Game 2: Habs vs. Sens

OTTAWA 4, MONTREAL 3 (SO): FIVE ONSIDE HABS POINTS

- Plenty of post-game musings about some of the line shuffling done by Michel Therrien - a good chunk of it negative. My reactions were mixed. I was fine with switching up Radulov with Gallagher, putting the young Russian next to AK27. It's a pairing that had been advocated by Habs followers long before last night's game. What was puzzling was Therrien's decision later in the game to demote Galchenyuk next to Paul Byron. Don't get me wrong - I like Byron, he brings a good measure of speed and tenacity that makes him a good 4th line winger. But next to the guy who's supposed to be the 1A center? That's just bad deployment.

- Speaking of deployment, more puzzling moves by the esteemed coach. Coming off a very impressive 2nd powerplay, in which the Habs came agonizing close to scoring, on the team's 3rd powerplay, he deployed David Desharnais, who's played two pretty terrible games to start the season. The results were predictable - Desharnais was uninvolved during most of his shift because, unsurprisingly, the Habs were unable to even possess the puck in the Senator's zone. 

- More Therrien criticism was heaved over the player selection during the shootout, which I didn't think was as nearly a big a deal as his regular time and OT player deployment strategies.  Sure, Desharnais muffed up his shot, but he was used during the sudden death portion of the shootout. The shootout by itself is a crapshoot - viewed through that lens, I'd say to Habs fans, chill out. The only reasonable critique would be the order of shooters, the Habs best player in this format is Galchenyuk. But Therrien put AK27 3rd, and instead chose to start with Radulov (who, granted, scored - but that's beside the point). The main point here is in these coin-flip events, you always start with your best. Always.

- After a subjectively so-so performance Thursday night, Shea Weber had a better game against Ottawa. Except for a very ill-advised pinch with just seconds left in the 1st period, which very nearly cost the Habs what would have been a killer Sens goal, Weber did an excellent job shoring up the Habs PK unit - and played a key role in two significant game events - the 2nd period 4-on-3 kill which Weber was out for the entire 2 minute duration, and an even more significant 1:43 second 5-on-3 kill almost midway in the 3rd.

- Yes, it's only two games, but the Habs seem to have made a very good pickup in Al Montoya, who saved his team's bacon more than a few times last night, especially in the 3rd period. The Habs, with Montoya, were able to replicate their winning "formula" of 2014-15, by picking up 1 or 2 points against an opponent who readily outplayed them. Except last night, it was against the Ottawa Senators, a team that probably won't be playoff competitive. Tuesday night, the Canadiens won't have the luxury of playing a lesser opponent, as they host the Crosby-less Penguins at the Bell Centre.

FIRST PERIOD:

- In case you didn't read the pregame preview, keep an eye on the Senators defence - it's easily their weakest spot. Habs should have the talent to expose and exploit this deficiency  - the only question is, do they have any effective strategy in place?

- Petry will be paired with Markov, not Pateryn as we posted earlier. Okay!

- Fairly physical start to the gam e, Ottawa seems to be wanting to shore up its defensive issues by taking the body early and often.

- That's the downside from focusing mainly on hitting - you start taking penalties. It's Methot who goes for a hit without any puck around, and gets nailed for interference.

- After keeping him on the bench for a good chunk of the first game, Therrien puts Desharnais on the powerplay, and looks utterly lost.

- Turnover on the Sens blue line, Shea Weber gets completely lost on the play, creating a break for 4th liner Dingel, who has the time to tuck in his own rebound, and it's 1-0. That's pretty typical Shea Weber faire. He's prone to getting caught wildly out of position from time to time. 

- Habs a pretty awful so far with 8 minutes gone - passing is poor, speed is lacking. Puck is mostly being dumped and chased, which is the prototypical Therrien losing formula. 

- Not sure if it's a European thing, but Plekanec line is easily the Habs best at cycling the puck.

- Al Montoya looking much more tentative tonight than he did Thursday. Beaten clean by a 45 foot slapper, post saves the day.

- Habs still 0-for on their powerplay, really pushing for Weber one timers. Problem is, his windup is so huge, his shots are getting blocked. When they're not, they're going wide of the target. So far, so futile.

- Bad break, as Zach Smith shot deflects off Pateryn's blade in the slot, and past Montoya. 2-0. Onwards!!

- Weber with insanely stupid pinch to keep the puck in with just second left on the clock, creating a 2-on-1 Sens break that's only stopped by a Torrey Mitchell hold. 

- Habs basically manhandled in that period by a mediocre Sens team. 5v5 - it was nearly total ineptitude for the Canadiens, with only one slight bright spot being their 2nd powerplay in which Weber couldn't hit the net. Have the feeling this could be a long night.

SECOND PERIOD:

- That early period powerplay doesn't net a goal, but Ottawa has at least carried the resulting momentum. Things continue to be very one-sided.

- Montoya doing a belly flops (bad!!) in a futile attempt to cover the net. If not for a Weber block off a flop, it would be 3-0.  Please tell me Carey is gonna be alright, okay? 

- Alex Radulov looks pretty solid - this time carrying the puck and making a very sweet pass on the open side to Max Pacioretty, who can't bury the puck into a gaping net. 

