Game 67: Habs vs. Canucks

Montreal 2, Vancouver 1 (OT):

FIRST PERIOD:

- Steve Ott gets a start tonight which is bad. Brian Flynn also gets a start, which is also bad. 

- Wowza, Torrey Mitchell scores a goal, his first in 39 games to give the Habs an early 1-0 win. Dwight King doing nice work along to boards to win the puck against two Canucks, eventually leading to the Mitchell tip in front. 

- Is it sad that Mitchell's raw output with that goal is now nearly as much as Plekanec's?

- One more year left on Plekanec's contract, which in case you'd forgotten, pays him $6 million a year, which if you think about it, is rather insane and must be somehow moved between now and the start of next season.

- Byron, who's been really picking up his game of late, makes a poor drop pass near Miller resulting in Canucks break other direction, manages to skate all the way back to easily break up the play. All that speed can make an average forward above average if it's utilized right.

- Julien has a good finger on the pulse of players who are performing well - Gallagher gets a nice little vote of confidence sent out on the 1st unit powerplay. It's little good coaching moves that add up to much larger benefits.

- Lottta Carey Price fans in the stands tonight, which of course makes total sense given where he grew up. Hasn't been particularly busy this period, but has made a couple of difficult saves to keep Vancouver off the board.

- Where has Mitchell been? He scores for the first time since the Reagan administration, and then doesn't play? I can't recall him being injured.

- Habs soundly outworking and out skating the Canucks this period, two penalties drawn so far a direct result of that. Habs powerplay o-fer, but pretty aggressive in the Vancouver zone. Canucks would be wise to avoid the penalty box moving forward.

- Good first period for the Canadiens, with exception to the 4th line which looked disorganized at best, a significant defensively liability at worst. 

SECOND PERIOD:

- Corsi aberration in that 1st, Canadiens CF at even strength just 32.0%, a result of the 4th line bumbling, but not factoring in the Habs powerplay time. So proceed with caution:

- Steve Ott gets 1st line PK duties, which is a rather interesting thing. I guess Julien wanted him out there to take the draw (which he won, fine). The only problem is, he's still out there for at least another 45 seconds.

- King isn't the smoothest or fanciest forward you'll see, but you can't doubt his ability to win puck battles. One significant factor in how his pairing with Galchenyuk has generated some impressive scoring chances.

- Andrew Shaw, maybe rounding into post-season form, as per has reputation? Hard to say where the turning point was - maybe the Julien appointment, but the past 10 days, he's been playing his best hockey as a Montreal Canadien.

- Brian Flynn out for the night after he took a hit his first shift of the night. So the mistake of even just starting tonight is compounded significantly. 

- Habs defence looks as well balanced as I've seen them all season. Markov with Weber of course, but Benn and Beaulieu have worked together well, and even though it's just their first game together, Petry and Brandon Davidson, who's making his Habs debut, have been rock solid in their zone.

- I wonder who Marc Bergevin could pillage off the Oilers blue line next season? Feels so good to be better at their expense.

- Ott playing with King and Byron. The (missing) Flynn effect. 

- I don't think I can survive a season of Steve Ott on my team. He's just so bad, it's not only unbearable to watch, it's also nerve wracking because you just know he's going to do something terrible.

- No goals in the period but the Habs dominated, limiting the Canucks scoring chances to almost zero, while playing measured and responsible with the puck. Habs are totally outskating Vancouver, who look rather dreadful - the combination of aging veterans with little left in their legs, with youth, many of whom look unqualified to play in this League, and really, this hasn't been much of a contest.

THIRD PERIOD:

- Lopsided 2nd period, the tilt heavily in Montreal's favour (65.5% CF):

- It's still way too early to call in the jury, but deadline trade reactions based on what we've seen so far: King/thumbs up, Davidson/thumbs up, Martinsen/push, Ott/thumbs down. Benn three thumbs up. Altogether, weighs out to net positive.

- Habs have been grinding this game out brilliantly, now is the time to go in for the knockout punch. A goal or two oughta do it.

- Canucks, who already are terrible at finishing scoring chances, just can't get anything dangerous on Price because the Habs defence has been so positionally excellent. Shots lanes have been confined, passing lanes for dangerous scoring chances largely contained. Really fun to watch.

- How could Claude Julien even think of playing Emelin after tonight's performance by his defence?

- Carey, Carey, Carey chants the Vancouver crowd. Habs with just a 1-0 lead, but I'm not even remotely worried that this game will slip away. First time I've experienced this feeling in a very long time.

- Habs forwards have come a long way in a relatively short period of time (since Julien took control) in positioning themselves in better places to receive the puck from the defence. It's made this team's transition game, which was a mess under Therrien, a much more effective tool, and it's helping the offence to generate speed for zone entries. It's a relatively simple adjustment that Therrien either couldn't or wouldn't grasp, but it's instantly transformed this team in a very positive direction.

- Whoops, Chabot (of all players) with a pretty brilliant tip off an Edler wrist shot from the point to tie the score. Okay Habs, gloves off. You're gonna have to work up the offence to win this now.

- Woah now, Canucks have the Habs on their heels. This wasn't supposed to happen. Price keeping the puck out, but Canadiens need to wake up, or they might end out leaving the west coast without a point.

- Pretty sure the Habs took some liberties and started coasting halfway through this period, which handed the ol' momentum baton over to Vancouver. Since then, Carey Price has had to rise to the usual occasion to keep his team from fumbling away the game entirely.

- Carey Price bails his team out to at least one point, while credit due to Ryan Miller, his performance tonight gave his team a fighting chance. And for what seems like the umpteenth time in a row for the Canadiens, we're off to overtime.

OVERTIME:

- As we suspected, Habs were coasting a little at about the halfway mark of the 3rd, and Vancouver finally took advantage:

- Habs have really improved their OT performance this year after struggling with the format past two seasons. They figured out that it all depends on possession - or at least maintaining it.

- And there you have it, Galchenyuk with a shot that takes a ridiculous deflection off Byron, Miller barely unable to adjust to make the save. Habs get their two points after all.

The Byron OT goal. Might have hit Hutton as well. Either way, Habs win their 6th in a row. pic.twitter.com/ogjRxquzdj

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) March 8, 2017

GAME PREVIEW: HEY VANCOUVER, YOUR HOCKEY TEAM REALLY IS A PILE OF FIREY GARBAGE:

First, news!!! EMELIN IS GONE (tonight)

Paires ce matin / Duos on D

Markov-Weber
Davidson-Petry
Beaulieu-Benn
Emelin-Nesterov

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 7, 2017

Ahh, I gets all warms insides when I see those pairings. Anyway, what's happening with the offence?

#Habs: Alexander Radulov et Tomas Plekanec ne joueront pas face aux Canucks.

— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) March 7, 2017

Woah. We knew Radulov was dealing with a day-to-day issue, but Plekanec missing a start? That's almost unheard of. Since 2012, Plekanec has missed 2 - that's right, just 2 games.

