Game Forty-Seven: Habs vs. Rangers

THIRD PERIOD:

- Plekanec/Pacioretty/Gallagher. Sure, it was a powerplay line, but progress!!

- Price up to his usual tricks, absolutely robbing Stepan with a marvellous sprawling pad save. St Louis now skating around in disbelief. With a mortal in net, it's 1-0. 

- Rangers really turning up the heat with 8 minutes left, but the puck luck has been firmly bouncing in the Habs' favour. 

-   I'm petty damn sure Sekac next to Plekanec and Pacioretty would be giving oppositions defenders plenty o' fits.

- Lindqvist went more than six periods without letting in a goal against this Habs team, and then he lets that in? Crazy. Crazy luck for Habs tonight. 1-0 with four minutes left.

- Here come the Rangers ...

- Habs forwards seem to be having great difficulties of late with putting pucks into goaltender-less nets.

- Carey Price, no problem. And the Habs win another maddeningly dysfunctional game. Again.

SECOND PERIOD:

- So, how long will it take before Subban is profiled again by this crew?

- Two entirely futile powerplays for the Habs tonight. Slipping back towards the specialty unit abyss.

- Rangers a bit snakebit this period - by far the better team but passes aren't quite connecting, shots finding a way of not going in.

- Closing in on six straight periods without a goal scored on the Rangers by his Habs club. Not even Price can bail his team out of this kind of production.

- Not exactly enthralling hockey tonight. Habs slipping back into their overtly conservative ways, playing classic Therrien hockey. Surrendering the initiative. And so the Rangers were handed the period, but really didn't do a whole lot with the opportunity. I guess it'll be up to Price to steal another one. Sigh.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Oh yeah. I'd forgotten. I guess our hopes of Emelin getting supplemental discipline after his CFB Tuesday night went out the window. The League obviously hates the Habs.

- Am I the only one who has dreams at night if Sekac playing on the first line? Am I weird? Don't answer that.

- Alexei Emelin slow and soft in front of his net. In other news, the Sun rose.

- It's just so damn obvious. Why hasn't this happened? 1. Shelve/trade Emelin. 2. Get Weise off the first line. 3. Shelve Malhotra permanently. So many addition via subtraction moves this team could make that would make them miles better in an instant. 

- Christian Thomas on 2nd powerplay unit? I'm all for playing the kids, but he's no powerplay winger.

- Subban called for embellishment, for the life of me, I can't figure out for what? And the profiling continues ...

- Pacioretty just had a shift without Dale Weise and guess what - he generates a high quality scoring chance. Shocking.

- Kreider tries to bait Subban into a fight. P.K. Laughs in Kreider's face. Kreider is as low as they get. But we already knew that, right?

- Incredible. Subban also sent to the box for having the audacity of not fighting, I guess? That's two times this period Subban has been profiled and targeted by some awful striped officials.

- Did Weise actually score? It's hard to tell for certain with the cameras they have. Why hasn't the League installed super slow-mo cameras for situations like this?

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

This guy. Yeah that guy above. Look at that. LOOK AT IT. I'm already angry. I just wanna give that face a good hard smackin', and that's not even considering the fact that this smug little guy completely and utterly derailed our hopes of making it to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, because of this:

Avoiding contact, my butt. Just look at that. One purposeful crash into the net, and all playoff hopes were extinguished. It still smarts today to think about it. Revenge. We want it.

Well, we had an opportunity early in the season to give the Rangers a little taste of come-uppance, and we got a taste of sorts back in October when the Habs beat the Rangers 3-1. But then in November, the Habs got, in one of their ugliest games played all season, curb stomped by the blue shirts 5-0. I hate, HATE the Rangers.

Anyway, a season on, and New York still is a pretty good team. 7th in the Conference, but it's a deceptive placing. I think the Rangers are better than their record represents - 9th rated League offense, 4th rated defense, I would not be the least bit surprised that this team will gradually climb higher up the standings as the season heads towards the stretch drive. I think the Rangers are likely to (bold prediction time) eventually overtake the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, and yes, the Canadiens, before all is said and done.

Rangers are a team that, like last year's club, thrive off speed, and spread their scoring around. Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis, Derick Brassard and Derek Stepan all have more than 30+ points - they have three competent scoring lines at their disposal. This can be a very, very tough team to play against.

Meanwhile in Habsland, the team continues to just haphazardly rumble down the road, picking up unlikely win after unlikely win, even though they get outplayed, out-possessed and outshot virtually each and every game. The only other significant consistent has been the ridiculously good play of Carey Price, whom game after game, bails his outplayed team to victory. 

Not helping the Habs cause is coach Michel Therrien's continued insistence of putting 4th liner Dale Weise on the team's top line, which, unsurprisingly, had resulted in the suffocation of that line's offensive production. It certainly has dramatically scaled back the ability of players like Max Pacioretty or Thomas Plekanec, or Brenden Gallagher, or whomever else has been saddled with Weise, to generate appropriate levels of offensive production. Yet, for reasons that continue to baffle closer followers of this team, Therrien keeps putting Weise out there, the line continues to get badly outplayed virtually ever shift, and the team as a whole, is left figuring out how to win with its hands tied behind its collective backs, courtesy the coach's terrible bench decisions.

