Game 80: Habs vs. Sabres

Buffalo 2, Montreal 1:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Still surprised that Julien is going with Price tonight. Just not worth the risk, even though the Sabres have little history of running opposing netminders. Anyway, Habs fans shouldn't expect a lot tonight, as the team I'm sure will be "don't get yourself hurt" mode tonight.

- Thankfully Steve Ott won't play tonight, Torrey Mitchell gets a start on the 4th line, his first in about 3 weeks. Brian Flynn, in a bit of a surprise, also gets a start tonight, his first in over a month. Martinsen sits.

- Dwight King, who really shouldn't be playing in the NHL, in particular a first place hockey team, somehow manages to miss a totally wide open net from 1 foot away with a backhander. I think that' pretty much sums King up.

- Brutal giveaway, guess who? It's Alexei Emelin rounding into post-season form, Ristolaninen makes it 1-0 Sabres.

- Sabres really aggressive around the Habs crease, bodies not afraid to make contact with Price. Really crazy for Julien to keep in him this game.

- So hard to pinpoint the glaring weak spot for a franchise as dismal as the Sabres, but if I were to start an overhaul/focus, pretty tough to not argue their defence, which currently is incredibly slow and soft around their crease.

- Habs being a little too focused on setting up the perfect play, perhaps in part because of a desire to avoid physical contact. It's made for a relatively quiet period for Lehner.

- Not exactly thrilling hockey, Sabres playing out the string, Habs just prepping up for next week - the Canadiens had balance of offensive pressure in that period, largely because their lineup is vastly superior to Buffalo's slim pickings. Still, at some point the Habs are going to have to drive Lehner with a little more aggression if they want to make any scoreboard impacts - Lehner has always been apt to give up rebounds. More traffic around the Buffalo net ought be the focus from here on out.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Even split 1st period, Habs CF right at 50%:

- Danault line has been very good gaining and holding possession in the Sabres zone, not so good at taking the damn shot.

- Lehner still giving up those rebounds, Danault line still dominating the Sabres zone, but not enough traffic around the crease.

- Hate playing nowhere teams like the Sabres at this point of the season. Nobody in Buffalo's lineup cares about discipline, so hacks and slashes are the norm, not the exception. Chances of an important Habs forward getting hurt rise exponentially.

- Habs the better team this period, except for finishing plays. Ennis roofs a wrister from 20 feet, as Lehkonen, turned the wrong way, coughs the puck up in front of his net, and Nesterov ... almost appeared as though he forgot which colour jersey he's wearing. 2-0 Buffalo.

- Alexei Emelin, who was mainly responsible for Buffalo's first goal, makes yet another pointless hit attempt at the Sabres' blue line, misses complete, and gives Buffalo big 2-on-1 break, forcing Price to make another difficult save. Emelin just never learns. He keeps making the same stupid mistakes time and again, and never learns, never corrects, never improves. He is the personification of insanity.

- Can't say we didn't warn you Claude. This is crazy:

Price takes a stinger to the shoulder, looks decidedly uncomfortable. pic.twitter.com/g79ossCj2Q

— Paul Campbell ❄️ (@WayToGoPaul) April 6, 2017

- Habs again the better team, at least with possession and controlling the flow, but far too casual finishing their scoring opportunities - in particular the Danault line, which is having a field day gaining the Sabres zone, but little to show other than pretty passing plays. Habs also guilty of defensive breakdowns - Nesterov and Emelin the biggest culprits tonight, Davidson also struggling, largely because of his partner's (Nestrov) positional inabilities. Meh. We figured the night might end up going this way - as long the Habs can get through the night without injuries, we'll gladly take the loss and go home.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs might have more puck possession time in the Sabres zone tonight, but where they're taking shots from has been pretty bad. That's been the difference tonight, really.

- Sabres with poor zone coverage off a Habs breakout, with Radolov making a nice feed to Plekanec, who stakes around Lehner to backhand the Habs first goal of the night. Buffalo's defence - a disaster.

- Speaking of disasters, what the heck is Nathan Beaulieu doing chasing over to Jeff Petry's side of the ice to make a useless failed check? With Beaulieu's cardinal error leaves Ennis completely unmarked, meaning Price is forced to make a breakaway save. Beaulieu continues to be an enigma.

- Emelin is apparently hurt - forcing Julien to give extra shifts to Petry, and likely more shifts than he'd like to both Davidson and Nesterov.

- Beaulieu's really struggling - fighting the puck and having a tough time identifying his marks. Habs defence limping to the finish line here.

- Hey, Brendan Gallagher just drew (another) penalty! Did that Tuesday night as well. Habs first powerplay of the evening.

- Emeln out for the night! Lower body injury. Under normal circumstances I'd say addition via subtraction, but not tonight.

- Quiet 3rd period for the Danault line. Sabres have made a few adjustments to keep that line, in particular Radulov and Pacioretty, in check.

- Just over 3 minutes left, Habs pushing the play, but lacking any form of intensity or desperation. Refs also steadfastly refusing to call obvious interference infractions this period, which has also limited Canadiens' ability to convert their chances.

- Just not a good night for the Habs blue line - misjudged plays, poor passing and missed shot opportunities. Hate to say this team really needs Weber and Benn back at this point of the season, but Canadiens not nearly as dangerous at the backend with them out of the lineup. It's also been a significant difference maker tonight.

- Beaulieu misses a pretty pass from Radulov which would have set up a shot into an empty cage. One of those kind of nights for Beaulieu.

- Oh well, Sabres win on fan appreciation night, so happy for them. Habs didn't suffer any huge debilitating injuries, except for Emelin, and who knows if that's really debilitating as far as the Habs defence is concerned. Danualt line just couldn't find a way of converting their opportunities tonight, while fundamental errors confounded the Canadiens, especially by Emelin and Beaulieu, who both struggled most of the evening. Habs now make one final visit to Joe Lewis to play another meaningless game - maybe they can donate another 2 points to help make the hometown fans feel good.



GAME PREVIEW: IF YOU'RE NOT WATCHING TONIGHT, WE UNDERSTAND

The Habs, in the middle of mopping up the rest of their regular season, take on the Sabres tonight in Buffalo. It'll be the final game of the season for the Sabres, as they wrap up their 4th consecutive season of last-place hockey.

The Canadiens have literally nothing to play for - they cannot finish anywhere other than 1st place in the Atlantic Division. Ergo, it comes as little surprise today that coach Claude Julien announced that both Shea Weber and Jordie Benn, who are dealing with "minor" undisclosed injuries, aren't likely to play again until the 1st game of the playoffs, which start on April 12th at the Bell Centre.

So here are your starting lineups:

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

Markov/Petry
Emelin/Beaulieu
Davidson/Nesterov

And over on the Sabres' side:

Kane/O'Reilly/Gionta
Foligno/Eichel/Reinhart
Ennis/Rodrigues/Nylander
Deslauriers/Girgensons/Moulson

Kulikov/Ristolainen
Flak/Borgosian
Gorges/Franson

It's Roben Lehner (2.70/.920) against (for reasons that I don't quite understand) Carey Price (2.20/.924)

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game 51: Sabres vs. Habs

Montreal 5, Buffalo 2:

FIRST PERIOD:

- ICYDH, Jeff Petry is now on a diet of chicken soup, and won't play tonight. So Habs final final final defensive pairings are ... [drum roll]...

Weber/Emelin
Beaulieu/Pateryn
Markov/Nesterov

With Markov finally returning after spending a few weeks on the list, it's unlikely he'll see more than 10 minutes of ice time tonight, ergo the 3rd line placement.

- Habs dominate first 2 minutes, hard shots on Lehner, who may or may not have the Habs number this season (it seems as though he does).

