Game Twenty-Six: Habs vs. Panthers

Third Period

- So I've just arrived for the third, and it doesn't look like I've missed much, with the Habs handily ahead 4-0. Great to see Budaj gunning for another shutout. Actually, when was the last time he surrendered a goal? It's been awhile.

- Reading over the gamesheet, wow what a shutdown game by the Habs defense. Just 12 shots surrendered so far? Very nice.

- What's this? Ryder with a goal finally? Assist to boot. He's really been an excellent acquisition, certainly has played very well this road trip, which looks to be a huge success for the Canadiens.

- Panthers offense looks, at least from what I've seen on the 3rd, pretty disorganized. Passing also looks sloppy. Thinking Budaj's had it pretty routine.

- Goodbye shutout, as Bouillon shoots a loose puck at his own net and past Budaj. Tough way to loose the goose egg.

- White line with a pesky shift. I wasn't too crazy about the White scratches, so if there's any upside to the Prust injury (and this is pretty much it) it's that White can count on anger 8-10 starts.

- Panthers making it interesting, Matthais with a wrister that handcuffed Budaj, making him look entirely like the second string goaltender that he is. 4-2.

- Goofy holding call on Versteeg there. Emelin lost his balance trying to rotate backwards to forward. Versteeg's hand had little to so with Emelin's tumble.

- I wonder if a "make up" call against the Habs is on the way?

- Doesn't matter. Subban with a blast, Ryder the redeflect for his 2nd of the game. 5-2.

- Easy win today, Habs sweep the season set in Florida. A very, very successful five game trip, 8 out of 10 points. The Habs closing in on the point where a playoff spot is safely assumed, if we haven't reached that milestone already. Beyond that, the Habs can start preparing themselves for the postseason, where Bergevin can look to fill some needs for the playoff run. The Habs are a contender, so they must prepare as one.

About last night ...

Excellent win last night by the Canadiens, there's really no other way to describe it. The 3rd period was pure mastery, with the offense shifting to a higher gear, while the team defense essentially gave Carey Price 20 minutes of doing nothing other than standing around.

A costly victory, though. By now you've probably heard about the nasty collision Brandon Prust took into the boards after an icing chase. Stupid icing - the League needs to make that an automatic call before somebody gets killed. No word yet about the extent of the injury, but be fully prepared for the Habs to say "upper body injury, out indefinitely". It looked bad.

Tonight the Habs complete their five game road trip in Miami Sunrise. A win tonight will give the team a season sweep in their Florida swings. It'll also give them 8 out of 10 points on the trip, which would be an unqualified success.

Expect the same lineup as what we saw in Tampa, although with Prust out, it'll likely mean that Ryan White will be reinserted, and I'm thinking maybe Peter Budaj will get the start, even though the Habs face a relatively light schedule ahead with only 2 games in 8 days.

Puckdrop is early! 6:10 EST, which for yours truly, runs smack into a scheduling conflict. So likely no first period blogging, I'm hoping to join the action sometime into the second.

Other Stuff From Last Night ...

- Nobody is doing the Habs favors, the Bruins just keep on winning, a shutout over the Flyers yesterday afternoon.

- Islanders continue to be sneaky good. Another win over the "who-knows-if-they-suck?" Washington Capitals. The Isles with that hummin' powerplay, are my pick for a surprise playoff berth.

- Pens kinda blew a big lead over the Leafs, but prevailed in a shootout, 5-4. So Habs just keeping pace with the Pens, and gain only 1 point on Toronto. Stupid extra point OT rule.

- Kings are rollin, rollin, rollin. A pretty easy win last night against the slowly extinguishing Flames. Man, is there gonna be a front office bloodbath in Calgary after this season is done.

- Former powerhouse Detroit continues to chart a course towards not making the playoffs since the first term of the Clinton Administration, losing yesterday to ... holy cow ... Columbus?

Game Eighteen: Rangers vs. Habs

First Period:

- So Prust and Gallagher are in, Bourque is out with the flu, otherwise White would have been odd-man out.

