Game 46: Habs vs. Hawks

THIRD PERIOD:

- Upon review, the Toews goal was offside, but Habs bench, which wasn't paying attention, didn't challenge it. Inexcusable, but hey. What else is new?

- Andrei Markov hurt? That's lovely. Just keep piling it on.

- Thing is, the Habs aren't getting their clocks cleaned out there, but they're getting beat because they make too many little mistakes that often separate good teams from bad. The Habs are a bad team because even with all of their talent, they play a very un-structured game. Against a well structured team like the Hawks, especially on no rest, it's no contest. 

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Hawks after 20:

.- Hawks first powerplay looking really good, Habs not doing a good job guarding the rush, Hawks zone entires carrying whole lotta speed which is resulting in quality shots at Scrivens.  

- Habs can't catch a cold, never mind a break, as Mitchell is given a high sticking call for not high sticking anyone. Sigh.

- Habs first powerplay cut short by a careless Plekanec high stick. Still, while it was on, Subban was fed numerous times, his shots looked pretty meek. He's either lost timing, velocity or confidence. Or all three. Whatever it is, he's not nearly what he used to be.

- And Hawks capaitize off Plekanec's huh stick, at the benefit of favourable puck bounces, something the Habs never seem to get anymore. 2-1.

- Various unforced errors by Torrey Mitchell tonight, who continues to struggle badly on that 4th line. Looked so good early in the year, but since return to injury, has become a definite defensive liability.

- Toews from behind the net tucks it in. Not sure what Scrivens was doing, not sure what the Habs defense, if you'd like to call it that tonight, were doing. I guess taking a stroll? Killer goal. I think this one is done.

- So, yeah. Habs pretty atrocious defensively, and the team as a whole, looked to have pretty much packed it in. Not sure what it's going to take to get Bergevin to make some sort of a shakeup, but now is as good a time as any.

FIRST PERIOD:

- And .... we're off. Two minutes in, snap shot beats a slow moving Scrivens top corner. 1-0. Hoo boy.

- Hey, maybe all is not quite lost yet - Eller finally buries a shot off a Beaulieu rebound. Game tied. 

- Sweet carry and pass by Barberio that ought have sprung Eller in alone, but Lars muffs the pass. Nonetheless, Barberio continue to prove his mettle by making good decisions with the puck.

- Habs defense is just a mystery. Somali and confident the first two months of the season feeding the puck forward, now totally inept and inefficient. A fundamental reason why the Habs can't buy a win since early December? Puck transition and zone clearances.

- Don't know what Therrien Speer sees in this Desharnais line, other than wasting Galchenyuk's talents, but the line, in particular 51 and Weise, continue to be a defensive mess.

- Hawks pretty much carrying the zone at will, one big reason why their shot attempts are outpacing the Habs 2-to-1. 

- While the Desharnais line continues to go nowhere, Lars Eller is having himself an excellent outing. Again. Lars hasn't been given nearly enough recognition for his play, which gets us right back to the usual topic of Therrien's deployment strategies. On most nights, Eller is usually the 2nd-5th least used Habs forward.

- Period started ominously enough, but Habs managed to not unravel. Still, Hawks ad an awfully well structured hockey team,  which means the Habs will need to count on a few bounces and favours tonight if they hope to escape with any points.

THE HABS MAY NEVER WIN AGAIN, BUT THEY CAN NEVER TAKE THIS AWAY:

Habs will try to avoid their 814th loss this season, as they take on the Blackhawks tonight, right in Chicago.

Won't someone please have some mercy on us?

Game 44: Hawks vs Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Hawks after 40, that 2nd period might have been in the top 3 of periods played by Montreal over the last two months:

- Of note, I think it's safe to say nobody is communicating to Therrien some of the raw data. Thomas Fleischmann, who has the worst CF% among all Habs players after 40 minutes (38.1%), has the most ice time among all Habs forwards.

- Hmm. Galchenyuk now playing on the wing next to Desharnais. One of Therrien's baseless hunches, methinks.

- Looks like Therrien has the blender out and running. Eller centering Fleischmann and Flynn. Uhhh .. no idea. Dunno what to say.

