Game 30: Habs vs. Red Wings

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Wings through 40 minutes, the chart indicating that the 2nd was a pretty good bounce-back period for the Canadiens.

- Fleischmann with a bullet shot off another sloppy Wings turnover in their zone, and the Habs grab the lead. Fleischmann has easily been the Habs best forward tonight, so that goal is really deserved.

- Another strong game for Andrighetto, even though he's being played on the right line. Hudan has been mixing it up nicely, Carr also hasn't been invisible (unlike a couple of full-time, well paid forwards who shall go unnamed).

- Tokarski with a pretty desperate save off some soft Habs defensive coverage off Wings transition. Shall we say he's played well tonight? I shan't say so, for fear of hexing everything.

- Another soft, marginal call goes against the Habs, this time Fleischmann for a hook. Amazing how many times this has happened tonight.

- Wings powerplay comes up completely empty, in large part because of what appears to be some poor ice conditions, resulting in a lot of bouncing pucks. Detroit unable to even set up in the Habs zone.

- He'll almost certainly not stay, but Daniel Carr won't be forgotten, not the way he's worked and pursued the puck, especially tonight.

- Alexei Emelin with a very careless high stick, giving Wings a late game powerplay. Nathan Beaulieu, shall we be reminded, sits in the press box.

- And ... the Wings score. Yup. There ya go.

- And Therrien symbolically flips his bird, sending Emelin right back on the ice. Michel, you playing Emelin for the sake of scratching Beaulieu is your terrible decision-making.

- Pateryn with a horrid turnover right in front of Tokarski. Boom. 3-2 Detroit. How's your decisions working out tonight, coach?

- Truth be told, defence both ends of the rink has been pretty poor most of the night - that there's only been 5 goals produced speaks well for how both Mrazek and Tokarski have played tonight, the later really victimized by some really awful plays by defenders who were brought in as replacements because the team coach doesn't know how to utilize his assets.

- Though not quite as one-sided as last night, Habs lose another game they really probably should have won. This team is officially on a big dive now, continuing to struggle offensively. My finger is pointed right behind the bench at Therrien, who in response to Gallagher's injury, cause unnecessary chaos by putting together lines that didn't mix or match. Now the Habs are in total disarray. How long it will take to get them back on to a scoring track, is anyone's guess. But it won't be happening because of what Therrien has, or will be doing.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Wings through 20 minutes, Detroit as anticipated, the edge in play:

- Fleischmann and Andrighetto look to be the only Habs playing with any inspiration tonight. It's a pretty lethargic Habs group tonight.

- Habs second powerplay goes mostly nowhere, it's nothing like it was earlier in the season. Not sure if this is another casualty from the Gallagher injury, but it's certainly missing another gear, not nearly as intense as it once was.

- Habs sloppy defence finally burns them, as Helm, on his third (count 'em) breakaway of the night finally beats Tokarski. 1-0.

- Some question whether the Helm goal was onside - it certainly deserved a look, but for whatever reason, Therrien and the bench let that go past the board. Hmmm ....

- Andrighetto ties it up, but it's Charles Hudon, his first NHL game, that should have scored - his shot was going in, but Andrighetto slammed it home to grab credit. Am I the only one unimpressed by that?

- I take that back, replay shows Andrighetto, who was well positioned around the Wings crease (other Habs forwards would be wise to follow his example), backhanded the puck in. Otherwise, we'd still be 1-0. But .. assist to Hudon, which is nice.

- Heckova PK for the Habs, Brian Flynn makes a whole hot mess with a clunker of a backhand while alone in front of Mrazek, and seconds later, Plekanec fed nicely for a breakaway, although Plekanec on a breakaway is about as predictable a finish as you'll find in hockey (i.e. no goal scored).

- Habs seem to be finding some legs, but it's mostly youth inspired. Andrighetto, Hudon, and Fleischmann, while not young in age, has been looking young in spirit tonight. It would be nice if a few others would find some inspiration from the example they're setting.

- Refs seem to be going out of their way to not call obvious penalties committed by the Wings, but nail the Habs for marginal-stuff. Just observing inconsistencies.

- Plekanec on yet another breakaway ... and ... well .. you guess what happens.

- So much sloppy defence tonight, so many breakaways, mostly for the Habs, so many missed opportunities, mostly for the Habs. Feels like last night all over again.

- Better period for the Habs, I suppose. Detroit still doing a lot of risk-taking getting their defence involved in the rush, which has given the Habs a ridiculous number of breakaways this game, all of them stopped. That will be the difference maker tonight, if Montreal does end up losing this game - their inability to covert high percentage scoring chances, especially ones presented to them on silver platters.


FIRST PERIOD:

- So Therrien decides to "promote" Dale Weise to the "first line", next to Pacioretty and Galchenyuk, which, of course, makes no sense.

- Huge game tonight for Dustin Tokarski. A career game, really. If he does well, he's back for consideration  as the Habs backup, with Condon flailing of late. If he bombs, it'll be a huge nail in his NHL future.

- First five minutes, Habs the more aggressive team, doing a good job gaining the Wings zone, but as per usual during their recent offensive drought, having a tough time generating quality shot attempts.

- Fleischmann booked for an exceptionally soft hook, his stick just brushing against his check. Refs have an itchy trigger finger early.

- Wings first powerplay comes up empty, they love to carry the puck in, but Habs did a good job covering the passing lanes, and preventing Detroit from really setting up for much of a threat.

- While Beaulieu looks down from the press box, Emelin makes two huge gaffes the first 9 minutes, giving the Wings one clear breakaway, and one clear two-on-one break. Habs fortune to still be even at zero.

- Habs first powerplay with some signs of life, but Therrien keeps putting out the wrong guys - this time it's Weise who's getting time he really shouldn't.

