Game Twenty-Eight: Habs vs. Devils

First Period:

- Oh yes, Chris Lee will ref tonight's game. Oh, joy. First Habs game Lee's worked this season. I assume he's been saving up his usual menu of terrible calls for this game.

- Let's hope the last 57 minutes aren't as dreadful as the first 3 have been. Zzzzz ...

- Devils' offense so far really working hard to feed the point for long shots at Price, looking for redeflects and rebounds, I'd reckon.

- May fall asleep soon if something resembling exciting doesn't happen soon. Both team defenses are dominating so far.

- Thank goodness. Colby Armstrong finally gets his name on the goal scorers column. Habs score that critical first goal. Congrats to Colby. It's already a big night.

- Pretty goal actually by Armstrong. Great forecheck created a giveaway followed by a great wrister up under the bar. Hedberg didn't have much of a chance.

- Even though I think the Habs would have little difficulty, please, oh please, I hope these two teams don't meet in the post-season. I don't think I could handle two weeks of this.

- Hedberg dropped his stick and while trying to pick it up off the ice, Gorges took a shot from the point, the puck grazing the post. Devils very fortunate there.

- Habs strong in the circle so far, leading 14-7.

- 15-7 now. That observance underscoring the Devils' biggest roster weakness, a lack of depth at centre.

- Pacioretty looking dangerous tonight. Watch for that.

- Good puck movement by Habs on their first powerplay.

- PP doing its best to set Subban up for the cannon, but he's done a mini-wiff on his two tries.

- Good road period for the Habs, basically controlled much of the tempo, Devils with 7 shots on Price, none of them particularly dangerous.

Second Period:

- Chris Lee show begins, terrible call on White for holding the stick.

- It only figures that the Devils strike on the powerplay. Eller flagrantly tripped right in front of the official trying to shoot the puck out of Habs zone. No call made. Three seconds later, goal. Bad officiating more often than not has a direct impact on the final score.

- Just wow. With the puck at his feet, Moen called by Lee for smothering the puck. And on it goes.

- Subban out for every second of Habs 3rd powerplay.

- Plekanec furious, believe he was hit in the face by a high stick. If so, it was, of course, missed.

- Following that penalty, it now appears that White has more or less been relegated to bench duty.

- Good push-back period for New Jersey, the Habs once again have a 2nd period mini let-down. I'm at a loss to explain this phenomenon and why it's happen so frequently this season, but it's robbing the Habs of "cruise" games against clearly inferior opponents. Tonight is a classic example.

Third Period:

- Devils' Harrold, with visor, takes a puck off the nose courtesy a Markov shot deflected by Pacioretty. Ouch.

- Devils have picked up right where the 2nd period stopped, and that's bad news for the Habs.

- Got the feeling Price will have to deliver a few game savers before this one is done. He struggled with that his past half dozen starts.

- Yowza! Wretched clearance by Devils Zidlicky up the middle, Tinordi intercepts and wastes no time firing at Hedberg, Plekanec the deflection to give outplayed Habs 2-1 lead. Tinordi, who's been very solid tonight, might have just earned himself a few more starts.

- Feeding off that goal, Habs turning on the jets, Devils pinned in their zone.

- Therrien recognizing and rewarding. Tinordi now getting more shifts.

- Subban at 20 feet, 100 mph. Not sure if Hedberg is brave or insane for coming out hard to block that shot.

- Devils just don't have the horses on forward. How they're in 6th at this point is fascinating.

- Kinda hoping for one more. Just to make sure about this thing.

- Habs D holding steady here. Devils' chances have been mostly limited and contained.

- Icing waved off for some reason, Devils nearly score, Price with a nice save. 1:24 left. Critical faceoff here deep in Habs zone.

- Price with those big game saves the final minute. And so we return to normality.

- Excellent road win for the Habs, their 5th in a row, and they vault back into first in the East. Habs defense particularly good, providing Price with clear vision for most of the New Jersey attempts, making most of them harmless. Canadiens get two days of rest before facing cellar-dweller Sabres.

Pregame Preview

Oh dear, we're no longer in first.

The Habs aren't getting a whole lot of help in their attempts to create some distance in the race for first place. The Bruins won again today, 4-1 over the hapless Caps. The Sens won today, 4-3 in OT over the even more hapless Sabres. The Pens won today, their (gulp!) eight straight, 3-0 over the pathetically hapless Rangers. Remember how just about everyone had New York as their pre-season Stanley Cup winner? Pretty sure almost nobody who picked the Rangers then is still riding that train now.

Then again, who picked the Habs for first? Don't bother googling. Nobody did. Not even yours truly. We (well, mostly I) got burned big-time last year by thinking the Habs were going to be very competitive. Well that's all in the past. We live for the present, and right now, the only thing we have be concerned about is our playoff spot.

Oh yeah. And injuries.

We've got another one, sad to say. Mike Ryder is out tonight with a lower body injury. I guess that confirms speculation during the Sens game that something was wrong. Hopefully, he won't be out long, because for the most part, Ryder has been a terrific acquisition.

