A Bag of Pucks: Thoughts from the Hockey World

Hey Habs fans, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post and a lot has been happening in Habs Nation and the hockey world. Here are my two cents on some of the major events

Rene Bourque Trade

On November 20th Rene Bourque was traded to Anaheim in exchange for 6'5" defenseman Bryan Allen. This was a win-win trade. Bourque gets a fresh start in Anaheim after falling out of favor in Montreal after some indifferent play. On November 9th Bourque was waived by the Canadiens and sent to Hamilton the next day. This trade will free up significant cap space and will allow forwards like Jiri Sekac to see more ice time. Meanwhile, Montreal gets added insurance on defense in case of injury. Allen won't be contributing much to the offense, but he's a solid veteran who can perform in a top-four pairing. Expect to see him on the 3rd pairing with time on the PK unit.

Mr. Hockey takes a turn for the worst

Hockey Legend Gordie Howe is in ill health after suffering a massive stroke October 26th. On November 16th, Howe took a turn for the worse suffering some minor strokes and also feeling the effects of a previous back injury that was worsening his dementia. Howe is a living legend in hockey having played through parts of five decades. He really opened the game up for youth who followed and idolized him. Habs fans raise your sticks to Mr. Hockey and pray for the best for him.

Legendary coach Pat Quinn dies

Pat Quinn sadly passed away on Sunday November 23rd passed away after a lengthy illness. While he never coached the Montreal Canadiens, defenseman PK Subban was on the 2009 World Junior team coached by Quinn. Pat Quinn was instrumental in resurrecting the Vancouver Canucks. He served as GM and President of the Canucks from 1987-1997. He was head coach from 1991-1994 after a ban was lifted preventing him from coaching after selecting Pavel Bure a year before his draft eligibility. Quinn held the GM/head coach positions for the Toronto Maple Leafs 1998-2005. I had the privilege of meeting the legendary coach at a Canucks fan appreciation event in 1995. The hockey world truly lost a legend in Pat Quinn. Rest in peace coach.

Edmonton Oilers fire goalie coach

On November 11, the Edmonton Oilers fired goalie coach Frederic Chabot. I choose to write about this topic because it exemplifies how NOT to run a hockey team. The Edmonton Oilers were once a feared franchise, winning five Stanley Cups in the 80's. However, since that time, the weak Canadian dollar affected the Oilers ability to sign and keep top players. From 2010-2012 the Oilers had the first overall pick in the entry draft and selected Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov respectively. Clearly, the Oilers have issues having given up the most goals in the league. However, it is easy to make a coach the scapegoat for poor play, but at the end of the day it is on the players. Also, the coach can only work with what he is given. GM Craig McTavish also has to take some blame for poor drafting decisions and not getting the right players in free agency. No, the Oilers will not make the playoffs this season.

Current Playoff Standings 

If the playoffs started tomorrow, five of the seven Canadian teams would make the playoffs (your Montreal Canadiens, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnpeg). Only Edmonton and Ottawa would be on the outside looking in.With just over a quarter of the season in the books, the Habs are in a six way tie for 1st in the league. By virtue of having played an extra game, the Habs are officially 4th in the East. I love that they have beat the hated Bruins thrice and Detroit twice. Goalie Carey Price has been spectacular. Jiri Sekac has been effective in the Habs bottom six. GM Marc Bergevin's moves have all paid off thus far. Hopefully the team continues to thrive as the season goes forward. I hope all five of the teams make it to the playoffs because I want to see a Canadian team win the cup. Although realistically, Montreal and Vancouver are the two most likely teams to make it all the way to the cup finals.

Brandon Gallagher extended six seasons

Finally on November 30, the Habs extended forward Brandon Gallagher to a six-year deal that will expire after the 2020-21 season. While Gallagher is a good player signing, such a lengthy deal is always risky. First, one can't predict the health of a player. Hockey is a violent sport and there is always the risk of injury. Another factor is by signing a lengthy deal, the motivation to perform at a high level might be down. Gallagher has a guaranteed contract the next six years. He doesn't have to worry about earning his next contract for a few years. I like Gallagher as a player so I think he will likely provide scoring and grit for the Habs.

Go Habs go

Habs fan blogging from BC

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Game 22 - Canadiens at Bruins

#MTLHockey Preview

Match Up

Hockey's greatest rivalry continues Saturday night when the Canadiens (15-5-1) face the Bruins (13-8-0) in Boston. The game is set to start at 7:00 and airs on TVA-Sports and Sportsnet.

This is already the third of four games between the Habs and Bruins this year, and the first in Boston. The Habs have won both their games versus the Bruins already this season by a combined score of 11-5. Max Pacioretty has three goals and two assists already this season against the Bruins, and Brendan Gallagher has two goals and two assists in the series.

What to Watch

P.A. Parenteau had another solid game on Montreal's top line against the Blues on Thursday, springing Max Pacioretty on a breakaway for the game winning goal. Pacioretty, who turned 26 Thursday night, had a pair of goals bring him up to ten on the season. He also has nine points in his last seven games.

