Game 32: Ducks vs. Habs

Montreal 5, Anaheim 1.

FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Brendan Gallagher. THIS is gonna be his night. Book it.

- Cogliano's opener a pretty good demonstration how over time, taking more defensive zone starts adds up negatively. Habs have been above average this season, 10th most in the League. 1-0 Anaheim.

- Looks like Habs are the faster team, which shouldn't be a surprise since it's been 72 hours since their last game, and 24 for the Ducks. This differing factor tends to reap benefits as a game progresses.

- Following up on that last thought, Anaheim's strongest scoring period this season has been the 2nd, weakest the 3rd. Habs strongest the 3rd, weakest the 1st. 

- Brendan Gallagher centres first line powerplay. A first in his career.

- Meh. An okay first powerplay, Gallagher seemed to do alright. But still, that unit has no drive, very little creativity on its side. Looks more like a unit that hasn't been given full attention by the coaching staff.

- Carey Price is by far the best player the Habs have handling and forwarding the puck, which is as much praise on him as it is an indictment of how woeful the Canadiens' defence can be organizing the transition.

- Byron picks up his 11th off a big-time rebround surrendered by Bernier to tie the game He's small, he's fast, and he's making Calgary Flames management look like complete fools.

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs with a solid 1st period, SA CF just over 63%, which is kind of typical for any team coached by Carlyle, if you look at our pregame piece. Plekanec, Gallagher, Lehkonen, Byron and Pacioretty played particularly well in that period, Weber and Emelin were the Habs strongest D pairing:

- Icings-a-plenty this period, indicative of how both teams are poor at controlling the puck. Also makes for a very boring hockey game.

- Yeah, not much happening. Both teams struggling with their passing, Habs doing a better job setting up shop in the offensive zone, which is creating a rather lopsided game, possession-wise.

- Nick Ritche with a stupefying stupid penalty, suckered by Gallagher. Those are the kind of penalties that frequently result in a goal, but then against this Habs powerplay, likely not a big deal.

- Man advantage absolutely brutal right now, little organization, little coherence, they can't even properly gain the zone. Yeah, there have been key injuries of late, but com'on, Alex Galchenyuk wasn't representing an entire speciality unit. Something needs to be done here, and in a hurry.

- Lehkonen with brilliant playmaking to help set up Plekanec for a powerplay goal, Habs take the lead. Regardless, the man advantage has been miserable - sporadic conversions only create a mirage from reality. Fundamentally, a lot of this is Shea Weber. He hasn't been very good lately, in particular, "quarterbacking" the man advantage. 

- Bryon, Lehkonen and Plekanec with another strong period, another lacklustre frame for the Ducks, who are likely dealing with a combination of jet lag and playing the 2nd half of a back-to-back. Apart from the one shot that beat Price, Anaheim has constructed few, if any quality scoring chances at the Montreal net. Looks like the Ducks don't have the horses to compete tonight. 

THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- That second period was pretty ugly for the Ducks. Real, real ugly. SA CF (5v5) in that period alone the Ducks were 17.4%. That's pretty awful. No scoring chances either. Today is practically an off-day for Price:

- Ducks got a clean sheet and 2 minute powerplay, spent most of it trying to lay hits, instead of score goals. Anaheim getting their clock cleaned.

- Jeff Petry is the Habs' best overall defensman. Recognizes a dozing Bernier, and fires a 60 foot wrister past the Ducks netminder to make it 3-1.

- Part of what makes Petry so good is he plays such a smart game - he recognizes strengths and weaknesses of his opponent, and exploits it accordingly. The shot he took on Bernier was Petry recognizing the Ducks goaltender isn't very good, and has occasional lapses in concentration.

- Pacioretty uses Gallagher as a decoy, fires through Bernier's legs, powerplay goal, 4-1. Habs borderline destroying the Ducks tonight.

- Hard to believe this Anaheim team is in 2nd place in their Division. Yeah, I know they're playing back-to-backs, but wow ... they are just plain terrible. They look very much tonight like the dismal Leafs clubs Randy Carlyle coached a few years ago.

- Shot attempt ration is roughly 4-to-1 in favour of the Habs. They're holding the puck at will, the Ducks are merely observers tonight. 

- How is Ritchie an NHL player? How'd he even make the League? How'd he manage to keep a job? So many questions ...

- Chris Terry joins the party, wonderful to see the kids score. 5-1 icing on the cake.

- Total domination by the Habs tonight. Nearly 75% CF, and that was 5v5. Ducks were completely steamrolled every part of the ice, Carey Price had, quite literally, one difficult shot to handle, and that one went in. Injury riddled, Habs are doing a pretty damn good job of not only keeping their head above water, but are actually thriving. Impressive victory tonight.

DUCKS 'N' HABS GAME PREVIEW. WHEN YOU FACE A TEAM WITH AN EVEN WORSE COACH

The 1st place Habs (Atlantic Division) host the 2nd place Anaheim Ducks (Pacific Division) tonight at the Bell Centre. For the battered and bruised Canadiens, it marks another test for a team trying to keep its head above water, while missing some of its key players - Andrei Markov being the latest casualty after he picked up a lower body injury in the Habs win Saturday night against the Caps.