- Anyway, crazy line combinations aside, Habs continuing to apply pressure here, looking for the tying goal. Credit Habs for their efforts, at least.



SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Hawks after 20 minutes. Pretty .. um .. bad.

- Well, it's not quite the same horrorshow as the first period, Habs seem to be settling down a little bit in their own zone, making it less of a freewheel for the Hawks offence.

- Pacioretty getting good looks tonight, just not clicking for him. We speculated last week that he was on the cusp of a big scoring outbreak, but that event never arrived. We're still waiting.

- Habs generating intense scoring flurry on Crawford, who just barely keeps his team ahead on the scoreboard. Barberio with some nifty passing courtesy smart decision making to set up the play. Habs getting close, here.

- Carr on the 4th line is just a total waste.

- Two shift, two huge bodychecks by Emelin, which may or may not give Habs some energy here. Plekanec with a chance that should have been buried. Habs winning the period, but not converting. You can only do this so long before there's a let-down.

- Quite a bounce-back period for Montreal - it's a very strange thing to witness. They looked so awful in the 1st, so good in the 2nd. Can't explain it, other than the defence doing a much better job covering their zones. Habs still a goal down, but reckon to have pretty good odds if they can carry the 2nd right through the 3rd. We'll see.

- Habs first powerplay of the night looked decent enough, but the unit struggled to set up any shots in and around the slot.

- Credit where it's due - Alexei Emelin has been excellent tonight. One of his strongest games in a very long time.

- It's only been happening for 15 minutes, but it's pretty clear that Galchenyuk next to Desharnais is a pretty bad move. Hopefully Therrien pulls the plug on this little experiment before it's too late.

- Habs with a pretty brave performance. After 1 period it looked pretty clear the Habs were well on their way to getting bombed tonight, but they've come out with two excellent periods against a great Chicago team. Will be very disappointing if they can't find a tying goal, given their tremendous efforts.

- Three minutes left, Hawks in full sit-on-the-lead mode. Can the Habs find a way?

- Nope. Exasperating. An heroic effort wasted, Corey Crawford was outstanding, but still, this Habs team can't use that an an excuse. The offence, once again, just couldn't bury their chances - and there were numerous ones generated tonight.

Eyes will again turn to Marc Bereavin. Will he do something, or will this season, with this incredibly deep Habs roster, be frittered away?


FIRST PERIOD:

- With final change, there is no reason for Therrien to get outmatched tonight. That is to say, no reason why Emelin or Desharnais line should be out against either of the Hawks' two two lines.

- Sloppy turnover by Beaulieu with Hawks forwards doing some pretty aggressive forechecking, Deshnarnais forced to take a hooking penalty. Surely the Habs knew this was going to be Chicago's game plan, right?

- Alexei Emelin seems to be more focused on delivering thundering body checks than he is defending Blackhawk rushes. It's that kind of decision making that will inevitable burn the Habs against a team like Chicago.

- Habs lose zone faceoff, and proceed to completely lose all sense of structure, Toews with an easy tap in goal. Pretty abysmal stuff. Hawks have won 25 of 30 games this season in which they scored first.

- Hawks absolutely dominating the Habs, and then Desharnais carries the zone and feed Byron who knocks the puck off his body behind Crawford to even the score. Montreal will need many small miracles tonight, and that the score is tied right now is one.

- Habs defence is just a mess tonight. Again its the Petry/Beaulieu duo, again they're blinding firing pucks up the boards to try to clear the zone, again the Hawks are easily anticipating this terrible strategy, and again they strike again to make it 2-1. Condon doing his upmost, but pucks are coming at him from all directions, rapid-fire.

- Just watching this team is painful. It's simply unfathomable how a roster with so much talent is being made to look like AHL fodder against most of the NHL.

- Therrien sending out Emelin to handle Kane, which is just all kinds of insane. Fans starting to get very restless in the Bell Centre. For good reason.

- That was bad. Really bad. But pretty much what we feared. Hawks are playing at a completely different level than the Habs, who are mostly a defensive catastrophe. This game will almost certainly have a very ugly final result, unless the Canadiens are beneficiaries of some pretty spectacular puck luck, which isn't very likely (nor something you want to count on).