Let's try and break this down. With Plekanec out, and McCarron another likely scratch, the offence might look like this:

Pacioretty/Danault/Gallagher
Lehkonen/Galchenyuk/King
Byron/?????/Shaw
Martinsen/Mitchell/Ott

That's a rather thin offence.  That said, if you're going to be missing troops, there's no better timing than the Vancouver Canucks, who are playing out the strong of another lost season.

What to make of this hockey franchise? The bottom line isn't pretty. Vancouver, after building themselves into a championship contender at the beginning of the decade, has steadfastly refused to adhere to the cyclical nature of hockey, Over the past few years, the Canucks have made some questionable trades which has created holes in their lineup, especially on defence. More importantly, Vancouver since 2009, has one of the worst drafting records in the NHL.

How bad has the Canucks system been? Well, let me toss some 1st overall draft picks at you. How many of these names do you recognize?

- Patrick McNally
- Nicklas Jensen
- Brendan Gaunce
- Jake Virtanen
- Brock Boeser

Those five 1st round picks have combined for 171 GP, 10 goals and 15 assists. Over the years, the Canucks did draft players who managed to establish NHL careers, among them Bo Horvat and ... uh ... well, that's it, really.

So, sure. If your scouting department is only able to draft one player over the span of 7 years that actually makes it to the NHL, you're going to have significant long-term issues. Which is where the Canucks find themselves today - a team with aging veterans representing a throwback to when the team was championship competitive, mixed with a collection of marginal younger talent that likely has little to no chance of becoming anything greater than lower line plugs.

So tonight, the Habs take on the rapidly declining franchise that is the Vancouver Canucks at GM Place. The Habs are riding a 5 game winning streak which has helped Montreal to reestablish a comfort zone securing themselves at least a decent playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Canucks are actually entering the game riding a 2 game streak, with recent wins over the Ducks and Kings. Still, Vancouver finds itself isolated from any reasonable hopes for a playoff spot in the West, with just 63 points.

It's Carey Price vs. Ryan Miller. Puck drops at 10:10, EST.




I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT BUTTER. ALSO, I CAN'T BELEVE ALEXEI EMELIN IS ABOUT TO BE SCRATCHED:

Well, happy Monday! Not happy yet? Com'on .. this oughta do the trick:

#Habs: Les duos à la ligne bleue.

Markov-Weber
Davidson-Petry
Beaulieu-Benn

En trop:
Emelin-Nesterov

— J-F Chaumont (@JFChaumontJDM) March 6, 2017

MMMmmmmm. Music to my ears. Pure, classical harmonic music.

Game 10: Canucks vs. Habs

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs/Canucks after 40 minutes. Habs CF (5v5) just 35.5%, Fenwick 36.4%. The score is Montreal 2, Vancouver 0.

- During the intermission, Habs announced that John Hanley and Andrew Carr as callups. Now the Habs finally have full roster of bodies. Elected, for whatever reason, to leave two slots unfilled for tonight's game.

- Habs being very cautious and conservative in their zone, a whole lotta chips and dumps to repress any sustained Vancouver pressure. Canucks are generating plenty of shots, now up to 37 with 8 minutes gone in the 3rd, but noting especially dangerous, and rebounds have been few and far between.

- 5v5, the Sedin twins are +15 in SA tonight. And that's not even among Vancouver's best.

- Ericsson golden chance, stoned by Price. Against a mere mortal, the game would be 2-1. But against Carey Price, whatcanyado?

Price save on Eriksson pic.twitter.com/awhQw12UN8

— Stephanie (@myregularface) November 3, 2016

- 4 minutes left, Canuaks have hit a wall, haven't generated a shot on Price the past four minutes.

- Canucks will have to start taking huge gambles here, somehow find a way of beating Price. Opportunity may be around the corner for the Habs.

- Habs get empty net goal credit after Canucks interfere with a break by Radulov. Lights out.

- Shutout for Price, an absurd win for the Habs, who were out-shot by 2-to-1 margin, the possession stats were even worse. Okay, go watch the baseball game. We'll talk more about the Habs rocky road ahead which starts after Saturday night's game, when they start playing good teams.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Canucks after 20 minutes. Keeping in mind that Vancouver has one of the thinnest lineups in the National Hockey League, the Canadiens CF (5v5) in that period was 34.9%, fenwick 26.7%. A nightmare:

- I suppose the upside for the Habs in the 2nd period is that it couldn't possibly be any worse than the 1st. Right?

- Pretty bad night for Habs defence, Weber excluded. Canucks are being allowed to crash Price with relative ease, and little price (pun alert!!!) to pay.

- More aggressive attacks by the Canucks, Petry, who's really struggled tonight, gets nailed for a hook in front of Price. Penalties like that from defensemen a sure-fire signs that they're overwhelmed.

- One area the Canucks have not done well tonight is their powerplay. Their dump and chase setup is predictable and easily defended.

- 6 minutes into the 2nd period, the Canucks have seven, yes, SEVEN times the SOG than do the Habs. SEVEN.

- How's the baseball game tonight? At this point I'm feeling a little embarrassed spending time blogging this hockey game.

- A weak wrist shot from the point by Weber is caught by Miller. Habs register their first shot on goal in the period, with 12:28 left. Total shots are 24-4 Vancouver.

- Desharnais is ripe for demotion - right out of the hockey arena.

- Absurd. Just absurd. Habs score first. Galchenyuk with a load of speed with shot on Miller that's totally misplayed creating a huge rebound and open net for Nathan Beaulieu. Incredibly, the Habs lead 1-0.

- Habs with absurd demonstration of being totally outplayed virtually every square foot of the ice surface, except in goal, and still finding themselves ahead on the scoreboard. This cannot continue if the Canadiens hope to maintain a winning record this season.

- Canucks are bad, but they're still a mystery. To be this bad at shooting, even though we're only 10 games into the season, begs questions. Selection? Position? Setup? I have no idea - but they're horrible at it.

- Canucks defensive breakdown, Torrey Mitchell chips home a Danault pass, and it's 2-0. Just, wow.

- I can't explain it. Habs are getting out chanced nearly 2-to-1, but are winning the game. Canucks seem to make poor choices in taking shots. They have volume, but little quality. That's all I've got. Otherwise, Habs in the 2nd were much like they were in the 1st. Dominated.


FIRST PERIOD:

- Is anyone watching hockey tonight? We are, So yeah, forget baseball (peeks over at Fox).

- Hey, Shea, that's Carey's trophy. Hands off.

- Radulov takes a very very nasty slash from 4th liner Derek Dorsett. Radulov is fuming, and rightfully so. Hopefully he's okay.

- Doresett will never amount to anything as an NHL player, so I guess he's trying to "leave his mark", on Radulov's wrist.

- Habs look pretty listless tonight, not a whole lot of energy in their legs - first powerplay was aimless. Hope this doesn't bode for the rest of the night.

- Carey Price, is per usual, sharp. Keeping his otherwise aimlessly playing team even on the scoreboard.

