgusting, discriminatory and totally unacceptable.

- And OF COURSE the Jackets score. What a god damned disgrace. 

- Well, hell yeah. Pacioretty scores, hold on to something, on the powerplay. Habs are clearly miffed and angry right now - very fired up and determined to take this game back - I suspect over the Subban penalty.

- It's goaltender interference. Except when it's against Carey Price, of course.

- One of these years, Beaulieu is going to score. He's well overdue.

- What a crazy game. Subban, and it seems only just, ties the game with a cannon from the point ON THE POWERPLAY. Tie game. 

- Habs, it should be noted, scored both powerplay goals with two defensemen out. Four offense unit was, let's be honest, a mess.

- Another dumb, dumb Columbus penalty. They deserve to lose this game.

- THERE YOU GO. Pacioretty ON THE POWERPLAY. Habs lead 3-2.

- Galchenyuk can't be pretty in his zone. Terrible turnover creates great Columbus scoring chance. 

- Columbus pressing, trying to salvage a point. Desperately pressing.

- Habs win. A satisfying win. The powerplay making a difference, this time, finally, for the positive. Columbus, in addition to being soundly outplayed, shot themsleves squarely in the foot with terrible third period penalties. Habs defense also, for the most part, were very sound, especially in the second and third period. Habs sixth straight road win, the first time they've done that in 33 years.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Price took a long time stretching to start the period. He most certainly does not appear to be 100%. Michel Therrien sweating bullets. So are the rest of us.

- Dale Weise on the powerplay. That just happened.

- Habs shifting Plekanec to the line on the powerplay. Thus ends this Parenteau era at the point. Anyway, another man advantage flies past the board. 1 for the past 24.

- Habs getting beaten by the same game they've used all year. Seems only just, I guess.

- Canadiens have owned puck possession, but their zone control is pretty meek. Puck is consistently being forced to the perimeter, which is generating slim good scoring chances. When the Habs do muster something, Bobrovsky bails his team out.

- Very good shift by the 4th line - the Blue Jackets defense really struggling to stay in touch with faster Habs puck carriers. Bobrovsky, though.

- Sekac another strong game, mired on the 4th line. Decision makers making their terrible decisions.

- Price might not face five shots in the period. His health status is almost irrelevant tonight.

- Another tired legs penalty for Columbus. Their fifth tonight, fourth in this period. HABS POWERPLAY.

- Good lord. How does this team manage not to score with the man advantage. How? How has Bergevin not fired someone for this? How?

FIRST PERIOD:

- Galchenyuk taken away from Pacioretty, Sekac dropped to the 4th line. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

- Columbus strikes on the first shot of the game because the Habs continue to insist on clearing the zone by shooting the puck up the boards. It creates totally avoidable turnovers, and in this instance, creates an opposing scoring chance. Ugh... 

- No way you'll convince me Bergevin wouldn't trade Emelin and Desharnais away in a heartbeat - for next to nothing in return. But those contracts ... those awful, awful salaries ...

- Wow. Jackets got called for too many, and then the call is reversed. I've never ever seen that before.

- Plekanec, Gallagher and Galchenyuk look pretty strong, but puck bounces seem to be going the wrong direction. Gallagher with plenty of mustard so far.

- Oh man, if Gallagher gets robbed by this ... puck on the line. Wow.

- Why doesn't the NHL net use transparent string on top of the net? Gallagher denied.

- Anyway ... so many puck bounces going against the Habs in this period - one begins to resign oneself that this one is going to end badly, no matter what.

- Habs resoundingly outplaying Jackets in the period - Columbus defense getting a little tired, and now drawing holding penalties.

- Powerplay. Shield your eyes. 

- Habs desperate - use four forwards on their powerplay, Parenteau at the line, who has a disasterous shift. That man advantage was a total mess, and Price looks injured off a brutal breakaway surrendered.

- Weird period. Habs the better team, Columbus gets all the breaks. And Price might be hurt. A possible nightmare scenario tonight.

PREGAME PREVIEW. ONLY HALF-NAKED BEER DRINKING FAT MEN MAY APPLY TO READ

Well, great. Do you smell another huge losing streak coming down the pipe? I sure do. Pissing around with a powerplay that hasn't produced in a year, putting together line combinations that make little sense, or reflect badly against reality. To make the woes even more woeful, a stretch of games against some of the toughest/hottest teams in the League. Columbus tonight, then the Islanders Saturday, then Nashville. The Rangers next week. Oy.

What to do? This Habs team's offense has been in sputter mode since coming off an impressive win against the Pens on January 3rd. Just three goals scored since that time, which has generated plenty of second-guessing among the belly gazers that this team is due another lineup shakeup. Move Desharnais back to center! (a mistake). Demote Gallagher! (another bad call). Trade Eller! (one of our most consistently effective forwards the entire season).

It won't get a whole lot easier tonight as the Canadiens take on one of the best in the goaltending business in Sergei Bobrovsky, who was tossed onto the garbage heap just two years ago by the forever inept Philadelphia Flyers franchise, only then to win the Vezina trophy the following season with Columbus. This year his numbers have come down (from a .932 to a .923 SV%), but he's still a very tough netminder to beat on any given night. Matched up against a team like the Habs, and there's plenty of room for hope tonight for the Jackets.

Although ... the Blue Jackets have been hit hard, ridiculously hard, by injuries this season. Through last night, Columbus has lost a mind-boggling 255 man games, the most of any team in the NHL (Anaheim, interestingly, is 2nd). I know, you're asking, how many for the Habs? Glad you asked. It's 34. Yeah. That's the actual total. 34. Another feather in the cap for the argument that the Canadiens have been just as lucky this season as they have been good - realistically, a LOT more lucky than good.

The decimated Blue Jackets lineup means they have few bodies to depend on to produce offense - Nicky Foligno and Ryan Johansen comprise their two top scorers, but after them - well .. there ain't much. Three of the team's top six point producers are defensemen. Then again, those six players (Foligno, Johansen, Scott Hartnell, Jack Johnson, James Wisniewski and David Savard) comprise basically all of those on Columbus' roster this year who haven't missed (many) game to injury. It really has been that bad.

So add it up, and you're looking straight down the teeth of what should be a pretty low scoring game. The Habs, who can't score, up against Bobrovsky, versus the Blue Jackets, who don't have enough healthy bodies to score, up against Carey Price.

I'm thinking ... another 2-1 final? We'll see.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.