Game 30: Sharks vs. Habs:

San Jose 4, Montreal 2:

FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- McCarron in!! Like we had any doubts ...

- Big key to the game will be staying out of the penalty bo ... annnnnd Mitchell gets called for interference. Nice!

- Byron to the box now. Habs playing an unintelligent game. They know Tim Peel is not a Canadiens-friendly official, never has been, never will be. So throwing caution to the wind, assuming borderline plays won't get called is dumb, dumb, dumb.

- And the Sharks strike off the powerplay. San Jose able to stack traffic in front of Price with little effort, and Schlemko scores his first of the season to make it 1-0. 

- And Mitchell just does it again, walks Thornton off the face-off circle with a high stick, and right back to the powerplay go the Sharks.

- Marleau from Thornton, Habs PK coverage around Price simply atrocious. 2-0. Just so many poor plays and decisions being made by this team, which is already in a pretty deep hole.

- Speaking of the PK, it's been at best, inconsistent, at worst, downright incompetent and disorganized for the Habs this season. It's also J.J. Daigneault's portfolio this year - wherein last year he was responsible for the Habs powerplay, which had one of its worst ever seasons. Are we detecting a pattern here?

- Meier makes it 3-0, his first NHL goal with his first NHL shot in his first NHL period. Not too shabby. The Habs defence simply atrocious. Price totally hung up to dry, Therrien might as well toss Montoya in there, and give Price the start tomorrow night. This game is already pretty much a write-off.

- LOL. Weber to the box. The stupidity this period is amazing. 

- Absolutely awful awful awful terrible not good very very bad period for the Habs. Completely unacceptable considering this team had four days of rest leading up to the game. Sharks basically passing and shooting at will, virtually no defence in and around the Habs slot and crease area, the Sharks are probably pinching themselves how easy that period was for them. If this is the current status of the Montreal Canadiens as a functional hockey team, they're going to face a week of hockey hell that started tonight. 

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Behold!!!! BAD Habs hockey in all its glory in chart form!!

- With a loss tonight, which at this point is almost certain, Habs record for Friday night games this season will drop to 0-5. So far they've been outscored Friday nights 18-3, and we're not even close to being done this game.

- Joe Thronton is the best. THE BEST.

- Habs announce Andrighetto out for the night, UBI. ADD IT TO THE LIST. Christ.

- McCarran almost scores while on the powerplay, hey, there's a novelty. Jones forced to make a difficult save, something he might have figured he wouldn't have to do.

- With bodies falling every conceivable direction, big opportunity for the Habs to take a look at the kids from Newfoundland. Problem is, some of the leading lights there are hurt too. Oy.

- Make it four to nothing. Price mercifully yanked, which means it's not out of the question he starts tomorrow night in Washington. Anyway, more squishy soft Habs defence, Haley scores his 3rd of the season.  

- Wow, Price is pissed, pissed. pissed coming off the ice. Almost appears as though he was staring down Michel Therrien? It sure looked like he was shooting his glance in Therrien's direction.

- Price's stare down. He's definitely looking at someone behind the players on the bench. Therrien? Muller???

Nice stare down at #Habs bench by Carey Price when pulled at 4-0 Sharks pic.twitter.com/IkCmfccYuH

— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) December 17, 2016

- Hockey game is not even a factor at this point, twitterverse is currently going nuts over the Price skate off and stare down. Sure looks like it's Therrien he was glaring at. Likely, he was peeved about getting yanked, which is something that hasn't happened to him in three years. So he's likely hurt, upset, almost certainly mad, and the coach is going to take the brunt since Therrien makes the call. Whether or not this just ends after a few minutes of contemplation, or continues past tonight, we'll have to wait and see.

- For what it's worth, Pacioretty left the bench shortly after the goaltending switch, and the first thought was "oh great, another injury." Now I'm wondering if he left to talk things over with Carey, just to settle things down. It's possible because Pacioretty is back on the bench, he looks fine.

- Habs not completely humiliated in the 2nd period like they were in the 1st, but plenty of drama involving their franchise player. The media are going to have plenty to write about after the dust settles from this game. Stay tuned.

THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs with a decent 2nd period, at least in comparison to the 1st, although a good chunk of their shots and attempts was garbage time, after the Sharks took a 4-0 lead:

- Little point in analyzing the 3rd period - the Habs were roundly routed tonight, the game pretty must lost within 25 minutes. Great performance by Joe Thornton tonight, he's hardly looking his age the way he's playing right now. Horrible performance by the Habs, in particular the defence. And Carey Price with the stare down of Michel Therrien after he was pulled creating drama that's part and parcel of following this hockey team. We'll see where everything settles tonight and tomorrow. I'm pretty sure Price was mad at his coach, has thought about it, calmed down, and has moved on. I'll be very surprised if he doesn't get the start tomorrow night in Washington.