- Crazy but true, Habs have the 2nd best powerplay in the NHL right now, and they're again using the flying V their first man advantage, which is all kinds of great.

- Flynn/Mitchell/Weber/Emelin first PK unit, looks pretty disorganized, as per usual. The PK box is disorganized, frequently not resembling anything like a square. Just one of some of the issues this unit has struggled with the season under the eye of assistant coach J.J. Daigneault (who oversaw the powerplay last year, which was 6th worst in the NHL).

- I know he's been out  for 2 months, but wowzers, David Desharnais looks .... not good. Early days, yes, yes, yes ... but his first 4 shifts, just a mess.

- Speaking of uh .. less-than-impressive-returns .. Greg Pateryn isn't having a period to remember, simply pushed aside while carrying the puck near his blue line results in a clear break on Price. That's clinical bad defence right there.

- Carrying the zone is apparently not part of each team's DNA tonight. We're watching hockey at its most inelegant.

- Yup, Robin Lehner has the Habs number this year. Only option left is to fire it through him, which is kind of how the Habs scored their lone goal when they faced him last week, isn't it?

- Blazing breakout by the Habs in their own zone, Radulov with another dazzlingly smart pass to Pacioretty perfectly positioned to fire a puck that's absolutely impossible for Rehner to stop, and the Habs take a 1-0 lead. Go figure, carrying the zone works, eh?

- We already knew on paper that the Habs are the better team, and howboutthat, they were the better team in the 1st period, which while slow and grinding, at least showcased the edge in depth and talent the Canadiens have over the Sabres. Buffalo had some chances on their one powerplay, otherwise, it was pretty much a cruise control period for Carey Price. Big relief in Pacioretty beating Lehner, who for a while there, looked like he wasn't going to give up a goal for the rest of time. Solid period for the Plekanec line, excellent period for the Danault line.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Yeah, good period for the Habbies, 61.5% CF at even strength.

- Radulov's celebration after Pacioretty's goal. Is there anyone in the League who does this better?

Radulov celebration @Gauts pic.twitter.com/YeT8XqDvrK

— nope (@myregularface) February 1, 2017

- Habs might be tempted to trade their future to land a big named defenseman at the trade deadline, but with players like Lehkonen in the fold, it's tempting for the Habs to just keep building off the great young talent they already have under wing. Would much rather be perpetually competitive than to give much of it away just for one shot.

- Danault line has been driving the Sabres batty tonight not only with their forecheck, but also the backcheck. It's kept Buffalo often pinned in their own zone for extended periods of time.

- Pacioretty scores again, and again it's Radulov with an absolutely incredible setup pass from behind the Buffalo net. I'm not going hyperbole here because I"m a Habs fan, but dammit, there's no other player in the NHL right now at setting up plays (and goal) than Alex Radulov.

- Recall as you might a couple of weeks ago I (and others I'm certain) were speculating about Carey Price's health. Well, his lateral movement tonight has been pretty darned fast - so I think it's safe to say that whatever was bothering Price to "struggle" through December and the first couple of weeks of January had nothing to do with his knees.

- Habs just pouring it on, the forecheck again producing a turnover in the Sabres zone, Andrighetto feeds Desharnais who wrists one against the grain to make it 3-0. Nice way to return for DD, I'm sure the coach is extree happy.

- Danault, Pacioretty and Radulov are playing on some kind of higher level right now, which means that Galchenyuk will almost certainly be working with new line mates come Thursday night. No way Therrien can split this line apart - not now, anyway.

- Radulov is playing out of his mind tonight. Just about every rush involving him resulting in high percentage scoring chance, the latest being the newly acquired Nesterov.

- More strong forechecking, yet another puck turned over by the Sabres in their own zone, Plekaenc to Markov to Byron, Lehner head on a swivel, it's 4-0.

- That's an outstanding period of hockey for the Habs, most of the play was contained in the Sabres zone, beyond that, perhaps more importantly, the Canadiens have simply dominated the neutral zone, snuffing out any semblance of a Sabres transition, and generating some pretty scoring attempts as a result of essentially owning more than one half of the ice. Just no contest tonight. Total domination.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Yeah, total domination. CF at 62%, Fenwick 61%, etc., etc.

- Dazzling. Just dazzling. Danault line plays keepaway with the puck in the Sabres zone, with the centre setting up Pacioretty for a hat trick slam dunker. Hey, I don't know if anyone has noticed, but at 24 goals, Max is just 4 behind Sid Crosby for the League goal-scoring lead.

- Both teams more or less going through the motions to kill the clock. Sabres know they got hammered, resigned now. Habs will be more than happy to just coast this one home.

- Well, that's a bummer. Kulikov with a hard high shot that deflects past Price to deny Carey the shutout, something he should have also had last week against the Flames.

- Gionta scores off the Habs lacklustre (as usual) PK. 5-2.

- Anyway, both teams still went through the motions, so not much more to talk about during the period. Price played very solid again (more good news for the Habs), the Danault line was fabulous, and yes, even Shea Weber was extra good tonight. Now, decisions, decisions. What to do with Alex Galchenyuk if he returns Thursday. Does Therrien dare break up the Danault line? (he'd be crazy to do so). Likely, Galchenyuk will be slotted on the "3rd" line with Shaw and Desharnais. Whether or not that'll be a waste of Galchenyuk's 1C talent - we'll have to wait and see how it all shakes down.


GAMEDAY HABS NEWS:

Okay, so near as we can figure out at this point:

- Markov was "yeah maybe he'll play" yesterday, but looks good today.
- Pateryn was ruled out yesterday, but is good to play today.
- Petry was doing his thing yesterday, but is "yeah maybe he won't play" today.
- Nesterov is gonna play whether anyone likes it or not.
- David Desharnais is like "hey what about me, I'm gonna play!!" and we're all like "ugh ... right ... Desharnais is back."

More in a bit.


HABS NEWS 'N' NOTES:

How was your weekend? I certainly hope not a single minute was spent watching whatever little showcase sideshow the NHL had organized. Me? I spent it mostly outside enjoying the rarity of a January thaw.

Anyway, the world is all screwed up, in case you hadn't heard or observed, but we'll keep posting Habs news and blog about their games for as long as we're all still around. So what's up today?

- Walking wounded last week were skating wounded this morning, and are imminent return this week? Andrei Markov, Greg Pateryn and David Desharnais all participated in full practice this morning (Alex Galchenyuk did not), and with Zach Redmond put on waivers this morning, it's all but certain that Pateryn will be playing Tuesday night against Buffalo. Will Markov as well?

- I'm guessing Markov won't play tomorrow, meaning the Habs defence will look something like this:

Emelin/Weber
Beaulieu/Petry
Pateryn/Nesterov

If Pateryn can't go, expect Barberio to take a spot on the 3rd line. Nesterov is mortal lock start Tuesday night.

- Okay, so Desharnais is back? I guess the party's over. Here's the Habs likely lines tomorrow night.

Pacioretty/Danault/Radulov
Lehkonen/Plekanec/Byron
Andrighetto/Desharnais/Shaw
Carr/Mitchell/Flynn

More in a bit.

Game 48: Sabres vs. Habs

Buffalo 3, Montreal 2 (OT)

FIRST PERIOD:

- Lehner gets the start - obviously Sabres not comfortable starting Nilsson back-to-back nights. 

- Predictably tight start, the Sabres doing a good job in their own zone, as per what we mentioned before about this team having strong 1st periods this season.

- Rasmus Ristolainen, who played a mind-boggling 35 minutes last night, his numbers clearly scaled back if first half of this period is any indicator. Roughly on track for 8 minutes this period.

- Good zone entry for Galchenyuk carrying the puck, covered by the defenseman, he dishes the puck off to his left to Andrighetto, which eliminated a scoring chance. While it looked like a poor play, it was his only option because the fellow who was supposed to give him a proper outlet, Andrew Shaw, was lagging far behind at centre ice. That's a pretty good example of how putting Galchenyuk next to guys like Shaw take a pretty potent quiver out of the Habs bag.

