Game 76: Stars vs. Habs

Montreal 4, Dallas 1:

FIRST PERIOD:

- McKenzie picks up a the rebound off his own shot off the backboards, and slips the puck past a somewhat slow-moving Price to give the Habs the early lead. Goal originated from a broken play, with Beaulieu making a poor outlet pass from his zone. 

- Habs utterly chaotic to start this game, the Stars with plenty of zip and flow you sometimes see from teams that have nothing to lose. 

- Jamie Benn appears to be the early centre of attention, insofar as Habs checking and hitting is concerned.

- Rough 1st half, much better 2nd, the Habs finding their forecheck footing, giving Dallas headaches escaping their zone. Good shifts by the Shaw and Danault lines.

- Arttrui Lehkonen, as per usual, sneaky good so far in this 1st period. Seems to always be at least 1/2 step ahead of the play. One of the most hockey-smart guys to suit up in a Habs uniform in a long time.

- Habs swarming the Stars net, big rebounds being surrendered, Dallas incredibly fortunate to still be leading this game. 

- First 5 minutes were awful, next 5 minutes were "okay", last 10 minutes were total domination by the Habs over the Stars. So, more of that next 40 minutes or so, and the Canadiens should eventually overtake Dallas on the scoresheet.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Kari Lehtonen earning his pay check tonight, in particular from the 10-minute mark forward. Habs SA CF (5v5): 53.7%. But in the last half, it was 88.4%. Wowzers.

- Shot heat map right now heavily in favour of one team - that's trailing on the scoreboard.

- Hab might be pelting Lehtonen with the puck, but they haven't done a good job at making shot attempts while creating traffic, the strategy so far has been mainly looking for rebound attempts. That's not working, Lehtonen is easily handling everything he sees.

- Stars are rag dolling this period, just waiting in the high weeds for a Habs defensive mistake (there have been a couple of biggies this period, but Price has shut the door). Got the feeling this might be one of those nights - outplay the opponent in every way possible except on the scoresheet.

- Just not enough traffic bothering Lehtonen. Habs are aggressively pursuing the puck around the crease, but most NHL goaltenders are going to make primary and secondary saves if they have clear sight of the puck.

- Finally, it's Pacioretty with a backhander after Radulov makes a nice zone entry that handcuffs Lehtonen to get the totally-dominating Habs on the scoreboard.

- Carey Price doing his Carey Price thing - making saves on shots that are usually goals surrendered by mere mortals. Having Price on your side is a competitive edge that's impossible to calculate.

- Anther outstanding period for the Habs, picking up where they left off from the 1st period, Lehtonen the difference maker tonight. Habs bolstered by strong performance by their 1st line, which hasn't had much of an impact the past two weeks, and yet another excellent effort by Artturi Lehkonen, who's been all around Lehtonen most of the evening, but has (just barely) been foiled from hitting the scoresheet. One more period like that, and the Canadiens ought come away with a victory. 

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs SA CF (5v5) in that 2nd period was 72.0%, which is not sustainable (or even advisable) if you're the Dallas Stars. Kari Lehtonen has been giving up plenty of rebounds, but has managed to find a way of keeping his team in this hockey game.

- Check out the shot heat map through 2 periods. It's a bit extreme, but it underscores one area of improvement under Claude Julien that doesn't get nearly enough attention - the Habs have vastly improved in making shots from high percentage scoring areas. Under Therrien, on most nights, the Habs were badly outplayed in this area. Now the reverse is true.

- Habs start the 3rd period much like they started the 1st - running amuck in their own zone. Canadiens very fortunate not to be down again on the board, with Andrew Shaw lending a goaltending hand to keep the puck out of the net.

- Well, these aren't the Dallas Stars we've come to know - at least tonight. Big push out of the gate this period, Habs reeling in their own zone.

- Woah, what a shot by Brendan Gallagher, under the bar from a seemingly impossible angle along the boards, Lehtonen might have done better, but still, what a play - what a shot. 2-1 Habs.

- It's been an up and down night for Lehtonen, but he's still making difficult saves to (only barely) keep his club in the game. Lehtonen again buzzing the Stars zone, and the Danault line easily having its best game in nearly a month.

- Plekanec gets caught, forced to take a hold. Stars get first powerrplay of the game, 10 minutes into the 3rd.

- Price holding the fort this period. Not bad for a guy who woke up this morning thinking about how he was going to pass the time sitting on the Habs bench.

- Stars make a bad pass up the middle, picked off by Markov, who passes to Lehkonen whose knuckler fools Lehtonen to make it 3-1 Canadiens. Lehkonen has been working his butt off all night long, and richly deserves a goal.

- Andrei Markov, future Hockey Hall of Famer, gets standing ovation from the crowd. 2nd all-time in points among Habs defensemen. An incredible career.

- Stars know they're stuffed. Nobody is beating Carey Price 3 times tonight. Just going though routines now as we kill the clock to end the night.

- Stars throw in the town, Alex Radulov says thanks I'll score too. 4-1. In addition to Markov's watershed night, and Lehkonen's excellent performance, Radulov's goal finishes a very successful evening for the Danault line. If they're scoring again, watch out.

- Habs mop up in a game that really wasn't much of a contest, with the Habs mostly dominating this game from half way through the 1st period forward. Canadiens had a few shaky moments in their zone, but Carey Price made the necessary saves at the necessary times to allow his team to eventually overtake the Stars on the backstretch, and eventually pull away. With the Sens losing in a shootout tonight, the Canadiens increase their lead to 4 points, which means assuming At Montoya is healthy again, he'll start Thursday against the Panthers (who had a tough loss in Toronto tonight). That aside, the Canadiens surely will be happy with their top point producers scoring again - you get the feeling that Claude Julien's work on ridding his team from 4 years of bad habits leaned during the Therrien years are starting to pay off. The next week should give us a good idea whether or not this team has finally righted their offence in the right direction.

NIGHT OF THE BENNS. THIS IS THE NIGHT WE'VE SPENT OUR LIVES WAITING FOR

FINALLY. Jordie versus Jamie. TO THE TAPE. FIRST UP ... IN THE RED CORNER ... JORDIE:

Magnificent. Those golden locks nearly reach his clavicle. Neatly trimmed and rounded, soft yet intimidating. We are in awe.

IN THE BLUE CORNER ... JAMIE:

Uhm, WHAT in the hell is that? It looks like something you might grow coming off a weekend bender in Vegas. One of the shameful, pathetic growths we've seen in a long time. Sorry Dallas, we got the best Benn you had to offer. We can't hardly wait to see Jordie bury his burly bush in Lord Stanley's mug this coming June.

Anyway, before any marches on St. Catherine's, we've got a game to play tonight, so here are the necessary notes:

- Dallas is playing out the string of what has been a very disappointing season. The Big D were reckoned to be a competitive force in the Central Division this year. Instead, they're hoping to get a decent pick in the upcoming entry draft. Not helping their cause of late has been two wins over the Devils and Sharks.

