Game 80: Habs vs. Sabres

Buffalo 2, Montreal 1:

FIRST PERIOD:

- Still surprised that Julien is going with Price tonight. Just not worth the risk, even though the Sabres have little history of running opposing netminders. Anyway, Habs fans shouldn't expect a lot tonight, as the team I'm sure will be "don't get yourself hurt" mode tonight.

- Thankfully Steve Ott won't play tonight, Torrey Mitchell gets a start on the 4th line, his first in about 3 weeks. Brian Flynn, in a bit of a surprise, also gets a start tonight, his first in over a month. Martinsen sits.

- Dwight King, who really shouldn't be playing in the NHL, in particular a first place hockey team, somehow manages to miss a totally wide open net from 1 foot away with a backhander. I think that' pretty much sums King up.

- Brutal giveaway, guess who? It's Alexei Emelin rounding into post-season form, Ristolaninen makes it 1-0 Sabres.

- Sabres really aggressive around the Habs crease, bodies not afraid to make contact with Price. Really crazy for Julien to keep in him this game.

- So hard to pinpoint the glaring weak spot for a franchise as dismal as the Sabres, but if I were to start an overhaul/focus, pretty tough to not argue their defence, which currently is incredibly slow and soft around their crease.

- Habs being a little too focused on setting up the perfect play, perhaps in part because of a desire to avoid physical contact. It's made for a relatively quiet period for Lehner.

- Not exactly thrilling hockey, Sabres playing out the string, Habs just prepping up for next week - the Canadiens had balance of offensive pressure in that period, largely because their lineup is vastly superior to Buffalo's slim pickings. Still, at some point the Habs are going to have to drive Lehner with a little more aggression if they want to make any scoreboard impacts - Lehner has always been apt to give up rebounds. More traffic around the Buffalo net ought be the focus from here on out.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Even split 1st period, Habs CF right at 50%:

- Danault line has been very good gaining and holding possession in the Sabres zone, not so good at taking the damn shot.

- Lehner still giving up those rebounds, Danault line still dominating the Sabres zone, but not enough traffic around the crease.

- Hate playing nowhere teams like the Sabres at this point of the season. Nobody in Buffalo's lineup cares about discipline, so hacks and slashes are the norm, not the exception. Chances of an important Habs forward getting hurt rise exponentially.

- Habs the better team this period, except for finishing plays. Ennis roofs a wrister from 20 feet, as Lehkonen, turned the wrong way, coughs the puck up in front of his net, and Nesterov ... almost appeared as though he forgot which colour jersey he's wearing. 2-0 Buffalo.

- Alexei Emelin, who was mainly responsible for Buffalo's first goal, makes yet another pointless hit attempt at the Sabres' blue line, misses complete, and gives Buffalo big 2-on-1 break, forcing Price to make another difficult save. Emelin just never learns. He keeps making the same stupid mistakes time and again, and never learns, never corrects, never improves. He is the personification of insanity.

- Can't say we didn't warn you Claude. This is crazy:

Price takes a stinger to the shoulder, looks decidedly uncomfortable. pic.twitter.com/g79ossCj2Q

— Paul Campbell ❄️ (@WayToGoPaul) April 6, 2017

- Habs again the better team, at least with possession and controlling the flow, but far too casual finishing their scoring opportunities - in particular the Danault line, which is having a field day gaining the Sabres zone, but little to show other than pretty passing plays. Habs also guilty of defensive breakdowns - Nesterov and Emelin the biggest culprits tonight, Davidson also struggling, largely because of his partner's (Nestrov) positional inabilities. Meh. We figured the night might end up going this way - as long the Habs can get through the night without injuries, we'll gladly take the loss and go home.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs might have more puck possession time in the Sabres zone tonight, but where they're taking shots from has been pretty bad. That's been the difference tonight, really.

- Sabres with poor zone coverage off a Habs breakout, with Radolov making a nice feed to Plekanec, who stakes around Lehner to backhand the Habs first goal of the night. Buffalo's defence - a disaster.

- Speaking of disasters, what the heck is Nathan Beaulieu doing chasing over to Jeff Petry's side of the ice to make a useless failed check? With Beaulieu's cardinal error leaves Ennis completely unmarked, meaning Price is forced to make a breakaway save. Beaulieu continues to be an enigma.

- Emelin is apparently hurt - forcing Julien to give extra shifts to Petry, and likely more shifts than he'd like to both Davidson and Nesterov.

- Beaulieu's really struggling - fighting the puck and having a tough time identifying his marks. Habs defence limping to the finish line here.

- Hey, Brendan Gallagher just drew (another) penalty! Did that Tuesday night as well. Habs first powerplay of the evening.

- Emeln out for the night! Lower body injury. Under normal circumstances I'd say addition via subtraction, but not tonight.

- Quiet 3rd period for the Danault line. Sabres have made a few adjustments to keep that line, in particular Radulov and Pacioretty, in check.

- Just over 3 minutes left, Habs pushing the play, but lacking any form of intensity or desperation. Refs also steadfastly refusing to call obvious interference infractions this period, which has also limited Canadiens' ability to convert their chances.

- Just not a good night for the Habs blue line - misjudged plays, poor passing and missed shot opportunities. Hate to say this team really needs Weber and Benn back at this point of the season, but Canadiens not nearly as dangerous at the backend with them out of the lineup. It's also been a significant difference maker tonight.

- Beaulieu misses a pretty pass from Radulov which would have set up a shot into an empty cage. One of those kind of nights for Beaulieu.

- Oh well, Sabres win on fan appreciation night, so happy for them. Habs didn't suffer any huge debilitating injuries, except for Emelin, and who knows if that's really debilitating as far as the Habs defence is concerned. Danualt line just couldn't find a way of converting their opportunities tonight, while fundamental errors confounded the Canadiens, especially by Emelin and Beaulieu, who both struggled most of the evening. Habs now make one final visit to Joe Lewis to play another meaningless game - maybe they can donate another 2 points to help make the hometown fans feel good.



GAME PREVIEW: IF YOU'RE NOT WATCHING TONIGHT, WE UNDERSTAND

The Habs, in the middle of mopping up the rest of their regular season, take on the Sabres tonight in Buffalo. It'll be the final game of the season for the Sabres, as they wrap up their 4th consecutive season of last-place hockey.

The Canadiens have literally nothing to play for - they cannot finish anywhere other than 1st place in the Atlantic Division. Ergo, it comes as little surprise today that coach Claude Julien announced that both Shea Weber and Jordie Benn, who are dealing with "minor" undisclosed injuries, aren't likely to play again until the 1st game of the playoffs, which start on April 12th at the Bell Centre.

So here are your starting lineups:

Pacioretty/Danault/Radulov
Byron/Plekanec/Gallagher
Lehkonen/Shaw/Galchenyuk
Martinsen/Ott/King

Markov/Petry
Emelin/Beaulieu
Davidson/Nesterov

And over on the Sabres' side:

Kane/O'Reilly/Gionta
Foligno/Eichel/Reinhart
Ennis/Rodrigues/Nylander
Deslauriers/Girgensons/Moulson

Kulikov/Ristolainen
Flak/Borgosian
Gorges/Franson

It's Roben Lehner (2.70/.920) against (for reasons that I don't quite understand) Carey Price (2.20/.924)

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game 79: Habs vs. Panthers

FIRST PERIOD:

- Charlie Lindgren is, at least at the present, the only viable goaltending prospect in the Habs system. No pressure or anything, kid.

- Reto Berra starts for the Panthers, contrary to our statement earlier that James Reimer would get the start. An interesting choice, given how much Berra has struggled this week, including the blowout loss in Montreal last week.

- Nesterov ... a little sloppy and casual in his first shift. Sure looks like Jordie Benn, and maybe Davidson, were the only beneficial trade deadline pickup by Bergevin. The rest, Ott, Martinsen, King and Nesterov - write-offs.

- That Plekaenc/Gallagher/Byron combo continues to roll along nicely. Line has been on fire for well over a week, as well as a strong start tonight.

- Danault/Pacioretty/Radulov joining in on the fun, Panthers are having a tough time winning puck battles in their own zone.

- Alex Galchenyuk - might he be rounding back into form? He looked great handling and dangling the puck behind the Panther's cage before eventually feeding the puck which finds its way onto Andrew Shaw's stick, a slam-dunk shot and a 1-0 lead. Both Shaw and Galchenyuk have shown little chemistry, perhaps due to a lack of communication, since they were placed together two weeks ago. Looked very good there.