The usual injury suspects include Bourque (out who knows when), and Diaz. Bourque, in case you missed it, has been practicing with the team, but there's no timetable for return.

SO ... tonight! Habs are taking on the Devils, sans Martin Brodeur (whew), who's reportedly close to return from his back injury, but not close enough to start tonight. Johan Hedberg will probably get the start, although I wouldn't be shocked in the Devils go with their backup backup Jeff Frazee.

Habs are hot, hot, hot - not Pittsburgh hot mind you, but still, they're gunning for their 5th straight win. Devils, after their fast start to the season, have come back to the pack a bit, sitting 6th in the East with 32 points. That's not too shabby given the general consensuses among the experts was that the Devils would be sitting somewhere near the bottom, mainly because their offense was deemed far too thin to compete.

Some considerations. Habs powerplay is ranked 8th in the League with 9th ranked offense overall, Devils 19th on the man advantage, 14th ranked offense overall. Penalty kill is mediocre both sides, Montreal 17th, New Jersey 19th overall. One stat to keep an eye out for, first goal winning percentages. When Habs score first, their winning percentage is ranked 12th, while Jersey is ranked 6th. When opponent scores first, Habs winning percentage is ranked 4th (nice!), but Jersey is ranked wayyy down in 23rd place. So New Jersey does not play well when trailing. In other words, in case I haven't over explained this enough, the first goal between these two teams looks pretty important.

Carey Price will start for the Habs tonight. Of course.

Puck drops 7:10 EST. For FIRST PLACE AGAIN!

Game Twenty-Six: Habs vs. Panthers

Third Period

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About last night ...

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

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

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

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

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

Other Stuff From Last Night ...

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

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

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

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

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

Game Twenty-Five: Habs vs. Bolts

No pregame preview tonight, just to mention Ryan White out, Dumont in, and Tampa starting a relative unknown with Cedrick Dejardins. Should be interesting.

First Period

- Figures that Ryder would hit a goal scoring drought the moment he's traded to us, but he's doing his level best out there, creating turnovers and two quality chances. Tampa sloppy in their own zone early.

- Ryder with fine puck control, taking shot, he's following the Pacioretty formula - just get something in, and the gates should open. Dejardins has been pretty steady so far.

- Tampa leads 6-5 shots first half of 1st, but Habs have defined edge in puck control.

- All Habs here, Ryder buzzing, great puck control, but no shots on Dejardins.

- Habs really controlled the flow, had most of the puck, a few solid chances, but nothing sparkling. Tampa outshooting 10-7, but Price was only really tested once.

Second Period

- Habs have been a most excellent first period team this season, the 2nd period not so much so.

- Tampa is terrible with puck control in their zone. Like playing with fire, disaster usually catches up with you. Habs need to capitalize quickly.

- Stamkos relatively quiet night - so far. But that's the way he likes it, he's so stealth and then suddenly he'll strike.

- Oh man, there we go. St. Louis feeding stealth Stamkos with a pretty pass to the slot and quick shot over Price's shoulder. Plekanec lost his check (Stamkos), everyone else nearly as flat-footed. 1-0 Tampa.

- Markov with beauty feed to unmarked Plekanec in the slot, quick release bests Dejardins. Ryder with the original turnover, Tampa's zone sloppiness catches up to them. Game tied.

- Well that didn't last long. Tampa wins draw deep, and fortuitous pass redeflect springs Salo with a free path to Price, hard shot nearly unstoppable. Tampa back in front.

- Ryder has been a monster tonight forechecking deep in the Bolts' zone, causing many defensive giveaways. If he can keep that going, I don't care how many goals he scores (or doesn't).

- Habs need to win more of these defensive zone faceoffs, and quickly. They're getting slaughtered in the circle.

- There we go. Ugh. Another faceoff loss, and shot from the line redeflected twice past Price. Unstoppable. Tampa taking control, 3-1.

- Eller doesn't know you can't pass the puck back with your glove on the faceoff? He's gotta know that. Dumb, dumb penalty.

- If Tampa scores on this man advantage, might as well say goodnight and go to bed.

- PK doing a great job on the PK. Problem is, it's our powerplay.

- Well that wasn't good. Another 2nd period mini-meltdown by the Habs. At a loss to explain these mid-game meltdowns. Tampa did a nice job on their PK nullifying Habs opportunities, and converted on their opportunities. Habs have been the better forechecking team, but it hasn't resulted in offense. Dejardins fairly solid. Frustrating to watch.

Third Period

- Jesus, Markov and Subban on the point. Back and forth, back and forth. Net result: nothing. Not even a shot. STOP IT NOW, or separate them entirely.

- Woah. How was that puck not covered and called? Off harmless shot and resulting scramble, Gionta puts it in, and Habs powerplay trim the lead to one. Bizarre goal.

- Watched the replay. That puck wasn't covered, Dejardins a significant goaltending error.

- This 3rd has been all Habs. They're going all out, Tampa no response.

- Lecavalier has been very nicely nullified for much of the game, which of course frightens me to death. He's overdue.