- Habs hoping to do the Stars a favour tonight by handing them a loss, while maintaining their 1st place edge in the Atlantic Division. While tonight's game marks the end of a 5 game home stand for the Canadiens, the remainder of their schedule is still favourable - Montreal will not face another playoff team this year until, well, the playoffs.

- News out of practice this morning, Al (Tony) Montoya went down with a lower body injury during skating warmups (huh??), so the Habs have made an emergency call up with Zach Fucale (remember him??) to back up Carey Price tonight.

- Habs lineup tonight:

Pacioretty/Danault/Radulov
Lehkonen/Plekanec/Gallagher
Byron/Shaw/Galchenyuk
Martinsen/Ott/Mitchell

Weber/Markov
Emelin/Petry
Benn/Beaulieu

Carey Price

- Stars lineup tonight:

Benn/Eakin/Hemsky
Elie/Seguin/Ritchie
Dickinson/Faksa/Shore
McKenzie/Cracknell/Spezza

Lindell/Klinberg
Pateryn/Nemeth
Johns/Hamhuis

Kari Lehtonen

- Yeah, it's pretty cheeseball, but we'll leave you with this:


- Puck drops tonight at 7:40 EST.

Game 73: Wings vs. Habs

Detroit 2, Montreal 1 (OT):

FIRST PERIOD:

- Beaulieu nailed right off the bat for an interference penalty that might have gone either way. Abdelkader scores on the infusing powerplay to give Detroit the early lead. Not sure what Julien thinks of Beaulieu's play, but reply shows he was finishing his check. I'm inclined to think the coach will let that one slide.

- So when is the Habs top line going to start producing? Habs can't keep leaning on secondary scoring support indefinitely.

- Danault line looks good yet again tonight - they're got a very persistent and aggressive forecheck going, which is something I've seen absent the Galchenyuk line the past little while. Spark of intensity might be one significant reason why that top line has struggled to score lately.

- Habs powerplay tinkering - Pacioretty put at the point. Puck possession was good, zone maintenance was good, but no shots registered. That might be the end of that little experiment.

- It hasn't been anything close to the nightmare of the Hawks game last week, but it hasn't been a stellar period either for Emelin. Wings aren't a particularly fast team, but Emelin again appears to be struggling adjusting to Detroit's zone entries.

- Meek period for the Habs, especially around Jimmy Howard. Need more bodies crashing that crease area.

- Kinda mysterious how the Habs find ways of being outplayed by non-playoff teams. Not sure if it's anything to do with the lineup looking at the standings, assuming in advance that the game doesn't require full effort. That's essentially what was missing from the Habs in that 1st period - the concerted effort required to win a game in the NHL.


SECOND PERIOD:

- You'd be forgiven if your eyes glazed over during that first period. Possession was an even split, which means, given the opponent, the Habs were outplayed:

- Habs are buzzing, certainly more than compared to the 1st period, but the Wings are doing a good job protecting the crease/slot area. Canadiens might need to grease one out to get on the scoreboard.

- Flow is certainly a lot more wide open this period, which is something that would generally favour the the Habs.

- Emelin covers up from a Jeff Petry puck handling error. That's all nice, but it underscores the general lack of chemistry and communication between these two since Julien adjusted his defence, moving Markov next to Weber. I think Emelin would be a better pairing with Jordie Benn, and Beaulieu with Petry, but what do I know?

- I know, it was a longshot, but kinda hoped Ott would have a little "oomph" to his game against his former teammates tonight. But then again, it's Steve Ott. Best to keep expectations at around -40.

- Habs with a stormin' powerplay, Howard catching some puck luck, and Lehkonen playing like a monster this period. Pacioretty at the point looking better that attempt. Starting to think this team has a bad case of snakebite against the Wings.

- Just can't seem to find chemistry. Julien mixing the lines up a little to end the period, but I'm not sure that's the issue. Passing is there, but there simply isn't very much traffic in front of Howard, who, for the most part, has seen pretty much every shot directed towards him.

- Habs were the better team in that second period, pushing the envelope to try and get on the scoreboard, but as we mentioned in the previous point, Habs have not done a very good job pushing the Wings net tonight, which has made puck stopping much easier for Howard.


THIRD PERIOD:

- This is a more meaningful illustration of the Habs issue tonight - they might have more shot attempts, but not many in close. Look at all those point attempts. No wonder Jimmy Howard has a shutout going:

- After demonstrating marked signs that he'd finally got his season moving, it's been a mostly down night for Gallagher - 46% CF and a CF Rel of nearly -13 through 40 minutes.

- Habs are playing patient, much like they did earlier season game they had against Detroit, of which they eventually lost 1-0. In that game, the Habs didn't seriously ramp up their game until there was 2 minutes left in the clock. If you learn from your history, then you'd expect the Habs to start taking some chances much sooner in the 3rd.

- Habs haven't shown much, but now they draw an interference. Canadiens came awfully close to scoring their previous man advantage. This would be a good time to finish their attempt.

- Puck hopping and bouncing on the ice, Beaulieu's stick shatters as he attempts to finish the setup with Jimmy Howard's own stick laying in the corner. One of those nights where seems like nothing is going to go right - and for the Habs offence, that's exactly what's happened.

- Habs are definitely not waiting until the last 2 minutes to make their push. With 9 minutes left in the 3rd, it's been the kitchen sink in the Wings zone. Just can't quite seem to finish plays, the ice conditions look poor - puck bouncing a lot on the ice.

- Rough night for the Plekanec line - most of the play has tilted towards the Habs zone while he, Gallagher and Bryon have been on. Offensive chances have been few and far between.

- Lehkonen ties the game with 2 minutes left, given way too much space entering the Wings zone, he fires a wrister that has Howard looking skyward.  Ironic the way that goal was surrendered given how well the Wings have played defensively in their zone tonight.

- Alexei Emelin with all day and all night to set up the play from behind his net, ices the puck with 2- seconds left. WHY?!

- Critical game tying goal by Lehkonen, given that the Sens have already beaten the Bruins tonight. Canadiens doing a nice job pushing in that 3rd period for the tying goal, especially from the 10 minute mark forward.

OVERTIME:

- Shot attempt chart shows the Habs indeed were pushing hard at about the 10 minute mark of that 3rd period:

- Montoya clearly interfered by Mike Green, thrashed into the back of his net, all in front of the referee who lets the play, unbelievably, continue without a whistle. The abysmal lack of goaltending protection in this League continues.

- This OT period is the Al Montoya period. His defenders doing him no favours, that's for sure.

