Game Thirty-Eight: Bruins vs. Habs

First Period

- The atmosphere is a tad electric tonight. Go figure.

- Bouillon in a fight is never going to end up well.

- Habs out of the gate with a vengeance, transition out if their zone has been outstanding.

- Bruins by contrast, having difficulty adjusting to Habs forechecking, Prust generates the giveaway, and Galchenyuk tosses the loose puck in front off a leg and an early 1-0 lead. Excellent start.

- Bruins with pushback here. Habs quite physical along the boards.

- Eller and Galchenyuk on fire. Eller doesn't get half the recognition he deserves for his wonderful effort (especially the past two weeks).

- Emelin looking to make a huge hit runs into the brick wall that is Lucic. Appeared to go awkwardly into the boards. Doesn't look good for a return. That's very bad news.

- Lucic, I should add, did nothing wrong. He braced himself for the hit and sent Emelin flying.

- 5 minutes left in the first, shots are 9-2 Habs.

- As suspected the bad news confirmed, Emelin will not return tonight. Now we worry if he'll return anytime soon.

- Pretty much a perfect period for the Habs, the Eller line was excellent, the Bruins defense had trouble adjusting to the forecheck, transition from defense to offense was nearly perfect, and Price had very few, if any shots that were difficult. The question is, will the Habs have one of their second period sags tonight? Here' hoping not.

Second Period

- Ryder with an unbelievable tip off Subban's point shot. That's 32 points for Subban and counting. Crazy insane good.

- Emelin's injury means more icetime for Bouillon. That ain't good.

- Habs 2, Bruins lucky bounce 1.

- Gorges with goal save swipe on the loose puck, Price way out of position. Bullet dodged.

- Eller, who deserves a goal as much as anyone, positively robbed by Rask point blank.

- Bruins have dominated since the fluke goal. Eller line has been doing its best to regain some momentum, but they can't do it all themselves. Deshairnas line needs to show up at some point.

- Sag period for the Habs. That's the bad news. Good news is Habs still hold one goal lead heading into the third. They have surrendered very few times this season holding the lead in the final frame.

Third Period

- Hard to say if fatigue will play a deciding factor, but Gorges and Subban are going to both clock near 30 minutes of regular icetime tonight.

- Price with two tough saves, 25 footer off Chara, redirect off Campbell. Bruins getting way too many chances here, Habs playing far too defensive. Seems like only a matter of time before Boston scores, Canadiens need game changing play or shift to keep this under control.

- Of the 23 shots taken by the Bruins, 12 have come from a defenseman.

- Great shift by Eller line. Let's hope that generates some badly needed momentum.

- Ryan White, you'll not get a prettier setup. Gotta cash that in.

- Habs have to grind something out. Sitting on the lead never leads to anything good.

- Six and a half left. I can't see them holding on to this. Hoping I'm wrong.

- 242 seconds life. Habs are simply holding on at this point. When they aren't dumping they're icing. Oy.

- Refs put away their whistles until the 59 minute mark. Oy.

- The Bruins absolutely butchered that 6 on 4 powerplay. Habs get monumental victory.

Gameday Game Preview

I tried getting a ticket for tonight's game. Heaven knows I tried. Unfortunately I haven't a spare $300 to see the game from the 400 section. I certainly don't have $800 sitting around for a good seat. Ugh. The perils of seeing a first place team, I suppose.

Thomas Plekanec skated with the team this morning and is probable to start tonight. Thank goodness.

More later.

Gameday Lineups

Boston:
1st: Lucic - Krejci - Horton;
2nd: Marchand - Seguin - Jagr;
3rd: Pandolfo- Peverley - Daugavins
4th: Paille - Campbell - Thornton

Defense:
Chara - Hamilton;
Ference - Seidenberg;
Bartkowaki - Boychuk

Tuukaa Rask shall start.

Montreal:
- Uncertain because Pleks isn't yet 100% confirmed. If he doesn't start then expect pretty much the same lineup as the Jets' game.

Game Thirty-Three: Habs vs. Bruins

First Period:

- Alright, Habs need to start producing now offensively. Leadership starts with Plekanec, so it needs to start with him.

- Plekanec great feed to Ryder after a Chara turnover. Rask with fine shoulder save,

- Brilliant puck control by Plekanec who finds Ryder totally free in the circle, and this time, he finally delivers. Habs 1-0.

- Habs totally dominating pace, Bruins losing patience and discipline. Now Canadiens to the powerplay.

- Don't wanna hex this, but Price is razor sharp tonight.

- Speaking of fine performances, Subban's been a rock so far, especially providing Price plenty of protection in the slot.

- Excellent period for the Habs, they commanded the tempo, were the more aggressive forechecking team, had more energy, even though they played just 24 hours earlier in Pittsburgh.

Second Period:

- Lots of talk tonight that Habs are aggressively pursuing Ryan Clowe, who would most certainly fill the void I wrote about last night. I just don't see Bergevin giving up what the Sharks are probably asking (1st + high prospect).

- Wow what a blast by Subban from the line. Rask screened, that shot was totally unstoppable. Habs 2-0.

- Hamilton quickly responds, crossbar hit, Bruins swarm, Habs defense and forwards in total meltdown mode. 2-1. Habs need to slow this thing down quickly.

- Price giving up juicy rebounds, fortunately well covered by his defense, but still, far too generous.

- This game now way too wide open. Just ice the puck. Slow this down NOW.

- Wow, what a rush by Subban, who's playing out of mind tonight. That had goal of the year potential if Rusk doesn't sprawl out the left pad.