- Galchenyuk, who hasn't had a stellar start to the season, with an ill-advised hook near the Sens blue line to give Ottawa a dangerous 4-on-3 powerplay.

- Been rough on Weber tonight, so credit on helping to kill that powerplay - out the entire 2 minutes, blocking at least two high danger Sens shots.

- Not sure what Guy Boucher was thinking, but putting out Chris Neil on that 4-on-3 powerplay didn't make much sense. A third Ottawa goal pretty much ends this game. For now, the Habs, as badly as they're playing, still have a hope.

- Therrien making a key adjustment here, taking Gallagher off the Galchenyuk line, and replacing him with Radulov. Gallagher is now playing with Plekanec.

- Habs 3rd powerplay, a mess. I guess the last time out was just a fluke.

- Hey look at that, they moment after I post my previous comment they score. On the powerplay. Petry (yeah, Petry) with a cannon from the line. So anyway, that Habs 24th Stanley Cup. I guess that was just a fluke.

- Habs managing to find some game, seemingly after that big 4-on-3 penalty kill, a large part because of Weber's fine PK work. Canadiens seem to be finding more open ice to pass and carry the puck more easily. Also approve of the move to put Radulov next to Galchenyuk - this was a combination many were hoping for leading up to, and continuing through training camp. Hopefully Therrien will still with this for a little while - I have the feeling he'll see some positive results.

THIRD PERIOD:

- So after having an excellent game Thursday night, Alexei Emelin has been pretty wretched tonight - Senators outshooting the Habs 8-0 tonight with him on the ice.

- Pretty good start by the Habs, first 2 minutes anyway. Carrying the zone well, passing seems to be more accurate, utilizing speed ... generating decent scoring attempts in higher danger locations.

- And there we go, and it's Lehkonen banging home a loose puck to pot his very first NHL goal. The kid is making quite an impression this week with hard work, and determination to look for pucks in front of the net. Tie game. 

- Pacioretty given an absurd interference call to give the Sens a nearly two minute long 5-on-3. Crazy bad call.

- A magnificent 5-on-3 kill. Habs outstanding job blocking shots and covering passing lanes. And here we criticized them Thursday night for their PK. Fully rescinded tonight. That was excellent. Weber, Markov and Plekanec were beasts.

- Sens play a very loose box on their PK, for fear of a Weber shot. It's opening up a ton of space low in front of Anderson. When Weber is on, that is.

- Petry ... has he been working out this summer? Another absolute cannon shot as the powerplay ends, with Anderson screened, and the Habs take the lead. 

- Such is the game of hockey, the Habs have fed off the momentum not from their powerplay, but from their penalty killing unit tonight. The Canadiens got a huge boost after a key penalty kill in the second that eventually got them on the board, and now feeding off an enormous 5-on-3 kill, the Habs have stormed back to take the lead.

- A shaky first, but Al Montoya has been huge this period. Key saves and key times, shutting the door in the 3rd. That pickup looking better and better every minute played.

- Byron nestled with Galchenyuk, which is either Therrien giving him a promotion, or giving Galchenyuk a demotion. Either way, it makes little sense.

- Radulov might have a reputation, but he can't be criticized for work ethic - at least from what we've seen so far.

- Sigh. Unforced error turnover by Byron at centre ice, gives Sens odd man break, and ex-Hab Tom Pyatt tucks one in under the crossbar. Lead, and possible win, slips away.

- Good question to ask Therrien after this game if anyone cares - why were you putting out your 4th line that late in the 3rd period with a one goal lead?

- The plan was to scale back Andrei's old legs this season. What happened with that? 21 minutes tonight is still way too much.

- So off to OT we go. Maybe let the young kids get their shot? Radulov and Lehkonen have by far been the Habs big offensive spark plugs. 

OVERTIME:

- Answer to my question is nope, at least not starting off. Therrien puts out Pacioretty, Plekanec and Weber to start.

- Galchenyuk with Radulov!!

- Therrien puts out Markov, which is all kinds of foolish.

- Keeping with that theme, Desharnais gets a shift. It goes nowhere. 

- An entertaining, but frustrating OT ... Therrien had four sets that he was rotating through, one with Desharnais, and also putting out the clearly exhausted Markov. Almost trying for a loss, with that kind of strategy. On to the shootout.

- Turris scores, and a beauty response by Radulov, with sweet soft hands and a backhander to tie the shootout. Pacioretty misses, and ... he's terrible at breakaways. Don't see the logic there.

- Karlsson with the game winner, and the Habs cough up a point. 

- David Desharnais, another lousy choice, fittingly, totally muffs his attempt, and the Sens take the extra point. Oy.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

The Montreal Canadiens complete their early season mini-road trip tonight as they take on the Ottawa Senators in Kanata. Both teams are coming off opening night victories, the Sens a 5-4 OT win over the Leafs, the Habs a 4-1 victory over the Sabres.

Tonight's game will feature the season debut of defensemen Jeff Petry. To make way, the Canadiens announced that rookie defensemen Mikhail Sergachev, who struggled in his NHL regular season debut, as a healthy scratch.