One bright note for the Habs - they get to take on the team overseen by the worst coach in professional hockey, Randy Robert Carlyle.

Man, how does Carlyle do it? How does this man, who 10 years ago lucked out by riding an overwhelming talented Anaheim team to a championship, the lone highlight in an otherwise dismal coaching career, continue to stay employed in the National Hockey League?

Sure, hockey at the NHL level is still very much an old-boys club, where old-style management tactics are viewed as assets. It's why guys like Michel Therrien, John Tortorella and Carlyle seem to always land on their feet no matter how badly they perform in their duties. Carlyle, though, is a particularly egregious example of a guy who is terrible at what he does, yet still manages to maintain gainful employment in his profession.

The pattern is so well established, as to be laughable. Let's crank up the way-back stats machine and look at Carlyle's greatest inability - to oversee a hockey team capable of possessing the puck. First stop, Randy's first tour of duty with Anaheim, of which he was eventually relieved from in 2012:

                             CF%     LEAGUE RANK

ANA   2009-10    50.9                 10th

ANA   2010-11    44.4                 30th

ANA   2011-12    48.5                 24th

By this time the Ducks front office had finally recognized they had a dud behind the bench, and mercifully let Carlyle go just 24 games into the 2001-12 season. After he was let go, the Ducks put up these numbers: 

                             CF%     LEAGUE RANK

ANA   2012-13    48.0                 22nd

ANA   2013-14    49.8                 19th

ANA   2014-15    51.0                 17th

ANA   2015-16    52.5                 5th

An undeniably steady improvement. Huh. 

Anyway, back to 2012. After Carlyle was dumped in California, the Toronto Maple Leafs, for reasons to this day we still can't understand, snapped him up. The Leafs had just fired Ron Wilson, another old-school guy who was having trouble figuring out the importance of possession. To Wilson's credit, his replacement wasn't better. To the stats machine!

                             CF%     LEAGUE RANK

TOR   2011-12    48.9                 17th

Not great, but not terrible. But then Carlyle really put his mark on his team:

                             CF%     LEAGUE RANK

TOR   2012-13    44.1                 30th

TOR   2013-14    42.3                 30th

And ... that was pretty much all the Leafs could take. 

Astonishingly Carlyle was given another coaching lifeline when he was rehired by the Ducks this past summer after Anaheim turfed Bruce Boudreau. Hey, how's Anaheim doing this year under Carlyle compared to last under Bourdreau? 

                             CF%     LEAGUE RANK

ANA   2015-16    52.5                 5th

ANA   2016-17    48.9                19th

Randy Carlyle, folks. I don't know how he does it, but there he is, in his 24th season of professional hockey coaching.

Puck drops tonight at 7:40, EST.

GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES

- It's official. Andrei Markov is out with a lower body injury. That's the bad news. The good news is the injury apparently isn't bad, and he's expected to play again this week, possibly as early as Thursday night.

- With Markov hurt and unable to play tonight, the Habs will be icing the following defensive pairings:

Emelin/Weber

Beaulieu/Petry

Barberio/Redmond

Full game preview in a bit.

YAY IT'S MONDAY, HABS EDITION

A few notes, Habs-related, as we gear up to go duck huntin' tomorrow night:

- Andrei Markov? Yup. Add 'em to the injured list, along with Alex Galchenyuk, David Desharnais, Andrew Shaw, Greg Pateryn, Sven Andrighetto (and who-knows-else, since apparently the captain played the month of November with a broken foot). Markov is listed as "day-to-day" with a lower body injury, and is questionable to start Tuesday night.

- Hey, hold the phone - Andrighetto played in practice this morning, so maybe take him off that list.

- Starting goaltenders have been announced, it'll be Carey Price (yup) against Johnathan Bernier, who kinda sucks playing against the Canadiens.

- Okay, now for some Ducks-related laffs:

#NHLDucks #NHLDucks Randy Carlyle says he was never told why he was fired from the Leafs https://t.co/AUg2Qgd1w1 #SportsRoadhouse

— Anaheim Ducks SRH (@AnaheimDucksSRH) December 19, 2016

Yup, Randy. It's a mystery why you got turfed out of Toronto. Leading scientists, even to this day, are baffled. Why was Randy fired??!? HE WAS SO GOOD!

That's all we got. It's been quiet today. Quiet is good.

Game 23: Habs vs. Ducks

By just about any standard, this is unacceptable behaviour by a "professional" hockey player:

Andrew Shaw throws an absolute temper tantrum in the penalty box pic.twitter.com/ncafzRUbhH

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 30, 2016

Anaheim 2, Montreal 1:

FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

Hey, we got lines. Let's check 'em out. First, the Ducks:

Rakell/Getzlaf/Perry
Cogliano/Kessler/Silfverberg
Ritchie/Vermette/Kase
Shaw.Garbutt/Wagner

And the Habbies:

Radulov/Galchenyuk/Bryon
Pacioretty/Plekanec/Gallagher
Lehkonen/Desharnais/Shaw
Danault/Mitchell/Carr

Third line D pairing for the Habs will again be Barberio with Pateryn.