- A tepid first period, very well played by the Canadiens, is now unravelling into a barn-burner. The pace certainly has gone into another gear.

- How was Marchand that wide open. Emelin and Markov off in lala land. Oy.

- If Tinordi feels the wrath for positional errors, Emelin justly should see more pine for the rest of the night.

- If Lucic doesn't look up a split second before the Subban express arrived, he'd probably still be on the ice.

- Marchand all alone AGAIN on a breakaway, but Price makes the kind of glove save you dream about. Only elite goaltenders need apply. That save was masterful.

- Eller gets called for the trip/hook on Thornton, my first reaction was to look for an embellishment call. Didn't happen. Should have happened.

- And Bergeron converts off a juicy rebound in front. Price had no idea where the puck was, and when he did, it was too late. Bruins simply too much to handle in the 2nd.

- Horton now. Emelin and Markov on the ice for three of Boston's goals tonight. That one was Andrei's fault. Game out of control now simply because the Habs couldn't or wouldn't slow the pace after the Bruins' first goal.

- Bruins totally dominated the 2nd. The tempo, which was in the Habs' grasp, was totally ripped away after Subban scored to give the Canadiens a 2 goal lead. Now they're down 2, and hopes are dim, very dim, for recovery, unless they can somehow reclaim the game on their terms. Awfully tough when your down this far with just 20 minutes left.

Third Period:

- Price pulled for Budaj, which is an interesting move. Lets hope it's not signifying an injury?

- Unbelievably, the Bruins get caught on a Habs change, creating a 2-on-1, Plekanec a sweet feed to Ryder, and it's a one goal game. Plekanec and Subban bringing their "A" effort tonight.

- Habs with terrific initiative this period, definitely have wrangled back some momentum, and it's generating powerplays. Here's hoping.

- Budaj has made two excellent saves to keep his team in the game. He might earn himself a start on Saturday night, if Price is feeling exhaustion.

- Segin. And again Emelin and Markov were on the ice. That's four tonight. Why Therrien didn't split them up earlier, I hope he's asked during the post-mortem presser, 'cause folks, this one is done.

- Hold that phone. Lucky bounce and Gallagher slips it past Rask. 5-4. Could they actually pull this one out of the fire?

- Shades of last game in Boston! Chara, for whatever reason, just had a meltdown and has been sent to the box. Habs now with huge powerplay opportunity.

- Of course the Bruins never embellish, right?

- Two minutes left. Do we have a hero?

- Wow. Delay of game. One last powerplay chance, with an empty net. 6-on-4. Hold on to your hats.

- GALLAGHER IS THE HERO. Wow.

- They're saying the Markov shot went off Chara, but thought for sure Gallaher redeflected it in. No matter, an incredible, gutsy comeback.

Overtime:

- Incredible pace to this OT. Game of the year.

- Emelin. Tripping. Ugh.

- 80 seconds of agony. That's what's left to kill.

- Budaj, with the clock expiring. GREAT save. What an incredible game.

Shootout:

- This heavily favours the Bruins. Heavily.

- Deshairnas ... Is it? Controversy.

- No goal. Ugh.

- Budaj goes 3-for-3 and Eller for win.

- Nope. Extras now.

- Marchand no. Ryder now.

- Oh dear. Wasted opportunities.

- Budaj. Wow. Does he look great. One more chance to win.

- Plekanec, nope.

- ANOTHER chance.

- GALLAGHER. VICTORY.

WHAT. A. WIN.

Gameday Game Preview: 

Is it time to freak out yet? I really don't quite see the reason why we need to worry about OMG OMG FOUR GAMES JUST ONE WIN?!?! OMG OMG THE WORLD IS ENDING.  IGJSGO()$#UUH*#($&H iF)(&&H S%&#&H %##%Y#%H %&#%@& U*FWWG(%&#&# NFGISJVU)&!GUW\\ GLAARRAAAAAARPHHHHH GLUBBBBBBB.

But yeah, so we've kinda hit a little "dip" in the road, haven't we? Ugh, that loss last night to the Pens. It still burns. That's two straight losses where the Habs clearly outplayed their opponent, shots, fenwick, Corsi, but for the lack of offense, simply could not convert.

That is the problem right now. We aren't quite scoring. We're doing what you're supposed to do in order to generate offense, but it isn't happening. Stoned by Miller on Saturday, and stoned by ourselves and a couple of crossbars against the Penguins, they just aren't going in. Sometimes things seem to just go your way, sometimes, as in the entire 2011-12 season, things seem to never go your way.

But there are a few culprits worth examining. Shall we do a role call?

David Desharnais - 3 points last 10 games.
Brendan Gallagher - 2 points last 5 games.
Brain Gionta - 1 point last 5 games.
Lars Eller - 2 points last 8 games.
Alex Galchenyuk - 1 point last 5 games.

These are the players this team leans on heavily to produce since this team is based on shared production. No massive point producers, but no laggers either. So when we experience lag by three or four key forwards, winning suddenly becomes very difficult.

So tonight! Production please from the above mentioned. We need it. First place on the Division continues to be in play, and in case you hadn't noticed lately, the Bruins haven't been setting the world on fire. They've lost 3 of their past 5, basically surrendering the games in hand advantage they held over the Habs two weeks ago. So they're beatable.

The Bruins, as per usual, come at you from all directions with three very balanced lines, fronted by the Krejci and Bergeron lines. So while checking assignments become more challenging, the Habs have played an excellent possession game through this current "slump", resulting in losses even while they've dominated the shot clock.

Which just goes to show, you can hold the puck all night, but if you can't put it over the line, it don't mean nothin'.

