Brendan Gallagher scored the only goal for Montreal's struggling farm team.
Fortunately, although the Canadiens' lower-level professional clubs are struggling, many of their top junior prospects are thriving, including — obviously — Alex Galchenyuk and — not so obviously — Tim Bozon.
Which leads me to this question: which prospects do you think will make the biggest impact in the next two years?
If you said 'watching hockey', that is the correct answer.
All 30 NHL teams are in action today and, although playoff teams have been set, today's contests are rife with post-season implications.
Starting at 1 PM EST, Chicago and Detroit faceoff in a nationally televised match up and then, for us lucky Canadians, a triple-header is being offered by CBC.
In the middle of this three game treat, Montreal and Toronto meet to end their miserable campaigns. Other than marking the end of a not-so-memorable campaign for both clubs, this game is actually devoid of any implication.
Even in the jockeying for a lottery pick, Montreal is already assured of a bottom-three finish, win or lose.
-Habs vs Leafs. Win.. but Carey Price needed to be the star
-Getting back on the “Habs need to mentor their young” topic
-Twitter question of the day: where are you as far as the Habs Bandwagon is concerned? Many different responses!
-Spacek calls Montreal canadiens environment a Circus, but Gorges is a circus type of guy
-Should Habs have given interim Captaincy to someone else given Gionta injury
-Number crunching for Habs playoff hopes...kinda...
Click play below to listen in (total listening time 53:26):
(Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images North America)
CANADIENS ACQUIRE DEFENSEMAN TOMAS KABERLE FROM THE CAROLINA HURRICANES IN RETURN FOR JAROSLAV SPACEK
MONTREAL (December 9, 2011) – Montreal Canadiens general manager, Pierre Gauthier, announced today the acquisition of defenseman Tomas Kaberle from the Carolina Hurricanes, in return for defenseman Jaroslav Spacek.
The 33-year old Kaberle played 29 games with the Hurricanes this season. He registered nine assists, 38 shots on goal and 27 blocked shots, playing an average of 19 minutes and 14 seconds per game.
The 6’01’’, 214 lbs defenseman has collected 538 points (84 goals, 454 assists) in 931 regular season games in the NHL. He scored 31 goals on the powerplay and 16 were game-winning goals. He displays a career +19 plus/minus differential. Kaberle added 39 points (6 goals, 33 assists) in 102 playoff games, along with a +16 plus/minus ratio.
A native of Rakovnik, Czech Republic, he played in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics. Kaberle was drafted in the eighth round, 204th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.
Jaroslav Spacek played 12 games this season with the Canadiens registering three assists. He has a +2 plus/minus differential, with 12 hits and 25 blocked shots, playing an average of 15 minutes and 29 seconds per game.
Since joining the NHL, Spacek has recorded 343 points (77 goals and 266 helpers) and maintained a +45 plus/minus ratio in 846 NHL regular season games.
In an effort to plug leaks on the good ship Canadiens, General Manager Pierre Gauthier pulled the trigger on a trade.
To the Carolina Hurricanes goes Jaroslav Spacek and coming back to Montreal is Tomas Kaberle.
What a brutal move.
Not only would Spacek have fetched much more come trade deadline day, but he was in the last year of a deal that paid him $3.83 million per season.
Kaberle, on the other hand, has two more year (after this season) left on a deal that pays him $4.25 million per year.
Not to mention that he currently has nine points and is a minus-12 for the year. Worse yet, since being traded from the Leafs to Boston last season, Kaberle has only 18 points (1G, 17A) in 53 games (with the Bruins and Canes).
Keep in mind that this is a player who was brought into Boston to help them turn their powerplay around last year. And how did Boston do during the playoffs with Kaberle as their quarterback?
Zero goals and 11 assists in 25 playoff games for Kaberle and a PP that went 10-for-88 (11.36 percent) over four playoff rounds.
Here's what the Twitterverse is saying about the deal:
Dave Stubbs, Hockey Inside/Out
"I keep looking for even a tiny upside to #Habs Kaberle deal and... I can't find one"
Tony Marinario, TSN 990
"Tomas Kaberle is soft. He cant defend anymore. He killed Bruins Power play last yr in playoffs. 4.25M cap hit until 2013/14. This is bad."
Will Martinez, HeyMyNameIsWill.blogspot.com
"So what's on the agenda for this afternoon? An extension for Gomez?"
Kyle Roussel, Cowhide and Rubber
"This trade is silly. Buys JM more time, takes on a long contract. Not only do #Habs resemble the old Leafs, they now acquire their scraps."
In short, this is a brutal move of desperation from a GM who is clearly trying to save his own butt. And that has been the fear for the last few weeks...that Gauthier would start selling off parts of the team in an effort to squeak into the playoffs and/or save his own butt.
This move sets the Habs back on a lot of levels but, also going forward. Not only do the Habs have to deal with Scott Gomez's brutal contract but they now pick up another.
The bottom line is that this is a huge roll of the dice by Pierre Gauthier. For this deal to work out, Kaberle has to return to his pre-Bruins form, otherwise this is going to become another albatross for PG to bear.
Side Note
The deal is possibly an indicator that Andrei Markov will be out longer. More likely, however, it shows that Chris Campoli will be back in the lineup soon.
Either way, if Gauthier et al. expects Kaberle to a) revive the Habs powerplay and b) turn their season around, then this team is in even more trouble than I previously thought.
Calling Geoff Molson, calling Geoff Molson. The house is on fire and your GM just doused it with gasoline.