- Plekanec and Danualt lines, all the Panthers can handle this period.

- Canadiens owned the period, although I'm not sure how much of that was Florida seemingly going through the motions. Don't see anyone on that Panthers side of the ice attempting to prove themselves for the next season - it's a pretty sad state of affairs. Anyway, hard to envision the Canadiens not causing their way through the next 40 minutes if this is all their opponent is offering as resistance.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Pretty meek, Florida. Pretty meek. Habs SA CF (5v5): 64.5%:

- 6 minutes gone, low event period so far, Panthers can't get much of anything going, except for the occasional long-range shot at Lindgren. Florida's only real sniff at scoring tonight has been during Ott line shifts. Otherwise, virtually nada.

- 2nd pair defeseman Jason Demers having a rough night 2/14, and we're not even at the half-way mark. He's been matched against the Danault line, and he's had his hands full.

- Gallagher virtually tackled from behind carrying the puck through centre, somehow it's not called.

- Hate to see a team dominate and then give up a sloppy goal, and hey, it's our old friend Emelin making an awkward and failed checking attempt, which frees up Marchessault, Lindgren making an awkward belly flop save attempt, and the game is tied.

- They've been buzzing the Panthers zone all night long, if anyone is most likely to get the Habs the lead back, it'll be either Gallagher or Byron.

- All of the sudden, the refs are calling penalties, even after earlier letting the Gallagher mugging go uncharged. Panthers with an extended 5-on-3.

- Panthers powerplay is horrid. Putrid. Tres terrible.

- Not a very good period for the Habs, whom I think might have taken their opponent's lacklustre, go-through-the-motions play too lightly, and while the officiating was, at best, uneven, it still doesn't excuse them for not putting this game away.

THIRD PERIOD:

- When you're outplayed in any period by the Florida Panthers, you have not played a good period. In that 2nd, Florida's SA CF at even strength was 53.3%.

- Julien mixing things up a little, as he moves Byron next to Galchenyuk and Lehkonen, and it pays off their first shift, as Lehkonen fires a blazing wrist shot that Berra might now have even seen, to give the Habs the lead back 2-1.

Kid's got a shot, eh? #MTLvsFLA pic.twitter.com/JOY4ahsAjT

— NHL (@NHL) April 4, 2017

- Still view this game as an inevitable Habs win, although Lindgren still looks a little nervous (it's hard to blame him). He's very much a stay-at-home goaltender. I've barely seen him move outside the blue paint tonight. Also wary of handling the puck. But he plays the angles nicely, very much like Carey Price.

- Panthers really stepping up this period, Lindgren doing an excellent job making the primary save, and covering up loose pucks.

- Well, we predicted either Byron or Gallagher would win, would Byron off a breakaway, Lehkonen blasting home a rebound be close enough? Insurance goal all but puts the wraps on this game.

- Rough night not only for Demers, Matheson and Petrovic. Just a rough night in general if you're a defender for the Panthers. Not fast enough to pick up the Habs speedy wingers tonight, Berra again mostly hung out to dry.

- Radulov with the empty net to finish the game, and the Habs officially cinch the Atlantic Division title, which is a wonderful luxury to own 10 games in advance of the playoffs. Can now rest bodies for the rest of the week without consequence. Very good performance tonight from Charlie Lindgren, Gallagher, Lehkonen and Byron another sparking night, and while they didn't tally points, the Danault line looked dangerous most of the evening. Everything coming up roses for the Montreal Canadiens, who can celebrate their excellent 1st place achievement.

GAME PREVIEW: NOTHING MATTERS UNTIL APRIL 12TH. HEY, WHY ARE WE STILL PLAYING GAMES?

Hey, Habs play tonight with absolutely nothing on the line. Ziltch. The Habs cannot go up or down in the standings. So the rest of the regular season schedule are basically glorified scrimmages. Which means, it's time for "important" guys to get pulled from the lineup. First up? Shea Weber:

#Habs: Shea Weber ne jouera pas ce soir contre les Panthers. Il est blessé au bas du corps. Charlie Lindgren obtiendra le départ.

— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) April 3, 2017

Yeah, yeah. The ol' LBI trick! Except that ... hrmmm ...

#Habs: Shea Weber s’absentera pour au moins les deux prochains matchs. Le CH l’a renvoyé à Montréal par précaution.

— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) April 3, 2017

Hrmmm. We'll see where that goes. Heck, if I'm pulling guys out of the lineup, let's give Andrei Markov a couple of days off. Or Max Pacioretty. Or Alex Radulov. Heck, let's just bring up the Ice Caps for the next week (yeah, yeah ... I know that's not possible, but still ... wherever possible, rest and heal).

As you might have caught from the first tweet, Charlie Lindgren will be the Habs starting netminder tonight, with Carey Price getting a well deserved night off, and Al (Tony) Montoya still recovering from whatever injury he has. This will be Lindgren's first NHL game in almost exactly 2 years. His last (and only NHL) game was April 7, 2015, a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

It's not only Weber who's out tonight - Jordie Benn continues to recover from another undisclosed injury, and will also not play tonight. So, the Habs' suddenly thin defence will look something like this:

Markov/Petry
Beaulieu/Emelin
Davidson/Nesterov

Meanwhile, on the forward lines:

Pacioretty/Danault/Radulov
Byron/Plekanec/Gallagher
Galchenyuk/Shaw/Lehkonen
King/Ott/Martinsen

Meanwhile the Panthers, who are also playing out the string with nowhere to go in the standings, have a few lineup changes tonight. Sitting in the press box will be Shawn Thronton (AWWWW!),

Huberdeau/Trocheck/Jagr
Jokinen/Bjugstad/Smith
Vanek/Malgin/Marchessault
Sceviour/MacKenzie/Sgarbossa

James Reimer will start tonight for the Panthers, against Lindgren. Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game 38: Habs vs. Preds

Montreal 2, Nashville 1 (OT):

PREGAME NOTES:

- Apparently Max Pacioretty is okay, and will be playing tonight.

- So with Pacioretty starting, Habs lines will be:

Pacioretty/Danault/Gallagher
Byron/Mitchell/Radulov
Lehkonen/Plekanec/Flynn
Carr/McCarron/Terry

Emelin/Weber
Beaulieu/Petry
Barberio/Johnston

Carey Price

- Here's the Preds lineup:

Forsberg/Johansen/Arvidsson
Wilson/Fisher/Neal
Fiala/Ribeiro/Smith
Sisson/Jarnkrok/Watson

Josi/Ellis
Ekholm/Irwin
Weber/Granberg

Pekka Rinne


FIRST PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- If I were a Preds fan, I'd boo too every time Radulov touches the puck - at the Nashville front office for their decision to walk away from him.

- Nice little video tribute to Shea Weber during a commercial break, Weber looking pretty emotional.

- It's been a pretty good start for the Habs, they're doing a better job pressuring the puck, also getting good speed carrying the play through the neutral zone.

- Habs are going kinda crazy with shot attempts from the right side so far tonight:

- Habs might have possession edge, but the Preds have had the much tougher shots on Price, who's made at least 3 big-time saves to keep the Preds off the board.

- Ryan Johnston is doing what he's able, but just isn't NHL-calibre. Too many little mistake - passes slightly off the mark, shot selection unwise, not keeping his head up in his own zone - isolated they're not big errors, but the totality of mistakes does add up and takes its toll over a 60 minute game.

- I mean, the only reason Johnston is playing is because Markov and Pateryn are injured. So a relatively healthy Habs lineup, he has little or no hope of making a lineup.

- Solid first period for the road Habs, did a nice job feeding the puck to the offence, the Pacioretty late period breakaway a good example. Quite simply appears as though the Habs have more legs tonight than their opponents. One failing - quality of shots on Rinne wasn't fantastic, more bodies need to be driving the Preds net if the Canadiens hope to light the red lamp.

SECOND PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs with pretty good period, possession-wise, 67.7% CF (5v5):

- Preds clearly super concerned with Weber on the line during a Habs powerplay, which is opening up all kinda of open passing lane ice. Canadiens would be wise to exploit them with any future man advantages.