- Beautiful pass by Gallagher right on Desharnais' tape for the break. I think Halpern coming back knocked the puck away from going into the net.

- Del Zotto's scratch tonight gives Habs a bit more opportunity to crash the net. Watch for that as game progresses.

- Ryan White, soft hands you have not.

- Boullion with an excellent blind backhand clearance right up the middle. Please stop.

- Habs forwards doing a good job bottling up the neutral zone, Rangers having a tough time organizing much of an effective transition.

- Not sure if its a bad case of snakebite, but Cole needs to start producing from these opportunities.

- Prust on the Plekanec line has definitely provided an aggressive punch. Creating quality chances on Biron.

- Just 2 shots on the clock for Habs with 4 minutes left. That can't be right, can it?

- Game has a more energized pace compared to the Tuesday night snoozer in New York, but not by much. Both teams do excellent man-to-man defensive coverage, nobody buckling yet. Garbage goals will likely decide this one.

- Best bodycheck of the game thrown by referee Brad Miere. Awesome.

- There's the Plekanec line again, giving the Rangers headaches. Habs to the PP.

- First Period summary: Glad I'm not a paying customer tonight. Zzzzz.

- The RDS guys just flashed a graphic - Biron has 3rd most wins among active NHL goaltenders.

Second Period:

- I don't want to look too far ahead, but if there are two teams that I do not want to see face each other in the playoffs, it's these two.

- Erik Cole. There we go, flippin' finally he scores. Courtesy massive Rangers defensive lapse. Torts is furious. 1-0.

- Pacioretty took blindside hit right in front of his bench. In considerable pain.

- Mcdonagh hit Pacioretty and then a shift later delivered a high stick to Prust's face, neither called.

- Correction, Mcdonagh elbowed Prust. Was still a very obvious penalty not called.

- Pacioretty kindly provides Mcdonagh a taste of his own medicine, and is assessed a boarding penalty. Resisting snarky officiating comment here.

- Mcdonagh gone to the dressing room. I think a couple of his teeth are still somewhere on the ice.

- Rangers powerplay looks terrible. They gotta somehow get that fixed. By the way, it was also broken when Nash was in the lineup.

- No love loss between these two. Hits are brutal out there. Hope there aren't too many injuries after this one is finished.

- Biron goes wandering and gets caught. Plekanec left with a totally wide open net from 25 feet. Fires a shot seven feet wide and high. Maybe he thought it was a soccer net?

- Love icings? Habs and Rangers are here to satisfy your cravings.

- Don't know if that will count but that was a beautiful goal by Galchenyuk.

- If Eller swiped that in with a high stick it was completely unnecessary. The puck was already well on its way to going in.

- Ruled a good goal. Eller might be breathing a sigh of relief. Therrien doesn't like stupid and/or selfish plays. He might have been benched for the violation.

- Prust is a body crashing monster out there, but his odd man rush executions are ummm ... not so great.

- My mind is boggled by the thought of how good Galchenyuk will be once he gets better.

- Habs demonstrate how not to execute a 3-on-1 break.

- Markov not nearly as dangerous or commanding on the man advantage as he was the start of the year. It's a mystery.

- Don't wanna hex this, but given how this Rangers offense is playing right now, I can't see how they could possibly come back down 3-0.

- All Habs in the 2nd. Rangers look like a non-playoff team tonight. Cruise mode should easily bring this one home.

Third Period:

- Mcdonagh hasn't come back since the Paciiretty hit. His head was crunched against the unforgiving Bell Centre boards, so start making your own assumptions.

- Okay, the Rangers absolutely have to score on this powerplay. Zero shots their last one.

- Eller shorthanded rush. More reason why the Habs organization would be crazy to give up on him.

- I didn't think it possible, but that Rangers man advantage was worse than its last one.

- I know NHL players make a ton of money but I'll being going to bed tonight glad I'm not on the Rangers' roster. I'd hate to think what drills Torts will put them through in response to tonight's dreadful performance.

- Habs get a nice little test Monday in Ottawa against the banged up Sens. At least tonight's win keeps first place in tact.