- Hometown boy Anthony Mantha with as pretty a goal as you'll see, making Galchenyuk, who's had a bad night in general, look like a beer leaguer with one move, and Shea Weber his next victim with a slick shot that beats Montoya top corner, and the Habs (actually) lose a game in OT. Montoya deserved a better fate, although the Habs played a pretty disorganized OT period, and roundly deserved the loss of an extra point.

R.I.P. WINGS NOT BEING BAD: 1990-2017

It's kinda crazy, isn't it? The Detroit Red Wings, for the first time in 27 years, will not be partaking in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The remarkable string of success comes from Detroit implementing (and sticking to) the development of a perpetually competitive hockey team by focusing resources on developing players internally through wise drafting and quality scouting (especially in Europe and in particular, eastern bloc nations including Russia).

Over the past few years as other teams finally caught on to the Wings formula for success, Detroit has found maintaining their competitive edge to be increasingly difficult, especially in the salary cap era. Before the cap, the Wings had the luxury of locking up their assets for an indefinite period of time. In today's era, the Wings couldn't dream of maintaining a lineup with the likes of Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Kris Draper, Nicklas Lindstrom, Vladimir Konstantinov, Chris Osgood, etc., etc. (those players were all on the 1997 Wings roster).

So with the official passing of the Red Wings era, Detroit is finishing up their season, coincidently as Joe Lewis, the arena that hosted all of those great Wings teams, will be shuttering their doors for good.

So the Wings, playing the string, will face former teammate Steve Ott and the Habs tonight at the Bell Centre. The Wings, coming off a loss to the Buffalo Sabres last night, are currently sitting with the 5th worst record in the NHL, which reckons to land them a half-decent pick in this summer's entry draft.

Here's the Detroit projected lineup tonight:

Tartar/Zetterberg/Nyquist
Mantha/Nielsen/Sheahan
Athanasiou/Larkin/Abdelkader
Glendening/Nosek/Miller

DeKeyser/Jensen
Kronwall/Green
Ouellet/Russo

The Habs, meanwhile, are still enjoying the buzz of a weekend sweep of the Ottawa Senators, which has given Montreal a 4 point lead for 1st place in the Atlantic Division. Paul Bryon, who got his 20th (and if not for a silly offside challenge his 21st) goal of the season will lead the Canadiens offence in the 2nd game of a 5-game home stand. Meanwhile, Carey Price, who's been stellar since Claude Julien took over head coaching duties last month, gets a well-earned night off. Al (Tony) Montoya (2.71/.910) will start for the Canadiens, while Jimmy Howard (1.97/.933) gets the nod for Detroit.

Here's the Habs lineup tonight:

Pacioretty/Galchenyuk/Radulov
Byron/Plekanec/Gallagher
Lehkonen/Danault/Shaw
King/Ott/Mitchell

Weber/Markov
Emelin/Petry
Beaulieu/Benn

Puck drops tonight at 7:40, EST.

Game 68: Habs vs. Flames

GAME PREVIEW: THE FLAMES AREN'T (TRAILER PARK) TRASH ANY MORE!

Not smokin' weed Ricky, the Flames are good! Seven straight wins! Jesus Christ, Julian, they're gonna make the playoffs! Shit winds be blowin', Lahey - Calgary has done all this winning without the referee muggin' specialist himself Dennis Wideman, who's been a healthy scratch during the streak.

Jeez louise, it's amazing how many good things can happen when you take guys out of the lineup. Claude Julien yanked incessant bumbler Alexei Emelin from a start on Tuesday night, and the Habs went out and played one of their most competent games of the season in a 2-1 OT victory over the Canucks.

So logically, Emelin will stay out of the lineup again tonight versus the Flam ... I'm sorry, what? (/checks earpiece)

Alexei Emelin de retour face aux Flames https://t.co/6vVtu8VDpl #polqc #assnat pic.twitter.com/Hcz5Yf0sUc

— pol.quebec (@pol_quebec) March 9, 2017

OH FOR F*#KS SAKE, BUBBLES.

I guess you can't have it all. Indeed, Emelin will get the start tonight, with Brandon Davidson, who played an awfully solid game in Vancouver, will watch from the press box. Sigh.

Anywho, here's the Habs lines:

Pacioretty/Danault/Gallagher
King/Galchenyuk/Lehkonen
Byron/Mitchell/Shaw
Martinson/Ott/McCarron

Weber/Markov
Petry/Emelin
Beaulieu/Benn

News out late this afternoon has Carey Price out (oh no!) from the flu. Al Tony Montoya will get the unexpected start.

Habs also have a couple of confirmed injuries. Again Tomas Plekanec will not play, along with Brian Flynn who sustained an injury Tuesday night. There was some speculation that Alex Radulov might return from his day-to-day UBI tonight, but that's been pushed back to at least Sunday's game in Edmonton.

Over on Calgary's side, the Flames aren't touching a thing. Winning is winning, with Mikael Backland leading the way the past month:

Gaudreau/Monahan/Ferland
Tkachuk/Backlund/Frolik
Versteeg/Bennett/Brouwer
Bouma/Stajan/Chiasson

Giordano/Hamilton
Brodie/Stone
Bartkowski/Engelland

The Flames Brian Elliot (2.65/.905) versus the Habs Al Tony Montoya (2.58/.913). Puck drops at 9:40, EST.

Game 54: Oilers vs. Habs

Edmonton 1, Montreal 0 (SO):

FIRST PERIOD:

So Danault is good to go today, but ah, there's a twist with Habs lineup today. With Danault confirmed in, Galchenyuk will play *wing* on the 2nd line, with Desharnais drawing back into the lineup to center him. 

So near as we know, this is Therrien's thinking today:

Pacioretty/Danault/Radulov

Galchenyuk/Desharnais/Byron

Lehkonen/Plekanec/Shaw

De La Rose/Mitchell/Andrighetto

So Brian Flynn is the healthy scratch.

- So for about 3 years, Michel Therrien had Alex Galchenyuk play the wrong position as a winger before *finally* getting it right, and moving him up the middle. So putting him back on the wing is a rather baffling decision. No less, next to Desharnais. 

- Pretty meek shifts so far from the Desharnais line, Danault line looks pretty good early- Radulov as per usual with his spark plug impersonation.

- Awful tripping call on Weber who made a good play checking McDavid, but the officials follow their orders and call their biases accordingly. Bad, bad, bad.

- McDavid clearly trying to draw penalties, flopping down on minimal contact. Shaw his latest attempt, the officials not buying (this time).

- Let's add Plekaenc to the attempt to penalize list. Pathetic.

Plekanec/McDavid contact pic.twitter.com/DYJnb29bk0

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 5, 2017

- Kind of an unsung acknowledgement, but Plekanec has done a good job keeping McDavid mostly in check this period. Oilers trying to match the McDavid line with the Mitchell line in response. Last change especially important today, will Therrien use it to maximum effect?

- Habs weakest link continues to be their blue line - Weber and Emelin still prone to significant breakdowns in their own zone. 