- Max Pacioretty is gonna have bad dreams about how he somehow didn't put the puck in an open net - twice. Beautiful play by Radulov to drive the net and dish him the puck for what was a slam-dunk goal.

Great save by Lehner + missed chance for Pacioretty pic.twitter.com/kh09B3ZX0L

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 22, 2017

- Danault line playing pretty free-wheeling hockey so far - generating some pretty fast zone entires, but also coughing up the puck more than you'd like to see. Sabres are getting good scoring opportunities while they're on the ice.

- Lot of attention this week about Alex Galchenyuk being "off" since his return, which is a line I'm not really buying - his speed and physicality is as good as it ever was. Someone who has genuinely been struggling since his return? Paul Byron. Legs aren't there, passing is off ... not nearly the same (very good) Byron before he went on the IL.

- Such a terrible call on Radulov for hooking. You can't penalize someone in the NHL for lifting a stick, but that's what he's been sent to the box for.

- Even steven first period of hockey - Sabres, with that suspect defence, doing a pretty good job in their zone, only a couple of broken plays that the Habs failed to capitalize on. Galchenyuk looks fast - I wonder how much longer Therrien is going to stubbornly keep him mired next to Shaw on that 3rd line. Hopefully not much longer, because the Canadiens are sacrificing plenty of offence not having him up the middle between Pacioretty and Radulov.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Pretty even period, Sabres with more shots on goal, but scoring chances and shooting attempts were pretty much even:

- Habs massive push creates an eventual Sabres defensive breakdown, with Lehkonen skating to the low slot to receive the puck and fire it top corner past Lehner. That's Buffalo's story this year - defence makes too many avoidable errors that eventually costs them games.

- Here's a pretty good illustration of my last point - Lehkonen basically goes unmarked. It's a relatively easy goal.

Byron gains the zone, Lehkonen goes to the net and capitalizes on the rebound for his 11th goal of the year. pic.twitter.com/bFqJAgLysT

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 22, 2017

- Habs respond with their own version of clunky defence, Petry falling and Beaulieu just lost in front of Price, Gionta knocking a loose puck home to tie the game.

- Danault tips home a pretty hard Petry shot from the line to give the Habs a 2-1 lead. Again, the Sabres defence not doing a very good job guarding their crease. 

- Sabres defense gets slower and slower as the game proceeds - it's plain as day. Habs are getting increasing scoring chances as the game progresses.

- So the Habs have just scored, and they're pouring it on, Sabres are clinging to life in their own zone, and then ... enter Alexei Emelin to take an absolutely stupid penalty, hitting Moulson from behind into the boards. Does he actually think while he plays? Science would say probably not.

- An untidy period, but not bad from the Habs perspective. They had tons of momentum after Danault scored to give them a 2-1 lead, but that was pretty much single-handedly ruined by Emelin's dumb board. After that, the Habs mojo just seemed to slip away, much of the rest of the period consisted of broken plays and poor passing. Canadiens have no good reason to not put this game away in the 3rd period - we'll see.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs markedly better team in the 2nd period, which we kinda figured would happened in our pregame analysis. Still, the Sabres are hanging tough.

- Zach Redmond. Oy. Sabres come literally within an inch of tying the game, largely because of his wretched puck handling. 

- Sabres are just putting the puck on net - which is fine - you never know what might happen. Maybe a huge fluke, or Price whiffs, and the game is tied. But you still have to have structure, you still have to focus on generating shots from good spots. Sabres aren't really doing that right now, even though they're running up the shot clock.

- Thomas Plekanec. Is there anyone with a slower shot in the NHL?

- Not crazy about the Habs approach in this period - defence being far too passive, which is allowing the Sabres to gain the zone with a fair amount of speed. Seems like the Canadiens are attempting to sit on this 1 goal lead for an entire period. Folly.

- Finally Habs finding some legs and being a bit more aggressive, Byron and Lehkonen doing good work creating decent scoring chances, Lehner keeping his team alive. 8 minutes left.

- Wow, Franson of all guys ties the game with a seeing-eye shot from the line off the draw. O'Reilly beating Plekanec badly off the draw. And so the Habs can't hold the lead. We figured.

- Nathan Beaulieu is kind of a mess right now, and I think it's mainly a confidence issue.

- Carey Price with two incredible saves with seconds on the clock to prevent the Sabres from winning the game. We doubted his abilities? Doubt no more.

- Canadiens played a very passive 3rd period, going through the skating motions, and doing a pretty horrible job checking Buffalo. Sabres will be delighted to take at least a point out of this one, and given how much they dominated the 3rd period, would be just to take the extra point.

OVERTIME:

- So will the Habs go through the motions to try to get to a shootout?

- Habs have total puck control the first 1:30, Robin Lehner with possibly the best save of the year in the NHL, totally robbing Galchenyuk. 

Lehner makes a ridiculous save of his own!! pic.twitter.com/2M8mr4NMkP

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 22, 2017

- Hah, Bogosian with the game winner off the goalpost, his first goal of the year, if you can believe it, and just seconds after Lehner's incredible save. What can ya do? 

- Final analysis, that Lehner save will be of legend - it's probably going to be the best save by a goaltender for the entire year, and arguably, that's one of the most spectacular saves of all-time. But then it's a save that really shouldn't have happened in the first place, as the Habs could have snuffed the Sabres out in the 3rd period, but instead, sat back, and let Buffalo take over the game, as this possession chart indicates:

The turning point? Well, one might say the start of the 3rd period moving forward, but I'd harken back to the stunningly stupid penalty committed by Emelin in the 2nd period, right smack when the Habs were taking it to Buffalo, pinning them in their own zone, and narrowing in on what would likely have been a game-killer 3rd goal. While the Habs killed that penalty, they never really seemed to regain that momentum and pressure. It's stupid, selfish decisions like the one Emelin committed that go well beyond him spending two minutes in the penalty box - from a wider perspective, it's events like that which can rip victories from hands and turn them into defeats.

HABS/SABRES GAME PREVIEW: CAN THE CANADIENS EXPLOIT BUFFALO'S SLOW DEFENCE?

A few bullet points to help guide you through the game tonight were the Habs seek to maintain their comfortable lead atop the Atlantic Division, as they host the last place Buffalo Sabres.

- Sabres are coming off a 3-2 OT win last night over the Red Wings, yeah - the same Wings that the Habs could barely muster up a scoring chance against on Monday afternoon. Since the start of the new year, the Sabres have actually played some half-decent hockey, winning 5 of 9 games so far, including victories over the likes of the Stars, Flyers, Jets and Rangers.

- Buffalo doesn't have very many core strengths - on average each game, they give up too many shots (31, 5th worst in the NHL), but they have received some pretty good goaltending this season from backup Anders Nilsson and first stringer Robin Lehner. With a team .918 Sv%, the Sabres have the 5th best goaltending in the NHL.

- The Sabres big downfall this year? Mainly it's their defence. In particular, how their defence plays as the game progresses. This season, the Sabres have given up 28 first period goals, which is quite good (5th best in the League). However as the game progresses, Buffalo's blue line becomes increasingly disorganized. Second period goals surrendered: 47. Third period goals surrendered: 42. Add 'em all up, and you have a Buffalo team with a winning percentage when leading after 1 period of just .600, and when leading after 40 minutes, .733, 7th worst in the NHL.

- Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe was injured last night, so youngster Casey Nelson was called up from the farm. He'll play on the Buffalo 3rd D line.

