Game 74: 'Canes vs. Habs

Carolina 4, Montreal 1:

FIRST PERIOD:

- I happened to see the 'Canes have a pretty good PK this year, 3rd best kill percentage in the League. That's likely because Carolina has for the most part, stayed out of the box this season. Just 311 shorthanded minutes, just a shade under 5 per 60 minutes.

- Quite the start for Galchenyuk. Two brilliant scoring chances early (and still counting). Seems rather determined to make a statement tonight.

- A lot of "controversy" yesterday over Galchenyuk's switch to the wing, but it's hard to argue with the results, as Shaw feeds AK27 who roofs it past Ward. 1-0 Habs. Galchenyuk skating like a man possessed.

- Still not a fan of the 4th line, but anything is better without Ott and King in the lineup.

- Jordie Benn, sneaky physical because he hits smart, following through on his checks only if they don't compromise his defensive responsibilities. Which someone else on the Habs blue line tonight could follow this example.

- And of course, Emelin makes a bad "physical" play, losing his stick, and taclking anybody with a white shirt in front of Price, and easy interference call for the refs. Sigh.

- And of course, the 'Canes convert on the powerplay, because of this stupid penalty by you-know-who:

2 minutes for rugby pic.twitter.com/cb3QdtQRQa

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 24, 2017

- Yes, it's been a good period for the Shaw line, but it's just one period. The fundamental premise that the Habs could have a ghost of a chance in the playoffs with Danault and Plekanec as the 1-2 centres is absurd.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Good outing for Davidson so far tonight, certainly above Emelin's replacement level.

- Brendan Gallagher has been rounding into the form we've come to expect the past 6 weeks, and while Tuesday was a bit of a regression, he's been crashing the 'Canes net hard tonight. Others on the Habs might care to follow this example, because other than Gallagher, Cam Ward has had a pretty easy night.

- At some point, Julien is going to have to settle on this 4th line, because the current merry-go-round can't continue. Martinsen has played well tonight, certainly much better than anything we saw from either King or Ott, both of whom have played so poorly as to be placeholders. Moving forward, it's hard to see how the Habs could do much better than Martinsen/McCarron and Mitchell on that line. Something's got to solidify before the start of the playoffs.

- If you blinked you have might have missed the Danault line tonight. This is the newly reformed line, of course, with Galchenyuk bumped down to play on the wing.

- Given the merger shot attempts by the Habs so far tonight, and I'm just puttin' this out there, Julien might want to try Galchenyuk between Radulov and Pacioretty again?

- After more or less skating in a daze for the first 12 minutes of this period, Habs have gradually overtaken this game. Key has been zone entries - Habs seem to have finally discovered the 'Canes don'e like to stack their blue line.

- Byron drives Ward and nearly scores. The 'Canes defence isn't fleet afoot - they can be beaten if there's enough speed generated through the neutral zone. The open ice is there. Opportunities are there.

- Ouch. Elemlin can't handle a loose puck during a broken 'Canes zone entry, but fear not, he still finds a way of setting Carolina up nice, in this case it's Stempniak, who beats Price blocker side with a backhander, and all that momentum is for naught, 'Canes take a late 2-1 lead.

- Same old, same old. Margins for error are thin in the NHL, meaning if you have somebody consistently making bad plays, you're going to get burned, and your chances of winning are going to be significantly impaired. Once again it's Emelin who makes the bad play, once again costing his team a goal, once again putting the opponents ahead on the scoreboard, once again calling into question Julien's insistence that he be played, once again making Habs fans around the world slightly more insane with frustration.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs had the pedal to the metal last half of that 2nd period, but Emelin's flub made their work all moot:

- Right on pattern with their usual pattern of behaviour, 'Canes have stayed out of the box tonight. They might not have a deep lineup, but they're disciplined.

- Stempniak strikes again, as the Habs Danault line, which has not played well tonight, are far too passive letting Carolina gain the zone, while Davidson takes a bad fall helping the 'Canes to get some insurance.

- Danault line has shown some sparks of interest tonight, but for the most part, they've been a write-off. Habs will need to start taking chances if they hope to salvage an otherwise utterly forgettable night.

- Derek Ryan has had quite a night for Carolina at both ends of the ice. Biggest contribution has been shot blocking, and generally screwing up the Habs attempts to set up scoring opportunities.

- If Danault hasn't been doing Pacioretty and Radulov any favours tonight, then it must also be noted that Tomas Plekanec hasn't been helping either Lehkonen or Gallagher either.

- Wowzers, Habs get a powerplay. A must convert, I'd reckon.

- Julien has Shaw up the middle first unit powerplay, which is a mysterious decision. However, Gallagher gets some powerplay time, something we haven't seen in awhile. Anyway, same old - Habs can't gain the zone cleanly, come away with nothing.

- Habs have one powerplay goal in March. You may not have noticed since for the most part, it's been a good month in the win column, but that man advantage unit is a mess.

- Not enough traffic in front of Cam Ward tonight. Too many clean looks at almost all of Montreal's shots tonight.

- This game should serve, at the very least, severe notice that there's no way this hockey team can reasonably compete with Tomas Plekanec as a top-6 centre.

- Well, credit the 'Canes who played a very good road game tonight for grinding out the win - a reminder that this is a pretty good non-playoff team which hasn't lost in regulation in nearly 3 weeks. All-around disappointing effort by the Habs - the Danault line was largely invisible, Tomas Plekanec's contribution was close to nil, nullifying strong individuals efforts by Gallagher and Lehkonen, while Emelin played his usual negative role, taking a dumb penalty that led to Carolina's first goal on the powerplay, then fumbling the puck which laid out the red carpet for the game winner. A write-off night is a shame given the Canadiens had the opportunity of padding their lead in the Division. Now the gate is ajar for the Sens to get back into the race.


GAMEDAY PREVIEW - POINT FORM EDITION:

The Habs can take another big step towards clinching the Atlantic Division tonight as they host the Carolina Hurricanes at the Bell Centre. To celebrate that I'm too busy to find a goofball picture to head my mediocre postings, I'm going to just point form a game preview.

- Habs lineup switcherros: Here's who's in tonight: McCarron, Martinsen, Davidson. Here's who's out tonight: Beaulieu, Ott, King.

- "Oh, God. Not again?", is what your response might be to sitting Beaulieu while playing Emelin in light of last week's debacle versus the Black Hawks. Coach Claude Julien sez simmer down, guys:

Julien confirms Price in net. As for Beaulieu being scratched: "it's just part of the rotation, simple as that" the coach said #Habs

— Kyle Bukauskas (@SNkylebukauskas) March 23, 2017

- So what's happening with Alex Galchenyuk? Yesterday being an off day, and being an off day in Montreal, the fans get bored and for funz make a whole lotta something outta nothing - in this case, the announcement by Julien that Galchenyuk would be moved to the wing. Yes, Galchenyuk had a pretty rotten game against the Wings on Tuesday night, and yes, he's been held pointless his last three starts. But in the previous 12 games (marking the start of the Julien tenure) Galchenyuk racked up an impressive 11 points. Which is to say, his production levels, save the past week, have been well above average.