- Canadiens survive the first period, with Montoya playing very well in stopping 15 shots, although not many of them were high danger opportunities. Even though the officials seem to be missing calls, it's imperative the Canadiens stay out of the box from here on out, if only to keep the score close. Meanwhile, the Habs offence with a pretty quiet period - the adjustments made by Therrien showing little sign of success. Will Galchenyuk return to center as soon as today? We can only hope.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs ES CF was 44.1% in that first period, which had a nice little vibe you sometimes feel as you get closer to the playoffs:

- McDavid is on pace to play 24+ minutes today, which is an incredible total for a forward. Sure, at his age he could probably play 40 minutes a night, but this stuff tends to be cumulative, even for a young body. 

- Habs offensive woes continue to originate from the backend, with the Canadiens defenders doing a hapless job feeding the puck up ice. Oilers are doing a very good job at centre ice intercepting mostly long bomb passes. It's only a matter of time one of these turnovers will lead to an Edmonton goal.

- Oilers 4th line, centered by Letestu, having a very good game - not only stifling the Habs with an aggressive forecheck, but also generating some decent shots on Montoya. Canadiens would love to have this kind of performance and production from their 4th, but with Mitchell and Flynn, there's not much you can do.

- Hate to be a paid customer for tonight's game. The super-paranoid Habs are trying to draw the pace of the game into a crawl, while struggling to put together even a simple rush with the puck. Oilers are just pecking away at Montoya, a good strategy since they know their opponent isn't posing any danger. Eventually something will beat Montoya.

- Don't understand the Habs strategy here - a defence-only game doesn't work if you can't even muster up shots against your opponent. Canadiens, the few times they have the puck, are dumping it in from center ice, and more-or-less retreating back to their end. 

- Try, try, try again. McDavid now suckers another penalty, this time Emelin for a "hook". 

- Referees Dan O'Halloran and Francois St. Laurant are being made fools of today by McDavid. They're not very good, they never have been, never will be. McDavid knew this, and has exploited it to maximum effect.

- Just. Kill. Me. Habs totally camped in the Oilers zone on the powerplay for well over a minute, registering zero shots on Talbot. Looking for cute plays. Just stupefying.

- Second period not unlike the first, Oilers with the initiative and most of the scoring opportunities, while the Habs more or less just sat back and tried to contain. I guess "mission accomplished"? Assuming that the goal was to keep the score "close" going to the 3rd period. Who knows. What is apparent is the Habs have driven themselves into a serious offensive rut, poor puck management by the defence, and a passive attack by the forwards who seem more interested in developing pretty scoring attempts over just getting the puck on net. It's frustrating to witness.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs with that "defence-only" hockey really paying off dividends, huh? 39% CF at even strength. 

- Habs doing a better job in the neutral zone to start the period, which is generating a few more + turnovers. Still, passing is sloppy, and shot attempts are mainly coming from long distances.

- Therrien line juggling, Andrighetto taken from 4th line, now with Galchenyuk and Desharnais. Byron appears to be odd-man out.

- Byron back with DD and AK27. So that was a short-lived experiment.

- Habs at least generating some shot attempts here, Radulov doing some great hard work, but his linemates doing a lousy job getting into a shooting position. That's another issue today - the Canadiens, the few times they've been set up in the Oilers zone, are not setting themselves to receive the puck for a decent shot on Talbot.

- Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnddddddddd ... que the Andrew Shaw bad 3rd period penalty.

- 7 minutes left, Oilers are pushing, Habs bunkering in their own zone. Canadiens are getting outworked for the puck, especially at centre ice. 

- Shea Weber is officially a defensive liability. Put speed against him, you might as well have a pylon out there.

pic.twitter.com/waRNuNFAMg

— manu 🎨 (@MoeninGlory) February 5, 2017

- In addition to 1) having Galchenyuk on wing, 2) Desharnais 2nd line centre, Therrien really missed the boat with Andrighetto, subjecting him to 4th line play. He's been one of the Habs better forwards today (and yesterday). 

- Habs "best" period of the game, for what it's worth. At least a point gained from the weekend. 3-on-3 will heavily favour the Oilers. 

OVERTIME:

- I'd give the Habs a 1/10 chance of beating the Oilers in OT. And I'm being generous.

- No idea why Therrien decided not to put out his best checking forwards to counter McDavid to start OT. The Habs manage to survive.

- Therrien sends out Desharnais (sigh), boom McDavid gets a breakaway. Montoya with game saver. OT deployments have been awful.

- Whelp, shootout we go. We had to endure almost 3 hours of stifling hockey to get here.

- Radulov and ... Byron? Okay then.

- Habs made Cam Talbot look a lot better than he actually was today, including that shootout. Alex Galchenyuk not given a turn, which ... whatever. Another opportunity goes past the board.

- Just to recap and remind, the Habs, save Gallagher, have a totally healthy lineup up front. The Oilers are missing two regular top 4 defensemen, and this is your final result:

GAME PREVIEW: TWO SLUMPING TEAMS COLLIDE. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE

Hey, have you heard the news? The Edmonton Oilers are going to be in the playoffs!! Well, that was pretty much a given last week. This week? Well ... the Oilers are still in a very good position in the Western Conference, but hold the phone for a moment, Edmonton has suddenly found itself in a bit of a losing streak, 3 straight entering this afternoon's game at the Bell Centre.

The issues are this week as they have been for about 10 years in Edmonton, mainly defensive. Matters were not helped after Matthew Benning suffered a facial injury during Friday night's loss to Carolina. With Kris Russel already injured, Edmonton has had to call up Jordan Osterle, a rather young and inexperienced blue liner, to fill the gap. Toss in Darnell Nurse, who had ankle surgery in December and won't return until March at the earliest, and the Oilers have some big issues at the blue line.

Still, Edmonton is built on, and thrives off, offence. You know the story. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisitl have been All-World this season. Toss in the usual cast of characters, the Jordan Eberles, the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins's, the Patrick Maroons, and you've got yourself a team that can beat anyone on any given night (or day), be dammed how many of their defensemen are on injury reserve.

For the Habbies, it's not been a fun week, even with the team returning to health, they couldn't compete with the Washington Capitals yesterday for much of 60 minutes played, even if the final score indicated a close game (it wasn't). Phillip Danault, who's played a big role this year in stepping up his game to help his team get through a dodgy injury crisis, was himself hurt during the 2nd period of the Caps game, with an undisclosed upper body injury. He'll be a game time decision.

So the lines today are more or less settled for Edmonton:

Maroon/McDavid/Draisaitl
Lucic/Nugent-Hopkins/Eberle
Pouliot/Caggiula/Slepyshev
Hendricks/Letestu/Kassian

Larsson/Klefbom
Sekera/Gryba
Davidson/Oesterle

Assuming Danault can play, expect Therrien to put out the same lines as yesterday. However if he can't, expect Alex Galchenyuk to reunite on the first line, and David Desharnais, who was a healthy scratch yesterday, to draw in to play the 3rd line. Until we know at game time, however, it's all speculation.