- Nice! Gionta with the forecheck, more sloppy Tampa puck control in their own zone, and Emelin with a not-so-hot slapper that beats Dejardins. That one certainly should have been stopped. Tie game!

- Tampa has zero going right now. They're being outskated all over the ice. Habs looking for the lead.

- Prust. Ouch. Went in awkwardly into the boards on an icing chase. Looks bad.

- Left shoulder clearly injured. I hope it's not a separation because then you're looking at 4-6 automatically. Prust simply isn't a guy who's replaceable.

- Oh wow. Gallagher. He simply willed that goal in through sheer determination. Fantastic. Just fantastic. They're reviewing this but I think it's good.

- Yup. It's good. Habs lead! Wowza.

- Tampa's offense has generated zero chances in the 3rd. Absolutely nothing. It's been totally dominated at both ends by the Canadiens. The Bolts just got run over by a monster truck.

- Habs defense nicely containing Tampa, preventing the Bolts from structuring a quality shot on Price. They still haven't generated a chance, with only 5 minutes left.

- Shots are 11-0 in the period. Ouch.

- Gallagher, he's money. Nothing stops this guy from anything. He just barrels through anything that stands in his way.

- Devastating loss for the Lightening. It's the kind of loss that spurns the scribes to question the authority, if not the job security of the coaching staff. Boucher might wants to look behind because the knives might be coming out soon.

- Guys, empty net. Hit it already.

- Astonishing. Tampa didn't get one single chance in the entire 3rd period. Not one. Habs win with a perfectly played final 20 minutes.

- Great feisty come from behind win for the Habs. The difference between this year's team and last year's team is ridiculous. Now the big question is, how hurt is Prust? Habs will almost definitely struggle to replace someone as irreplaceable as Prust. Hopefully we'll know more by tomorrow, hopefully it's not bad news.

Habs will go for the Florida season sweep tomorrow in Miami. This southern swing has been death for the Habs organization in recent years, but this year it's been a feast.

Game Twenty-Four: Habs vs. 'Canes

First Period:

- Habs early powerplay, looked reasonably efficient.

- Nice setup to Emelin, routine wrister and Peters gives up the big rebound, Gallagher slips it through. 1-0.

- Really? Absurd tripping call on Pacioretty off the faceoff. Unacceptable officiating.

- Shoddy zone coverage by Canes defense, Gorges sneaks in from nowhere and wide open, gives Habs quick 2-0 lead. Prust with the pass right on the tape.

- Canes look terrible their side of the ice. No organization, Habs aggressive forecheck giving Carolina more than it can handle.

- Price looking more like his Price self. So far.

- And a sparkling point blank glove save by Carey. Yup. He's on.

- Weber called for interference? Sheesh. Skinner turned into him WITH the puck and Weber with a perfectly good body. Canes overreacted and Staal cancels the original Weber penalty, which shouldn't have been called in the first place. It's gonna be one of those nights, officiating-wise.

Gameday Game Preview

Okay, let's get to the point(s) on this.

- Last time we played, we won 3-0. But it was Budaj in net.
- Last time we played, Carolina was riding a 3 game winning streak. Tonight they're riding a 4 game streak.
- Injuries. For Habs, usual suspects: Bourque, Diaz. For the Canes it's Ruttu, Pitkanen, Brent and Larose. Cam Ward, their number one guy, is probably done for the season.
- Top guns: Pacioretty for Habs leads with 20 points, Eric Staal, no surprise, is a League leader with 28 points. If he scores, as he's quite capable of doing, Carolina usually wins.
Keys: Aggressive Habs forecheck, the Canes like to control the puck. Get the puck away from them, you take away their major strategy, create frustration, make it difficult for them to score. Also, Tomas Plekanec will probably get the Staal checking assignment tonight, which means his focus is as much keeping Staal off the scoresheet then him actually creating offense (more so).
- Carey Price needs to start playing better. Not that he's been awful, but he hasn't been making the big saves lately. Tonight would be a good place for him to find his ground again.

This Just Breaking ...

- Weber in, Kaberle out.

- Price starting.

More Habs goo laters. We hope.

Game Eighteen: Rangers vs. Habs

First Period:

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

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

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

- Ryan White, soft hands you have not.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Second Period:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Third Period:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game Preview:

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

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

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

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

Puck drops at 7:15 EST!

Game Sixteen: Habs vs. Rangers

First Period:

- Habs keeping it very basic early on - being very cautious mindful of the Rangers' offensive advantages. Clearing zone as quickly as possible, not being afraid to ice the puck if nobody is open.

- Really solid shift for Desharnais line, aggressive forechecking creating turnovers in Rangers zone. NY on their heels there.

- Halfway through the 1st, one shot registered by the Rangers. Zip for Habs. Ouch.

- Rangers have nearly twice as many wins as they do powerplay goals. That ain't good.

- If Price sees it, it's going to be stopped. Also, zero rebounds surrendered.

- Habs are seriously in danger of not getting a shot in this period.