- Habs again the better team tonight - they've soundly outplayed their opponents most nights for well over a month, which has seen their possession stats rise to a top-5 position in the League, but they're still giving up too many high danger shot attempts - Price has had to make quite a few difficult stops so far, certainly many more so than Rinne (who's also been very good).

- Nashville has made a pretty significant adjustment this period - much more aggressive forecheck in the neutral zone, generating some juicy turnovers and odd-man rushes. Price really upping his game tonight because he's needed to.

- Nathan Beaulieu needs to tighten up his game in his own zone, simply because he shouldn't be making the same mistakes this year that you'd expect from someone just breaking into the League.

- Halfway through the 2nd period, Alex Radulov is +15 Corsi, which is all kinds of incredibly good.

- Habs 3rd powerplay, 2nd wave Therrien sends out McCarron line, which predictably, was a poor decision resulting in nearly zero attempts on goal. Therrien often treats powerplays like they're infinite - when in reality, they're rarities that need to be treated as such. Put out your best guys for 2 minutes or less. It ain't complicated.

- One way Petry has really advanced his game this year is carrying the play deep into the opponent's zone - which has made him a real offensive threat, and has bolstered the Habs 5v5 play, which has been among the League's best this season. Petry is playing with tremendous poise and confidence, really stepping up his game since Markov's injury.

- Nathan Beaulieu with a terrible pinch from the line which springs a 2-on-0 break on Price. Beaulieu is no longer a rookie - he can't continue to make these bad decisions and hope to retain the confidence of his coach.

- Tough night for Beaulieu continues, as he own-goals a harmless Fiala backhander behind Price.

- Puck luck definitely not on Habs side tonight - they've dominated most of the night, a mad scramble at the end of the 2nd with a wide open net that the Habs somehow can't convert, symptomatic of the problem. Another night where the Canadiens are outworking, outskating and out-posssessiong on the ice, but struggling to get leads on the scoreboard, perhaps a symptomatic side-effect from the Habs losing some of their better players to injury.

THIRD PERIOD LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Habs dominating tonight, 67% CF (5v5). Shea Weber is playing out of his goddamned mind - 95.0% CF ... yes, 95%, through 40 minutes, while at even strength. Incredible.

- Still remain cautiously optimistic for the Habs in this game, they've outplayed the Preds, Price has been great, just a single lousy bad break has put them down on the scoreboard.

- Torrey Mitchell makes a very nice play keeping the puck in the Preds zone, and seconds later, Radulov with a sweet pass on the tape to Weber, who beats Rinne top corner to tie the game. My optimism is rewarded, as are the Habs who tie the game.

Weber goal pic.twitter.com/1sKl89OTVM

— GIF Grand Maester (@myregularface) January 4, 2017

- While Weber has been fantastic tonight, Radulov hasn't been much worse - he's certainly someone who richly deserves to be rewarded with a goal - maybe a game winner?

- Preds 2nd line, the Fisher line, really struggling tonight - getting badly outskated and outshot.

- Tomas Plekanec really struggling tonight - his shot is pretty much atrocious, not that it was ever great even during his best years - it's just not fast or dangerous enough to challenge an average NHL goaltender. Upon Galchenyuk and Desharnais' return, don't be surprised if talk is ramped up about him being moved before the trade deadline.

- Mark Barberio won't be winning any shot accuracy contests anytime soon - and by soon, I mean anyone's lifetime.

- Habs justly getting at least 1 point out of a game they've mostly owned - with distinct advantage of play in each period. Radulov clearly wanting to put his mark on this night with a goal, and with OT on the way, maybe he really actually will score that game winner after all??


OVERTIME LIVE GAME BLOG:

- Here's how the Habs stacked up through 3 periods, a very good road game effort:

- Habs had total possession of the puck the first 2:42 of OT - which is kind of remarkable. Couldn't generate any high grade scoring chances though.

- Radulov was screaming to come off the bench for OT, and was finally sent out with 2:20 left, and incredibly, stays on the ice the rest of the way, eventually making an unbelievable play handing the puck behind the Preds bench while his teammates make a change, Pacioretty streaming in to receive the pass, and beat Rinne through the legs. What an incredible play by Alex Radulov. Gobsmacked. Marc Bergevin, sign this man. Whatever it takes. Get it done now.

Pacioretty OT winner pic.twitter.com/94Seg9Fznu

— GIF Grand Maester (@myregularface) January 4, 2017

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

Hey, Happy New Year! So, so, soooooo good to see 2016 begone forever. So a new calendar, new resolutions and for the Montreal Canadiens, a new page turned towards a .... sorry ... what's that? We have some video from this morning's practice? Okay:

On ne sait pas si Max Pacioretty sera en mesure d'affronter les Predators après avoir été atteint par un tir de Shea Weber à l'entraînement. pic.twitter.com/9x9R97FSFa

— RDS (@RDSca) January 3, 2017

Oh. Well. I see. Isn't that ... nice. And it was Shea Weber who hit Pacioretty's. Even better. And this just a month after Max had recovered from a foot fracture. That's just perfect.

Hey, maybe I'm out of line for posing the question, and by all means, slap me down if this goes a little too far over the edge, but why would you be conducting any sort of practice drill where you have your most valuable forwards standing directly in front of the guy who's probably got the hardest slap shot in the game of hockey?

See, to me, that seems like folly. But hey, what do I know, right?

Anyway, with or without the captain, the Habs enter Nashville tonight for what was one of the most anticipated games on this season's schedule. That was, of course, until P.K. Subban, whom the Habs unceremoniously chased out of Montreal last summer, went down with a back injury this week, which has put him out of the Predators's lineup for an indefinite period of time.

For Nashville, it's been an up and down season. They came into the year favoured to be a contender for a championship next spring. October, though, put a severe dent in those glimmering aspirations, as the Preds won only 2 games during that first month.

Since then, things have settled down - the Preds are putting up defensive and offensive numbers that have them flirting with the League's top 10. Which is to say, statistically speaking, the Preds have been a pretty good team this year, but not a great team.

Beyond the (mostly) positive numbers, perhaps Nashville's biggest question mark this season has been goaltending, which has been at best, inconsistent, at worst - an albatross. Pekka Rinne, who had a very good 2010-11 season, was given (at the time) a massive contract extension by Nashville - 7 years and $50 million. Since that time, Rinne has had one very good year - 2014-15, where he won 41 games, had a .923 SV%, and was a Vezina Trophy finalist.

Apart from that '14 season, Rinne's numbers have been pretty mediocre - a .908 SV% two years ago, .915 last season, and this year, .917, which among goaltenders who've had at least 15 starts this season, puts Rinne just barely into the top 25. He's not horrible, but truth be told, Rinne hasn't and isn't very good.

There are few solutions for Nashville with Rinne because of that huge contract which will keep him nailed to the Preds organization at least until the end of next season. So while Rinne might be a lost cause, Nashville might have a saviour in their own possession in Juuse Saros, a 21 year old native of Finland who the Preds drafted in the 4th round 3 years ago, Saros, albeit with limited starts this season (only 7), has put up some pretty good numbers: a 1.43 GAA and .947 SV%, with victories over some pretty decent opponents including the St. Louis Blues three nights ago.

As of the writing of this post, the Preds have not announced tonight's starter - it's likely Rinne, but if he continues to struggle, don't be surprised if Nashville starts giving Saros more chances as the season progresses.

Puck drops tonight at 8:10 EST.

Game 1: Habs vs Sabres

5 #HABS THOUGHTS THE DAY AFTER

- Welcome to our new feature, 5 Habs Thoughts the Day After, which is pretty much exactly as the title suggests. We'll be doing this feature throughout the season, providing readers with a summation about the game played the night previous. So ... about last night ...

- It's always nice to start the season on a winning note, although the Habs win was, to put it generously, uneven. The Canadiens started very strong - for the first 15 minutes of the 1st period, it looked like they were going to totally overwhelm their opponent. But then the team seemed to go into a collective funk that lasted through the remainder of the period, carried through most of the 2nd period, and lasted through about the first 5 minutes of the 3rd before the Habs seemed to catch a second wind.  The Torrey Mitchell goal, which reestablished the Habs 2 goal margin, seemed to take the energy out of the Sabres legs. You'll see that often with young teams - they're easily disgruntled - and who can blame them? The Sabres really were taking it to the Habs for essentially the middle half of the game, and still found themselves trailing by 2 goals for all their efforts.