It's Cam Talbot against Al (Tony) Montoya.

Game 42: Habs vs. Jets

Montreal 7, Winnipeg 4:


FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Plekanec is in, so lineup matters not quite as dire for the Habs tonight.

- So with Patrik Laine out, eyes out on Blake Wheeler who's been the Jets 2nd best forward this season.

- Not the start the Jets were hoping for, once again great work and pressure by Radulov generates zone turnover, Danault backhanding a loose puck home, and Habs grab very quick 1-0 lead.

- This isn't the first time the Danault line has been involved with an early Habs goal - they play an awfully fast and aggressive game, which I think takes a lot of teams unfamiliar with the Habs (Jets being an example) by surprise.

- Now it's Andrighetto's turn to make an impressive aggressive zone play, a perfect cross-ice pass on Flynn's tape, and he finds the top corner to give the Habs a 2-0 lead, barely 4 minutes into the game. Jets defence looking very flat-footed early.

Flynn scores his 5th of the year. #Habs up 2-0. pic.twitter.com/5HDOCPI3hu

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 12, 2017

- Moments after Habs nearly make it 3-0, Canadiens make very bad defensive error, with Petry and Beaulieu both chasing Stafford in the Canadiens' zone, springing Scheifele wide open for an easy goal. 2-1. Now both sides have demonstrated some pretty questionable defence, this could be a very long night for the goaltenders.

- This one's on Petry. Sorry Jeff, but this is not how you defence:

Scheifele with the easiest goal he'll score all year. pic.twitter.com/tzfQtHivfY

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 12, 2017

- Woes continue for Petry, as he's called for a (weak-ish) hold while on the PK.  Habs, however, survive the 5-on-3.

- Hellebuyck having significant puck issues this period - giving up rebounds, and having a lot of trouble covering up pucks. Habs forwards might want to continue to apply extra heavy pressure - there have been a lot of loose pucks presenting golden scoring opportunities.

- More shoddy defensive coverage, and again, it's Petry and Beaulieu failing to be on the same page - Perreault ties the game, Montoya more or less left out to dry.

- Plekanec top corner, 3-2 and Hellebuyck gets the hook. Hutchinson comes in, his line is 4W, 7L, 3.18, .894 in 13 starts. Not exactly the guy the Jets were hoping to lean on tonight.

- Getting Andrei Markov back into the lineup is key, but the Habs still should be concerned with how sloppy their defence has played of late. I understand that Therrien has been working on getting his blue line more involved offensively, which is an approach that I tend to agree with - but the fundamentals have been lacking of late - proper positioning and communications lapses have been the big culprits. Montreal must get this sorted out - certainly before the team starts its preparations for the playoffs.

- Kind of a missed opportunity first period - if not for some pretty bad defence by Petry and Beaulieu, the Habs could be three goals clear. Montreal certainly the better team, aided by some pretty questionable Winnipeg goaltending - which hasn't been a strong point for them this season. I suppose keep with the plan - play an aggressive game, but be a little more conscientious in the defensive zone, and who knows - the Canadiens might actually end up with a victory tonight?

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Fairly even period, Jets more or less down on the scoreboard because of goaltending.

- Sven Andrighetto having a little big of a statement game, no? Scores off more soft Jets zone coverage to make it 4-2, barely a minute into the period.

- Danault with a sweet, skilled goal makes it 5-2 off an end-to-end rush. Jets blue line, specifically Byfuglien, just waving his stick as Phillip skates by. Pretty awful 2nd period start by this Jets team, this game in danger of spinning completely out of control.

Another look at the Danault goal. End-to-end rush 101. pic.twitter.com/IV2MvKfhC2

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 12, 2017

- Paul Maurice is not having a good night. Might he be next on the coaching chopping block?

- Scheifele makes it 5-3 on the powerplay, the Habs PK unit continues to look soft at best, downright awful and disorganized at worst. Is somebody going to rattle the cages for this unit, because it sure looks like J.J. Daigneault (if he's the guy in charge) is utterly incapable.

- Weber and Emelin haven't been very good tonight, especially at even strength where they're already under -10 corsi. Habs defence in general one good reason why the Jets still have hopes of winning this game.

- There is no "off" on the Radulov light switch. There are very few players in the game of hockey that bring his intensity to the rink each night.

- Carr getting blasted in the face by Byfulien, which the officials won't penalize, of course.

- Much better 2nd period for the Habs, they came out strong, put the Jets on their heels, and extended their scoreboard lead, in spite of the Canadiens still playing soft defence, and very disorganized with their PK. Winnipeg hopes in the 3rd will rest on drawing penalties, and taking advantage through the powerplay.


THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Jets with just 2 shots in the 2nd, only 1 shot first 17 minutes, although attempts show a slightly closer game, it was still mostly Habs in that frame:

- Jets start the 3rd fairly strong, maybe Paul Maurice had another rant at his team? Habs be wise to play a road period, slow the game down, keep the checking close.

- Andrighetto with possibly his best game of the year, not only picking up two points so far, but playing some pretty good defence in his own zone, meaning he's hustling both directions. Therrien likes that kind of effort, so the kid might stay up with the big team a bit longer than usual.

- Weber with a blast that likely went off Lehkonen to make it 6-3. Jets simply had to score the next goal, and now trailing by 3, the rest of this game is likely elementary.

- Anyway, any doubts now about how huge the Habs off season signings were? Radulov is having a Hart Finalist season, and Lehkonen - he's going to be a part of this team's future core. Strong performances by both yet again tonight.

- Jets really loose on the PK, lanes far too wide open, and slot unprotected, Lehkonen bats home a rebound to make it 7 for the Canadiens.

- Little makes it 4 for the Jets, Johnston with a poor turnover trying to carry the puck out of his zone through heavy traffic.

- Solid win for the Habs tonight, bolstered by secondary scoring support by the youngsters, with Andrighetto and Lehkonen being the brightest lights. Meanwhile Danault continues to add to the Marc Bergevin mystic of finding diamonds in the rough. Road gets much steeper for the Habs as they head down the road to face the very tough Minnesota Wild tomorrow night - again with the same lineup as tonight's, meaning the Canadiens will need another solid effort from the supporting crew if they hope to have a positive result to wrap up the mini road trip.


GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW: HABS FACE THE NHL'S MOST MEDIOCRE HOCKEY TEAM

What do you do if you're the Winnipeg Jets? You're a team not quite good enough to make the playoffs, but you're too good to finish somewhere in the standings to gain a decent draft pick (for a very mediocre 2017 draft)?.