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GAME PREVIEW: WE HAVE HOCKEY AGAIN!

**UPDATE** No Andrew Shaw tonight, a consequence of the head shot he took Monday night. Add another to the wounded list.

Shaw's scratch begs the question, what happens to the first line powerplay, and how much will it now improve now that Shaw's off it??

-----------------------------------------

Hey, the Habs are playing. Not kidding! It's been awhile, hasn't it? A nice four day siesta to help a battered and bruised team gear up for a pretty challenging few days of hockey. The tough road starts tonight at home, as the Canadiens take on Star Wars cast member and this season's Norris trophy winner Brent Burns, and the Pacific Division leading San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks are but one component of pretty heady week for Montreal, who will get on a plane after tonight's game and head to Washington to face the Caps tomorrow night. After that, the Canadiens will face some of the best playing teams in the NHL, including games against the Ducks, Wild and Blue Jackets over the next week. Yikes.

Meanwhile, the Sharks, winners of three straight entering tonight's game, not only share the distinction of holding the top spot in their Division, but also share some strikingly similar stat lines as the Habs:

CF % (5v5)
Sharks: 52.0%
Habs: 52.0%

GF60:
Sharks: 2.00
Habs: 2.74

GA60: 
Sharks: 1.83
Habs: 1.74

PP%:
Sharks 16.7
Habs: 20.4

PK%:
Sharks: 81.0
Habs: 81.9

The line, as you can see, is pretty close - and if you factor in that the Sharks play in a much stronger Division than the Habs, especially for defence, the slight offensive deficiency the Sharks have in goal scoring is arguably dead-on even.

If there is one significant discrepancy between the two, it's in even strength performance - the Habs have tallied 63 goals this year while playing 5v5, while San Jose has scored 48 at even strength. That's something to consider heading into tonight's game - can the Habs, who currently have a struggling powerplay, produce offence at even terms? It might be their best hope in squeezing out two points.

Not final word on what the Habs lineup will be tonight - there's lots of speculation that Mike McCarron will get his first start of the season - although as of posting this afternoon, there's been coy responses so far from both Michel Therrien and McCarron himself.

Meanwhile, the Sharks have made a couple of adjustments for tonight's game, with the struggling Joel Ward being a healthy scratch tonight, making room for prospect Timo Meier, in what will be his first NHL game. Look for Meier to play along side Christ Tierney and Joonas Donskoi on the Sharks 3rd line.

Martin Jones will be in the net for San Jose, Carey Price starts for the Habs.

Puck drops tonight at 7:40 EST.

Game 24: Habs vs. Sharks

San Jose 2, Montreal 1:

FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Hmm, Mitchell between Pacioretty and Gallagher? That makes absolutely zero sense, but here we are.

- Very, very weak holding call on Barberio sends the Sharks to an early powerplay, of which they've destroyed the Habs with at home over the years.

- Burns with a one timer that Price appears to have overplayed moving left to right, exposing right side of the net, and we're off to the races already, 1-0 Sharks.

- Mitchell back on the 4th line. That lasted all of two shifts.

- Jones absolutely robs Galchenyuk in a play eerily similar to Gibson's save on Lehkonen Tuesday night in Anaheim. That save turned out to be a key play in the Ducks win. We'll see if history repeats itself.

- Sharks are more or less destroying the Habs this period, totally outmuscling during puck battles, generating a ton of shots and shot attempts. This looks like the game will end in a route.

- Alexei Emelin, in yet another display of not thinking, takes a very stupid interference penalty on Lebanc, trying to level a big hit instead of just playing proper defence. Habs back on the PK, something they simply can't afford to do.

- No question Galchenyuk line the best so far in this game, but mainly by default. The rest of the Habs lineup have been pretty much zeros this period.

- Brian Flynn. He's healthy, he's playing, but for the life of me, I've little idea what Therrien sees in him that couldn't be supplied by any number of younger bodies now in St. John's purgatory. 

- Killer. Galchenyuk the turnover, Petry caught way out of position giving Sharks a 2-on-0 break, Markov can't get back, and Pavelski tips home a centring pass from Thornton, and all with less than a minute left in the period.

- 1st period summation in eight words: We can't get out of California fast enough. 

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- To be fair, the Sharks were the better team that 1st period, but it wasn't a slaughter. The Habs did do a relatively decent job, but got burned by the Sharks powerplay and an unfortunate late period turnover that gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead. But if you look at the even strength data, the Habs did an alright job:

- Going through 1st period data, too many underperforming Habs forwards getting lion's share of ice time, while those getting good numbers getting less time. It's the same story with this team. Poor deployments.

- Good first shift, Gallagher draws an interference, and first powerplay shift, Therrien sends out Galchenyuk, Radulov (all good) and Andrew Shaw. I don't understand. I just don't understand.