GAME PREVIEW: THIS SCHEDULE ISN'T GETTING ANY EASIER

Are we in last place yet? (no). Is Michel Therrien out of a job yet? (no).  Is Devante Smith-Pelly STILL in the lineup? (no). Is ... woah ... wait. No?!

In case you haven't been paying attention, and heaven knows you'd be forgiven for just turning your head the other direction and ignoring the whole sorted affair - Alex Galchenyuk and Devante Smith-Pelly have been making some pretty stupid headlines in Montreal this week, after it was disclosed that Galchenyuk's (ex?) girlfriend had been chaged with assault. Apparently, this woman, who shall not be named, discovered Mr. Galchenyuk and Mr. Smith-Pelly together, which is innocuous enough. However, in this instances, Mr. Galchenyuk and Mr. Smith-Pelly were in the company of, shall we say, other individuals of the XY chromosomal variety. At that juncture, things got out of hand.

Actually, things really got out of hand when Mr. Galchenyuk, for reasons that still baffle the mind, was made to apologize to the city of Montreal for ... his girlfriend assaulting him (I guess?). Or maybe it was because Alex was being a bad boy in the company of other women? Who knows?!? The bottom line here is that the Montreal Canadiens are fast become the backside punch line of a bad joke, notwithstanding their abhorrent displays of actual hockey the past 45 days.

In any case, Mr. Smith-Pelly, one assumes because he was a participant in this tawdry affair, has been scratched for tonight's game.

So now, the traveling circus that are the Montreal Canadiens host the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks tonight. The Hawks, even though decimated by cap mismanagement the past few years at the cost of some pretty darned good hockey players, continue to just roll along in the Western Conference. There is no other way of explaining the Hawks continued path of success, except to look at what hasn't changed - Chicago's most excellent head coach Joel Quenneville, who has an uncanny knack of being able to turn whatever is shoved on his plate, into a four-star, three course hockey team.

Hey, remember the time when there were rumours flying when newly crowned Habs G.M. Marc Bergevin was knocking on Quenneville's door about filling a vacant head coaching job in Montreal? But then Marc remembered that Quenneville didn't speak french? So instead he hired Michel Therrien? Remember that? Yeah. Good times. Good times.

Sigh.

So tonight, Les Habs will face the music of having to face another well coordinated, well structured, well coached hockey team. The Hawks starting lineup tonight:

1: Shaw/Toews/Hossa
2: Panarin/Teravainen/Kane
3: Panik/Rasmussen/Garbutt
4: Mashinter/Danault/Desjardins

And for the Habs? It's:

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

Keys for the Habs tonight? Hope for a miracle? Keep Desharnais away from the Toews line? Keep Desharnais away from the Teravainen line? Maybe lock Desharnais away in a vault until 10:30 p.m.?

Corey Crawford will start in goal for the Hawks. Mike Condon for the Habs. Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

CAREY PRICE WHEN-IS-HE-COMING-BACK!?!?-UPDATE:

Closer. He's getting closer. It's gonna happen. Don't worry.

Slow and steady wins the race. #TSN690 #CareyPrice pic.twitter.com/OTL3PFZpYO

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) January 14, 2016

TVA Sports

WHY, HELLO THERE

Got sore eyes? That picture oughtta help a little.

Game Twenty-Eight: Habs vs. Hawks

THIRD PERIOD:

- Two period possession numbers pretty much split, Fenwick at 50%.

- If the Hawks score on this powerplay, it'll be yet again an indirect result of the Habs immobile defenders.

- Patrick Kane having trouble hitting open nets tonight. Game should be tied.

- Hawks need to make sure in the future to disway their starting goaltender from getting slammed at concerts. It's been an important difference tonight.

- Absurd hooking call on P.K., an the Hawks take advantage. The targeting of Subban by bad referees must stop.

- Questionable blind hits and boards not being controlled or called by the officials. This game could get nasty as it finishes.

- Hawks have the legs in this period, the loss of Eller and the aged defensive legs, you'd have to figure the Hawks are favoured to win this out before the regulation clock runs out.