- So while the Habs letdown was not exactly a scrapbook highlight, there were many interesting positives. The brightest light of the night was Artturi Lehkonen, who played a tremendously, even more so if you consider it was his very first NHL game. Lehkonen really meshed well along side Tomas Plekanec (who played an excellent two-way game for the Habs), and if not for a couple of nifty saves by Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, would have scored at least one goal. Lehkonen demonstrated some keen hockey smarts - and seemed to have a good sense of when to drive to the net. I'm sure Habs management were delighted by what they saw from this young winger.

- Defensively, Habs also played unevenly, but they did have two very strong performances by Greg Pateryn and (surprise!) Alexei Emelin, the later of whom delivered many thunderous checks, mostly contained in the neutral zone, on Sabres forwards. Emelin's was smart with his physicality, delivering his hits in situations that didn't remove him from his defensive responsibilities. I'm sure that Therrien will go back with this duo on Saturday night, if only to see if there might be some good chemistry developing between the two. Keep in mind, 3rd line spots on the Habs blue line is very competitive this season - with the first 5 positions already spoken for by Weber, Markov, Petry, Beaulieu and Sergachev, competition for that 6th spot is going to be fierce.

- Or, maybe it won't. Speaking of Mikhail Sergachev, it was baptism by fire last night, and his NHL inexperience was pretty glaring. While Sergachev didn't make any errors that led directly to Buffalo goals, he frequently looked overwhelmed by the speed of the League, which was further complicated by some tentative passes that produced a couple of glorious scoring opportunities for the Sabres. It's just Sergachev's first game, so a lot of the criticism has to be taken with a pinch of salt, but if he continues to struggle with adapting to the NHL, certainly understandable given his age, the Habs may give him a year in the AHL to help him make the transition to the big league.

- Finally, Shea Weber. While his debut wasn't anticipated nearly as much as Subban's will be in Nashville, Weber gave a pretty standard Weber performance. Sturdy, physical, understated and utterly forgettable. What you saw last night is what you'll see for the rest of this season. Weber, unlike the player he's replacing, has little flair, flash or dash to his game. He eats time, does a decent job moving the puck forward, clears a little traffic in front, and that's it. Weber did pick up the point last night off a point shot - although ironically it came off a simple wrist shot that was deflected in by Gallagher, not off one of his notorious slapshot howitzers.

Habs now travel back closer to home to take on the Senators in Ottawa, before opening up the season at home Monday night. We'll be posting news, if there's anything worth noting, leading up to the game, and putting up a game preview later in the day.

LIVESTREAM





THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs CF% (5v5) through 40 minutes just 50.0%. Which is bad considering they were at 58% after one period. Basically the Sabres had significant majority of possession (12:18 to be exact), with shot totals accordingly showing a pretty large edge in favour of Buffalo.

- Sabres have an interesting little thing they do before the period starts, their line huddles up at the blue line, not unlike they do in football. Not sure what the purpose of this is, but it looks cool.

- Shea Weber with a disgraceful crosscheck from behind in the corner that the League really should be making an automatic game misconduct, but for whatever reason, chooses not to. Within seconds, the Sabres score, and we immediately see Weber's first game sheet contribution. Against his team. 2-1 now.

- Habs a slop fest in their own zone, horrid puck turnovers. Sabres haven't lost a step to start this period. Taking it to the Habs.

- Sergachev a little deer in the headlights in more than a couple of situations tonight. So much talent, but most of it pretty raw.

- Lehkonen has had a pretty good game - very involved offensively, and if not for a couple of outstanding saves by Lehner, would easily be on the scoresheet.

- Shea Weber just made a scoring contribution - the right kind, anyway. Sabres got all kinds of messed up in their zone, leaving their slot unprotected. Weber with a point shot, neatly tipped by Gallagher past Lehner to reestablish a 2-goal lead. Sabres inexperience showing through badly on that goal, a lot of hard work the past couple of periods undone.

- Gorges with a retaliation mugging of Mitchell, after Emelin delivered a hard open ice (clean hit). Mitchell still down on the ice, favouring his head? Hard to tell. Terrible relational by Gorges. Terrible.

- Reply shows that Mitchell kind of fell into the Gorges check, but it looked very clear that Gorges was lining him up for a blindside hit, so the dirty play still stands. Mitchell taking a knee to the head.

- After a rough first few minutes of the period, things have gradually shifted in Montreal's favour, Habs getting much more possession and more quality scoring chances, powerplays removed. 9 minutes left.

- Carr with a very dirty goal with Habs swarming Sabres net. Buffalo challenges for goaltender interference, but I don't see anything there. Likely 4-1 Habs now.

- Good goal, Habs with probably insurmountable lead at 4-1. They've dominated since 5 minute mark of this period, Sabres just couldn't keep up, and Lehner has struggled.

- Pretty decent outing for Emelin, I've counted 4 thunderous hits from his tonight, certainly much more physical than was Weber. He and Pateryn having games that exceeded normal expectations.

- Habs win, albeit it was an uneven victory. Team went into a 30 minute funk between the last five minutes of the 1st extending to the first 5 minutes of the 3rd, where the Sabres were the better team. Fortunately Montoya had a pretty solid start, and Habs did have some bright spots - mainly that of Arthur Lehkonen, who was frequently involved and if not for some excellent saves by Lehner, should have had a least one goal. Pateryn and Emelin looked sharp, and Shea Weber was ... hmm shall we say ... adequate?


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs with defined possession edge in the first period, 57.9% CF% (5v5) in the frame.

- I suppose I should have mentioned Shea Weber right now. He was okay in that first period. Made a couple of good hits in the corners, made a couple of decent shot attempts on the powerplay. But still pretty low key performance, pretty much the exact opposite of the guy who was traded away to get him. 

- Sergachev clearly trying to adjust to a much faster game than he's every played in his life. Has made a few puck handling errors, but possesses the mobility to save himself. At least so far.

- 4th line production by the Habs which has looked pretty good tonight, Byron driving the net hard and buried into the boards as a result, Mitchell tucking home the loose puck and it's 2-0. Another spot the Habs really struggled with last year - 4th line contributions. Hopefully that's a sign of more to come.

- Habs aren't exactly squatting on this lead, but they've discernibly shifted their focus from being aggressive in the Sabres zone and centre ice, to covering their zone, and passing lanes. Sabres have had a significant edge in shots and possession since the 15 minute mark of the first period.

- Not good. Habs are losing puck fights in their own zone, and it's creating some defensive breakdowns in which the Sabres are getting good scoring chances. Montoya very solid so far, keeping Buffalo off the board. Still, this is a habit, the let downs, that we saw a lot of last year that killed the Habs season.

- Is Desharnais hurt? Unbelievably he has the least amount of ice time among all Habs forwards, a meagre 6:32 with just 5 minutes left in the 2nd.

- Sabres 2nd powerplay, Habs PK was pretty much chaos, and it not for dumb luck and Buffalo incompetence finishing plays, this game really ought be 2-1. At least.

- Habs plainly out skated and out hustled in the period - no logical explanation for the let down against such a lesser Sabres team, except that possibly the team went out to hard to start the game? I'm at a loss.

- Evander Kane who's been a bull in a china shop tonight, falling awkwardly going full steam into the corner, losing his footing as he was given a relatively mild shove by Emelin. No real penalty there, but Kane is clearly significantly injured.

- Habs might lead 2-0 on the scoreboard, but that was a very tilted period in favour of the Sabres, who were far more organized and aggressive than they were in the 1st period. Habs looked ... tired? It's absurd to speculate, but they just seemed to lose most of the battles for, and races to, loose pucks. One more period like that, Buffalo might fight their way back into this thing.


FIRST PERIOD:

- Well, here we go, game 1 of 82. Here's hoping it's the exact opposite of what we had to endure last year.

- It's EARLY going, but Sabres look ... uh ... not good. Offence is, shall we say, disorganized.

- Habs 4th line forecheck is pretty aggressive, with two forwards playing deep in the neutral zone. Not sure if that's accidental or experimentational.

- Lots of long-bomb passes blue line to forwards, same strategy used last year, to mostly unsuccessful result.

- Sergachev gets a little powerplay time, which is great to see. Looked a little nervous passing the puck, made one ill-advised pass that nearly gave Sabres a 2-on-0 breakaway. It's a learning process.