- Predictably, the powerplay produces absolutely nothing. Not even a shot attempt. 

- Habs scorers (supposed) aren't finishing. Galchenyuk early in the 1st period, and now Pacioretty early in the 2nd can't finish scoring opportunities that ought be finished.

- I have no idea what Therrien is doing tonight. No idea. His deployment strategies make little logic. Seems to be putting Flynn out as much as possible, which is not what the Habs need to do down 2-0, with pucks not going in the net.

- Pacioretty just has no cutch this year, I still think there's something not right with his shot. An unstated injury. Whatever. But at some point, he and Habs need to refocus if Max is unable to finish the hard work of his line mates, towards using his talents to feed the puck to finishers. I think Galchenyuk could be that guy, if Therrien would only be willing to put Paciortty on his wing. But Therrien steadfastly refuses. 

- Quite literally as I posted that last thought, Therein puts Pacioretty with Galchenyuk. Incredible.

- I'm not sure if anyone else is noticing this because of the scoreboard, but the Habs have resoundingly outplayed the Sharks in this 2nd period, and for that matter, this game as a whole. Just haven't finished any of their numerous scoring chances.

- The Habs took it to the Sharks in that period, but because of bad luck, goalposts, bounces, missing excellent chances, and good goaltending by Jones, still find themselves down 2-0. It's a shame, because except for the horrible decision making by Alexei Emelin tonight, the Canadiens really ought be ahead, or at least tied, on the scoreboard. But that's the margin of error in the NHL these days. If you don't take advantage of what's been generated, and if just one of your defenseman puts out a terrible game, no amount of outshooting and out-chancing your opponent makes a spit of difference.

THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs did a much better job with deployments that period, putting out those playing well (Galchenyuk, Radulov, Pacioretty), scaling back those not playing great (Desharnais line), and generally reducing amount of 4th line ice time. Net effect? Habs CF (5v5) in that period alone was 64.9%:

- 45/27/67 look good an puck possession and setting the tempo, but they are struggling with zone entires, almost certainly because they've had next to no time actually playing as a unit this season. If they're allowed to time to mesh, watch out.

- I don't get this. Critical 2nd powerplay for Habs, and Therrien puts Radulov on the line, and again sends out Shaw first unit. Habs lose puck control, and Pacioretty gets nailed for slashing. End of powerplay. I don't get this.

- Petry hits a post, add it to the total of pucks just not going in. Methinks the west coast is jinked for anything Montreal Canadiens.

- Looks like Therrien has given up with Pacioretty with Galchenyuk. They were together for just over 1 period. That's it. What can ya say?

- A "decent' 3rd for the Habs, but apart from the Petry goalpost, not a lot of high grade scoring chances. Sharks play a very disciplined defensive system, really shading the passing lanes and soaking up rebounds.

- Oh boy, Radulov with a nasty high stick high, maybe in his eye. Blood gushing everywhere. Looks horrible. This is dreadful.

- Somebody needs to ask Michel Therrien his obsession over putting Andrew Shaw on Habs first unit powerplay. It's NOT WORKING. It really hasn't most of this season. Why. Why? WHY?? WHY?!?

- Lehkonen finally breaks his drought, converting on the 2nd half of the 4 minute penalty. Lead cut to just 1, but very little time left. Just 87 seconds. Shame.

- California is death. Habs did pretty well tonight, but couldn't score. In other words, they got Habbed. But good play or not, win, loss or tie, it's all overshadowed by Radulov's injury. Hopefully his eye is okay. That's all we can do, is hope. 

GAMEDAY: SAN JOSE. CALIFORNIA IS DEATH. THIS PLACE IS DEATH +++

Let's look at the record. It's pretty horrid, at least if you consider the past 17 years, which, by the way, is how long it's been since the Habs last won a game here. 17 YEARS.

Wins: 5
Losses: 12

Goals for: 38
Goals against: 50

It was November 23, 1999 -  A MILLENNIUM AGO - the Habs last beat the Sharks in San Jose's own building. Actually, if you want to go back to the last time the Habs won in regulation, it was November 7, 1997. We're talking about an entire human generation of ineptitude.

Do the Habs have a shot this year? Probably ... not, but then again, with Carey Price in net, nothing is quite impossible. Fair to assume that there won't be a ton of scoring tonight - the Sharks have had a mid-ling offence this season, the Habs, in particular some of their top scoring forwards, haven't been producing much the past 3-4 weeks.  Toss in that two British Columbia boys, Price and Martin Jones (2.05/.921) are facing each other in goal, and it's fair to assume the margin for error will be pretty thin.