- There it is. Habs register their first shot of the game with less than 4 minutes left in the 1st.

- Rangers zone defense is ridiculously disciplined. They suffocate the opposition from setting up for any quality chances. Simply no where to go, no where to pass.

- Habs 4th line has been the most dangerous tonight, grinding out chances. Really, that's the only way the Habs will score tonight - dirty, hard-fought goals.

- 8 total shots in the period, 5 of them by New York. This game isn't much fun to watch, unless you enjoy defensive clinics.

Second Period:

- Big pressure by Desharnais line, Lundqvist quality saves, no juicy rebounds.

- Elite goaltender vs. elite goaltender. Who'll blink first?

- Definitely more free-reeling period compared to the first. Surely a goal is coming soon ...

- Habs can crash Lundvqist all night long, but Rangers blue liners aren't surrendering the slot for any shots or passes. It's an impenetrable shield surrounding that New York net.

- Credit other direction, has anyone yet noted Habs have only surrendered one goal the past 11 periods?

- Nevermind that last point. Subban delayed penalty call, everyone just seemed to disengage and coast, leaving Stralman alone for a routine tip-in past Price. Bad, bad goal. Rangers lead 1-0.

- 8 shots in just under 40 minutes isn't gonna do the job.

- Nevermind that last point as well. Pacioretty one timer from Gorges, Lundqvist knocking himself for letting that past. Tie game. Rangers defense rare surrender of the slot gives Patches the room he needed to pull the trigger.

- Once again Habs find themselves even on the scoreboard after two periods. The team has thrived this season under such a scenario - can they pull out yet another late game win?

Third Period:

- Terrific defensive block by Eller, and the Rangers, so stellar throughout the night, leave Lundqvist out to dry on the ensuing Habs rush. Galchenyuk scores to give the Habs the lead. This hard working line, Eller/Galchenyuk/Prust richly rewarded.

- Therrien throws Eller line right back out there, and Prust nearly makes it a two goal lead.

- Sloppy point giveaway but excellent recovery by Emelin, who's been a rock on the Habs blue line tonight.

- Aside from that atrocious first goal, Habs forwards hustling back hard on every New York rush.

- Markov can't handle the contact behind his net, coughs up the puck and the Rangers nearly score about a half second later. It happens that fast in the NHL.

- Habs three icings in less than 30 seconds. Eller line is exhausted.

- Officials confer and realize icing was incorrectly called. TV timeout arrives. Habs forwards can catch their breath.

- Subban falls behind his net, surrenders the puck, Rangers very nearly score two seconds later. Think Plekanec played some goal there to keep Habs in the lead.

- Habs finally get a powerplay, courtesy a disastrous line change by New York.

- Eller line has been fantastic in the 3rd period. Rangers are fit to be tied.

- Price robs Boyle on shorthanded 2-on-1 Rangers break.

- Habs PP really needs to be a point of concern. A mere shadow of their early season self.

- Playing with fire here, slot coverage wayyyy to soft.

- Bad news, Habs penalized with 3 minutes left. Worse news, it's Plekanec.

- Watched the replay, that was a pretty soft interference call.

- Habs holding on for dear life here.

- Hoping Eller scores on the empty Rangers net - he deserves it.

- It wasn't Eller, but it is Diaz into the net, and the Canadiens win a huge game. I think this one cements what we've been suspecting for weeks - this Habs team is for real.

The Drive for 5 is ALIVE

Wow. Here we are. Gunning for a fifth straight win. When did that last happen for we Habs fans? Who knows - do I look like a statistician?

Tonight, we're in tough. The Rangers, who weren't exactly setting the world on fire the first two weeks of the season, but have since began to settle down a bit, winning 4 of their past five, most recently against the Caps (no big deal) on Sunday night, and also be the Bruins last week, which ain't too shabby.

Rangers also have not lost a single time to anyone playing outside of their Division this season.

So something's gotta give tonight.

Habs will obviously have to keep their eye on the usual Rangers suspects, Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik ... this team does not lack offensive depth. A big break for the Habs came late today when the Ranger announced that Rick Nash will not be in the lineup. Meanwhile Marc Staal is making solid contributions from the blue line, Ryan Mcdonagh remains an agonizing memory amongst Habs fans, but let's not pick that still smarting, still raw wound.

Weaknesses for New York? Their powerplay is kind of a mess, go figure. Clocking in at just over a pathetic 11%, the unit is ranked last in the League. Their PK is significantly better, just a tad over 84%, good for 8th in the League.

Montreal's powerplay, even with the recent winning streak, has also looked pretty shabby of late. So throw that all together, and if one of these two teams can start producing tonight with the man advantage, it would probably go a long way towards earning a victory.

Carey Price, he who was having fluids fed into his body via a tube less than 48 hours ago, will start. Great thanks to Peter Budaj who admirably stepped into the line of fire, and reeled off two sweet wins. Have a seat Peter. We'll talk to you again some time in March.

What else. Same lineup tonight as last night, which means Ryan White is in. That's fine. He played a pretty solid game against the Hurricanes, so more redemptive icetime is clearly in order.