Tuukka Rask will start for Boston. Carey Price for the Habs. Puck drops at precisely 7:40 EST. First place on the line.

MEANWHILE ... just to brigten your day a little, check out this wonderful clip from last night's intermission in Chicago. I'd pity you if you didn't. ENJOY TONIGHT'S GAME:

Game Twenty-Two: Habs vs. Bruins

First Period:

- Krejci line looks really dangerous first two shifts. They will likely be the Bruins doing much of tonight's point production.

- Budaj totally flailed on that Kelly snapshot off the bar. Did not look good.

- Make it two shots past Budaj but off the post. One of these times Peter won't be so lucky.

- Gallagher with the usual hard work around the net draws Habs first PP.

- And Plekanec cashes in off a pretty three way pass, the prettiest pass from Ryder. Yeah, that Plekanec. Read our pregame preview. When he scores, the Habs win.

- Well that didn't last long. White wins the draw cleanly, but Armstrong is simply outmuscled the puck. He'll ride pine if that continues.

- Wow, fast and furious here. Desharnais in front to Pacioretty, I think it was deflected in off Bruins defenseman, making it Desharnais' goal.

- They're giving it to Pacioretty, but I think that'll change.

- Habs 4th line in way over their heads. Therrien will have to severely limit their ice time, Bruins ferocious forecheck is eating Armstrong and Moen alive.

- I fail to see how that was a charge by Gallagher. Oh well.

- Habs have to be very pleased with that period. Outshot the Bruins 14-9, but more importantly, they did not look intimidated by an intimidating Bruins lineup. The Habs know they're a League elite, and they're playing like it. So far.

About Last Night ...

Well, that was fun, wasn't it? A barn burning showdown, last man standing, final goal wins. While it made for an entertaining 60+ minutes of pond hockey, the game was one of the few times where the Habs played themselves out of their element, discarding their transition game founded on defensive awareness and discipline, for an all-out offensive tit-for-tat melee, a game far more suited for Pittsburgh. So it wasn't entirely surprising that the Pens came out with the extra point.

Now what we've gotten that out of our system, the Habs are now hitting the road for a 5 game trip, tonight a huge test against the Division arch rivals in Boston.

Now, Carey Price didn't have a stellar night against the Pens - but he's our go-to guy, especially against the Conference elite, the Bruins included. However, Michel Therrien has decided to go with Peter Budaj tonight, a most interesting decision since Budaj's two career starts against Boston weren't exactly memorable.

But oh well. We'll cut the coach some slack since you can't argue with a first place record. It's after the Habs loose 7-0 that we'll tie 'em to the rails.

Habs will again be without the services of Rene Bourque and Rapheal Diaz, both out with concussions.

Bruins lines to watch for include the usual suspects, two exceptionally talented top lines comprised of David Krejci supported by Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton - that trio combining for 36 points this season, and the Bergeron/Marchand/Seguin 2nd line, which has scored 42 points so far. So as you can see, containing the Bruins isn't exactly easy. They come at you from all directions with a very well balanced roster.

Hot Habs start with Max Pacioretty, who's got 12 points the past 8 games, while Alexi Emelin, of all players, continues to impress offensively, 3 points his past two games, including 2 assists last night against the Pens. On the cold side, Tomas Plekanec is pointless in last 5, and has just 3 points his last 10 games. He'll need to pick it up starting tonight if the Habs want to give the Bruins a run for their money.

Tuukka Rask, the Bruins number one guy, starts tonight. See, that's what you do. You start your best guys against the best teams, right Therrien?

Oh well.

Game Nine: Bruns vs. Habs

It's almost one year to the day since the last time the Bruins and Habs squared off against each other. In case you've forgotten, and believe me, most of us Habs fans strive to non remember last season, Boston has won the last four straight. Not good.

But that was then! Things are much different now. We have already-Norris-Trophy candidate Andrei Markov back at full capacity quarterbacking the blue line. We've got two stellar young players in Brendan Gallagher and already-Calder-Trophy candidate Alex Galchenyuk making our 3rd line a force to reckon with. We've got Carey Price playing arguably the best hockey of his life, near the top of the League in SP and GAA.

We've got a League-leading goals F/A ration for 5-on-5 play: 2.15 which is way ahead of second place Tampa Bay who sit at 1.67. That's a pretty sizable improvement over last year, when the Habs finished 18th overall in that critical department.

What has Boston got? Well, a lot. They're good. Real good. Maybe not 2010 good, but they're definitely a contender this season. What they don't have is Tim Thomas (man, I miss that guy - he provided sooooo much material to write about). They do have Tuukka Rask, who unlike Thomas, hasn't had the greatest of success against the Habs - even though the Canadiens have been, by full rights, a pretty mediocre, nay, terrible team the past couple of years.

Oh ... and they also don't have goon specialist Brad Marchand in the lineup, he's got some eye problem or something. Not sure. Anyway, he ain't playin'.

Carey Price will start - as if I even need to tell you all.

It's gonna be a good one. First place on the line!


First Period:

- Well that won't keep you out of the doghouse. Lars Eller rings a shot off Price in an ... er ... particularly sensitive area. We think Price will be alright, but we know deep down he's not. Price looked mighty mad after taking the shot, and immediately skated to the dressing room.

- Beautiful patience puck control and feed into the crease by Eller along the wing, Armstrong had the empty net but couldn't quite guide it in.

- Good pace, fast changes, and Rask robbed Bourque off a rebound. Habs have to be pleased with the pace they've set.

- No goal but Habs PP looks like its firing all cylinders, if that first one is any future indicator.