Here's the Sharks' lineup tonight:

Marleau/Thornton/Pavelski
Lebanc/Coutrure/Ward
Boedker/Tierney/Donskoi
Karlsson/Carpenter/Wingels

Martin/Bruns
Vlasic/Braun
Dillon/Schlemko

Martin Jones

Meanwhile, the Habs lineup features the return of Brian Flynn from his month-long stint on the injury list:

Byron/Galchenyuk/Radulov
Pacioretty/Plekanec/Gallagher
Shaw/Desharnais/Lehkonen
Danault/Mitchell/Flynn

Weber/Emelin
Markov/Petry
Barberio/Pateryn

Carey Price

Puck drops at 10:40 EST. MORE COFFEE PLEASE KEEP IT COMIN'.


THURSDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Habs are heading up the California coast to take on Brent Burns' beard and the Sharks in San Jose, before heading back down the coast to face the Kings in L.A., before hightailing it out of California. This place is death.

Pretty quiet today on the Habs news front:

- Chris Terry was exiled out of road trip, sent 9,000 miles east to play in St. John's again. Terry's performance since getting called up two weeks ago has been, shall we say, somewhat forgettable.

- Terry's demotion is a pretty strong sign that Habs might put Brian Flynn, who's finishing up injury recovery, back into the lineup as soon as Friday night.

- Hey, the NHL All-Star game voting started today. Yeah, we know. It's a stupid event that basically means four damn days without hockey. Anyway, if you care to stack the voting for deserved Habs, please click here and vote for Carey Price, Alex Radulov, Shea Weber and .. hmm ... anyone else .. yeah ... Andrei Markov.

- Oh, Brendan. Brendan, Brendan, BRENDAN. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

AFTERNOON UPDATE: Hey, here are Habs lines from their practice today:

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

Looks like Daniel Carr is the spare wheel for tomorrow night, if Flynn does indeed start.

We'll continually update this page with news as it arrives.

Game 63: Habs vs. Sharks

FIRST PERIOD:

- 17 years since the Habs last won in San Jose. Seventeen. Years. Odds of them breaking that woeful streak tonight? Not good.

- Peel and Luxmore are the officials tonight, two of the League's less compentent officials. So that could make the game interesting.

- Two shifts in quick succession for the Plekanec line - we could see extra extra duty for them tonight, especially if Pacioretty is now shooting a hot hand.

- Ick Ick Ick zone coverage - Bartley way out of position and Danault leaving Joe Thornton completely unmarked beside Condon, and it's 1-0 early.

- Martin Jones gifts the Habs one back, Gallagher from an impossible angle, Jones failing to cover the post. Tie game.

- Barberio/Bartley pairing really struggling so far, Sharks with firing line on Condon with both defenseman getting caught totally out of position around their net. That needs to be sorted out quickly or Therrien might need to shorten his bench.

- Bartley given a pretty terrible tripping penalty by Peel. The Habs are tonight's first victims of this dubious officiating duo. Poor officiating is especially impactful because of the Sharks' already very good powerplay.

- Habs zone exits have been pretty awful so far, it's leading to near zero offence, save the one semi-fluke goal. Also generating way too many turnovers deep, Condon forced to make some pretty good saves to keep the score even.

- McCarren doesn't hold anything back. He's 6'6" and he uses every inch of that frame. Really like what I've seen since his latest call-up.

- Therrien rewarding McCarren with shifts, unfortunately his linemates - Mitchell and especially Brown, are glaring defensive liabilities. Too much play in Habs zone when those three are on the ice.

- Thornton again, Habs again with some wretched zone coverage. So undisciplined, so lacking any structure or coherence. Montreal has little chance tonight if they're going to continue to be so disorganized. 2-1 Sharks.

- Torrey Mitchell is a train wreck tonight. His line is getting slaughtered.

- Pretty ugly period for the Habs - the combination of injuries and necessary player selloffs has made this roster pretty thin - especially on the 3rd and 4th lines, where Montreal is getting trounced. Could be a very, very long night ahead for the Canadiens.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Pacioretty is an excellent hockey player, but one time shots are not his thing. Odd the Habs powerplay seems to strategize towards setting him up for the cross ice pass and shot. But then there's a lot of things I don't understand about this team.

- Barberio can really drive that puck, if you allot him time and space. Could be a useful future asset to the powerplay, if he's able to stick with the team.

 - Burns with a wrister that Condon doesn't quite cover short side, and it's 3-1. Game headed towards ugliness, as Habs 3rd and 4th lines continue to be turned into mincemeat by this San Jose offence.

- Eller line easily Habs best tonight, which was to be expected. Sharks somewhat slower-than-average defense really struggling to contain that line's speed and skill.

- Therrien really giving 1st and 2nd lines a lot of time tonight, which I suppose is understandable given how poorly the 3rd and 4th lines have played, but is unsustainable over three periods.

- Andrei Markov, whom for two months looked and played rather dreadfully, has really returned to form the past couple of weeks, even thought Therrien continues to wildly overplay him every game.