- We were led to believe Bernier would start tonight. We were incorrect. It's John Gibson, who has weaker numbers than Bernier, but ... that's Carlyle's call.

- Well, that was quite a start for the Habs, totally pinning the Ducks in their zone for essentially the first 3 minutes of this game, highlighted by a very good shift by the Desharnais line. Anaheim lucky they're not already down on the scoreboard.

- Habs incredibly fast start might not have netted actual goals, but unsurprisingly, it nets them an early powerplay for hooking (a pretty good sign the other guys are having trouble keeping up to you).

- Habs 5v5, look far more dangerous than they ever did 5v4, which makes no sense, of course.

- Habs 2nd powerplay really humming, fast crisp passing, good zone setup, and very nearly a highlight reel goal after a sweet Radulov/Weber to Galchenyuk at the side of the net, tic-tac-toe setup that worked brilliantly, except that Galchenyuk whiffed at the puck with a totally gaping net. Habs still dominating here.

- Plekanec line looks really good, so too does the Desharnais line. And the Galchenyuk line is always looming there, dangerous.

- Andrew Shaw brings "grit" (apparently), and yes, physicality, but fighting - he's not very good at it. Andrew, just step away.

- Habs losing their smarts as the period draws to a close. First, Shaw gets into a stupid fight with Corey Perry, and then Shea Weber gets nailed for a very stupid roughing, and the Ducks convert. Habs were totally owning the period up to the Weber stupidity, and now find themselves down on the scoreboard.

- If Galchenyuk finishes that setup on the powerplay earlier in the period, I'm guessing Habs are likely up 2, maybe even 3 gaols by this point.


SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs dominated the 1st, 65.7 SACF (5v5), but dumb decisions combined with Galchenyuk missing an open net helped put them down on the scoreboard:

- Desharnais line continues to be the best for the Habs tonight, generating more good scoring chances, and likely working the hardest. But it still consists of guys who have trouble finishing scoring plays.

- Wathced Plekanec lead a 3-on-2 break, nothing special, including the way the play finished, with Plekanec weakly shooting the puck that was easily deflected away. This might, more than anything, give us a hint as to what is Plekanec's biggest issue in a year that's been pretty disappointing - his shot. It looks weak, and if you examine the percentages, they're telling. It's only 3.2% for Plekanec, which is way down from last year's 8.3%.

- Ducks having a much better 2nd period, which is to be expected. Typical rebound period, bolstered by the fact they scored the only goal in a period that they were otherwise trounced. Hockey is like that, sometimes.

- Radulov with a breakaway, foiled because he was hooked hard from behind, and yet, somehow, it wasn't called. Refs are lettin' 'em play, I guess.

- Gonna be one of those nights. Ducks have been better team this period, and have capitalized, with Fowler beating Price blocker side with a 40 foot wrister, a shot that Carey would readily tell you he'd like another shot at. 2-0.

- I guess that Fowler shot was slightly deflected by Galchenyuk, so hard to criticize Price. Bounces just ain't happening tonight. Hockey is like that.

- Many are making good point on Twitter that nobody on this Habs roster should be trying to block unobstructed shots from 30 feet on Price. He's going to stop those pretty much every single time. Yet that's what Galchenyuk did - push the tip of his blade out to redeflect an otherwise easy shot by Fowler, into an impossible save.

- Daniel Carr with a stupid trip, right beside the Ducks' goal as the 2nd period winds down. Just a dumb, dumb, dumb play. Habs have been their own undoing tonight from lack of thinking. Weber with a rough in the 1st leading to Ducks powerplay goal. Galchenyuk with deflection of relatively harmless Fowler shot - Canadiens simply can't afford to play unintelligent hockey in California, a place they've had a horrible winning record the past few years.



THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs recoiled substantially in the 2nd period, CF barely above 50% now. It's only 2-0, but if we're honest, the odds of the Habs coming back in this game are pretty much slim-to-nil.

- Unless it's a fluky and/or greasy goal, Habs aren't going to snap the twine tonight. They put it all out the first 17 minutes, got nothing, and pretty much gave up.

- Galchenyuk again misses glorious scoring opportunity. Just not gonna happen for him tonight, or, seemingly, for anyone else wearing the same jersey.

- I mean, Habs are at least giving it this 3rd period - they're looking much more the same collection we saw in the 1st period. But there's just no finish - Gibson is playing strong, but the best playing line, the Desharnais line, is riddled with players that don't quite have the abilities required to score.

- Radulov backhander, misplayed by Gibson, Byron a wide open net, nobody around, somehow misses. I think it's time to go to bed.

- Would it kill this goal-starved team to try putting Pacioretty next to Galchenyuk? At least a few shifts? I mean, what harm could possibly come of it?