- Markov/Subban combo at the point looks particularly potent, as we kinda already figured it would.

- Habs are dominating this thing. Need some payoff though.

- 11 minutes in, no registered shots for the Bruins.

- High stick on Bouillon right in front of the ref, no call.

- Little pushback by Bruins here, crossbar hit.

- Speaking of hits, relatively tame game, hit-wise - certainly nothing compared to years past.

- Bruins going with four forward setup on their PP, much like our last place unit did last year. Boston two PPs, zero shots.

- Habs really taking it to the Bruins in the 1st, with the usual stuff we've seen this year. Emphasis on speed, driving opposition net. Rask made a few excellent saves to keep the Habs off the board, but he can't hold the fort forever.


Second Period:

- Plekanec's worst breakaway of his career?

- Bruins defense doing a tremendous job blocking Habs shots. Can't score if you can't get them in goal.

- Subban with an absolute cannon from the line for his first of the year on the PP. Crowd goes nuts. Habs score the critical first goal of the game.

- After trying Markov/Subban first unit pairong, looked like Therrien was returning to Markov/Diaz as the first unit. Subban's goal assisted by ... Markov. Coach might change his mind again.

- Bruins buzzing with Prust line on. Subban stung by point shot. Price fortunately covers up before Boston strikes. But tempo being now set by the B's.

- Really think Therrien will just cave in eventually, and go with Markov/Subban as the first power unit. Why divide your strength?

- Is there anyone better in the NHL at making his position look easy than Carey Price?

- Bruins as expected, evening things up a bit in the period, but Price looks so solid right now, Boston might need to look for some garbage if they want to even the score in the 3rd.


Third Period:

- Certainly no garbage goal there - Seguin finishes off quick shoot in, fast turnover, and pretty pass in front.

- Bruins coming out hard. Price trying to hold the fort. Habs need pushback quickly.

- Falling apart here, Habs defense way too soft on the Bruins rush, and Plekanec is one step too far behind, much like the first goal. 2-1 Boston.

- Boston still coming hard. Therrien might want to consider calling for time.

- Rask with a brilliant rebound save off Desharnais, but not feeling imminent scoring pressure being demonstrated by Habs offense. Boston has this game under control.

- Habs D has attempted three long bomb passes for breakaways the past minute, none quite connecting. Bit soon for the Hail Mary, but nothing else really working right now.

- Bruins forwards scorching the neutral zone - no where to rush, no where to pass. Habs no answers to the puzzle.

- Eller looked great in the first. Since then, invisible.

- Desharnais simply has to bury that past Rask. You can't miss those kinds of opportunities.

- Big push here. Just need to get these opportunities ON the goal.

- So many blocked shots, it's frustrating as hell to watch this.

- Killer penalty on Subban. Boston is going to win this.

- Hold the phone. Boston takes a penalty. Hope yet.

- Habs dominated the first, and last five minutes of the third. That's it. That isn't going to cut it against a team like the Bruins. Lesson learned for the next time.

Game Fifty-Eight: Bruins v Habs

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! Sorry, you're totally single and desperately lonely? Well then I guess it sucks to be you. Enjoy the day!

So last night. Habs were undone by a pretty ferocious one-two punch. Firstly it was Eric Staal, who played out of his mind for Carolina (Habs really need a Staal-like guy to move the team to "the next level"), and propelled his team to a nifty comeback. Secondly, it was Tomas Kaberle, whose inept play, careless giveaways, and statuesque speed around Staal, really helped push Carolina over the top. THANKS KABERLE. Just three more years of you to wince over. Oh, JOY.

Anyway, while Kaberle was doing his impersonation of the awful, Emelin continued to build his reputation as a premier body-splattering defenseman. If you don't believe me, go ask Anthony Stewart. Alexei Emelin. What a tremendous pickup he's become.

STUFF AROUND THE LEAGUE. Rick Nash is available! The Blue Jackets are kindly taking offers from interested teams. Bidding starts at ...ohhh ... half of your organization's prospects?

Who'd be interested? Probably the Sharks. Or maybe the Caps? Or the usual suspect, the Flyers? As per the norm, Leafs fans are probably salivating in anticipation, under the hilarious presumption that they actually have a shot. They don't, of course. But from a distance, we can still laugh at 'em. Adorable!

But really, the Eastern Conference is a mush of mediocrity right now, the addition of Nash to the Bruins, Flyers, Rangers, Devils or (gulp?) Panthers would make them favorites to grab a spot in the Cup Finals, where they would then be destroyed by either the Wings, Canucks or (my pick!) the Blues.

So BIG game tomorrow night against the despicable Bruins!! Remember the bloodbath the last time these two clashed when there was three minors called in the first 40 minutes? Wow. You could just feel the hate!

MORNING PRACTICE SQUABBLE UPDATE: Eeeek. So Scott Gomez and Randy Ladouceur got into a reportedly heated fight a few minutes ago in Brossard. Here's a pic of 'em going at it face-to-face. This isn't the first time Ladouceur has grabbed the attention of onlookers, if you recall the recent talking down he gave to Subban, also during a morning practice.

I dunno. Maybe Ladouceur isn't a morning guy?

I'm sure the scribes will be all over this after lunch. Will post more later, I'm assuming.

POST-FIGHTIN' UPDATE: So it's all a just big misunderstanding, see? Not a big deal, see? Just a coach trying to get a player to do a drill right, see? Nothing to see here. Just move along.

Anyway, video reaction here from Gomez. Believe it or not, the Gazette actually produced a little bit worth reading here. 

The Habs are (obviously) dismissing this as "no big deal". But this is Montreal, this is Gomez, and you just don't see a player and a coach have a public meltdown like what happened today. We are not examining normality.