- Even with Dorsett's cheap shots, Canucks 4th line looking pretty effective so far. Doing good job forechecking, keeping Habs anemic period even more anemic.

- Just a horrible, horrible period of hockey by the Canadiens. Therrien, if there was ever a time to shake up your lines next period, this is it.

- Desharnais/Pacioretty/Shaw ... whatever they had going the past 2 games has completely left them tonight. Utter lack of communication and chemistry out there tonight.

- Just a wretched period of hockey for the Habs - they were outskated, out chanced, out-hit, out-everything ... except, as usual, in goaltending, where Price has done everything possible to keep his team in the game, while Ryan Miller was given a 35 minute siesta.


GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

- Lines, lines, lines. Vancouver's lineup same as their practice lines yesterday (see below. Habs, same as below.

- Mike Condon! He's likely now the main reason why U-Haul is profitable. Mike was traded this morning from the Pens to the (haha) Sens. Too bad Mike. You were for once, a member of a good hockey team - for about 3 weeks. That's all been taken away from you.

- Alright, in anticipation of tonight's game between the Canucks (4-4-1 - 4th Pacific Division) and the Habs (8-0-1 1st Atlantic Division), let's dig into the stats:

CF (5v5): Vancouver: 46.6% (25th), Montreal: 49.5% (15th).
GF60: Vancouver 0.87 (30th), Montreal 2.97 (4th)
GA60: Vancouver 1.56 (5th), Montreal 1.25 (1st)
PP%: Vancouver 10.7 (26th), Montreal 21.9 (14th)
PK%: Vancouver 81.0 (18th), Montreal 88.6 (6th)
PDO: Vancouver 98.2 (21st), Montreal 105.7 (1st)
Sh%: Vancouver 38.2 (30th), Montreal 9.69 (8th).

These baseline stats tell you:

- Vancouver's had a dreadful time offensively, not even scoring 1 goal per game per 60, yet somehow winning 4 of its first 9 games. How is this possible? Well, mainly because the Canucks have enjoyed some very good goaltending from Jacob Markstrum (.952 SV%), and tonight's starter Ryan Miller (.939). Without those two, this Vancouver team could actually still be winless.

- Habs continue to enjoy the luck of puck, although at a slightly more sane 105.7 PDO (still way too high - much will adjust there still). Canucks relatively low PDO reflects their pathetic shooting percentages, sub-4%.

- There is no good reason for the Habs to lose tonight's game, other than the puck luck bites them squarely from behind. Then again, if this season is just a mirror of last, where the Habs bulldozed their opponents up until the end of November, losing only their first regular season game to ... taa daa - Vancouver, then a loss tonight to the Canucks would only make perfect sense.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST.



TUESDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

Hey, it's November! How was your Halloween? I was completely overrun by candy-starved kiddies last night - TWO big bulk boxes of chocolate I picked up at Costco GONE before 7 p.m. Some of the trick-o-treaters were suspiciously tall, if you catch my drift. Hey people who should be in College: TRICK OR TREATING IS FOR KIDS. Get a life already.

Lineups! We have practice lineups today! First, let's start with the Canucks:

D. Sedin/H. Sedin/Hansen
Granlund/Sutter/Eriksson
Baertschi/Harvat/Virtanen
Burrows/Gaunce/Dorsett

Edler/Tanev
Hutton/Gudbranson
Sbisa/Tryamkin

Ryan Miller 

That, folks, is a destined-for-last-place lineup. Still trying to figure out what Loui Eriksson's thought processes were this summer. He could have gone *anywhere* at what he's being paid for playing in Vancouver, yet he still signed on with the hopelessly-going-nowhere Canucks.

Meanstwhile over in Habsland, they're holding steady with:

Radulov/Gachenyuk/Gallagher
Pacioretty/Desharnais/Shaw
Byron/Plekanec/Lehkonon
Danault/Mitchell/Flynn

Weber/Emelin
Markov/Petry
Pateryn/Beaulieu

Carey Price

Other newsworthy stuff:

- NHL announced their players of the month for October, and guess who's one of them? Shea Weber! Yeah, yeah ... it's still a terrible trade. Anywho, Weber was runner up, not too shabby, to Connor McDavid. Florida's Jonathan Marchessault was named the other start for October.

- The League also announced the October rookie stars, and HAHAHA Toronto, Austin Matthews didn't win!! HAHAHA .. the honours went to William Nylander of the .... oh ... hmmm. Well I'll just leave now.

To be serious for just a moment, as we noted during the live game blog Saturday night, Nylander looked faster, more agressive and more aware than did Matthews. The Leafs have got a pretty sweet thing going on right now. Except they have almost no defence. We think Toronto might end up becoming Edmonton 2.0.



MONDAY NEWS 'N' NOTES:

This announcement at noon today:

Mikhail Sergachev cédé à son club junior https://t.co/Nxu4wSXFDR

— La Presse Sports (@LaPresse_Sports) October 31, 2016

Bonne chance, Mikhail! See you at training camp next September.

Habs are likely to recall Mark Barberio sometime before Wednesday, possibly even today.

Also, it's Halloween!! Be generous handing out the candy.

Game Nineteen: Canucks vs. Habs

OVERTIME:

- Therrien puts out Plekanec and Fleischmann to start the OT.

- Therrien clearly has no idea who his best playing forwards have been tonight. Neither Eller or Galchenyuk have received an extra time shift.

- Desharnais!! Habs with a fantastic, well-earned two points. Subban with a fine play shuffling puck over to Subban off the usual OT odd-maned break.

Canucks had an excellent first period, but after that, it was all Habs. Montreal's possession-emphases style really demonstrated its superiority tonight, as Vancouver couldn't withstand the ongoing pressure that mounted from the five minute mark of the 2nd period forward. The victory tonight is the kind that can really propel a team towards a solid winning streak. We'll see what happens over the next week, hopefully with a date forthcoming of Carey Price's return to the lineup.


THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Canucks through 40 minutes. See where everything went full throttle the other direction? That was the Eller goal. Hockey is a funny game sometimes.

- Habs deployment this evening has been all over the map. Mitchell taken from the 4th to the 2nd line, at Semin's expense, even though as a unit, Galchenyuk/Eller/Semin have had excellent possession.

- Another Habs powerplay, looks pretty good, but can't score. Canucks have dodged some pretty big bullets tonight. This game really ought be at least tied.

- Subban, for whatever reason, has struggled this year taking shots off clean passes fed to the point. Another big whiff tonight.

- Semin with a pretty bad holding penalty away from the play. That might just seal his fate in another return to the press box.

- Saw the Semin penalty replay. It was bad. Really bad. He might not see another shift tonight.

- Canucks are playing a pretty good one goal lead 3rd period. Doing good job containing breakouts and centre ice, and hustling back to their zone to break up Habs possession. Things settling in a bit.

- Semin now benched. He may never play another shift in Montreal again. Given how he signed, he may never play another shift in the NHL again.