--- Kamal is a freelance writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com, Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com and featured columnist on PowerScoutHockey.com. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on TSN Radio 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 9 - 10 AM. Listen live at http://www.tsn.ca/montreal/
After playing the past seven seasons in Russia with Tolyatti Lada and Kazan Ak-Bars, rugged defenseman Alexei Emelin decided to come to North America to make his NHL debut for the team that drafted him 84th overall way back in 2004. In 2010-11, Emelin had his best offensive season in the KHL, registering 11 g and 15 assists for 26 points, while earning 117 penalty minutes. He also finished the year with a +16 ratio.
Despite playing in Russia for what seems like an eternity, Emelin is still only 25 years-old, the moment most defensemen reach their maturity and full potential. While Emelin will never be a constant point-producer in the NHL, he can certainly do better than his 0 point in 14 games so far for the Canadiens this season. Emelin has proved that he can block shots and make a good first pass. But right now, it's clear he is focusing on the defensive aspect of his game, but he showed in the KHL that he can contribute offensively too.
Often a healthy scratch at the beginning of the season, Emelin has now played the last six games due to a rash of injuries on Montreal's blue line and has slowly adjusted to the smaller NHL rinks and the more physical style played in North America. The 6'2'' 220 lb rearguard looks a lot like Red Wings Nicklas Kronwall when he made his North America debut in 2003-04. Kronwall is a hard-hitting defenseman that developed his offensive skills over the years to become Detroit's most important defenseman behind Nicklas Lidstrom. The former has amassed 191 points in 405 games in the NHL, or also one point every two games. Emelin is still far from producing offensively at such a good pace, but let's not forget Kronwall only registered 14 points in 47 games over his first two NHL seasons.
Emelin is currently ranked 32nd in the NHL in total hits with 49 in only 14 games (3.5 hits per game), but is ranked 6th for hits per game behind the likes of Matt Martin, Cal Clutterbuck, Troy Brouwer, Mark Fistric and Steve Ott. Not bad for rookie defenseman used to play in the KHL, not a league that is known for its physical play.
Alexei Emelin hip-checking Ales Hemsky at the blue line
Alexei Emelin with another hip-check on Tomas Vincour
Emelin is by far the Habs most physical defenseman as the rest of the defensive corps is composed of smaller players (Diaz, Weber, Spacek, Gorges) or softer players (Gill, Markov, Campoli) than the Togliatti, Russia, native.
Currently earning $984,200 this season with the Canadiens, Emelin will be a restricted free agent at season's end, so the team will have to decide if they want to sign him long-term in order to prevent him from returning to Russia. The left-handed blue-liner moved to North America in part because of Andrei Markov, who has yet to play this season recuperating from a knee injury that sidelined most of last season.
One has to wonder if Jacques Martin will reunite the two Russians on a defensive pairing in order to groom the young Emelin along a proven veteran to back him up and repair his occasional blunder. Once Emelin earns the confidence of his head coach, he will most likely receive more power play time than the 2:11 minutes he received so far this season!!
Through 14 games this season, Emelin is only seeing 15:11 minutes of time per game despite all the injuries the Canadiens sustained on the blue line. However, when Emelin gets more ice-time on the special units (playing only 43 seconds per game on the penalty kill this season), his ice-time will increase exponentially. With only four penalty minutes, Emelin has been very disciplined despite his rugged style. He has also taken only one penalty while drawing seven, which ranks him 7th in the NHL with a very positive ratio.
Now the question remains: Will Emelin be dressed over smaller defensemen Raphael Diaz and Yannick Weber when the Andrei Markov and Jaroslav Spacek come back into action in early December? Or will Emelin be made a healthy scratch more often than not?
------
Fred is a freelance sports write and translator, as well as a featured Montreal Canadiens blogger on http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/ and a baseball columnist on http://www.dobberbaseball.com/. Fred also joined HabsAddict.com in time for the 2011-12 season.
Looking for a multi-year contract after an injury-riddled 2010-11 campaign, restricted free agent Josh Gorges had to settle for a one year $2.5 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens this off-season.
Gorges missed 46 games last year with a knee injury.
He originally tore up his right knee during his last season with the Kelowna Rockets, of the WHL, and had hoped to postpone the surgery until his retirement.
Despite what Gorges may say, the surgery was the best thing that could happen to him and the Canadiens.
Gorges has been far more effective this season for the Canadiens, playing on a depleted defensive corps that has seen four key veterans miss time with injuries.
Currently paired with the offensive-minded P.K. Subban, Gorges has been the calming veteran presence that Jacques Martin needs to keep his team afloat.
The Canadiens are currently using four rookies on their blue line—winning two of their last three games—both via shutout, with Frederic St-Denis, Yannick Weber, Raphael Diaz and Alexei Emelin combining for only 104 games in the NHL.
That's not a small feat, especially against the red-hot New York Rangers on Saturday.
With a 9-8-3 record for 21 points after 20 games, the Habs are only one point back from the eighth seed—Ottawa Senators is eighth in the Eastern Conference—and Josh Gorges has been a key to the Habs 6-3-1 record over their last ten games.
Through 20 games, Gorges leads the Canadiens defensemen with one goal—a game-winner in Phoenix—and seven assists for eight points.
The 27-year old defenseman is on pace for a career-high of 33 points, ten more than his previous summit of 23 points in 2008-09.
Gorges is also ranked 12th in the NHL with an impressive plus-10 +/- differential. The second best Habs player is Travis Moen at plus-six. The Kelowna native also has 24 hits and seven takeaways this season.
