Game 46: Pens vs. Habs

Pittsburgh 4, Montreal 1:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Habs lineup pretty much the same as Monday, with Andrew Shaw on 3rd line next to Danault, Jacob De La Rose getting another start, and the Habs continuing with slightly modified defensive pairs that were switched in the middle of Monday's game, with Beaulieu on the 3rd line with Zach Redmond, and Mark Barberio promoted to the 2nd line to play with Jeff Petry.

- Remember, the Pens can be flustered, especially if things don't play into their style as the game progresses. If the Habs are able to keep the score low and even through the first 30 minutes of tonight's game, opportunities might begin to arise.

- Pretty aggressive forecheck by the Habs to start the game - pays off with some decent zone pressure, Murray makes a couple of tough saves and also gets a little puck luck to keep Montreal off the scoreboard.

- Jeff Petry not on the Habs bench, for reasons that I didn't see. Don't recall him being the victim of a particularly hard check, no hard shots blocked. Suffice to say, Habs simply cannot function properly defensively if he's not playing.

- Looks like Petry took a shot off the inside of his right foot, although the shot itself wasn't particularly hard. Nonetheless, he went to the room at the 6 minute mark, and hasn't come back yet.

- Petry back. Breath. Habs chances of victory tonight would be extremely limited at best if he's not playing.

- It's early days, very small sample size, but Beaulieu looks considerably more comfortable next to Redmond than he had with Petry in the weeks that's followed Markov's injury. Both Petry and Beaulieu are good/very good defensemen, but together, for whatever reason, they simply didn't compliment each other.

- I guess this is more-or-less how the Habs need to play - pretty tight checking period, Pens haven't really generated significant scoring chances. Still, it feels like they're waiting in the weeds, just patiently preparing to fire their volleys.

- Whelp, there it is. Ian Cole with the game's first goal, Beaulien and especially Redmond way too passive guarding the rush, basically allowing Cole to waltz in to take his shot.

- From Redmond to Emelin, Habs defense now back to being too casual, too sloppy - traits you can't afford to demonstrate against this Pens team.

- Habs best shift comes late in the period, and it's not much of a surprise that it's sparked by Andrighetto and Lehkonen.

- An "okay" period for the Habs, burned by letdowns by their defence, which has become more and more of an issue as the season has progressed. Pretty clear Zach Redmond isn't much a solution for that 6th slot, but what options do the Habs have as long as Andrei Markov and Greg Pateryn are out of the lineup? Not much. Ergo, there might be mounting pressure as we get closer to the deadline for Marc Bergevin to find some help for the blue line - because with Markov's health a question, inconsistent play from Beaulieu, and the utter lack of dependable 3rd liners, he might have to make a deal.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Even split, possession-wise, in that first period. 5v5 CF: 50.0%

- Hard luck Habs so far in this game, offence has come close, but Murray getting more puck luck to keep Montreal off the board.

- Fehr makes it 2-0. Not what the Habs needed. Now Montreal faced with a daunting choice - do they toss out the close checking approach, looking for a scoring breakthrough, or do they open it up and take the some ill-advised chances?

- Pacioretty taken off the Galchenyuk line to play next to Danault, which makes pretty much zero sense to me.

- Half way mark of the period, Galchenyuk with what could only be described as an horrific shift, most of which was in his own zone because he was barely skating around. Tired? Hurt? Who knows. But it was awful.

- Pens taking over this game, Habs are reeling, mostly in their own zone. I mentioned it was imperative the Canadiens find a way of hanging even on the scoreboard at this point, where this season, the Pens have taken over their games. Well, same thing is happening tonight, and the Habs are down 2. This does not look good.

- Swarmin', swarmin', swarmin'. Crosby on his game - the Pens are relentless right now. Habs doing a reasonable enough job basically holding on for dear life in their zone, doing what they can to prevent high danger shot attempts. But something's gotta and gonna give eventually.

- Habs are surrounding shot attempts, looking for perfect plays. Murray isn't elite, so their rationale for looking for that pass instead of taking their shots, mystifying.

- This team is in a definite funk - and it comes at a puzzling time - what with Galchenyuk and (sigh) Shaw returning - they seem as lost as ever. Just seems like this teams' mojo has been slowly disappearing since Gallagher broke his hand again.

- Ah, there's Jake Genteel - we featured him as part of our preview, and he does a nice job deflecting a Gaunce shot to make it 3-0. That's likely lights out.

- Andrighetto gets a greasy goal from a simple wraparound. Hey, how about that? Those count just the same as pretty ones. Learn your lessons, Habbies.

- Whelp, what can you say? Pens are a better team. They took it to the Habs this period, took advantage of some pretty soft coverage around the Montreal slot, and basically salted away a win. Yeah, more questions will be asked about Carey Price after this one is done, but the reality is, the Canadiens are not playing well in their own zone, and teams like Pittsburgh are, on most nights, going to eat them alive.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Once again, attempts are pretty even, but that doesn't really express the lopsidedness of the game. Shot totals are doing that tonight, with Pittsburgh outshooting Habs 23-12 through 40 minutes. That is not good.

- Third period approach? Get the puck on Murray with every opportunity. No more fancy stuff. Pucks on net. If the Habs can't narrow the lead to 1 by the halfway mark, open the engines, and hope that Price can give you some big saves.

- Price looking a little shaky and uncertain to start the period. Just don't know what to think about Carey. One part of my mind thinks he's just having a stretch that all goaltenders go through, another part fears he's battling chronic pain from his knee injuries which have slowed him down.

- Uberweak interference call on Pacioretty sends the Pens on the powerplay looking to dagger this game out.

- Decent PK by the Habs, and Mitchell draws a powerplay by letting his face take a stick. So, a glimmer of hope here.

- Zippo powerplay, Therrien again putting out Andrew Shaw, who adds nothing, does nothing. It's absurd how he just does these things that don't work over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

- Absolutely forgettable, borderline terrible night for the Galchenyuk line. Another mystifying component of this team right now. They're simply not nearly as good, certainly not as energetic, since Galchenyuk's return.