LATE-NIGHT HAPPY SCORE UPDATE. Jets and Leafs lose!! Wow, how big were those two lost points against Carolina looking now? At the very least, opportunity is at hand, but we gotta get past the Bruins to seize it tomorrow night.

GAMEDAY UPDATE: So very little is coming out of the Habs camp today about tonight's lineup, but insider indications are that Gomez and Kostitsyn WILL be in the lineup, although their positions on the Habs roster are now considered tenuous at best. In other words, after a two years of suffering, Habs fans may finally see the whole Gomez situation arriving to finality - either he starts producing, or the organization may look at more draconian options (waivers, or a straight-up demotion, the later would almost certainly end Gomez' NHL career).

Kostitsyn? I'm not sure what's happening there. For the most part, Andrei has been pretty good for much of the season - not a brilliant producer, and at times hampered by inconsistency, but he's certainly not an outright disaster. He just never seems to be on the good side of management's temperament. Carbonneau had his issues, Martin *really* didn't like him, and now Cunneyworth seems to have placed him in the indefinite doghouse.

It's all a mystery to us outsiders. Kostitsyn is an apt, productive NHL winger. He ought to be pursued for a contract extension. Perhaps he rubs off on authority the wrong way, perhaps he has an indifferent attitude in the dressing room? (although we know he's popular amongst his teammates). So it's all very perplexing.

Point being, the Habs have significantly bigger player issues right now that Kostitsyn. Gomez is (and has always been) a big issue. Some of the performances by some of our defensemen have been an issue. Injuries are an issue. Coaching seems to always be an issue. Uncertainly with front office personnel is an issue. And yet, for some reason, Kostitsyn seems to garner a lot of negative attention.

So there you have it. Gomez and Kostitsyn will likely start tonight. If they do, it'll be interesting to see how they respond.

STARTING LINEUP UPDATE: Ryan White *will* play tonight. That we now know.

RICK NASH SWEEPSTAKES UPDATE: The Bruins have reportedly voiced interest in making the acquisition. Sounds good to me!! Let's hope Columbus takes them to the cleaners.

Meanwhile in the "Centre of the Hockey Universe" .... oh dear, Toronto. You crack me up. So much self-importance, but so lost in the wilderness of reality. You really think you have a shot, don't you? You're SO ADORABLE!

LINEUP UPDATE: Cunneyworth reportedly says Gomez/Kostitsyn/White (3rd? 4th?) line will go tonight.

Tim Thomas will start! Maybe he'll even Facebook some crazy stuff later, and give us two more days worth of hilarious nutcase material to write about. Maybe!

Hah. Speaking of Thomas, since his little White House meltdown, the Bruins have won just 3 of 8. MORE OBAMA PLEASE!

- Pulushaj (who's struggled) and Moen (who's hurt) are scratches.


First Period:

- Habs doing good job containing Bruins (so far). Like the physicality tone set as well. Offense still sputtering a bit.

- Emelin UNloads on Thornton. That really oughtta charge up the bench. Com'on guys.

- Gomez takes a hefty cross check, but draws the penalty. Early goal would be nice.

- Good puck movement. Couple of good chances. No goal, but PP continues to look pretty good.

- Still applying nice pressure, drawing penalties. Bruins lacking discipline so far.

- PP snuffed short by a cross check. STILL, like how so many are driving Thomas. Something will give if they keep this up.

- Hall Gill not making a very good case to get more ice time. 1-0 Bruins.

- Eller gets four for the high stick. The worm turns fast against a team like Boston.

- Habs really played well first 13 minutes. But then the Bruins began to take over, and cashed in on their opportunities.


Second Period:

Wow. Darche! To the net! Subban with a terrific effort, that's how you score against this Boston team. Game tied.

- White hasn't missed a beat. No rust on this guy, it looks like he's been playing all season.

- 4th line really humming tonight. We have to have more of these fights at practice.

- Pouliot. Never saw that kind of individual effort while he was wearing the CH. Campoli made to look like a rookie. The weak links on defense hampering our efforts again.

- Kostitsyn with a marginal interference call. Will Cunneyworth now show him the bench?

- Darche with two brave shot blocks on the PK, one on Chara.

- Ferocious pace right now, very much a playoff atmosphere game. These teams aren't holding back.

- Thomas doesn't hold back screaming out of his net to cut down the angle. One successful pass across, and he has no chance.

- Really? Goaltender interference for the crime of taking the puck to the net on a semi-break? Wow. Horrible, horrible call on Cole.

- Never seen Cunneyworth so angry over any referees call as that one. Nothing even close. He was fit to be tied.

- Bruins didn't technically score on the powerplay, but Habs couldn't get their players off, and the Bruins scored an easy goal against an exhausted defense. Credit that goal to the officials.

- Marchand does it again with the dirty hit. This time on Emelin. Gill talking it over with the ref. Nothing is done. Horrible officiating tonight.

- Habs with 2nd worst record in the NHL when trailing after 2 periods. They're down 2 to the Bruins. Impossible? Probably.

Third Period:

- Well, if the boys have a big third period comeback pass in their pocket, now is as good a time as any to use it.

- Watching hit by Marchand on Eller on replay. The League may review it closely later, in view of Marchand's dubious history.

- Kaberle with a 35 mph wrist shot on Thomas that even I could easily stop.

- Bruins just blanket the crease and everything that surrounds it. This is part of how you hold 3rd period leads.

- Desharnais with a shot that Thomas should have stopped, squeaked past and Pacioretty with a goal than even I could have made. Habs are back in it!