- How'd he miss that? Galchenyuk is going to have nightmares for days if the Habs lose this game. 

SECOND PERIOD:

- Fundamental rule of officiating. If you aren't sure, don't call it. Subban given a four minute penalty for high sticking. Reply shows his stick never came close to making any contact.

- Habs survive the 5-on-3, justly I suppose. Canadiens did a very good job forcing Hawks to the perimeter.

- Hawks buzzing, Habs defense as usual is slow footed and unable to react to the rush, Price making two superlative saves to keep his team alive. For now.

- Excellent work by Gallagher carrying (!!!) the zone, drawing three Hawks out of position, dishes to Gonchar, who scores one of his two goals he'll get this season. Tie game. It's getting interesting.

- Habs, dare I say, actually outskating the Hawks at the halfway mark of the 2nd.

- Powerplay as usual, pretty tame. Now Prust with a pretty clear embellishment off a harmless Kane stickcheck. Habs sucker another man advantage.

- P.K. with an unstoppable rocket from the line. It wasn't even fair. Habs lead 3-2. Outworking and outskating the Hawks this period has paid off big time.

- Habs announce that Eller will not return tonight because of an upper body injury. Also, Sekac's status is in doubt. Makes for a difficult 3rd period.

- Emelin, once more, is beaten badly on the outside, this time by Hossa, and gets a tripping call to end the period. A defenseman with average speed and skill doesn't draw that trip.

- Early saves by Price keeping his team in this game, and the Habs chip away by mostly outskating and outworking their opponent, putting the Canadiens in an unlikely two period lead. However, these are the Hawks, and the Habs have suffered some key injuries tonight which will but intense pressure on their bench for the third period. It'll be tough, very tough, for Montreal to maintain this lead.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Annnnnnnnnd ... we're off. Rozsival finishes off a nice three way passing play, Habs 4th line caught badly up ice. Man, what about putting someone like ... oh I don't know ... DALE WEISE out there? 2:13 in and it's 1-0.

- Weise is trying, I'll lend him that. But his skills lend zero to a guy like Pacioretty, who's already got a plateful of problems having to deal with an incompetent centre. Just .... arghhh.

- Chicago plays such a nice clean, efficient transition game, I often wonder just how superb this Habs team could be if they were ever able to replicate this kind of well organized (coached) hockey.

- All in all, Habs doing their best to keep some pace with the Hawks, so the net final result might not be a total wipeout again. Still, hard to fathom the Canadiens being able to compete much longer.

- Gonchar looking everyone of his 40 years tonight, and a bunch more.

- Emelin is a pylon at centre ice, and Kruger is allowed to skate around him with ease and enter the zone. Rebound is deposited in by Smith, and it's 2-0. Habs just can't afford to serve a team like the Hawks these gift goals.

- Well, there's hope. Gallagher puts the Habs on the board. 

- Not a horrible first period, but once again, for the 25th time out of 28 games this season, Habs were the worse first period team. For the most part the Canadiens did a decent job possession wise, some of the zone exits and entries were reasonably decent. But the Hawks are just a better organized and playing team, they feast of teams like the Habs. Don't see much hope tonight.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

Oh Patrick Kane. Don't you ever change. Don't you ever stop going out in public and making a celebratory drunken ass of yourself. You must set the example for others to follow! Such as, say, your teammate Corey Crawford, who earlier this week accidentally injured his foot when he "stepped wrongly" on some stairs at a Rise Against (seriously?) concert. Assuming when you say "stepped wrongly" as in "so drunk he could barely step forward". BINGO. Out nearly a month with a fractured foot. YOUR CHICAGO BLACK HAWKS EVERYONE.

Speaking of never changing ... the Habs. Here we are at the 1/3rd mark of the season, and our esteemed coach continues to do the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. The results being, in this case, putting the should-be scoring megastar Max Pacioretty next to the frustratingly meek David Desharnais, the later of which is 327th in the whole damn NHL in shots taken - a pathetic 30 shots in 27 games. FOR THE SUPPOSED NUMBER ONE CENTRE.