- Sabres lineup tonight? Sure, no problem:

Emmins/O'Reilly/Okposo
Foligno/Eichel/Reinhart
Kane/Girgensons/Gionta
Carrier/Cal O'Reilly/Moulson

Bogosian/Ristolainen
Falk/Fedun
Nelson/Franson

Starting in goal? Uncertain. Lehner gets the bulk of starts, but he did get a rude yank on Tuesday night, so ... Nilsson?

- Habs lineup will essentially be the same as last night's, with Carey Price this time getting the start.

- Keys for the Habs? Use speed. The Sabres blue line is sluggish at best, downright slow at worst (in particular the Nelson/Franson pairing). If the Canadiens can generate a decent number of centre ice turnovers, and execute carrying the Sabres' zone, they should be in good shape tonight, regardless of who's in goal for Buffalo.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

Game 1: Habs vs Sabres

5 #HABS THOUGHTS THE DAY AFTER

- Welcome to our new feature, 5 Habs Thoughts the Day After, which is pretty much exactly as the title suggests. We'll be doing this feature throughout the season, providing readers with a summation about the game played the night previous. So ... about last night ...

- It's always nice to start the season on a winning note, although the Habs win was, to put it generously, uneven. The Canadiens started very strong - for the first 15 minutes of the 1st period, it looked like they were going to totally overwhelm their opponent. But then the team seemed to go into a collective funk that lasted through the remainder of the period, carried through most of the 2nd period, and lasted through about the first 5 minutes of the 3rd before the Habs seemed to catch a second wind.  The Torrey Mitchell goal, which reestablished the Habs 2 goal margin, seemed to take the energy out of the Sabres legs. You'll see that often with young teams - they're easily disgruntled - and who can blame them? The Sabres really were taking it to the Habs for essentially the middle half of the game, and still found themselves trailing by 2 goals for all their efforts.

- So while the Habs letdown was not exactly a scrapbook highlight, there were many interesting positives. The brightest light of the night was Artturi Lehkonen, who played a tremendously, even more so if you consider it was his very first NHL game. Lehkonen really meshed well along side Tomas Plekanec (who played an excellent two-way game for the Habs), and if not for a couple of nifty saves by Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, would have scored at least one goal. Lehkonen demonstrated some keen hockey smarts - and seemed to have a good sense of when to drive to the net. I'm sure Habs management were delighted by what they saw from this young winger.

- Defensively, Habs also played unevenly, but they did have two very strong performances by Greg Pateryn and (surprise!) Alexei Emelin, the later of whom delivered many thunderous checks, mostly contained in the neutral zone, on Sabres forwards. Emelin's was smart with his physicality, delivering his hits in situations that didn't remove him from his defensive responsibilities. I'm sure that Therrien will go back with this duo on Saturday night, if only to see if there might be some good chemistry developing between the two. Keep in mind, 3rd line spots on the Habs blue line is very competitive this season - with the first 5 positions already spoken for by Weber, Markov, Petry, Beaulieu and Sergachev, competition for that 6th spot is going to be fierce.

- Or, maybe it won't. Speaking of Mikhail Sergachev, it was baptism by fire last night, and his NHL inexperience was pretty glaring. While Sergachev didn't make any errors that led directly to Buffalo goals, he frequently looked overwhelmed by the speed of the League, which was further complicated by some tentative passes that produced a couple of glorious scoring opportunities for the Sabres. It's just Sergachev's first game, so a lot of the criticism has to be taken with a pinch of salt, but if he continues to struggle with adapting to the NHL, certainly understandable given his age, the Habs may give him a year in the AHL to help him make the transition to the big league.

- Finally, Shea Weber. While his debut wasn't anticipated nearly as much as Subban's will be in Nashville, Weber gave a pretty standard Weber performance. Sturdy, physical, understated and utterly forgettable. What you saw last night is what you'll see for the rest of this season. Weber, unlike the player he's replacing, has little flair, flash or dash to his game. He eats time, does a decent job moving the puck forward, clears a little traffic in front, and that's it. Weber did pick up the point last night off a point shot - although ironically it came off a simple wrist shot that was deflected in by Gallagher, not off one of his notorious slapshot howitzers.

Habs now travel back closer to home to take on the Senators in Ottawa, before opening up the season at home Monday night. We'll be posting news, if there's anything worth noting, leading up to the game, and putting up a game preview later in the day.

LIVESTREAM





THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs CF% (5v5) through 40 minutes just 50.0%. Which is bad considering they were at 58% after one period. Basically the Sabres had significant majority of possession (12:18 to be exact), with shot totals accordingly showing a pretty large edge in favour of Buffalo.

- Sabres have an interesting little thing they do before the period starts, their line huddles up at the blue line, not unlike they do in football. Not sure what the purpose of this is, but it looks cool.

- Shea Weber with a disgraceful crosscheck from behind in the corner that the League really should be making an automatic game misconduct, but for whatever reason, chooses not to. Within seconds, the Sabres score, and we immediately see Weber's first game sheet contribution. Against his team. 2-1 now.

- Habs a slop fest in their own zone, horrid puck turnovers. Sabres haven't lost a step to start this period. Taking it to the Habs.

- Sergachev a little deer in the headlights in more than a couple of situations tonight. So much talent, but most of it pretty raw.

- Lehkonen has had a pretty good game - very involved offensively, and if not for a couple of outstanding saves by Lehner, would easily be on the scoresheet.

- Shea Weber just made a scoring contribution - the right kind, anyway. Sabres got all kinds of messed up in their zone, leaving their slot unprotected. Weber with a point shot, neatly tipped by Gallagher past Lehner to reestablish a 2-goal lead. Sabres inexperience showing through badly on that goal, a lot of hard work the past couple of periods undone.

- Gorges with a retaliation mugging of Mitchell, after Emelin delivered a hard open ice (clean hit). Mitchell still down on the ice, favouring his head? Hard to tell. Terrible relational by Gorges. Terrible.

- Reply shows that Mitchell kind of fell into the Gorges check, but it looked very clear that Gorges was lining him up for a blindside hit, so the dirty play still stands. Mitchell taking a knee to the head.

- After a rough first few minutes of the period, things have gradually shifted in Montreal's favour, Habs getting much more possession and more quality scoring chances, powerplays removed. 9 minutes left.

- Carr with a very dirty goal with Habs swarming Sabres net. Buffalo challenges for goaltender interference, but I don't see anything there. Likely 4-1 Habs now.

- Good goal, Habs with probably insurmountable lead at 4-1. They've dominated since 5 minute mark of this period, Sabres just couldn't keep up, and Lehner has struggled.

- Pretty decent outing for Emelin, I've counted 4 thunderous hits from his tonight, certainly much more physical than was Weber. He and Pateryn having games that exceeded normal expectations.

- Habs win, albeit it was an uneven victory. Team went into a 30 minute funk between the last five minutes of the 1st extending to the first 5 minutes of the 3rd, where the Sabres were the better team. Fortunately Montoya had a pretty solid start, and Habs did have some bright spots - mainly that of Arthur Lehkonen, who was frequently involved and if not for some excellent saves by Lehner, should have had a least one goal. Pateryn and Emelin looked sharp, and Shea Weber was ... hmm shall we say ... adequate?


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs with defined possession edge in the first period, 57.9% CF% (5v5) in the frame.

- I suppose I should have mentioned Shea Weber right now. He was okay in that first period. Made a couple of good hits in the corners, made a couple of decent shot attempts on the powerplay. But still pretty low key performance, pretty much the exact opposite of the guy who was traded away to get him. 

- Sergachev clearly trying to adjust to a much faster game than he's every played in his life. Has made a few puck handling errors, but possesses the mobility to save himself. At least so far.

- 4th line production by the Habs which has looked pretty good tonight, Byron driving the net hard and buried into the boards as a result, Mitchell tucking home the loose puck and it's 2-0. Another spot the Habs really struggled with last year - 4th line contributions. Hopefully that's a sign of more to come.