- Habs got off to a decent enough start, but seem to be slipping as the period progresses. Not sure if it's the back-to-back, what with Detroit just a 2 hour plane ride away. Still, Habs seem to slowly be losing the foot races and puck battles.

- This period isn't exactly a defensive clinic. Both teams guilty of some pretty horrid zone coverage, especially off transitions. Mrazek with a couple of nifty saves, Wings forwards having trouble hitting the net off close range shots.

- Wings defence isn't nearly as sloppy as the Habs is tonight, they've been caught because they're being very aggressive joining the play. A good, fast transition game could generate some badly needed goals for the Habs, if they are capable of exporting Detroit's risk-taking play.

- Detroit the better team, certainly more dangerous, faster, and more organized. Habs really shouldn't have exhaustion as an excuse - they played last night, but their schedule hasn't been particularly demanding the past couple of weeks. Montreal looks uninspired, which bodes poorly for the last two periods.

GAME 30: OH BOY. HERE WE GO AGAIN

Well, that came undone pretty fast, didn't it? The Habs lose three tough games, all of which they arguably should have won, if fancy stats are to be believed. The Canadiens have been dominant with puck possession the past while, last night's loss to the Bruins being a prime example, where even strength, the Habs outshone Boston by a 63-37% margin.

By hockey standards, that's a pretty dominant edge. But like the two other losses earlier in the week, the Habs were outdone by not seizing on their scoring opportunities, not producing on their once reinvigerated powerplay, and not getting timely goaltending by their average emergency netminders, all while the team waits patiently for the return of its best player, Carey Price.

Price is the paradox in this story - since he's been the main reason why the Habs have managed to ice a very competitive team the past two seasons. Price's remarkable performances have provided the exaggerated impression of a team better than the sum of its parts, not excluding its head coach, who has benefited fully by receiving a heafty contract extension and vote of confidence from the club's GM, Marc Bergevin.

A measure of credit should go to Therrien this season. Since he re-arrived back in Montreal, the Canadiens have been a team reguglarly out-chanced, out-shot, and out-possessed. Still, the club has been a winner, in large part because Price continuously made the big saves game in, game out, to seal and steal victories.

This season, the Habs have done a bit of a role reversal, with an increased emphasis on maintaining possession, and ditching the dump-and-chase system that was so heavily relied upon by Therrien up until this season. The effects of this change-in-philosophy were immediately apparent - the Canadiens became a more more efficient and dangerous team, helping them to rocket off to a 9-0 start.

But then, injuries sent in - the Habs streak of luck that had kept their roster pretty much injury-free the past three seasons, came lashing full reverse. Carey Price, the best player in the world, hurt something in his leg after stepping on a puck during warmups in Edmonton. The unfortunate, perhaps even freakish injury, thrust Mike Condon into the pressure-backed front burner. Condon, who had an incredible training camp, took away the backup role from Dustin Tokarski, and during the months of October and November, played like a first string netminder.

Alas, the hopes that the Canadiens had stumbled upon a hidden jewel have come undone the past month, as Condon's lofty performance level has more or less, come crashing back to earth. Not to say that Mike is playing poorly - he's still producing numbers approprirate for a backup goaltender. Condon, however, is not producing the performances this team had become dependant upon - he's not made the big saves late in the game, and in some instances, has let in soft, demoralizing goals. The Habs are a team so accostomed to Price's heroics, that it seems incapable of processing or responding to events where their netminder lets them down. Last night, again, is a prime example.

Therrien's response, predictably, has been irrational. For the past two weeks, it's become clear that this team has started to struggle offensively, in large part because David Desharnais, who had a tremendous first six weeks of the season, has fallen off the cliff. Instead of realizing that Desharnais is not (and will never be) a point producing machine, and playing him appropriately as the team's third line centre, Therrien responded by inserting Max Pacioretty on his wing, thereby breaking up the team's first line - a unit that was actually producing offence, in a bid to get Desharnais producing again.

Of course, this failed. Miserably. Why? Because Desharnais is not a goal scorer. For lack of a better word, as a second-third-whatever NHL centre, he doesen't shoot the puck. We're almost halfway through the regular season, and Desharnais, a (maddeding) staple on the Habs powerplay, has produced 6 shot attempts on the man advantage. Still, for some reason, Therrien thought Pacioretty would somehow motitivate Desharnais to behave more like a centre. The experiement lasted all of three games, before, thankfully, it was shelved last night.

Oh yes, about last night. Even though the Habs did all the right things, even though they again dominated their opponent, Therrien's response today was, predictably, irrational and unwise. This time, he's focused his vitorial on, remarkably, Nathan Beaulieu - who's easily been one of the Habs best players on defence the entire season. Why? Who knows - other than for some reason, Therrien seems to have developed the idea that Beaulieu is not "performing up to expectations", a ridiculous notion, if true, because Beaulieu, who night-in, night-out is amongst the club leaders in CF%, has far exceeded anyone's reasonable expectations, given his age and NHL experience.

So here we go again. Out goes someone who's actually playing well, in comes Greg Pateryn, and Alexei Emelin, who was directly responsible for the Bruins' gut-stabbing third goal last night, stay in the lineup.

Puck drops at 7:10, EST.

Game Seventy-One: Habs vs. Panthers

THIRD PERIOD: 

- Panthers come out full throttle, just as we figured. Tokarski doing his best, but Habs defense really bending.

- Habs in turtle mode now, icing at every opportunity. Trying to slow the game to a crawl.

- Panthers almost universally dominating the game, first five minutes. No way the Habs can hang on for  15 more, barring a break or unforced Panthers error.

- Florida powerplay, Habs just barely survive. Meanwhile Subban is having an outstanding game, at both ends of ice. Doubtful the score is 3-2 for Habs without him.