- 9 minutes left, Habs with little choice but to start rolling the dice. Carey Price, get ready. Next few minutes could be busy.

- Pens are playing it cool, conservative. Habs have no response, no energy, no cohesion. Canadiens look lost, the Pens are more than happy to let them wander around while the clock drains down.

- Pens are checking the Habs ferociously, easily preventing even just the thought of a scoring chance. Legs are there for Pittsburgh, nothing there for the Habs.

- Petry with a bad giveaway stumbling behind his net, Maata with a relatively tame wrister that goes right between Price's legs, game, set, match.

- Yeah, more "WHAT IS HAPPENING TO CAREY PRICE!?!?" talk will be heard tonight and tomorrow and the day after that, but really, the Habs had zero chance tonight. No effort, little coordination, poor shot attempts, more sloppy play in their own zone - you're going to lose each and every game against the defending Stanley Cup Champion with what the Habs put out tonight. I'm not sure how many have taken notice, but the Canadiens are playing some bad hockey right now, which includes Carey Price, and more importantly, it also includes the guys in front of him.


GAMEDAY PREVIEW: THE PENS ARE A SCORING MACHINE. WHAT TO DO?

The Habs are back in action tonight as they take on the most powerful offensive machine in the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Bell Centre in Montreal.

The Pens are coming off a wild 8-7 OT win Monday night over the high-flying Washington Capitals, who had their 9-game winning streak broken by Pittsburgh.

The Pens like to score goals, and they do that frequently, mainly against teams with thin or inexperienced defensive lines. Pittsburgh boasts an impressive stat line, 7th in CF (51.6), 3rd in Fenwick 5v5 (52.8%), 2nd in GF60 (2.83), 1st in shots/game average (34.7), 9th in Sh% (8.19), 6th on OZFO% (33.7), 3rd best powerplay % (23.3), 1st in goals/game at even strength ... etc, etc., etc.

Oh, did we mention the best player in the world, Sid Crosby, is on his way to possibly a 60 goal season? Or Evgeni Malkin with another 40+ goal season? The Pens' first two lines in general are pretty terrifying:

Sheary/Crosby/Rust
Guentzel/Malkin/Hornqvist

That right there is 185 points. And we haven't even gotten to the third line, which features the awesome Phil Kessel playing next to Carl Hagelin and Nick Bonino. Tack on another 80 points.

Anyway, back to the top lines - Jake Guentzel is an interesting piece - he's a top Pens prospect that's spent most of this season racking up huge point totals playing with the Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Basically, he's too good for that League, which prompted his call-up just before the Pens had their by-week. In the 5 NHL games Guentzel has played so far, he's scored 3 goals, which is pretty impressive.

Now, the Pens can score. That we've established. But what about the backend? Well ... that's where we find some vulnerabilities. After their bye-week break, the Pens lost 3 straight, surrendering 15 goals. If you factor in the 7 they gave up in their win over the Caps Monday night, that's 22 goals allowed in 4 games. But that's Pittsburgh - they like to play some pretty freewheeling, high-event hockey - they lead the League in shots taken, but they're also the 5th worst in shots allowed. It's made the season particularly busy for the Pens netminders, which has split time evenly between Marc-Andre Fleury (3.23 GAA, .904 Sv%) and "backup" Matt Murray (2.53 GAA, .916 Sv%).

How do you beat them? Simply by not playing their game. Which means low event, close-checking, run-'em-into-the-ice stifling defence with emphatic forechecking.

Which for the Habs, might be doable. They played a very tight game Monday afternoon in Detroit - probably too tight given that the Canadiens were so overtly focused on containing the Wings that they essentially forgot to apply much, if any pressure until the game's 57 minute mark.

There is an established pattern to beating the Pens this year. If you play them hard defensively for the entirety of the game, and they fail to produce goals by the 2nd period, they tend to get "anxious", and start making defensive mistakes.

Evidence? Well, the Pens have actually been pretty mediocre offensively the 1st period this season, scoring 34 goals with ranks them 17th in the League. Where the Pens thrive is in wearing their opponent down as the game progresses. They've scored 54 goals in the 2nd period (3rd best in the NHL), and 59 in the 3rd period (2nd best).

By contrast, the Pens have given up 42 1st period goals this season (3rd worst in the League), and 50 in the 2nd period (also 3rd worst). The 3rd period, however, the Pens have given up only 34 goals (5th best). Basically, by playing a fast, wide-open game, the Pens have put together a winning record by essentially shell shocking their opponent.

Keep this in mind as the game progresses - the key to defeating the Pens lays in how well you play them as the game progresses. If you're playing well defensively in the 2nd, and especially the 3rd periods, your chances of victory increase significantly.

Which also means a lot of pressure will be on the shoulders of Habs starter tonight Carey Price, who's struggled since the beginning of December, but has come off a tough loss in which he surrendered just one goal to Detroit.

Matt Murray will start in net for the Pens.

Puck drops at 7:40, EST.



HABS UPDATE: MORE HURT BODIES GETTING CLSOE TO RETURN

Hey, Happy Wednesday. Things seems to be progressing with a couple of the wounded, Greg Pateryn and David Desharnais. Here's some video from this morning:

Pateryn et Desharnais patinent ensemble ce matin. / Pateryn and Desharnais are skating together this morning. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/CRgq4XnuP6

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 18, 2017

We'll have a preview in a little bit of tonight's Habs/Pens game.

Game 37: Habs vs. Pens

Pittsburgh 4, Montreal 3 (OT)

FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- That's an excellent first shift by the McCarron line, which did a find job Thursday night helping the Habs to grind out that OT win.

- That is as sweet a passing play goal as you'll see, Radulov finishing a four way play to give the Habs a 1-0 lead. Canadiens storming out of the game early in this game. 

- Habs violating pre-game key by taking an early penalty, although it's a pretty questionable trip by Petry on Crosby.

- Price with a pretty remarkable save on the PK - might be the save of the year.

I guess you could say Carey Price is pretty good at his job #MTLvsPIT pic.twitter.com/hLRLuyywVY

— Hockey Night Punjabi (@HkyNightPunjabi) January 1, 2017

- Well, it wasn't pretty, but Habs survive the penalty. Pens, though, seem to have locked into their groove after stumbling a bit out of the gate.