Most impressively, Gorges is currently second in the whole league with 52 blocked shots, seven behind the NHL leader Ladislav Smid of the Edmonton Oilers.
Gorges is averaging 21:42 minutes per game this season, which is second on the team only behind P.K. Subban's 23:47 minutes per game. Despite playing far less than some defensemen, Gorges is averaging 30.6 shifts per game for the Canadiens, which is good for eighth in the NHL.
Gorges is also ranked 13th among rearguards with 3:48 of PK icetime on ice per game—eight seconds more per game than penalty-killing specialist Hal Gill.
To top it off, all of Gorges' points have come at even strength as he's barely used on the power play. In fact, he presently averages a mere seven seconds of PP time per game!
Acquired from the San Jose Sharks along with a first round pick—which the Canadiens turned into Max Pacioretty—in exchange for veteran Craig Rivet, Gorges has turned into one of the most undervalued and underrated blueliners in the league.
When he arrived in Montreal, Gorges was often a healthy scratch and played only sporadically when dressed. Now, he has been given the task of shutting down the top players in the league on a nightly basis.
And he does so with great success.
The problem is that this situation might turn out to be a major problem for GM Pierre Gauthier. The Habs GM has painted himself into a corner by giving Gorges a one-year deal, preferring to extend a longer, three-year contract to brittle veteran Andrei Markov.
One has to wonder if Gauthier will have enough money to retain Gorges' services since he needs to re-sign RFAs P.K. Subban and Carey Price—both will likely hit the jackpot, signing long-term extensions.
The Canadiens' GM needs to “think outside the box” and start negotiating with one of these key players immediately. Every game Gorges plays, every solid mistake free shift he takes, he gets a little more expensive.
With both veterans Hal Gill and Jaroslav Spacek slated to become unrestricted free agents at season's end, Gorges' experience and leadership will be even more so important for the Bleu Blanc Rouge's long-term plans.
--- Fred is a freelance sports write and translator, as well as a featured Montreal Canadiens blogger on http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/ and a baseball columnist on http://www.dobberbaseball.com/. Fred also joined HabsAddict.com in time for the 2011-12 season.
Since the "new" NHL launched a few years back there have been a myriad of changes in the league.
First and foremost is, of course, a crack down on obstructions—one that has been relaxed considerably in recent years.
Another change that can be felt more tangibly, is that of the NHL schedule. I remember working for a software company, in a previous life, that pitched the NHL on automating their scheduling system.
At the time, it was one guy—yes, one guy—who did all of the scheduling by hand. He had a massive white board with logos for teams, various arena schedule information and other aids to help him put together a given NHL season schedule.
I know, total insanity.
But in recent years, this man has been replaced by software and, as such, we have seen a dramatic increase in teams randomly having several days off.
Witness the current five-day break the Habs are on as exhibit 'A'.
A question of momentum
With the Habs fresh on the heels of a three-game winning streak including back-to-back Ws over the rival Boston Bruins, the timing of the break is not necessarily great.
It remains to be seen how the extended break will affect the team, but suffice it to say that there is something to be said about keeping the momentum going. Especially considering the Habs were just starting to turn their horrible start around.
But who knows, they might come out with fire on their eyes on Friday as they face the red-hot Ottawa Senators.
I know, that doesn't roll off the tongue very well does it?
The only team ahead of the Sens—Ottawa is second in the Northeast with 14 points—are the Toronto Maple Leafs with 15 points.
That also doesn't roll off the tongue very well, but such is the 2011-2012 NHL season so far.
If there is a bright side to the Habs early November break, it is that they have time to lick their many wounds. That and they are, at least, going into the break on a winning streak.
Can you imagine all the hand-wringing that would be going on if they had just lost three in a row?
Better D
Jaroslav Spacek made his return to the lineup at the same time that assistant coach Perry Pearn was let go.
And while some are looking at the departure of Pearn as the reason for the turnaround, I think that Spacek's presence in the lineup isn't getting enough press.
With him out of the lineup, Montreal was forced to play Yannick Weber, Raphael Diaz and Alexei Emelin and give them major minutes.
Combine that with second-year defenseman, P.K. Subban, Josh Gorges and what looks to be an over-the-hill Hal Gill, and Montreal simply did not have enough experience in the lineup.
Spacek's presence on the back end helped to calm some of the young guns, especially his frequent playing partner Weber.
I think that having more experience on the backend helped the Habs get their transition game going, while allowing the coaching staff to spread out the ice time.
The result: a three-game win streak in which Gill has averaged around 18 minutes per game, along with Weber and Diaz.
Walking Wounded
Both Andrei Markov and Scott Gomez have been skating on their own and look to make returns to the lineup in the not-so-distant future.
Markov is probably still about three weeks away, maybe more, but Gomez looks like he could be back as early as this weekend.
So the big question floating around town is where does he fit in the lineup?
The short answer is that he doesn't.
Gomez has done nothing over the last two seasons to show that he deserves to be in the lineup. Moreover, with David Desharnais and Lars Eller getting more and more ice time, the two young centers are looking better each game.
Desharnais is a known commodity from last season but the emergence of Lars Eller as a big, strong two-way center has been nothing short of a revelation for the Habs.
Sure he doesn't have the best hands in the world and likely will never be a 30-goal scorer. But he should hit 20. Maybe even 25.
What's more important is that he, finally, gives the Habs some size up the middle.
So what do you do? Bump him to the fourth line in favour of Gomez, giving the Habs three small centers in their top-nine?
Personally, I'd let Gomez sit, look for a trade option or send him down to Hamilton.