- 10 minutes left. Florida now on pace to outshoot the Habs 25-6 in the 3rd period. Yup. It really has been that bad.

- Not the coach, but I'd be awfully tempted to call a timeout and read the riot act. Tokaraski is the wrong guy to stand on his head, yet that's what he'll need to do if the Habs don't get their gear in order to salvage this game.

- Small reprieve in the onslaught with 8 minutes left. But the second storm is surely about to begin. Habs desperately need something to stop the tide. 

- DSP with a stupid O zone hold, but Tokarski is actually doing a head stand routine, somehow keeping the Habs one ahead. Panthers running out of time - both this game, and their season. 4 minutes left.

- Hoo boy. Campbell nailed for a hook, with just 2:53 left. Killer penalty. Killer.

- And Galchenyuk nailed for O zone interference. Closed door is opened again. Unbelievable.

- And Jagr with O zone tackle to extinguish the Panthers hopes.

- Well, Dustin freakin' Tokarski. Bravo. Bravo.

SECOND PERIOD: 

- Powerplay continues to be a lost child in the wilderness, with no search and rescue crew dispersed.

- Don't know if it's an age thing, but Gilbert has been pretty bad the past 30 days, which fits with the general pattern of slow decline as the season has worn on. He may find himself the odd man out once the post season begins. 

- Brutal deep zone turnovers are killing this team. This time it's Petry, wearing his Oilers best, serving it up for Barkov. 1-0.

- 4th line production, go figure! Malhotra and Weise doing some nice screen work on Ellis, Emelin with a 55 foot wrister that's not seen or blocked. Tie game. 

- Sweetness, Prust to De la Rose, and 2-1.  But on a 2-on-0 shorthanded? Really? Tsk, tsk, Panthers.

- Florida, for whatever reason, tightened up like crazy after the clunky Barkov goal, leading to numerous unforced errors, and two goals for the Habs. Game hasn't been very logical so far.

- Prust loses his mark, and Pirri with a ridiculous snap shot that must have clocked near 90 MPH on the radar, ties the game. Can't blame Tokarski. It was an incredible shot that probably nobody could have saved.

- Great, great work by Eller to win the puck behind Eller and feed Subban who beats a somewhat surprised Ellis. 3-2. Subban the goal but that was 90% Lars.

- Habs slowly seem to be getting their act in gear, at least offensively. Defensively, this team is getting a little untidy, with forwards frequenly losing their marks. In any case, times are definately desperate for the Panthers - a loss tonight will be a killer blow for their post season hopes. So except them to come out hard for the final 20.

FIRST PERIOD: 

- Cred to Ellis, here's a guy that was buried nowhere a month ago, and he's managed to come in and keep Florida's faint hopes alive.

- Malhotra, Prust and Weise. A most agreeable 4th line.

- Five minutes in, we are not watching Class A hockey. I don't know if I can withstand 55 more minutes of this.

- Panthers so far with a better neutral zone trap, which is helping them generate more shots. Gerard Gallant doesn't get nearly enough credit for how well he prepares this team for each opponent.

- Habs first good scoring chance comes 12 minutes in, excellent save by Ellis on Gallagher. On St. Patrick's day, no less.

- After playing a relatively inspired 3rd period last night, which gave me hope that brighter times were ahead, Habs are right back to their mostly listless ways. 

- Jagr hooks Pacioretty on a break, and gets called. Funny how last night a different crew saw no violation on pretty much the same play.

- Shot clock says 13-9 Montreal. I say, no way. Apart from a couple of flurries, Panthers had most of the period under wraps, certainly generating more scoring attempts. Anyway, Florida the hungrier team, which should come as little surprise.

NHL GM MEETINGS DAY TWO:

The booze cart is out! And being pulled around the pool. Pina coladas for everyone! 29 degrees was the approximate high here today, under sunny skies. Tomorrow looks to be the same.

Oh yeah, 3-on-3 OT next year, probably. I think? I wasn't really paying attention.

Stay tuned for more updates.

GAMEDAY REVIEW:

So, over the past eight games, the Habs have won exactly two. I'm not saying it's time to panic, since we knew well in advance that March was a tough month on the schedule, but at this rate, the Canadiens are looking straight down the throat at a big tumble down the Eastern Conference standings. If they don't start winning, and doing it soon, Montreal stands a chance of losing home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

So, all this losing means the games, which a little while ago, held relatively little importance, now suddenly start getting significantly crucial. Tonight is no exception - for both teams.

While the Habs hold on to a top seed by their fingernails, the Florida Panthers are trying to claw and scratch their way to the a playoff berth. The Panthers enter tonight's game as they have any other game the past month - in desperate need of wins to narrow the gap between themselves, and the 8th place Bruins. Boston has a 6 point lead, with both clubs left with 13 games in the regular season.

So that all considered, tonight should be interesting. Games in Miami, at least for the past few years, haven't been particularly compelling. The big news in Florida, is of course, the health status of Roberto Luongo, who sustained an injury two weeks ago, isn't quite ready to return to game action. That means journeyman backup Dan Ellis will get the start tonight against either Carey Price or Dustin Tokarski (as of the writing of this post, nothing has been announced by the Habs of who'll start).

A couple of injury notes - Torrey Mitchell is out for at least two weeks with an upper arm injury, while the other recently acquired 4th liner, Brian Flynn, is a question mark for tonight's game.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

UPDATE: Tokarski will start, and Manny Malhotra will also get a start tonight, in place of Flynn, who isn't 100%.

Game Sixty-Five: Habs vs. Kings

OVERTIME:

- Well, whatever happens, even just getting a point was an accomplishment. Or a miracle. Or a crime, depending on your perspective.