- So what's happening with Carey Price? After being rested Tuesday night, Price skipped practice yesterday to deal with what Julien called a "very minor" injury. Today, Price was announced as tonight's starting goaltender.

- Habs starting lineup:

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

Weber/Markov
Petry/Emelin
Davidson/Benn

- Now, Carolina. The 'Canes have been on a nice little streak of late - they're undefeated in regulation the past 8 games, which has helped vault them up towards a weaker 1st round draft pick. The 'Canes, who haven't won in Montreal in 5 years.

- Hot 'Canes hands are Jeff Skinner and Elias Lindholm, while Paul Bryon and Artturi Lehkonen, while not necessarily racking up big point totals of late, represent the Canadiens' best playing forwards at the moment.

- Carolina's lineup tonight? Something like this:

McGinn/Staal/Teravainen
Aho/Lindholm/di Giuseppe
Skinner/Ryan/Stempniak
Hordstrom/Rask/Brown

Faulk/Fanifin
Slavin/Murphy
Pese/Dahlbeck

- Starting goaltenders, the aforementioned Price (2.26/.923) vs. Cam Ward (2.72/.904).

- Non-game-related note: Habs announced Paul Byron as the team's candidate for this year's Bill Masterton trophy. Considering that Byron, who scored his 20th goal of of this season this past weekend, was essentially NHL jetsam just over a year ago, it's a pretty good nomination.

- Puck drops tonight at 7:40, EST.

Game 18: Habs vs. Canes

Carolina 3, Montreal 2:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Hudon in the lineup!!! Good news. Andrighetto out. Hmm ... not so good news. Desharnais in. Yeah, what can ya do?

- Fast paced start to the game, very few whistles. Could be fun to watch.

- Wow, Jeff Skinner. Did everything right, putting Montoya on his belly (tsk, bad form), but somehow failed to flip the puck into the empty net. 

- Puck luck is not strong with this 'Canes team - 24th overall PDO, mainly because of below average shooting percentage, and sub-par goaltending. 

- Definite Weber weakness, he's slow on his feet, and gets nailed for slash because he fails to reach quickly enough to Lindholm driving the net. 

- Carolina has defect powerplay, 12th ranked this season, but you wouldn't know that from that first man advantage. Habs doing pretty decent job containing Canes in the D zone - passing lanes to high danger zones have been well protected. 

- Gallagher does not look like a confident player right now - definitely goal weary, it being nearly a month (October 24th) since he last scored a goal. He'll need to get something greasy to break this drought. 

- Markov now with Weber. Not sure why of the shakeup. Possibly an injury or benching (Pateryn?)

- Pretty even period of hockey, both teams not really putting together very many good scoring opportunities - 'Canes with a couple, Habs were pretty passive. Pretty good period for the Galchenyuk line - they had some very strong shifts. Not such a great period for the Danault line - they struggled to gain puck possession. 

SECOND PERIOD:

- That opening period, which had a sprite start, really ground itself down as the 20 minutes progressed. Scoring chances were pretty limited:

- Habs first powerplay, they buzzed Cam Ward, but couldn't finish - in particular Beaulieu, who somehow missed scoring from 10 feet away with the top half of the net basically free for the picking. He's struggling, and Gallagher is struggling. These funks are clearly getting in the heads of both players.

- Greg Pateryn, unless he's hurt and his time is being limited, seems to have arrived in Therrien's doghouse. Joel Henley, start warming up your skates. You might be going back in tomorrow night.

- A Habs team with a Gallagher and Max Pacioretty producing points is a very hard team to beat. A Habs team with those two producing almost 0 points is very hard not to beat.

- Hudon hasn't had many opportunities tonight, but he just had a very good shift, including a very hard wrist shot on his off wing that tested Cam Ward. At least the kid is producing some scoring chances. Others on his team are failing even that bar pretty miserably tonight.

- Habs continues their strong play - in their own zone. 34 minutes into the game, 'Canes have just 6 shots on Montoya. Canadiens doing very good job shot blocking and covering the passing lanes.

- Controvery. Petry scores into essentially empty net after Daniel Carr runs into Ward, with Ward falling on his back. Replay shows that Carr was hit into Ward, although was it hard enough?? Close call:

Ward not happy with the Petry goal after the contact. If the goal stands Hudon picks up an assist. pic.twitter.com/Es3UrGtXs6

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 19, 2016

- Good goal, says NHL control in Toronto. Habs take 1-0 lead. Hudon (!!!) picks up an assist. 

- Looks like Pateryn getting very minimal shifts. Weber paired with Beaulieu, as Therrien switching pairs up to even out ice time to his defence with Pateryn stapled to the bench.

- Andrei Markov, par excellence tonight. 

- Pretty Habs dominated 2nd period - excellent defensively, and while the offence isn't exactly running on all cylinders, they did manage to crank out a goal. Just 4 shots for the 'Canes in that period, Habs lead 21-8 all. That's pretty one-sided.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs pretty good effort tonight, CF (SA 5v5) over 60% through 40 minutes. The Galchenyuk line has been excellent, with Alex a 85.7%, Gallagher 84.2%. Better than excellent. That's outstanding.

- Definitely better start for Canes in this 3rd period, and they tie the game with Hainsey a wrist shot that goes off Skinner's foot. Sure looked like a kicking motion to me, but it's ruled a good goal. Tie game.

- Not sure if it's Carolina making a push, or Habs not showing up for the period, or a combination of the two, but 'Canes dominating first 5 minutes of this 3rd period. Most of the play has been entirely in Habs zone.

- Habs with a little pushback here, which isn't a big surprise. That it came from the Mitchell line, is. 

- It's all coming undone for the Habs, here. Replay of their first goal, Hainsey a point wrist shot, crazy skill deflection past Montoya, this time it's Teravainen with an incredible deflect, and it's 2-1.

- Tres implosión, Rask a very simple wrister that Montoya totally muffs, and in the span of less than 5 minutes, Carolina scores 3. 

- Therrien, realizing these are not good times requiring urgent measures, finally caves and puts out a superfine - Galchenyuk/Gallagher/Pacioretty. They come within 2 inches of scoring. Gotta roll the dice, at this point.

- Obviously Habs were due for a correction - three losses in a row is a sure sign this team has begun its return to earth, not to mention with it, the puck luck. Tonight Carolina reaping that benefit.

- Now Therrien pairing Pacioretty with ... ugh ... Desharnais. Yup. He never learns. 

- Another hard wrist shot by Hudon off the wing - Ward forced to make another good glove save. 

- Habs make it interesting, Markov shot deflected by Shaw to make it 3-2. More than 4 minutes left. Plenty of time.

- Habs pouring it on. Gallagher hits the goalpost (unbelievable), Ward with a sparkling desperation save off Markov, who's been outstanding tonight. Hang on to your hats.

- Habs pushing incredibly hard for the tie, all ended with an absolutely brutal hooking call on Shaw to end the game.