Puck drops at 7:10 EST! Enjoy the game!

PETER BUDAJ FOR VEZNIA.

Sorry Cam, not this year.

Game preview later today! First place, baby!

Game Fourteen: Flyers vs. Habs

ALEX GALCHENYUK WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL OF OUR LIVES?

HAPPY FRIDAY!! It's a great day to be a Habs fan, ain't it? Going two-fer in Florida, a swing that has for years plagued the Habs losses and broken dreams of playoff hopes. Well no more, 'cause thanks to Carey Prince and Alex freakin' Galchenyuk, who simply willed that puck on Jose Theodore, the Candiens are off to their best season start in a longggggggg time.

So here we sit, some 27% through the season, a single point out of first place, nobody injured (knock on wood), four well balanced lines, a more-or-less balanced defense (we're still waiting for the Subban/Gorges reunion - coach Therrien are you listening?), and Carey Price playing out of his mind.

So life is good in HabsLand. AND IT'S FRIDAY. 

Meh. Let's ruin the day. Here's a clown from Western Siberia Winnipeg who's taken a five length lead for Father of the Year award, assuming the greatest fathers are drooling knuckle-headed psychopaths.

The talk is they're gonna keep this moron away from the hockey rink for the rest of the year. That's a joke. How about the rest of his life?

Oh well, at least this guy wasn't talking about how raping someone just ain't as easy now as it used to be. What to go Philadelphia. You keep up that class act, mkay?

Habs and Flyers game preview tomorrow. Ya'll behave tonight, mkay?

SATURDAY GAME DAY PREVIEW GOODNESS:

Am I the only one who no longer dreads Philadelphia? Am I alone about this? Because tonight, I'm really looking forward the Habs taking on the Flyers with first place on the line. Yup, that's right. Hard to believe. Whowouldathunk that the this far into the season, Les Boys would be competing for top spot? But then again, there's lots of crazy stuff happening - the New Jersey Devils? Weren't they supposed to finish somewhere near last place? What is up with that? Yeah, yeah .. Brodeur.

Speaking of New Jersey, the road-weary Flyers are coming off a smarting defeat last night, blowing an early lead, and then flip flopping their way to yet another road loss. That's the thing about Philadelphia this year. They can't win on the road. Just two times in nine games. Not good.

I suppose in the Flyers own defense, they have been hit hard by injuries. Scott Hartnell is out indefinitely. Andrej Meszaros is out indefinitely. And now it appears that Kimmo Timonon might not be able to play tonight. That's a lot of important hurt on the Philadelphia blue line, while even healthy wasn't all that great to start with.

So there we have it. The injury-riddled, probably exhausted Philadelphia Flyers. My boots? Not shaking.

But fear not Flyers fans, THERE IS HOPE. Carey Price has been downed with the flu bug, and so Peter Budaj, whose play this season is making a few Habs faithful a little uncomfortable that we might not have capable backup, will get his chance for redemption after a pretty iffy start last week against the Sabres.

That said, the Flyers goaltending situation by contrast would accurately be described as a mess. Ilya Bryzgalov, he who posted a sparkling .666 SP last night against the Devils, has reportedly been benched. Problem is, the Flyers backup Michael Leighton is hurt. So Philadelphia is reaching way down deep in their system and have pulled up Brian Boucher, who hasn't played in a year. Assuming you get the start, good luck, Brian. You'll need it.

Something else to keep an eye out for tonight - Max Pacioretty, whose lack of goal production has now reached "concerning" status, will be grouped tonight with David Desharnais and Brendan Gallagher. It's a shame to break up the steadily producing kid line, but Therrien seems to believe that Gallagher will do the messy work gaining and feeding the puck in hopes that Pacioretty will finally bury something to remove said monkey from back.

Puck drops at 7:15 or so EST. One more time - FOR FIRST PLACE. Enjoy!


First Period:

- Budaj looked like a nervous wreck during the anthem.

- The embellishment call on Prust was absurd. Officials simply keep miscalling these penalties.

- Habs are playing against a goaltender who's barely played the past three seasons. Just pelt the net guys, nothing fancy required.

- Well it's the plan in reverse, but Pacioretty with a nice feed to Gallagher who snaps a stoppable shot past Boucher. 1-zip.

- Bourque's work ethic continues to go beyond the pale, determined chase and check draws a hooking penalty. Habs head to PP.

- Boucher surrendering some juicy rebounds here.

- Subban/Markov on for the entire 2:00 PP. Unusual strategy, not entirely advisable.

- Budaj with a nice glove snag. It's been pretty quiet on his side of the ice so far.

- Cole wastes a stunningly beautiful feed by Galchenyuk.

- This Desharnais/Gallagher/Pacioretty line is giving the Flyers fits.

- Habs PP lacking any coherence.

- Domination. Flyers looked very tired. 2 shots for the whole period. If that trend were to continue, Budaj could sleepwalk to a shutout.


Second Period:

- Safe to say now Therrien is pleased with the line adjustments.