- Sharks far too many times tonight, getting red carpet treatment carrying the zone. Habs defence doing its best, but forwards the culprit here - too many neutral zone giveaways, not enough hustle back. Habs luck they're not down 4 or 5-1 at this point.

- Oooh another gift goal off a broken play, Torrey Mitchell smacks home a lob shot by Byron that Jones completely muffs up, and the Habs, benefiting some iffy netminding and nifty puck luck, are only down 1. 

- Habs zone exits are just hopeless tonight - it's completely hampering their ability to generate any kind of favourable momentum

- Great awareness and pass by Gallagher right on the tape of Plekance all alone in front of Jones, who's forced to make a spectacular pad save to keep his team ahead.

- Chickens come home to roost against Habs in the second - you can only play an unstructured, ineffective game so long before it catches up, and that second period, the Sharks started pulling away. Habs likely to play their top two lines heavily in the third in a desperate attempt to get at least a point out of this evening, which means San Jose can expect to receive some pretty good looks at Condon in the final frame.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Bartley and Barberio both chase a puck along the boards, leaving Condon high,Mary and utterly exposed. Karlsson totally alone in front of the net to give the Sharks another two goal lead. That defensive pairing has been burned numerous times tonight, but with Petry and Gilbert out for the long term, and Tinordi given away to Arizona, Habs are stuck.

- Route is on, again defensive zone coverage is poor, again Habs get burned trying to chip the puck up along the boards instead of passing or carrying it out, again this team's utter lack of structure and competence will cost them another loss they could ill-afford. Again Habs won't win in San Jose. Maybe 18th time's a charm? Anyway, 5-2 the score, it's game, set and match. Road trips headsto Southern California, and looks to be shaping up to be a horrorshow.

DO THE HABS STILL HAVE A LINEUP TO PLAY TONIGHT??

The trade deadline!! It's come and gone! All the wheeling and dealing! Incredible!! Dizzying!!

So yeah. Nothing happened. Well, much anyway. Pretty like every other year in the past.

But ... but ... the Habs did make some moves. As in, getting rid of players, including Dale Weise, Thomas Fleischmann and today, it was Devante Smith-Pelly. In return, the Habs got some picks, a marginal winger in Stefan Matteau, and also earlier today, Mike Brown was claimed off ... wait. Who?? Mike Brown the do-nothing goon that's scored 4 goals the past 6 NHL seasons? YES BUT WAIT. He plays right wing!! Exactly the position the Habs had a huge void in! PROBLEM SOLVED.

So yeah. We got Mike Brown. Who'll play tonight, against his former team. So at least the pickup was convienient. Otherwise, um ... Marc Bergevin seems pretty content to just ride the rest of the season, sans a few unproductive regulars, and maybe look at trying to get this franchise back on track this summer.

Until then, there's hockey still to be played. And hey, believe it or not, the Habs still have very faint post-season aspirations, sitting 5 points back of the Pens for the 2nd wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. Tonight, it's the Sharks from San Jose, whom themselves are looking to nail down a playoff spot. The Sharks, coming off a pretty miserable 2014-15, have had a nice little rebound season, making a coaching change during the summer (*cough, cough*), which has helped them to play a much more structured game than they had going under Todd McClellan.

How are the Sharks structurally better? Well, this year they have the 3rd rated powerplay, an improvement from last season. Their offence is 4th rated in the NHL, which is way better than 15th from last season. The only area where we've seen some regression is defensively, where San Jose has gone from 7th last year, to 17th this season. This is a team that likes to win via scoring, preferably via their specialty units. And given they're probably going to make the playoffs, who can argue with the overall result?

Meanwhile over in Habsland, in addition to Brown starting tonight (AWKWARD), Torrey Mitchell, who's been out for a bit from injury, is expected to return.

Puck drops tonight at 10:40 EST. I'm going to be in bed, so the blog won't exactly be live. But it will be posted. Eventually. Brew a pot of coffee, and enjoy!!

Game 32: Sharks vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Sharks through 40 minutes.

- Andrei Markov with perhaps the roughest night amongst Habs defenders, one has to wonder if he's being asked to work more than his body is capable of handling, at this stage in his career.

- Habs powerplay now 0-20, again looking good with puck control and passing, but generating almost no shot attempts from the slot. Opposing PK's will give you all day to hold the puck if all you're willing to do shot from the line.

- Habs now riverboat gamblers - pushing defence in aggressively, pinching hard not only in the Sharks zone, but at centre ice. Condon will probably have to make a couple of odd-man rush saves, if the Habs don't score their second goal soon.

- Don't be shocked if Subban gets something close to 12 minutes in the 3rd period. Markov appears to be having his time shelved in the frame. Not even a minute played with clock nearing halfway mark.

- Well, Andrighetto is back with 27-81, which marks progress. A little too late for tonight's game, it would appear.