- Stop me if you don't want to think about last year, but Habs dominate puck possession, shots, zone play, have to incredibly fluky goals scored against them, one bad goal let in, and lose the game. Nightmares? I'm having them already.

HABS - 'CANES GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW

Don't look now, but the Montreal Canadiens are in some injury trouble. They've been without Brian Flynn for a week, which no offence to Brian or the Flynn family, isn't a very big deal when you're talking about someone that barely cracks the 4th line of an average NHL team. Since then, however, the Habs have had to add a few more names to the sick and wounded ledger, including Alexander Radulov, who's out again tonight from the flu (thanks, Carey), and of course, Artturi Lehkonen, who's been on injury reserve with an upper body injury, and isn't expected back until at least next week, at the earliest.

So with all of these missing bodies, the Habs lineup will look tonight much like it did Tuesday night in an overtime loss to the Florida Panthers:

Bryon/Galchenyuk/Gallagher

Pacioretty/Danault/Shaw

Desharnais/Plekanec/Terry

Carr/Mitchell/Andrighetto

Weber/Emelin

Markov/Petry

Beaulieu/Pateryn

Al Montoya.

Now, I don't want to make a huge deal out of this, but with Radulov, Lehkonen and Flynn unable to play, this seems like a perfect opportunity to give Charles Hudon, who was leading the AHL in scoring before his call up a couple of days ago, the perfect opportunity to slot at the expenses of say, Desharnais or Chris Terry. Hudon, however, will have to sit and wait and hope that his number somehow comes up, so that he might once and for all prove he's ready for the big club.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the rink, the 'Canes will stack up like this tonight:

Skinner/Rask/Lindholm

Teravainen/Staal/Aho

Stempniak/Ryan/McGinn

Nordstrom/McClement/Stalberg

Hainsey/Faulk

Slavin/Pesce

Hanifin/Tennyson

Cam Ward.

Carolina made some unfortunate news this week, specifically forward Bryan Bickell, when it was revealed that Bickell had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and is now on long-term IR. 

Otherwise, the 'Canes are currently on a 2 game wining streak, both impressive victories over good teams, the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals. So like Tuesday night struggle against the Panthers, the Habs might have their hands full against Carolina.

Carolina players to keep an eye on: Cam Ward, who did post a nifty 1-0 shutout against the Sharks Tuesday night, hasn't exactly stormed out of the gate this year between the pipes - mustering up a 4-4-3 record with a 2.51/.908 split, which amongst goalies that have had at least 10 starts this season, ranks Ward 15th/19th out of 30 in the NHL. Ward is, as he has always been, reliably mediocre. If Ward is off his mark tonight, it could give the Habs a window of opportunity.

The other Carolina factor is their speedy second line consisting of Jordan Stall, Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. Stall, in particular, is having an excellent season, posting a team-high (and nearly League high) 5v5 CF of 65.8%, which is the best of career. The Staal line, in combination with the Rask line, should give the Canadiens defence and their starting goaltender Al Montoya, plenty of headaches to deal with tonight.

Puck drops tonight at 7:40 EST.

HE'S BAAAAAAACK. FINALLY. 

I mean, com'on. This was long, long overdue.



GOD BLESS YOU KIRK MULLER FOR EVEN JUST TRYING



I still say he's auditioning for the top bench job. Keep working on it, Kirk!!

Meanwhile, in case you were pining for the good ol' days of the 2015-16 season, we have good news for you from Tuesday night's game!

Mmmmm yeah .... that's the stuff. Give me more of that sweet, sweet David Desharnais top line deployment. I can almost see that Cup presentation.

Game 54: 'Canes vs. Habs

OVERTIME: 

- As always, we watch with bated breath whether Therrien makes a stupid deployment mistake in the extra frame.

- Cam Ward robs Eller who, yet again, has been excellent today.

- Therrien sends out Gilbert. Yup.

- Wildly entertaining OT, Ward with some magnificent saves. He's robbed the Habd an extra point. Subban doing absolutely everything he can out there, an heroic effort by both players in OT.

- Too fancy Galchenyuk.

- Nash. Bzzzzt.

- Flynn? Huh?!? Oh gawd. Therrien.

- Both goaltenders on, even in the shootout. Sudden death now. 

- Lars Eller. Pretty meek. And Skinner is stopped. Scrivens has been remarkable. 

- Andrighetto!!!!!!

- Stalllllll ... Nope!! Habs win! HABS WIN! Second straight victory in nearly three months. Scrivens was awesome. Great game all around.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Very tight and conservative by Habs offence first 5 minutes of the period - this team is so afraid of losing that they can't win - or at least, score to win,

- Really maddening to watch the weeks drag by which Galcheyuk being so hampered being stuck on the wing. How this current coaching staff can't see or understand how critical it is that he play centre is really quite unforgivable. He's definitely been hampered today.

- 'Canes play such a structured game - this team unlike any other in the NHL, maximizes their talent pool to full potential. Which is the exact opposite of the club they're facing today.

- Cam Ward excellent today, although the  Habs haven't done a particularly good job creating traffic in front.

- Therrien needs to shorten his bench at

this point in the game. That means no more shifts for the utterly useless 4th line.

- Scrivens again delivering the goods today. He'll almost certainly get the next start. The position of Price's replacement has slowly become his to lose.

- Therrien still giving 4th line regular shifts. With less than 10 minutes left, that's another deployment mistake.

- Late Habs powerplay aside, 'Canes really owned the last half of the 3rd period, but Scrivens came up huge to earn the Habs at least 1 point in the standings. Exceptionally strong performances by both goaltenders. Carolina by far more structured and disciplined team today, but undone by some bad puck luck. Off to OT.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and 'Canes after one period, Habs CF (5v5 adjusted) 55.6%:

FIRST PERIOD:

- An unbelievably poor shift by the Habs 4th line, Mitchell/Flynn/Smith-Pelly, failing to make even the simplest zone clearance, and the 'Canes strike first and early. Atrocious and inexcusably bad hockey by that unit, which has been pretty terrible for three straight months running.

- Was I naive to think the Habs would have a little bounce in their step after yesterday's big win? Apparently so. Habs getting totally out skated first half of the period.

- Still inexcusable for Emelin to be getting any starts. Yesterday his performance was poor masked by very good goaltending by Scrivens, and today he's off to another stumbling start.

- Tired 'Canes unit ices the puck, good opportunity to apply zone pressure, and Therrien sends out the 4th line. I guess he wasn't paying attention.

- Habs really benefiting from some huge puck luck, as the 'Canes literally miss three wide open nets within the span of 20 seconds on the powerplay. Pacioretty and Plekanec doing a poor job cleaning the zone.

- Eller line easily the Habs best so far, Andrighetto doing excellent work attacking the puck, generating shot attempts.

- Scrivens holding his team in this game, while the 'Canes continue to enjoy favourable officiating. Habs denied at least 3 powerplays in the period.