- Habs freewheeling more through centre, but so far, haven't been able to solve Markstrom. Time running down, Canadiens will eventually have to get its defence more involved if they hope to tie this up.

- 4 minutes left, Canucks in full puck dumping mode. It's insane, but it's paying off. They might just hang on to this.

- Fleischmann scores!! But will it be challenged??

- Nope. Weak goal surrendered by Markstrom. Canucks tried to Hab their way to a win (ca. 2014-15), but couldn't run the clock out.

- Well, giving up the tying goal at least has shaken the Canucks offence back to life. They realize they'll have to earn a win by having to, you know, try to score.

- And overtime we go, against a Canucks team that 0-5 in extra time this year. Well-earned comeback for the Habs tonight.


SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Canucks thorough 20 minutes of weird hockey:

- Just a weird period, hampered by the feeling that Mike Condon, whom just a few days ago seemed like no puck could get past, doesn't seem to be able to make those "big" saves any more. At least, that's my perception at the moment.

- Condon gives up a weak one off a 50 foot shot, puck going right under his pads. Another powerplay goal given up. This game is pretty much toast.

- Amazing how the season has just turned completely around for Condon, on a dime. He could do no wrong just three days ago. That's how quickly it can go wrong.

- Habs 4th line Mitchell/Flynn/Smith-Pelly are having a disastrous evening. You don't even want to know what their fancy stats look like, except they bear an uncanny resemblance to a black hole.

- Canucks make an atrocious line change during a powerplay, giving Eller free reign right through centre ice, a snapper beats Markstrom cleanly, and suddenly the Habs have some life? 3-1.

- Great snap shot by Eller, but Markstrom did look a little sluggish in reacting to the play. Habs would be wise to test his glove side a few more times.

- Well hey now, we have ourselves a game. Pacioretty with pressure behind the net generates deep zone turnover, Gallagher feeds the puck back to Patches, who scores his first non-empty net goal in 10 games. 3-2 knuckleheads.

- Now Vancouver is nailed for too many men - and the Canucks are reeling. Habs with big opportunity to, believe it or not, tie this game.

- Markstrom with a fantastic glove save off a Subban howitzer. What I said about Markstrom's glove hand? Forgetaboutit.

- Habs don't tie the game with the man advantage, but oh boy, does it look like one hummin' unit right now. Amazing they haven't scored tonight. They might still. Lots of hockey to be played.

- Galchenyuk continues to buzz around the ice, but he's having a very tough time getting recognition from his coach. Barely 7 minutes played as the 2nd period winds down.

- Lots of officiating inconsistency from Tim Peel tonight, which is pretty much the norm for him. It is, however, creating lots of frustration amongst the players on both benches. Nobody really seems to know what the penalty threshold is because it's been a moving target.

- Another weird period. After the Canucks took a 3-0 lead off a weak goal surrendered by Condon, the air totally end out of the Bell Centre. Habs looked like they'd given up. Then Eller scored a shorthanded goal off a bad Canucks line change, and everything changed 180. Montreal still with lots of momentum they've generated since the 5 minute mark of the period, and have firmly taken control over puck possession and game tempo. Makes for a very compelling 3rd period.


FIRST PERIOD:

- ANNNNNNNND we're off, anddddddd it's a terrible start, as Petry going back into his own corner, passes behind to Chris Higgins, who stopped playing for the Habs about 7 years ago. Condon basically left to his own. 1-0 Canucks!!

- Habs are very much puck handling team for zone entries, Canucks are very much dump and chase. That's worked once for Vancouver once, but only because of Petry's error.

- Habs look like a team riddled with rust - which is kind of perplexing. They're having regular practices, but like Saturday night, Habs guilty of making a variety of very avoidable mistakes. Very weird.

- Habs pretty awful handling the puck in their own zone, and the Canucks are dominating neutral zone play. It's combined to produce a very one-sided first 8 minutes of this period, in favour of Vancouver.

- Missed passes, fumbled pucks, players caught offside. This Canadiens' team looks punch drunk. It's all very odd.

- Habs first powerplay looked fantastic, Canucks very fortunate to still be leading 1-0. Hopefully that two minute advantage gets the Habs' gears turning again.

- Galchenyuk is moterin' tonight. He, like Pacioretty, is way overdue for a scoring eeksploshun.

- Brendon Gallagher with a not-very-smart high stick on Daniel Sedin, trying to bat a puck high in the air. Sedin on the ice, blood pouring off his face. 4 minutes for Gallagher, every second deservedly.

- McCann makes it 2-0. Habs PK not a very good job watching the passing lanes, McCann with one of the easiest goals he'll ever receive. Condon no chance.

- Half of McCann's goals this season have been against the Habs. Three of them. In less than four period of play. Habs killer.

- Habs 2nd powerplay also looks pretty decent, but it just feels like the puck luck gods have their scopes firmly planted on this Montreal team. Bounces seem to be all going the other direction. PDO numbers are nearly 100, but what do stats mean, anyway?

- Strange period. Canucks started strongly, benefiting off a mistake made by a Habs player who rarely makes any kind of egreious errors. Habs seemed to have trouble adjusting to Vancouver's neutral zone play, and looked like a team having trouble shifting out of second gear - at least until their first powerplay. Then Gallagher's high stick, and Montreal downshifted once more. This team is clearly in a bad funk, and only time and perseverance will get them out of it.

GAMEDAY GAME PREVIEW:

HAI!! (waves).

Hey, in case you follow this blog (and you probably don't), I haven't changed my position from two weeks ago when I wrote about how terrible the Vancouver Canucks are as horrible a hockey team as the jerseys they wore in the 1970s and 80s, and then watched as they soundly beat the Habs 5-1. NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

Since Vancouver's resounding victory over our hopeless Habs, the Canucks have gone on to lose to the Dallas Stars (okay, fine), the Pittsburgh Penguins (sure, that's possible), the Ottawa Senators (I just giggled), the New Jersey Devils (haha .. oh yeah?), the Buffalo Sabres (lolz), and the Toronto Maple Leafs (BIG LOLZ).

I repeat, this Vancouver team is going nowhere, in a very very fast direction. Are we good now?

Tonight? They're really screwed. Not only will Vancouver be missing the services of one Brandon Prust, who haunted the Habs last game, but they're also missing Luca Sbisa and Brndon Sutter because of injury, AND Alexandre Burrows, whose wife is apparently in labour.

In other words, this terrible team is playing with nearly half of their terrible roster. Not good!


Meanwhile in Habsland, Mike Condon, whom apparently forgot to bring his eyes along to Saturday's game vs. the totally awful Colorado Avalanche, will get an opportunity to redeem himself. Condon, as well as Alex Galchenyuk (beside Alex Semin!), and Max Pacioretty, all of whom haven't scored in about 17 years, are just ready to burst out with a pile o' goals against a terrible team like the Vancouver Canucks.

Puck drops at 7:40 EST from the lovely warm confines of the Bell Centre. REVENGE IS OURS.