- In the span of about 14 seconds, Flyers doubled their shot total.

- Holy moly, the Desharnais line is an unstoppable force. Gallagher denied his 2nd goal of the night by Boucher's best save of the night.

- Game really settling in right now. Big offensive chances are an exception.

- That was quite an adventurous shift for Subban.

- Habs D goes soft on Philly rush, and Budaj totally overplayed that slot shot by Briere. Flyers suddenly back in the game. 2-1.

- Two delay of game penalties via clumsy clearances have Habs in trouble.

- Not to be outdone, Flyers send 6 on the ice, and are promptly called for it.

- Flyers got their act in gear the last 8 minutes of the 2nd, but it's still a Habs-controlled game right now. Flyers mostly a step behind, aided however, by a relatively sound start by Boucher. Montreal's game to lose.


Third Period:

- Habs successful year coming even though the team has struggled in the faceoff circle. 25-16 through 2 periods tonight, though.

- What a difference a year makes. 12 months ago I'd be a nervous wreck watching this team carry a one goal lead in the third. Right now I'm feeling calmly confident.

- Plekanec with a goal scorers goal there, aided by a flopping Boucher and a slag-footed Flyers defense. 7th for Pleks.

- Hard to believe the Habs are 13 minutes away from going to 9-4-1 while being ranked 30th in the League for 3rd period offense, but here we are. Guess that underscores the importance of a fast start to each winning game.

- Habs completely outworking Flyers right now. Winning virtually every chase.

- Gallagher got his bell rung early in the 3rd. Habs now reporting he won't be coming back tonight.

- And just for fun Pacioretty has gone to the room for treatment. That ain't good.

- Now seemingly used for defensive purposes, Eller now getting extra shifts.

- Oh wow. Great reach back save by Budaj. One of the best this year. Looking like a first stringer past couple of minutes.

- That desperation save pretty much drained what remaining life was left in the Flyers engine.

- Horrible spear/slash by Giroux on Emelin goes uncalled. Emelin getting treatment. Rough game for some key Habs starters.

- Ouch. Now Armstrong takes a puck to the face via Diaz' clearance attempt. Habs need to get out of here quick.

- Rare goal call with the puck not going in the net. Can't remember last time I saw that. Another one for Bourque.

- Routine win for the Habs. They leapfrog ahead of Boston into first place. Two tough tests coming up against the 'Canes and Rangers.

Game Eleven: Leafs vs. Habs

Alright, so it's been a couple of days since Ryan White got a cramp in the cranial, and for the 2nd major time this year, took a double-minor penalty that contributed towards losing a game. Not surprisingly, there were plenty of calls for White's butt to be shipped off to Siberia or Winnipeg (I suppose there's little difference), because, as coach Therrien and everyone else who makes decisions in the Habs organization had readily proclaimed, there are "NO EXCUSES" if you play for the Montreal Canadiens.

So GOODBYE RYAN WHITE AND GOOD RIDDANCE.

Of course, unloading White as just desserts (I assume) serves the purposes of sending a clear message that the Habs mean business now when it comes to winning, and there are few, if any, margins for error  or forgiveness.

Problem is, punishing White beyond the expected forthcoming scratches would be a terribly counterproductive move by the Canadiens, because White has significant value, and plays an important specific role on his team. He's the classic 4th line grinder, willing to stick his nose in places most players aren't willing to go. He's prepared to dish out hits and (we hope appropriately) drop the gloves to defend his mates. He's even got some offensive ability to boot - he is capable of leading a line searching for grubby goals to propel his team over the top in those hard-fought, competitive contests.

So it makes little sense for Therrien to admonish White to permanent obscurity for these errors in judgement. Yes, they were significant errors, but they are correctable.

I'm pretty certain at this point, White knows he's got a problem, he's identified it, and he'll work on making sure it doesn't happen any more, when he's given the chance to prove himself.

And I'm very sure Therrien will give him another chance. Not tonight, probably not this week, but eventually.

TONIGHT: We gots yer Leafs and we gots yer Habs for the 700th and 65st time or whatever it is, in history. The Habs will try to put an end to this mini winless streak against a Leafs team that we're still trying to figure out. Are they good? Are they bad? Are they great? Are they horrible?

The Leafs, with their mediocre .500-esque record, haven't been helped much by the guys who are supposed to produce, namely Phil Kessel, who finally scored his first goal of the year in the last game, but is nonetheless the centre of much trade speculation. Meanwhile the Leafs defense hasn't exactly been turning heads, Dion Phaneuf has looked pretty awful on a few occasions this season. So opportunity's aplenty for the speedy Habs forwards to take full advantage on the supposed 1st line Toronto defense. Look for many drives to the Leafs net tonight.

Oh yeah. Toronto's PK? Still terrible. How many years in a row will this continue? Looking forward to the Markov/Subban duo setting off cannons from the line on the PP. Gonna be fun.