- 6 minutes left, Habs will need to go full gambling phasers on at this point. Time's-a-wasting'.

- Since getting paired with Beaulieu, Subban ha become a monster, carrying the puck zone to zone, which on a Michel Therrien team, is very unusual.

- Well, what can you do - Habs arguably the better team tonight, but the story is simple - Sharks took advantage of their chances, Habs didn't. On the bright side, Beaulieu/Subban looks like a pretty serious thing - they looked terrific together the final half of the game - so one wonders, will this become a more permanent fixture?


SECOND PERIOD: 

- Habs and Sharks through 20 minutes. What else can you do other than shrug?

- To be fair, the PDO gods do owe the Sharks a few, but this is getting a little silly. Pavelski tips a soft wrister past Tokarski barely 30 seconds into the period, and it's 2-0.

- Dale Weise, hands of Moen (a few hard-core fans might know what that means).

- I suspect we'll get some separation as the game progresses, but Habs are really rolling all four lines tonight, ice times are almost identical amongst the forwards as we hit the halfway mark.

- Ouch, Dustin Tokarski. Misplays the puck behind his goal, then turned into yesterday's gravy trying to cover up in his net, with Zubrus finishing the turnover off, and it's 3-0. Tokarski out, Condon in.

- Suffice to say, P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov are not putting out stellar performances tonight. That Zubrus goal, both defenders were totally out of position, behind the Habs net. Sure, Tokarski had some blame, but he was left totally out to dry and all three San Jose goals.

- And Therrien has apparently separated those two aforementioned defensemen - Subban is with Beaulieu, Markov with Gilbert. Hmmm ...

- Well, hey now, it pays off? Subban with a nifty carry and shot/pass deflected in by Weise to put Habs on the board. We have life?

- Subban and Beaulieu look like they've been playing partners their entire lives. That combination really clicking so far.

- Habs switch up their defensive line combos, and suddenly come to life - nearly making the game 3-2 before the 2nd period buzzer. Sets up an interesting 3rd period in which Montreal, at the very least, has a half-decent shot an pulling a point out of the night.



FIRST PERIOD:

- Keep an eye on Martin Jones. He's only had two games this month where his SV% was above .900. Its been very up and down for him the past while.

- Still can't figure out Therrien putting Andrighetto on the 4th line. He was doing some excellent work on the top line, giving opposing defences fits with his, and Paciorettys speed, coming at them from both directions.

- While the Sharks do have a decent possession game, they don't like carrying the zone. Very much a dump and chase offence, which (was) very much the Habs template from 2012-15.

- Habs powerplay continues to play dreadfully, and Therrien continues to use Desharnais and Weise as primary offence, which is just all kinds of bizarre. Desharnais can't/won't shoot, Weise can't finish. And Subban on the wrong wing continues to just go nowhere. Madness all over the place.

- Subban just doesn't seem the same - in particular his slap shot, which I'm positive, doesn't have anything close to the velocity it did last season. Not nearly as dangerous as he used to be - NHL netminders are turning him away easily. Ergo, just 1 goal so far this season.

- Watching the Sharks first 13 minutes, this team is struggling - mightily. Really don't like their dump and chase system, it significantly limits their ability to generate much, if any, decent scoring attempts. Habs are pretty much suffocating them so far, even though Montreal has stumbled to finish their scoring attempts.

- Still waiting for the Pacioretty goal explosion - he's due for a bundle. I think we're on the cusp of that happening.

- Barclay Goodrow, a nothing player, takes a run at Subban, hurting him. Officials don't call a board, but Torrey Mitchell, who is awesome, dishes out some fisticuff punishment. Referees really need to crack down on this dirty, dishonourable play.

- Subban with a bad pinch at the Sharks blue line, generating 2-on-1 break for Jan Jose, and Marleau slips the punk past Tokarski off a nice feed from Ward. Outshot so far by a ration of 5-to-1, San Jose maddeningly has the early lead.

- Watched the replay, Galchenyuk has to do a much, much better job getting back to cover Subban, who was simply making an aggressive play in a period that the Habs have owned.

- Eller really fighting the puck of late - he's struggling.

- Welp, what can you say? Habs shot attempts were 22-4, which .. yeah. What can you do? Just keep plugging away, keep playing the same way. No way Sharks should have the lead, but that's more indicative of the bounces of hockey, and the Habs inability to finish. Montreal's powerplay also becoming a pressing issue. Something needs to be done there, and quickly.


PREGAME NOTES:

- It's hard to believe, but San Jose hasn't won in the month of December. Last win came November 28th against Calgary. In fact, the Sharks have only won twice since November 22nd, and the last time they won against an opponent with a .500 or better record was November 13th. OUCH.