- Eller with a desperate OT shift, I suspect trying to make amens. We're all pulling for him.

- Tokarski with a disasterous shootout, and that was that. Carey Price Saturday night.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs improved their possession to 32% in the second period. Yeah. "Improved". I suppose if you dig the hole deep enough, you eventually see sunlight.

- Habs actually off to a spirited start in the period, first three minutes anyway. Zone entries improved. Puck maintenance is better. Blue line defense much cleaner. Uh ... kay?

- Well. I'm fit to be tied. Jeff Carter was some kind of space cadet, allowing Desharnais to make a sweet pass behind Carter to a totally unmarked Pacioretty for an easy tap in. The Canadiens lead the game 3-2. Stupefying. 

- Pacioretty called for playing with a broken stick, even though he didn't. Chris Lee! 

- 9 minutes left, Habs would be very unwise to sit on this, although given how their lead is already grand larceny, it would seem only fitting they coast to victory. I still, however, think the Kings have one more goal in them before the clock runs out.

- Petry has looked great tonight. Looks just as much a first liner on this Habs team as he did for the Oilers. Great command of th puck, picks the right time and place to use his body. We gotta re-up this guy.

- 2 minutes left. Crunch time. Kings having trouble gaining the zone. Not a good point of the game to be struggling in that area. Just slap it at Tokarski. It might go in.

- Oh, Lars. Oh, Lars. With 95 seconds left. Oh, Lars.

- And Gaberick ties it up. Oh, Lars...Tokarski needs to do better there, but still. Oh, Lars.

SECOND PERIOD:

- First period possession was 17%. Two more than my original projection. Still. LOL?

- Habs zone entries, the few times they actually have control of the puck, are absolutely horrible. Even more so than usual. This looks like a team that hasn't practiced in a month, or is holding practices that are clearly poorly organized. This is baaaaaaad.

- It wouldn't be a complete Habs game without one badly surrendered clear-cut breakaway for the other guys. Literally 8 seconds later, they do it again, but this time, De LamRose hustles back to break it up, which is an even greater indictment of the defense.

- Tom Gilbert, of all players, with a magnificent solo effort to score a pretty goal to put the Habs on the board. Their 7th shot, with 4 minutes left in the second period. You know you're in trouble when it's Gilbert who has to set the example.

- Gallagher, off a juicy Quick rebound. Astoundingly, incredibly, the Habs tie the game. I'm not sure for how long they'll stay on even terms, but this game is already completely ridiculous.

- If I'm a Kings fan, I'm ticked. Very, very ticked. But then they've done this all season in coughing up two goal leads, haven't they? It's certainly been one big reason why the Kings find themselves fighting for a post-season spot. In any case, with the Kings outshooting the Habs 21-9 through 40 minutes, there's no good reason why the Habs should even have the scant whiff of a victory tonight. Maybe the 3rd period will tilt the scales back to normality, and L.A. will put in two or three more. Otherwise, it's been a crazy night.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Annnnnnnnnd ... even with all of these trade deadline pickups, Dale Weise will start the game playing on the number one line. Okay. Breath. Everything will be okay.

- No. No it won't be okay. Chris Lee is a referee tonight.

- Annnnnnnnnd ... it takes Lee just over two minutes to make his first terrible penalty call.

- Annnnnnnnnd of course, the Kings score on that powerplay. Tokarski had no chance, for what it's worth. Redeflected in.

- Weise forgets his check (Carter) who's all alone in front of Tokarski for a tap-in goal. 2-0. Not even nine minutes gone. This might be a slaughter. 

- Another awful Chris Lee penalty call, this time for interference on Prust. Replay shows the call was indeed, absurd.

- Well, then. We thought Monday was a low point? We ain't seen nothing yet. Habs outshot 13-2 in the first period. Possession will be somewhere around 15%. Michel Therrien hockey. TO THE EXTREME!!!

GAMEDAY GOO:

Should we even bother staying up late one more time? You know how this is going to end, don't you?

We're suckers for punishment. So the live blogging will go forward.

Some notes:

- Dustin Tokarski will start. He hasn't looked particularly sharp the past couple of months. Maybe this is the night he turns it all around?

- Mike Weaver will get a rare start tonight. Sergei Gonchar will sit.

Are you really sure you wanna stay up for this? Sleep is good for you. Watching the Habs get stomped on a west coast trip is not.

Puck drops at 10:40 EST. That's pretty late.

Game Fifty-Seven: Habs vs. Sens

THIRD PERIOD:

- Subban, or not to Subban. The anticipation is the worst. 

- Subban starts the period. We breath. For now. Let's see how much he plays before we can collectively breath normally again.

- Subban really struggling out there. I fear they may shut him down for the night.

- No way Habs can run with four D the rest of the night, can they?

- Subban looks terrible. They have to take him out. This cannot continue.

- Sens powerplay goal. Tokarski with more rebound control issues. Been plaguing him his last few starts. 3-1.

- Well, well, well, Nathan Beaulieu gets his first NHL goal, a total fluke bounce in off a half dump, half chip towards the net. It's not pretty, but it gives the Habs hope. 3-2.

- If Subban ties this my head will explode.

- Subban can't keep the line, Sens bury the game. Well, it's a loss, but not overtly bad. Still think this team did a disservice playing its most valuable defenseman through an injury in a relatively meaningless game. On to take on Florida, and Carey Price.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Subban looks to be on pace for a 35 minute night. Maybe more as the game progresses.

- I'm all cool with Subban picking up slack, but Therrien needs to play Pateryn more. 3:46 in the period with just 5d is way too low.

- Pretty good start for Habs offense in the period, but play continues to be scrambly around Hammond. Nobody able to muscle a loose puck home (more 4th line please!).