Oh well. Again tonight it's Price in net. Which means the Habs have just as much a chance tonight of winning as any other night. They'll probably get badly outplayed, but that doesn't seem to really matter.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

Game Six - EC Finals: Habs vs. Rangers

BERGEVIN PRESSER:

Bergevin presser due to start at any minute now. We'll be posting comments as he speaks and answers questions.

- Dodges question about what areas he's looking to address in the off season. Instead mentions how valuable the deep run in the post season was for the young players (which is true).

- "Leadership is slowly shifting in the room", perhaps an indication that Gionta won't be pursued this summer?

- "I'm happy with him overall". Bergevin on Vanek. Not much of an endorsement, was it?

- Weise had concussion, says Bergevin. To the surprise of ... no one.

- Mentions the team does not yet have the maturity to compete for a championship. Ties in well with his comments about the value of a deep playoff run, but might also indicate that he'll want to keep a few veteran pieces around (Markov? Ugh ... Murray?!).

- Bergevin doesn't think, unlike other certain NHL clubs, that the Habs are a "guarantee playoff team."

- Won't talk about anyone's contract status. End of story. Sigh.

- Man, this guy just doesn't disclose anything.

- Oh, he disclosed this. Michel Therrien will be back behind the bench next season.

- Bergevin getting pressed about how Dale Weise was handled after taking the head hit. Very defensive, borderline testy. His body language was definitely very negative the more he was pressed.

- Mentions leaders in the room - in order of mention: Plekanec, Gorges, Price, Subban, Pacioretty. Not mentioned - Markov, Prust.

- Bergevin on Therrien: "He did an excellent job, I support him. I'm a big believer in team work."

- ANNNNNNNND ... that's it. If you learned anything new from that 45 minutes of nothing, please let us know.




LOCKER CLEAN OUT:

Some impressions after the players talked to the media today (updated as the players are interviewed).

- Andrei Markov wouldn't speak. Make of that as you will.

- P.K. Subban says he wants to play the rest of his career in Montreal. HOLD ON SIGN HERE P.K. .. RIGHT THERE ... ON THAT BOTTOM LINE.

- Carey Price kept towing the line, saying he has a lower body injury. The secrecy is ridiculous - everyone and their goat knows that Price suffered a knee injury, but still, teams and their players (especially the Canadiens) won't disclose. Do the Habs fear that Price's right knee will be targeted next season? Anyway, Price said he was "really close" to returning, and mentioned that he regretted not leaving Game 1 immediately after being crashed by the Rangers.

- Dale Weise was not available to even talk today, which gives you a pretty good idea about the state of his health right now. Terrible. Just terrible.

- Not surprisingly, Thomas Vanek got a lot of attention. He set the record straight about his play, it wasn't because of injury he said, but that he lacked chemistry after being taken off the DD/Pacioretty line. In essence, it wasn't entirely his fault, it was Therrien's. He was coy about next season, saying he's looking forward to choosing his own destination, and wouldn't rule Montreal out as a possible final choice (not gonna happen, though).

- Peter Budaj expressed disappointment at being passed over to replace Carey Price in the playoffs, but said he wanted to come back next year to honor the final season of his three year contract. Budaj's been a well-established great teammate, but the decision to either trade or waive him has probably already been made.

- Frankie Bouillon said he wants to play one more season in the NHL, and he's hoping it's in Montreal. Always great to have aspirations, Frank, but ...


- Brian Gionta used a lot of past tense when talking about playing with the Habs. I guess that's a sign about where things are headed?

- Mike Weaver strongly indicated he'd like to come back. Mike, please come back?

- Doug Murray said he was disappointed he couldn't contribute more. By playing less would have helped.

- Travis Moen was sad. But he said he'll keep in game shape over the summer.

- George Parros knows he's done in Montreal. Said as much.

Truth be told, as these kinds of events go, none of learned anything today we didn't already know or suspect.




THE DAY AFTER:

Bah.

Next year though, different kettle of fish. Lots of decisions to be made coming up in short order. I'll be posting about that soon. DON'T GO AWAY.



New York 1, Montreal 0:

THIRD PERIOD:

- Might as well throw the whole kitchen sink at the Rangers to start this powerplay. Feed the puck towards the slot, and crash Lindqvist and that net like there's no tomorrow. Which, there isn't. Right now.

- Kind of a bad time for the Habs to have their worst powerplay of the season.

- No shots on goal through 6 minutes. Just dismal. Tokarski doing his part keeping this season alive, but he can't keep doing this. Habs offense need to show some kind of life.

- Rangers are just swarming the Habs, in the Montreal zone, and in particular, at centre ice. New York just waiting in the weeds, intercepting passes, and suffocating any semblance of a Canadiens transition/rush. It's not quite desperate mode, there's still eight minutes left, but the Habs, at about the 15 minute mark, will have to start taking crazy chances to tie this game.

- That all said, Habs bench showing not a lot of signs of life. It's as though they're already resigned to their fate. Which is nuts, given it's just 1-0.

- Who woulda figured the Habs needed to send out their checking line tonight to contain the Rangers 4th?

- And ... Prust goes to the box with a suspicious tripping penalty. But still, he shouldn't have had his stick in that position to begin with. It not only puts the Habs down a man with 5 minutes left, it also nullified a breakout play the other direction. Just awful.