That's a pipe dream, I know, but that's what I'd do.
As for the veteran-loving Jacques Martin, well, he will likely dislodge a player who is playing well in favour of getting Gomez back into the lineup. And that, my friends, is a crying shame.
Chris Nilan floated the idea, on TSN 990, of playing him on as a third line winger.
I suppose that's possible but I don't see a player who has been a "career" center, faring well in that transition.
Either way, Habs management has some big decisions to make!
Guaranteed Win Night
So the gents from The Franchise weekend morning show (on TSN 990) and I are throwing a hockey party this Saturday and you are all invited!
Why 'Guaranteed win night'? Because if the Habs lose, you get a coupon for free chicken wings!
It's at Brasserie Sports 40 in Anjou and costs $10 at the door which gives you entry into the party and one raffle ticket for our prize draw.
We'll be giving away tickets, jerseys and so much more! Plus, a portion of the proceeds will be going to Team in Training (TNT) charity.
If that wasn't enough, Chris 'Knuckles' Nilan will be in attendance.
So come out, watch the game (Habs v. Rangers) talk some hockey with Nilan, help out a charity and possibly win some prizes.
I'm hoping to see some of you Habs addict out there! Shoot me a message if you're going to make it, I'd love to meet you all face-to-face!
Lastly, but not leastly (can you say that?), here is our Sunday Shinny podcast from this past Sunday.
Former NHLer and current radio analyst for TSN 990, Bobby Dollas, was in studio with us.
It's always an amazing experience to hear a former player talk about the league and what goes on behind the scenes. I highly recommend checking out the podcast!
We discussed the return Gomez, Markov, the firing of Pearn, the Habs recent turnaround and so much more.
When it comes to Gomez I contented that he has never been more superfluous to the Habs lineup.
Never.
On Markov, I said that his return to the lineup will make Emelin the eighth D-man while pushing Diaz and Weber down the line. So does that mean that Emelin will go back to the KHL?
The bottom line is that, to me, the logjam spells a trade, probably of either Weber or Diaz, and that is a tough choice!
What do you think? Who goes where when Markov and Gomez are back? Is there a trade in the works?
Click play below to listen in (listing time 51:05):
--- Kamal is a freelance writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com and Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on TSN Radio 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 9 - 10 AM. Listen live at http://www.tsn.ca/montreal/
The Montreal Canadiens will be without winger Mike Cammalleri and rearguard Jaroslav Spacek for the next two-to-three weeks following the injuries they sustained during Sunday's 5-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets.
Cammalleri sustained a deep leg laceration when Yannick Weber cut his leg in the period, while Spacek sustained a probable rib injury when he was checked by Evander Kane into the boards also in the first frame.
Forward lines at practice:
Moen-Plekanec-Cole
Pacioretty-Gomez-Gionta
Darche-Desharnais-Kostitsyn
Eller-Engqvist-Palushaj
Lars Eller is slated to make a return on Thursday against the Calgary Flames at Bell Centre.
Yannick Weber was back on defense after playing part of the last two games on the blue line following injuries. The Habs have very inexperienced blue line with Spacek and Markov out of the line up for the upcoming weeks at the earliest. Newly-signed rearguard Chris Campoli will also miss an extended period of time (in terms of weeks) after suffering a hamstring injury in the season opener on Saturday. That's three veteran defensemen that you have to replace.
The Habs also lost their insurance policy when they put Jeff Woywitka on waivers before the season and saw him claimed by the New York Rangers.
Look for GM Pierre Gauthier to get defensive help very soon as he can't afford to go with this personnel for an extended period of time.
The Canadiens and the Maple Leafs are rumored to be talking to each other as the Habs need an NHL defenseman and the Maple Leafs have a surplus of quality rearguards at their disposal.
The Montreal Canadiens have announced earlier today that they have called up forward Aaron Palushaj to replace injured forward Mike Cammalleri who suffered a deep laceration on his left leg when he was cut by the skate on teammate Yannick Weber during yesterday's 5-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets.
Assigned to the Bulldogs on October, the 22 year-old forward registered two helpers in Hamilton's 5-2 victory in their season opener against the Rochester Americans on October 8 in Hamilton.
Palushaj had a good training camp before his demotion, registering four points (1-3-4) in five preseason games with the Canadiens.
Palushaj's arrival gives the Habs eleven healthy forwards to work with if Yannick Weber is taking Jaroslav Spacek's spot on defense. Spacek left yesterday's contest with a ribs injury. We'll know more about the extent of his injury tomorrow.
Andrei Kostitsyn will take Cammalleri's spot alongside Erik Cole and Tomas Plekanec.
The Canadiens will host the Calgary Flames for their home opener at the Bell Centre, Thursday October 13, 2011.
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
Confidence is an integral part of winning in any sport. Sometimes it is fleeting, but for those who push through a wall to win, it tends to be unwavering. The Montreal Canadiens, who pulled out a 2-1 regulation decision over the Boston Bruins last night, seem to have this kind of confidence.
So with the win, this classic playoff battle between two bitter original-six rivals will now go to Game 7 tonight in Boston. The decisive game will be played at TD Garden with the winner moving on to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
So I guess I was wrong with my original prediction; the Boston Bruins won't win this series in six after all. I can't say I'm disappointed with the outcome either, but the Bruins surely are.
Watching the postgame interviews, the Bruins seemed like a totally demoralized, utterly defeated team. And this despite there still being one game left to play in the series.
I found this strange, too, since they are still very much alive and it really is anyone's game tonight. Yet from the coach down to the captain, the body language and verbiage were those of a team that feels they lost the series last night.