Also of newsworthy consideration, Carey Price continues to battle what has been described as a "severe case of the flu" at home in Montreal. According to team doctors, Price is on antibiotics - there's no timetable for his return. Al Montoya will start tonight for the Canadiens.

So here's how the Habs lines break down for tonight's game:

- Pacioretty/Galchnyuk/Gallagher
- Lehkonen/Plekanec/Rudulov
- Carr/Desharnais/Shaw
- Danault/Mitchell/Byron

- Beaulieu/Weber
- Markov/Pateryn
- Emelin/Petry

- Montoya

Meanwhile, the Sens will start the same lineup as they did Thursday in their win over Toronto:

- Hoffman/Turris/Stone
- Smith/Brassard/Ryan
- Varone/Pageau/Pyatt
- Dzingel/Kelly/Neil

- Methot/Karlsson
- Phaneuf/Ceci
- Borowiecki/Wideman

- Anderson

From the Senators perspective, keep an eye on the Phaneuf/Ceci pairing, with Phaneu, who's been awful the past season + (and a terrible acquisition by the Senators last season), being a likely liability. Habs, who saw strong performances by their 2nd line, specifically Tomas Plekanec and Artturi Lehkonen, might attempt some line matching strategies to exploit Ottawa's defensive weaknesses.

Also, while the Senators did manage an extra time victory, it was a shaky night for starting netminder Frederik Anderson. Big question is how he'll fare against a more competitive Habs team.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

Game 55: Lightening vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Lightening after 2nd period: Trouble for Habs is their declining CF (just over 42% in the period), and zone starts have been pretty horrible as a whole. Habs will need to gain more neutral and offensive zone faceoffs in this 3rd period if they hope to hang on to this lead.

- Ugh. Flynn and more critical, Beaulieu will not return tonight because of injury. I'm not 100% on this, but I believe they were injured off the same shot by Stamkos.

- Plekanec. Somebody get out an extinguisher, because this man is on fire. Made Bishop look bad luring him way out of the net. Habs take a momentous 4-1 lead.

- Habs more or less all over Tampa in their zone. Not sure if the Lightening have thrown in the towel, but if they don't get their act in gear quickly, they might as well.

- Not sure what Scrivens was doing, but he wanders way out of his net off a rebound, leaving his cage completely wide open. Hedman with a goal as pretty much as easy as they'll come, and it's 4-2.

- Uh-oh. Tampa finding some mo' here. Habs on their heels in their zone, being very sloppy with the puck, and containing rebounds.

- 7 minutes left, fantastic shift by the Eller line, Habs coming very close to regaining their 3 goal lead. Habs must continue to play aggressively if they want to close this game out.

- Signing off at this point as a work meeting beckons me, but if the Habs do hold on, Montreal is taking bigger steps towards getting themselves back into playoff consideration. A lot can happen in a week, but then again, who saw coming Plekanec catching fire and Scrivens playing outstanding net minding?


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Lightening after one period. Habs CF (5v5) was a not-very-good 45.9%.

- Of note in that first period, Eller CF (5v5) was 100.%, but he had the least amount of ice time among forwards, while Flynn at 6:01, had the second most. Don't ask me for answers, I have none.

- Great start. Another blind attempt to clear the zone by shooting the pucks up the boards results in (predictably) another turnover, and a soft little wrist shot by Filppula somehow finds the back of the net. Game tied.

- Not sure what's going on. Habs line combinations are scattered all over the place. Andrighetto with Pacioretty, Smith-Pelly with Eller. Impossible to keep track.

- The suddenly red-hot Tomas Plekanec strikes again, picking up the rebound off a point shot and beating Bishop with a backhander. Bishop has long been inclined to give up juicy rebounds - tonight appears to be little different. 2-1 Habs.

- Bishop is big, but he's hurting himself by not being able to contain the puck. Habs getting some great close in looks off bouncing pucks around the Tampa net tonight.

- HABS GET A POWERPLAY. That actually just happened.

- HABS POWERPLAY IN COMPLETE DISARRAY. But you knew that would happen.

- Beaulieu sacrificing his body, and quite possibly an entire leg, to block a Stamkos bullet. Credit to the kid after getting screwed over by his coach this weekend, he's demonstrated some fortitude tonight.

- Habs not doing a particularly good job breaking from their zone, pucks from the defense have been widely off the mark, although Habs forwards haven't really been doing a very good job finding open spaces up ice. The line blender might have something to do with that, as forwards try to figure out their new line mates. Deployment issues, folks.

- Andrighetto given lots of powerplay time, and suddenly, the Habs look great with the man advantage. Bishop giving up tons of rebounds, but his big body manages to keep the puck out. Still, Habs powerplay looking 5 times better the second time around, Andrighetto definitely a big part of that.

- Huge. Huge. Subban with some incredible work carrying the puck, then feeding to the front of the net, the puck hitting Smith-Pelly's skate and into the net. Good goal, and Habs take a 3-1 lead into the break.

- Habs were inconsistent in the period, but seemed to get things in order late in the period, first a very good late powerplay, and then continuing pressure giving Habs a two goal lead. This team seems to be finding some of its mojo again. Hard to pinpoint where or who it's coming from, but it seems to be coming.