- Tomas Plekanec is killing Pacioretty's season. It's not that Plekanec is playing poorly, it's just that he's not a good fit for Max. He's a two way, defence-first centre - basically the kind of guy you want up the middle on your third line. But next to one of the top scoring snipers in the League? Bad, bad, bad fit.

- Habs with late, absolutely must convert powerplay, and Therrien puts out Andrew Shaw. Man advantage goes completely nowhere.

- Horrible man advantage. Absolutely horrible. Therrien refusing to use his best assets when they're required most. It's baffling decision-making.

- Hold the phone a little bit longer, Habs actually score, and it's Shaw (go figure) with Price pulled. Two minutes left.

- Only fitting the Habs final nail is self-inflicted, with Shaw getting nailed for a hook while the Canadiens are pushing deep in the Ducks zone. He goes nuts, and is tossed from the game.

- Habs somehow fluke out Ducks zone possession with 20 second left, and forget that the clock is running, not even taking a shot on Gibson. Bzzzzt. Game over.

- Well, Habs made it interesting, at least? Crucial turning point was likely way back in the 1st period, when Galchenyuk missed an empty net while Habs were on their 2nd powerplay, which would have opened the scoring, and likely changed the entire complexion of the game. Instead, Habs made poor decisions that resulted in Ducks getting a couple past Price, and the rest is history. Now on to San Jose, with the Habs probably at this point just hoping to get a point out of their California swing.


__________________________________________________________
GAMEDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

West coast swing! This means at least two nights of having to stay up way past our bedtimes. Tonight, it's Anaheim.

- No lineup changes tonight for the Habs. That means no Zach Redmond, and also Chris Terry is a healthy scratch.

- Habs are facing a team that's unquestionably got the worst coach in the NHL (which is saying a lot if you're the Montreal Canadiens) -  Randy Carlyle! Since somehow getting rehired, Carlyle has taken the Ducks to 19th ovearll CF% (their current standing), from last year's 17th overall standing, to 2014-15's 17th overall standing, when Randy wasn't coaching the Ducks, to 2013-14's 19th overall standing - and ... you know what? The Ducks are, and have been, pretty mediocre for a long time.

- So what are the Ducks good at? Uhhhmmm .. offence? 24th rated, so nope. Defence? 9th rated .. so ... kinda yeah? Anaheim plays a pretty boring style of hockey, lots of trap action, lots of dependance on goaltending, which this season, has actually been pretty decent. Specifically, it's been Jonathan Bernier (another Leafs cast-off that found a life in California), who's put together a +.500 record this season backed by a .933 SV%. Yeah, he hasn't started a ton, just 9 so far, but he's still been a pretty good reclamation success story this season. Anyway, Bernier starts tonight. He'll be a key to this game.

- What are the Ducks bad at? Well, there's the anemic offence, no surprise given who the coach is.  Also because Anaheim's top line of Rikard Rakell, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, haven't been producing many goals this season. Otherwise, their powerplay is pretty good, 6th rated, PK is "okay", 18th rated. If you go down the list, they're pretty much in the middle of the pack in most major categories - shots taken and allowed, 5v5 performance. Etc., etc. This is the quintessential mediocre NHL hockey team.

- Puck drops tonight at 10:10 EST. Fire up the coffee maker, and curl up for some late-night hockey!


MONDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Hey, happy start of the week, everyone. We have a few bits of hockey info today, mostly Habs-related (in present or past):

- Zach Redmond. Hey, remember him? Well ...

The guys have just jumped on the ice for practice in Anaheim. Zach Redmond has arrived to join the boys, too. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Uo8cPOTZeL

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 28, 2016

Redmond was a free agent pickup this summer, a defenseman signed to bolster an otherwise thin 3rd line pairing on the Habs blue line. Well, Redmond sustained a broken foot in mid-October, shelving any aspirations that he'd join the big team for opening night. Now, it would appear, Redmond will get his first Habs action tomorrow night in Los Angeles, as the Canadiens take on the Ducks. With 7 D now on the roster, this means either Mark Barberio or Greg Pateryn will be a healthy scratch.

- The Florida Panthers, who, despite having a mediocre record barely above .500, have been playing some pretty good possession hockey this season, even while deal with a rash of injuries. In case you hadn't heard, the Panthers unceremoniously fired popular hard coach Gerry Gallant immediately after last night's 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes in Raleigh, leaving Gallant literally stranded on a street curb after literally being tossed from the team bus. Photographers were there to document the event:

Classy job, Florida. Very, very classy.

Anyway, Gerry will be fine. He was in just year 1 of a recently signed 3 year contract extension, so he'll be collecting paychecks from the Panthers for awhile yet. It's now largely assumed that Gallant will be the lead candidate for consideration for the new team in Vegas.

More in a bit.

Game Nine: Leafs vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Leafs through 40 minutes. Total domination - by the team losing by 3 goals.

- Heck of a start for the Habs in the period, underscoring another important discriminating factor why this year's team might be a lot different - 3rd period attitude has been much more aggressive, tonight being no different. If not for some puck un-luck, this game would/should be 6-2.