Game Ten: Habs vs. Canucks

THIRD PERIOD:

- Habs and Canucks through 40 minutes. Habs more shots, attempts, possession, yadda yadda. Only the scoreboard counts:

- Habs unleash the hounds, come out of the gate at about 87 mph. Still can't generate good quality shots on Miller, though.

- Finally. Torrey Mitchell continues his remarkable start to the season, deflecting an Emelin shot from the line, and the Habs have life. They're pouring it on. Another quick one, and this game is ON.

- Semin doesn't hustle to the bench on a powerplay line change, and Habs get nailed for too many. That won't endear his chances staying in this lineup as the road trip continues.

- Canucks, of course, score on their powerplay. Off two crazy lucky bounces, of course. Habs streak ends at 9. There was no way this Habs team was going to overcome the bad breaks. So the defeat can be rationalized. 

- Yeek. Emelin recklessly pinches, then falls flat on his face, then on the breakout, puck is banked off Semin into the net. Another goal courtesy a silly bounce. Meh. Game is a total write-off.

- This game is LOLZ. Gotta take it with some humour. Just about everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. But nobody on the Habs got injured, except for maybe a little pride. Edmonton next, in what should be a very interesting game featuring a high octane offence against a somewhat disorganized Habs defence. I'd be inclined to play Price Thursday, and Condon Friday. We'll see what Therrien decides. NOW GO TO BED EVERYONE.

SECOND PERIOD:

- Habs and Canucks through 20 minutes: 

- Well, decent enough first five minutes for the Habs, seemingly focused on just getting pucks on Miller. Canadiens seem to be doing a better job forcing turnovers, which will be key to any possible Montreal comeback.

- Not point producing, but Semin having a pretty decent outing tonight. One of the few Habs forwards doing a decent job covering both end zones.

- Habs pressing, but not generating Grade A scoring chances on Miller yet. Really starts (and ends) with their own zone, which has been mostly chaotic tonight, especially gaining the line with organized puck control.

- Pacioretty beats Miller through the arm with one of his awesome snap shots, puck dribbles behind Miller ... and wide. Just isn't happening tonight. 

- Beaulieu has struggled with the puck tonight, made a few careless passes in his zone, seems to be pressing a little too hard in the O zone. 

- As we go deeper into the game, Therrien would be wise to give extra shifts to his two best lines tonight - Plekanec and Galchenyuk. Desharnais line has been a mess, while the 4th line hasn't really created much momentum or energy. 

- Habs really needed a goal in the second, but couldn't quite find the back of the net. Even with zone coverage issues, and poor zone exits, the Habs have still been the better team tonight, but hockey is a game whose winners are frequently determined by good, or bad luck. Tonight, the Habs have had plenty of the later, far too much to overcome. Looking very unlikely the Canadiens can extend their streak to 10. 

FIRST PERIOD:

- Curse of the old teammate strikes again - Prust with a relatively harmless snapshot that Price somehow misplays by waving out his glove, the puck dropping behind him, and tipped into the net by McCann. An auspicious start.

- Price misplays the puck. Check. Puck drops right behind him for easy tip-in goal. Check. Gallagher rings a slap shot off the post. Check. Yup. Feels like the puck luck Gods might be making a withdrawal from the overdue Habs account.

- Okay, stumble out of the gate because of Price's error, but since that goal, Habs have pretty much dominated. Miller saved by a post and a couple of bouncing pucks the Habs couldn't quite bury.

- Canadiens dominate, and Vancouver, courtesy a ridiculous bounce, take a 2-0 lead during a delayed penalty call. Puck luck all against the Habs, which during this incredibly streak, has much more often than not, been in their corner. Not tonight.

- Miller with a ridiculous save on Desharnais off a 2-0 break with Fleischmann. Ye Gods, that's enough already. 

- Very marginal interference call on Fleischmann, who was digging for the puck in the Canucks corner. Nothing going Habs way tonight.

- Prust to McCann. Again. It's 3-0. That goal wasn't luck, it was winning the faceoff deep, and Desharnais doing a poor job covering their assignments. Canadiens with a huge hole to climb out of, if they wan't to get to 10.

- Upside to this game, Habs will almost certainly not have the League's largest PDO at the end of the night.

- Habs forwards doing a very poor job coming back to, and covering their zone, also getting their clocks cleaned winning puck battles at centre ice. Price facing some howitzers from the slot, barely keeping his team in this game.

- First genuine disaster of a period for the Habs this season, they looked good out of the gate, Price let in a goal that shouldn't have been a goal, and the puck just seemed to keep bouncing Vancouver's way. This is not to take away from the Canucks - they were a superior team especially in the neutral zone, which helped them to generate turnovers leading to numerous scoring opportunities. Three goals is not an impossible lead to overcome, but it's awfully tough. 

CELEBRATING THE VANCOUVER CANUCKS LEGACY. 45 YEARS OF NOTHING

Oh, Vancouver. Whatever would you do without Toronto? For years the fans of hockey have made countless jokes about the ineptitude of the Maple Leafs, now 48 years since their last championship. But ya know what, Vancouver? At least Toronto, in all of their futility, actually has won a championship. 15 of them, as a matter of fact.

You? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. in 45 years.

Oh sure, you've been to the big show. Three times, as a matter of fact. Once in 1981, when your club made an improbable, only to get steamrolled by the Islanders in four games. And then there was 1994, when you managed to heartbreak your followers by losing to the Rangers by one goal, in the 7th game.

And then, of course - 2011, where you choked the big one - up 3-2 to a reeling Boston Bruins team, you managed to lose the first chance of clinching in Boston, and then you got destroyed by the Bruins in game 7, right in your own rink. Your fans were not pleased. Many moaned. Many cried. Many rioted in the streets.

Now? You're still nothing. You're a team whose previous general manager somehow managed to find a way of converting two premier goaltenders, Roberto Luongo, and Cory Schiender, into career backup Jacob Markstrom (career .896 SP), Shawn Matthias (no longer playing for you), and Bo Horvat (okay, you at least got SOMETHING). Still, to take two Grade A- commodities and to convert them into so little ... well, it basically set the table for the Canucks' grand decline. Once a League leader, Vancouver's hopes are now pinned on making the post season. That's about it.

Woe, Vancouver. Tonight you have to take on the team that's off to the greatest season start in NHL - the Montreal Canadiens, who are setting new records with every recorded victory, now at 9 - the most of any team to win in regulation to start a campaign. You have to face the likes of Max Pacioretty, P.K. Subban, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Markov, and Brendan Gallagher, whom, by the way, comprise 5 of the top 6 players in the NHL in +/-.  Oh, right. One other thing. Carey Freakin' Price, the best hockey player on the face of planet Earth.

Oh sure Canucks fans, you'll tell us YES BUT WE HAVE THE SEDIN'S!! Well, goodie good for you. Are you referring to the twin brothers of 35 years of age, both playing on your first line, both with a combined point total of 9, two less than Pacioretty? We're shaking in our boots. We're shaking.