- Subban making a run at Marchand away from the play with Habs on PP.

- OMG. Chara. Just. Robbed. Cole. That close to tying the game.

- Habs with some serious mo' going here. Just need to keep pushing for the tying goal. You can do this guys.

- Doing the right things. Crashing that net. Thomas is giving up the rebounds, but the puck isn't quite bouncing our way. Habs really owning this period.

- COLE! GAME TIED. THANK YOU CHARA FOR THAT PERFECT PASS.

- As I said, keep going guys. You can do this. One more. Just one more.

- Ohmygosh, Darche nearly with his 2nd. That line just rolling like crazy.

- Another juicy Thomas rebound right to Bourque, wide open net. Puck bounced over his stick.

- What an incredible game. The pace is dizzying.

- Even salvaging one point would be huge.

- Bruins pushing back here. Feeling nervous.

- Methinks Thomas is really fighting the puck. So many shots rebounding off him tonight, with more fortuitous bounces Habs could be winning this by 2 or 3.

Overtime:

- What a PK. Price fantastic!

- Price making some great clutch saves here in OT. Giving us a huge chance for a great win.

- Karma is a bitch. Marchand off the crossbar.

- Darche's play the past three weeks making a strong case for a contract extension.

- Can't say Price didn't want this one badly. No way we have a chance without his play in this game, especially this OT.


Shootout:

- This isn't Price's thing, but his play tonight you have to favor him in this silly thing.

- Bourque too cute. 0/1

- Shot beats Price, not the post. Whew.

- Pacioretty. Just. Got. Robbed.  0/2

- Price ... not good. And it's all on Eller.

- Eller. Use that spinorama thingy. No ... not .. that. Oh well.

I hate the shootout. Always have. Always will.

But still, probably the best game this season. It never let up. 

Game Forty-Three: Habs v Bruins

A few pre-pre-day-game notes from stuff happening this morning:

- After a pretty sub-par performance last night, P.K. Subban has been officially removed from the first line PP unit. Cunneyworth has indicated that Weber and Kaberle will be the first unit point guys. For a unit that's again slipped back to being pretty ... well .. terrible, shaking things up can't hurt.

- Cunneyworth also gave his first strong signal this morning that he's growing dissatisfied with the play of Plekanec and Cammalleri. I do think Plekanec is owed some credit considering that he's often utilized as a shadow for opposition first line forwards (and he does that job well), but Cammalleri is another story. After showing some glimmers of production against Tampa last week, Mike's game has gone pretty flat. He's usually pretty dependable for effort, but last night against the Blues he simply didn't show up. From a coaches' perspective, producers are required to produce, but they're not reasonably expected to score every night. They are as professionals, however, expected to come to play, so half-hearted efforts, even one game or one period, will be flagged. So at this time - and with the trading deadline looming, these two are on the coach's watch list.

- Brian Gionta, as we feared last night, is out indefinitely with an upper body injury. He will not travel with the team to Boston, and he will not play this weekend, which is a pretty strong indicator that this isn't a bump or bruise. Blunden has been promoted to take his spot on the "top" line.

- Price will start tomorrow against the Bruins, but will likely not start against the Sens on Saturday.

UPDATE: Arpon Basu has just posted a story about the Cammalleri situation, where the forward is ever-so-slightly hinting that he's fine with the crowd boos on Tuesday, but not with his icetime under Cunneyworth.

GAME DAY UPDATE: It's less than 9 hours before the music is faced in Boston, but right now Cammalleri's are dominating the airwaves and internet musings about the direction of this hockey club. My position on Mike's post-game comments on Tuesday night are pretty simple - he's right. The team does prepare and play like a loser. This morning I posted a comment on the Habs usenet in response to criticism that Cammalleri crossed the line, and I've reposted (most) of my comment below:


[Let's] look at the actual quote in full context:

"I can't accept that we will display a losing attitude as we're doing this year. We prepare for our games like losers. We play like losers. So it's no wonder why we lose."

So ... where exactly is he wrong? Yeah - I know, players aren't supposed to go and say things that actually might be the truth, with or without the sanctity of diplomacy. But what he did say (in full context) is quite accurate. This season, this team has prepared and played most of its games not with the aim or attitude of winning, but with an expectation of losing.


I think the timing of his comment is entirely appropriate following the loss against St. Louis. The Blues, on paper, are really no deeper or talented than we are - arguably they have less talent. But man - do they come to play. Their forwards play with a high level of intensity and enthusiasm, they forechecked us to death, and they hustled back to cover their zone, and by doing so, we were limited to about four good scoring chances - for the game.

Their defense, also not wildly talented, but exceptionally disciplined. They keep opposing forwards pinned to the perimeter, they win most of the battles for pucks, and they eliminate crease traffic. It isn't ingenious or innovative - it's basic stuff, but they do it *so* well. The Blues, imho, are Stanley Cup contenders *this* year. They really are playing that well.


Why? Why are the Blues such a good team? Well, they weren't very good team to start the year, but they brought in a coach that had plenty of experience and knowledge, and little tolerance for belligerence. Since Hitchcock took over, they've lost 4 of 29 in regulation.

Funny thing is, even if he were available, and even if he was interested, Hitchcock could never coach in Montreal, because of the crazy language thing. That's a tragedy - the organization simply cannot progress because of a self-imposed restriction limiting the team's abilities to get the most qualified person behind the bench.