The Jets are the quintessential middling hockey team playing in a middling city that's almost quite literally right in the middling of a giant country. Let's go to the stats machine.

First off, the conundrum the Jets currently face at the moment.

The Jets are in that tricky "are we, or aren't we?" playoff qualification zone. Yes, they're hanging in there as a possible contender for qualification, but then as we dig a little deeper, the picture becomes even more uncertain:

Let's look at the baseline stats, to see how the Jets stack up against the rest of the League:

STAT             RAW          RANK

CF% (5v5)     49.6           22nd

GF60              2.18           14th

GF (5v5)        74               14th

GA60             2.42            22nd

PP%               16.8            19th

SV%               .916            25th

The numbers are, well ... not horrible, but not good. The Jets' shooting chart at even strength pretty much sums up their position in the NHL:

The Winnipeg Jets. Kinda dull. Kinda bad.

Not helping matters is the recent injury to their fine rookie (and arguably better player than Austin Matthews) Patrik Laine, who suffered a serious concussion Saturday night against the Sabres, after taking a serious (clean) hit near center ice from Jake McCabe. Laine's return is totally unknown - it could be days, weeks, or even months.

Laine, at the time, was the Jets leading point-getter, so for a team that on most nights struggles to generate offence, his injury comes at a particularly bad time.

Then again, the Jets are playing an injury-decimated team tonight, with the Habs again missing many key players from their lineup - the latest possibly being Tomas Plekanec, who reportedly has come down with the case of the flu. If Plekanec can't play tonight, the Habs will be icing a team with four centres that were originally designated 3rd line duty (Danualt), or 4th line duties (Flynn, Mitchell and McCarron). When your forwards lineup is comprised of just 4 top-6 forwards, you're in some serious trouble

So yes, the Jets are mediocre, bordering on bad - but they're taking on a very vulnerable and undermanned opponent tonight, so the possibility is very good that Winnipeg can muster up 2 more points in the standings.

Which just might make them believe they're playoff contenders again.

It's Al Montoya (5W, 4L, 2.76, .911) versus Connor Hellebuyck (16W, 13L, 2.65, .913). Puck drops at 7:40, EST.

          

GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Fairly quiet day, Habs-related, except for reports this morning that Tomas Plekanec has come down with a bought with the flu, making him a "game time" decision for tonight's game. With Andrei Markov, Alex Galchenyuk and Andrew Shaw not joining the team for this road game, the Canadiens are right back to (possibly) having 7 regulars out of their lineup, and in Plekanec's case, one more top-ish center not being able to play.

So with Plekanec possibly not playing, the Habs went with these lines during practice:

Pacioretty/Danault/Radulov
Lehkonen/Flynn/Byron
Andrighetto/Mitchell/Terry
Carr/McCarron/Scherbak

Yeeesh. That's a pretty thin lineup, especially down the middle.

- Al Montoya was last to leave the ice during this morning's practice, so he'll be starting tonight.

- Erstwhile, the Jets lines tonight will look as such:

Ehlers/Scheifele/Stafford
Perreault/Little/Wheeler
Matthias/Lowry/Armia
Copp/Petan/Thorburn

Morrissey/Byfuglien
Enstrom/Trouba
Chariot/Postma 

Connor Hellebuyck

Game preview coming up in a bit.

Game 39: Habs vs. Stars

Montreal 4, Dallas 4 (OT)

FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Bobby Farnham gets his season debut start for the Habs tonight, he'll slot in on the left side on the 4th line. 

- I trust nobody is watching Canada right now, right? Okay. Good.

- Dallas gameplay apparent early - ice the puck every opportunity. You may have switch over to the team Canada game already.

- Plodding start of the Habs to start this game - likely indicative of playing last night, and this being the 6th game of a very long road trip.

- Gallagher continues to do the right things - much more aggressive positioning in front of opposing goal, something that was very absent during his extended scoring drought. Still hold the opinion that he was playing through an injury and was taking precautions avoiding high contact areas of the ice.

- Danault does the dirty work winning puck battles along the board, Pacioretty feeding Beaulieu who pinches in a beats Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen with a wrister to give the Habs a 1-0 lead. Dallas is the rested team tonight, so there's little excuse for losing battles. 

- Antoine Roussel, who's back from a few days off from injury, is flying for the Stars this period. Habs would be wise to keep a close check.

- So ... Bobby Farnham - yeah ... I'm not sure I'm understand this start he's getting tonight.

- Seguin. We warned you Habbies earlier today, but you didn't listen. Tie game.

- Dallas definitely the faster team tonight - Habs having trouble keeping up while defending their zone. 

- More or less a draw of a period, which for the Habs is an okay result given this is 2nd part of a back-to-back. Canadiens will need to do a better job containing Seguin and Roussel next two periods - because both are clearly on their game tonight. 

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs continue to be impressive with possession, 61% CF in that first period:

- If I'm on the Dallas bench, I'm not exactly enthralled with confidence in Lehtonen. Goaltending has been another issue with the Stars this year, whether or not that'll factor into who wins tonight - we'll see.

- Habs fans are fully versed in Alexei Emelin's uncanny ability to do stupid things on the ice, but one area that he's improved on this season are outlet passes to his forwards. Any progression in transition helps significantly with puck possession, of which the Habs have slowly but surely become one of the best in the NHL. 

- Stars smarty get the Spezza line out against Barberio and Johnston, and if not for a couple of good Montoya saves, it would be 2-1 Dallas. Ryan Johnston continues to demonstrate that he's not NHL-calibre or capable. Very soft and shaky in his own zone.

- Al Montoya has been rather lucky tonight, misplayed two shots, one just from Seguin that Montoya wasn't remotely ready to handle, but caught a break as Seguin's shot hit is blocker. 

- Byron out with what we assume is a head injury from a blind hit he took from Patrick Sharp in the 1st period. Habs injury woes might be getting even worse before they get better.

- Soft penalty on Gallagher, Dallas takes advantage off the faceoff, with Klinberg beating Montoya with a 55 foot wrister. 2-1 Stars.

- Habs miffed that Spezza wasn't called for a pick after the faceoff that resulted in the Klinberg goal, and the ref calls Therrien for mouthing off. Stars back on the powerplay. Looking at the goal reply, the Habs have a point - Spezza pretty clearly tripped Plekanec off the draw, which prevented him from covering his mark, which would have been Klinberg.

- Maybe Montoya's all distracted by his newly minted contract extension, but he's just not on his game tonight - very scrambly with saves, mostly unnecessarily so.

- That was not a good 2nd period for the Habs, who I think are just plain out of gas. Montoya looking a little shaky, combined with a couple of questionable calls by the officials that led to Dallas's second goal. Tough road to haul for this team, especially in light of Byron's game-ending injury suffered during the 1st period. 

THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs 2nd period totals not good. As we mentioned previously, pretty clear indication this team is just plain tired. So much travelling, back to back games - four straight OT games - it's all adding up.