Final score: Habs 2 - Bruins 1
Habs scorers: Mike Cammalleri (3), Brian Gionta (3
Bruins scorers: Dennis Seidenberg (1)
Three stars: 1. Michael Cammalleri, 2. Carey Price, 3. Brian Gionta
Game Notes
Two observations
Looking back to post-Game 5 interviews, the Canadiens were also disheartened but that was after double-overtime loss. And despite the loss, Montreal was still spouting positivity and talking about how the series wasn't over.
You didn't hear any of that from the Bruins last night.
What you did hear was a team that sounded like they had just been eliminated from the playoffs. Whereas the Bs have had a bounce in their step through Games 3, 4 and 5, they look like they had fallen back into self-doubt last night.
And, as was the case during Games 1 and 2, Coach Julien was agitated, uncomfortable and annoyed while doing his postgame press conference. His frustration was ironically most palpable while explaining how the Bruins are/were not frustrated by the Canadiens.
So with the quick turnaround—the puck drops on Game 7 tonight at 7 p.m.—the question now becomes which team is mentally tougher.
It's a matter of pride
Last night, Montreal played like a team who wanted the win. As I suggested they would before the game, this team's veteran core stood up and led the Habs to victory in what was a true team effort.
Michael Cammalleri was once again the Habs' best skater, scoring a power-play goal on a wicked one-knee blast. Paul Mara looked real good on the back end, filling in for injured James Wisniewski. Yannick Weber did an acceptable job on the fourth line. Brian Gionta scored the winner on the power play and, despite letting in a soft goal, Carey Price was the difference maker.
Overall, the Habs did exactly what they had to do to force a Game 7. As such, they will certainly be brimming with confidence but eternally aware of the task at hand.
But how will the Bruins respond?
This is a team that looked primed for a sweep after two games, that was happy with its play after five and which again looked completely defeated last night. Whereas the Habs have done a great job of not getting too high or low, Boston is having difficulty finding that mental middle-ground.
If Boston is not able to refocus quickly, their fragility could end up being their undoing tonight.
Teams play all year for home-ice advantage in the playoffs for exactly these kinds of situations. I am just wondering if the weight of expectation is going to crush the Bruins.
A quick goal by Montreal and this one could be over in a hurry.
Horrible officiating
Referee Chris Lee is an infamous NHL referee.
Like Carey Fraser before him, Lee is known more for blowing big calls than anything else. And watching him and his team do their thing last night, you can see why.
The number of marginal and missed calls by Lee and his team where through the roof and directly influenced the outcome of the game. Montreal even got two, yes two, 5-on-3 power plays converting on both to win the game.
As for botched calls, there was a phantom goaltender interference penalty on Patrice Bergeron early in the first period, where Bergeron made only incidental contact with Price. There was a two-minute minor to Chris Kelly for high sticking Travis Moen, even though Moen was bleeding—when a player is bleeding, it is an automatic four-minute penalty.
There was a blindside hit from Milan Lucic on Jaroslav Spacek, which only resulted in a game misconduct after they saw the blood streaming down Spacek's face. And, worst of all, there was an early whistle—this time by Kevin Pollack—in the first period where Tim Thomas failed to cover the puck and Gionta put the rebound into the empty net.
The goal was disallowed and the only good thing is that the Habs ended up winning the game. If not, the entire hockey world would be set ablaze this morning.
Needless to say, these two refs will not be in the Stanley Cup final, but why they are in the playoffs at all is a mystery to me.
Ugliness of the night
There was actually a lot of ugliness last night.
From the early whistle that nullified a Gionta goal to Lars Eller tangling with Adam McQuaid, falling to the ice and looking like either his shoulder or elbow was dislocated, there was plenty to go around.
But Milan Lucic took the ugliness cake at 4:37 of the second period when he hammered Spacek into the boards. Spacek had his back turned to Lucic and his head got crunched against the rigid Bell Centre glass.
Looking at the replay you can see that it was a classic blindside hit with Lucic nailing Spacek right in the numbers.
Spacek fell to the ice and took a few minutes before getting up, blood streaming from his forehead and being led to the dressing room. Fortunately, after a few stitches he seemed no worse for wear and was back in the game.
Lucic received a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct.
Many are saying this morning that Lucic does not deserve any supplemental punishment, but I feel that given the blindside nature of the hit, Lucic should be suspended for at least one game. That being said, I am fully aware that he will not receive any further discipline. His hit was bad but not worse than Mike Richards on Tim Connolly or Bryan Bickell's hit on Kevin Bieksa.
And neither Richards nor Bickell were suspended for those hits, so Lucic isn't going anywhere.
...this is it
Tonight, this immensely entertaining first-round series between the Bruins and Canadiens comes to an end. And what an end it'll be!
This will mark the 13th time these teams have played each other since the start of the regular season, with Montreal holding a 7-5 win advantage. It's slight, to be sure, but so is the margin between wins and losses in this series.
I expect tonight to be no different with a tight, intense battle for the win.
The biggest X-factor, however, is the mental make-up of the Boston Bruins. Are they as fragile as they look and will that ultimately be their undoing? Or can they cowboy-up, to steal a Carey Price-ism and get the job done?
All of the pressure is once again on their shoulders and the crowd will be ravenous for a win. Still I have my doubts that Boston can get it done. To me, this is the Canadiens game and series to lose tonight, and I don't imagine they will.
However, with two games in 24 hours, you really have to throw convention out the window. With no time to rest, recuperate or recover from the win or loss and refocus for tonight's game, anything really can happen.