- Guess what? Habs best scoring chance of the night generated by that 4th line, Gilbert given a wide open net off a sweet pass by, guess who - Jiri Sekac. Gilbert totally misses. Should be 1-0.

- Habs forwards have been going high, very high, on Hammond tonight. Not sure if that's the book, but it's not working.

- Habs powerplay. Everything but the kitchen sink. Just won't go in. Galchenyuk still looking awfully good. Com'on guys.

- 11-4 shots on goal for Montreal this period. Subban 15 minutes, we're at the halfway mark. 

- Well, let the floodgates open. Two goals in 8 seconds, tie game. Pacioretty goes low on Hammond. That's where you need to go, guys.

- Wow. Gryba tried to blindside Eller with open ice elbow to the head. Unbelievable. Total scum. Prust comes in to settle the score and gets thumped. Still, Gryba was totally targeting Eller. 

- Hoo boy. Subban takes shot off the foot and goes to the room. Breath deep everyone. Hold it. 

- Pageau. Tokarski no chance. Original mistake by Gilbert which resulted in deep zone turnover. 2-1.

- As we anticipated, another entertaining period, with 32 more shots added to the board. Now 59, and counting. There is only one thing that matters right now, and it's Subban. If he's done for the night, so are the Habs. If he's done for longer, so are the Habs. You get my point.

FIRST PERIOD:

- So Sekac is buried on the 4th line. I guess it's better than being saddled next to Malhotra.

- Ouch. Emelin goes for a foolish body check, stumbles and foes shoulder first into the boards. Methinks Pateryn might actually get more than 5 minutes tonight.

- Galchenyuk smartly trying to test Hammond early. Habs need to hammer shots at him every opportunity.

- Therrien appears to be favouring Gilbert to pick up the slack, with Emelin possibly out for the night.

- Prust. Just can't quite deliver. It's been that way for awhile. With de la Rose seemingly sticking, will he be the odd man out next season?

- Habs announce Emelin is gone for the game. That's almost certainly an indicator of a serious injury.

- Tokarski's and Price's styles couldn't be much different. The former battles the puck, the later just eases into shots.

- Spirted pace so far, Tokarski really fighting the puck.

- Both goaltenders doing quite a flop demonstration tonight. So far it's been working. Barely.

- That tight-checking, watch-your-butt every second game we saw against Detroit has basically been tossed out the window tonight.

- Galchenyuk looks great tonight. Even more so than usual. If there's on guy who's a good bet to make a couple of marks on the scoresheet, it's him.

- Well that was a fun period, 27 shots on goal, both goaltenders were a little bit fortunate to keep everything out, but regardless, both teams's strategies are clear - throw everything possible on net and let's see what happens after the dust settles. Should make for two more exciting periods.

GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES

- JIRI SEKAC IS BACK. Hard to believe, but he's starting tonight. Yay.

- Manny Malhotra is FRICKIN' FINALLY OUT. I mean, what .. why .. who ... how ... is this guy still getting dressed for game action? Monday night against the Wings, Malhotra won 4 faceoffs. Out of 16. I mean, he has no other purpose other than to win draws. He can't do that. He must never play in a Habs uniform again. It's that simple.

- Greg Pateryn is in!! Yay. He'll replace Mike Weaver, which is kind of a boo, since Alexei Emelin will still be playing tonight. Still ... it's progress.

- Dustin Tokarski will get the start tonight. Welllllllllll ... we'll see how that goes.

- On the other hand, Sens will start their backup Andrew Hammond. So that evens that.

More in a bit!!!

Game Fifty-Four: Oilers vs. Habs

OKAY %U{& THIS $*)T

So we had a little Habs practice today. And this is what happened:

- Lars Eller got moved to the left wing.
- Jacob de la Rose got moved to centre.
- Dale Weise still plays on the first line.
- Jiri Sekac appears set to be a healthy scratch.

Is as though the coach is living in a totally different universe, watching a completely different game. I have no other explanation.

More later.




OVERTIME:

- Gotta favor the road team to collect the extra point, for a variety of reasons (Habs iffy goaltending, being roundly outplayed, etc.)

- Yup. Thar we go. Habs implode and get their just deserts. Is there some reason why neither Markov or Subban got a shift before the winner? Anyone?

THIRD PERIOD

- Yakupov gets nailed by Emelin, with knees hitting. Stays down on the ice for a couple of minutes. Hit appears to be legal. Oilers are seething, though.

- Pacioretty has flung plenty of rubber on Fasth tonight. Passing? He's been pretty terrible.

- Plekanec carelessly flings his stick at the puck, and hits faces. Big question. Will it be 2 or 4?

- Habs have controlled a good chunk of this period's tempo, but are still compelled to dump the punk in from long distance. It's basically surrendering all of the hard work happening in the neutral zone.

- Oilers totally dominating the Habs four on four, and then just one little mistake at the blue line springs Pacioretty free down the wing. Boom. 3-2. Heartbreak for Edmonton who really had the Habs on the ropes.

- Habs really giving up some sloppy breaks to the Oilers, Tokarski with two near miracle saves this period. Hendricks flubs a chance he totally should have concerted with Tokarski belly down in his crease.

- Eberle looked great in the 1st, has been pretty muted and contained since then. 

- Our nightly dose of Emelin stupid, this time he makes a ridiculous and sloopy pinch at the line, resulting in a two man break, Yakupov and Hamilton, the later hitting the post off a beautiful pass. Once again, this game should be tied.

- Five minutes left, and Habs are holding to a semi-miracle one goal lead. That's how poorly they've played, and that's how much the Oilers deserve a tying goal in the waining minutes.

- And here's their chance after Plekanec takes a very dumb penalty gloving the puck off a faceoff. Com'on guys, you can tie this.