You cannot hide. You must face us hockey's caged ring like the dogs you are. You must capitulate to the awesome offensive and defensive power that is the Montreal Canadiens. You will be thrashed. You will be humiliated. And, at the end of the night, you, like so many of your fans, will shead many tears.

Puck drops at 10:10 EST. You'll want to stay up for this one.

Game Eleven: Habs vs. Canucks

Overtime:

- If Therrien plays it smart, he heavily rotates his best forwards tonight. Eller, Galchenyuk, Gallagher.

- A horrible, just horrible interference call on Gilbert. What. The. Heck?

- Emelin wandering somewhere else, leaving Daniel totally unchecked. Why Emelin was on the ice is also a mystery. 3-2 final.

Third Period:

- Emelin back for the third. Still doesn't change the fact that Burrow's hit was suspendable.

- Eller line, especially Eller has worked so hard tonight, and can't buy a goal or break. Argh.

- And Price whiffs on a snapper. A bad goal. Go figure. 2-0.

- Halfway through the 3rd, Habs offense simply throwing darts in the dark and hoping it hits something. It's not going to work.

- And a dart hits a target. Holy moly, was it Bourque?

- Nay. Galchenyuk. Didn't see the number clearly. How could I possibly have mixed those two up? It's late guys, so very late.

- Oh yeah, Galchenyuk is playing centre. Should have mentioned that.

- Habs get penalized. It was inevitable. A real softie on Eller. Officials were looking for something, anything, to calm the crowd, I suspect.

- Huge defensive breakdown by the Canucks and Pacioretty buries the puck off a beauty Weiss pass. The Habs do it again in the third period.

- And the Habs earn at least a point. They find a way, even though they could only muster 6 measly shots on Miller.

Second Period:

- Good news considered with the Habs finally doing more of zone carrying, the team is still doing the same old chopping of the puck up the boards to clear a zone. It's pretty much wrecking their neutral zone transition, and generating a mountain of icings.

- Jarad Tinordi might be one of those guys that has a decently long, totally goalless NHL career.

- Horrid turnover by Emelin on a horrid pass. 1-0 'Nucks. After the horrid pass, Burrows with flagrant head shot on Emelin. Almost nobody notices or cares, but Therrien is fuming at the officials.

- The clowns that work for Sportsnet called the Burrows headshot "finishing his check". Guess what guys? Burrows is going to get a suspension for that.

- I swear, sometimes I think Price has see-through vision.

- Habs looked so good in the first period. This period? Not so much.

- Another fantastic shift by Eller. Wish these would pay off for him with goals/points.

- Put Eller with just about anyone else other than who he's saddled with now, and he scores points. Guaranteed.

First Period:

- Well lo and behold, Therrien starts Eller. I'm of the mindset that Therrien is now doing this stuff to drive us crazy, or maybe Bergervin did an intervention. Anyway, it's good news.

- That's a weird call by Walsh who didn't call a slash until Weise demonstrated his stick had been chopped in half. That's not good officiating. It was clearly a slash regardless of a broken stick.

- Pretty sure there nobody better stopping point blank snap shots in this League than Carey Price.

- That little two on one is a pretty good demonstration why Galchenyuk has a way to go before he can play centre.

- Another futile road powerplay attempt. 0 for the last 23 (actually, zero for the season, unbelievably). Anyway, Habs are at least now carrying the zone - which is a step in the right direction. Still, bushels of passes and nobody either willing to, or able to, take a damn shot on goal.

- Desharnais is just so predictable now. Take puck, carry, try to pass to Pacioretty. Rinse, repeat. 

- Habs have been consistently carrying the puck in, perhaps more so than any game I've ever seen with Therrien behind he bench. I'm ... impressed.

- Bourque and now Prust, so many criticize Eller for his lack of production, but really ... look at what the poor guy is saddled with.

- Carey Price, again carrying (yeah yeah) more than his share of the load.

- Pleasing period. Habs were clearly attempting to so more, way more, zone entires either carry or passing the puck. Dumps were few and far between. It's as though the team had an epiphany. "Hey wow, we have speed and skill, let's try using it!". Anyway, I'm happy.

Gameday Game Preview:

Vancouver! What a beautiful city! The city of champions like ... the ... uh ... well ... anyway ... Stanley Park! It's beautiful! Hey, look over there. A pot smoking hippie. Lots of them in these parts. And over here is Granville Island. So much beautiful fresh food to buy. And if you look to your left, we see a tire fire from a riot. And straight ahead, why, that's Gastown. Are you a heroin addict by chance? GREATrw!

Actually, Vancouver is a very nice place mostly comprised of nice people. The weather, when it isn't raining four consecutive months, is pretty nice, especially for those of us who endure Canadian Prairie winters. And it's hockey team is ... well ... did I mention the weather? It's very nice.

The Vancouver Canucks. Dear, or dear. What to say. They were following the quintessential blueprint for building a champion so well for so many years. Drafting well, developing young talent into stars. Signing sold third and fourth line free agents here and there. It got them a ticket to a Stanley Cup final, which is pretty impressive. But then there was the goaltending, and the chocking, and then misappropriation of key assets, and then everything just kind of fell apart. And then most of the front office decision makers were fired. And now ... they're rebuilding.

It's not a riot zone of destruction, mind you. The Canucks still retain some pretty good assets like Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Ryan Miller was picked up during the summer, as was centre Nick Bonio and defenseman Radim Vbrata, Still, these Canucks are a team that didn't come close to making the post-season last year, and even with the change of front office guard, and an attempt to refresh and reinvigorate their starting lineup, it remains highly unlikely Vancouver will be able to claim a wild card spot in the tough Western Conference.

Now. We shift to Habsland. Lots of things happening today.

First, a small review of the last game against Edmonton. What a mess. The night somehow salvaged by an unbelievable performance by Carey Price, who spends far too much time making his coach look good by standing on his head.

Speaking of the coach ... hoo boy. Developments today. Lars Eller, one of the few guys who's actually played a relatively consistent  game this season, despite a low point total (but I mean, look at who he's saddled with on each wing, folks), is a healthy scratch tonight. It's an absolutely perplexing decision by Therrien, especially when you consider how many other players have been consistently worse this season, the foremost being, to no one's surprise, Rene Bourque.

Yet, Bourque gets a pass, and Eller gets a sit in the press box.

Eventually, you just have to wonder what runs through the mind of one Michel Therrien. It's pretty clear right now, it isn't sound judgement or logic.

Puck drops at 10:10 est. Grab your jammies and a cup of coffee.

Oh yeah. Fire Therrien.

Game Fifty-Eight: Canucks vs. Habs

Third Period:

- Canucks 53% Corsi 60% Fenwick 5v5 (close) through 40. Don't see that corresponding with what I've witnessed tonight (more even), but still those are troubling figures. Forbidding 3rd period lays ahead.

- Corsi differential: Briere -8, Gorges -9, Subban -9. Ouch.