I originally called the Bruins winning this series in six games, but after they tied it at two, I felt it would go seven with Montreal winning. While I'm no Nostradamus, I still have a quiet confidence in the Habs' chances tonight, much like the team itself does.
--- Kamal is a freelance Habs writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com, Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com and Habs writer on TheFranchise.ca. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on The Team 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 8 - 9 AM. Listen live at http://www.team990.com/
The Montreal Canadiens, fresh off clinching their fourth straight playoff appearance, embark on their penultimate game of the season tonight in Ottawa against the Senators.
This will be the sixth and final game of the season between the two teams, in which the Sens have not fared very well. Montreal has won four of the five matches so far and outscored the Sens 11-2 in their last two wins.
The Habs have only been playing .500 hockey over their last ten games, however, and will be trying on entering the playoffs on a roll.
For the Sens, their season ends once the regular season is over. However these are still professional athletes and, as such, will be playing for pride more than anything else.
Standings
The Sens are 13th overall in the East with 72 points, only two out of the conference basement. Despite being eliminated from playoff contention—and perhaps because of it—the Sens have a 6-3-1 record over their last ten.
Their recent hot streak includes a 5-2 Tuesday night win over the suddenly struggling Philadelphia Flyers.
The Habs are in sixth overall in the East with 93 points and two games to play in the season.
There is as much fluidity in the top three as there is in the bottom three in the East. As such, Montreal can't afford to rest on their laurels and would do well to win tonight and Saturday in Toronto.
The Sabres and Rangers are one and two points back of the Canadiens respectively.
Goaltending
Canadiens MVP, Carey Price, will get a rest tonight after getting his franchise record 71st start of the year on Tuesday.
In his place, backup Alex Auld will get his first start in eight games. The last time he played Montreal rolled over the Minnesota Wild 8-1.
Montreal has won only three games since then.
Injuries have created a goaltending carousel for the Sens this season, with six goaltenders starting at various points over the year.
However with Craig Anderson starting six of the last seven while going 4-1-1, he seems likely to get the call for Ottawa tonight.
Scoring and Special Teams
The Sens goals-for and against are both in the bottom-five of the league while their special teams are in the top-15.
Go figure.
Ottawa has the 29th goals-for at 2.3 per game (188 total goals), the 25th goals-against at 3.0 per game (245 total goals), the 14th overall power play at 17.8 percent and the eighth best penalty kill at 83.7 percent.
The Habs also have difficulty scoring as their 23rd 2.6 goal-for per game (210 total goals) shows. However they are much stronger on the defensive side and have a strong PP.
Montreal has the ninth best goals-against at 2.5 per game (205 total goals), the seventh best penalty kill at 84.1 percent and the seventh best PP at 19.4 percent.
As such, if the Canadiens commit to their defense-first system and wait for turnovers and mistakes by the Sens, they should have no problem pulling out the win.
Roster Changes and Injuries
There is no official word yet on the Canadiens roster for tonight but rookie defenseman, Yannick Weber, is slotted to get back in the lineup. Veteran D-man, Jaroslav Spacek, is also ready to return from injury, but there is no indication yet if he will be in the lineup tonight.
Montreal continues to be without the services of Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, Max Pacioretty, Jeff Halpern and Alex Picard.
The Sens are no strangers to injury either with seven players on the sidelines.
Daniel Alfredsson, Sergei Gonchar, Matt Carkner, Peter Regin and Erik Karlsson are all listed as day-to-day, while Marek Svatos and Pascal Leclaire are gone for the season.
Key to Victory
The Senators, freed of the burden of pressure, have been playing some inspired hockey lately. Still, with Daniel Alfredsson out of the lineup the offensive responsibilities lie squarely on Jason Spezza's shoulders.
If the Habs can shut down Spezza they should be able to skate to victory.
Montreal needs to make sure they use their speed to draw penalties and create pressure on the Sens defenders.
For Ottawa, they need to attack the Habs slower defenders with speed. In addition, given the Habs tendency to shut down the slot area, they absolutely must get bodies to the net.
If the Habs can play their usual hermetic defensive game, this should end up being a low scoring victory for them.
Game time is 7:00 PM.
The Franchise and HabsAddict.com Playoff Party Contest - Enter Now!
The Franchise every Saturday and Sunday morning on Montreal’s Sports Authority The TEAM990, The Franchise in conjunction with HabsAddict.com are throwing a Playoff Party and we want you to join us!
We taking qualifiers for YOU and 4 of your friends to join us at Gianni Café Bistro (6329, boul Couture, Saint-léonard, QC, H1P3J5 ) for one of the playoff games!
The party will take place for Game Two of the Montreal Canadiens First Round series (date and time of event to be confirmed once the NHL releases the 2011 playoff schedule).
--- Kamal is a freelance Habs writer, Senior Writer/Editor-in-Chief of HabsAddict.com, Montreal Canadiens Blogger on Hockeybuzz.com and Habs writer on TheFranchise.ca. Kamal is also a weekly contributor to the Sunday Shinny on The Team 990 (AM 990) every Sunday from 8 - 9 AM. Listen live at http://www.team990.com/
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
The Canadiens and Flyers have a history of animosity going back to the days of the Broadstreet Bullies in the 70s.
The flame of angst continued to flicker through playoff appearances in the 80s and 90s, but went a little quiet over recent years. Well, that quiet is no more with the teams clashing twice over the last three seasons in the playoffs, and the Habs getting spanked on each occasion.