- There we are. First Plekanec can't bury an empty net, then Tokarski can't cover a very open puck, then seconds later, Nugent-Hopkins buries a loose puck. So many things done wrong by the Habs, so many things done right by the Oilers, who indeed, get a well-earned point. Maybe more.

SECOND PERIOD

- P.K. doing what P.K. does so well, freewheeling and carrying the zone. A perfect cross ice pass for a Galchenyuk one timer that's totally unstoppable. Pure brilliance. Subban has really lately been playing like he was during his Norris Trophey season - that is, under his terms utilizing his style. 2-0.

- Dale Weise gets plenty of compliments for playing hard, but he's still soft along the boards. Case in point how easily he was bumped off the puck, and within seconds, the Oilers' Hendricks tips in a point shot. 2-1.

- Habs first powerplay doesn't generate any goals, but puck control was good, and more than one attempt was made to carry, instead of dumping the zone. All positive indicators.

- Since the eight minute mark of the period, the Oilers have dominated this game, and just now Nugent Hopkins has tied the game, mainly because Tokarski fails to cover the puck. Tie game.

- Oilers' control of the period couinsides with Habs going back to their bad old dump and chase ways. Shocking.

- Two Habs powerplays, more good puck movement, more shots generated, Fasth with a couple of nifty saves. Again, the man advantage looks functionally effective, it's simply a matter of beating the opposing netminder.

- Goos rebound period for the Oilers, who took control over possession and held on for a good period of time, generating two goals. Tokarski looking very much who he is - a backup goaltender. But before we all jump on his case for a possible loss, we should all recall that he's the second string. He's no where close to Price. Now, or forever. It's up to the Habs offense to win this.

FIRST PERIOD

- Sportsnet Edmonton crew, which is just his far away from being unlistenable, really pumping up how hot Eberle is, averaging a point per game over his past 7. I tell you, if that's all you've got, then you ain't got much.  

- Habs game plan seems pretty simplistic - take shots, mostly long range tries, on Fasth. I guess looking for rebounds?

- Man, four Oilers surround a loose puck in the crease, and get zero shots on goal. The Edmonton Oilers.

- Christian Thomas with a beauty snap shoulder over Fasth's right shoulder for his first career NHL goal. Habs are ridiculously blessed with young talent. 1-0.

- Not for lack of effort by Edmonton, but they're such a collection of young individuals. Generating solo scoring chances, but little coordination between teammates. Besides that, good period for the Habs, the 4th line, which has played so well for the past two weeks since Malhotra was yanked out, finally hit the scoresheet. Not for the first time, I'm very certain.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

So, are we going to win one of these games we have no business losing? Is that going to happen this year?

It's a oddity. The Montreal Canadiens have strung together a downright mediocre record against the League's five worst teams this year, posting a cumulative 5-4-1 record. It's a stat pretty much identical to that against the top five other teams in the NHL, where the Habs have put together a 4-3 record.

So why the struggles? Well, beyond statistical anomalies, mitigating factors (road weariness), there are the intangibles that go with playing teams that really have very little to lose. So on any given night, you might find your hands full combating powerhouse teams from Buffalo, or Edmonton, Or Raleigh.

But that's a touchy-feel explanation. More likely a main reason why this Habs team struggles with lower tiered clubs might have more to do with who's playing in goal, than anything else. Of the 10 games the Habs have played this year against the teams currently ranked in the bottom 5 of the NHL, Carey Price started 4 of the games, winning two. Dustin Tokarski started 6, putting up a 3-2-1 record. Not great.

Tonight, the Habs will get one more shot at beating the Oilers this season, as they host Edmonton at the Bell Centre, with Tokarski in goal. The Oilers, who are in a fierce tanking battle with the Buffalo Sabres for the best shot at the first overall pick, are just four points ahead of Buffalo for last overall.

We all know the Edmonton story to death. So let's just look at how they're playing right now. In comparison to their dreadful play the first 3 and 1/2 months of the season, not too bad, actually. Recent wins over Washington and San Jose have helped "keep" them out of the League's absolute basement.

Even so, the odds aren't much in Edmonton's favor tonight. They're now having to deal with injuries to a couple of important forwards, namely Benoit Pouliot and more critically, Taylor Hall, who's on IR for the next 4-6 weeks. To match Tokarski, the Oilers will also be going with their backup tonight in Viktor Fasth (+3 GAA and sub .900 SV%). Yeah, there's really no way the Habs should be losing this game.

Over in Habsland, Michel Therrien appears to be going with the same lineup as Tuesday night's game against the Flyers, which includes the high-flying 4th line, which includes the ridiculously impressive Jacob de la Rose, which means that for yet another game, Manny Malhotra will be watching the game from the press box.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game Forty-Four: Isles vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Another sluggish and sloppy period start burns the Isles again, too many Habs forwards left unmarked, and Galchenyuk finishes the play with a shot that Halak should have stopped.

- Habs have Isles pinned in their zone. Halak keeping his team alive - barely.

- I don't care what the score line says, Weise has been garbage tonight with Plekanec and Pacioretty. All we can do is hope somebody with decision making ability ends this silly experiment ASAP.

- Islanders have given Habs some really open passing lanes most of the night. I think it's helped make the Habs look better than they actually are.

- Pacioretty to Weise: swoosh. Just about anyone who's qualified to play on a top line takes that pass and it's almost certainly 5-2.

- Why Desharnais needs to shoot more: 5-2. Halak getting steamrolled tonight, his mates have really let him down tonight with some sloppy play.

- And it's a route. Plekanec allowed to waltz in, slips one past Halak, who really has been hung out to dry this period. 6-2. Halak gets the hook.

- Wellll ... Lee with a zippy 65 foot wrister that just plain beats Tokarski glove side. Five minutes left, 6-3.