FIRST PERIOD:

- Woah, Beaulieu, taking it out on Paquette with the fists.

- Desharnais with an absolutely horrendous puck giveaway right in front of Scrivens. It's a good thing he's more defensively responsible than Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller.

- Pleakanec generates a turnover in his own zone, and feed Gallagher who takes it one end to the other and beats Bishop with a beauty of a snap shot. Habs take early 1-0 lead.

- Bizarre turn of events. Plekanec with a snap shot that beats Bishop, and as far as we can tell, entered the goal since the official pointed to indicate a goal was scored, but play continues for another 4 minutes before ending with a penalty on the Habs. But did Plekanec score??

- Plekanec's shot hit one post, crossed to the other side, and hit the other. That pretty much sums up Montreal's puck luck since early December. Meanwhile, the defensively responsible Emelin gets nabbed for a clunky hook. Defensively irresponsible Lars Eller might see some ice time on the PK.

- Habs actually generating some decent breakouts from their own zone tonight. But that Tampa defense, with Garrison's absence, not quite as nimble.

- Another bad penalty, this time by Smith-Pelly. More useless and hurtful ice time for the Habs almost completely useless 4th line.

- Habs enjoy again a first period lead, although they need to be more disciplined from taking stupid penalties. But that's a deployment issue - with Therrien insisting night after night putting out guys like Emelin and Smith-Pelly (while there are far better options at hand). Anyway, Scrivens looks good again tonight, lending even more suspicion that he might actually be in a groove.


GAME NOTES:

- So Jeff Petry is out tonight with an unspecified lower body injury. In his place, as absurd as it seems, will be Nathan Beaulieu, whom, for whatever dizzying reason possible, has fallen out of the Habs top six defensive starters.

- Ben Scrivens is in net, which should surprise absolutely nobody given how well he played over the weekend. Ben Bishop, Tampa's number one starter, will be backstopping the Lightening.

- Tampa has enjoyed much success of late in the Bell Centre. They're 5-0 over the past 5 on Montreal's turf.

- Lots of buzz surrounding the Lightening today, specifically soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos, in light of the trade earlier today between the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, in which the Leafs managed to unload Dion Phaneuf's contract on Ottawa, thereby clearing all the decks for Toronto to make an aggressive bid for Stamkos' services this summer.

- And speaking of Ottawa, the Lightening were more or less manhandled by the Senators last night 5-1, which may be good news for the Habs if Tampa is entering a slump, or bad news for the Habs if Tampa wishes to take out their frustrations from losing against a pretty bad hockey team.

- Normally we'd speculation about Habs strategy before the game, but with things going as they have been the past three months, we're no longer sure the Canadiens really have much of anything resembling a strategy on any given night. Regardless, the Habs would be wise, with the luxury of last change, to send out their most capable players to shadow 2nd line right winger Nikita Kucherov and, of course, 1st line Stamkos. That means, no Desharnais line, no 4th line time against either player, if it can be avoided.

- Injuries, well ... except for the Petry LBI, Tampa will be without the services of Jason Garrison, which hurts them a bit. The Lightening's defence won't be quite as agile around their net tonight as per usual, so a little window of opportunity at hand for the Habs.

- The Bolts lines tonight? They are:

- Palat/Namestnikov/Stamkos
- Kilorn/Johnson/Kucherov
- Brown/Filppula/Callahan
- Paquette/Boyel/Marchessault

- Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game 43: Pens vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Pens after 40. Pretty much more of the same, only not quite as bad as the 1st period:

- Lars Eller getting lots of ice time tonight, since being moved to the Desharnais line, and it's certainly helped that 3rd unit improve possession numbers. Meanwhile, the 4th line is just a black hole. 0% CF (5v5) over 40 minutes. That's ... well ... they really shouldn't be getting very many shifts for the rest of the night.

- If Therrien is going to start spouting out line combinations with the ol' blender, would it hurt to maybe try 67/27/11? Just a little bit? Or maybe 27/81?  Eller is carrying Desharnais at the moment, so put him with someone capable of scoring. Just thinking out loud.

- Pretty listless period so far, 7 minutes in. Pens not really gunning hard for an insurance, Habs not really playing with any sense of urgency. Both teams trading mild punches. 

- Well hey there, Eller is with Galchenyuk. Just like we asked for? Annnnnnd .. first shift Eller nailed for a trip (head on desk).

- Mike Condon doing a very good Carey Price impersonation tonight. Might bail Habs out of another poor PK again.

- Why is Therrien putting Smith-Pelly out on the PK? If not for Condon, it would be 3-1 (actually, 5 or 6-1).

- Habs showing some push here with 7 minutes left in the 3rd. Eller/Galchenyuk reunification looks good. Really good.

- Subban playing the left side of the powerplay tonight, and he looks great. It's kind of crazy that it's taken half a season for the braintrust behind the bench to figure this out, but here we are. Game 43.

- Pens basically hung on for the final 5 minutes, and hang on they did. Excellent start by Condon wasted, because this team has reverted right back to December's form - unable to put the puck into the net. It wasn't a complete whitewash tonight, but the game is a pretty stern indication that the Habs are no longer icing a competitive hockey team, even though, sans Price and Petry's day-to-day injury, they have a healthy lineup. Something's gotta give. The situation is now getting serious. 