- Habs aren't exactly squatting on this lead, but they've discernibly shifted their focus from being aggressive in the Sabres zone and centre ice, to covering their zone, and passing lanes. Sabres have had a significant edge in shots and possession since the 15 minute mark of the first period.

- Not good. Habs are losing puck fights in their own zone, and it's creating some defensive breakdowns in which the Sabres are getting good scoring chances. Montoya very solid so far, keeping Buffalo off the board. Still, this is a habit, the let downs, that we saw a lot of last year that killed the Habs season.

- Is Desharnais hurt? Unbelievably he has the least amount of ice time among all Habs forwards, a meagre 6:32 with just 5 minutes left in the 2nd.

- Sabres 2nd powerplay, Habs PK was pretty much chaos, and it not for dumb luck and Buffalo incompetence finishing plays, this game really ought be 2-1. At least.

- Habs plainly out skated and out hustled in the period - no logical explanation for the let down against such a lesser Sabres team, except that possibly the team went out to hard to start the game? I'm at a loss.

- Evander Kane who's been a bull in a china shop tonight, falling awkwardly going full steam into the corner, losing his footing as he was given a relatively mild shove by Emelin. No real penalty there, but Kane is clearly significantly injured.

- Habs might lead 2-0 on the scoreboard, but that was a very tilted period in favour of the Sabres, who were far more organized and aggressive than they were in the 1st period. Habs looked ... tired? It's absurd to speculate, but they just seemed to lose most of the battles for, and races to, loose pucks. One more period like that, Buffalo might fight their way back into this thing.


FIRST PERIOD:

- Well, here we go, game 1 of 82. Here's hoping it's the exact opposite of what we had to endure last year.

- It's EARLY going, but Sabres look ... uh ... not good. Offence is, shall we say, disorganized.

- Habs 4th line forecheck is pretty aggressive, with two forwards playing deep in the neutral zone. Not sure if that's accidental or experimentational.

- Lots of long-bomb passes blue line to forwards, same strategy used last year, to mostly unsuccessful result.

- Sergachev gets a little powerplay time, which is great to see. Looked a little nervous passing the puck, made one ill-advised pass that nearly gave Sabres a 2-on-0 breakaway. It's a learning process.

- First game goal, first season goal. It's Gallagher with a very un-Gallagher like goal, snap shot from 40 feet beats Lehner stick side. 1-0 Habs. Good passing key to the goal there, as it usually is for most NHL goals.

- There's the Shaw effect, icing called, and Shaw manages to troll Foligno into a roughing penalty.

- Habs powerplay is 0-2, but still looks markedly better than the hapless scenes we endured last year. Not sold on Markov paired with Weber - they got all kinds of mixed up at the line, creating a Sabres breakaway that was saved nicely by Montoya. When Petry returns, I'm hoping for more experimentation - with Beaulieu and maybe this Sergachev kid getting a few turns with different combinations. 

- Montoya has made a couple of nice saves this period - obviously the Habs are hoping for a bit more consistency from their backup this year - fully acknowledging that Mike Condon was forced into an impossible situation, and did the best he could given the circumstances. 

- Habs with a bit of a let-down last 5 minutes of the first period. One assumes you can only dominate a period for so long, but Sabres seem to be getting a little more organized as the period has progressed.

- Pretty one-sided period of hockey, Habs fans will be happy with what they've seen. Fast start to the game, the Canadiens carried the play through much of the first 3/4 of the period, giving the young Sabres defence fits. All said, one couldn't have hoped for much more.


PREGAME NEWS 'N' NOTES:

- The puck is dropping shortly for the first game of the year, a couple of things I'd like to mention in advance of the game. First, this site is going to be a little more content focused this year - we're going to be adding a few more pieces to provide readers with a little more in-depth content, and new features such as weekly team rankings, Habs player rankings, and a new post-game feature, "5 Points", which will offer post game summaries and observations for every Habs game. So, stay tuned and watch!!

- The news we've been hearing about all week has been, of course, the flu virus that has knocked Carey Price out of the start tonight, so Al Montoya will get the call. Which, given that the Sabres are likely the kind of team you'd start your backup against anyway, works out. 

- It'll be fun to see just how well Alex Radulov plays tonight. A productive top-6 winger on the right side will give this team an immense offensive boost that it sorely lacked through much of last year. If Radulov produces, the Habs are going to be a difficult team to beat.

- Also looking forward to seeing the new kids, specifically Mikhail Sergachev, and of course, Artturi Lehkonen. Expectations of both should be tempered - they're playing their first ever regular season NHL games, so even though both are talented, there will be a learning curve.

- Bottom defensive pairing should be interesting. Depending on how things to with Sergachev, there are too many bodies for the last pairings, with Alexei Emelin, Greg Pateryn, and Zach Redmond all fighting for one spot, when Jeff Petry makes his return to the lineup. Still think Marc Bergevin will be doing his best to move Emelin over the next few weeks, basically for anyone who'll have him, ideally for a pick or mild salary pickup in return.

- Puck drops at 7:10 EST.  But then, you knew that.


THE YEAR THAT WAS, THE YEAR THAT IS

We’ve arrived. We’ve finally arrived. The cusp of a new season, filled with renewed hopes for fans around the country that the upcoming season will bring them joy and fulfillment that goes with cheering for a winning team.

For those whose hearts are aligned with the Montreal Canadiens, the story this October is not unlike those of recent Octobers. Anticipation and belief that their championship drought will finally come to an end.

Unlike recent Octobers, this season brings a defined sense of melancholy for Habs fans, still many weeks removed from a massive deal that resulted in the heart and soul of the team, P.K. Subban, being dealt to the Nashville Predators for the hulking frame of Shea Weber. It was a trade that many had hoped would somehow be avoided, but the decision to move Subban, come hell or high water, was likely made well before the day he was dealt in late June.

Objectively, the deal likely will serve to benefit both teams – the Predators will now have a high powered, mobile blue line that will make them a force to be reckoned with, and in an instant, a viable Stanley Cup contender next spring. The Canadiens will realize an improvement in their defensive durability, and likely a slight increase in powerplay effectiveness. Whether they’ll be in the championship conversation next year is another matter altogether.

Long term, the trade will likely be highly regrettable for Montreal. While Weber is an excellent talent, Subban has 4 years on his side, and a proven ability to be an elite puck moving defenseman in a League that’s moving further away from “grit” hockey as a winning model.

Which is to say, the window for ending the championship drought in Habsland is closing rather quickly. With Subban gone, and foundation pieces like Carey Price and Max Pacioretty moving into and beyond their prime productive years, the Canadiens likely have this season and the next to be a viable Stanley Cup contender. Beyond that, with Weber’s salary cap impacting the bottom line, and making it difficult for management to retain all of their key assets, the Canadiens are likely to enter a rebuilding phase.

Setting aside the Subban trade, the off season was productive for Montreal. The Habs, credit to G.M. Marc Bergevin, managed to snag free agent Alex Radulov from Russia. Albeit carrying some behavioural baggage, Radulov, who’s been playing overseas in the KHL since 2009, solidifies what was once the most glaring weaknesses of the team, a top-6 right hand shooting forward.

Although the KHL is no NHL, Radulov did put up some impressive numbers, averaging well over a point per game playing with CSKA Moskva and Salavat Youlaev (go fighting Youlaev!). He also had an impressive and productive camp, so anything in the 60 point production range for Radulov will be a huge bonus for the Canadiens.