- Annnnnnd ... make it 6-4. Tokarski really fighting the puck. Handcuffed by a wrist shot that pinballs behind him and finally goes off Subban and in. 2:34 left. 

- Lee with a nifty little slew foot on Subban.

- Empty net, Prust on a break, is hauled down, and somehow it's not ruled a goal. Been a good game called by the officials, except for the final two minutes.

- Anyway, good win. Habs had nice fluidity to their game, managing to outscore their opponent despite a pretty iffy night for Tokarski. Will Price be ready for Tuesday night's tough matchup against the Preds? Habs had better hope so. 

SECOND PERIOD:

- Weise scores seconds into the second period. Islanders defense still taking first intermission nap. 2-0.

- Islanders not being very aggressive in protecting the passing lanes, and it's generating more scoring opportunities for the Habs. Really unimpressed with New York's passive defensive play tonight.

- No freakin way. Gallagher drew a penalty??

- Islanders get a big bounce courtesy a bad pass by Tavares that hits Plekanec's heel, and Okposo wrists one past Tokarski. Just one of those goals.

- Another powerplay goal off a one timer at the top of the circle. So this is how you beat the Islanders. Plecks makes it 3-1.

- Habs more or less swarming Halak now, Islanders defense reeling.

- Yeeks. Gonchar and Beaulieu get all mixed up retreating to their zone to guard a 2-on-2, allowing Kulemin to pick up the puck in some open ice and beats Tokarski low. 3-2. Habs were on the cusp of taking a three goal lead. Now this game is up for grabs.

- Yeah, a 3-2 lead heading into the third against a team like the islanders is tenuous at best. Therrien can't count on someone like Price to carry his outplayed team to victory. So this one shaping up to be a nail biter.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Habs capitalizing off their first powerplay. Subban. Little different look there, with Subban working his way to the top of the circle for the one timer. That close, goaltenders really have no chance unless it hits them. 1-0.

- Prust engages in a pointless fight. Gets TKO'd. I guess he feels this is his way of contributing? 

- Weaver and especially Emeln being far too slow and soft protecting the crease. Islanders should zone in hard against that pairing.

- Not a bad start for the Habs - lots of near misses on Halak, team seems a little more fluid and aggressive than their lame wristed effort against the Sens. Game seems to be settling in a bit.

- Beaulieu with a very good, very physical shift. Maybe a little too physical, but the kind of mean nosed play that coaches love.

- Habs movement through the neutral zone much more organized this period. Islanders are being forced into defensive puck dumpings.

- Beaulieu with tremendous hustle back to save a sure goal by Tavares. Beaulieu has done just about everything but score in this period.

- Decent opening 20 minutes, Islanders had flashes of pressure, but Habs with reasonably competent transitions, especially in the neutral zone, generated a fair number of clean zone entries. The Habs were the better team, no doubt about it.

PREGAME NOTES:

- In case you hadn't heard, Carey Price is day-to-day with an upper body injury sustained in the game earlier this week in Columbus. No word if he'll play on Tuesday. Joey McDonald has been called up to back up Dustin Tokarski.

- Mike Weaver will get his first Habs start in nearly two months in place of ... Tom Gilbert, and not Alexei Emelin. For some reason.

- Jaroslav Halak has never, ever, ever lost playing against the Montreal Canadiens. His career numbers include 0.98 GAA and .960 SV%. Hoo boy.

OKAY, WE GIVE UP:

I think the headline says it all. We just plain old give up. I mean, what is the point? This Habs team, blessed with talent and depth from the top to bottom, can't get it in gear. Today's events, which were more baffling line shifts, underscore the fundamental challenge that faces this organization.

This team can never win a championship with Michel Therrien behind the bench.

This morning, Therrien made that astounding decision to move career 4th line winger Dale Weise - to the Habs first line, to play along side Thomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty. The rationale? To quote coach Therrien: "I like his forechecking and puck retrieval skills."

That folks, is a coach that simply doesn't understand the tools at his disposal. For Therrien, even though on any given night on any given english broadcast, you'll hear the old worn out "Therrien is a totally different coach than when he was in Pittsburgh", the plain truth of the matter is, he's not. Michel Therrien is exactly the same guy today as he was 7 years ago when he was unceremoniously fired mid-season by the Pens because that team was woefully underperforming. Why? Because Therrien had implemented an ultra-conservative defensive, ultra-conservative dump/chase/retrieve offensive strategy that put the Pens outside of a playoff spot.

Of course we know that once Therrien was removed from the picture, the Pens totally turned their season around, and in five months, were carrying around the Stanley Cup.

Fast forward 7 more years, and here's Therrien, coaching a team deep with talent, speed and skill, and he's still using the same old game plan. Dump. Chase. Retrieve. And for the most part, it's gotten this team just beyond the boundary of mediocrity. Some might argue that "hey wait, this team is jousting for first place, what gives?". Well, the Habs (tenuous) place in the standings are a facade - the major reason why this team finds itself just a few points back from the first place Lightening has nothing to do with Therrien, and everything to do with the remarkable play of Carey Price, who on close to a dozen occasions this season, carried his out-played team to unlikely game victories.

So now we have Weise on the first line, David Desharnais, who actually looked half-decent on the wing, now playing centre again. Alex Galchenyuk, who was, at least for a while, gangbusters at centre, back on the wing again, P.A. Parenteau, who was constantly shuffled all over the place, not even in the lineup, Sven Andrioghetto, who was racking up goals and assists one night, playing the 4th line the next night, and now playing in Hamilton.

The Habs lineup is now a joke, literally. Tossing names into a blender, and hoping something good comes out.

Well here's the deal tonight. No Carey Price. No Galchenyuk and centre. No Desharnais on the wing. Dale Weise on the top line. And this against the number one team in the Eastern Conference?