- Carey Price being put through a pretty stern test this period - Habs two penalties so far, it's unreasonable to expect the Habs to keep the Pens out of the gate at this rate.

- Pens really riding off the powerplay momentum, totally dominating play, badly hemming Canadiens in their own zone. Right now Habs are just holding on for dear life, leaning on Price to help them ride this out.

- Only one line dominating for the Habs - the McCarron line. Otherwise, it's been kind of a mess out there for the Canadiens this period. Pens simply owning Montreal, so this 1-0 lead is tenuous, at best.

- Canadiens need to start playing a road game here - slow things down, work whites, maybe even a few icings. Anything to stem the tide.

- Awfully dumb penalties by Danault for hooking - complete obvious and avoidable. Pens are going to capitalize on one of these - sooner or later.

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Hard to believe, Habs SA CF (5v5) was 50.0%. But then again, it's deceptive given that the Pens were on the powerplay for 6 of the 20 minutes. 

- Hornqvist ties the game with one of the easiest goals you'll ever get as a hockey player, Emelin off somewhere in a daze, leaving Weber and eventually Price out to dry.

- While we acknowledge yet another example of awful hockey by Alexei Emelin, let's look at the positive side - Mark Barberio has been lights out since his callup - probably the Habs second best defeseman after Petry.

- Kessel. McCarron caught a bit up ice after a Terry giveaway deep in the Pens zone, Johnston caught totally flat footed by Pens transition, rest is history. Pens overtaking the scoreboard was inevitable.

- Habs defence completely overmatched - Pens should pull away and be out of sight fairly soon - maybe even before this period is done.

- Danault/Pacioretty/Gallagher /Bryon line having a pretty awful night - totally getting outskated and out-checked - possession numbers are pretty bad.

- We knew the Pens had the League's best offence, but wow - when in gear, they're pretty much unstoppable. Not sure what the formula is to battle this kind of opponent - play an insanely close-checking game, slow the game to a crawl, I guess. Wide open, this team is unbeatable.

- Weber/Emelin have been pretty craptaculour tonight. Upon Markov's return, it might be time to look towards splitting that duo.

- Habs first powerplay, pretty awful. Beaulieu in particular looked lost.

-Torrey Mitchel is adding nothing to entering Pacioretty and Radulov. In fact, he's been suffocating both tonight.

- Petry point shot deflected by Bryon, and remarkably, the Habs are tied headed to the dressing room. Nonetheless, the Canadiens are getting badly out-chanced by Pittsburgh through 40 minutes - attempts might be relatively even, but the Pens shots are coming from some pretty high percentage shooting areas around Carey Price, who will have to play a remarkable 3rd period if the Canadiens are to somehow escape this arena with an actual point.

THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs actually have CF edge (5v5) through 40 minutes (over 53%), but the Pens are dominating in scoring attempts - 16-10 for home plate attempts. That's why CF is throwing us a little shade tonight (hey, it happens) - the Pens are by far the better team:

- Gotta hand it to this Habs team, they're finding a way. Carr deflecting the puck off a post onto Fleury's skate blade and in - likely a goal that Fleury shouldn't have surrendered after he muffed up a Flynn wrist shot that deflected off the post. Somehow, the Habs have the lead, 3-2.

- Puck might not have gone off Carr - Flynn getting coal credit. Regardless, score still stands.

- Carey Price is having an understated statement game - no way his team has even a shot at winning if not for how he played shorthanded, and for that matter, after the Pens took a 2-1 lead.

- No question this 3rd period has been the Habs best tonight - they're competing - holding their own with the Pens, and in some instances, actually outskating them.

- Wow, Carey Price making a pretty bad puck handling mistake that generates plum turnover for the Pens, but Price makes the save to make up for the error. Incredibly rare event there.

- Bryon with some strong forechecking generating a turnover, and he gets nailed for an insane holding penalty. That's NHL officiating at its very worst.

- Calling on Carey Price to dig way deep for one more PK.

- Heartbreaking - Habs with a magnificent PK, but are undone by a fluky goal with seconds left, a point shot that bounces off Sheary and in. So ridiculously close to an incredible win. 

OVERTIME LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Well, win or lose, this has been an impressive, gritty effort by this Habs team tonight. So very, very impressed.

- Terrible icing by Weber, passing it to Pacioretty who was in the Pens zone, heading to his bench. No idea what Weber was thinking, but it moves the face-off deep next to Price.

- Habs called for too many - how the hell is that even possible in overtime???

- Malkin. Impossible stop. Heartbreak complete. Still, incredible heart demonstrated by this Habs team tonight - nothing to be ashamed of

A REMINDER: 2016 WAS AWFUL

- A bunch of famous people died. Some of them too young. Some of them nice. Except for Antonin Scolia. We're fine with you being gone forever.

- Britain more or less by its own choosing, jumped off a cliff.

- Terrorists killed thousands of innocent people all around the world

- Winter didn't arrive in the north pole, meaning the world is likely close to self-combustion.

- Donald Trump, unbelievably, was kinda-sorta elected President by finishing in second place, which means besides terrorists and global warming and shark attacks, civilization will probably end within the next four years.

- P.K. Subbban was traded for another defensemen who'll be a roster and salary cap albatross in the next couple of years.

Yeah. 2016 was awful, awful, awful. And it ends tonight. GOOD RIDDANCE. Before that, however, the Habs will take on the defending Stanley Cup champions from Pittsburgh.

The Habs continue to play some pretty good hockey - arguably among the best in the League, even with a lineup riddled with key injuries. I guess some credit is begrudgingly due to Marc Bergevin for putting together a lineup that's been able to withstand the grind of an 82 game schedule.

Tonight's clash with the Pens marks game 4 of the Habs epic 7 game road trip - one where they've managed to keep their head above water. The Pens, however, aren't much relief - they're just 1 point out of first place in the crazy good Metropolitan Division, an astounding fact if you consider the team they trail, the Columbus Blue Jackets, are currently riding a 14 game wining streak.