- Bournival hasn't returned. I'm hoping his injury isn't concussion related. His absence would be a significant loss.

- Ryan White looks like an entirely different player since his return, for all the right reasons.

- Pacioretty don't need no stinkin' penalty shots. Desharnais outstanding puck control to carry to the slot and make a pretty dish for the easy goal. Critical insurance goal for the Habs.

- So Habs generate mounds of momentum taking firm control of the game and then send out too many men. Hoo boy.

- Canucks forced to open up, generating odd man rushes, and Plecks banks one off Edlers skate past Luongo. Stranglehold 4-1 lead.

- Vancouver's biggest issue by far tonight is how casual and sloppy their defense has performed, especially with zone coverage. There are no quick or easy fixes for that kind of poor play. If this is indicative of what's been hampering the Canucks the past month, they'll be in tough for a playoff spot.

- According to ESPN, Pacioretty is the first player in NHL history to have been awarded two penalty shots in the same period. Grats Max! We'll try to forget how those attempts went.

- Edler scores on the powerplay. Doug Murray once again just standing around watching. 4-2.

- Here's Murray with that stellar brick wall PK play.:

- What's really frustrating is that you just know Therrien has bought into the Murray myth of effective crease defense. The reality is, Murray is as slow as he is completely indifferent about using muscle to protect his goaltender. It's inexcusable.

- Habs opening up the gates and letting Price do the hard work. 40+ shots for Vancouver, and counting.

- Canucks not giving up. Can't argue, the shot volume has been pretty one-sided. Empty net now.

- Vancouver blitzing Price. Habs in front ridiculously passive.

- Parches ends it with a hat trick. Imagine if he had converted on the penalty shots. By far the Habs best forward right now. By far.

- Well, it's more of the same old story. Habs outplayed by their opponent, but are carried to victory on the shoulders of the few. Tonight it was Pacioretty and Price who dominated and pushed Montreal to a win. The fundamental challenges this team faces are the same. The metrics are unchanged. This team has surrendered possession, and leans almost totally on its netminding to win games.

Second Period:

- Emelin called for phantom trip on Hansen about 8 feet in front of the official. Canucks with 4 straight minutes of PP going.

- Luongo game saving save on Prust. Going down 3-0 with the man advantage would have been lights out.

- How big was that save? Higgins redeflects a point shot off his leg and it's 2-1. Murray was just looking on, allowing Higgins to do as he pleased.

- Habs first goal has been credited to Pacioretty, FYI.

- Not a good night so far for Gorges. -8 Corsi differential at this point. Subban -7. Meanwhile, Canucks have totally taken control first five minutes, pelting Price from all directions.

- Habs wounded starting to pile up. Emelin, then Murray and now Bournival. Very physical game.

- Richardson dives, officials bite. Again. Torts approves, of course.

- Canucks defense just so slow, and Patches gets a penalty shot.

- Miised by seven feet. Close.

- Oh wow. Another penalty shot for Pacioretty. Incredible. That's gotta be a record.

- Even more disasterous attempt. Oh man, if Habs lose this game, Max won't get any sleep.

- Erik Cole had two penalty shots in a game while in Carolina - back in 2007. However, two shots for the same player in the same period? That might have been the first time that's ever occurred.

-  Pacioretty the first Habs player in history to record two penalty shots in one game. It only took 104 years. Pacioretty almost certainly the first player in NHL history to get two in the same period.

- Well that was an interesting period within an interesting game. Pacioretty's freaky record overshadowing a period that was largely controlled by the Canucks. Price as usual holding the fort, but Habs will need to come out much strong and more aggressively in the 3rd, or Vancouver is likely to even the score.

First Period:

- Picking up from Tuesday night, another very strong 4th line shift. Bournival with a pretty feed to Weise, Luongo makes a tough save off a 7 foot backhander. Just keep playing them, Michel.

- Higgins gives Emelin an elbow to the face near the blue line, draws blood. Nasty hit. 

- David Booth cheap shot artist. Somebody needs to grab him by the neck and set him straight.

- Kessler hauls down Plekanec who was in fine position to receive a pass and slid it past Luongo. Torts mocks the official for not calling a dive.

- Habs quickly take advantage, Gallagher an excellent screen off Subban point shot. We think it's Subban who's scored, 1-0. Puck movement on that PP was excellent.

- 4th line strikes!!! Luongo fumbles the puck, seemingly claiming interference, but White at the right place at the right time to make an easy deposite into the net. 2-0.

- Habs dominating possession in the period. I shall stop my complaints if this patterns remains.

- Most excellent opening 20 minutes - Habs controlling the puck and tempo, transition significantly better, and the net result is a reflective 2 goal lead. Very pleased with what I saw. 





P.M. Update: TRADE!!!! WITH THE KINGS. HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS. The Habs just landed .... [drum roll] ... Robert Czarnik in ... return ... for ... Steve Quailer.

So ... yeah. That happened.


THURSDAY GAME DAY!Okay, when people who are actually paid to cover the Canadiens write nonsense like this, you know there's a problem.

The problem being of course, there are far too many in Montreal who write about hockey that haven't the slightest clue how the game is played - either well, or in this instance, poorly.

- No team practice this morning - just an optional skate.

- Non-related Habs news, Martin St. Louis was named to the Olympic team as a replacement for Steven Stamkos. Also, much speculation this morning that the Oilers are going to send Sam Gagne to Los Angeles. Edmonton is basically ripe for the picking, but their needs right now are primarily defensive. We've already given away a piece of that.


HAPPY HUMP DAY!!

Habs practice lines this morning from Brossard:

Line 1: Brière/Plekanec/Gionta
Line 2: Parros/Desharnais/Gallagher (Parros I'm assuming, is filling in for Pacioretty?)
Line 3: Prust/Eller/Bourque
Line 3: Bournival/White/Weise

Gorges/Subban
Markov/Emelin
Drewiske/Beaulieu

Price.

And just to cheer you up, here's a nice little piece on how the Habs probably got fleeced by shipping Raphael Diaz over to the Canucks.

Game Five: Habs vs. Canucks

Third Period:

- After 40 minutes, Canucks +16 Corsi, +10 Fenwick.

- Looking for that goal on YouTube. Nothing up - yet ... I think?

- Markov leads Habs icetime, 16:28 so far. I do not approve.

- Price's SP so far: .968. I approve.

- Correctly assessed penalty shot there. But Patches misses.

- See, if I'm given the choice, I'd have take the PP instead of the penalty shot. Even if no goal is scored, it kills 2 minutes, creates momentum.

- Gallagher coming agonizingly close to scoring tonight. Playing like a lion tonight.

- Fine shift by the White line, who haven't been given the playing time tonight they've deserved. 

- MUCH more evenly played period so far, dare I say Habs have had the edge? SOG 5-0 Canadiens. That's pretty solid evidence.

- There was definite interference by Hamhuis there, but Eller should have been given two as well for the flop.