Habs, even with the mini winless streak, still looked pretty solid in defeats. P.K. Subban seems to be settling in - he hasn't played a game yet without scoring at least one point. The Desharnais line continues to be plagued with inconsistency, but you just know that once Max Pacioretty starts to get his wheels back that they'll start to produce - even considering Erik Cole's usual slow season starts.

Carey Price, he amongst the Habs netminders who is capable of covering up a loose puck, will start. James Reimer, who I guess is now for sure the Leafs #1 guy for the rest of the year(?) ... will start for Toronto.

Travis Moen will also return from his mini-injury. And yeah, Ryan White will sit.


First Period:

- Markov gets caught, can't get back, Emelin fails to cover the crease, and Leafs Kamarov scores on the Leafs' first shot of the game. Yuck.

- Eller with a ridiculously sloppy and lazy giveaway in his zone nearly costs the Habs another goal.

- Leafs gameplan pretty transparent. Forecheck like crazy. Habs should adjust accordingly, and benefit by generating odd man rushes.

- Habs 4th line with some good work keeping puck in Leafs zone. Trying to generate some much needed momentum.

- Price looks hmmm ... shaky?

- Habs are letting Leafs walk all over them in the slot, and Toronto is killing them. 2-0 and counting.

- You'd never know the Habs were a "rested" team by what we've seen the first 10 minutes. Slow and sloppy.

- Quite possibly the worst played period of the season to date right here. Boos peppering down from the seats.

- Habs haven't registered one good chance on Reimer so far. First nearly over.

- Can we just play the Galchenyuk line for the rest of the night?

- Outhustled, outhit, outchanced, outshot, outplayed. Fully deserving to be down by two after one.


Second Period:

- Habs come out strong. Clearly a message was delivered in the dressing room.

- Subban attempting to carry the puck deep, which is fine - but he tends to stick handle himself into a position where he's forced to make a pass, often blind pass.

- Not a great night for Emelin, Gallagher misses his check, and it's 3-zip. Leafs are simply cashing their opportunities.

- Need big momentum changing event here, like a short-handed goal.

- Canadiens' passing simply not clicking. Can someone explain playing the Leafs on a Saturday night this season? #maddening

- Leafs passing like a top-flight NHL team tonight. Why us?

- Cole taken off first line, Gallagher has his spot now.

- Wow. Crazy call on Gallagher. Grabbed and tossed to the ice, he's called for a dive. Wrong call.

- Why is Tim Peel an NHL referee? Too many bad calls being made by this singular official.

- 5 on 3 opportunity coming up. Chance to get back into this. Markov and Subban warming up at the line. Let's do this.

- Bourque turns the puck over with the two man advantage. Goodbye two man advantage.

- Faceoffs are 30 Leafs, 15 Montreal. Need we say more?

- Habs are only going to beat Reimer with garbage tonight. Nothing getting past.

- 16-5 SOG Habs 2nd period. Ain't happening.

- 4 minutes left, Habs simply must score before period ends to have any hope.

- Bourque gets mugged, gets called for the penalty. More officiating wow. Leafs, of course, score on the PP. That's all she wrote.

- Seen way too many poor penalties being called this year - far more than I can ever recall. There must be some explanation.

- Habs register 20 shots in the 2nd, Leafs register 7. Leafs score 2, Habs score zip. Yeah, me either.


Third Period:

- Subban in lala land, Price simply hasn't been himself, 5-0, Habs determined to be humiliated tonight. They already have been. What's the excuse going to be for this sorry demonstration?

- Price's elite GAA and SP League standing going to take a huge tumble tonight. Hasn't been the same since Eller hit him you-know-where in warmups.

- Pacioretty livid, claiming Grabovski bit his hand in a scrum. Refs, at least these two, of course, missed it. League may review this, however.

- Signing off for the night, the reverberations from tonight's shellacking are going to be interesting. Ryan White might be back a lot sooner than we thought.

Game Eight: Sens vs. Habs

Max Pacioretty, who a week ago had a piece of his internal body ripped out by surgeons, and was placed on the injury list with an expected return of 4 weeks, could be in the lineup today.

Yeah, seriously, I know. From nearly having his head torn off his shoulders to this, the guy is an amazing gamer.

More in a bit with a little game preview.

GAME DAY UPDATE: Well, what is there to say, really? Ottawa trounced the Habs on Wednesday night, although that loss came at the end of back-to-back games (excuse) on Ottawa ice (another excuse) with some key players like Price and Pacioretty not on the ice (final excuse). And of course there's Craig Anderson, who hasn't - and this is true, allowed a single goal this season except for the first period.

So what does this tell us? Score early, and hold on for dear life.

If we lose again today, we won't have nearly as many excuses. Like Wednesday, we're playing two game in 24 hours, but unlike Wednesday, we'll be at home with Carey Price between the pipes, and quite possibly/probably, the iron man himself Max Pacioretty back in the lineup.

Who's hot for the Habs? Who isn't? Who's cold? Well Kaberle looked pretty clunky last night in what was otherwise a breeze victory for the Canadiens, so with Pacioretty returning, Therrien may shift back to 6 defensemen, which would likely make Kaberle the odd man out. The coach could opt to sit Raphael Diaz, who struggled with puck control on the Habs powerplay yesterday, and was the only guy with a negative +/- (hard thing to do when you've won 6-1).