- Habs play a pretty conservative period, which is mystifying. Strictly dump-and-chase strategies, while the 'Canes had a slight puck possession advantage. Pretty close to a draw, but Carolina clearly the team with more energy in that first period. Habs need to intensify their forecheck from this point forward, we saw a bit of that by the Eller line, but not much from anyone else.

Game 28: Habs vs. 'Canes

THIRD PERIOD:

- Condon with terrible giveaway, but he's clearly interfered with as the puck bounces around in the crease. This should be waived.

- After a two hour review, goal and call is waived. It's ridiculous. Stall clearly interfered Condon, it should have taken a minute to review and make the ruling. The League's goal review process is a joke.

- Anyway, Condon might be the worst puck handling goaltender in the League, ironic since the Habs normal starter is heads above anyone, the best.

- Emelin with a poor night - often leaving the crease completely unprotected, which has generated some crazy good scoring chances for Carolina. Why Therrien continues to play him over Pateryn is another coaching mystery.

- Desharnais-Paciorety isn't working (but we knew that would be the case), as is Plekanec-Byron. Somebody needs to do an intervention.

- Incredible holding call on Subban over a puck battle, since he was being held just as much. Carolina's dangerous looking powerplay back to work.

- Two shots within 5 seconds beat Condon, but hit the post. Canes should justly have the lead, if not for bad luck.

- Condon just plain fighting everything coming at him. Looks like a totally different goaltender than what we saw earlier in the year.

- Eric Stall. Crazy how much this guy can't finish. Condon with a desperate behind the back glove save to keep the game somehow tied.

- Dumb trip by Gilbert on Stall. Oh. Habs their own worst enemy tonight.

- Canes powerplay strikes, Skinner cashes in off a juicy Condon rebound. Specialty teams and goaltending the difference makers tonight.

- Wow how bout that. Pacioretty off the Desharnais line. Weise in his place. Their first shift, Ward has to make three excellent saves.

- Less than 5 minutes left, down a goal, after great shift by the "new" old Desharnais line, Therrien sends out the 4th line. Momentum is immediately surrendered.

- Now Eller is with Plekanec. The blender line routine contines. Stall now called for delay of game, Habs suddenly dysfunctional powerplay one last chance to pull this game out of the fire.

- Can't find any sort of puck control in the Canes zone. Habs powerplay gone from dysfunctional to terrible now.

- Therrien doesn't pull Condon until most of the powerplay goes past the board. More incompetent strategic decision making.

-  Not a single shot registered on that powerplay. Habs lose to the last place Hurricanes. Specialty unit incompetence, line deployment incompetence and another iffy start by Condon, in combination with a very fine effort by Carilona sends Habs to their second straight loss.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Canes through 20 minutes:































- Hey, ho. Max Pacioretty in on the bench. Breath easy.

- Habs 4th line looks like it's buzzing. Arguably the best offensive unit for the Habs tonight, which is almost certainly a bad thing.

- Subban just one goal this year. Setting up on the opposite wing has definitely hurt him. Also think he's somehow lost some velocity, for whatever reason.

- Habs powerplay slipping back into old habits. Zone entries are fine, but passing and setups are getting sloppy. The unit is lacking focus.

- If the Habs do find a way of losing tonight, pretty sure one pointing finger can be shown towards specialty units. Carolina is at/near the bottom with their powerplay and PK, yet they've scored with the man advantage and have been perfect shorthanded.

- One big beef with Condon - he tends to flop, either on his side or on his belly, when he doesn't need to. It takes him out of the play, and severely limits his ability to cover loose pucks.

- Nice play by Petry off the faceoff to carry the puck deep off the draw, perfect pass to Andrighetto to give the Habs the lead again. Petry firmly establishing himself as a top-2 defenseman on this team.

- Condon coughs up a juicy rebound off a backhander, Markstrom with a nice effort to score his first in more than a year.

- Condon really fighting the puck. At some point, Therrien will have to start Tokarski. I don't think Condon is able to maintain this workload.

- Plekanec line gets caught on ice, Canes nearly concert off their exhaustion. Poor execution.

- Phantom high stick penalty on Desharnais. Refs attempting to even up the penalty minutes.

- Canes have very good puck movement, but they lack finish. It's a team-wide problem, seemingly. There's no real cure for that kind of ailment.

- Pretty even period, which is great news for the home team, and underscores the lacking effort by the visitors. This is anyone's game - it will probably come down to goaltending, which given what we've seen tonight, probably favours Carolina.


FIRST PERIOD:

- Smith-Pelly gets the scratch, and Daniel Carr his very first NHL start: So here are the Habs lines for tonight:

1: Pacioretty/Desharnais/Weise
2: Eller/Galchenyuk/Andrighetto
3: Fleischmann/Plekanec/Byron
4: Carr/Flynn/Thomas

- That's amazing. Daniel Carr, his first NHL shift, first shot, and he scores. I'm thinking only a very small handful of players have that accomplishment.

- #67 is flying tonight. Safe to say Max Pacioretty is due for a bushel of goals. Tonight's as good a night as any to get that started, although his current centre isn't helping much.

- That said, Galchenyuk has been his extra-speedy, intense-self so far tonight. Habs in general pretty impressive speed tonight.

- So far, so good with Carolina's specialty units. First PK kept Habs in check, first powerplay generates a goal just as it expires, as Petry makes a poor checking attempt around his net, Flynn is caught flat-footed checking his assignment, and Condon bites on a deke. Series of basic unforced errors means this game is tied.

- Therrien's move of putting Pacioretty with Desharnais really paying off. Dale Weise just high sticked him in the eye.

- Habs were in firm control of this game until the Eller penalty. 'Canes scored, and have now largely taken over momentum and puck possession.

- Tale of two periods divided in half. Habs were in clear control until Eller was penalized - from the point forward, the Hurricanes took over game possession tempo. If I didn't make it clear enough in my pregame post, Carolina can and should be defeated via specialty units, not in spite of them. Somehow, the Habs were unable to follow the trend.




GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW: HABS TAKE ON HARD LUCK HURRICANES

Hey, Eddie Lack. Why so down? You're no longer stuck in Vancouver playing for a going-nowhere-fast hockey organization. You should be happy! You're in Carolina, where, granted, the team you play for has about 35 fans in state consisting of about 80 people who've actually heard about hockey. On the bright side, you're playing in a part of the world that couldn't give two figs about the game, much less riot in defeat.

Oh, who am I kidding. It's been a tough, really tough season for the Hurricanes. They've been a statistical enigma, putting up numbers with the best of the League, but somehow finding themselves mired near the bottom of the standings in the east.

Carolina is approaching the game the way it's supposed to be done if you want to win. One-third through the regular season, the 'Canes have put together a respectable even-strength CF% of 54.8%, which is the League's 3rd best total, and, believe it or not, the very best percentage in the Eastern Conference.

So if you're the best possession team in your entire conference, why would you be struggling so much as the 'Canes have this season, with just 8 wins in 25 games?