SECOND PERIOD:

- So just how bad was that first period for Montreal? This bad:

- Habs 4th line, which has been a disaster zone since Therrien cobbled together Mitchell/Flynn/Smith-Pelly, was 0.0 CF% in that period. They were absolutely owned by the Pens every time they stepped on the ice. Therrien cannot, and must not, put that unit out against either the Malkin or Crosby line, AGAIN. 

- Crosby gets nailed for an early trip and while it (again) does not result in a powerplay goal (Therrien steadfastly refusing to not remove Desharnais from that unit), it does appear to have given the Habs a little momentum. Canadiens are at least competing with the Pens now with their legs. That's something.

- The tire fire that's passing as the Habs 4th line gets nailed for a penalty, and the Pens (finally) strike with the man advantage, some slopping PK zone coverage, and Hornqvist with an easy shake and bake around Condon to make it 1-0. In light of how one-sided this game has been, I suppose that goal was merely inevitable.

- P.K. Subban. It finally goes in for him. Subban almost looked in disbelief as he raised his arms down on the ice. Tie game.

- The shocker Subban goal seems to have energized the troops. Habs are actually competing right now. Who knows? This game might not end up as a disaster after all.

- Uh, maybe hold that thought. Monumental defensive breakdown between Pateryn and Beaulieu, with both defenders going left, leaving, well, pretty much the entire ice in front of Condon completely wide open. Pateryn, perhaps inspired by the foolishness of Emelin, tries for a big hit, instead of making a responsible play. Brian Rust, an unlikely candidate, scores to make it 2-1. That was pretty awful. 

- Habs can't afford to keep taking penalties. The Pens powerplay has been dangling the puck on a string tonight. 

- Well, I guess that was something of a better period for the Habs, which still isn't much. Pittsburgh isn't playing a particularly extraordinary game, it's just that Montreal looks completely disorganized, as though they've only just strung together a roster. No rhythm to their game, the breakouts have been pretty awful, and now the team seems to be more inclined to dump and chase pucks, which is a bad strategy against Pittsburgh's skill-based offence. Sure, it's only 2-1, but I can't fathom for a moment this Habs team getting anything but an L tonight.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Obvious key for the Habs tonight will be keeping guys out of the penalty box. Also, deployment. Doing it well, for once.

- So Michel Therrien, the luxury of last change, sends out Emelin against the Pens top line, and within seconds, he hooks a speeding Crosby in the Habs zone. Oy.

- Pens definitely outskating Habs early, the loss of Petry is also having an impact on Montreal's ability to make effective transitions. 

- All Pens in this one, shot attempts are nearly 4-to-1 ratio, as the Habs haven't had much of a forecheck going. This could be shaping up to be a long night for the Canadiens.

- Desharnais is so easily worked off the puck, even the defence-thin Pens line has little difficulty stripping him. This is a big problem, because it's constantly surrendering zone puck possession. 

- So the Habs powerplay appears to have taken a step backward, if such a thing was possible. Instead of carrying the zone, unit appears to be reverting to last year's strategy of the dump-and-chase. Looking forward to seeing team ranking to soon be amongst the bottom five.

- It's a disaster zone out there, if you're a Habs supporter. 4th line with a wretched shift against the Malkin line, Condon forced to make two very difficult saves to keep this game scoreless. It's a minor miracle right now that it's still 0-0.

That. Was. Awful. No other way of describing how the Habs played in that first period. The only glimmer of positive light was Mike Condon. Otherwise, not much. The Pens totally owning both ends of the ice, outskating, hitting, shooting, attempting, and possessing. One of the worst periods of hockey the Habs have played in a very long time, while still managing, somehow, to come out of it still even on the scoreboard.

NEWS ALERT: PHIL KESSEL IS STILL AWESOME

Yay. The Pens are in town. That means Phil Kessel! Hands of a master, body of a mushy hot dog. Phil represents the aspirations of every socially awkward, physically questionable hockey fan: HEY, if THAT guy can play hockey well heck, maybe I can too!

Sadly, it's not been a bed of roses season for Phil. Since arriving from Toronto, Kessel has bounced back and forth between the Pens first and second lines. For a good chunk of October and November, Kessel played along side Sidney Crosby, which not only resulted in the Pens sputtering out of the gate offensively, but inevitably cost Mike Johnston his job as head coach. Another Kessel coaching victim! The Habs REALLY needed this guy. Oh well.

Since then, Kessel has settled in nicely on the Pens second line next to Evgeni Malkin, while Crosby has readily started to change his season around. The Pens are now a better team than what they were to start the season, although their defence remains as immmobile as ever. Pittsburgh is facing an uphill battle to get a playoff spot this year, and even if they do manage to sneak in to the post-season, they'll be facing some big "?" marks surrounding how far they'll end up playing, given the poor shape of their blue line.