So Pacioretty, saddled with the guy who never does anything other than dipsy doodle around with the puck, spends most of his shifts trying to figure out what the hell his centre is doing, while the rest of the faithful scream out to coach Therrien to put him next to someone at least half-competent, like Lars Eller.

Oh but it gets better. Not satisfied with pairing up his best forward with one of the most underachieving centres in the game, Therrien has been regularly promoting forth liner Dale Weise to play on the top line, because ... we have no idea. A good chunk of the rest of us have been readily suggesting that Therrien try, I mean ... AT LEAST TRY, to put the ridiculously fast, exciting and hard-nosed playing Jiri Sekac alongside with Pacioretty and Eller. I mean ... THAT'S A LINE.

But nope. Just the same old thing. Over and over again. And in the meantime, the Habs continue to lose, what with Doug Murray Part Deux getting more than 11 minutes of ice time a night, while guys who can actually play, you know, defense, are stuck either up in the pressbox, or sit stapled to the bench in meek hopes that they'll crack the 8 minute mark.

The Habs are not, and we must underscore this, not playing very well right now. Which is to be kind. The game in Minnesota was a total deception on the scoreboard - the Canadiens, until the Wild decided to take a cruise victory vacation for a good chunk of the 3rd period, were completed overwhelmed by a pretty ordinary Minnesota team, getting outshot exactly 3 to 1 through the first 40 minutes of the game.

And tonight? Against a true powerhouse like the Chicago Black Hawks? Not even Carey Price can wallpaper over the holes in this team's walls like he did Wednesday night.

It's probably going to be a very long, ugly night in Chicago. Maybe it's best if we all just turn in early.

Puck drops at 8:40 EST.

Game Thirteen: Hawks vs. Habs

CALLING GUY BOUCHER ... ANSWER YOUR PHONE GUY ... ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE


Third Period:

- Okay, getting sick of the embellishments calls on the Habs. The officials have clearly been indoctrinated - instead of making the right call (often no call), they're looking to nail the Habs, in particular Subban, for offenses not committed. 

- And of course, the Hawks capitalize, taking a 3-0 advantage. 

- Last 16 shots taken in this game, all have been by the Hawks. 

- Beaulieu with a pinch? I'm pinching myself it happened. The last time a Habs defenseman did that was before ice was invented, I do believe.

- Hate to see Patrick Sharp get hurt in a game already won, against such a weak opponent. Tough break.

- The powerplay. My eyes. They burn. They burn.

- Five. Count 'em. Five man advantage events tonight for Montreal. One. Count 'em. One shot registered on goal. 

- Dan Lacroix. Master escapee extraordinaire. His uncanny ability to escape job termination would impress The Great Houdini.

- Kane makes it a route. But then we saw this coming at the half way mark.

- Habs had a good start to the game, but ultimately ended up embarrassing themselves. Even though the team has 8 wins in 13 games, the complete lack of offense and discipline must be raising plenty of red flags amongst the upper echelons of the club's decision makers. This team, so loaded with talent, is getting outplayed badly. A shakeup might come a lot sooner than many had ever anticipated if this continues.


Second Period:

- Weird how the Habs seem to compete so much better with Bounival in the lineup, huh?

- From weird to inexplicable. Weise as a top 9 forward. It isn't working.

- Bounces with the Hawks tonight. Habs puck luck that got them to an 8-2 start is now pretty much gone.

- Habs get powerplay, Subban gets nailed for a dumb hold. Head bangs on wall.

- It's #AlmostBourque not because he's good at almost scoring, but he's a master at making mistakes. Really getting near that point of cutting bait. It's not working. It's just never going to work.

- Getting ugly now. Habs competed for 30 minutes, but now the Hawks are simply dominating everywhere. Price keeping this a two goal margin, but that can't possibly last. 

- Play quite literally is contained to just the Habs zone now. It's a wreck out there.

- Habs are a talented bunch that are getting a sour taste of the League's elite. With a competent coaching staff the sky's the limit for Montreal. Until then, however, they can only watch the Hawks in awe and wonder how it must feel to play on a team with direction.