Fundamentally, while Carolina is a good puck possession team, the 'Canes biggest failing has been its speciality units. A powerplay percentage of just 12.2%, the worst in the League, and perhaps most impactful, a penalty killing unit that clocks in at just 74.6%. That means, on any given night, the 'Canes are usually surrendering at least one, and usually two powerplay goals per game. That, combined with an anemic offence that does "ok" in generating shot attempts, still possesses a woeful shooting percentage, at 5.44%

This means the 'Canes are not very matchups against teams with strong speciality units - teams like the Habs.

Which means, logic be considered, tonight's game really ought not be much of a contest.

Puck drops @ 7:10 EST. Mike Condon vs. (Saskatoon's!!!) Cam Ward.

Game Thirty-Two: 'Canes vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs get a powerplay, looking for game killer goal, proceed to just shoot puck around harmlessly in Canes zone, not play Subban for a single second, not record a SOG. That could haunt us later.

- That's the problem with having almost nothing to do for 50 minutes if you're the goaltender. You let a softie in, this time a relatively harmless shot by Rask that totally handcuffs Price. It ain't over. 2-1.

- Canes finding legs here, Habs defense far too indifferent about slot protection. Time to get really nervous.

- Subban was beaten to the pucks a couple of times tonight, leading to nothing. Therrien however, has seen fit to bench him. Net effect? Canes score, gain momentum, Habs on their heels. Just brilliant.

- Now Price bailing out his team, robbing Hainsey from point blank. Crazy that the Habs are now hanging on for dear life.

- Carolina narrowing in for the tie. Habs really need to call a timeout. Stop the momentum bleed.

- Terrible neutral zone turnover by the 'Canes. Galchenyuk on a break. It's almost automatic when he's alone. 3-1. We breath. Relief.

- Galchenyuk with his first career hat trick. Pacioretty, who we spent weeks begging to be taken off the Desharnais line to play next to Galley, has 3 assists tonight. 

- Habs found a way of making a game that shouldn't have been close, really close. At least until the Galchenyuk show began. The Canes were easy pickings. Thursday night will be a whole different story.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Two kinda very really borderline penalties called 20 seconds apart. By the same official, of course.

- Hoo boy. Even worse tripping call on Gallagher. Amateur hour here.

- Habs may have been led to believe that only one period was needs to be played. Just about the entire lineup going through the motions right now. Better be careful, boys. No way your opponent should even be sniffing at a win tonight.

- As pretty as they come. Markov, Pacioretty to Galchenyuk. 2-0. Canes defense on a swivel not knowing which way is left or right.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Can't say I've ever seen a barbershop quarter sing the athems before. Let us never see or speak of this again.

- Weiss with Plekanec. There goes playing the same lineup. Red hot Andrighetto gets slapped down to 4th line duties.

- Beaulieu's command of the puck is so much better than even the 40 year old guy that sits down the bench from him. Really shouldn't be third string defenseman.

- 4 on 2, bare minimum you gotta get a shot on goal. Habs find a way not to.

- Pretty terrible defending by the Canes, Desharanis once again doesn't shoot and hooks Ward way out of his crease, leaving Prust with a wide open net. That's a last place goal given up by Carolina. 1-0.

- Not sure if it's just this period or just who they normally are, but this Carolina offense is totally without flow or coherence. Price hasn't had anything resembling a challenging shot so far.

- Decent Powerplay, the Habs allowed to move the puck and shoot from s variety of directions, still can put it past someone like Ward. Nonetheless it was a pretty awful period for the visitors who should count their blessings they're only down 1-0.

GAMEDAY GOO  EDITION:

So about Friday night. Not pretty. Except for the winning part. And that the other goalie had trouble stopping, you know, the puck. Otherwise, it was the same old same old that we've had for the past two years. Toss together four lines, send them out there, and let Carey Price do all the work = profit!

So we stole one against the defending champs. These things happen sometimes. When I mean sometimes, I mean, hardly ever. But it's two points, and it keeps the Habs within comfortable distance from not being in the playoffs. Which I think they probably will end up anyway, at least as long as they continue with this insane "system" of just having the goaltender make all of the difference.

So tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes roll into town. Remember how last week how our collective tongues were slobbering in anticipation of two weekend games against the lowly Buffalo Sabres, and then we went out and lost not one, but both games to those lowly Buffalo Sabres?? Good times, good times. Tonight, we're once again salivating at the chops in anticipation of Carolina, because they're last in the NHL with a meager 19 points, which is - and this is true, no better than Edmonton. So ... that's bad.

Carolina has another similarity to Edmonton - they've really messed things up behind the bench. Last year the 'Caines turfed (incorrectly) Kirk Muller because, I guess, upper upper management  figured they were a playoff team. Well, like the Oilers, who recently (incorrectly) ash-canned their bench boss, they weren't and they aren't.

So what's the deal with Carolina? Well, if you look at their offense, it's pretty yuck. Rated 3rd worst in the League. But even teams with lowly offenses can muster together a reasonably competitive team, as long as they have a good defense. In that department, Carolina is actually pretty decent. They've surrendered an average of 27.7 shots/game this season, which is 5th best in the NHL. Yet, they're stuck on just 8 piddly wins in 29 games.

What gives? Well, it's pretty much their goaltending. It's been ... uh ... not good.  The netminding duties have been a 2/1 split between Cam Ward and backup Anton Khudobin, with the former mustering just a .909 SV%, the later an .892. So Ward is their main guy, and in case you're wondering, his stats among goalies who've played 20+ games ranks him 6th worst in the League, while Khudobin's .896 ranks him 43/48th among goaltenders who've played a minimum 9 games.

So while the 'Canes do a reasonable job limiting the number of pucks directed towards their goaltedners, the guys in charge of making the saves simply haven't delivered. That's not exactly good news for a team that's going to face somebody like Carey Price, who'll start for the Habs tonight.

Lineup wise, here's how it breaks down. For Carolina:

Line 1: Gerbe/E. Stall/Dwyer
Line 2: Skinner/Rask/Lindholm
Line 3: Malone/J. Stall/Shugg
Line 4: Boychuck/Nash/Terry

For the Habs, it's the same lineup tonight as Friday, including defense. Mike Weaver, by the way, was added to the injury reserve list today, which means he's out for an indefinite period of time.

If the Habs have any shame, this shouldn't be a particularly difficult game to win tonight. Not against the 'Canes, not on four days rest.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game Fifty-Nine: Habs vs. 'Canes

Second Period:

- Pretty dismal sloppy start to the second period by both teams. Lots of poor passing generating turnovers. 

- First goal, Ruutu creating the perfect screen on Price on point shot - Habs defense yet again indifferent about opposing forwards in the crease, and this time in burns them.

- Subban was at least near Ruutu, his partner was literally off in the corner, for some reason. Yes, it was Doug Murray.

- Habs had 54% Fenwick after 20 minutes. With shots on goal this period now 8-2 Carolina, that advantage is almost certainly gone. Miserable period for Montreal.

- Habs accumulative Fenwick now barely north of 40%, which means they're probably around 73% in the second. That's how bad the Habs have been.