Radulov probably represented the biggest player acquisition this summer, although there may be a case made for 1^st round entry pick, Mikhail Sergachev, who was the OHL’s defenseman of the year in 2015-16. Sergachev, whom some expected might go as high as a top-5 pick, was still up for grabs when the Habs came to the table with their 9^th overall selection. Marc Bergevin and Trevor Timmons didn’t waste their chance and nabbed the young Russian, who they hope will eventually fill the shoes of the soon departing Andrei Markov, who’s entering the final year of a contract extension, possibly the last of his NHL career.

The big question around Sergachev wasn’t whether he was the best choice (he was), but whether he had the skill and maturity to actually crack the lineup this season. After an excellent camp, those questions were quickly answered, as the Habs announced that Sergachev would be suiting up to start the season. The only remaining question is whether the Canadiens will play Sergachev 9 games, which means this year would be counted in qualification for restricted free agency.

Speaking of draft picks, a big surprise out of camp this year was the performance of Artturi Lehkonen, who was signed to an entry level contract this May. Lehkonen, who was previously playing in the Swedish Hockey League, was picked 2^nd overall by the Canadiens in the 2013 draft. The lesson here is - players mature and develop differently – the time Lehkonen spent playing elite hockey in Europe served him well enough to earn him a starting spot this season.

Lehkonen’s gain is someone else’s loss – two Habs forwards may not hold much of a future in Montreal because of Lehkonen’s spot on the roster – Michal McCarron, he of six feel, two million inches stature, and Sven Adrighetto. While it’s likely either or both will be playing at some point this season to fill injury vacancies, their future with the Habs remains, at best, uncertain.

The Habs made a few more additions including signing UFA bottom-6 muckraker Andrew Shaw, to help, in the words of Bergevin, to give the team some “character”. While Shaw will do his best to mix things up on the ice, I don’t think his acquisition will give the Habs much, if any, strategic or “grit” advantage, largely because the grinding formula for victory has long passed in the NHL. Today, you win with speed and skill. Oh, well.

So in case you’ve lost, or grown bored reading this overlong analysis, let’s boil it down to who’s in, and who’s out:

Who’s out:

- P.K. Subban

- Dale Weise
- Tom Gilbert
- Ben Scrivens

Who’s in:

- Shea Weber
- Alex Radulov
- Artturi Lehkonen
- Andrew Shaw
- Al Montoya

What does this all mean? Well, without a healthy Carey Price, it means nothing. This, of course, is the biggest of many sizable questions surrounding the Canadiens this season – will Carey Price be healthy? If the World Championship of Hockey was any indication, in which Price helped lead team Canada to a championship, the answer seems to be a comfortable “yes”. But nothing is certain.

There are other big questions. Coaching remains a significant issue. After a disastrous 2015-16, many eyes are on Micheal Therrien, now in the 4^th year of his second stint as Montreal’s head coach. If the Habs stumble early, even with a healthy Price between the pipes, the pressure may be unbearable for Bergevin to endure, and Therrien could be an early season casualty. Which makes the off season acquisition of the adapt Kirk Muller as an assistant all the more prescient. If Therrien is turfed, Muller would likely be promoted to fill his spot.

The thing is, the Habs shouldn’t stumble early. This is still a very good hockey team that was bolstered this offseason by an excellent draft pick, the addition of a prized Russian forward, and the surprise addition of an earlier draft pick to the Canadiens’ starting lineup. This is a team that should have little difficulty in making the post season – perhaps even challenging for 1^st place in their Division. Beyond qualification, there remains only one objective that matters any more – and that is a Stanley Cup championship in Montreal – the first in what would be a 24 year drought.

Which, in case you’re doing the math, is the same number of championships won by this esteemed franchise.

It’s been a long six month wait, but we’ve arrived.

Game 71: Habs vs. Sabres

FIRST PERIOD:

- Soooo ... Habs defence is thusly tonight:

Markov/Barberio

Emelin/Beaulieu

Pateryn/Bartley (another wasted opportunity giving time to a kid who might actually have an NHL future).

Let's check out the "offence":

Pacioretty/Galchenyuk/Andrighetto (yup)

Eller/Plekanec/Byron (okay).

Lessio/McCarron/Mitchell (um ... I guess ...)

De La Rose/Danault/Brown (and there we have it, again another game wasted spot taken up by Mike Brown. Sigh).

- first half of the period done, this game is as expected, pretty horrible.

- Habs again with poor transition out of their zone, another sloppy puck turnover, Kane with a snap shot that Scrivens' whiffs at, post comes to his rescue. For now.

- Gary Galley on Sportsnet heaping praise on Michel Therrien, and how he's "done quite a job." This is what happens when casual viewers of hockey are provided access to a microphone.

- Canadiens have spent most of this period treating the puck like a live grenade, which I guess qualifies as a system? Anyway, formula for losing is more apt.

- Bartley takes a penalty because he can't skate very well. But he's getting played. For some reason.

- Of course, Sabres score - although it looks like puck was hit in with a high stick. Yup it's a goal. Bogosian. SABRES TAKE THE LEAD WOOT.

- I don't care if this is the Habs "C" roster, no team should play this poorly under any circumstances.

- Galchenyuk gets hammered 10 times with sticks and face punches after being in the Sabres crease. Habs get penalized. Because, of course.

- Is P.K. Subban really that good? Since he's gone down to injury, this team has become totally and completely inept, save for maybe the Galchenyuk line. Good grief.

- Truly awful. No other way of describing the Habs in that period. Once again, even considering the injuries, no NHL team should play this badly. Taking Galchenyuk line out, perhaps some of the worst hockey I've ever seen a Montreal Canadiens team play in 40 years.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Here's the ugly 1st period line, Habs CF was a stunning 31.0%. Against the Buffalo Sabres. Remarkable.

- Well, if any Canadiens player was to score tonight, then let if be Greg Pateryn, eh? His very first goal in the NHL. Congratulations! Frame that puck asap.

- That was quite a blast of a slapper by Pateryn, who does have a relatively underrated hard shot. So that it's taken this long to score his first goal is a little surprising.

- Habs powerplay, like just about everything else, firmly back to being terrible. Not nearly enough movement by the unit, which now stands 1 for its last 23 in its last 9 games.

- Andrighetto pulled from the Galchenyuk line, for ... get ready for it ... Mike Brown. 

- Barberio hurt somewhere, missed it. Done for the night. Add 'em to the list.

- Brown gets nailed for a double minor. Making his NHL contributions. You might have the impression that the Habs are having a better 2nd period because they've scored the only goal. The assumption, however, would be incorrect. The underlying numbers are essentially the same compared to the first period. Still awful.

- Awful game spinning out of control, a semi-line brawl with Lehner sucker punching McCarron, and everyone grabs a partner. Can we just call the game, and go home?

- We'll never go home. This game started almost 2 hours ago, and we haven't even finished the 2nd period. The hockey gods are merciless. 

- Markov scores off the, believe it or not, resulting powerplay. Point shot deflects and knuckles in. Habs, incredibly, take a 2-1 lead. And the period ends. Finally. 20 more minutes left to endure.

THIRD PERIOD: 

- Habs and Sabres after 40 minutes: Habs CF (5v5) is 38.8%.

- Seems like Danault/De La Rose/Brown hit the ice, the ice suddenly tilts at a 30 degree angle and the puck slides into the Habs zone. And stays there.

- Emelin with the play of his year, keeping the puck barely in the Sabres zone, deking out two defenders, and slipping the puck to Andrighetto who had a WIDE OPEN NET. Somehow, he misses. Do'h.

- Evander Kane continues to make stupid, selfish plays, this time getting nailed for 4 minutes crosschecking Byron to the head, and then getting 2 more for mouthing off. So much stupid, the Habs can now (possibly) finish this game off. 

- Ha ha. Habs manage to screw it all up anyway. A line change that takes forever and a day, Legwand simply skates over to a loose puck, picks it up, and snaps it past Scrivens. A bush league play by a less-than bush-league hockey team.