- First game goal, first season goal. It's Gallagher with a very un-Gallagher like goal, snap shot from 40 feet beats Lehner stick side. 1-0 Habs. Good passing key to the goal there, as it usually is for most NHL goals.

- There's the Shaw effect, icing called, and Shaw manages to troll Foligno into a roughing penalty.

- Habs powerplay is 0-2, but still looks markedly better than the hapless scenes we endured last year. Not sold on Markov paired with Weber - they got all kinds of mixed up at the line, creating a Sabres breakaway that was saved nicely by Montoya. When Petry returns, I'm hoping for more experimentation - with Beaulieu and maybe this Sergachev kid getting a few turns with different combinations. 

- Montoya has made a couple of nice saves this period - obviously the Habs are hoping for a bit more consistency from their backup this year - fully acknowledging that Mike Condon was forced into an impossible situation, and did the best he could given the circumstances. 

- Habs with a bit of a let-down last 5 minutes of the first period. One assumes you can only dominate a period for so long, but Sabres seem to be getting a little more organized as the period has progressed.

- Pretty one-sided period of hockey, Habs fans will be happy with what they've seen. Fast start to the game, the Canadiens carried the play through much of the first 3/4 of the period, giving the young Sabres defence fits. All said, one couldn't have hoped for much more.


PREGAME NEWS 'N' NOTES:

- The puck is dropping shortly for the first game of the year, a couple of things I'd like to mention in advance of the game. First, this site is going to be a little more content focused this year - we're going to be adding a few more pieces to provide readers with a little more in-depth content, and new features such as weekly team rankings, Habs player rankings, and a new post-game feature, "5 Points", which will offer post game summaries and observations for every Habs game. So, stay tuned and watch!!

- The news we've been hearing about all week has been, of course, the flu virus that has knocked Carey Price out of the start tonight, so Al Montoya will get the call. Which, given that the Sabres are likely the kind of team you'd start your backup against anyway, works out. 

- It'll be fun to see just how well Alex Radulov plays tonight. A productive top-6 winger on the right side will give this team an immense offensive boost that it sorely lacked through much of last year. If Radulov produces, the Habs are going to be a difficult team to beat.

- Also looking forward to seeing the new kids, specifically Mikhail Sergachev, and of course, Artturi Lehkonen. Expectations of both should be tempered - they're playing their first ever regular season NHL games, so even though both are talented, there will be a learning curve.

- Bottom defensive pairing should be interesting. Depending on how things to with Sergachev, there are too many bodies for the last pairings, with Alexei Emelin, Greg Pateryn, and Zach Redmond all fighting for one spot, when Jeff Petry makes his return to the lineup. Still think Marc Bergevin will be doing his best to move Emelin over the next few weeks, basically for anyone who'll have him, ideally for a pick or mild salary pickup in return.

- Puck drops at 7:10 EST.  But then, you knew that.


THE YEAR THAT WAS, THE YEAR THAT IS

We’ve arrived. We’ve finally arrived. The cusp of a new season, filled with renewed hopes for fans around the country that the upcoming season will bring them joy and fulfillment that goes with cheering for a winning team.

For those whose hearts are aligned with the Montreal Canadiens, the story this October is not unlike those of recent Octobers. Anticipation and belief that their championship drought will finally come to an end.

Unlike recent Octobers, this season brings a defined sense of melancholy for Habs fans, still many weeks removed from a massive deal that resulted in the heart and soul of the team, P.K. Subban, being dealt to the Nashville Predators for the hulking frame of Shea Weber. It was a trade that many had hoped would somehow be avoided, but the decision to move Subban, come hell or high water, was likely made well before the day he was dealt in late June.

Objectively, the deal likely will serve to benefit both teams – the Predators will now have a high powered, mobile blue line that will make them a force to be reckoned with, and in an instant, a viable Stanley Cup contender next spring. The Canadiens will realize an improvement in their defensive durability, and likely a slight increase in powerplay effectiveness. Whether they’ll be in the championship conversation next year is another matter altogether.

Long term, the trade will likely be highly regrettable for Montreal. While Weber is an excellent talent, Subban has 4 years on his side, and a proven ability to be an elite puck moving defenseman in a League that’s moving further away from “grit” hockey as a winning model.

Which is to say, the window for ending the championship drought in Habsland is closing rather quickly. With Subban gone, and foundation pieces like Carey Price and Max Pacioretty moving into and beyond their prime productive years, the Canadiens likely have this season and the next to be a viable Stanley Cup contender. Beyond that, with Weber’s salary cap impacting the bottom line, and making it difficult for management to retain all of their key assets, the Canadiens are likely to enter a rebuilding phase.

Setting aside the Subban trade, the off season was productive for Montreal. The Habs, credit to G.M. Marc Bergevin, managed to snag free agent Alex Radulov from Russia. Albeit carrying some behavioural baggage, Radulov, who’s been playing overseas in the KHL since 2009, solidifies what was once the most glaring weaknesses of the team, a top-6 right hand shooting forward.

Although the KHL is no NHL, Radulov did put up some impressive numbers, averaging well over a point per game playing with CSKA Moskva and Salavat Youlaev (go fighting Youlaev!). He also had an impressive and productive camp, so anything in the 60 point production range for Radulov will be a huge bonus for the Canadiens.

Radulov probably represented the biggest player acquisition this summer, although there may be a case made for 1^st round entry pick, Mikhail Sergachev, who was the OHL’s defenseman of the year in 2015-16. Sergachev, whom some expected might go as high as a top-5 pick, was still up for grabs when the Habs came to the table with their 9^th overall selection. Marc Bergevin and Trevor Timmons didn’t waste their chance and nabbed the young Russian, who they hope will eventually fill the shoes of the soon departing Andrei Markov, who’s entering the final year of a contract extension, possibly the last of his NHL career.

The big question around Sergachev wasn’t whether he was the best choice (he was), but whether he had the skill and maturity to actually crack the lineup this season. After an excellent camp, those questions were quickly answered, as the Habs announced that Sergachev would be suiting up to start the season. The only remaining question is whether the Canadiens will play Sergachev 9 games, which means this year would be counted in qualification for restricted free agency.

Speaking of draft picks, a big surprise out of camp this year was the performance of Artturi Lehkonen, who was signed to an entry level contract this May. Lehkonen, who was previously playing in the Swedish Hockey League, was picked 2^nd overall by the Canadiens in the 2013 draft. The lesson here is - players mature and develop differently – the time Lehkonen spent playing elite hockey in Europe served him well enough to earn him a starting spot this season.

Lehkonen’s gain is someone else’s loss – two Habs forwards may not hold much of a future in Montreal because of Lehkonen’s spot on the roster – Michal McCarron, he of six feel, two million inches stature, and Sven Adrighetto. While it’s likely either or both will be playing at some point this season to fill injury vacancies, their future with the Habs remains, at best, uncertain.

The Habs made a few more additions including signing UFA bottom-6 muckraker Andrew Shaw, to help, in the words of Bergevin, to give the team some “character”. While Shaw will do his best to mix things up on the ice, I don’t think his acquisition will give the Habs much, if any, strategic or “grit” advantage, largely because the grinding formula for victory has long passed in the NHL. Today, you win with speed and skill. Oh, well.

So in case you’ve lost, or grown bored reading this overlong analysis, let’s boil it down to who’s in, and who’s out:

Who’s out:

- P.K. Subban

- Dale Weise
- Tom Gilbert
- Ben Scrivens

Who’s in:

- Shea Weber
- Alex Radulov
- Artturi Lehkonen
- Andrew Shaw
- Al Montoya

What does this all mean? Well, without a healthy Carey Price, it means nothing. This, of course, is the biggest of many sizable questions surrounding the Canadiens this season – will Carey Price be healthy? If the World Championship of Hockey was any indication, in which Price helped lead team Canada to a championship, the answer seems to be a comfortable “yes”. But nothing is certain.

There are other big questions. Coaching remains a significant issue. After a disastrous 2015-16, many eyes are on Micheal Therrien, now in the 4^th year of his second stint as Montreal’s head coach. If the Habs stumble early, even with a healthy Price between the pipes, the pressure may be unbearable for Bergevin to endure, and Therrien could be an early season casualty. Which makes the off season acquisition of the adapt Kirk Muller as an assistant all the more prescient. If Therrien is turfed, Muller would likely be promoted to fill his spot.