First Period:

- So Subban gets the criticism by local media heads for the Habs sucking so bad lately on offense. Because, stupid.

- Habs get the first powerplay? Well that's different. First goal? Sheyah. Right.

- Habs PP unit gripping the wheel way too tight. No fluidity. No cohesiveness. Looking terrible as usual.

- Weaver given unsportsmanlike conduct. What for? Who knows. It wasn't a dive, there was none. Sigh.

- That awful first powerplay aside, Habs have kept pace very well, keeping Hawks' intimidating big producers in check. So far playing the game required to stay close to a team like Chicago. 

- Habs almost .... dare we say ... dominating the period? It's hard to come to grips with because we haven't seen it this season in the first period. In particular against a team like the Hawks. They need to bury one of these great chances, and soon.

- Hawks score on their first powerplay because of course they do. It really isn't that hard. They do what the Habs can't. Have a defenseman get a shot away that either isn't blocked or is at least at the net. Get a couple of forwards in front for a screen or deflection. All foreign concepts to the Habs right now.

- Wasn't it only last week that Habs were working on carrying the zone? Looks like that's been ashcanned. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program of dump and chase. 

- Well. That went petty well. Except the other guys scoring part. Still, Habs did a more than reasonable job keeping pace, containing the Hawks rush. Still, this team is definately in a funk. Bodes poorly for the rest of the game.

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD

So here's the deal. I didn't blog the rest of the Flames game, thank goodness, because I had an officiating assignment. Yeah, I'm a referee. But shuuuussssssssssh ... don't tell anyone about my team alliances, okay?

All I can say is, thank goodness I didn't stay and watch.

Tonight it's the Hawks from Chicago. You thought Calgary was bad? Just you wait. Just you wait.

Game Eighty: Habs vs. Hawks

OVERTIME:

- Whatever the result, Habs have demonstrated tonight they are capable of competing against elite teams.

- Ugh. What a way to lose a game in overtime. Budaj batting the puck into his own net. Sigh.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Gallgher just doesn't look 100%. Total speculation but I strongly believe he's playing injured.

- Hawks nearly convert off a poor giveaway by Bouillon (or course). Betcha if there's a mistake that leads to the first goal, Bouillon will be involved.

- White is back. That's good news. 

- Game is a defensive standstill now. Habs still haven't had a powerplay in the game.

- Man, Beaulieu reminds me so much of a young Matthew Schneider.

- Bournival, who's had a fantastic game battling for pucks, creates the puck turnover to Bourque who does a fine job carrying the zone. Weise cashing in a funky bounce off a Gorges wrister. 1-0.

- Bournival, Bourque and Gionta the Habs best forwards tonight. Also Plekanec. All battling hard.

- Rene Bourque has the major mojo going tonight. If he can bring this game into the first round, it will make this Habs team far more difficult to handle.

- Tinordi at times looks like the most confused player in the rink. Needs to work on his awareness.

- Hawks tie it. Gionta fails to clear the zone, Moron takes advantage with a labeled and unstoppable shot booker side. And here I was heaping all that praise on the captain. He's got to clear that puck.

- Sweet give and go between Vanek and Bouillon, who blasts one through Crawford from 50 feet1. Great shot by Bouillon but Vanek with sweet hands and awareness. Brilliant.

- Habs having trouble playing with the lead. Hawks really turning the screws, Budaj doing all he can to protect the lead. Barely.

- Crawford just robbed Patches from his 40th. Oy.

- Beaulieu has to be far less flippant playing the puck up the boards from his corner. It's creating significant turnovers and scoring chances for the Hawks.

- Habs looking for the dagger but they'd be careful not to open this game up.

- Oy, Bouillon with a hold, more out of exhaustion I suspect. It's a bad penalty to take with just 4 minutes left in the 3rd.

- Budaj get ready cause the wave is coming and it's gonna be heavy

- Bournival and White with a fantastic PK shift. 

- Hossa ties it. Weaver caught out if position. Oy.

- Crawford does it to Pacioretty again. Wide open net with just seconds left. Brilliant feed by Vanek. Oh well.

- Disappointing OT result. That was an excellent road game for the Habs, all undone by last minute Hawks goal. Still, to get at least a point out of Chicago is a good night.