What's so good with the Pens? Well, Sidney Crosby is having an MVP year. They have the best offence in the NHL - with a 2.8 GF60 average, bolstered by a top-5 powerplay. They've basically overpowered opponents this season, even with a mediocre defence, just 14th rated in the League, and less-than-stellar goaltending that we've all come to expect from Marc-Andre Fleury. With a .908 SV%, Fleury is rated 21st amongst starting net minders in the NHL.

So that's the key for the Habs tonight - keep out of the penalty box, and with some luck, convert on powerplay opportunities (the Pens sub 80% PK, for what it's worth, isn't very good either).

It's Carey Price vs. Fleury. Puck drops at 7:10 EST.

And then, a few hours later, 2016 will, mercifully, come to and end.

Game 3: Pens vs Habs

HABS LIVESTREAM:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Habs PR full throttle fan-first tonight for homecoming ceremonies. They're not dumb. They know there's a lot of hurt out there about Subban's departure.

- Huge applause for Shea Weber. Huge.

- Oh, wow. Jacques Demers. That's heartbreaking.

- Let me grab a drink, whoops, 1-0 Habs. Max Pacioretty picks up a lose puck in a very loosely defended Pens zone, a shaky start for Andre Marc Fluery (shoulda gone with Mike Condon, guys), and zoom, it's 1-0.

- More soft slot defensive coverage, Weber caught out of position, but Montoya is able to cover up. That's something we saw quite a lot of the first two games - Habs inability to prevent high danger scoring chances - and one of the major reasons why, so far in this young season, the Habs are getting out chanced quite badly.

- That said, Pens aren't exactly clamping down in front of Fleury either, Max coming within a couple inches of making this 2-0.

- So this Al Montoya, sure looks like a pretty good off-season pickup. Making his team look way way wayyyyyy better than they actually are. At least, so far.

- Phantom penalty on Pacioretty for ... skating? Not sure what that's about, but it puts the Pens on one of their dangerous powerplays.

- Pens really owning the puck this period, Habs just too tentative, choosing to play their usual chase system that we saw so much two years ago. Looks like the period will end at about a 60/40 split, which means holding a slim lead is practically impossible.

- Malkin and Kunitz have been monsters this period - you think it's only a matter of time before their names start hitting the scoresheet tonight.

- Meanwhile, Plekanec line is really struggling - more fodder for the argument that Radulov and Lehkonen would benefit playing beside Galchenyuk.

- Habs play so fast an loose in front of their net, very poor coverage, and its giving the Pens tons of high quality chances from the slot. Montoya handling at lest three shots from 20 feet or under the past 5 minutes.

- TVA showing how Habs have been focusing hard on faceoffs during practice this week, which truth be told, is one of their lesser issues.

- Habs finally getting some shots on Fleury again with 5 minutes left in the frame. They've been pretty much an invisible team unit since the 2 minute mark.

- Andrew Shaw totally robbed by Fleury on cross ice one timer. I'd say a first or second line winger would have probably buried that puck.

- Pens puck dominance simply unsustainable, as the Habs wind down the first period with more than a couple good scoring attempts.

- Another puzzling penalty, this time Galchenyuk for interference. Pens outskating the Habs, which usually draws those kinds of penalties, but at least call 'em if they're committed, guys.

- Habs came out storming, looked great first 2 minutes of the game, and then just kind of got overwhelmed by the Pens forecheck and speed. Same problems hampering the Habs tonight as they had the first two games. Poor-ish zone coverage surrendering too many high quality scoring chances, while the offence continues to play too much of a system that doesn't utilize some of the skill that the younger players bring to the lineup. Meanwhile, Al Montoya keeps playing better and better and better. No criticism for Montreal's goaltending so far, to be sure.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs defence really slow to react to speed along the wing. Too many opposing wingers are driving the net without obstruction.

- Not very many bright spots for the Habs offence in this game, Pacioretty has been very involved, and uhhhm .. Andrew Shaw? I'm kinda at a loss.

- More bad Habs habits, getting pinned in their zone, not being able to work the puck out properly, instead relying on low percentage long bomb passes that 9/10 result in icings. This is a very losing formula.

- Radulov with a very careless high stick that sends Sheary sprawling to the ice and eventually to the dressing room with a face injury. 4 minute infraction.

- Halfway through the 2nd period, Habs have but one shot on goal, which gives you a pretty accurate picture of how this game has gone.

- Shea Weber has delivered some thundering checks tonight, but positionally, he's been very poor. Habs are getting soundly out-chanced just about every shift he's had.

- Habs just defying gravity, as Desharnais is left all alone in front of Fleury, and puts home a very nice feed from behind the Pens net courtesy of, go figure, Max Pacioretty. 2-0 Canadiens.

- One big weakness for the Pens tonight not unlike the Habs - zone coverage has been pretty sloppy, and it's cost them two goals.

- Hey, believe it or not, Habs get a powerplay. And it looked pretty hopeless. AND DRINK.

- Habs arguably outplayed even more in the 2nd period than they were the 1st. Same old issues, but it all matters not as the Canadiens play Therrien possum hockey. Play like their dead, and put it all on the shoulders of their goaltending. If Montoya isn't excellent tonight, as he was the two games previous, the Habs would most certainly be starting down the throat of an 0-3 start. Coach Therrien continues to get lucky at the right time.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Has Sergachev found himself in the Therrien doghouse already? He's had a rough night, wasn't great agains the Sabres - not much ice time in this game.

- Habs with two man advantage powerplay, their passing is fine, but player movement is relative stagnate, which makes it easy to defend.

- That advantage ... gone, as Weber is nailed for tripping. Sigh.

- Pacioretty appears to be seriously hurt, specifically his leg. That's potentially pretty awful news.

- Festival of penalties here. Looks like we have some 3-on-3 hockey. Yum!!

- Radulov with a pretty, pretty, pretty goal hanging on forever with the puck, and turning Fleury all inside out. Problem though - Gallagher, maddeningly, bumps into Fleury before Radulov releases the shot. Another goal denied because of Gallagher's aggression?