The thing is, the Habs shouldn’t stumble early. This is still a very good hockey team that was bolstered this offseason by an excellent draft pick, the addition of a prized Russian forward, and the surprise addition of an earlier draft pick to the Canadiens’ starting lineup. This is a team that should have little difficulty in making the post season – perhaps even challenging for 1^st place in their Division. Beyond qualification, there remains only one objective that matters any more – and that is a Stanley Cup championship in Montreal – the first in what would be a 24 year drought.

Which, in case you’re doing the math, is the same number of championships won by this esteemed franchise.

It’s been a long six month wait, but we’ve arrived.

Game Seventy-Four: Habs vs. Preds

OVERTIME:

- Habs first have to get out of Therrien mode. Easier said than done.

- P.K. called for a trip. Ford erg not called for an obvious embellishment.

- And of course, the Preds powerplay, which has been awful all night, scores. Even worse, it's Forsberg, who ought be in the box. Whatever. A point. We'll take it. 

THIRD PERIOD:

- Preds have been sloppy with the puck all night, this time it's a giveaway to Plekanec at centre, and Rinne is forced to make a tough save off a snap shot.

- Habs breakouts have been impressive tonight. Pateryn a perfect pass to Desharnais at centre which generates two high % scoring chances on Rinne.

- Preds benefit from a ridiculous break, Ellis simply firing the puck towards Price from the line, Petry instinctively gets his body in front, puck takes weird bounce and hops past Price. Tie game, but only by fluke.

- Prust has really turned his game around the past two weeks. For whatever reason.

- That fluke Preds goal has Price fired up. Like. Really, really fired up.

- Habs playing Therrien hockey again, over-relaying on the boards for zone clearances. 6 minutes left. 

- Galchenyuk is long overdue for a big goal, but he's got to follow through. Had the game on his stick, but couldn't lift it over Pinne's pad. 

- Preds get big-time benefit of puck luck in the third to send us to OT. Regardless of the final result, Habs have played a very good road game in an arena that's awfully tough to win in this year.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Lots of karma, if not a few insanity points, to Emelin for throwing himself in front of a Weber slapshot. Emelin smarting rather badly on the bench.

- Seth Jones completely mucks up a loose puck in front of Rennie, creating a terrible turnover. Gallagher says thanks a lot. Tie game. Habs would be wise to learn that an agressive forecheck does pay dividends against this Preds team.

- Habs continue to play a smart road game. Patient, tight and apart from Nashville's first goal, tidy defense in their zone. Possession is also very solid.

- Price with a crazy lucky break as Preds play the 3-on-1 perfectly, Fisher a gaping net, but deflects the killing pass wide. Should be 2-1 Nashville.

- Plekanec has made two very bad terrible horrible turnovers this game, the first led to the Preds first goal, the second should have resulted in their second if it hadnt been for Fisher's whiff.

- Habs first powerplay looked pretty good, especially puck movement. If it wasn't for some excellent Preds shot blocking, the Habs probably score.

- Shea Weber is the next to join the terrible turnover club. Parenteau with excellent work to win the puck and make an easy to pass to Desharnais who is totally alone in front of Rinne. Not even Desharnais would pass up that shot. 2-1. 

- Habs like Saturday night, the much better team against a reasonably formidable opponent. Whether they will, like Saturday, sit on it for the 3rd, is yet to be determined.

- How/why did the Oilers not sign Petry to a 135 year contract? Even six or seven more. No way they can replace this guy. He's just so damn good.

- Habs clearly outskating the Preds at both ends of the ice. It's been a surprisingly passive performance by the Preds so far.

- Another impressive period for the Habs. This game very similar to the Sharks on Saturday. Excellent performances by Habs defense, in particular Petry. Looking at the scoreboard a win tonight might get the Habs back into serious consideration for the President's Trophy. But 20 minutes is a long time. 

FIRST PERIOD:

- Wonder how good a player Ribeiro would have been if not for the personal/substance issues. Amazing. the Preds have put up with his antics this long.

- Preds first powerplay rather underwhelming. Habs are allowing them free zone entry, but Nashville hasn't taken advantage.

- Pekka Rinne looking a little unsure with the puck. Meanwhile Carey Peice - well you know ... the usual.

- Price totally bowled over by Fisher in his crease three feet away from a staring official. Unbelievable.

- Preds have been terrible entering the zone, but that doesn't seem to matter when Habs defense is too busy rolling out red carpet. 1-0. Ekholm. Price bowled over again in his crease. Habs organization playing with fire against a ridiculously agressive Preds opponent.

- If officials refuse or arr incompetent to protect Price, then Habs will have to start taking numbers and the game into their own hands.

- As defensemen, Habs best two the past 10 days have been Petry and Pateryn. Not even close. At this point, getting harder to see how Gonchar gets much more action this season. That might also extend to Tom Gilbert.

- After 20, pleased with the period, Habs had a great period start but got tripped up by a couple of penalties, which is irony since Price was almost certainly the victim of avoidable contact that wasn't punished by the officials. Habs just need to stay the course, although they really need to send the Preds a pretty strong message that Price is off limits.  

TBT: THROWBACK TUESDAY!

We just couldn't resist. Remember Sergei Kostitsyn? Actually, remember anybody with the last name of Kostitsyn? Of course you do, because as a Habs fan, you've been spending the past three years trying to forget. Sergei, whom the last we heard is now playing for Ak Bars Kazan in the nearly-defunct KHL (just yell that out ... ACK!! BARZ!!! KAAAAAZAN!! ... it's lots of fun), was part of a new almost legendary play of indifference when he decided to just ...well .. you watch the video.

Anyway, that was two years ago. Since that time, the Preds have gone from a non-playoff team to a possible President's Trophy award winner this year, although that prospect has taken a hit over the past month, as the Preds, after going the entire season without as much as a two game losing streak. Since February 26, Nashville has gone 3-8-1, which has taken them from the lofty heights of being the top team in the NHL, to now battling for third place in the Central Division.

It was just over a month ago that the Preds' Pekka Rinne, whom for the longest time many were saying was a good bet as this season's Vezina winner, has hit a roadblock, winning just 3 of his past 11 starts, with a less-than-stellar .910 SV% over that time.

Pekke, like the rest of the team, have struggled, and maybe it was overdue, with the Preds riding one of the highest PDO's for most of the year. It's a situation that Habs fans can certainly relate to - a season of exceeded expectations, although unlike the Preds, the Habs haven't quite had a similar period of decline. It's close, though. This month, the Habs are riding a most mediocre 5-5-1 streak, which has only barely kept them in the running for top spot in the Atlantic Division. For how much longer remains an unanswered question. It's games like tonight where the picture becomes clearer whether the Habs finish as high as first in the East, or as low as 4th.

So it's Renne vs. Price. Not too shabby. Will we see more than 4 goals scored? Probably not. But, it should be an interesting and competitive game.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.

Game Thirty-Eight: Habs vs. Preds

And now, a message from his Worship, Rob Ford: Just put down the crack pipe.

Consider that a Holiday message to anyone and everyone that's circulating the Max-Pacioretty-in-on-the-trading-block rumor mongering.

Just put down that crack pipe. No, you cant take a hit. Not even a little one. Just put it down. Right now.

Merry Christmas.

Montreal 4, Nashville 3

Overtime: 

- I don't think it's a stretch to say if Josh Gorges was able to play tonight, the Habs would already be in the showers with 2 points in the bank.

- Markov goes back to the box. He can come out of the box with 1:20 left in overtime, assuming we get that far.

- Desharnais saves the day. Great work in the Preds zone creates the turnover and Ekholm stumbles, and blasts it home with a slapper top of the circle. Heartbreaker for Nashville who fought so hard to get back to even against the Habs. They really deserved the extra point. Oh well.

- 7 DAYS OFF. HAPPY HOLIDAYZ EVERYBODIES.

Third Period:

- For the most part, Habs doing a decent job containing the Preds the first 10 minutes of the period, but they're still in sitting mode. Just awaiting the tying goal here ...

- Subban gets nabbed for a trip ... here we go.

- Weber. Lead. Gone. What a shocker. Markov hit hard along the boards, incensed that it wasn't called,

- Watching the replay, Markov was hit on the numbers from behind by Hornqvist, sending Andrei spiraling dangerously into the boards. Could have been called boarding, but officials let it go. And Nashville scored as a result.