This year's version of the rivalry started after the two teams' first matchup of the season, a 3-0 shutout win by the Habs on November 16, 2010. After the game, a visibly upset Mike Richards went into a rant about how P.K. Subban needs to show more respect to veterans and that he shouldn't be so cocky. Richards' speech might have sparked a lot of discussion off the ice but nothing manifested on the ice in the rematch a week later, where the Flyers went to work on a 3-2 comeback win.
Tonight is the third meeting of the season between the teams with both seemingly headed in different directions.
The Flyers are soaring high on a three-game winning streak, having a 20-7-5 record for 45 points in the standings. They currently sit atop both Eastern Conference and league standings.
The Habs, on the other hand, have had a tough time of things over the last 12 games with a 6-6 record. Their current two-game skid coincided with a two-game absence from the lineup by Scott Gomez and Subban
Subban, on the other hand, will be playing his third game since serving a three-game stretch in the press box. As much as P.K.'s confidence was evident in the early parts of the season, since returning to the ice he has looked more like a tentative rookie. With Andrei Markov out for the season and Jaroslav Spacek returning tonight from an "upper body" injury, the Habs will need Subban to quickly return to prime form.
It looks like Michael Cammalleri will be reunited with top center Tomas Plekanec and Travis Moen will be playing on the other wing. Andrei Kostitsyn practiced on the fourth line yesterday so you would have to assume that Coach Martin has seen something he didn't like for AK46.
Look for Kostitsyn to move up to the first line at some point during the match, especially if the Habs are down by a goal.
The Flyers are coming off of three straight wins and are 5-1 in their last six games. Their only loss was a 5-4 shootout loss where they still picked up a point in the standings.
Philly will be playing their second game in 48 hours tonight and the Canadiens would be well advised to take the play to them early. Considering that the Flyers are coming off a hard-fought emotional battle against the division rival Penguins, scoring the first goal could go a long way towards victory for the Habs.
In a very difficult month, the Habs are facing yet another huge test this week playing the Flyers tonight and Bruins tomorrow. Both are teams that the Habs are in direct competition in the standings, and they also play a physical brand that the Habs don't tell to do as well against.
As I have said before, if the Canadiens truly hope to contend this season they have to be able to beat teams that play a physical brand of hockey.
Carey Price will be making his 28th start of the season and there is no word yet on who the Flyers will be countering with. With Brian Boucher playing the last three games and being in a back-to-back situation, you'd have to think it might be Sergei Bobrovsky in the net.
The Canadiens have not yet lost more than two games in a row this season, and they hope to ensure that trends doesn't change tonight.
Game time is 7:30 pm and the puck should drop around 7:38 pm. This one should be a barn-burner!
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images North America)
In playing their second game in 24 hours the fear was that the Montreal Canadiens might be tired against the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. Add to that the fact that they arrived in Toronto late Friday night and that they spent a lot of energy in the third period against the Red Wings, and it seemed like the perfect storm might be brewing.
The only saving grace, at least on paper, was that the Habs were playing against a Leafs team that has a lot of trouble scoring goals. The Leafs are third from last in the league in goals, with just 65 in 29 games—a 2.24 goals per game average.
Hardly an offensive juggernaut.
But that didn't matter last night, as the Canadiens played a passive trapping game from the first buzzer, allowing the Leafs to dominate play in their zone. The Canadiens had a few decent shifts to start the game but seemed to be suffering the after effects of the previous night's tilt against the Red Wings.
With the Canadiens sitting back and letting the Leafs take the play to them, they once again got themselves into penalty trouble which further compounded their problems.
The Leafs opened the scoring in the first when Alex Auld lost sight of a shot off of the backboards. With Auld looking the wrong way Phil Kessel put the puck into the empty net to make it 1-0.
Tomas Kaberle made it 2-0 when his shot on a two-on-one eluded Alex Auld low stick side. Shortly after the goal, Jaroslav Spacek and Clarke MacArthur dusted off in the Leafs zone, with Spacek leaving the game with an "upper body" injury. Fortunately for the Habs, Yannick Weber was in the lineup as a forward on the fourth line and Jacques Martin quickly shifted him to D with Roman Hamrlik.
The fight seemed momentarily to wake the Habs from their slumber, and they finally started to get a few scoring chances.
Both teams played a sleepy second period until Jacques Martin switched Michael Cammalleri back to the first line with Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn. The trio produced the Habs' first goal of the game when Cammalleri fired a wrister top corner past Jean-Sebastien Giguere. After the goal, the Habs came back to life, dominating play and out-shooting the Leafs 10-3 in the second period.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, they just couldn't keep the momentum going, and they started to look slow and disorganized again in the third. The Leafs didn't have a lot going on either, but playing against a listless Habs squad, they didn't need much to pull out the win and closed it out in the third with an empty netter.
Final score: Leafs 3 - Habs 1
Habs' scorers: Michael Cammalleri (10)
Leafs' scorers: Phil Kessel (11), Tomas Kaberle (1), Kris Versteeg (9)
Three stars: 1. Tomas Kaberle, 2. Phil Kessel, 3. Fredrik Sjostrom
Game Notes
1. Auld let in two weak goals but was not the reason the Habs lost.
Auld didn't look very good on either of the Leafs' first period goals, but I guess that is to be expected from a guy who was making only his third start of the season. On the first goal he didn't have enough focus to track the puck properly, and it ended up in the back of the net.
The second goal—Tomas Kaberle's first of the season—was a low shot, unscreened, that Auld would have had if he had tried to stop the puck with his pad or stick. Instead, he sort of bent over to try to stop it with his glove and he missed it completely, resulting in what ended up being the winning goal.