- Good goal. Gallagher might have dodged a bullet. Habs take stranglehold lead, and Radulov scores what might still end up being the best goal of the Habs season.

- Pacioretty back on the bench. I'm wondering if he had a skate blade issue?

- Twitter message suggested to me that he had a muscle cramping issue, which I suppose makes sense. Max, listen to you mom and hydrate often!

- Sergachev clearly done for tonight, more than half of the 3rd played, and he hasn't seen a shift. Likely will be sent down tomorrow.

- Sergachev just getting a shift, I'd imagine it's to just keep the rotation fresh for the final 5 minutes of the period. While this might be his last game in Montreal for awhile, no point in benching him for the sake of sending an obvious message.

- Pens with complete zone meltdown, Keystone Cops would be embarrassed, with pretty much everybody with a red sweater getting a shot on Fluery in the span of 10 seconds, mercifully Desharnais finishing off the play, and the Penguins tonight, and it's 4-0.

- Pens' forwards were miles better than the Habs', but not being able to play in your own zone properly will cost you games. Tonight, the Pens got stomped by it.

- Habs remain undefeated in regulation because, let's face it, Al Montoya. Otherwise, the Canadiens seem to have good fortune on their side early, getting outplayed each of their first three games, but finding a way of getting at least a point because of netminding. Long-term problems and challenges face this team on road ahead if they continue to allow themselves to be outplayed and out possessed. Sure, on the short term you can duck the percentages, but over a season, it invariably catches up. Sorry folks, but colour me unimpressed by what I've seen so far.

Truth: Kessel loves country music
Truth: Kessel's dog is named Stella
Lie: Kessel is a wonderful singer
In the Room: https://t.co/xjYVhSUUiP pic.twitter.com/vVxyLiBFe1

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 18, 2016

For the umpteenth time, Phil Kessel is the best.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

Okay, a few things in point form.

- It's ridiculously early in the season, but head coach Michel Therrien is up to his old antics again, making lineup changes that have cause a few double-takes amongst closer followers of his team. Today Therrien announced that Daniel Carr will be a healthy scratch tonight to make way for Brian Flynn, who on pretty much any NHL team, would qualify as a marginal 4th liner. With Flynn in, Paul Byron, who is, in fact, a qualified 4th line NHLer, will be moved up to play the Habs 3rd line, along side of David Desharnais

- Ah, speaking of the coach's favourtist player of all time, DD got some speciality line work tonight - centring (get ready for it) the Habs 2nd powerplay unit. Wait, you might ask, are you talking about the same David Desharnais who was ranked 2nd worst in the entire NHL last year among powerplay forward productivity, and looked utterly terrible the powerplay time he received the first two games of this season? THAT David Desharnais? YUP. THAT David Desharnais.

- Ominous signs for the Habs? In the season's first two games, and this is against opponents who likely won't qualify for the post season, the Habs scoring chance ratio was 2 to 1 ... against. Unlike the previous opponents, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are talented, can score, and will score - a lot, are far more likely to take advantage from having twice as many scoring chances. 

- Speaking of the Penguins, who'll start in goal? What will be the lines? Nobody knows because Pittsburgh didn't have practice this morning. Conventional wisdom would dictate that Mike Condon will get the start tonight, given that the Pens played last night (and lost) to Denver. But it being so early in the season, the Pens might take some liberties and give Marc-Andre Fluery a back-to-back start.

- One other lineup change that we mentioned yesterday - with Mikhail Sergachev getting a spot back in the lineup tonight, they drew sticks and Greg Pateryn will sit.

Puck drops (likely around) 7:20 p.m. 7:50 EST while Habs ownership lets Shea Weber skate around the rink with a torch, while half the stands revisit the trauma they felt that late June day. ENJOY!

MONDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

YAY IT'S MONDAY! THE PENS ARE IN TOWN! That means I get to use my most favouritist Phil Kessel picture. WE STILL  LOVE YOU PHIL.

Okay, let's do a few Habs-related bits of news to help gear you up for tomorrow night's season opener at home:

- Carey Price? He lives! Yup, Carey was on the ice this morning for practice, and this time, no intervenes tube was attached! That's the good news. Not so good news? He won't start tomorrow because, according to coach Therrien, Carey lost about 90 pounds during the week he spent hacking up his lungs.

- So Al Montoya one more time! That's not a bad thing, considering Al's SV% the first two games is .942. Here's an even cooler thing: The Pens are playing tonight, and Andre Marc-Fluery will start. So if the Pens decide, as most teams usually do these days, to avoid playing their 1st string on back-to-back nights, this means tomorrow the Habs might see ... Mike Condon! Coolness.

- Habs practice lines: Hey, remember that thing where Therrien put Radulov next to Galchenyuk mid-way through the Ottawa game Saturday night, and then moved Gallagher next to Plekanec, and then benched Lehkonen, who had just scored a goal and was generating scoring chance after scoring chance, and then he demoted Galchenyuk to centre the 4th line? Remember that? Well, guess what? The forward lines are right back to where they used to be:

- Pacioretty/Galchenyuk/Gallager

- Lehkonen/Plekanec/Radulov

- Carr/Desharnais/Shaw

- Danault/Mitchell/Byron

Meanwhile on defence, the Habs announced that Mikhail Sergachev came back from Russia and will be starting tomorrow night, which begs the question, Mikhail Sergachev WENT TO RUSSIA?! He was just here ... with the team ... playing (?!?). I'd love to see his frequent flyer points.

More Habs stuff if we get anything.

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 Seventeen: Habs vs. Pens

SHOOTOUT:

- Condon vs. Fleury. I'll take the former over the later.

- Galchenyuk too fancy, and Pens take early advantage.

- Crosby with the dagger. Actually, Condon doesn't do well with breakaway stuff. So the Pens grab the extra point. Disappointing result.

OVERTIME:

- As Habs fans are fully aware, this 3-on-3 stuff has been a killer. 

- Habs really struggle with gaining puck possession in this overtime format. Really hurts their ability to generate scoring chances.

- Habs get called for too many. That's just insane.