- Hold that thought - Rielly with a relatively harmless wrister that eats Price alive on the blocker. Leafs trail by only two - and Price not looking quite like his usual self. So ... there's hope in Toronto yet.

- Strange game, Habs outscoring Leafs 4-2 in a period that Toronto mostly owned. Habs have mostly owned this 3rd, and yet, the Leafs have narrowed the lead. Hockey.

- Habs now in icing mode. That's the bad Habs. Ut-oh.

- Man, Leafs are just having their way now, when the Habs aren't icing the puck, they're sitting back in their zone. Carey Price might have a very busy 10 minutes ahead.

- Sold out crowd getting restless, witnessing their team getting roundly out skated now. Leafs continue to buzz, full credit to them, they're not giving up. They can still pull this one out of the fire.

- Semin benching is official. DSP taking his spot on the 2nd line. Not a shocking turn of events.

- Well, it's nine. But that was easily the Habs least impressive win of the season, the Leafs, THE LEAFS, pretty much outplaying the Habs from start to finish, registering 50+ shots on Carey Price. I'm sure this game won't please Therrien, who has some issues to contend with, including general sloppiness in their own zone, soft defensive coverage around Price, and roundly getting their butts kicked at centre ice. Now the Habs take their show out west - how much longer this streak can continue remains in severe doubt if tonight's game is any indication.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Leafs through 20 minutes:

- Pollock with a poor turnover in the O zone to Galchenyuk, who takes it end to end, Bernier gives up a juicy rebound and Eller an empty net. 2-0. This is probably one area that Babcock can't coach his team out of - sloppy giveaways, usually indicative of a team that lacks depth.

- Leafs respond quickly, with nice puck control and quick passing, JVR a redeflect off a point shot, and Komarov deposits the rebound. Still, this is how structure can assist a team lacking depth - taking what assets you have, and making the most out of them. Leafs most certainly not out of this game by any stretch of the imagination - they're playing well, especially in the Habs zone.

- Own goal against Toronto, Desharnais credit. But it illustrates one key area where the Habs have significantly improved - accurate, clean stretch passing, and controlled entires. Desharnais line has been especially good with entries, and they're producing 2nd line offence. 3-1 Montreal.

- Back come the Leafs - sustained pressure in the Habs zone, extended because of an awful, awful play by Semin who attempted to clear the zone by shooting it up the middle. Eventually JVR found the back of the net. If I'm Therrien, I sit Semin for a while after that horrible, sloppy mistake.

- Yeah, that's where my money is going for first Habs healthy scratch. Semin. There are lots of young guys who barely missed the cut who are just itching for their chances. Hudson, Thomas, just to name a couple.

- More than half way through regulation, Leafs are still the better team - better legs, taking shots at Price at every given opportunity, and doing a fine job pinning the Habs in their zone, indicative of good puck control. This game is up for grabs.

- Habs basically just hanging on right now - lots of loose puck panic around their goal, Leafs doing an excellent job forechecking, and out muscling Habs for the puck. And winning centre ice. Seems almost inevitable that they'll tie this game.

- Eller takes a bad penalty with a high stick behind the Leafs net. Habs getting schooled, and now they're being undisciplined.

- Leafs dominate, and Bernier lets them down. Off wing, shorthanded, Pacioretty beats him through the legs on a relatively harmless shot. Pacioretty's 7th of the season. Already.

- Leafs with two man advantage for nearly a minute. Back come the Leafs??

- This is probably the game - Leafs fumbling this opportunity, now 8 seconds left, and Babcock calls time. He knows what's on the line.

- Habs survive the penalties, even though they lost three consecutive deep zone faceoffs. Price, as usual, making the necessary saves.

- Leafs not getting rewarded this period - they've dominated both ends of the ice, except for one area, I suppose: Goaltending.

- Dion Phaneuf, can't handle a hit in the corner from Weise, and retaliates. Hurting his own team because he can't control his emotions. It's always been that way for Dion. Probably always will be.

- Guess what, Habs score. Subban point shot, deflected in by Gallagher. This is why Dion Phaneuf really should get a harder time in Toronto. Leaders aren't supposed to do stupid, stupid things like that. His retaliation has pretty much ended any hopes the Leafs had in getting back into this game, which they've pretty much controlled for most of the first 40 minutes. Toronto is playing a more structured game, but no coach can overcome stupid plays by its stupidest players.


FIRST PERIOD:

- Habs rolling with the same lines, as we mentioned.

- Leafs lines tonight:

JVR-Kadri-Komarov
Winnik-Spaling-Lupul
Matthias-Arcobello-Boyes
Grabner-Froese-Parenteau

- Sometimes banking it up the boards works, Emelin's clearance gives Smith-Pelly a break, and wow, he's way faster this year than last. Bernier forced to make a very good save to keep the Habs off the scoreboard.

- Andrei Markov is playing on another level right now. In some kind of zen. Nearly sets up another scoring play with a slap pass to Mitchell for the redeflect. Bernier another good save.

- Emelin on the PK. Makes too many fundamental checking and clearance errors, and as I've said repeatedly, should only be out there as a last resort, instead of as a first.