- Habs powerplay going nowhere, until Alex Radulov steps on the ice, splits the Dallas defence, and slips a sweet backhander past Lehtonen to tie the game. As pretty a goal as you'll see in the game of hockey, by one of the League's best forwards.

- Eventually Radulov is going to get talked about for League MVP consideration. He's really been that good. 

- You can't be serious - Weber absolutely nailing Gallagher in the hand with a slap shot - the same hand (I believe) that was broken last year. Good lord. Terrible.

- Pacioretty scores with a brilliant snap shot top corner to give the Habs a 2-1 lead seconds after Gallagher is injured. A hefty price paid. 

- Yup. Same hand. Weber's shot was clocked at 100 mph, and it likely shattered Gallagher's hand into many pieces. That's a massive loss for the Canadiens. Almost certainly long-term.

Gallagher takes a Weber shot to the hand. Not a doctor but that doesn't look good... #Habs pic.twitter.com/E9MrhQObmU

— Shayne Pasquino (@shaynepasquino) January 5, 2017

- Not a doctor, but this looks bad. Very, very bad: 

- Anyway, back to the game. Dallas should be skating the Habs into the ice right now, with the Habs down two forwards, on zero rest, 4 straight OT games on the 6th game of a 7 game road trip. But they aren't. 

- Halfway through the 3rd, Stars have twice as many shot attempts in the period, but two goals scored by the Habs. That's hockey for you.

- 5 minutes left, Habs, maybe because they're road weary, trying to grind this game to a halt, lots of dumping, not much chasing. 

- Just under 4 minutes left - can the Habs cross the finish line with lead in tact? It's going to be very close.

- Dallas applying considerably more pressure here, Habs hunkering down around Montoya.

- Nope. Just not enough juice. Rousell ties it up. Too many bodies in front of the net, too many exhausted Habs players unable to clear the way for Montoya to see the shot.

- I think the Habs would be pretty happy to take the single point. Forget OT. This team is totally spent.

- Wow. Patrick Sharp missing a totally open net with 40 seconds left, hitting Montoya in the head. Incredible miss, and it gifts the Habs at least one point in the standings. Kudos to the Habs for at least picking that up tonight, I have the feeling the OT won't last very long.

OVERTIME LIVE GAME BLOG:

- 5th straight OT for Habs. Even more reason why their chances of winning the extra point are almost entirely resting with winning via a shootout. 

- Max Pacioretty after the Stars complete misplay a deep zone faceoff, sprung on a break, and incredibly the Habs win in OT. What an incredible victory, but oh - at what cost?? Now we await the prognosis for both Byron and Gallagher, the later appears to have sustained a long-term hand injury.

GAME PREVIEW: WATCH OUT HABBIES. TYLER SEGUIN IS COMIN' AFTER YOU

Tyler Seguin. Whooot! Aren't you a pretty one? Say, is that how you practice on your off days? Shirtless with those slim fit khaki's? You're so cool. And what's that? When you're not training that hard, greased up bod, you like putting your feet up and crackin open a cold one?? Well, aren't you special. My mom would like you.

Truth be told, with shirts on or off, Seguin likes playing against the Montreal Canadiens. With exception to the Winnipeg Jets and Philadelphia Flyers, no team has been scored on more by Seguin than the Montreal Canadiens over the span of his 7 year career.

Which is to say, the Habs would be well-advised to keep an eye on the Stars's leading point getter this season - 38 points in 38 games. Just your typical production levels for one of the League's best forwards.

So while Seguin continues to do what Seguin does best, it's been a slightly disappointing year for Dallas. The Stars, who have spent the past few years attempting to build from within, this season it's been, Seguin aside, their lack of scoring which has mainly led them to a less-than-mediocre 16 wins in 38 games.

The Stars enter tonight's game with a 1.92 GF60 average, only good for 25th in the League. That contrasts loudly with Dallas' 2.42 GF60 average they spotted last season, which ranked as the League's 3rd best offence.

What's the root of the problem? Likely it's a combination of factors. The Stars have a meagre 6.55 Sh%, 5th worst in the NHL, a stat that tends to become magnified when you're not a very good possession team (the Stars are ranked 18th in 5v5 CF%). Other issues? A disappointing season so far for Jason Spezza, who has just 22 points on 7 goals in 39 games. If you consider that Spezza has averaged around 1.0 PPG in every season since 2005, 2016-17 is the first real indicator that his decline as an NHL forward has begun.

Complicating the Stars offence issues tonight will be the loss of captain Jamie Benn, who's out day-to-day from an ankle injury. With Benn out, the Stars lines will look like this:

Sharp/Spezza/Seguin
McKenzie/Faksa/Ritchie
Hudler/Eakin/Eaves
Roussel/Shore/Cracknel

Lindell/Klingberg
Hamhuis/Johns
Oduya/Benn

No indication yet as to who the Starts will start in goal.

Meanwhile over on the Habs side, no changes in the lineup tonight - it's difficult to argue otherwise, as the Habs have play magnificent possession hockey the past month, rising all the way up to 3rd in the NHL in 5v5 CF percentage. The only difference tonight is that Al Montoya will start in goal, with Carey Price getting a well-earned rest after an outstanding outing last night in Nashville.

Puck drops 8:10 EST.

Game 16: Habs vs. Hawks

CHICAGO 3, MONTREAL 2:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Obvious key to this game is the Hawks penalty kill, the worst in the NHL at the moment. If Habs can use their speed and draw penalties, it might give them an edge.

- Annnnnd ... a minute into the game, it's the Habs who get sent to the box first. Not exactly what the plan should be.

- Can't figure out Beaulieu - he looked so confident with the puck in the preseason, but as the season wears on, he's prone to play hot potato in his own zone, which means more often than not, his presumed strength of being a puck moving defensman is being wasted.

- Hawks strike first as Forsling with a point shot is deflected past Montoya - replay shows that Hanley was not paying attention to his position, bumping into his goaltender a second before Forsling's shot. We speculated last night whether Hanley had played himself out of a start tonight - he obviously hadn't, but he did play a role in that Hawks first goal.

- Crawford seems to be "on" tonight, couple of goal robberies on Pacioretty early in the first, and Shaw late in the period. Habs will need to do a bit more of what we saw against the Kings on Thursday - more aggressiveness driving the net, getting in Crawford's face (and mind).

- Oooh, Hawks shorthanded. Let's see how their PK unit, rated worst in the League, looks.

- Weber with a slap shot that hits Pacioretty in the mouth. Blood all over the ice. Not looking good.

- Habs powerplay not being aided by the presence of Tomas Plekanec.