- Habs just couldn't muster anything up tonight offensively. The gas tank was empty. And the season comes to an end.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Pacioretty with some poor passing choices kills Habs zone possession and powerplay opportunities.

- Bourque someone misses a soft pass for a clear cut breakaway. That's a huge miss.

- Too many soft and sloppy plays by Beaulieu tonight. If he keeps it up, it could terminally burn the Habs.

- Richards with a sneaky play skating into Subban's stick and toppling over. Fools the official and Rangers go back to the powerplay.

- Holy crap, Habs just barely survived that PK.

- Start of 2nd much like the start of the first, with the Rangers dominating puck possession and generating wonderful scoring opportunities. New York scoring the first goal almost seems inevitable unless something dramatic happens in favour of the Habs.

- Like the first, sense Habs finding some footing here, but still have been unable to generate shots that are testing Lundqvist. They need to look for something dirty and messy before it's too late.

- Brilliant Habs PK off a Rangers dive powerplay. Habs seemingly with the mo' on their side. Can they convert?

- Dominic Moore, Rangers 4th line, take advantage of exhausted Markov and bumbling Bouillon to score the critical first goal. Will that end the Habs season?

- Officials blow Lundqvist playing the puck in the no zone. Rough night for the stripes.

- Tough end of the period for the Habs, who seemed to be poised to take the lead after an excellent penalty kill. But an inability to clear the zone (same old story) and some poor reaction/positional play by Bouillon (same old story) gave the Rangers the open door they were seeking. So it's come to this. Habs a goal down, 20 minutes left. They've got nothing left to do but pour whatever is left in the tank onto the Rangers in the 3rd period. The powerplay has an opportunity. There is, as they say, no tomorrow. So lay it all out, and see if it results in one more game Saturday night.

FIRST PERIOD:

- So Emilin is out, Bouillon and Beaulieu will start.

- Both teams starting their 4th lines. Who wants to bet we have a brawl the first shift?

- Tokarski makes his first huge save in this game and it comes early. Good to get that under his fold. All Rangers so far, as expected.

- That's an inane call on Gionta who takes a stick to the face. Just crazy.

- Rangers set up nicely, but Habs PK defenders able to keep hard shots off Tokarski. Nonetheless, Habs are just barely hanging on here, trying to survive the first 10 minutes without surrendering a goal. If they can get past that mark, they have a fighting chance.

- Well, we're past that point and the Habs still full of jitters. Tokarski holding the fort, but Canadiens need a momentum change before it's too late.

- 5 minutes left, Habs finally find their game, two straight shifts of good pressure in the Rangers zone. Eller line really skating well tonight.

- Habs get late period PP, Therrien sends out Vanek. For some reason.

- Habs surrendering far too many great shot chances. Markov on that powerplay, Vanek much earlier in the period. The Habs apparently have forgotten about game 5 success of getting the puck on Lundqvist.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

One more night, one more elimination wall to scale.

We've been here before, three times and counting. This Habs team seems to, shall we say, "respond" to the pressure, outscoring their opponents 14-5 this post-season in elimination games. That's kind of really, really impressive.

Tonight, there's another animal to tackle, and that's supermodel (and also NHL goaltender) Henrik Lundqvist. Now, I don't have to inform the readers that "King" Henrik didn't exactly have his best outing two nights ago, giving up 4 goals, all of them of the questionable variety. In response to that game, which included his removal in the middle of the 2nd period, many from the Rangers camp have pained to point out that Lundqvist has a very good rebound record, when coming off rough single game starts.

Tuesday's start certainly didn't help Henrik's bottom line, his GAA rising from 1.93 this post-season, to 2.36, while his save percentage dropped from .934 to .920. Those two numbers still rank him top of the League at his position, but they also represent a defined irrelevancy - he had a terrible start, predicated on, and affected by, nothing previous to what happened on Tuesday night.

So if Lundqvist's bottom line stats are truly irrelevant, so too, at least in this writer's opinion, are his "rebound" stats after having a rough start. Lundqvist didn't play well, but his teammates didn't play particularly well, either. The Habs had a field night creating multiple offensive zone turnovers, mainly due to sloppy backend puck control and passing. Passive rush positioning didn't help matters much either, witness Bourque's 2nd (and game winning goal) against Cam Talbot:



That's some pretty awful defense by the Rangers, right there. It represents an interest twist in this series, especially in comparison to what we witnessed in Game One, when the Rangers speed demolished the Habs sluggish zone coverage. So trends be considered, there are many key components in how this series has ebbed and flowed. Instead of the Rangers dominating the Habs with their speed, it's now the Habs forwards that have figured out a way to penetrate their way directly through the New York slot.

So what does this all mean? It means the Rangers are now the team that's forced to make adjustments to their game approach. It means it's the Rangers who will now have to make the necessary adjustments to contain the Habs rush. It means it's up to Henrik Lundqvist to find a way to stop the puck.

If the Rangers make those adjustments, this series ends tonight.

But Lundqvist. So much of tonight will be him.

Remember, King Henrik was unbeatable Game Two.

But that was nearly two weeks ago.

Since then, and tonight?

Puck drops at 8:10 EST.



GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Hey. Happy game day. Another day! Will it be our last for three long, mournful months?