- Tom Gilbert jumped off the bench too early. Gilbert, just wow.

- Habs, remarkable, survive the penalty. But the Pens were their own worst enemy with the advantage, as they kept their powerplay unit out for the entire two minutes. Helped the Habs to somehow hang on. 

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs had, get ready for this - 76% possession in the 2nd period. Pens are lucky to find themselves down just one.

- Dale Weise first shift of the 3rd, looked pretty meek. No way he's playing 100%

- Desharnais line had a pretty dreadful 1st period, but have been much improved since then. Doing a nice job gaining the Pens zone. 

- Been kind of an up and down night for Markov, Kessel turning him inside out off a rush, but Condon makes a nice save off the backhand.

- Habs defence suddenly getting a bit slow and sloppy, as Malkin somehow doesn't score on an open net. Montreal would be wise to slow the pace down, 14 minutes left.

- Gallagher takes a hard slapper off the ankle. Off to the room. Uh-oh.

- Habs getting tighter and tighter as the period progresses, and that's not a good thing. Pens are gaining the zone with relative speed, and intensifying their forecheck, which is generating a lot of Habs turnovers. Montreal must adjust quickly, or this game will be tied soon.

- Brian Flynn moved up to take Gallagher's spot on the Plekanec line. We await his return. Hopefully soon.

- Mike Condon building the fort, keeping the Habs ahead by one. But only barely. Habs seem to collectively think there's less than 20 seconds left on the clock. There's 8 minutes left. No way this lead holds unless the Canadiens smarten up.

- Gallagher returns! And makes a horrid giveaway right in the high slot. Condon with a spectacular blocker save. Gallagher owes Condibear a biggie for that.

- And there it is. Hornqvist with a snapper that deflects off Petry's stick, and ties the game. Habs sat on this and got burned. We saw it coming.

- Pens have all the mo' right now. At this point, Habs can probably hope to play for overtime. But wouldn't be surprised if the Pens win this in regulation. 

- Nice momentum shift for the Plekanec line, Gallagher with some determined forechecking to keep the pressure in the Pens zone. Maybe the ship will right itself after all?

- Never mind. Gilbert muffs the puck up at centre ice, and then hauls down his man. Really poor play by Gilbert that might cost his team the game. 

- Pens take a timeout to keep their number one unit out for the entire 2 minute powerplay. Smart move. Crosby looks awfully anxious to score what would be the winning goal.

- It was close, but the Habs survive the Gilbert penalty. 

- Wow. Habs just didn't show up in the 3rd, and blew a game they largely had in full control just half an hour ago. This team doesn't learn lessons. Not after blowing their big lead two weeks ago against Edmonton, repeating old mistakes tonight.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Pens through 20 minutes. Habs may have had the possession edge, but the Pens still controlled the game tempo - by a substantial margin. 

- Officials calling this game incredibly tight. Consistent, but tight. Could be a few powerplays from here on out.

- Maatta has been given credit for Pens second goal, sorry Phil. Replay show Kessel's shot was deflected, impossible save for Condon. 

- Habs would be wise to just keep firing on Fluery at every opportunity, at any angle, any distance.

- Desharnais line being out-chanced by more than a margin of 3-to-1. That's pretty awful.

- This second period not nearly as free-wheeling as the first. That's a good thing for the Habs.

- And just like that, Gallagher scores high off the break off a sloppy neutral zone turnover. Fluery gave him most of the top left of the net, going down too early off the shot. Tie game.

- Kris Letang, in the middle of a dreadful season, retaliates off a non-call off a very marginal hit delivered by Markov in the corner five minutes ago. Pretty stupid play by Letang. Gives Habs another powerplay chance.

- Habs string together 10 passes in a row, manage to generate zero shots on net. That's the bad old version of the Canadiens' powerplay.

- Weise looks to be significantly injured, favouring leg. Straight to the room, assisted by two teammates.

- Weise hurt, it's been a very difficult night for the Habs third line. Possession, and now injury. 

- Lovejoy with a clumsy play falling on Weise's leg from behind. Reply does not look good, the way Weise went down. Alex Semin, are you watching?

- Hoo boy, Marc-Andre Fleury, with a terrible goal scored on him by Brian Flynn. Crosby losing his marbles after the goal, draws two minutes for being stupid. Habs lead for the first time in the game.

- Sidney Crosby, who looked so good to start the game, now looking so ... bad. What gives, Sid?

- DALE WEISE RETURNS. ALL IS GOOD AGAIN.

- I don't know if anyone has noticed, but the Habs have kind of destroyed the Pens in this period. 

- Weise with an uneventful shift since coming back to the bench. 

- A completely dominate period for the #Habs in the 2nd period. The Pens held to just two shots on goal. Habs possession was crazy one-sided, and aided by some shoddy goaltending by Fluery, Montreal has totally turned this game around. Habs were definitely aided by a much more sound defensive approach in the period, which kept the Pens in check, especially the Crosby line, who let loose frustration at the end of the period. One of the best played periods of hockey by this Habs team - possibly this season.

FIRST PERIOD

- Did we even sit down to start watching? Plekanec does a very poor job checking his mark, leaving Dupuis wiiiiiiiiiide open to receive a Crosby pass, Condibear no chance. Boom. 1-0.

- If the first three minutes is any indication of what the rest of the game will be, this good be a monster night for Crosby.

- So this is the highly rated Pens PK? Passing lanes far too open, Subban to Markov with a hard, but not impossible shot for Fleury to stop. Tie game.

- Terrific puck movement by the Pens, still. With that, and Fluery in net, we might have a scoring bonanza tonight. Wider nets? PFFT.

- Good buzzing shift for Habs 4th line, Mitchell with golden scoring opportunity, but instead of taking a shot, he makes a perplexing pass.

- Pretty fast and free-wheeling first 8 minutes. Defences mostly on their heels trying to handle the attacks. Lots of unmolested zone entries so far. These teams are just going to hammer each other with shots all night.

- Pens might have scored off their first shot, but Mike Condon is bringing it tonight. More than a couple spectacular sprawling saves by Condibear.