So tonight, the Pens, who can't afford to lose many more if they wan't to play in April, shall put forth the following lines:

1: Kunitz/Crosby/Perron
2: Hornqvist/Malkin/Kessel
3: Rust/Bonina/Kuhnhackl
4: Porter/Cullen/Fehr

Maata/Letang
Dumaulin/Lovejoy
Cole/Daley

Marc-Andre Fleury.

Over in Habsland, with Jeff Petry out for who-knows-how long, Greg Pateryn will get a start, and will play next to Nathan Beaulieu, behind the following forward lines:

1: Pacioretty/Plekanec/Gallagher
2: Andrighetto/Galchenyuk/Carr
3: Eller/Desharnais/Byron
4: Flynn/Mitchell/Smith-Pelly.

Mike Condon will start in net for the Habs.

Puck drops at 7:15 EST.





SO THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE A HABS FAN

Okay, I've been away for LESS than 48 hours. Fourty-eight hours. What's GOIN OWAN?

Michel Therrien says Alexei Emelin played with a fracture in his foot for two to three weeks.

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 7, 2016

Uh. So .. let's get this straight. Alexei Emelin, who would on a normal night would have a tough time cracking a lineup spot on a normal NHL team, was being played WITH A BROKEN FOOT over the perfectly healthy Greg Pateryn and Jared Tinordi?  Yeah. That one got me shaking my fist. Heaven help us. Anyway, what happened this morning? Let's see what the ol' Twittersphere is telling us.

#canadiens Jeff Petry is out with a lower body injury. Day-to-day.

— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) January 8, 2016

Great. Our second best defenseman out. Well, at least that's not a Therrien-stupidity thing. Anything else?

Fleischmann once again scratched. Condon in net on Saturday. #Habs

— Jessica-Lyn Saunders (@EarlxGreat) January 8, 2016

LOL. Wait, Therrien is again sitting the guy who's the 5th leading goal scorer on an offensively-starved team? What other madness awaits us?

#Habs practice lines Pacioretty - Plekanec - Gallagher Andrighetto - Galchenyuk - Carr Eller-Desharnais-Byron Flynn-Mitchell-Fleischmann/DSP

— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) January 8, 2016

Byron with Desharnais?? Good. Lord. Well, at least practice is over. We can at least carry on with the rest of the day. Hold on. What's that, John Lu? You have one more thing to tell us?

#Habs Therrien says the team is not expecting Price back before the All Star break.

— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) January 8, 2016

Anyone got a gun I could borrow for 10 seconds?

Game Sixty-Six: Habs vs. Coyotes

THIRD PERIOD: 

- Poor start to the period by the Habs, agressive start by the Coyotes. Carey Price with a head standing save, the puck very nearly crossing the line. Canadiens are going to get mowed into mulch if they don't start moving their legs, and fast. 

- Okay, much better. Desharnais line with a momentum changing shift, De La Rose robbed by Smith with a high hard snapper that Smith somehow gloved.

- Another good shift by Eller, Habs maintain the newly found momentum.

- Officials have been very generous tonight towards the Coyotes in crashing and bumping Price. Therrien fuming at the bench about this.

- Gallagher has managed to self-generate about four or five high quality, in close scoring chances tonight. Not rewarded on the sheet - at least not yet.

- Habs in full-fledged icing mode now, which is another way of saying they're dumping the puck with every opportunity they get. Classic lead sitting behaviours here. Just asking to get burned by arguably the worst team in the NHL right now.

- Combined, Paciorerty, Gallagher and De La Rose have been robbed about a dozen times tonight. Really should be a 3 or 4 goal Habs lead, but Smih has responded very well.

- Haven't really mentioned Price tonight, but he's been fantastic as usual. We've gotten so used to him being great that we've arrived at a point that we no longer recognize it while it's happening.

- Habs totally floundering in their zone, Arizona coming very close to tying the game, but Price with more key saves, as usual. Canadiens looking a lot like the same team that coughed up the lead against L.A. with less than a minute left.

- Terrible icing by De La Rose with just over a minute left. Gives Arizona a chance to pull Smith and set up their play deep in Montreal territory. Habs have iced the puck 5 times the final six minutes of this period.

- Make that six icings. 

- De La Rose out there for the final minute. That's quite a vote of confidence by Therrien.

- Make that seven icings.

- Gallagher ices it, Carey Price his seventh shutout of the season. Habs with an "okay" win against some pretty lowly opponents. But we'll take it, and thus ends this horrible western road trip. Finally, we go home.

SECOND PERIOD: 

- Habs with something that looks like a decent transition from their own zone, which is something we've seen very little of all season. 

- Habs continue to play too passive in their zone, it's given Arizona wingers a few good rips at Price, who's being unnecessarily tested. 

- Arizona's forwards have significant scaled up their forechecking in the Habs zone, and the Canadiens continue to look flat footed. Now Gonchar gets nailed for a bad hook, largely because of Montreal's inability to adjust.

- Another meek Arizona powerplay. No threat to score tonight.

- No lack of effort tonight by Gallafher, even more so than usual. He's a man on a mission the way he's been skating and hitting so far tonight.

- Another point blank slot save by Smith on Pacioretty, but this one way more impressive and difficult. Smith a great job flicking out the left pad to keep this game scoreless.