Game Preview:

Okay, so blowing a game against the overmatched Islanders wasn't very much fun, but this stuff happens. The Habs either wouldn't or couldn't keep pace with the Islanders' , and much like we endured numerous times last season, the Canadiens faded the final 20 minutes, and let reasonably comfortable leads turn into defeats. While the bottom line totals are very impressive, 11 wins in 17 games, the loss to New York, and a previous loss two weeks ago to Buffalo where a 3-goal 3rd period lead was blow (not to mention the blow 3 goal lead to Tampa 10 days ago) must remain an ongoing concern.

Anyway this still doesn't take away from a pretty impressive string of victories, most recently against the Rangers in Manhattan. Tonight, the Habs have a few banged up bodies which may or may not play. Brendan Gallagher is almost certain to return tonight, although there are questions surrounding the health of Brendon Prust, who is an "upper body" injury is gametime decision, according to coach Therrien.

As per the previous game, the Rangers' powerplay is a mess - so like Tuesday night, if they can finally start producing with the man advantage, their chances of winning will improve dramatically. That said, New York will once again be without the services of Rick Nash, who will miss his third straight start. The Bell Centre hasn't also been a very friendly place for the blue shirts, 6 losses the past 6 games in Montreal, in three of those games, New York was shut out.

Martin Biron, who's played will in the past, will start for the Rangers, and as usual, Carey Price will start for the Habs.

Puck drops at 7:15 EST!

Game Seventeen: Islanders vs. Habs

First Period

- Excellent start, Islanders caught off guard by aggressive forechecking by Habs 4th line, Moen with a nice snapper off the post. 1-0.

- Habs really taking it to the Islanders, transition game looking sharp as a tack. New York struggling to react and adapt.

- Subban, Desharnais, Pacioretty. Tic. Tac. Toe. As pretty as they come, Habs lead 2-0. Islanders reacting in slow motion. This game could spin out of control quickly.

- Pacioretty's PP goal first team man advantage score in five games. Yeah, it's been bad lately.

- All Habs first. 14-3 were the shots on goal. Canadiens continue to impress defensively.

Second Period

- There's that Islanders powerplay, Streit the point shot, Moulson with a pretty tip. New York back in it.

- Islanders transition game miles better this period. Looking dangerous.

- Prust trying to score gets hauled down, really should have been a tripping call. NHL officials seemingly will never call anyone who hauls Prust to the ice.

- Pacioretty is all cylinders right now - like all excellent goal scorers, his positioning has been perfect. Receive the pass, fire it home. 3-1 Habs.

- Joe Finley boards Eller, Prust drops the gloves in response. Finley is 6'8"' 250 pounds. That's why they love Prust in Montreal. Fearless, borderline insane.

- Montreal stopped moving their legs, Desharnais called, and a good test here for Habs PK, Islanders chance to get back in this.

- Habs fail the test. Moulson again, left untouched in the slot, no chance for Price. Islanders man advantage very impressive. 3-2.

- Habs with mental letdowns, Islanders able to draw penalties and convert. Habs have to be very careful and disciplined in the 3rd, or this one could slip away.

- Habs seem to have rediscovered some momentum.

Third Period

- After going nearly 70% in the faceoff circle on Tuesday night, Lars Eller just 20% tonight. Their line not nearly as dangerous as they were against the Rangers.

- Tavares line comes out storming to start the period. Islanders revving, Habs totally flat footed.

- Ryan White pushed in Nabokov, gets called for interference. Killer Islanders powerplay goes to work.

- Plekanec with a lazy and terrible hook in the neutral zone. Left the ice shaking his head. I suspect at himself.

- Taking a page out of the previous game playbook, Habs icing every opportunity. Attempting to slow the pace of the game.

- Another icing. Islanders totally outskating and outhustling in the 3rd. Habs have to find a way of turning the tide very quickly, or this game will soon be tied.

- Surely by now the Canadiens lead the League in icings. Surely.

- Bourque doesn't hustle back to check his man, and as we saw it coming, Islanders' Nielson ties it up. Be tempted to call for time because right now the Habs are skating in quicksand.