Some game day stuff to pass your way.

- Dale Weise will not play tonight, after sustaining the head shot courtesy the now series suspended John Moore. Brandon Prust, who's served his two game suspension, will draw in.

- Carey Price was on the ice and practicing this morning as MSG, leading to yet more baseless speculation by people who have nothing better to do, that he might play tonight. He, of course, will not be playing tonight. Or Saturday, for that matter.

- With Moore now gone, guess who draws in? Raphael Diaz. How 'bout that? The Habs, as you remember, dealt Diaz off earlier in the season for ... Dale Weise who ... won't be playing tonight because ... man, you can just taste the irony here.

- Alexei Emelin may or may not play tonight. Nobody knows. Nobody is saying. I, for one, am just fine with leaving him out of the lineup if it means that Nathan Beaulieu can get another start. Maybe Therrien would be willing to scratch Bouillon instead?

More, including game preview, in a bit.

Game Thirty-Four: Rangers vs. Habs

First Period:

- Rick Nash gets his first start of the night. Just our luck. Anything to help the Rangers' ridiculously awful power play.

- Rangers were supposed to be where the Habs are now, so methinks Tortorella and company will be playing a little desperate tonight. Carey Price will start, hoping he'll get his game back on track after a tough 40 minutes in Boston.

- Full disclosure, I'm currently on a flight to Montreal so my blogging will probably cease somewhere in the second period.

- Michael Ryder continues his excellent play, Rangers get caught on a line change and 47 seconds in, Habs grab the lead. Terrible start for New York.

- 25 points for Subban now, and this for someone who missed three weeks of the season and had no training camp. That's why he's now a prominent Norris trophy candidate.

- For the most part Rangers have responded well to the Ryder goal, they're being very aggressive with the forecheck in Habs zone, doing their best to crash in front of Price.

- 8 shots for Rangers in 8 minutes. That's got to be concerning for the Canadiens.

- Plekanec line looks excellent early going. They've already scored one, fully expecting more.

- Price solid so far, his SP against the Rangers this season now over .980. Think he's got their number?

- Gorges and Emelin can't let Gabarik sneak behind them like that. Price bails then out, but he can't do it all night long.

- Rangers power play fails to produce again, but unlike previous games this season against the Habs, tonight it actually looks dangerous.

- And the Plekanec line does indeed strike again, this time it's Plekanec along the wing on a 2-on-1, and Biron ... ehhh ...

- Crazy as this sounds, Rangers were the better team in that period, generating numerous quality chances, but Price was excellent, and Habs offense meanwhile, capitalized. Tortorella must be awfully frustrated. It's just not the Rangers' year.

Second Period:

- Well, my flight is being called, so the end is near for updates. Just hoping Price continues his excellent play for 40 more minutes, and the Plekanec line keeps stormin' along. Still thing Rangers are more than in this game, they just need to bury their chances.

- Price continues to be solid, just made fine save on Richards off the break, but this game is starting to settle in a bit now.

- For so many times this year, it starts with a Subban rocket from the point, this time Desharnais and Gallagher swarming for the rebound, Gallagher cashing in. Rangers really in tough now down 3-0.

- Gallagher playing extra fearless tonight, driving Biron crazy when he's not also busy driving Rangers' defense crazy shot blocking.

- Solid 2nd period for Habs, they're simply too much for New York, whose offense looks cursed. They are a team missing fundamental chemistry. Goes to show you can throw big money at big names but if the bunch doesn't gel, wins come very hard.

Gameday Game Update:

- This just announced a few minutes ago, Habs have placed Thomas Kaberle on waivers, saving a mere $900,000K off this season's cap. Yeah, we knew he was untradable, but still, trying to figure this move out. Saves virtually nothing on the cap, we have two others injured, Weber and Diaz (the later might be season-ending), which leaves a significant burden on the two very young guys - Tinordi and Beaulieu.

Huh. There's gotta be something else about to happen.

Roster Moves

Interesting stuff this morning. First, the good news. Brandon Prust will be playing tomorrow night against the Rangers, meaning he'll play on the third line along side Eller and Galchenyuk. Colby Armstrong will be shifted down to the fourth line, which will greatly benefit Eller, who struggled to adapt to Armstong's general offensive incompetence. Not a slag on Colby, but his role has and always will be to bolster grinders.

Now the interesting moves. Jarred Tinordi has been sent back to Hamilton, which many assumed would mean either Yannick Weber or Tomas Kaberle would start Saturday night. However, late this morning Nathan Beaulieu was called up. What to make of that? With the Habs now entering an extended period of home dates, is Bergevin wanting to see if Beaulieu is NHL-capable? Or, is a trade being prepared that involves Weber? Or is Beaulieu, who is frequently mentioned as the "prospect candidate" involving a trade, being showcased?

More later.

HAPPY THURSDAY!

Sheesh, Tuukka! Why so mad bro? OH RIGHT, THIS:

The Boston Bruins. LOL.

More later.

Game Eighteen: Rangers vs. Habs

First Period:

- So Prust and Gallagher are in, Bourque is out with the flu, otherwise White would have been odd-man out.

- Beautiful pass by Gallagher right on Desharnais' tape for the break. I think Halpern coming back knocked the puck away from going into the net.