- That San Jose has struggled so much lately is a bit of a puzzler, since the Sharks are the League's 3rd rated team for generating high percentage scoring opportunities (only Dallas and ... yes, Carolina are better). Their possession numbers are also very respectable - 53.7 score adjusted Fenwick.

- Interestingly, of the 14 wins by San Jose this season, 10 have come on the road. This team really is a puzzler.

- Torry Mitchell is back for the Habs! That certainly won't hurt the Habs, given how well he played before injury.

- Dustin Tokarski will get another start. He's played two very good games in a row. Third time's a charm?

- Puck drops at 7:40 EST.









HAPPY GAMEDAY! ADD ANOTHER ONE TO THE SHELF

News 'n' Notes for the game day, some important news, for once.

- Congrats to Carey Price, who was announced today as the 2015 receipient of the Lou Marsh Award, which goes to the best Canadian athlete. Apparently this year's award was a "tough choice", because of course, it's a real struggle giving this award to the guy who's currently the best hockey player on the planet, coming off one of the greatest seasons ever had by an NHL goaltender.

- Habs Zack Kassian was cleared by the NHL this morning to return to hockey, after successfully completing its substanec abuse program. The Habs immediately put Kassian on waivers. Assuming he clears, he might, just might, get a chance to actually play in a Habs uniform if, and only if, there's an instance where he's required (which would only be as an injury replacement).

- Hey, speaking of returning, Habs finally are getting some wounded bodies back - Torrey Mitchell, who's been excellent on the Habs 4th line up until his injury, will return to the lineup tonight. Charles Hudon will be a healthy scratch, to make way for Mitchell.

We'll post a game preview in a bit.

Game Seventy-Three: Sharks vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Gilbert is done for the night after taking a puck in the face at the end of the 2nd. With Emelin in the lineup, expect to see a lot of double shifting of Subban/Markov.

- Sharks loading up their first line, now clearly desperate to find some way, any way, of scoring a goal. They're running out of time 13 minutes left.

- It's mystifying why Subban isn't part of the regular conversation about Norris candidates. Another solid, brilliantly efficient night for P.K.

- Sigh. DSP with a dumb, dumb slash that puts the Sharks on the powerplay. It's uncanny how goals are so frequently scored off stupid penalties. We'll see soon if that happens again.

- Survived. Sharks in pure desperation mode. Could be some odd man Habs breaks coming our way very soon.

- Carey freakin' Price. Incredible.

- That save by Price on Couture was simply incredible. One of the best of the NHL season.

- Gallagher, icing.

- Carey Price. 40th win. 9th shutout. He's playing in another universe. He's playing beyond the NHL. One of the greatest seasons by a goaltender in hockey history. Enjoy it, every precious second. We may never live to see this again.

SECOND PERIOD:

- There's something to be said about the Habs playing Price only half of the remaining schedule, as he's blindside bowled over by Couture. No Price, Habs might as well not bother showing up for their first round opponent.

- Gilbert looks incredibly uncomfortable playing on the wrong wing. Really makes no sense inserting his next to Emelin just for the sake of Emelin.

- Price on the first PK, spectacular. Sharks appear resigned to trying to set up a perfect play if only to get a goal.

- DSP having one of his better starts in a Habs uniform. His hits seem a little more targeted, rather then his past few games where he was just hitting whatever was in his sight line.

- I've given up figuring out Habs lines tonight. I think there have been 20-something combinations used so far.

- Sharks are a mess handling the puck right now. A consistent forecheck ought produce somepretty choice scoring opportunities.

- Another solid period, Habs much faster, more energized, the Sharks have been disorganized, especially in their own zone. San Jose on just the 2nd game of their brutal 7 game road trip, but they already look weary.

FIRST PERIOD:

- Headshot on Malhotra, nothing penalized as the contact was incidental, he's in the room being reviewed for concussion.

- Sharks rolling four lines in order.

- Galchenyuk whiffs at an open net, but he's got a spring in his ordinarily fast step. Keep an eye on 27. 

- Therrien's working the blender early with his line combos. Hardly a shift so far with the actual starting lines.

- Galchenyuk is having a monster period. Everything but the goal so far. One crossbar already in his basket.

- Great end to end action so far, 4 on 4 had a basketful of chances, both goaltenders have been excellent. Habs certainly with a lot more zip than we're accustomed to. 

- Habs score? Against San Jose? Yup. Nice breakout from their zone creates a 4 on 2. Galchenyuk quarterbacking the puck with a nice backhand feed to Plekanec for an open netter. Montreal's transition really on the mark this period.

- Impressive first period. Habs did the stuff you come to expect from a first place team, getting clean zone exits, carrying the puck over the line, agressively pursuing the Sharks goal, and capitalizing on a chance. Price, as usual, so so very good. 