- Galchenyuk hustles back hard to break up a Leafs 3-on-1. He's fitting in nicely at his natural position at centre, isn't he?

- Habs powerplay continues to show signs of being revitalized, working hard to cycle the puck for a point shot, preferably to Subban. Bernier looking awfully good so far.

- And there's that Subban shot, a howitzer that almost no goaltender could handle cleanly. A 25 footer coming at you 100 mph. Frightening. In any case, the Habs man advantage is doing less of the shoot and chase routine, and seems to be trying for more controlled entries. It's been paying off the past week.

- Surprisingly, that's just Subban's first of the year - although he's been responsible, directly or indirectly, for much of the Habs offence, including their now good-looking powerplay.

- Yeah, I'm convinced. This Leafs team looks wayyyyyy more organized than anything I saw from them last year. Passing is more accurate, and possession is far more structured. There is reason to be positive in Toronto.

- Leafs are thumping the Habs with possession - really nice fast transitions, Habs forwards not doing a very impressive job coming back to cover their zone, which is giving Toronto some pretty choice controlled entires, and hard short range shots on Price. Getting kind of ugly right now.

- Habs 4th line to the rescue (again), nice shift keeping the puck mostly in the Leafs zone, taking a little air out of the Leafs' current mo'.

- Leafs the better team, but the Habs have the lead. Must be awfully frustrating to play against the Canadiens, and that's not even factoring the frustration of knowing you're facing Carey Price. Anyway, Leafs were faster, better passing, had better control of the puck in the O zone, and the better scoring chances. Habs, IMO, lucky to be ahead on the scoreboard.





LEST WE FORGET

No way. No way. There's just no way the Habs can lose to night. They shouldn't lose tonight. THEY MUST NOT LOSE TONIGHT.

You can hear the voices already. The undefeated Habs, steamrolling over the compitition the first three weeks of the season, losing their very first game to the lowly, lowly Leafs.

We'd never hear the end of it. Never.

Thing is, this isn't a *really* bad Leafs team. At least, not quite as bad as we originally envisioned at the start of the season. Last year, the Leafs were the second worst possession team in the NHL at 44%. This year, under the helm of Mike Babcock, the Leafs are, lo and behold, currently a possession positive hockey team.

That's a huge leap forward, and a testimate to just how good Babcock's coaching skill are.

So tonight, the undefeated Habs will take on the one-win Leafs at the Bell Centre. The Leafs have one significant lineup change tonight - Peter Holland, Toronto's second line center, is a healthy scratch for Bryon Frese, who will be getting his first start of the season.

Over in Habs land, for the ninth consecutive game, the Canadiens have no lineup changes tonight. Who can argue?

Puck drops at 7:10 EST. Price vs. Bernier. Rob Ford is not expected to be in attenance.

Game Sixty-Two: Leafs vs. habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Possession through 40 minutes unchanged. 36%. Just dismal.

- Desharnais and Gallagher vs five Leafs in the crease, and Desharnais scores because the Leafs are horrible. 3-0. Gallagher with goaltender interference, but he gets away with it.

- Brandon Prust has clearly, somewhere along the way this season, lost a major step in his skating ability.

- Down goes Dion. And so easily too. By the 5'7" David Desharnais. Draws a sucker's penalty. What a captain. What a leader.

- Did Kadri know there was a game tonight?

- Phaneuf fakes a penalty, then gets nailed a minute later for mouthing off to the ref. Captains don't do that. Leaders don't do that. Dion does that.

- Pacioretty with selfless pass to Desharnais with an empty net. He could have easily scored in his drive for 40. That's how good this team's roster is to each other.

- Only question now is whether Price can pick up his 6th shutout of the season. Its been another night at the office for him.

- I'll end with two words and three letters: Carey Price. MVP.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs possession in the first even worse than anticipated. 36%. Against the Leafs. Ouch.

- It's no contest: Pacioretty skates circles around the Leafs first line defense, Bozak/Phaneuf. Draws a powerplay.

- The passes to Price are nearly shots. That's how confident his teammates are in him.

- After a quick start to the period, Habs are right back to sitting on their lead, and letting the Leafs take the initiative. This team never learns, it seems.

- Habs have apparently borrowed and implemented a soccer strategy, using Price as a receiver/passer. It looks dangerously brilliant, and had been extremely effective tonight. I wonder if this will become a regular thing?

- Leafs shots have been so non-threatening this period that it appears as though Price would like to join his mates on a rush just to make things interesting. Not a joke. 

- Carey Price in some other world right now. His teammates are basically going through the motions, which is kind of a travesty. 

- Really disappointed by much of what I saw in the 2nd. Again this team, which is one shot away from knocking out their opponent, collectively chose to just be passive, thereby allowing the awful Leafs multiple scoring opportinities on Price, who was practically the only CH who bohered punching the clock. Really is unforgivable how this team takes its goaltender for granted in handling the workload, night after night after night.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Habs get off to an awful start, and then via an awful Leafs breakdown, Manny Malhotra - yes, Manny Malhotra, scores an actual goal.