- Solid shift for the Eller line, trying to inject some momentum and energy into a pretty sluggish Canadiens roster.

- Pacioretty won't get an easier chance for a hat trick than that.


Overtime:

- Islanders don't score that winning goal if Taveres doesn't make an unbelievable pass while flat on his stomach. Islanders fully deserved victory. Winning streak over.

Gameday Preview:

Let's make it short and sweet. The Habs are gunning for their 6th straight. They've got Carey Price in net, whom, if the vote were held today, would be the Vezina winner.

But right now, that doesn't matter. What matters is that the Habs just keep winning, and keep padding their lead in the Conference/Division. They'll have to handle the Isles John Tavares, who's averaging 1.25 ppg. The Islanders also come in with a pretty decent powerplay, 7th in the League. So they can be dangerous.

On the other hand, they can also be horrible, as witness to the 7-0 shellacking they took at the hands of the Flyers a few days ago.

Habs meanwhile, have some powerplay concerns - it's been pretty wretched the past two weeks or so, even with the team's terrific winning run of late. So keep an eye on any progress for that unit.

Brandan Gallagher continues to rest from his recent concussion, coach Therrien has hinted he might return Saturday night against the Rangers. Meanwhile, as per last game, it's the same lineup for the Canadiens. Keep an eye on the Eller/Galchenyuk/Prust line, they might get some powerplay time tonight as a reward for their excellent performance Tuesday against the Rangers.

Puck drop is at 7:40 EST. ENJOY THE GAME!

Gameday Updates:

Happy Thursday! It's gameday in Habsland. The Canadiens are hoping to maintain (still pinching myself) first place in the Eastern Conference with a win tonight against the Islanders, which would be their 6th in a row. Sweet.

Meanwhile, last night in hockeyland:

- Flyers edged the Pens in one of the wildest games played since these two met last spring in the playoffs. While I'm perfectly fine with Philadelphia never making the playoffs again for eternity, I'd be willing to watch these two teams duke it out in a 7 game set in April.

- In another titanic offensive showdown, the Avs beat the Blues 1-0 ... in OT. Yawn.

- Watch out for those Kings. They won another one last night on their western Canadian road trip, 3-1 over the Flames. You don't fluke Stanley Cup championships, I suppose.

 

First Place in the Eastern Conference.

Doesn't that feel good? Go on, say it aloud. First. Place. In. The. Eastern. Conference.

Now, let's hope it lasts.

Sweet, sweet victory last night in one one of the most forgettable games I've ever seen. What was the score, anyway? Doesn't matter. A win, however boring, is still a win.

Some odds and ends around the League from last night's action:

- So what the heck is going on with the Edmonton Oilers? Weren't they supposed to be routing the League with their studly soon-to-be-superstart countless top-ranked first-round forwards? The Oil lost another one, their offense only managing to score one piddly goal.

Mewonders at what point Edmonton's bench boss Ralph Krueger needs to start looking over his shoulder?

- The San Jose Sharks WON ... finally, breaking a seven game winless streak beating the Blues 2-1. Now I'm all embarrassed for poking fun at the Sharks organization for signing and playing Scott Gomez, and for losing every single game with Gomez in the lineup. Well that streak is over, thank goodness.

What's that? Gomez wasn't in the lineup last night? Ooops.

- Leafs lost in Tampa, as Ben Scrivens' defiance of gravity came to an abrupt end. Oh well.

- Sabres looked horrid losing to the equally horrid Jets at home. Whispers mounting over Lindy Ruff's near-term future. UPDATE: Ruff has been fired. Who'll snap him up?

- Hawks set an NHL record, 16 games to start the season without a regulation loss. When will Chicago lose? 4-3 last night in a shootout against Vancouver. Unlike the Habs/Rangers contest, this one was a very entertaining game.

- I'm going to stick my neck out and predict for the first time in about 459 years, the Red Wings won't be in the playoffs. Nonetheless, one must take great delight from this absurdly wonderful goal by the great Pavel Datsyuk, which I think we can safely say, will probably end up the goal of the year. Enjoy!