- Eller quite simply has lost his game. It's just totally, totally lost - and I'm not sure what can possibly be done to salvage it.

- Carolina running away with this. Habs just chasing, chasing. Fruitlessly, chasing.

- Signing off now - but the way Habs are playing, I fully expect the final score to be at least a 2 or 3 goal margin for Carolina. No contest tonight.

First Period:

- So Bouillon gets a start tonight, 7 defense dressed, for reasons that are of compete mystery to yours truly. I guess to keep Frankie from completely rusting up.

- Sums up their seasons. Bourque with empty net wraparound on the backhand, but fails to deposit the puck in because Lars Eller is standing in the way. 

- More reasons why Ryan White's value is vastly undervalued. His work on that (and others) PK.

- Oy. Pacioretty hits the Canes net hard, looks to have sustained a serious injury. Has left the game.

- Ergo the folly starting 7 defense. If a forward goes down, especially a leading one, is hurt, then you've lost an entire line.

- Weise it appears, will take Pacioretty's spot on the DD line. Habs don't have any room to maneuver.

- meek period all around. Canadiens though, are more concerned with Pacioretty's injury status. Without him, this offensively starved hockey team will be doubly affected. 

================================================================

Game Day Yay:

Last game before the Olympic Break. I'll be covering this game. The first half, give or take. Then like the rest of the NHL, I'M OUT.

Habs look to pad their playoff lead tonight. They really ought win this game, but you know ... the Habs ...

Puck drops at 6:10 EST. LAST GAME FOR LIKE ALMOST EVER. So watch it.

Game Fifty-Three: 'Canes vs. Habs

The Problem: 2013-14 Edition

Yeah, we've battered on endlessly this year about how badly this team has been coached by Michel Therrien, and how the only hopes the Habs have left to salvage what is turning out to be a lost season would be to find a bench replacement as quickly as possible. So that story hasn't changed. What hasn't been explored enough, though, are the essential problems with the Habs on the ice.

While a considerable amount of focus has been on the Habs offense, or woeful lack thereof since November, I think that's been a misguided criticism of this team. The fundamental on-ice problem for the Canadiens this year hasn't been the lack of consistent production amongst its forwards, it's been the wretched collective performance by its blue line.

Let's look at goal differential rankings amongst the 203 NHL defensemen. Keep that 203 number in mind. It's important.

103: Josh Gorges: 0.50

Wow. Gorges isn't doing very well. He's barely in the top half of the League. Actually, he's exactly at the top/bottom half. But guess what, folks? He's the Habs top rated defensemen in goal differential. Sitting at 103rd position. Now hold on to your hats:

108: Andrei Markov: .492
143: P.K. Subban: .462
171: Raphael Diaz: .424
200: Alexei Emelin: .344
203: Francis Bouillon: .324
205: Douglas Murray: .191

That's ... terrible. As a collective group, those are just terrible, terrible numbers. Murray at .191, is the 2nd worst in the NHL for his position, and 3rd worst among all players. And yet, somehow, Habs management considers him a valuable component to the team's defense, bear witness to Therrien's post-practice comments about Murray yesterday in which he heaped praise on someone who is obviously incompetent.

The woeful blue line performances, while unquestionably the team's greatest on-ice issue, are merely a reflection of the fundamental issue this team is dealing with. Its decision makers have seemingly no idea of what is going on. They don't seem to know who's playing well (Bournival getting minimal time), or more importantly, no idea on who's performing very, very poorly.

This team, right now, is a lost cause.


Montreal 3, Carolina 0
Okay, let's break down the blue line numbers tonight. Corsi:

Murray 7-19, Beaulieu 7-19, Gorges 9-26, Emelin 20-16, Subban 10-22, Markov 21-16.

Those are not good numbers. Actually, they're borderline terrible. Murray, as usual, put up poor figures, which dragged down his partner, Beaulieu. Emelin and Markov seemed to click last night, although that's largely been the exception over the year, rather than the rule.

Gorges continues, as usual this season, to underwhelm. Maybe Josh should focus less time on buttering up his head coach, and more time focusing on his game performance.

Others (good and bad):

Prust (-11), Eller/Bourque (-9), Gallagher (+0), Bournival (+3).

So the game time observations are solidified by advanced stats - the Habs defense wasn't particularly any better than it's been the past two months (arguably just as bad), while the offense put up some medicore numbers. The kids though, played well - which for most teams would be very good news, but not this Habs team, simply because its coach has an established tendency to wrap the young players on a very short leash.

Bottom line - the Habs won because Carey Price. Nothing's changed.


======================================================

Third Period:

- While the Habs effort is much better tonight, the club's possession line still sucks. Bottom line: The fundamentals haven't improved much.

- Desharnais has Hands of Moen goin' on tonight.

- We'll post the blue line Corsi numbers after this one is done, but I'm already speculating they might not be nearly as good as the 3-0 score might suggest.

- Carey Price won't be beaten tonight. It's just not gonna happen no matter what.

- Final score a bit misleading, a solid but not overwhelming victory tonight. A least a turnacate has been applied to the gushing wound. The Sun can now rise again in Montreal. At least until Friday morning. Numbers in a bit.

Second Period:

- Habs are keeping it simple, driving the net, and the über-soft 'Canes defense is folding like an old tent. Easy pickings for someone like Pacioretty and it's 3-0.

- Don't try to beat Price glove hand. It just isn't gonna happen.

- Dreaded 3 goal Habs lead and now they're sitting on it a bit. Uh-oh ...

- Half way through regulation and Briere has two ... count 'em, two minutes of ice. 

- Price has been beaten clean from long distance twice tonight, saved by posts. Never a good sign.

- 'Canes continue to press, Habs continue to play in a shell. Carolina scoring next almost seems inevitable.

- George Parros might play more tonight than Daniel Briere. It's come to that.

- Speaking of time played, Bournival yet again tonight demonstrating why he's more than entitled to more play than the measly 6 minutes he's been receiving since the call up.

- Another decent period, not quite as dominating as the first frame, but Habs have their legs moving tonight. The effort is there, and finally this team is looking competitive again. 

First Period:

- So two teams going in totally different directions, logic says Habs will win tonight, right? Sheyah, right.

- Prust opens the scoring. The goal made possible because the Habs were able to muster a clean transition out of their zone. Funny that, huh? 1-0.

- Bourque seems ... inspired tonight? Bergevin ought to consider trading him the day before every Habs game.

- P.K. simplify please. Just shoot it, don't overthink. It's killing the powerplay.

- Has anyone yet noticed that Price is almost certainly the NHL's best big save goaltender this season? Seems to make these in routine fashion.

- Ya know, Emelin's got a half-decent shot, I'm surprised he hasn't been utilized more frequently on the PP (instead of past dregs like Bouillon/Gorges).

- Habs have come out to play tonight, seemingly. Gallagher makes it 2-0.

- Might have been Pacioretty, but for now it's Gallagher. That was quite possibly the ultimate Brenden Gallagher goal. Just keep digging till the damn puck crosses the line.