- Leafs crease defense is a nightmare. Barely AHL capable, based on what I've seen the first 5 minutes of this game.

- Phil Kessel, you think you can beat Carey Price with a 35 foot wrister? Seriously?

- Habs defense doing nice keystone cops routine in their zone. Only Leafs offensive incompetence has kept them off the scoreboard.

- Gilbert's third line defense is adequate, but he has the tendency of being a space cowboy with his game awareness.

- Habs on delayed penalty, Plecks off the wing with the Leafs going through the routine of waiting to touch the puck, beats Bernier blocker side with a wrister. Leafs look totally deflated now, after starting the period strong.

- Quietly, Subban has risen as the lead candidate for a Norris. Now tied for the points lead among defensemen.

- Man, the Habs and two goal leads. The instant they get one,  the bench books vacation tickets to Bali. 

- Habs were clearly outpossesed by the woeful Leafs in the 1st period, but lead basically because Carey Price is great, and Johnathan Bernier isn't. 

GAMEDAY PREVIEW:

Ugh. Oof. Leafs fans. Man, just when you think you've kicked them enough while they're down, suddenly they rise up from the deepest burrows of despair as though they have the world by the tail.

This week was a pretty good one for the centre of the universe. The Leafs not only won a game (it's true!), they were also, amazingly, able to unload one of the worst contracts ever granted to a National Hockey League player, by somehow convincing the Columbus Blue Jackets to take David Clarkson's 7 year, $7 million/season contract, thereby granting the Leafs the ability to begin rebuilding their team. Otherwise, with Clarkson on the payroll, the Leafs were going nowhere until the year 2020.

Ugh. It just makes a guy sick.

So lick it up Leafs fans, enjoy your small moments of glory and happiness. Grasp at whatever twig of hope happens to pass you by. Over here in Habsland, we're focused on slightly larger sea bass, as the Canadiens continue to prepare for the post-season - more specifically, finishing as high as possible in the Eastern Conference standings.

Tonight, the Habs seek to maintain their 1st place Eastern Conference standing with a win over the endlessly hapless Maple Leafs. The Canadiens will welcome back the services of Sergei Gonchar, who's been out the past couple of weeks with some injury that was never fully disclosed, as per idiotic team policy. To make room for Gonghar, the Habs shipped Jarred Tinordi back to Hamilton on Friday.

With a win tonight, the Habs will increase their winning streak to four games. They're gonna need every victory they can get, because March will not be coming in like a lamb for the Canadiens, as they hit the road for a brutal west coast trip to face the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks. Also on the venue in March are games against the Islanders, three games against the Lightening, the Predators, and the Jets. Yeah, we knew well in advance that March wasn't going to be a fun month for the Habs. Tonight, the February vacation comes to an end.

Also nice to end vacation with a little dessert. That being, the Leafs.

Leafs will start Johnathan Bernier, while the Habs will counter with the best goaltender on the planet, and this years most valuable player in the NHL.

Puck drops at 7:15 EST.

Game Sixty-Two: Leafs vs. Habs

Overtime:

- Desharnais, Pacioretty, Subban, Markov collect at centre ice and talk over this fortcoming 4-on-3 powerplay. It's kind of really significant, big extra point on the line.

- Lots of passing, great setups, but only one shot registered, and no winner scored. Bah.

- Markov clearly tripped heading to the net to take a pass to score. Refs somehow don't make the obvious call.

- Wow. Briere. Just had to shoot off that break rebound to score, and somehow ... he didn't.

- Gallagher gets a shift. Galchenyuk ... nope.

- Bernier a delay of game for that??? Wowzers.

- Broken play, Pacioretty finishes the game, wide open net. We'll take it, thank you.


Third Period:

- Habs 2nd period Fenwick holding steady at 66% (total). The Leafs continue to be as lucky as they are bad.

- Habs are going to play four games in five nights out west starting Monday. It's safe to say that each and everyone of those games is going to make tonight's game against this Leafs team seem like a vacation.

- Holy crap. What a save by Budaj on Kessle. Man. Alive. Should be tied 2-2.

- Not to take anything away from Budaj, but Kessel simply failed to raise the puck off an incredibly nifty pass by Van Riemsdyk. If he lifts it, the game is tied.

- That's a pretty awful penalty by Kadri who needlessly tripped the relatively harmless Wiese. Habs to the PP looking for some insurance comfort.

- Wiese took a skate to the face on that penalty play. I hope he's okay. Looked nasty on replay.

- Habs poweplay is either inept (dump and chase) or predictable (feed to Subban/Markov). Net result ineffectiveness.

- Oy. On the powerplay, a horrible, horrible pass by Markov to nobody at the line, giving Van Riemsdyk a break. Tie game.

- Habs ridiculously disorganized this period. And Budaj is getting blitzed.

- And there you have it. Murray caught way, way up ice, allowing Kessel to come in off the wing unmolested. This time, he raises the puck, and doesn't miss. 3-2 Leafs.

- Habs PP has been particularly inept tonight. Don't see why things should be any different at this point.