- Preds were 0-14 this season when trailing after two periods. But then again they weren't playing Michel Therrien and the Habs in any of those games.

- Doug Murray on the ice for the final game shift. Therrien is just ASKING for trouble.

- Habs will earn at least one point. No way they should have been in this position, but given how the lead was blown, they really deserve nothing from tonight's game.

 

Second Period:

- So from what we've seen tonight, who'd you rather have on team Canada? Subban or Weber?

- The Diaz/Murray combo isn't installing me with confidence. Wilson getting way behind them and receiving the breakaway pass, only Prices' heroics are keeping the Preds off the board. Murray looking especially slow tonight.

- Emelin continues to play some petty lousy defense in his own zone. Post-injury Emelin really no better than a 5 or 6 slot blue liner. Emelin fortunate the Habs don't have strong depth at his position, although in the next year or two I can foresee him having competition starting on the second line.

- Plekanec is one of those guys that has less chance of succeeding on a play the more opportunity he has to think about it. It's why he's so lousy on breakaways.

- Doug Murray. Not sure what he was doing or thinking, but it comes with little surprise the Preds' Bourque gets his team on the board courtesy Murray's bumbling. Can't say we weren't warning about this.

 - Now Nashville is pumped. Price might have busy rest of the second.

- Bad high stick by Desharnais, resulting PK, Price hung out to dry. Spaling makes it 3-2. Habs really have been sitting on it, their forecheck has totally disappeared, and Murray's incompetence - potent combination for a big lead blown.

- Wilson very very nearly tied the game in the waining seconds of the period. How much did the Habs sit on that lead? Try 20-6 second period shots, for Nashville, on for size.

At this point I'd be surprised if the Preds don't win this game. Their opponent roundly deserves to lose.

First Period:

- Gorges can't start tonight for the first time in years, which means Murray starts. Ugh.

- Habs first powerplay, dismal.

- Subban strikes, courtesy some nice forechecking by Eller and Briere. Habs actually score a first period goal.

- Brilliant pass by Gallagher to streaking Pacioretty ... Preds defense completely flat footed. 2-0.

- Nashville defense all that cures Habs wretched offense, it seems. Plekanec plays give and go with Gionta, redeflecting the return pass, and it's 3-0. Habs flying, Preds look abysmal.

- With Murray and Bouilllon both in the lineup tonight, this 3-0 lead is by no means "safe".

- Jones takes a direct hit on the face off a near point blank slapper by Markov. Awful.

- Nashville actually came out well to start the game, the Habs as per usual, wasn't generating much of anything, just two shots the first 10 minutes. But then Subban scored, and the floodgates opened up. The Preds defense looked slow, unprepared for Habs attack and speed, none of the three goals was the fault of Mazenec. The next test will be to see if Montreal can maintain the pressure, or will they make the mistake of sitting?

Gameday Game Preview:

Did you know that the Montreal Canadiens haven't scored a goal in the first period since December 4th? That's 9 games ago. Since then, nothing. Not a single goal in the first frame.

This is to say that the Habs, for most of the month of December, have been playing catch-up hockey, which isn't a good thing under any circumstances, especially when you've been as offensively starved as this team has been this month.

So tonight, guess who's back? It's Daniel Briere, and he'll take a spot on the 3rd line, sliding along side Lars Eller and Rene Bourque. This means the Ryan White gets to sit healthy from the pressbox, along side Doug Murray.

Anyway, same old story. This team can't score. The droughts are all over the place. Lars Eller, Thomas Plekanec, Rene Bourque, Lars Eller, Brian Gionta, P.K. Subban, Brandon Prust ... it's been many, many games since any of them as made an kind of meaningful offensive contribution.

After a predictable defeat in St. Louis Thursday night, don't expect the ship to be turning around tonight in Nashville. Michel Therrien doesn't appear to have any answers to the puzzle - beyond, seemingly, tossing names out on the ice at random, hoping that a couple of forwards make some kind of connection. Emphasis on forechecking? Apparently gone. Puck possession? No longer a priority. The team just lists at sea, awaiting some kind of rescue ...

The Preds are a mediocre team in a very tough Conference - in a bit of a rebuild mode, with Barry Trotz in the unfamiliar position of coaching a team that's posting a sub .500 record. The Preds, like the Habs, have struggled offensively, with only David Legwand putting up respectable production this year - 25 points in 35 games.

In other words, don't expect the red light to come on very many times this evening.

Puck drops around 7:10 EST.

Game Eight: Predators vs. Habs

Happy Monday?

- Habs have announced that Brandon Prust is out for four weeks from an upper body injury, and that Daniel Briere is out indefinitely from concussion.  Mike Blunden and Patrick Holland have been called up to fill up the now very banged-up Canadiens roster.

More later today.

Mondays. Blah.

 

Final Score: Nashville 2, Montreal 1

Okay, let's break it down.

Corsi (all): Preds 57.3%, Habs 43.7
Galchenyuk: 75.8%
Gallagher: 75.7%
Eller: 71.4%
...
Gionta: 38.7%
Plekanec: 32.4%
White: 26.1%
Moen: 23.8%

Fenwick (all): Preds: 57.6%, Habs 42.4%
Eller: 71.4%
Gallagher: 68.0%
Galchenyuk: 67.0%
...

White: 27.8%
Plekanec: 25.0%
Moen: 18.8%

First, let's get this out of the way: The officiating was inexcusably poor. From Subban being called two minutes for "embezzlement", to the unpenalized head hit to Briere, to the ridiculously bald interference on Gionta, to the worst sin of them all - Chris Rooney signaling a score that he later admitted he never saw cross the goal line in the first place.

Believe it or not, I actually do minor league officiating, and within that system, they constantly remind those who are learning to officiate, never guess a call. Last night, after the reply was inconclusive, the officials gathered, discussed the play, and unilaterally waved the original call off. Which is to say, Rooney fessed up that he blew the call - he hadn't actually seen the puck cross the line. The control center in Toronto, I'm sure, told Rooney "sorry, replay shows nothing, you screwed it up, you sort it out." So, in accordance to the rule book, the officials made the right call.

But Rooney's original call was a cardinal sin. You might see that from someone just learning the ropes, but you should never see that from a guy who's been officiating the League for more than 10 years.

Anyways. The game. The advanced stats confirmed my maddening inclinations - the Eller line was having one heck of a game, the Plekanec line was a mess, and still ... and yet ... Therrien insisted on starting Plekanec on each and every Habs 3rd period powerplay. In other words, for reasons that are beyond me, Therrien doesn't seem inclined to access his best performing offensive units when their utility is required most.

One other thought. The Habs 4th line, Bournival (who played just fine) excluded, had probably their worst game of the season. Ryan White and Travis Moen were a positional mess last night, and while White was delivering some nice hits in the 3rd, Therrien deployed his weakest performing players of that evening out with less than 2 minutes on the clock: Moen (18.8%), Gionta (33.%) and for whatever reason, Desharnais (43.8%). Yeah, Seth Jones scored a pretty, pretty goal to win the game, but the replay shows that most of the guys wearing red and white were badly out of position, providing Jones an unmolested lane to gain a high percentage shooting position. Game. Over.

Critically, though, Therrien somehow wasn't recognizing that the EGG line was really rumbling out there, and even if he did spot the obvious, still didn't utilize them to their full potential in the 3rd.

That, folks, is how you arrive at a frustrating defeat.

Third Period:

- 2nd period stats, Preds 61.5% Corsi (combined), 67.8% Fenwick (combined). Those are pretty dismal numbers, if you're wearing a C and an H.

- Crazy. Just crazy. Lars Eller just doesn't stop. Gallchenyuk drives the net, and Eller shoves in the puck off his rebound.

- We think. They're looking to see if it crossed the line.

- Eller's reaction is telling that it crossed the line, but no replay seems to definitely show the puck crossed the line.

- Thing is, the original call by Rooney was a goal, so the reply must show clearly that the puck was kept out. I don't see that.

- Hmmm. The official ruling is that in the opinion of the four officials it didn't cross the line? Huh?? But why did the official call it a goal in the first place???

- Okay, still don't understand that call. It's been a rough night for Martell and Rooney.

- Bournivall continues to have solid shifts, continues to be mostly stapled to the Habs bench. What's a guy gotta do?

- Well at the very least, Habs have been the better team in this 3rd. Outshooting Preds by two at the halfway mark.