- Watched the reply of that powerplay "line change". Sure looks like whatever line was supposed on, somehow didn't know they were supposed to go on. So while players were getting off their shift, nobody was getting on for at least five seconds. That's incredibly bad bench management.

- Trying to envision the silly way the Habs will find to lose this game. The possibilities are endless. 

- Markov is gonna get 30+ minutes tonight because of the early Barberio injury and the Beaulieu misconduct. He's definitely lagging out there right now - Habs incredibly vulnerable when he's on the ice.

- And there you have it, Markov loses his judgement and hits Foligno in the head with his elbow on an attempted body check. A player not exhausted doesn't make that stupid mistake. Sabres to the powerplay to win the game.

- Sabres can't convert. Oh well. Longest three periods of hockey this year, both literally and figuratively, now goes to overtime, just to torture viewers all the more. Habs screw up getting the Sabres to within 3 points in the standings. Now best Buffalo can do to close the gap is 4.

OVERTIME:

- Beaulieu on the ice for this overtime would be obvious, but instead Therrien is going with Emelin.

- Eichel making Emelin look pretty terrible off an end to end rush. Easily breezing past him wide off the wing.

- Brian Gionta hasn't lost his old Habs touch, missing a wide open cage off a Scrivens rebound.

- Beaulieu gets a shift. Finally. With 2 minutes left in OT.

- Markov just got tossed from the game, presumably from informing the officials his displeasure over continuously getting blungened by Buffalo Sabres sticks. There goes one very tired and frustrated hockey player. Sad.

- Mitchell puts it home off a nice pass from Byron off a 2-on-1, and this game mercifully ends.

- Oops, hold that, Byron's pass goes in off a Sabres stick for the winner. Anyway, mission not accomplish tonight - Habs hopes of being overtaken by the Sabres in the standings are pretty much zero now. 

HABS AND SABRES. IT'S HOCKEY THAT MATTERS!

Where to even begin? Tonight's game is utterly meaningless, unless you're fascinated by the June lottery draft, in which case I would highly recommend you seek professional counselling.

So ... Habs stuff. Lars Eller will play tonight. So will Nathan Beaulieu. That means the defence has too many bodies, which normally would mean the obvious sit-out would be the (on the best of days) marginal fill-in Victor Bartley. But nopes, it's Darren Dietz who gets the ride the pine. Actually, it's even worse for Dietz. He gets a one-way ticket back to Newfoundland so that he might enjoy the lovely March weather.

What else do we have. Well, I guess we're hoping desperately for a Sabres win tonight because a Buffalo victory would pull them to (it's hard to believe, but yet, it isn't) a mere 3 points of the Canadiens.

GO BUFFALO.

I guess we'll blog this one tonight. Ben Scrivens will start in net for the Habs because ... aw screw it - nobody cares.

Game 68: Sabres vs. Habs

I've spoken to a Member of the Subban Family,fortunately they confirmed PK will be okay and is under observation.@NHL @NHLNetwork.

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) March 11, 2016

FIRST PERIOD:

- Habs have the same lineup tonight, with Lars Eller once again due to injury. Injury-strapped Canadiens look to be a pretty good matchup against the bottom-feeder Sabres, who for some reason, have dominated the Habs the past few years, winning 16 of the past 24 games between these two.

- Correction to the pre-game written line, Lars Eller is indeed playing tonight. So Habs' roster is slightly less razor thin.

- Sabres aren't exactly a picture of heathy either, with centres Ryan O'Reilly and Tyler Ennis out of the lineup.

- Gachenyuk getting some pretty heavy ice time out of the game's gate.

- Tame and toothless start for both teams, who aren't doing a very good job with zone entries - Habs slightly more competent, which ain't saying much.

- Sabres have the League 28th ranked offence this season, although their powerplay is ranked 12th - which means it is possible to put together competent specialty units, even if the talent isn't particularly deep. Just takes a little structure.

- Aggressive pinch by Subban and resulting possession loss gives Sabres clear-cut 2-on-1 break in which they very nearly score. I suppose none of this really matters given the time of season and place in the standings, but on any given night, that's not the kind of play you normally make in the 1st period.

- Both teams are pretty soft in front of their nets. Looking for some goals via rebounds (or deflections) tonight.

- Mike McCarron has been doing a lot of the stuff they hoped Devante Smith-Pelly had done more of when he played in Montreal. Getting his body in front of the net, throwing the occasional crunching bodycheck. This is prototypical Marc Bergevin hockey. The kid surely must be impressing.

- Habs first powerplay mirrors the period itself - listless and disorganized hockey. Passing is off the mark, intensity levels are low.

- First period mercifully over. 20 minutes of bad hockey by two bad hockey teams. I suppose that was to be expected, but still, not quite this incompetent. Zone entries were pretty awful, perhaps the main reason why so few scoring chances were generated. 40 minutes to go. Brew a pot of coffee. This could be a tough viewing slog.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Sabres through 20 minutes, Habs with a CF (5v5) of 52.6%. Looking at the stats a bit closer, most of the Habs positive possession came from one line - and no surprise, it was the Galchenyuk line.

- When he's not sleeping in, Evander Kane plays a pretty smart game. Just lacks finish.

- Second period picking up where the first period left off - two disorganized teams with little ability to enter each other's zone. Unsurprisingly, there is virtually no flow to this game.

- We have an actual goal. Deslauries with a nifty tip off a point wrister, Condon no chance.

- We have an actual 2nd goal, just  9 seconds after the Deslauries goal. Habs tie the game by ... guess who? Right place, right time. Helps when you're playing the right position.

- Mike Brown fights, and in doing some, fulfils his obligations of making a non-contribution contribution.

- Sabres may have scored, play is continuing after the puck appeared to have entered the net. Habs better not score in the meantime, or the fans are gonna wake up from their nap.

- Naw. No goal. Funny thing was, Galchenyuk nearly scored for the Habs in the play after the Sabres' near score. AK27 is totally committed to answering for the Habs as quickly as possible.

- Habs powerplay, Galchenyuk, good grief, scores again. Right place, right time, as any very good centre is, the Sabres defence, even shorthanded, inexcusably totally MIA in front of their net. Habs take the lead, 2-1.

- Alex Galchenyuk having a remarkable streak, with a totally unsustainable shooting percentage. So eventually there will be a cool down, but still, the transition back to centre, so long overdue, looks fantastic.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Pateryn drops the gloves and holds his own, thereby reinforcing the notion that even starting Mike Brown for one game has been one game too much.

- Victor Bartley, who's only playing because the Habs have been hit so hard by injuries, with a bad tipping penalty because he simply isn't fast or apt enough to check anyone carrying speed. Habs to the PK.

- Habs soft again in front of Condon, as Kane from along the boards beats (was it tipped?) beats Condon, with Gionta and Moulson directly in the face of Condon. More or less a continuation of what has ailed this team since early December - sloppy, dysfunctional defending.

- Brian Gionta given credit for the goal. Relatively easy score, his positioning wasn't being challenged.

- Habs powerplay buzzing, mainly when Galchenyuk is on the ice. Therrien heavily deploying top two lines tonight, pretty big drop-off in ice time between 2nd and 3rd/4th line (right now about 6 minutes).

- 7 minutes left in the 3rd period, possession chart, almost no variation between these two teams tonight. Almost freakishly similar.

- Nice gritty work by the 3rd line, a lot of it being McCarron's ridiculously good puck retrieval  abilities. Basically if he wants he, he's going to get it. Torrey Mitchell hammers home a rebound off Lehner's mask (more soft Sabres defensive coverage), and the Habs re-take the lead 3-2, with now 5 minutes left in the 3rd.

- Subban hurt. It looks like quite badly.