- Del Zotto's scratch tonight gives Habs a bit more opportunity to crash the net. Watch for that as game progresses.

- Ryan White, soft hands you have not.

- Boullion with an excellent blind backhand clearance right up the middle. Please stop.

- Habs forwards doing a good job bottling up the neutral zone, Rangers having a tough time organizing much of an effective transition.

- Not sure if its a bad case of snakebite, but Cole needs to start producing from these opportunities.

- Prust on the Plekanec line has definitely provided an aggressive punch. Creating quality chances on Biron.

- Just 2 shots on the clock for Habs with 4 minutes left. That can't be right, can it?

- Game has a more energized pace compared to the Tuesday night snoozer in New York, but not by much. Both teams do excellent man-to-man defensive coverage, nobody buckling yet. Garbage goals will likely decide this one.

- Best bodycheck of the game thrown by referee Brad Miere. Awesome.

- There's the Plekanec line again, giving the Rangers headaches. Habs to the PP.

- First Period summary: Glad I'm not a paying customer tonight. Zzzzz.

- The RDS guys just flashed a graphic - Biron has 3rd most wins among active NHL goaltenders.

Second Period:

- I don't want to look too far ahead, but if there are two teams that I do not want to see face each other in the playoffs, it's these two.

- Erik Cole. There we go, flippin' finally he scores. Courtesy massive Rangers defensive lapse. Torts is furious. 1-0.

- Pacioretty took blindside hit right in front of his bench. In considerable pain.

- Mcdonagh hit Pacioretty and then a shift later delivered a high stick to Prust's face, neither called.

- Correction, Mcdonagh elbowed Prust. Was still a very obvious penalty not called.

- Pacioretty kindly provides Mcdonagh a taste of his own medicine, and is assessed a boarding penalty. Resisting snarky officiating comment here.

- Mcdonagh gone to the dressing room. I think a couple of his teeth are still somewhere on the ice.

- Rangers powerplay looks terrible. They gotta somehow get that fixed. By the way, it was also broken when Nash was in the lineup.

- No love loss between these two. Hits are brutal out there. Hope there aren't too many injuries after this one is finished.

- Biron goes wandering and gets caught. Plekanec left with a totally wide open net from 25 feet. Fires a shot seven feet wide and high. Maybe he thought it was a soccer net?

- Love icings? Habs and Rangers are here to satisfy your cravings.

- Don't know if that will count but that was a beautiful goal by Galchenyuk.

- If Eller swiped that in with a high stick it was completely unnecessary. The puck was already well on its way to going in.

- Ruled a good goal. Eller might be breathing a sigh of relief. Therrien doesn't like stupid and/or selfish plays. He might have been benched for the violation.

- Prust is a body crashing monster out there, but his odd man rush executions are ummm ... not so great.

- My mind is boggled by the thought of how good Galchenyuk will be once he gets better.

- Habs demonstrate how not to execute a 3-on-1 break.

- Markov not nearly as dangerous or commanding on the man advantage as he was the start of the year. It's a mystery.

- Don't wanna hex this, but given how this Rangers offense is playing right now, I can't see how they could possibly come back down 3-0.

- All Habs in the 2nd. Rangers look like a non-playoff team tonight. Cruise mode should easily bring this one home.

Third Period:

- Mcdonagh hasn't come back since the Paciiretty hit. His head was crunched against the unforgiving Bell Centre boards, so start making your own assumptions.

- Okay, the Rangers absolutely have to score on this powerplay. Zero shots their last one.

- Eller shorthanded rush. More reason why the Habs organization would be crazy to give up on him.

- I didn't think it possible, but that Rangers man advantage was worse than its last one.

- I know NHL players make a ton of money but I'll being going to bed tonight glad I'm not on the Rangers' roster. I'd hate to think what drills Torts will put them through in response to tonight's dreadful performance.

- Habs get a nice little test Monday in Ottawa against the banged up Sens. At least tonight's win keeps first place in tact.

Game Preview:

Okay, so blowing a game against the overmatched Islanders wasn't very much fun, but this stuff happens. The Habs either wouldn't or couldn't keep pace with the Islanders' , and much like we endured numerous times last season, the Canadiens faded the final 20 minutes, and let reasonably comfortable leads turn into defeats. While the bottom line totals are very impressive, 11 wins in 17 games, the loss to New York, and a previous loss two weeks ago to Buffalo where a 3-goal 3rd period lead was blow (not to mention the blow 3 goal lead to Tampa 10 days ago) must remain an ongoing concern.

Anyway this still doesn't take away from a pretty impressive string of victories, most recently against the Rangers in Manhattan. Tonight, the Habs have a few banged up bodies which may or may not play. Brendan Gallagher is almost certain to return tonight, although there are questions surrounding the health of Brendon Prust, who is an "upper body" injury is gametime decision, according to coach Therrien.

As per the previous game, the Rangers' powerplay is a mess - so like Tuesday night, if they can finally start producing with the man advantage, their chances of winning will improve dramatically. That said, New York will once again be without the services of Rick Nash, who will miss his third straight start. The Bell Centre hasn't also been a very friendly place for the blue shirts, 6 losses the past 6 games in Montreal, in three of those games, New York was shut out.

Martin Biron, who's played will in the past, will start for the Rangers, and as usual, Carey Price will start for the Habs.