Fortunately for the Habs, Auld settled down after the second goal and made enough saves to keep them in it when they looked like they needed a nap. When the Canadiens finally came to life in the second, Auld wasn't tested very much, but when he was he was there to make the save.
It makes you think that as the season progresses, the Habs might have to try to get Auld into some more games in order to keep him sharp. More importantly, if the Habs hope to have a long playoff run they need Price to be rested and fresh come spring time.
Price is currently on pace to play 74 games, and that is far too many if they want their star keeper to be in prime form come playoff time.
2. So much for being disciplined.
The Habs gave the Leafs three power-play opportunities in the game, which might not seem like the end of the world, but two of them were back-to-back—both by Jeff Halpern—in the first period. These PKs seemed to sap a lot of energy out of an already lethargic Habs squad and helped keep the momentum going for the Leafs.
Good thing for the Habs that the Leafs don't have a great power play, at only 25th in the league and operating at a 14.8 percent efficiency. That combined with the Habs league-leading 89 percent efficient penalty kill meant that the Leafs weren't able to do any damage on the scoreboard.
As I have said before, when the Canadiens are not skating they tend to get themselves into trouble, and their penalties last night were because the sluggish Habs were not moving their feet.
Sluggishness is never a good thing, especially for a team whose success is based on skating and speed. But the Canadiens played a passive trapping style from the drop of the puck when they should have been attacking the Leafs. The result was that, like the first period against Detroit, they were chasing the puck and taking penalties in the process.
I understand fatigue as a reason for the Canadiens' tired play, but these constant, untimely trips to the penalty box have to be addressed.
3. Cammalleri and Plekanec make beautiful music together.
Michael Cammalleri was placed back on the Tomas Plekanec line in the second period and played some inspired hockey as a result.
It's been pretty evident that Cammalleri was not happy playing with struggling center Scott Gomez but, being the team guy that he is, would never publicly say anything to that effect.
The reality is that he has looked everything from angry, annoyed, frustrated and despondent while playing with Gomez over the last few weeks. And while Cammalleri was still getting points on the second line, last night you saw why he truly belongs on the first line with Plekanec.
He is the Canadiens' best sniper, and he should be playing with their best center.
After going through a four-game goal drought, Cammalleri suddenly has had three goals in his last four games. With no official word yet on the status of Gomez and with huge back-to-back games against Philadelphia and Boston next week, I think it is time for Martin to reunite his top two offensive players permanently.
The Habs could certainly use the scoring punch.
4. P.K Subban continues to look lost on the ice.
To steal a line from RDS play-by-play announcer and former Habs forward Benoit Brunet, "Aye, aye, aye!"
In his second game back since being banished to the press box for three, Subban continued to struggle last night. Subban, who looks like a shell of the player who started the season with fire in his eyes, looked hesitant, confused and handcuffed out there. He looked like he was trying not to try, trying to be low-key and trying not to make any waves. Moreover, Subban is no longer yapping on the ice like he was at the beginning of the season; it all looks very unnatural to him.
It's a bit painful to watch.
So it seems like Jacques Martin's plan to reel Subban in worked in that he is definitely a subdued version of the player who got fans excited only a few weeks ago. The problem, however, is that his three-game stint in the press box seems to have turned a confident, brash young man into a nervous and tentative player.
For the first time this season, Subban actually looked like a rookie, and this once again raises the specter of Jacques Martin's poor track record with young players. Remember that this is exactly what happened to Max Pacioretty last season: It has taken him a good 30-40 games to get his confidence back.
Subban is a player who is thought to have more mental toughness than Pacioretty, and he should be able to find his game again. It won't happen over night, but I think that over the next few weeks he will slowly come back to life.
The only question is how long it will take and have the Habs, who might now be without the services of Jaroslav Spacek, done more damage than good?
5. The Habs have no net presence.
While the Habs are a skilled team, they do not have size up front and have few players that excel at crashing the net and posting up in front of the goaltender.
The Habs had sequences where they controlled the play but took far too many shots with no one standing in front of the goaltender. You are, generally speaking, not going to beat an experienced goaltender like Giguere without some kind of traffic in front of him.
The Habs had the same problem on the power play, often rifling shots right at Giguere's chest with no one standing in front. Part of the problem is a lack of patience on the part of the defensemen, particularly Subban, who seem to want to fire the puck as soon as they have a shot. The rest of the problem lies with the forwards who just don't seem to have it in their DNA to go to the front of the net.
Brian Gionta is one of the only Canadiens players who is constantly going to the front of the net, and he is the smallest player on the team.
Perhaps it's time for the Habs to look at addressing this gaping hole in the lineup, and with rumours of their interest in players like Jamie Langenbrunner, they might already be looking to move in that direction.
Standings and Next Game
The loss moves the Canadiens' record to 18-10-2, stalled at 38 points in the standings. While they are still in first place in the Northeast division, the Bruins' overtime loss to the Flyers inches them ever closer to the Habs in the standings.
The B's now have 36 points with two games in hand.
The Habs now have three days off before two critical back-to-back games in Montreal against the Flyers on Wednesday and the Bruins on Thursday. Both teams are exactly the type of physical opponents that the Habs tend to have problems against, and with the injuries slowly starting to mount, they represent the biggest challenges so far this season.
With injuries to Gomez and Spacek and problems with Subban on the back end, this is the first time this season that the Habs will truly have to deal with adversity.
How they respond will go a long way towards showing us what kind of team they really are.
(Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images North America)