And this has a lot to do with Cammalleri's comments - the team requires an attitude adjustment - it needs a no-nonsense guy like Hitchcock to come in and set the tone that failure to play hard each and every shift is not acceptable, and that anyone who isn't meeting such reasonable expectations won't play a meaningful role on the team. It seems that Martin was unable to enforce these standards, and Cunneyworth hasn't done any better (if anything, matters have gotten worse).


The criticism levied against Cammalleri (La Presse's coverage is a bloody disgrace) strikes me as absurdly misguided. It may not have been diplomatic, but he got it exactly right. The losing attitude permeates every corner of this roster. Too many players are going through the motions. The loser attitude has even ventured out to (some) of the fans who idiotically cheer for the team to lose every game so that it gets a high draft pick. That's a self-destructive, dead-end loser perspective, and until there's a pretty stark attitude change, nothing *will* change in Montreal. This talent-rich team will
just keep on losing.

EVEN LATER UPDATE: Cammalleri sought to calm the storm of an overwrought story this morning, the NHL has posted a story with "clarifying" comments.

First Period:

- Ye Gods have abandoned the Habs. Simple shoot in takes a crazy deflection while rounding the boards and straight to Caron with Price behind his net. What can you say?

- Habs need to shrug that off for what it was - a freak goal and a tremendous break for the Bruins.

- For the most part, the team is so far responding, certainly holding their own against Boston.

- Two near misses. Cole streaking down the left wing, and Thomas stoning Blunden with a terrific pad save. The Habs' offense *is* generating chances.

- Weber's looked pretty solid so far, the few shifts he's had.

- Oy. Thomas highway robbery. First Pacioretty, who retrieved the rebound to make a perfect pass to Cole for an even better save. The key is to maintain pressure and not give in to frustration. Thomas can't stop them all. I think.

- Habs are going to outshoot the Bruins in the period. Canadiens have been the faster team, harder working team, believe it or not.

- Eller called for a hold. Be dammed if I could see one in the reply.

- Take it for what it's worth, Cammalleri's icetime in the first was 4:22, the least amongst top three line forwards.

- Habs really played a solid first, the Bruins goal an unfortunate fluke. If they can put together 40 more minutes of this, I'm cautiously optimistic they might come out of this with a win.

Second Period:

- Subban's demotion from, and Weber's promotion to, the first line PP ain't working for me.

- Emelin with a very unforced, and very bad turnover in front of Price that fortunately the Bruins did not capitalize on. But he and the rest of the Habs defense cannot make any more of these mistakes against an elite Bruin team. They *will* make us pay, and any hopes for a win will flutter out the window.

- It looks like Cammalleri is going to register about 15 minutes of icetime tonight, which is about what he was wanting, no?

- Wow, how'd Bergeron miss that? Really should be 2-0.

- Habs defense gradually losing more races to pucks and battles along the boards. That's a bad sign.

- Defense-dominated second period so far, which suits the Bruins just fine.

- From watching tonight's game, you'd never know that both teams hate each other's guts. Where's the passion?

- 8 total shots in the period, with but 4 minutes left.

- Bruins penalty. Sure would be nice to have this thing tied up heading to the third #isthattoomuchtoask?

- Uhhh, what? Moen was the one called, for goaltender interference, even though he was directed into Thomas. Very lame.

- Relatively routine kill. Whew.

- If you'd offered Cunneyworth a 1-0 deficit through two periods before the game, I think he'd have taken it.

Third Period:

- Considering that a week ago this Boston team destroyed Calgary 9-0, things are working out as a can't-lose for the Habs, in a strange kind of way. Even if they don't come out of this with a W, they still played a very competitive game against the best team in the Conference, which is at least something to build on.

- Why does it feel like forever since the Habs scored their last goal? I guess forever is five days.

- Emelin gives Lucic a little rub with his elbow after the whistle. I like this - show some emotion, make it look like you give a damn.

- There's the backbreaker. Gorges fumbles, and Plekanec really ought to have been able to clear that away from danger.

- Cammalleri 7 shifts in the first, 5 shifts in the second, 0 shifts 8 minutes into the third. He won't get 15 minutes. He might not even get 12.

- Well, that PK sure has looked good tonight. But we've heard that before.

- Habs forwards gripping sticks too hard, failing to convert slam-dunk scoring opportunities, the lack of offense is in everyone's head. It must be awful to sit on that bench or be in that dressing room.

- Speaking of dressing room, that's where Cammalleri is right now. Injury? Who knows. But he's done for the night, total time 8:59.

- Subban rocks Krejci with a pounding hit that would have been perfectly clean if he hadn't followed through with an arm to Krejci's face. Habs actually come away with a man advantage following the retaliation.

- Weber!! Did I mention how I didn't like him on the first line PP? Oops. Habs have a shot!!

- Report is that Cammalleri was told by management to go to the dressing room. Things just got very, very complicated.

- Sending a player to the room in he middle of a period is pretty draconian. Were words exchanged? The media will have a field day over this.

- Never a dull moment in Habs land.

- Oh yeah. There's a game happening. Habs just came agonizingly close to scoring shorthanded.

- Only other explanation for what's happened is that Cammalleri was traded during the period, and accordingly, had to be taken out of the game.

- Kudos to Price, who just made the save of the game on Krecji. Hope stays alive.

- Really??!? Plekanec gets penalized in a one goal game with just over a minute left over a marginal hold? Wow.

- Heckova effort tonight, but it's all been overshadowed by Cammalleri.

- Apparently Cammalleri has been traded. Oh boy.

- Interesting. He's been sent to Calgary. No word yet on what's coming back.

- And it's for Rene Borque. Not a joke. So it looks like a rushed trade motivated by irreconcilable differences, because a good deal would have been, well, better.