Puck drops at 7:15 EST!

Game Sixteen: Habs vs. Rangers

First Period:

- Habs keeping it very basic early on - being very cautious mindful of the Rangers' offensive advantages. Clearing zone as quickly as possible, not being afraid to ice the puck if nobody is open.

- Really solid shift for Desharnais line, aggressive forechecking creating turnovers in Rangers zone. NY on their heels there.

- Halfway through the 1st, one shot registered by the Rangers. Zip for Habs. Ouch.

- Rangers have nearly twice as many wins as they do powerplay goals. That ain't good.

- If Price sees it, it's going to be stopped. Also, zero rebounds surrendered.

- Habs are seriously in danger of not getting a shot in this period.

- There it is. Habs register their first shot of the game with less than 4 minutes left in the 1st.

- Rangers zone defense is ridiculously disciplined. They suffocate the opposition from setting up for any quality chances. Simply no where to go, no where to pass.

- Habs 4th line has been the most dangerous tonight, grinding out chances. Really, that's the only way the Habs will score tonight - dirty, hard-fought goals.

- 8 total shots in the period, 5 of them by New York. This game isn't much fun to watch, unless you enjoy defensive clinics.

Second Period:

- Big pressure by Desharnais line, Lundqvist quality saves, no juicy rebounds.

- Elite goaltender vs. elite goaltender. Who'll blink first?

- Definitely more free-reeling period compared to the first. Surely a goal is coming soon ...

- Habs can crash Lundvqist all night long, but Rangers blue liners aren't surrendering the slot for any shots or passes. It's an impenetrable shield surrounding that New York net.

- Credit other direction, has anyone yet noted Habs have only surrendered one goal the past 11 periods?

- Nevermind that last point. Subban delayed penalty call, everyone just seemed to disengage and coast, leaving Stralman alone for a routine tip-in past Price. Bad, bad goal. Rangers lead 1-0.

- 8 shots in just under 40 minutes isn't gonna do the job.

- Nevermind that last point as well. Pacioretty one timer from Gorges, Lundqvist knocking himself for letting that past. Tie game. Rangers defense rare surrender of the slot gives Patches the room he needed to pull the trigger.

- Once again Habs find themselves even on the scoreboard after two periods. The team has thrived this season under such a scenario - can they pull out yet another late game win?

Third Period:

- Terrific defensive block by Eller, and the Rangers, so stellar throughout the night, leave Lundqvist out to dry on the ensuing Habs rush. Galchenyuk scores to give the Habs the lead. This hard working line, Eller/Galchenyuk/Prust richly rewarded.

- Therrien throws Eller line right back out there, and Prust nearly makes it a two goal lead.

- Sloppy point giveaway but excellent recovery by Emelin, who's been a rock on the Habs blue line tonight.

- Aside from that atrocious first goal, Habs forwards hustling back hard on every New York rush.

- Markov can't handle the contact behind his net, coughs up the puck and the Rangers nearly score about a half second later. It happens that fast in the NHL.

- Habs three icings in less than 30 seconds. Eller line is exhausted.

- Officials confer and realize icing was incorrectly called. TV timeout arrives. Habs forwards can catch their breath.

- Subban falls behind his net, surrenders the puck, Rangers very nearly score two seconds later. Think Plekanec played some goal there to keep Habs in the lead.

- Habs finally get a powerplay, courtesy a disastrous line change by New York.

- Eller line has been fantastic in the 3rd period. Rangers are fit to be tied.

- Price robs Boyle on shorthanded 2-on-1 Rangers break.

- Habs PP really needs to be a point of concern. A mere shadow of their early season self.

- Playing with fire here, slot coverage wayyyy to soft.

- Bad news, Habs penalized with 3 minutes left. Worse news, it's Plekanec.

- Watched the replay, that was a pretty soft interference call.

- Habs holding on for dear life here.

- Hoping Eller scores on the empty Rangers net - he deserves it.

- It wasn't Eller, but it is Diaz into the net, and the Canadiens win a huge game. I think this one cements what we've been suspecting for weeks - this Habs team is for real.

The Drive for 5 is ALIVE

Wow. Here we are. Gunning for a fifth straight win. When did that last happen for we Habs fans? Who knows - do I look like a statistician?

Tonight, we're in tough. The Rangers, who weren't exactly setting the world on fire the first two weeks of the season, but have since began to settle down a bit, winning 4 of their past five, most recently against the Caps (no big deal) on Sunday night, and also be the Bruins last week, which ain't too shabby.

Rangers also have not lost a single time to anyone playing outside of their Division this season.

So something's gotta give tonight.

Habs will obviously have to keep their eye on the usual Rangers suspects, Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik ... this team does not lack offensive depth. A big break for the Habs came late today when the Ranger announced that Rick Nash will not be in the lineup. Meanwhile Marc Staal is making solid contributions from the blue line, Ryan Mcdonagh remains an agonizing memory amongst Habs fans, but let's not pick that still smarting, still raw wound.

Weaknesses for New York? Their powerplay is kind of a mess, go figure. Clocking in at just over a pathetic 11%, the unit is ranked last in the League. Their PK is significantly better, just a tad over 84%, good for 8th in the League.