The Montreal Canadiens are a team destined for purgatory as long Michel Therrien is behind the bench. Will this team make the playoffs? Sure. Maybe every year. Will it win a championship? No. Never.

Only when Marc Bergevin comes to realize that his coach is just as flawed today as he was 7 years ago, and 4 years beyond that, then his asperations for bringing glory to Montreal are doomed.

Puck drops at 7:10 est. The Islanders are probably going to have their way tonight.

Game Forty-Three: Habs vs. Senators

THIRD PERIOD:

- Yeah I know, faceoff specialist yadda yadda, abut there's no way you'll convince me that Malhaltra benefits this team and its fourth line than say, a ChristianThomas. Beyond taking draws, he's mostly a dearth.

- Therrien's line juggling, including moving Galchenyuk to the wing, Desharnais back to centre, ain't working. And I mean by "ain't working" as NOT AT ALL.

- At this point I do believe Therrien is wearing a blindfold and is generating lines by touching random players on the shoulder. That's all he's got to offer, I guess.

- Nine minutes left. This is the point where the Sens start to implode, right?

- Parenteau won't let the Sens collapse. Takes a very, very stupid high sticking penalty. That's basically his contribution tonight.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Pacioretty goes in hard, falls, appears to take a hard bump into the post with his knee.

- Karlsson. Top corner. Habs, especially Malhaltra and Parenteau, get caught sleeping. Gilbert also way out of position. Lots of muck up to be shared. 3-1. Methinks this is headed towards blowout territory.

- Therrien drawing names out of a hat to construct his 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines. Galchenyuk has been moved to the wing. Why? I guess because this is his idea of good coaching. 

- Habs on their second powerplay, still waiting for Beaulieu to finally score his first. He's come so close so many times.

- Forget that. Markov muffs it up and the line and is forced to trip. Probably shouldn't double shift him so quickly. That was a tired legs penalty.

- Parenteau really has fallen off the face of the earth, hasn't he? Not being helped by being subjected to poor line combinations by Therrien.

- Remember how good the Habs powerplay looked about 23 hours ago? Man, that seems like a distant memory now.

- Well, I guess that wasn't quite as bad a period as the first, but it still wasn't very good. Habs outshooting Sens 2-to-1, but a lot of that came as a result of some poor penalties taken by Ottawa forwards. Still don't see a whole lot of hope that the Habs will (again) salvage something out of nothing in the third period.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Well, that feels familiar. Another terrible start for the Habs. Hoffman a point shot, not overly difficult, Tokarski kicks in straight out to a streaking and un spotted Zibanejed, and it's 1-0.

- Yup. Bad Habs showing up tonight. Five minutes in, shots are 7-0 Sens. Looks like the Habs are going to take a hammering courtesy the back to back starts.

- If current trends continue, Sens will outshoot the Habs 66-18 tonight. 

-:When Emelin is your first food scoring chance 14 minutes into the game that tonight probably isn't going to be your night.

- Complete neutral zone muckup between Cowen and Ceci gifts Pacioretty a gift break, a wrister that Anderson probably should have gotten a piece of. Tie game. Sens mess up big time.

- I was all like, wow, Emelin played well last night! Thinking all like, maybe Emelin isn't all bad and stuff, Ya know?? Okay. Nevermind. Total stumble and bumble routine in front of Tokarski, Pageau eventually finding the open net. Emelin hurts the team again, costing them another goal. Again. 2-1.

- I was joking earlier when I said the Sens were on pace to get 66 shots tonight. Now I'm not so sure ....

- Well that really was a terrible period of hockey, with the Sens registering 20 shots. That the Habs are only one goal down represents a minor miracle. 

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:


Oh, Radek Bonk. We miss you. That hair. That pretty boy face. Those expectations of greatness from being drafted number one overall. You really were and are the Ottawa Senators  - so full of expectations, invariably leading to so much disappointment. 

Anywho ... it's a good day, isn't it? Last night the Habs played one of their better games this season, edging out the Jackets on the scoreboard 3-2, but on the ice, more or less completely dominating their opponent. The Plekanec/Pacioretty/Gallagher line was a mind boggling +58 in shot attempts. Even Alexei Emelin wasn't (totally) terrible. 

Can this team keep it up? Can their woeful powerplay continue to produce the same way it was zapping up the red light in the 3rd period last night? Granted, this was Columbus, but they aren't really as bad as their record suggests, what with all their injuries sustained this season.

And tonight, the Habs will take on a similar opponent in Ottawa. The Senators are floating somewhere near the lesser parts of the eastern standards, although unlike the Blue Jackets, they can't use injuries as an excuse. The Jackets have lost 266 man games so far this year, Ottawa just over 100.

Anywho, here's the Sens' lines tonight:

Line 1: MacArthur-Turris-Chiasson Line 2: Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan Line 3: Michalek-Pageau-Stone Line 4: Condra-Legwand-Lazar Methot/Karlsson
Cowen/Ceci
Wiercioch/Gryba

Anderson.

So what's up with the Sens? Not a lot that's good. They're home after a four game road trip where they picked up just one win, Ottawa bears some distinct similarities to the Habs - they're not much of a possession team, ranked along with the Habs in the bottom third in the League, they're about the same as far as offensive output is concerned - where there are clear difference is defensively - the Habs have given up more than a half goal less per game than has Ottawa. Fundamentally, the game tonight will be decided by how good the Sens defense hold up, versus how poorly the Habs blue line plays.

One other factor - starting goaltending. Ottawa is expected to start their number one, Craig Anderson, while Dustin Tokarski will probably start for Montreal (even more likely considering the hard bump Carey Price took last night in the first period against Columbus).

Puck drops at 7:40, EST.