- Easily the Habs' best period of hockey in a month. Possibly longer. We'll take it.

GAMEDAY MORNING NEWS 'N' NOTESUPDATE: Louis Leblanc was sent back down to Hamilton this afternoon, still under the weather, so probably unable to play tonight anyways.

- Just because we hate ourselves, the d-lines at Brassard right now:

1: Gorges/Subban,
2: Markov/Emelin

3: Murray/Beaulieu

And the O lines:

1: Pacioretty/Desharnais/Gallagher
2: Eller/Plekanec/Gionta
3: Leblanc/Brière/Bourque
4: Moen/Bournival/Parros

Leblanc is back, at least. Also skating this morning (not practicing though) was Ryan White and Drew (remember him?) Drewiske.

PARENTEAU FOR BOURQUE

Finally, some clarification? @LucGelinasRDS is reporting this morning of what might actually have gone down yesterday between Avs GM Greg Sherman and Marc Beregevin. According to Gelinas (and not reported by Louis Jean), the Avs were offering Parenteau in return for Bourque *and* Habs prospect Sven Andrighetto. So a day later, that outlandishly one-sided trade doesn't appear quite so outlandish.

Andrighetto is by no means a blue-chip prospect. Odds are pretty good fans in Montreal will never see him play. Still, credit to Bergevin for refusing to part with any of the kids, even if it means shedding the club of dead roster weight.


THE TRADE??

UPDATE: The report source is TVA's Louis Jean. He's not amongst the upper echelon of Habs reporters, but he's also not got a reputation for inaccuracies.

Still, I've poked around the net and there's no way this could be true. Not a straight up acquisition of Parenteau, the Quebecer who's playing as a top 6 forward in Denver, for the chronically underachieving, overpaid Bourque. There simply must be more involved. Perhaps the Avs were demanding a higher draft pick, or a chunk of Bourque's contract? There's just no way this trade report is accurate.

=========================================================

TVA Sports reports tonight that the Avs offered PA Parenteau straight up for Rene Bourque.

They are also reporting the Habs G.M. Marc Bergevin turned down the trade offer, wanting Parenteau and another player in return for Bourque.

I find this remarkably difficult to believe, and am searching for some kind of official confirmation, if that ever comes.

But if this original report is true, and again, I find it nearly impossible to believe that Bergevin could say no to this offer, then I can say with great confidence that all hell will break loose in Habsland.

Stay tuned.



"We can't just open things up, go run and gun and think that's how we're gonna win games."

"It's not his fault. It's our fault."

- Josh Gorges, January 27, 2014.

Um, okay Josh. So since we're settled on crazy talk, yeah I'll have nuts on that, please.

Josh Gorges. Making a vaulted attempt to become my new least-favorite Montreal Canadien.


PA Parenteau

For Raphael Diaz, reported speculatively.

Here are my thoughts about this:

Don't do it Marc. Just. Don't. Even. Go. There.



Happy MONDAY blah blah ... gah ... 

So I didn't bother blogging Saturday. Because I was off doing anything else which means, doing something better. I read the scoreline. That's all I needed to know - it's all that I was expecting.

So Monday. I hate Mondays - not saying anything the rest of us don't mutter each week of our lives. But this Monday morning ...  well ... just read this. Blah.

The immediate reactions to Boucher's signing in Switzerland has been "ooooh does he have an opt-out clause in case he's offered the Habs job??!?!".

But that's beside the point. It really doesn't matter if Boucher does or doesn't. His signing tells us pretty loud and clear that Habs G.M. Marc Bergevin hasn't even talked to Boucher yet, which tells us that Habs G.M. Marc Bergevin hasn't even begun the process required when you're about to fire your existing head coach.

Which tells us Habs G.M. Marc Bergevin has already made up his mind that Michel Therrien isn't going anywhere. At least, anytime soon.

Happy Monday.


News 'n' Notes:

- Louis Leblanc is out with the flu. Tough luck. Now we'll have to search high and low to find someone to replace the 4 minutes of icetime that Leblanc was receiving.

- Habs O-lines this morning. Because, insanity:

1. Pacioretty/Desharnais/Gallagher
2. Eller (relegated to wing now, ugh)/Plekanec/Gionta
3. Bourque/Briere (really?)/Prust
4. Moen/Bournival/Parros (abysmal - how long before Ryan White is healthy?).

- Habs practice D-Lines this morning. Whatever. It doesn't matter.

1: Gorges/Subban,
2: Markov/Emelin,
3. Murray/Beaulieu
4. Bouillon/Diaz

The organization seems steadfast in driving Diaz, one of the very few guys this season who's been playing well defensively, right out of town. Which is where Diaz will be heading in 4 months. I'd do the same thing.

- #FireTherrien

Game Forty-One: Habs vs. 'Canes

Okay, it wasn't the greatest finish to the year, but that still doesn't take away from my wish to you all for a very VERY Happy New Year. We'll see you in 2014!!!!!!


Carolina 5, Montreal 4 (OT)

Overtime:

- Desharnais time?

- How much will it take to get Gionta in the pressbox?

- If Eric Stall is out there, I'm probably not gonna send out Emelin. But that's what they pay Therrien the big bucks for. 'Canes win.



Third Period:

- Sweet jesus, Markov now called for a hook and the Canes once again back to the powerplay.

- Yeah, it's 3-0 but nagging old bad habits remain - 56 faceoffs so far tonight, Habs have won just 20 of them.

- 'Canes 4-on-3 advantage, Therrien elects to play just one defenseman, for some reason. Skinner scores to make it 3 to 1.

- Hoo boy. Habs called for a bench minor (Therrien?). Another 5 on 3, and it's Skinner, again.

- Hate to see a game where the officials make such a huge footprint on the outcome, but here we go.

- Staal. And it's all come apart. And so quickly.

- 'Canes are all over the Habs like cheap Champagne on a Hobo's breath.

- Both teams have basically thrown the game out the window. It's end to end now, last man standing.

- Might as well pull out this line just because. Therrien ought thank his lucky stars this team is six games over .500, because these are the games that coaches get fired over.

- 4-3.  Malhotra. Bouillon running around like a piece of headless poultry. The whole chain of events started after the Habs lost yet another faceoff deep in their zone.

- This might be the most chaotically played period by the Habs in 5 years. Everybody is in full-throttled panic mode, and the pucks are coming at Price from all possible directions.

- P.K. comes to the rescue. The blood flow has found a tunicate. Powerplay (as we predicted) scores again. Gallagher running a little goaltender interference there that wasn't spotted (or called). Tie game.

- Eller tries so hard, and more often than not, tries too much.

- Brian Gionta reminds me way too much of Scott Gomez' final disastrous seasons in Montreal. His shot ... he has none. I don't think his wrister is breaking 50 on the gun, which means he's easy pickings for any NHL goaltender.

- Defense out the window, bot teams have tossed caution into the wind looking for the game winner. Could be a pretty wild final 5 minutes.