Montreal's powerplay, even with the recent winning streak, has also looked pretty shabby of late. So throw that all together, and if one of these two teams can start producing tonight with the man advantage, it would probably go a long way towards earning a victory.

Carey Price, he who was having fluids fed into his body via a tube less than 48 hours ago, will start. Great thanks to Peter Budaj who admirably stepped into the line of fire, and reeled off two sweet wins. Have a seat Peter. We'll talk to you again some time in March.

What else. Same lineup tonight as last night, which means Ryan White is in. That's fine. He played a pretty solid game against the Hurricanes, so more redemptive icetime is clearly in order.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST! Enjoy the game!

PETER BUDAJ FOR VEZNIA.

Sorry Cam, not this year.

Game preview later today! First place, baby!

Game Forty Five: Rangers v Habs

- Budaj will get the start tonight, as will Bourque in his first game as a Hab, apparently will play along side Plekanec and Gomez. Habs looking to get back into the win column, in other words, the usual.

- Campoli and Nokelainen are healthy scratches.

First Period:

- Here's a pretty good indicator of how the season has gone. There were tickets available for the game. $65 got you in the arena, which by Montreal standards, is unheard of. Consider it heard.

- Bourque a little partial breakaway along the wing, speed was impressive.

- Rangers really, really sloppy and disorganized in their own zone facing the rush, and Pacioretty deposits the puck over a sprawling Lundqvist, Habs take the early lead.

- Bourque playing his size, nailing Hagelin along the boards. These are your new Habs.

- Moen vs. Bikel in a tussle, Moen simply didn't have the reach to do much damage, but nonetheless, these are your new Habs.

- Canadiens' forwards distinctly more physical tonight. Rangers have taken a mini-thumping so far.

- Budaj pretty solid so far, he's benefited from having unobstructed views of most of the Rangers' tries so far.

- Habs really can't afford to take vacations in their zone against a team like the Rangers, this time Eller with a lazy check allowing Mitchell to easily backhand a juicy rebound in front of Budaj. Game tied.

- Rangers really cycle the puck nicely, very patient setting up their plays. Habs are vastly overmatched.

- Habs with a strong start out of the gate, but the Rangers slowly took control as the period progressed - they're just too deep to keep pace with. Trend is pointing all New York for the second period and beyond.

Second Period:

- Great start for the Habs, as a point shot by Cole is deflected in by Pacioretty. The whole series began because of Cole's using his body to create a turnover in the Rangers zone. Size working in Montreal's favor (that time). Habs lead again.

- Oh my goodness. If Scott Gomez can do more of that for the rest of the year, I won't make a peep about how much he's paid. Habs lead 3-1 courtesy some dazzling moves and a perfect setup by Gomez to Blunden.

- Borque having just an awful shift, totally lost on the ice, the Rangers had kept Habs pinned in their zone for more than 2 minutes, Gill with a desperation dive to clear the zone, but Habs can't change their line. Finally Budaj covers the puck. Rangers with amazing puck control.

- It's way to early to harp about this, but aside from his first shift, Bourque has been pretty invisible, which was/is big knock in Calgary.

- Habs making it look easy. Cole to Pacioretty with a perfect spin pass from the corner to streaking Desharnais all alone in front. Beautiful goal. Habs, and I'm rubbing my eyes to make sure I'm not dreaming, lead the Rangers 4-1.

- Desharnais/Pacioretty/Cole combination have 9 combined points so far tonight. Coach, just keep these guys together.

- Kostitsyn can't be in the dog house, can he? Just under 6 minutes played and 2nd period nearly over.

- Plekanec line against pinned in their own zone. Something clearly ain't right, and I'm looking over at Plek's wing.

- It's been nearly a calendar year since Gomez last scored a goal, and he came agonizingly close, all alone in front of Lindqvist.

- Pacioretty double-shifted with Gomez. Cunneyworth, I'd reckon, wants Scott to just score ...

- Budaj providing a very Carey Price-like performance (in a good way). Very square to the shots, excellent rebound control.

- Cunneyworth putting out Gomez/Darche/Blunden for defensive purposes to protect the lead heading for the third period, and they promptly surrender a breakaway to Prust who rings one off the post. Yeesh.

- An excellent period, everything just seemed to click, and the chances that have seemingly stayed out all season are going in tonight. How will this team respond for the final 20 holding a three goal lead?

Third Period:

- RDS put up the stat - Plekanec is an excellent 75% in the faceoff circle tonight.

- Habs come out storming in the third. Nice.

- Yikes. Darche taking a slap shot to the throat. He skated off immediately and went immediately to the dressing room in significant distress.

- First three minutes, ALL Habs swarming the Rangers zone.

- I sense the Rangers have the unfortunate luck in they played a team tonight hell-bent on winning. Habs fierce so far in this period.

- Good news. Darche back out there.

- Budaj hasn't had much to face in the period, but the main reason he enjoys a three goal cushion was all the solid saves he made in the first and second period. Very impressive tonight.

- Habs passing the puck with a lot of mustard and confidence tonight. Maybe the best they've done that all year.

- One big key to victory tonight (assuming it happens). No powerplays.

- Plekanec line *again* hemmed in their own zone. Weird.

- Budaj with a little flair makes a nice glove save off an Anisomov wrister.