That said, if Pacioretty does return, it'll probably be Kaberle.

Will Ryan White get a chance to redeem himself? That'll be an interesting story to keep an eye on. Also, will Therrien continue to reward Lars Eller with more icetime, with Eller coming off what was easily his best game of the season last night against Buffalo?

And will anyone freakin' score on Craig Anderson after the 20 minute mark? I mean, just once?

Let's watch.


First Period:

- Plekanec brushes Anderson, gets goalie interference call. I guess the refs have been getting some communication from the League head office. Silferberg cashes in on the man advantage, and the early year. Blah start.

- Habs really getting rewarded for their new attitude of driving the net. Desharnais ... he was slumping? Already forgotten. Nice deflection from the shot, Patches picks up the assist, which is mighty cool. Game tied.

- Anderson is being defined as a slow starter, but really no way he could have blocked the Desharnais deflection.

- Subban with an ill-advised attempt to deliver a huge body check creates a 2 on 1 break for Ottawa, but Boullion with a nice poke intercepts the pass saves the day. Plays like that are what's going to get Subban into the doghouse. He needs to be smarter about when to go for the big hits.

- Amazing patience and puck control by Habs powerplay, Cole with a great backhand to give Canadiens a 2-1 lead. Habs miles and miles ahead of last year's unit.

- Watching replay of Cole goal, Anderson was wayyy out of position, which bodes well, maybe?

- Diaz stock continuing to drop.

- The reborn Bourque. Fearless in the crease.

- Gallagher and Galchenyuk are a defenseman's nightmare. Handling one bearing down on your goaltender is tough enough, but handling both at the same time?

- Karlsson forechecking Habs defense? Creates 2 on 1 for Canadiens. Surely the Ottawa staff can't let that one slide, can they?

- Canadiens continue to drive the net, continue to create chances, continue to score, and who knows? May even continue to win.


Second Period:

- That boarding call on Gorges ... I'm speechless. Might be the worst penalty call I've ever seen. At the very least it's up there.

- I think officials realized they totally muffed up the Gorges call, and quickly call an even-up against Ottawa. Just guessing.

- Regin with an absolutely brutal board on Desharnais right in front of the official. No call. Inexcusable game management by the officials.

- Why do Habs forwards struggle so much hitting the net with their shot on breakaways?

- Anderson still hasn't allowed a goal this season past the first period. Habs will need to break that astonishing streak if they hope to collect two points.

- Carey Price don't need no stinkin' stick to play this game.

- While Habs have done great job driving the crease, Anderson still getting too many good looks at the shots. Going to need more distractions to push one through.

- Habs forwards perhaps being a little too precise in their attempts to score. Just get one, even if it's ugly.

- Eller gets two for giving a hug? Oy.

- Eller thinks he could beat Anderson with that shot?

- Embellishment? Just brutal officiating today. Just brutal.

- And Turris goes for phantom hook.

- Subban four sparkling chances in the span of 20 seconds. Comes up empty.

- Unreasonable to expect Price to carry this team to a one goal win. Habs will somehow have to solve Anderson at least once in the 3rd period.


Third Period:

- See, that's how you score. Ugly. Create a screen. Sens tie it.

- Woah. Silvferberg for goaltender interference? No way that should have been called. Habs gifted a goal. Wretched officiating continues.

- Ugly guys. Just go ugly. Pad this lead.

- Gary Galley, CBC colour commentator: "I don't know much about Francis Bouillon". This is Bouillon's 13th NHL season. I guess it's because Frankie hasn't played for the Leafs.

- Sens buzzing. No way this 2-1 lead holds.

- Subban is reputedly injured. Not sure how or why. In dressing room.

- Turris set up brilliantly in the slot, misses net. Should have converted. Nonetheless this is why the Sens will score - eventually. The chances they're creating in the period are just too good.

- Bourque did all the right things driving the net, but Anderson was there. Can somebody please just beat this guy once after the first period?

- Subban on the ice. Looks fine. Equipment problem?

- Apparently Subban had a broken skate, which isn't a quick fix. So that's a whew.

- Anderson finally beaten by a shot (Bourque), but not the goalpost. Ugh.

- Sens totally had too many men on the ice, refs didn't pick it up. Shocking.

- 6 minutes left. Will the lead hold? Hard to believe it was 1-1 two minutes into this game.

- Greg Kimmerly who had reffed 872 games, and Brian Pochmara who has reffed 329 NHL games are today's officials, in case you were curious.

- 3 minutes left, Sens will have to seriously gamble now.

- Prust line doing amazing clock killing work.

- Carey Price, just so solid. Habs defense on their heels, but Price doesn't buckle.

- Nail biting finish here.

- Alllllmost there ....

- Great win. Carey Price is the man. This team is so much unlike last year, it's ridiculous. The big bad Bruins next. Can't hardly wait.