- Subban, Madkov, Plekanec. Oh, that was pretty. PP makes it 3-1.

- Pushback by Canucks here. All thrown away as Daniel Sedin trips up Galchenyuk. Habs look for killing blow on the upcoming powerplay.

- 10 minutes left. 3rd period shots are Montreal 9, Vancouver 0.

- First shot registered on Price. 9 minutes left.

- Gorges and his terrible shot somehow beats Luongo from the line. Killer dagger.

- I guess this confirms earlier suspicions. The Canucks simply were unable to recover from the fluke Eller goal. At that point the game had been all Caucks. Since then, it's been all Habs.

- Weird game - strange win, but we'll take it. I'm confident that it Therrien had been offered four points in advance of this road trip, he would have taken it. So with that in mind, the final stop in Winnipeg is all gravy for the Habs.

Second Period

- It ain't working. Eller, Pacioretty and Briere each with a 22% Fenwick in the first. Therrien must reassemble the Eller-Gallagher-Galchenyuk line RIGHT NOW.

- Guess that's a no to my request. Therrien starts 2nd with Plekanec-Galllagher-Galchenyuk.

- Briere with his first registered shot on goal this season. Yup. This season.

- End to end stuff, which really does the Habs no favours. This team isn't built to win wide open hockey.

- DD just can't quite seem to bury his opportunities when it involves fights for loose pucks off rebounds. I can't see this getting better. Just not strong enough for the NHL.

- Price is just oozing with confidence. He's all over the place. Canucks frustration will be setting in if they don't score soon.

- Holy moly. Carey Price. Been a long time since I've seen this.

- Stas line is going to be ugly for Habs tonight. Vancouver owning everything but the scoreboard.

- Centered by the struggling Plekanec aside, Gallagher is really motering out there. He wants a goal bad. Real bad.

- Canucks now +12 Corsi, +10 Fenwick. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

- Fans are getting a big entertainment bang for their buck tonight. Analysts are cringing.

- Sloppiness finally bites. Diaz misplays zone clearance, can't recover as Daniel connects with Henrick for an easy tap in. Terrible. Terrible.

- Subban getting rattled. He needs to settle down and focus on the game at hand.

- White line gets a rare shift. Therrien basically going with 9 forwards tonight.

- Tinordi. He's young but still, you have to play smarter if you want to solidify a starting position on a big League team.

- Yeah, it's 1-1. But have the distinct feeling this game is about to spiral out of control for the Habs.

- Unbelievable. That might be the flukeyist goal I've ever seen. Eller the last to touch the puck, but that's just ... stunning.

- Canucks still had some buzz on what was left on that PP, but the air has just gone out of the Rogers Center. The game has been turned on its head.

- Bizzare period featuring an incredibly bizarre goal, and the Habs have a totally inexplicable one goal lead after 40 minutes. Well, it is explicable - Carey Price. Otherwise, this game should be 4 or 5-1 Vancouver.

First Period

- Tinordi will start, Beaulieu is a scratch.

- Gall - in - chick. You would have figured that by now the guys at the CBC would be able to pronounce his name. But nope.

- Sweet Jesus that's actually true. Briere has yet to register a shot this season.

- Canucks are kinda all over the Habs right now like greasy paint. 

- Did I hear that right on the CBC play by play? Was Galchenyuk referred to as a Russian?

- Pacioretty crashes and pushes it through Luongo. Very nice. Canucks give up their first powerplay goal of the year. 1-0 Habs.

- Two sensational PK saves by Price. Vancouver isn't his hometown, but it isn't far. Let's see if he's motivated to put on a show tonight.

- I dunno. Galchenyuk and Gallagher just don't seem to gel the same way with Plekanec between than they do with Eller. Chances, yes. But just not as dangerous. At least from what I've seen tonight and a little bit on Thursday night.

- Sloppy giveaway by Tinordi in front of Price, who bails him out. Price has been excellent but fought to find the puck after original save.

- Gall-in-chick with a ridculous setup to Plekanec who can't finish.

- Wow. Carey Price. The show really is on.

- Habs defense continues to play shabby, sloppy puck and body control in its zone. It's only a matter of time before Vancouver strikes.

- Too many blown chances to clear their zone by the Canadiens. Not impressed.

- Stellar play by Price to gift his team with the first period lead. Canucks were the much better team, and figure to eventually start putting up numbers on the scoreboard unless the Habs smarten up in their own zone. Habs fans shouldn't be pleased by what they saw.

- Yup. Advanced stats bear out just how one-sided that period was. 23-14 Corsi, 20-12 Feneick, both in Vancouver's favour. Really shouldn't be 1-0.

Gameday Game Preview:

The Canadiens start the third leg of their four game western Canada road trip tonight, as they take on the Canucks in Vancouver. The Habs are coming off a comfortable win over the Oilers on Thursday night, propelled by another solid night by their young stars.

The Habs enter tonight's game absent their captain, Brian Gianta, who left the team on Friday to return to Montreal to see his son Adam, who has taken ill. Our thoughts are with Brian during what is a very difficult personal time.

With Gionta not in the lineup, the Habs are likely to start Lars Eller along side Daniel Briere and Max Pacioretty, while Thomas Plekance will center Alex Galchenyuk and Brenden Gallagher. Speaking of Gallagher, who looked awfully good on Thursday, the game tonight will mark Gallagher's first NHL game in the city he was raised. So expect a pretty strong contingent from the Gallagher family in the stands tonight, and a particularly energetic performance from the young Habs winger.

Over on the other side, the Canucks had a few changes during the off-season, none bigger than the one man mouth parade that is John Tortorella as their new head coach. Totorella commands a team that while still very competitive and particularly tough to beat at home, are nonetheless a team in decline, especially measured against the 2001 club which many favorited to win a Stanley Cup (of course, the Canucks lost in the finals to the Boston Bruins).

Still, Vancouver, while not nearly as strong as they have been in recent years, are still no pushover, and are led by the twin Sedin sensations, Henrick and Daniel, both of whom currently lead the team in scoring. The Sedin's and the rest of the Canucks roster might be extra-motivated tonight, as Vancouver was soundly beaten by the San Jose Sharks on Thursday when, where Canucks d-man Alex Eller was suspended by the League for three games after delivering a head shot to the Sharks scoring sensation Thomas Hertl.

Puck drops at 10:10 EST. Carey Price starts for the Habs, Roberto Luongo for Vancouver.

Friday News 'n' Notes

Pretty quiet today, the team landed in Vancouver a couple of hours ago. One major announcement - Brian Gionta has returned to Montreal for family-related reasons. I'd been critical of his poor performance since the start of the season - in particular last night against the Oilers, and it never dawned on me that part of the reason for his struggles might be personal.

So in light of what's happened today, I'm taking back those critical observations. Hoping Brian and his family are doing alright.

Brian Gionta en route pour Montréal aujourd'hui - raisons familiales \ Brian Gionta is on his way back to Montreal today - family reasons.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 11, 2013