- Really solid shift by Ryan White, three solid hits alone. Habs hoping the Preds will wear down as 3rd progresses.

- Again, Therrien puts out PP first line Plekanec/Gionta, and again it goes nowhere.

- Nasty collision by Prust into the backboards. He looks he's favoring his leg. No dirty play there, he simply lost his balance going in too hard, too fast. Meanwhile behind the play, Gionta is hit nowhere close to the puck. Officials don't call it. Maddening.

- Therrien now sends out Deshairnas/Bourque and the powerplay really goes nowhere fast.

- I just don't quite understand the strategy here. It's not as though the Habs are up or down 3 goals, and the coach is experimenting with some line combos, looking to get his slumping players moving again. The game is tied late-ish into the 3rd - you have the man advantage, you don't mess around. You send out your tops guns. Ah, well.

- Okay. Another powerplay, very late in the 3rd. Therrien goes with Plekanec/Gionta/Bourque. I gives up. I GIVESSSZ UUUUP.

- Disastrous. That shift drew boos. Now finally EGG line comes out, but it's too late.

- Well, that was deserved. Subban and Georges get caught out of position, Ginota out of position, and the Preds' Jones makes a brilliant move and scores with 94 seconds left. Not a cool results for Habs, but a highlight-reel goal for Jones.

- Not one of Markov's best nights controlling the puck at the line.

- Habs had plenty of opportunities in the 3rd, but Therrien wouldn't put out his most dangerous players, in particular with specialty units. Just deserts - the Preds dominated the first 35 minutes but didn't have the lead. Their win tonight was fair and square. They were the better team.

- Frustrating loss. Post-game breakdown in a bit.

 

Second Period:

- After having an excellent outing Thursday night against Columbus, Michael Bournival got 90 seconds of icetime in the first. Can't explain the inexplicable.

- Preds 1st period team Fenwick was 86% Yup. Eighty. Six. Percent.

- Preds very nice puck movement on their man advantage tonight. You'd never know they came into the game with the 17th ranked powerplay.

- Briere's head targeted by Nystrom. Somehow either missed or not called by the officials.

- How'd that gaping net get missed? Nashville might look back at that play if the Habs are able to find something resembling a game.

-  And there you have it. Gallagher pushes one home off a loose puck. The game is tied. Preds are getting robbed here.

- Bourque gets nabbed again. This time for a trip. That's 6 powerplays for Nashville, and counting.

- Briere is gone for the night. League might review that head shot he took.

- ICYWW, tonight's referees are Rob Martell and Chris Rooney. 30 years of NHL officiating experienced combined. You might have thought otherwise watching tonight's contest.

- Not quite as lobsided as the first, but still not a very good period by the Habs. Too many penalties, too much soft play in their zone. On the upside, the Predators seem to be jinxed, outworking, out-hustling, out-passing, out-shooting and dominating possession. But they're not ahead on the scoreboard. They're a team simply not taking advantage of opportunities - not burying their opponents. If Habs somehow win this game, it'll be robbery.

 

First Period:

- Tinordi gets the call tonight, Beaulieu will sit. Actually, Beaulieu will be rejoining the Bulldogs. So, that's that.

- Eller line gets first shift, and it takes them less than 30 seconds to create a good scoring opportunity.

- Given how they're struggling so much for goal production, Preds' margin for error is pretty thin tonight.

- Clunky play by Diaz putting the puck over the glass, unforced error gives Nashville early man advantage. On the bight side, at least this means Diaz won't be on the PK. 

- Early on Price looks right in the zone. Two very tough saves off labeled wrist shots (and counting).

- Habs have early possession edge, but Predators have had better scoring chances.

- Sweet setup by Briere to Bourque. I think Briere could become a far more effective forward if he focuses more on the setup. He's still very able in that department.

- Josh Gorges banged up a bit on his first shift. Have only seen him for one complete shift since then.

- Therrien continues to insist on using Diaz on the PK. Still haven't figured that out yet.

- More unforced errors. Ryan White deposits the puck over the glass, and the Preds have 39 seconds of 5-on-3.

- Subban comes out, just as Weber deposits the puck off Gorges' leg behind Price, and into the open net. Bad luck for the Habs, Preds take early lead.

- Safe to say the first 15 minutes, the Habs are getting stomped, both ends of the ice. Habs defense far too passive, even with consideration to all the penalties taken so far.

- With Markov/Subban at the line, Therrien sends out Plekanec/Gionta/Bourque to start the man advantage. It largely goes nowhere. Then Bourque draws a hold. Next time let's start the EGG line, eh coach?

- Shots are 14-3 Nashville. A minor miracle the Canadiens are only down 1-0.

- I think the Habs have had only one "dangerous" shift so far, that was the first one of the game. Since then ... oy. It's not been pretty.

- Tinordi, who's not been nearly as rough and tumble as we saw last spring, jawing it up at the Preds' bench. He'll need to play with more of an edge if he hopes to solidify a starting position.

- Oy. He's calling that for diving, isn't he? Yup. Once again the refs are targeting Subban AGAIN. It was a clear-cut trip by Nystrom on Subban. Which means not only do the Habs not get the extra man advantage, they lose their biggest powerplay weapon.

- Ref announces call on Subban for "embezzlement." I'd say that's an accurate description of the call itself.

- Diaz is no P.K. Subban on the powerplay.

- Diaz gets the hook, Bouillon takes his spot.

- And Bouillon makes a terrible cross ice pass to a crease full of Preds, powerplay is snuffed.

- Ugly, ugly, ugly 20 minutes for the Canadiens. Outshot 14-6, possession was terrible, and if wasn't for Price, this game could easily be 3-0 Nashville.



Gameday Game Preview:

The Montreal Canadiens look to win their 5th game in a row as they host the Nashville Predators tonight at the Bell Centre. The Habs are coming off a hard-fought win off the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night, a game where they surrendered a 3-0 2nd period lead, before Thomas Plekanec saved the day with a game winning goal with little more than a minute left in the 3rd period.

So those Nashville Predators. They were, not long ago, considered the team of the future. And why not? They had (have?) the best coach in the business in Barry Trotz, who's now entering his 15th year behind the Nashville bench. However, the economics of the game has hit the Predators hard, resulting in the team losing the irreplaceable Ryan Suter (who departed to Minnesota). The Preds simply couldn't compete with the Wild's $100m offer (little compensation that even with Suter, Minnesota still hasn't found its way out of the post-season wilderness, and they're off to a slow start this season).

Trotz is at the moment, the longest surviving coach in the League. That strand of that longevity, however, seems to becoming thinner as Nashville goes through another rebuilding process - there are rumors that Tortz may be on the chopping block if Nashville fails to live up to expectations.

Thing is, what are reasonable expectations? This is a club whose offense is in the midst of a full rebuild - and so far this year, their outputs are reflecting this painful process. With the 26th rated offense, Nashville is leaning on players like the struggling Matt Cullen to pick up some slack, for which there is plenty with Mike Fisher leading the team in scoring with just 5 points.

The Preds, not surprisingly, play a game with emphasis on possession, a reflection of Trotz philosophy. They had, by reasonable measure, a decent outing against the L.A. Kings in their last start Thursday night, out-possessing and out-chancing the Kings by a substantial margin, but nonetheless, still losing to L.A. in a shootout. Their offense simply hasn't been able to finish the play.

So tonight, the Preds take on the semi-hot Habs, with the Canadiens benefiting from stellar play by Carey Price, who's off to his best season start in years. Also (seemingly) warming up is Habs centre Thomas Plekanec, who scored two on Thursday night, and Brian Gionta, who got off to a terrible start his first 6 games, had his best game of the season against Columbus. Plekanec and Gionta's contributions were good timing for the Habs, as the team's number one line of Eller/Galchenyuk and Gallagher have cooled off of late. As long as the Habs have contributions coming from other lines when their top line doesn't produce, they should be okay.

Puck drops tonight at 7:15 EST.



HAPPY FRIDAY!

Okay, now that we've reminded you that it's the end of the week, GOOD NEWS. Other than, of course, the Habs are on a four game winning streak. The MRI results are in, and Max Pacioretty has been diagnosed with a strained hamstring, which for you non-medical types out there means ... well ... here's Harvey Keitel to deliver you the prognosis:

Max is expected to return to action around mid-November.

More later.