- Well, hey hey there you go. Lars Eller opens the score, nice work and pass by DSP to feed Lars, who finally releases a shot that goes in. We called it for you, Lars!

- Habs kind of taking over this game with four minutes left in the period. Smith doing his best to keep his team in this, but you have to wonder how much longer he can do this.

- Good grief David Desharnais. No more passing. Try a damn shot. Just once.

- Well, good enough, I guess. Two competent periods against a terribly inferior opponent. Just the one goal for the efforts, but at least it was Eller, who was sorely overdue for a break. Here's hoping that one goal sparks a bit of a run for him, even while he contines to be misplayed as a winger.

FIRST PERIOD: 

- Gonchar slots back in tonight, after getting a night's rest for his ancient, tired legs.

- Weakish holding call on De La Rose. Don't like it when the officials penalize players for doing their jobs.

- Dreadful first powerplay for Arizona, viciously they've been watching too much tape of the Habs.

- I just remembered how unbelievably annoying that coyote howl is in their arena. 

- Solid first five minutes for the Habs, even with the Arizona powerplay, out possessing and chancing their opponent.

- Okay, this is finally going to be Lars Eller's night. It's gotta be. He looks great out there so far. 

- De La Rose's hockey IQ is sky high - he's nearly always where the play is developing, one major reason why he's been a fantastic checking forward since being called up.

- Nice point blank save by Smith on Pacioretty, who's a bit overdue for a monster scoring game..

- Desharnais' nagging don't shoot bad habit appears to be surfacing again. 

- Habs pulling the trigger a lot so far, 13 shots in 15 minutes, but very few of them have tested Smith. Increasing volume is not necessarily a solid formula for success.

- Habs are being a little too casual coming back to their zone - guys, yeah it's Arizona, but you still have to respect any NHL opponent.

- Again, Habs played a decent enough period, but their offensive woes still look pretty pervasive. Yes, they moved the puck with more authority than they have in more recent games, and were able to generate 16 shots on Smith, but they weren't particularly dangerous tries. Not good enough, fellows. Against a team that's 39 points behind you in the standings, you don't pussy foot around.

ARE WE HOME YET? ARE WE HOME YET!? WHAT ABOUT NOW?!

We all knew this was coming. We all looked at the calendar, and pointed at the first week of March and said "there". Well in advance, we realized that this western swing was going to be a killer. And ho boy, has it been a killer.

Tonight, finally, mercifully, it all comes to an end, as the Habs visit Glendale to take on the Arizona Coyotes.

The Habs come into the game against the lowly desert dogs riding a three game losing streak, all of the losses happening in California. Meanwhile, Arizona finds itself a viable candidate in the race for last place in the League - most recently they won a shootout against Vancouver, but previous to the victory against the Canucks, the Coyotes were on a 10 game losing streak. With all of those losses, they now find themselves only two points clear of Edmonton, and six points ahead of the Sabres for last place overall.

Leading up to and on the trading deadline, Arizona did the NHL equivalent of a five alarm fire sale of most of its roster, shipping out Antoine Vermette, Zbynek Michalek and Keith Yandle for picks and prospects. With most of its veteran core now stripped away, Arizona is basically icing an AHL equivalent team, meaning that on most nights from here on out, they ought to be on the losing side of the scoreboard.

Tonight though, they're taking on a "first place team" that doesn't really play like a first place team, especially against opponents that for a "first place team", would be easy pickings. The Habs have been hampered with problems all season long dealing with bottom-feeder clubs like the Sabres, Oilers and Coyotes. So while one should readily expect the Habs to end this dreadful road trip on a winning note, nobody would call you crazy if you were to lay down a couple of Andrew Jackson's on Arizona to win.

The Habs problems are, of course, offense. It's spotty and irregular like ... well ... let's not finish that simile. Let's just say, they're struggling. Even with new bodies brought into town at the trading deadline, coach Michel Therrien appears to be struggling with constructing consistently productive lines, perhaps because he continues to fiddle with combinations. From one game to the next, it's anyone's guess as to who will play, and where. Tonight is no different. As I write this preview, nobody has a clue who will be starting.

One person that we know for certain will be starting is Carey Price. In fact, as we look at the rest of the remaining regular season schedule, the Habs have just one more set of back-to-back games, so it's a pretty fair assumption that of the 17 games left, Price will probably start at least 14 of them, and depending on how the Habs perform (and how much they want to finish at a lofty place in the Conference standings), as many as 16 of the 17.

Puck drops tonight at 7:15 EST.

Game Sixty Three: Habs vs. Sharks

THIRD PERIOD: 

- At this point, just hoping Habs can score one goal, and that goal be scored by Eller. Is that too much to ask?

- Sharks are just dumping the zone. Dumping, dumping, dumping. It won't change the score but it will artificially raise the Habs possession numbers.

- Marleau, with DSP in the box. 4-0. Still hoping for one lousy goal. Not even a powerplay tonight. What a mess.

- Okay. This night never happened. Here's looking forward to Wednesday, when Jiri Sekac will be able to remind Bergevin that it's best he not ever, ever, ever consult with Therrien about roster changes.

SECOND PERIOD: 

- Another point shot dangerously redeflected on Price because Gilbert was outmuscled in front of his net.