SECOND PERIOD:

 - Oy boy. Habs Hab lost both Galchenyuk and White to injury in that first period. Therrien must essentially run three lines against this deep Hawks team. Can you say screwed?

- First period shot block totals for the Habs - 14. That's crazy high.

- Very, very tight checking both sides first five minutes. Just two shots (both by Hawks).

- Pacioretty with clear cut break and hooked by Seabrook just as he was about to hook. That ought to have been a penalty or penalty shot.

- Briere has been given some pretty golden setups by his linemates tonight, but has muffed every opportunity.

- Budaj very calm, very good positionally. Making easy saves on tough chances.

- Gallagher really struggling with the command of the puck tonight. Really struggling.

- Game has been relatively mistake free - probably will require one to break this tie.

- Desharnais line has generated two breaks so far - this Hawks defense does have a tendency of sometimes being caught napping.

- Gorges quietly having a very solid return game tonight. Thats good news heading into the first round.

- Nathan Beaulieu jumping up to get a good scoring chance on Crawford. You just know that Therrien will have nothing of that kind of play. Here's hoping the coach won't squeeze the spirit out of Beaulieu's play. 

- Subban does so much to cover for his partner's incompetence - in this instance it's Bouillon (as usual).

- Still scoreless but much better period for the Habs - had far better presence in the neutral zone, and much better possession. This game, if trend continues, might end up a toss up. Good road game against a tough opponent.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Quite a pace to start this game, seven minutes straight without a whitsle, Crawford tested a couple of times, Budaj also with a couple of nice saves.

- Beaulieu is partnered with a Bouillon, looks like he hasn't missed a beat. Very solid positional play in his own zone.

- Briere with a Bourquesque "almost" off a three-on-one. I'm wondering if it's contagious.

- Habs are collectively wayyyyy to soft off the Hawks transition, not playing aggressive in the neutral zone, and it's creating grade A scoring chances on Budaj, who's doing his best to hold them back. It can't be for much longer, though. 

- Habs are being taken to the shed, Hawks totally outskating and out possessing Montreal on a totally lobsided scale. Canadiens doing a great Leafs inpersonation this period.

- Crazy that the Habs have registered two more shots. It's been so crazy one sided.

- Galchenyuk hit awkwardly along the boards by Hossa, he's left the bench and hasn't returned.

- That said, a pretty decent period for both Bourque and Gionta.

- Scoreless is a major victory for the Habs - they were saved by some fine shit blocking, but still, this team looks way too passive against an undermatched opponent. Canadiens must intensify their neutral zone play in the second or else Chicago will start scoring with great regularity.

GAMEDAY GOO (APRIL 9)

- HOO BOY. Ben Bishop. In case you missed it, Bishop went down to injury in the first period against the Leafs last night, with an apparent arm (shoulder? wrist?) injury. He was assisted off the ice, and missed the rest of the game (Leafs lost, they're done for the season, ha ha ha har har ... okay enough about Toronto).

Here's the play:

Word out this afternoon is Bishop will not play for the remainder of the regular season (three games), but has not been ruled out for playing in the first round of the playoffs, which will start in 7 or 8 days from now.


Tampa will be in tough ... really, really tough, against the Habs if Bishop is unable to play either all, or even a part of the first round.


HEALTHY SCRATCHES UPDATE (April 8):

- So the Habs are prepping for the first round by shelving three regulars for tomorrow night's game against Chicago. Carey Price, Alexei Emelin and Andrei Markov will not play (and will actually stay in Montreal).

Habs haven't yet announced who'll be called up to sit for Price. Probably Tokarski. 


HAPPY TUESDAY!!

HEY no messin' around. Guess who was up at the crack of dawn this weekend lining up online for post-season tickets? YEAH ME. Guess who got Section 105 seating for the Tampa series?? YEAH, ME BABY!!

'Course, this puts a small crimp in the plans to bring ya'll live blogging coverage for a good chunk of the first round, since I'll be in the stands having a grand ol' time.

Anyway, enough rubbing it in your faces. Let's talk some Habs. Practice this morning, and maybe ... just maybe ... some good news??