- Kessel with Malkin looks very impressive. They've been generating some excellent scoring chances, all undone by spectacular goaltending by Condon. By the way, Condon. This guy is turning out to not only be a great story for the Habs this season, but a great story of the entire League. 

- Gallagher nailed for a blindside skeaky/slimey trip in front of the Pens net. Good call by the referee. 

- Habs defence (Markov/Subban) way too passive handing the Malkin line rush, with Kessel snapping a shot past Condon to give the Pens a 2-1 lead. Habs simply can't afford to retreat defensively against an opponent with so much speed.

- Desharnais line is one huge defensive liability this period. One of the worst periods I've seen from this unit in a long time.

- Spirited period of hockey, very fast, very entertaining. It was a home team period, which is bad news for the Habs, who need to smarten up their defensive game if they hope to hang tight in this game. They need to slow the game pace down dramatically. Maybe, heaven forbid, ice a few pucks.

GAMEDAY PREVIEWPhil. PHIL! It wasn't supposed to be this way. What happened??

We're about 1/5th into the season, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who came into the year featuring one of the most intimidating offenses in the game of hockey have ... well ... is flopped a good word to use?

That feared Pens offence - maybe more aptly described as that once-feared Pens offence, currently is ranked 26th in the League for goal production. Only Carolina, Philadelphia, Anaheim, and yes, Toronto, are ranked worse than Pittsburgh.

Through 14 games, Kessel has amased 6 goals, which is okay, but (fair to say) isn't nearly at the anticipated goal-churning production line that everyone was anticipating. I mean, Kessel next to the "greatest hockey player in the world" Sidney Crosby, that's a sure-fire formula for a resounding success.

Oh ... right. About Mr. Crosby. The Pens had Kessel next to Sid the Kid for a half dozen games, a match made in hockey heaven that produced ... uh ... 1 goal. Since being moved "down" to play next to Evgeni Malkin's wing, things have picked up a bit for Phil. At the very lease, he and Evgeni are producing actual measurable positive offence.

The issue here is not only Phil, of course. It's Crosby, who's off to the worst start in his NHL career - just 2 goals in 14 games, and a horrid -6 rating. Sure, with only a handful of games played, it was easy to disregard his slow start to some kind of aberration. But now we're 14 games in, well past that rationale, and Crosby still isn't producing. For whatever reason.

Crosby is absolutely critical to the Pens' success. Where he goes, so too go the rest of the Pens - who've managed to stave off his lack of production in order to generate a respectable 9 wins. But their win/loss ratios can't stay this loft if Crosby can't produce. Something, as they say, has gotta give. With a League-leading 103 PDO, the Pens have been the beneficiary of good luck. You know what happens with good luck. It turns bad. It always does.

So tonight, Crosby and the Pens host the (still) number one team in the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens, whom are dealing with uncertainties - specifically, the health Carey Price (who, by the way, so happens to be the actual greatest-hockey-player-in-the-world). Price was supposed to return this week, but after seeing a specialist on Monday, that return has been pushed back another week. These make for nervous times.

Still, the Habs are riding the wave of excellent play by their backup - Mike Condibear Condon, who was the NHL's 3rd star of the week last week. While the Habs would certainly prefer to have Price be their starter tonight, as long as Condon continues to efficiently keep pucks out of the net, the Habs are stacked up well to continue their winning ways.

Tonight, it's the Pens and Habs - Condon vs. Fleury. Phil vs. the World. And the puck, it will drop at 7:40 EST.


TUESDAY'S NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Carey Price Update: Apparently, out another week. Which, apart from him not being able to play, might be a blessing since the Habs have only two games scheduled this weeek.

Habs practice this morning in Brossard before they venture off to Pittsburgh:

- Mike Condon and Dustin Tokarski on the ice. Carey Price, who was in New York City yesterday seeing a specialist for his lower body injury, was not at the rink.

- Alex Semin sighting! Practising today, did a few drills next to Eller and Galchenyuk, no less. Could this mean ... ?




MONDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES

- Congrats to Condibear Mike Condo, selected NHL 3rd Star of the Week! Condibear might get three stars from the League, but he gets zero stars from me for wearing that AWFUL REEBOK CAP.  Just look at that thing. Good lord.  Final word: anything designed by Reebok is an abomination to the human race.

- Carey Price flew to New York City today. Not because he misread the schedule, but he's going to see a specialist for his never-to-be-actually-identified-publicly lower body injury. When specialists get involved, all you can say is, uh-oh.

- Here's your interesting fact-o'-the-day: Habs have 13 regulation wins in their past 16 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs have 13 regulation wins in their past 68 GAMES. If that doesn't brighten the start to your week, nothing will.

More in a bit.

Game Four: Habs vs. Pens

THIRD PERIOD:

- Interesting to note that the Habs player with the least amount of ice time through 2 periods? David Desharnais. The -2 probably didn't help.

- Don't think Weise is snakebit this season, it's just that he overacheived last year, and his actual goal producing ability has come back to earth.

- Good, fast, aggressive start for Habs in the 3rd, legs are moving well, Pens are very scrambly in their zone. 

- Could see that goal coming a mile away, the Habs blistering of the Pens eventually results in a centre ice turnover, Desharnais to Fleischmann for his first ever as a Montreal Canadien. 3-2 Habs.

- Maybe reflective of larger issues, Pens defense looking really sluggish in the period - Habs speed is just killing them. Right now Pittsburgh in reactive mode, Canadiens firing at Fleury at pretty much their will. 

- Fully expecting Pacioretty to score the hat trick tonight. 

- Brad Watson with an absolutely atrocious tripping call on Smith-Pelly. He's another Tim Peel in the making. Actually, he's pretty much arrived.

- How can you tell the Pens have already opened the gates? They surrender a 3-on-1 with the man advantage. Their powerplay might actually be worse than Montreal's, which says an awful lot.

- 8 minutes left in the 3rd, Habs are kinda dominating the frame:

- Pens finally find some offensive mo', but Carey Price doing an excellent door impersonation. Habs, for a very rare occasion in this game, looking very shaky in their own zone - borderline panicking.