- It looks like Subban ran into/was run into, Emelin's behind as both collided in the corner. Not sure where P.K. was hurt - it looks like his head/neck area?

- Bell Centre utterly quiet. Almost in shock. P.K. hasn't moved since rolling around in agony when the injury first occured.

- Off on a stretcher. This looks horrible. I'm horrified.

- This brings back awful memories of that night nearly 5 years ago when Max Pacioretty had his neck broken. I can't believe this is happening again.

- Habs win, but nobody cares. Not given what's just happened. Thoughts are with P.K.

Game 56: Habs vs. Sabres

FIRST PERIOD:

- Remember all those times this season Sven Andrighetto was a heathy scratch to make way for the corpses of Devante Smith-Pelly and Dale Weise? Yeah. That happened. A lot. Hopefully those days will never happen again, as Andrighetto takes a nice cross-ice pass from Pacioretty and picks the top of the net right under the crossbar. 1-0 Habs early.

- Subban with a hold that sends Patrick Kane bassackwards onto the ice. Yes, a hold, but plenty of embellishment as well. Now Buffalo gets that powerplay, which I said the Habs needed to avoid to improve their chances tonight.

- Legwand scores off a break, Dale Weise, Thomas Fleischmann and Alexei Emelin getting caught up ice badly. Big-time defensive breakdown there pretty much all-around.

- Desharnais, who was 0 powerplay points over the past 33, still remains on the first unit. Also, Tom Gilbert is out there. Deployment issues ... well ... we've talked about it many times before.

- Kane. Another Habs defensive breakdown in their own zone, Markov with soft pass up the boards generates turnover. Sabres are getting badly outplayed offensively, but Habs are making horrible mistakes. 2-1 Sabres.

- Well, what to say? Habs possession was 70+% in that period, the Sabres generating just two measly scoring chances, but Buffalo scored on both. Sabres have no business holding the lead except for the fact the Habs continue to play very sloppy, undisciplined hockey, especially in their own zone, and insist on first trying to bank the puck up the boards to clear the zone, instead of looking to make a fast breakout. It's been burning the team all season long, and it's burning them tonight. Same old story.

SECOND PERIOD:

Habs and Sabres after that period, you can see the separation. Also of note, the "managed" minutes of Markov - he played 8:24 in the period, more than any other on the ice. Sigh.

- Wow. Scrivens. Gorges, yes, Josh Gorges, scores after Scrivens started flopping all over the ice, eventually leaving Gorges a wide open net. Scrivens gets the yank, Condon in.

- LOLz. First chance on Condon goes in. Habs net minding falling apart. Puck misplayed by Condon for about the 8th million time this season, and Habs defensive pair Emelin/Pateryn do poor job covering the slot, and it's 4-1 Buffalo.

- Habs this period look like Habs we've come to know and love the past three months. Utterly incompetent in their own zone. 

- While Desharnais whiffs, Galchenyuk blasts a one-timer past Johnson. Habs now down 4-2. Montreal's powerplay seems to be more willing to do cross ice passing closer to the circle, instead of relying on one-timers only from the line. They seem much more dangerous. 

- Even with the horrendous defensive play, pucks are starting to go in for the Habs, Andrighetto with his 2nd, on a shot that Johnson totally misplayed. Sabres net minding also a huge ? mark tonight. We could have a 6-5, or 7-6 final when all is said and done.

- Fantastic shift by Gallagher halfway through the period, Habs continue to press and dominate offensively, Sabres only ahead because they've literally scored four goals in five scoring chances.

- Sabres defence is pretty soft in their own zone, Habs continue to pour high % scoring attempts on Johnson. Buffalo can't continue this way and hope to hold on to the scoreboard lead.

- Yet another horrible misplay via unforced error, this time it's Galchenyuk with the mistake, and he draws a penalty shot for Foligno, who converts. Habs net minders seem incapable of making many though saves tonight, not to blame them for an otherwise very poor and sloppy performance by most everyone wearing a CH. 5-3.

- Good lord. Galcheyuk. Redemption. A perfect cross ice pass off the powerplay, an almost exact replica from his first goal of the night, and it's 5-4. 

- Wild clash tonight between two teams playing some pretty horrible hockey. Who'll be bad enough to not lose tonight? Stay tuned.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Sabres through 40 minutes, 2nd period not quite so one-sided, but still Sabres hold scoreboard lead. 

- Habs have had a couple of scoring chances, but still not sensing any urgency from this team. This is a game they simply cannot afford to lose, but they're still going though something resembling motions at the moment. 

- Habs hitting posts, pucks loose in the crease off rebounds, Johnson by skill and equal parts luck, keeping the Sabres ahead, only barely.

- Habs totally swarming the Sabres zone and goal, and somehow the puck stays out, while Sabres defence, completely spent, holds on to every red shirt in sight, and don't get penalized.

- Therrien, believe it or not, appears to be shortening the bench with 8 minutes left. No more ice time for the 4th line, some players will be double shifted, I'd reckon Pacioretty and Galchenyuk. 

- It's all Habs right now, time is drawing short, and desperation increasing. Sabres are basically in a mad scramble to keep the puck out. Not sure if they can keep this up for much longer, but against the luck-tough Canadiens, anything is possible.

- Less than 2 minutes left, Condon out. It's now or never.

- And to end the night in the most Habs way possible, puck cleared out to centre is stopped by a linesman not paying attention, turning the puck over to Buffalo, who put it into the open net. Subban furious, is tossed from the game. Habs lose a heartbreaker. Again.

OH, BUFFALO. WHAT WENT WRONG?

Can I admit an error in judgment? Yeah, I know - it isn't much of a stretch to think that I've been wrong over hockey analysis, but boy, did I ever get it wrong when I picked the Sabres as the surprise sneak-in team for the playoffs this year.

Excuse me for explaining, but where did this Sabres team have to anywhere but up? Last season they finished with just 54 points, and were first in line for the top draft pick in the 2015 draft, which they lost, as we all know, the Edmonton McDavid's. Poor Buffalo. Still, they didn't come away with zipp - they did draft the wonderfully talented Jack Eichel, and via trades, brought it big names including Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, bolstered by excellent youth such as Tyler Ennis - this Buffalo team was hardly void of capable NHL players.

Unfortunately, the Sabres season hasn't really panned out the way they hoped it would, perhaps more surprisingly, it's been their offence that's been more to blame. Generating a dismal, 2.27 GPG average, made even worse if you factor in that Buffalo's numbers have been helped by a relatively decent powerplay (ranked 8th overall), and you can see this team can't score at even strength to save a season.

So Buffalo, in the midst of a 4-game losing streak in which they've been outscored 17-8, look towards another high draft pick in 2016, one assuming to select somebody who has the ability to put pucks in the net, while the poor fans south of Niagara Falls suffer though another dismal season.

Not to say it's all cinnamon hearts and roses in Habs land, although the Canadiens are seeking to extend their winning streak to 4 games, an inch even closer to the possibility of getting themselves back into playoff contention. The Habs streak has been sparked by excellent play from Tomas Plekanec and Ben Scrivens, which has helped Montreal overcome the continuing lack of contribution from the team's so-called "2nd line" of David Desharnais, (Sven Andrighetto) Dale Weise and Thomas Fleischmann.

As per usual, the Habs lines tonight are all wrong. But here they are:

Galchenyuk/Plekanec/Gallagher
Pacioretty/Desharnais/Andrighetto
Fleischmann/Eller/Smith-Pelly
Byron/Mitchell/Weise

With Beaulieu apparently (?) injured, Greg Pateryn will draw in, so the Habs D will look like this:

Markov/Subban
Barberio/Gilbert
Emelin/Pateryn

Key for winning tonight for the Habs is pretty simple - don't let Buffalo, who really struggle to score goals, score goals. That means, stay out of the penalty box.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.