Game Thirty-Four: Habs v. Bruins

Well, heaven for fend that feathers are ruffled because the Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club, a privately owned organization, has the audacity of going off half-cocked and hiring somebody who only speaks english to tell his english speaking players what to do. Heaven for fend.

Well, that's apparently the big deal in (mainly) Quebec circles today - the audacity of Habs management in appointing Cunneyworth as head coach. The separatist and language-obsessed neophytes are having a field day fueling fires of controversy (where none should exist) that has even gotten members of the Quebec government calling on ownership to change its mind about Cunneyworth.

It was nice to see (finally) a statement by ownership today defending its decision to move Martin out and Cunneyworth in, if only because it's their business, not anyone else's. If anything, the Habs would have been well served decades ago if it did not have this absurd informal bilingual policy in place. It may have prevented the organization from making terrible decision to hire individuals who were ill-suited in decision-making positions, such as Rejan Houle as General Manager, or Michel Therrien, Mario Tremblay, or Jean Perron, as disastrously inept head coaches.

Let us Habs fans hope that in the future, the franchise will choose the individuals best qualified to be their head coach first and foremost on their ability and suitability for the position, and not their language.

Anyway, here we go in Boston. What a heckova test coming off Saturday's debacle. Moen is reportedly back, Diaz is reportedly over the flu, but Subban is a game-time decision. Some "good" news for the Habs will be the absence of Milan Lucic, who was given a one game suspension by the League this afternoon for his hit on Philadelphia's Zac Rinaldo.

Still, the Habs are just plain hurting across the board, literally and psychologically. How they are able to adapt and rebound tonight should give us a pretty keen glimpse into how the team will probably perform in the season's make-or-break three week period ahead.

First Period:

- Anyone else nervous about the Kaberle/Campoli pairing?

- Given how low key his season has been to date, I'm surprised that Subban still draws the boos and jeers.

- Not much to show for offense so far, but Habs defense and forwards doing good job in defensive zone, keeping Bruins chances to a minimum. Habs gameplan seems to be one emphasizing patience.

- Game might have a lot of icings which means faceoffs could be crucial.

- Good grief. As I hit enter, Bruins win faceoff following Habs icing and one pass later, take a 1-0 lead.

- Oooh nice work by the Plekanec line, with Cammalleri making a nice feed to Pleks who scores on Thomas using the only shot that'll apparently work on the Bruins' netminder - an unstoppable one.

- Nokelainen doing some fine work creating headaches for the Bruins in their zone.

- Oy, Kaberle and Campoli hanging on for dear life, Julien ain't no dummy, sending out his top guns to exploit the Habs biggest defensive weakness.

- Pierre Houde just mentioned to his surprise (and now mine) that there have been no penalties so far. It really has been a pretty tame contest. Go figure.

- Bruins goal was disappointing, but still a good period for Habs, protecting their zone fairly effectively, not taking any dumb penalties, and staying even on the scoreboard.

Second Period:

- A very lazy and ill-advised unforced turnover by Subban and within a second, two at the most, Krecji slips one past Price. It's the unnecessary stuff like that which drives coaches crazy. 2-1.

- Habs get the first PP of the game and it's the Bruins with all of the chances to score. Not a good sign.

- Boston really getting physical. Habs on their heels. Also not a good sign.

- Blunden attempting to agitate some Bruins forwards. At least somebody is willing to get their nose dirty.

- And Bluden's hard work creates a turnover and a shot that beats Thomas but not the post.

- Bruins are just too strong along the boards tonight, winning nearly every battle for the puck. The strength advantage is nearly impossible to overcome.

- Not sure if this is good or just sad, but the Nokelainen line has been the most consistently dangerous one for the Habs tonight.

- Noted difference between Cunneyworth and Martin's style is that the former is not hesitant in verbally expressing his displeasure about a call to the officials, while the later almost always did and said nothing.

- Habs speedy wingers are mainly being kept to the perimeter, thereby nullifying the team's greatest offensive asset. No wonder our best line tonight is the 4th, to win you simply must overcome this Bruins team via determined forechecking.

- 3 on 1 break and Plekanec elects to take a slap shot. Hate to second guess, but one good pass beats Thomas and ties the game.

- That first period discipline has left the building as Leblanc takes a 4 minute high sticking penalty.

- Basically this game is riding on whether the Habs can kill these penalties.

- Excellent PK to end the period. Hope that'll give the boys some mo' for the third.

Third Period:

- Stat of the night: Bruins have never lost a game in which Pouliot scores. Why couldn't that have been the same while he played here? Oh yeah that's right. He never scored.

- Pacioretty two hard, quality shots on Thomas. Unobstructed both of them, which means for Thomas they were both routine.

- Habs Plekanec line has had fits keeping Bruins top line at bay all night. Yeah, they scored the only Habs goal so far, but that goal has pretty much been it.

- Nokelainen line creates best chance to score so far in the third, just like they did in the second period.

- Really good looking powerplay for Habs, did pretty much everything right but score.

- I guess this is what makes teams like Boston elite, and the rest, like Montreal, so different. Their ability to protect a lead.

- Kostitsyn not one of his better nights, after a strong showing against New Jersey. Isn't this par for the course?

- Price superb the past couple of minutes, giving his team at the very least, a chance.

- Moen. Moen. Moen.

And goodnight.

- Cunneyworth puts Moen right back out there on his next shift, which I'm sure the players (and especially he) appreciates. Still, that game-killing turnover was just brutal.

- Cole gives Habs thin sliver of life with 74 seconds left.

- Campoli with a glorious chance with Thomas down and out. Can't find the net. And it's another loss.