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

The Habs roll out the red carpet to play against yet another team in desperate need of a victory to keep their post-season hopes alive, tonight it's the San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks are yet another club in a string of win-hungry opponents the Habs have had to deal with. On Thursday, the Habs beat the Florida Panthers, who are trying to catch the Bruins for 8th place. Last week, the Canadiens had to deal with the Ottawa Senators (losing), and next week, they'll hit the road to visit fantabulous Winnipeg.

You know the problem with playing teams like this. They're kinda hard to beat. When you're the Habs, a defeat only means a blow to finishing in the Conference top three. For the Sharks, a loss means a probable early end to the year, the dismissal of the coach, the firing of the general manager, the firesale burning of the roster.

San Jose enters tonight's game five points out of a wild card spot, currently held by Calgary, and four points away from the L.A. Kings. So the margin for error, with about 10 games left, really doesn't exist for the Sharks, who haven't missed making the playoffs since 2003.

The Sharks feature two big lines (literally) comprised of Joe Thornton (at centre) along with Joe Pavelski and Melker Karlsson, while their second line is Logan Couture (at centre) with Matt Nieto and Tommy Wingels on the wing. The Habs defense will need to contain those forwards if they hope to finally eek out a win against the Sharks.

For Montreal, simply scoring a goal on San Jose could be considered an accomplishment, since that normally straighforward objective hasn't been done since 2011. Yup. It's been that long since the Habs have scored on the Sharks. Tonight, that ends, because it's absurd and it's eventually gotta end.

The Canadiens lineup, at least its forwards, are exactly the same tonight as they were on Thursday against Carolina. There are some changes on defense, with Nathan Beaulieu getting a seat tonight to make way for Alekei Emelin and Greg Pateryn (the later who's looked pretty impressive since being called up last week).

Netminders are predictable. It's Antti Niemi for San Jose, and of course, Carey Price for the Habs.

Puck drops at 7:15 EST.

Game Sixty Three: Habs vs. Sharks

THIRD PERIOD: 

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

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

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

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

SECOND PERIOD: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FIRST PERIOD: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2-0. Fitting. Very fitting.

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

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

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

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


TRADE DEADLINE GOO:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meanwhile ...

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

And in other news ...

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

Game Sixty-Six: Habs vs. Sharks

Third Period:

- Another sloppy turnover (Gallagher this time), and more terrible defensive coverage (Emelin) and it's 4-0. This time Couture. Just awful.

- Sharks might top 70% Fenwick tonight. It's that bad.

- Well, it's not that bad. 5v5, San Jose is 64%. Except that 36% is really, really bad.

- Current Corsi stuff, Murray 8-13, Emelin, who's been beyond terrible, 9-20. Ugly stuff.

- More ugliness. Bourque 6-14, Markov 7-25, and Eller .... yikes ... 4-12.

- Sigining off now. Final thought, the trip wasn't a complete disaster, but it didn't do this team any favors in the standings. Here's hoping Price is back for Wednesday night.

- Also, Fire Therrien. We haven't said that in awhile. It needs to be reminded,

Second Period

- The Habs inane dump and chase system is not helping Vanek much. He looks perplexed many shifts.

- Irwin. Another questionable goal, and Tokarski is brought in. 2-0.

- Torres with a dirty hit on Eller, and Tinordi gives us a really good glimpse of why he rocks by dropping the gloves and hammering that goon to the ice. Officials give offsetting penalties but tack on 10 more against Timordi, which doesn't help the Habs much the rest of this game.

- Eller with a brutal turnover at his line, Nieto cashes in from the slot, with Murray in la la land. Sharks now running away with this.

- This Habs dump and chase PP is a mess, and putting Bourque out first line isn't helping much.

- Habs have 8 shots through 40 minutes. They haven't been so hugely outplayed in that nobody seems able to execute. Plus Emelin and Murray have been particularly bad tonight. Habs are going to get only 2 out of 8 points this trip.

First Period:

- Budaj 5 goals on 23 shots in Arizona. I was hoping for another Tokarski start ...

- Club got day off yesterday, and if it means anything, team legs seem to have an extra jump early on.

- See .. Tokarski ... All Budaj on Sharks first goal. Horrible brain cramp, wretched goal to surrender.

- Some credit to the Habs, tempo hasn't alters much, killing off a couple of San Jose penalties. The Budaj mistake was brutal but it hasn't changed the team's apparent focus on speed and aggressive forechecking.

- "Slow and wobbly shot by Murray." Yeah that pretty much sums it up.

- Interference call on Emelin. There's a big difference between being a physical defenseman, and a physical defenseman who makes dumb plays. Emelin the later there.

- Habs had 5v5 possession edge in that period, a relatively meaningless achievement because of Budaj's terrific error. 

TODAY IT ENDS

... This stupid west coast swing. The toughest part of the whole year's schedule, without our number one start stud goaltender.

Today, tonight, it ends. Finally, mercifully.