- Didn't think it possible, but Habs might be playing worse so far in the second period than they did in the first. Beaulieu and Gilbert  are having all kinds of problems.

- Sharks are aptly matching Thornton against Malhotra now, and they're crushing the Habs with zone pressure and possession.

- Gilbert is a total disaster. He literally appears dazed and confused. 3-0. The Habs are having one of their worst games in ... years? Certainly this season - by far worse than the 7-1 thrashing they took at the hands of the Lightening in October.

- Habs register their first shot on goal. 7 minutes into the period. 

- Habs first somewhat sustained pressure comes 34 minutes into the game.

- Sharks kind of sitting on this with 5 minutes left. And who could possibly blame them? 

- DSP on the 4th line now, just like Bergevin wanted, right?

- Habs with some late period pushback, but it was still another horrible period of an otherwise terrible game for the Canadiens. One more period of this will be agony. But we persevere. 

FIRST PERIOD: 

- Habs D won't be as anticipated, Subban/Markov, Beaulieu/Gilbert and Petry will start on the third line next to Gonchar.

- Just looking over at that awesome starting six, #Habs are icing possibly their strongest defense tonight in 22 years. Now just watch them give up six goals to the Sharks. Just watch.

- God, that Price stats line is mind-blowing, 62 games in. 

- Habs look pretty rusty five minutes in, Sharks much more structured and rushing the Habs zone with relative ease.

- Sloppy zone turnovers ain't helping much either. Beaulieu and Gilbert are clearly not on the same page together - still can't figure out why Therrien didn't keep those Beaulieu and Gonchar paired up tonight.

- Guess what? A sloppy turnover, this time Plekanec, and it's 1-0 Sharks. This could be a very, very long night if the Habs don't get their act in gear quickly.

- Beaulieu/Gilbert pairing a bit of a total mess so far. Gilbert in particular has been caught napping out near Alcatraz a couple of times. Can we have that Beaulieu/Petry set already? Please?? 

- Therrien is matching Joe Thornton with ... are you ready for this ... Manny Malhotra. The results have predictably been disasterous (for the Habs) so far.

- If this first period is any indication of how this west coast trip is going to go, Habs might as well charter a flight home tonight and default L.A. and Anaheim. Heck, Arizona, for that matter. 

- Eller plopped on the wing. Therrien sends Malhotra out to take d zone faceoff, loses it badly, Price forced to make a tough save. Manny skates off immediately to the bench. Madness continues.

- Pretty sure Bergevin traded for DSP so that Therrien would stop playing Weise on the top 6. Yet tonight, guess who's back playing on the top 6?

2-0. Fitting. Very fitting.

- Horrible first period. Horrible line deployment and matching. Horrible zone exits. Horrible passing lane cocerage. Horrible penalties. Do yourself a favour. Just turn off the tv and go to bed at a decent hour.

JEFF PETRY TO THE HABS?? WOAH, DUDE. WOAH

Okay, let's talk about some game night stuff:

- P.A. Parenteau will start tonight against the Sharks, coming off a concussion.
- Micheal Bournival got sent to Hamilton today. Man, that's a killer plane ride home from central California. Especially since this probably means Bournival won't get to play anymore with the big club this season (including playoffs).
- Jeff Petry, last we heard, was flying down to San Francisco. Whether he'll play tonight is still up in the air.


TRADE DEADLINE GOO:

- WHOOPS. Guess the reports earlier that Joonas Natinen was sent to the Sabres was wrong, wrong, WRONG. It's Jack Nevins, which is pretty much as close to zero a price tag involving a human being with cardiovascular activity, as possible.

- And it's ... done. Habs snag Sabres centre Torry Mitchell in return for Joonas Natinen (uhh-kay) and a 7th round pick. It's a weird (?) move, given that the Habs biggest deficit was a right handed winger. With news today that Michel Bournival was sent packing to Hamilton, one speculates that getting Mitchell and Flynn means that:

- Manny Malhotra's playing opportunities are right now minimal to none.
- Lars Eller (who wasn't dealt) appears destined to be on the wing, full-time.

So ... the forward line combinations. Who knows? We'll find out soon enough.

- Sabers' Brian Flynn to the Habs? That's a big swirl right now. UPDATE: It's done. A minor deal, it appears in exchange for a 2016 lower pick. If Flynn were to be used now, he'd be on the 4th line, meaning Malhotra is pushed out. Which, I suppose, is a good thing.

- Lots of rumors swirling now that Habs are trying to land either Jordan Eberle from Edmonton, or (gasp!) Phil Kessel from the Leafs. Hang on tight.

- In case you hadn't heard, or you're unemployed and you just woke up, and this is the first site you went to (which is about Dante level of sadness), Jeff Petry was traded to the Habs in return for a 2nd round (2015) pick, and an additional conditional pick. (TSN.ca)

Meanwhile ...

Il semble que le Canadien tente d'échanger Parenteau. http://t.co/08me1qyJ2R
— Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) March 2, 2015

And in other news ...

Way to go #TradeCentre pic.twitter.com/sUlC5oNJGI
— J-E (@JE_Iannicello) March 2, 2015