- Staal interferes with Moen along the boards and then draws two more for complaining. Habs have the door open, can they step through?

- Just. Keep. Gionta. Off. The. Powerplay. PLEASE. Please?

- Catastrophic powerplay so far.

- Linesman calls deflect off puck in 'Canes zone. No contact was made - should have been delay of game on Carolina. In other words, another blown call. Just ... wow.

- Bottom line, if you have a 3 goal lead in the 3rd, you should win. Everytime. If you're a playoff-bound team, that is. Tonight's game makes me glad to be in the Eastern Conference. Otherwise, Habs would have no hope of post-season action.


Second Period:

- First period splits, 'Canes actually had possession edge by 4 percentage points. Sometimes the curve doesn't reflect reality, as Habs basically controlled play for 15 of those 20 minutes.

- Emelin was the low man on the blue line totem pole, getting less than 4 minutes in the first, least amongst Habs defenders. Safe to say Therrien has clued in, and has lost confidence in the Habs latest long-term albatross contract.

- Desharnais goes to the box for a trip, officials are calling a very tight game.

- Welp ... here we go again. Habs sitting back on the lead, and Carolina has outshot 5-0 so far.

- Gallagher got as about a clear a breakaway as you'll ever see. Ward keeping the 'Canes in this.

- Yet another penalty on the Habs - a not uncommon result when you surrender momentum and struggle to gain it back. Canadiens' PK can't keep coming through all night.

- Hoo boy. Too many men. Forget it. PK is gonna cave now.

- If I'm Therrien, I use my timeout to keep Markov and Georges out the whole 2 minutes. But Carolina burns their to try and nail this huge opportunity.

- Markov and Gorges doing an incredible job out there. Therrien, burn the timeout ... keep them out there.

- Crazy insane great kill by the Habs PK unit - that was almost 2 full minutes of 5-on-3 and the 'Canes barely got a shot on goal.

- Take away the Gallagher break, and the Habs have zero shots on goal in this period, 7 minutes left.

- No way you'll convince me that Rene Bourque is any better a player than Michael Bournival. If Bergevin is looking to move players, Bourque has to be your lead candidate.

- Who else to the Habs have for trade fodder? Bourque for sure, Bouillon .... would the Habs dare to move Gionta? Who else is an obvious candidate?

- It's a funny game some times. The value of winning faceoffs right there. Desharnais clean off the dot to Subban who carries and feeds nicely to Pacioretty to make it 3-0. Period totally dominated by the 'Canes, and yet they might be outscored for it.

- I guess tonight's game is as good as any to indicate that Subban has exited his scoring funk.

- Carey Price has been sneaky brilliant tonight.

- Way .. way too many unnecessary penalties by Montreal tonight. Poking the hand into the flames far too many times.

- Lopsided first for Habs, totally lopsided second for Carolina, yet the Canadiens hold a 3-0 lead through 40. Carey Price has been excellent, as has the Habs penalty kill, which surely is the best in the League. Habs need to clear the first 10 minutes of the 3rd before they can start thinking about cruising.


First Period:

- Daniel Briere gets the pressbox treatment tonight. George Parros and Doug Murray will join him.

- So if Kirk Muller gets the boot either during or at the end of the season ... sorry ... just daydreaming ...

- Big part of Carolina's disappointing start is focused on Cam Ward - he was (just a small while ago) a sure-fire Olympic team candidate. Today? Not even a consideration.

- Sloppy puck control by 'Canes out of the gate. Strong forecheck would generate lots of chances.

- And just as I type that last comment in, Habs forecheck in the corner by Galchenyuk wins the puck in the corner feeding a wide open Lars Eller. For the first time in a month, Eller scores.

- Ice conditions look pretty rough - typical lousy Carolina ice is typically lousy.

- Eric Staal really ought have better control over his body, as he barrels into Price and gets nailed for interference. Habs horrible powerplay goes to work.

- No goals, but good puck possession, and Carolina was giving the Habs some pretty clear shooting lanes. If this continues, Habs should get some point production with the man advantage tonight.

- Hands of Moen strikes again. He just muffed handling the puck, and a terrible hooking call an Faulk who made a nice defensive play taking the puck off Moen's stick.

- And there you have it, Habs strike on the powerplay. Canes not protecting the lanes, and Habs are getting the puck on Ward at will. Pacioretty makes it 2-0. Desharnais with a nice feed towards the 'Canes crease.

- Gallagher has the hustle on tonight. Here's hoping he can find the scoresheet. As noted, just one goal the past month.

- Prust went down awkwardly after taking a hit from Murphy. Slow getting back to the bench.

- Canes getting very physical here, Habs need to keep their heads up.

- Hate playing second guesser, but Emelin on the PK?? Com'on. Predictably Emelin gets nailed for a hold after he gets beat wide for the umpteenth time, and sets the Habs two men down. Oy.

- Turnovers are killing Carolina in this period - Eller gets a break, Ward a nice save, but another penalty drawn.

- That was pretty much an all-Habs first, Carolina was very sloppy handling the puck, and when they weren't turning over possession, they were drawing penalties. Habs more or less in cruise mode, but will they sit on this lead the same way they did in Nashville? (and almost blew it?). Stay tuned.


Gameday Game Preview

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY HALF WAY POINT OF THE SEASON!!

So let's review. At the 41 game mark, the Habs are aiming to win their 24th game of the season, which is very good bordering on the absurd when you consider this team has scored since December 5, or 12 games ago, 10 goals not by Alex Galchenyuk or Max Pacioretty. Stick Thomas Plekanec and Brandon Prust, and that goal total drops to 5 ... over 12 games. That means, 1 goal by David Desharnais, Brenden Gallagher, P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov. Then we start hitting gooseggs - nothing from Lars Eller, Brian Gionta, Daniel Briere, and Rene Bourque.

There are a lot of guys wearing the C and H right now that aren't earning their pay.

Yet, remarkably, this team sits 3 games above .500 for the month of December, and has an opportunity to set a near 50 win pace with a victory tonight in Carolina.

Normally, the Habs would assume tonight's game to be one of those reasonably straightforward road contests - the 'Canes have a less than mediocre 14 wins, a relatively terrible record in the relatively terrible Eastern Conference. So let's run down the mediocrity: 26th rated offense, 20th rated defense, 27th rated powerplay, 20th rated penalty kill, 25th rated Fenwick, 17th rated Corsi. I'm pretty sure Carolina's ownership were hoping for better results, especially after making the big off-season deal for Jeff Staal, uniting him with his brother Eric.

Speaking of Eric Staal, he predictably leads the team with 30 points, 21 of them assists, mainly feeding Jeff Skinner on the 'Canes first line, he with 14 goals. The big problem for Carolina is that they really have only one scoring line - the Staal line. After that, the drop-off is steep, and more often than not, the 'Canes have been playing catch-up games most of the season.

But at least they have ONE producing line. That's something the Habs haven't had since early December.

We'll see what Michel Therrien has up his sleeve tonight. I suspect it's the usual - throw them out there and hope for the best.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.