- Aside from the Moen/Bikel tussle, just one minor penalty tonight. It's been pretty quiet (but still an enjoyable game).

- I can't tell you how much I enjoy these cruise-to-victory type games. We've really only had two or three all season.

- Not to take away from what's been a great night for the Habs, but you get the feeling the Rangers might have taken the Canadiens a bit too lightly, given how we've played lately, and with Budaj starting. They got owned tonight.

- Well you can't keep a good thing going forever. Rangers get an interference penalty and we get a powerplay.

- The unit tried their damnedest to feed Pacioretty for a hat trick.

- The boys made it look so easy tonight. If only they played like this in October, and November, and December, we'd be cruising to a playoff spot.

Game Twenty: Rangers v. Habs

So the red-hot Rangers are starting their number two Martin Biron between the pipes tonight, a slightly curious decision considering how New York have struggled in recent years just winning a game in Montreal, and given how brilliantly Henrik Lundqvist performed when these two clubs clashed earlier in the year.

Meanwhile, more attention that usual is being paid to the Scott Gomez situation, not only because the last time he scored (February 5th) was against his old Rangers team, but in light of the excellent season that New York's young start defenseman Ryan McDonagh has had, twisting the knife into the deflated hearts of Habs fans who have endured the aftereffects of what the worst trade in Canadiens' history since Serge Savard traded John LeClair and Eric Desjardins for Mark Recchi.

To add a little more salt to Gomez' humiliation wounds, since his February 5 goal, he has posted more than 100 shots without finding the back of the net, an indicator of his offense absurd futility.

First Period:

- Hard to estimate the value of someone like Price when he makes saves like the one just made on Gaborik. The rationale being you're scoring every time your netminders makes a save that most others can't.

- Good grief. What a ridiculous shot by Erik Cole. He's worth every penny plus change.

- Habs storming out of the gate, Rangers in survival mode right now.

- Strange interference call on St-Denis, who played the body with the puck at his feet. Can't figure that one out.

- Habs PK really has been excellent for the past month. Combination of strong netminding and positional play/shot blocking biggest factors.

- Rangers forwards are so strong, they basically carry the puck to the net at will. Tough team to defend.

- Habs haven't surrendered a PP goal since November 5th.

- Smattering of boos as Gomez controls the puck. Patience is running out amongst the flock.

- Weber provided two high percentage setups at the point on the PP, fans on both.

- While he's struggled to score this year, really think Subban should get first shift instead of Webber. His shot is certainly harder, and he rarely wiffs at the plate.

Second Period:

- Rangers defense quite nimble in adjusting to play around their net. Frustrating many good chances for the Habs with blocked and deflected shots.

- Richards with an absolute cannon on a 4-on-1 New York break. Price ducking to prevent decapitation.

- Biron gives Gionta and the Habs an early Xmas gift. Believe it or not, Gomez picks up an assist. 2-0.

- 30 seconds later, Gionta tries the same shot from the same spot. Biron easily turns it away. Worth a shot, I guess.

- Habs with excellent puck control on the PP (they've really improved on this since Pearns' dismissal), but no challenging shots or aggressive traffic in front of Biron.

- Rangers have had the occasional tough chance on Price, but really, it's been a pretty quiet night in the Habs' side of the sheet. Young defense continues to impress.

- Second period nearly complete, Rangers may not have 10 registered shots before the buzzer. They have a PP now, though.

- Having your best PK player in the box (Gorges) hurts.

- St-Denis a lazy trip, but the Rangers called for a dive. Wash out.

- St-Denis has filled in admirably since his callup, but he's taken far too many careless minors in his zone.

- Habs now 30 for last 30 short handed. Wow.

- How many minutes since Price surrendered a goal? It's starting to pile up.

- Rangers did reach the 10 mark for SOG through 40 minutes. So that's a positive ... I guess?

Third Period:

- Erik Cole, who's had another excellent night, reminds me of a faster version of Vincent Damphousse.

- Scott Gomez, who may never score again, can't beat Biron on a clear cut breakaway. Can't even remember when he's had a breakaway, never mind an actual goal.

- All the criticism aside, really do feel bad for Gomez, in the way you feel bad about driving past a starving, homeless dog. You know their end is near, and you wish you could do something, but it's best to just look the other way.

- Canadiens with the puck on a string, and Plekanec finally scores. The PP continues to look better and better.

- Linemates doing everything possible to set up Gomez for a goal. Just ain't gonna happen.

- Habs with a masterful checking performance tonight. Rangers still stuck on 10 shots.

- Total lack of discipline by Rangers - march to the box indicates they've given up on this one.

- Again, I just don't think Weber's one-timers are nearly as dangerous as Subban's, but Weber continues to get the lion's share of time.

- Subban with a lazy (failed) attempt to keep the puck in - isn't going to earn more PP time with that effort.

- Gionta with a bullet and Gomez (!!) his second assist of the the game. Will he be named one of the game's three stars? Methinks he will.

- This is easily the Habs most impressive win so far this season. Rangers who (were) the League's hottest team were made to look pretty ordinary.

- 31 for 31. Heckuva streak.

- Habs giant killers. Get big well-deserved standing-o from those at the Bell. Now have to face the newest hottest team in the NHL, the Bruins, on Monday night at home. Methinks that'll be a humdinger.