- Pens really struggling to exit their zone tonight - many, many passing mistakes being made by their defence. The Pittsburgh might need to look at this situation sooner rather than later, because I can't fathom this team competing if tonight is any indication of how good (or bad) their blue line is.

- Four minutes left, Habs appear to be turtling, which always means trouble.

- Carey freakin' Price, absolutely robs Crosby off a cross ice one timer. Habs passivity giving Pens the opportunity here. 

- Pens will play the rest of the remaining 70 seconds (or less) with the Crosby line, Therrien is going with the Plekanec line. Game at hand.

- Man, Pens have really struggled with their transition tonight, and zone entries. Lots of unforced errors.

- Officials very generous in giving the Habs an icing off a puck that barely crossed the line with Pens defensemen dogging it back to his zone. 12 seconds left, faceoff deep next to Price.

- Crucial faceoff won by Plekanec, Habs clear and win the game. This organization has never gone a season starting 4-0, without eventually winning a championship.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Ah, here's Plotkinov, taking full advantage of a break, with Beaulieu's point shot hitting Weise in from, and Plotkinov skates the length, beating Price stick side (weak-ish goal by Price's standards, I suppose). Tie game.

- Habs powerplay. Get ready to hold onto nothing.

- Wow. They convert. By doing what they really shouldn't be doing - killing the clock with perimeter passing. This time, however, Pacioretty snipes one past Fleury for his 2nd of the game.

- Pens just dominating neutral zone play in the period, Habs way too passive there, and it's making this period totally dominative for the Pens with puck possession.

- Crosby line being very well contained - combination of Habs 4th line, and the Plekanec line really doing an excellent job shutting down the passing lanes. Kessel one quality shot (and excellent Price save), but that's been about it. 

- That said, Habs defense, especially Beaulieu-Gilbert, extremely soft covering their slot. Pens forwards have had a couple of opportunities where their forwards have been provided the red carpet treatment right to Price. That's going to kill the Habs tonight if it isn't addressed pronto.

- Bounces have so far been strongly with the Pens, Letang with a fluttering shot that somehow evades Price. Knuckler I guess, but it's still disheartening.

- Habs with an excellent first period, and a slightly-better-than-stinker second, where they basically allowed the Pens to take their game to them at will. Puck possession was horrid, zone transitions were uneven. Really, there wasn't a whole lot to cheer about that period, except for Pacioretty's powerplay goal. One more period like that, and the Habs will be due their first loss of the season.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Hey, this is kind of cool, in a not very cool way. Combined, both teams are going into tonight's game with a powerplay running 1/21, or about 4%.  Wonderful!!

- Habs get Brad Watson tonight. Here's hoping Mr. Watson keeps his mouth shut tonight. 

- Habs defence really struggling with Pens zone entries, allowing too much free wheeling passes and it's giving their most dangerous forwards quality chances on Price.

- Nice feed by Gallagher to Paciotetty with a one timer from the line. Fleury was playing way too deep in his crease. 1-0.

- Brad Watson penalizing Desharnais for accidentally bumping into another guy. 

- Desharnais with a nice backcheck to break up a 3-on-2, but the Habs forwards will need to be more aggressive both directions or the Pens will score more than a few tonight.

- Looking more and more this game will be decided by whomever has the better goaltending. You know who that favours.

- Gilbert with sloppy passing out of his zone. Not for the first time this season.

- Very good period for the Habs. Pens came out string, but Canadiens made necessary adjustments to mostly contain Pittsburgh's transition. Especially strong period by the Habs 4th line, which did a nice job mostly containing the Crosby line. Pens have their hands full tonight.

GAMEDAY PREVIEW: WHO SAID FAT GUYS CAN'T PLAY TOO?

Is there anyone more awesome in the NHL than Phil Kessel? I mean ... LOOK at him. Look at THAT. If you didn't follow the game of hockey, or didn't know who he was, you'd swear he was that guy you contracted out a few years ago to reshingle your roof.

But no. Phil Kessel is an actual, genuine National Hockey League athlete. Actually a pretty good one, at that. But not good enough, it seemed, for the fans, and in particular the awful media people ([cough] Steve [cough] Simmons) who troll it.

So Kessel, one of the few players in the game who's a pretty sure bet to score 40+ goals on a good team (and 30+ on a bad), was shoved out of Toronto to Pittsburgh, for a few measly returns: "Addition by subtraction!" the media trolls cheered in victory.

Okay, Leafs. Whatever you want. Enjoy last place for the next couple of seasons while you struggle to score 200 lousy goals in an entire season.

The Pens won't be having any problems lighting up the score clock - now with Kessel now settled in nicely next to Sidney Crosby and Crhis Kunitz. Not only did they add Kessel to the roster this summer, they also bolstered their goal-scoring prowess by picking up Sergei Plotnikov.

However, even with all those moves designed although their aspirations for their first championship in eight years might be hampered by what certainly looks like a suspect defense.

The Pens' blue line is anchored by Kris Letang and Ian Cole, which is all fine. Beyond that, however, Pittsburgh's defense is largely comprised of pluggers, including the likes of the oft' injured Olli Maatta, and the wildly overpaid third-stringer Rob Scuderi. The Penguins defensive strategy doesn't appear much different than the one embraced by Michel Therrien and his Canadiens: Let Carey Price do most of the work. Except Andrei Marc Fluery, and let's be totally honest here - is no Carey Price.

So this Pens team is certainly intriguing, but I fear that Pens G.M. Jim Rutherford spent too much time focused on strengthening his offense, at the expense of adding some necessary blue line depth. The team he's constructed is a virtual shoo-in for a playoff spot, but I'm not so sure that in a League where defense wins championships, that the Penguins will acheive their ultimate goal of winning another Stanley Cup next spring.

So tonight, the undefeated Habs will get their first legitimate test of the young season, as they will take on the Pens for Pittsburgh's 2015-16 home opener. The Habs will be going with the same lines tonight as they had the first three games, with Carey Price starting in goal.

Puck drops around 7:20 EST, and we'll be live blogging and live streaming the game.