Forwards:

Line 1: Pacioretty/Desharnais/Vanek
Line 2: Galchenyuk/Plekanec/Gallagher
Line 3: Bourque/Eller/Gionta
Line 4: Bournival/Bourque/White

Defense:

- Markov/Emelin
- Gorges/Subban
- Tinordi/Weaver (YAY).

Guess who's on the 4th line D? Bouillon! Anyway, that front 6 set is just exactly what I'd run with in the post-season (although I'd be fine with flipping Beaulieu and Tinordi).

Anyway ... progress!!!

Game Thirty-Five: Habs v. Hawks

So the Twitter world today sez that Budaj will get the starts against the Hawks tomorrow night.

Um ... gulp??

11:56 p.m. EST, Tuesday December 20: Here's a great post in response to banter that the Habs franchise could be well served by tanking for high picks. It's a philosophy full of folly, and an almost sure-fire path to ruin, with only great exception.

10:33 a.m. EST, game day: So Budaj is in, Weber and Emelin are healthy scratches (same lineup as against the Bruins).

First Period:

- A little housekeeping first, while this blog is but a little less than three months old, I'm getting some increasing traffic from - well, wherever it's coming from. To for those who have stopped and maybe made a return visit or two, thanks much! I hope my Habs insights have been ... well, insightful :)

- Jesus, what a national anthem. Hawks already off to a great start and we haven't even dropped the puck.

- The Hawks horsepower visibly 50 or more than ours. How can we reasonably hope to come out of this with a couple of points?

- Keeping an eye on Kostitsyn, coming off a pretty poor effort in Boston.

- Very fast pace so far, Hawks most of the chances so far but nothing spectacular.

- Budaj a little lucky, but pretty solid so far.

- Pretty decent first PP, much of it spent in Hawks' zone.

- Well, the boys held their own against the best team in the West. So that's good I suppose.

Second Period:

- Oh man, Budaj just robbed Kane point blank with a great save. He struggled in his last start while Habs were on the PK, so good test here.

- Unquestionably Cammalleri is one of the Habs' biggest disappointments this season and he's said he's trying to work on the basics, but his positioning is just ... way off. He never really seems to be where the puck is going, and struggles to generate high percentage chances.

- PP strikes again!! And it's Kostitsyn. Maybe should keep an eye on Cammelleri and see if that pans out :p

- Habs can't sit on this. They must maintain composure and game plan emphasizing cautious puck control and keeping turnovers limited (hopefully eliminated).

- Lame call on Blunden for the simple act of checking the puck handler. Official was looking for something that didn't exist.

- You just can't ever let your guard down. Subban a bit soft in front and Toews is allowed to penetrate the crease and tie it up.

- And just like that, in 21 seconds, the Hawks take the lead. This time Campoli flops too soon and Budaj double clutches on Sharp's wrister. Cunneyworth fuming.

- Pacioretty encapsulate the whole Habs season by shooting the puck 10 feet over a completely wide open net.

- Habs missing some glorious chances but I'll give 'em credit for not taking this laying down.

- Habs trailing, Hawks leading after 40. It's just one goal, but the odds are now pretty long because the Canadiens are quite simply one of the League's worst 3rd period teams.

Third Period:

- Budaj has been pretty good, certainly not the main reason why the Habs might lose tonight, but his puck handling abilities are pretty nerve-racking.

- Yes, a major part of Plekanec's responsibilities tonight has been in a checking roll, but he and his line have again been too invisible. Habs' hopes are basically left to the Desharnais line, and the Hawks know it.

- Still good chunk of time left, Habs must maintain guard over their net, commit no turnovers, and be patient (and take advantage of any rare opportunities).

- Nope. Soft zone coverage by Plekanec line and a stoppable shot by Stalberg eludes Budaj. Can't throw away these games by letting the opposition's fourth line score. Just can't.

- Again, he wasn't awful, but don't expect to see another start from Budaj anytime soon. I'm sure there will be plenty of criticism and second-guessing directed at Cunneyworth for not playing Price tonight and saving Budaj for the Jets tomorrow.