- Figures. Third time's a charm with Subban firing from the line and Bernier gets screened by Gallagher. Tie game.

- Markov commits a trip, but Van Riemsdyk is also nabbed for a dive. I do believe that's the first time an opponent player of the Habs has been called this season for that infraction.

- Habs have been passing to nobody at the line all night long. Terribly sloppy hockey.

- After his disgraceful overtime treatment two nights ago, Subban with a statement game tonight. The great players seem to do that all the time.

- Nifty carry and pass by Eller to Briere in front of Bernier. Very nearly the lead regained.

- Gallagher, will not be stopped. Just about single handedly planted the goat horns on Phaneuf.

- Habs really aren't helping their cause if this game is held to a tie. Really needed to send the Leafs out of town with zero points.

- Hoo boy. Kessel clears it over the glass. What a huge mistake. Habs will probably take a 4-on-3 advantage first 1:30 of O.T.

- Markov. One-man keystone cop routine tonight.

- So overtime. Will Therrien grab a clue and also play the guys who really ought to be played with the 4-on-4? Galchenyuk? Gallagher? Eller, even? Stay tuned.



Second Period:

- Habs 1st Period total Fenwick was 68%. Want more? Close - 90%. Not enough? Tied  - 100%.  Toronto's one goal deficit really ought be much more.

- Leafs turning the tables to start the 2nd frame. This is how you let games that you really ought to be totally dominating, slip away.

- Doug Murray with a blast from the line off the crossbar. Yes, you read that right - Doug Murray with a blast.

- He may have totally lost any ability to score, but at least Eller is playing a solid two way game. At least.

- Would it be sacrilege to observe that Doug Murray has played a pretty good game?

- Apologies for lack of comment, but this period has had so little to talk about. It's been a dump chase chip festival. Dreadful, dreadful hockey.

- That goaltending interference call on Briere was dreadful. He bumped into Bernier outside the crease. Offical miscall.

- I guess the good news from the Habs perspective is that while they were outplayed in the 2nd, they didn't surrender a tying goal. Given how dreadful Toronto has looked tonight, really shouldn't be contest.


First Period:

- Yeah, normally we'd post a few crack cocaine jokes and a stupid picture of Rob Ford for these Habs/Leafs games, but it's the weekend, and I'm lazy. Anyway, kind of an important game tonight, what with the race in the east so close. Not expecting this to be much of a game, with both clubs being terrible possession teams. We'll see.

- So one of the few Habs that's been scoring consistently of late, Daniel Briere, has been plugged down to centre the 4th line tonight, with Moen and Parros on his wing. So expect him to score exactly - nothing tonight, because of this roster move. Yeah, I don't get it either.

- Yup. It's gonna be rough and tumble tonight. That'll be fun, if not for the poor quality hockey that's to be expected.

- Craig Simpson seems to think Randy Carlyle is matching Therrien's lines. Craig, you know Montreal has last change, right?

- Dion Phaneuf with a dumb trip. At least his play has always been consistent with his hockey intelligence.

- Game very very sloppy, many whistles as a result. As noted earlier, that's to be expected when two teams that don't play the basics very well, face each other.

- Leafs taking the principles of dump and chase to another level. Zero shots registered 9 minutes in. Agonizing hockey to witness.

- Budaj ... oy ...

- When I predicted execution tonight would be poor, I didn't expect it to be THIS bad.

- Leafs are playing just ... horribly ... the Habs need to take advantage before Toronto discovers their legs and its game (however meek it might be).

- Subban remains the only Montreal defenseman remotely capable of feeding the puck to his forwards. Markov in his younger days, was a specialist, but that part of his game has largely left him. Anyway, because it's just Subban, the Habs are destined to indefinitely muck for offense.\

- Leafs had one game earlier this year where they went shotless in a period. They're now entering the danger zone of repeating that feat.

- Class One save by Bernier off a Bourque slot tip from a Gorges point shot. Should be 1-0.

- Welcome back Alex Galcheyuk, spinaround shot that Bernier probably should have had. 1-0.

- Habs kinda dominating right now, which normally would be impressive, but the Leafs .. ya  know ...

- Leafs just standing around their zone, Habs skating circles around everything, and Pacioretty with a backhander that while tough, probably also should have been stopped by Bernier. 2-0.

- Wow, shot on goal for Toronto. Emelin with an absolutely dreadful zone clearance right up the middle intercepted by Lupul, saved by the crossbar. Bad, bad, bad defense.

- Anyway, Leafs seem to be getting some sort of a semblance of a game going here, late in the first.

- Gorges with a bullet shot from the line, shockingly hard by his standards. Hits Gallagher hard, he's hurt on the bench.

- Can't blame Budaj, Van Riemsdyk with a great redeflect. The whole series began with Emelin making a wild clearance attempt from behind his net. That's two terrible plays by Emelin the past 3 minutes.

- Possession will heavily favour the Habs in the first period, they dominated first 15 minutes, Toronto did a push and scored, and will probably be extremely happy to be trailing by only one. Still, the Leafs looked awful.