- Reasonably even period - Hawks, who've currently got the biggest PDO in the League, aided by a bounce to get them on the board, while Corey Crawford made a couple of very good saves to keep Habs off the board. So the luck remains with Chicago, as it has most of this season.  Still, Habs played a pretty good road period of hockey, doing a good job in their own zone. Still, more aggressiveness in the Hawks zone is needed - more bodies in front of Crawford to create some rebounds.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Not out of line to call that period pretty even - Habs SA CF (5v5) right at 50.0%, Fenwick 35.4%:

- There's that speed factor - Markov with long pass to spring Carr on a break, he takes a slash and puts right back on the powerplay.

- Weber with a weak-ish goal, a simple snap shot carrying the puck deep, that deflects off a defender's stick, and over Crawford's shoulder. Habs get their lucky bounce to tie the game.

- More excellent adjustments by the Habs. They're now driving the net, this time it's Byron getting in Crawford's face to create distraction as Markov wrists a shot top corner, and suddenly Habs take the lead, 2-1.

- Nearing halfway mark of the 2nd, David Desharnais not getting much ice - just 6 shifts in the game so far, barely over 5 minutes total. Therrien is clearly displeased.

- Now it appears Desharnais isn't even getting 4th line duty - he sits on the bench as Mitchell moves back to centre, with Gallagher and Carr on Mitchell's wing. That's a pretty dire sign.

- Schmaltz with a point shot, Montoya surrenders way too much rebound with a pad save, and Hossa, who never misses these chances, jams home the puck to tie the game. Beaulieu and Hanley probably could have been a bit more organized in front of the crease. Those two haven't been clicking.

- Emelin's second penalty has definitely taken the wind out of the Habs' sails this period. They were cruising up until that Hawks powerplay (of which they scored shortly after Emelin left the box).

- Also point of consideration, this is the Habs 4th game in 6 nights. They're battling, but it might be impossible.

- Patrick Kane with a beaut, after an outstanding shot block, and a sloppy turnover by Pacioretty, Kane drives the net with Max basically mugging him, and beat Montoya. Heckova effort, the Hawks take the lead.

- With Desharnais getting almost no ice time tonight, or last night for that matter, Habs have been mostly rolling just three forward lines the past 24 hours. They're clearly having trouble keeping up as periods progress - this 2nd period a pretty prime example.

- 2nd period tale of two halves. Habs dominate first, Hawks the second, with goals split 2-2. Canadiens still have a shot, although considering the number of games they've had to played lately, a victory tonight was going to be awfully difficult. A loss tonight won't be devastating.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Hawks after 40 minutes. Keeping in mind this is 5v5, you can see where the Habs basically ran out of steam halfway through the period - a sure sign the team has some tired legs:

- 15 minute intermission break making little difference - Habs are basically spent tonight. Hawks skating circles around them first 5 minutes of the period, Montoya largely responsible for keeping this a one goal game.

- Maybe too much action for Montoya in this period - it might be an equipment issue, but it looks like he's hurt - lower body issue.

- Montoya, who's been heroic this period, stays in. Possible cramping issue? He looks still in discomfort.

- Habs defence also looking very tired, making sloppy giveaways deep in their zone, Montoya just barely keeping his team in this game. Still 10 minutes left, but this team's gas tank is clearly on empty.

- 7 minutes left, Habs making a push but it's really only keeping them on a more even keel with Chicago. Montreal will need some kind of timely scoring by players who are overdue for some goal scoring - Pacioretty and Gallagher are two top-6 forwards that immediately come to mind.

- Crawford robbing Shaw again - the push is on, but Crawford's playing awfully well. Habs will need to look at their goal scoring goal scorers to pull something out (Pacioretty/Gallagher).

- Hawks in shut-down mode, Habs pinching hard, gambling, trying to somehow generate a tying goal.

- Whelp, 4-on-4 late in the 3rd, a bit of an opportunity here for the Habs with ice much more open.

- Therrien smartly takes Montoya out, giving his club a 5-on-4. But sends out Plekanec to centre 1st line non-powerplay powerplay, which is mystifying.

- Great push by the Habs final 3 minutes, but Crawford holding steady.

- Hawks hang on, but it was still a pretty decent effort by the Habs, considering how tired they looked. Montoya was fantastic, Habs gave up far too many shots, Desharanais was lost, Pacioretty still seeking a goal, ANY goal, and Andrei Markov continues to play like he's 26, not 36.


GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW: PUCK LUCK SHOWDOWN IN CHICAGO

The seemingly undefeatable Montreal Canadiens are in Chicago tonight to take on the Black Hawks. The Habs, coming off their 10th straight win on home ice, a convincing win over the Detroit Red Wings, face a Hawks team that's red hot, winners of 7 of their past 8 games.

Both teams share interesting similarities this season. Both are off to excellent starts, both have enjoyed excellent goaltending (Carey Price, .957 SV%, Corey Crawford, .935), both are shooting the puck well (Habs 9.58% - 4th, Hawks 8.85% - 6th) - and in case you hadn't noticed the elevated goaltending and shooting percentages, both are reaping the rewards of that thing called puck luck - the Habs PDO of 105.1 is 2nd only in the NHL to the Hawks at 105.3.

It's not only luck that's similar. Both have put up very good even strength scoring - Habs are 2nd rated in the NHL, Chicago is 4th. Power plays have been decent - the Habs man advantage, which has only recently turned a corner, is 8th best in the League, the Hawks a respectable 12th. Both teams also have similar numbers for shots, shot attempts, shots allowed ... it's pretty remarkable how the teams stats are so closely aligned.

The similarities extend beyond team stats. Drilling down, both clubs have been significantly aided by secondary scoring, with each club's top lines struggling to hit the scoresheet this season. For the Hawks their number 1 line of Toews/Kane and Hartman have scored just 11 collective goals in their first 15 games, while the Habs Plekanec/Pacioretty top line duo have only found the back of the net 4 times.

Indeed, keep an eye out on both team's 3rd and 4th lines tonight, specifically Richard Panik (6G, 4A) for the Hawks, and Phillip Danault (5G 4A), who's scored twice since being moved to centre Thursday night in the Habs 4-1 over the Los Angeles Kings.

No changes for the Habs lineup tonight, except for between the pipes, where Chicago native Al Montoya will get the start. Tonight's game is the 4th versus the Hawks in Montoya's career - his record 1-1-1 with a 2.92 GAA. Otherwise, here are the Habs lines:

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

Weber/Emelin
Markov/Petry
Beaulieu/Hanley

Al Montoya

And for the Hawks, their lineup should look like this:

- Hartman/Towes/Kane
- Panarin/Anisimov/Hossa
- Hinstroza/Rasmussen/Schmaltz
- Desjardins/Kruger/Panik

Keith/Campbell
Kemeny/Seabrook
Forsling/Hjalmarsson

Corey Crawford

Should be noted that Crawford in playing back-to-back games. Also of note, the Habs haven't won a game in Chicago since 2002.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.