Although the Bruins are an ailing team, they were able to fend off the equal beat up Blue Jackets Friday night, winning 4-3 on a goal in the seventh round of an otherwise scoreless shootout. Alex Khokhlachev broke the deadlock to grab the extra point for Boston.

But enough about all that, watch Milan Lucic get dropped:

What's at Stake

The Canadiens have won both their games this season against the Bruins, but this is also their first visit to Boston. The league leading Habs can put a bit more distance on the rest of the league with a win against a hurting Boston squad.

Who's Out

The Habs are without Michael Bournival (shoulder), they still have just 12 healthy forwards on their roster.

The Bruins are suffering going into Saturday's game, missing many key pieces. Zdeno Chara (knee), David Krejci (undisclosed), Adam McQuaid (broken thumb) are all out and Brad Marchand (undisclosed) is day to day and did not play Friday night.

What Else

Marc Bergevin completed his second trade of the season prior to Thursday's game, sending Rene Bourque to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Bryan Allen. Allen, a former teammate of Bergevin, joins the team in Boston and is expected to dress for his first game as a Hab. The 6'5" defenseman has played 716 NHL games split between the Canucks, Panthers, Hurricanes and Ducks. He has 29 career goals and 135 points.

The Question Mark

With Sergei Gonchar and now Bryan Allen joining the team, how should Habs management use Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi this season?

Tonight's Show

Join host Steven Hindle along with Kosta Papoulias and Rob Elbaz for the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show at 6:00 Saturday night as we go live from the Peel Pub at 1196 Peel to preview the Habs and Bruins.

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Almost Bourque Traded to Ducks for Bryan Allen

When we thought Marc Bergevin could not make a better deal than the Moen vs Gonchar trade, we learned today that the Montreal Canadiens had traded disappointing forward Rene Bourque to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for rugged defenseman Bryan Allen.

The 34-year-old Allen comes to Montreal only played six games this season after sustaining an injury that cost him the first 14 games of the year. A physical defender, Allen has only one point this season, playing 18:12 on average per night. The 6'5'', 225-lb, native of Kingston, Ontario will provide leadership, size and grit to the Habs' blue line, qualities that were missing this season, especially against bigger teams.

The former Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers, among other teams, is also in the last year of a three-year, $10.5 million deal that pays him $3.5 million annually. The move will allow the Canadiens to clear more cap space for next season as Rene Bourque was slated to receive $2.5 million for a cap hit of $3.33 million.

After a poor start on the season,. #AlmostBourque had been demoted to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. In 13 games with the Canadiens, Bourque had no goal and only two assists with a -9 rating before being put on waivers and demoted after clearing. There was no money retained in the deal on either side.

At first glance, this trade gives the Canadiens a lot of depth on the blue line, pushing young defenseman Nathan Beaulieu on the outside looking in and probably on a bus to Hamilton after a disappointing start to the season.

You have to hand it to Bergevin has he was able to clear out $5.183 million in cap space for this upcoming summer by swapping Travis Moen for Sergei Gonchar and Rene Bourque for Bryan Allen. This will allow him plenty of room to re-sign impending RFAs Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, Michael Bournival, Jarred Tinordi and Nathan Beaulieu.

The bad news is that Bryan Allen is on the decline and that is not a good puck moving defenseman who struggles against faster teams. Allen's Corsi is at 48.4% which is not too bad considering he is not an offensive juggernaut and he has been hampered by nagging injuries the last three seasons.

Also, we know that Michel Therrien loves his veterans, so this basically spells the end for Beaulieu and Tinordi this season and we can expect Allen to rotate with Tom Gilbert and Mike Weaver on the team's third pairing. 

The other possibility is that Bergevin will trade a defenseman for some offensive help, especially on the wings where the Habs could use a big power forward to play with the team's smaller pivots. 

Finally, I think Bergevin made the last two deals to clear cap space after the current season to land a big fish via trade from a team which is sitting tight against the cap such as the Blackhawks, the Bruins, the Capitals or the Flyers, Remember when the Booins traded Johnnny Boychuk for some picks before the season due to cap space problems... Well Boychuk now has 2 goals and 10 helpers for 12 points in 17 games with a +5 rating!

Do you like this trade? If not, why?

No Foolin' Fred Poulin

Follow me on Twitter at @FredPoulin98

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A Few Musings From The Hockey World

Hey Habs fans. It's been a couple of weeks since my last post due to school. A lot has happened in hockey and within the Habs organization that I would like to comment on.

Travis Moen Trade

The Habs made a deal this week trading Forward Travis Moen for 40-year-old defenseman Sergei Gonchar. In completing this trade, the Habs gained some valuable veteran leadership. More importantly, the Habs got rid of Moen, who has been subpar and pointless in ten games. The trade allows rookie Jiri Sekac to get into the lineup and the other forwards get to play an extra minute or two. Gonchar won't be playing big minutes, but expect him to get some second unit power play time and also time on the penalty kill. At the end of the season, Gonchar becomes an unrestricted free agent, assuming the Habs don't re-sign him.

Rene Bourque Demotion

The other big news was the demotion of forward Rene Bourque. Bourque is another player who was having a terrible start to the season. Some of the plays he was making made Habs fans cringe. It is relevant to consider the history of Rene Bourque. Initially signed by the Chicago Blackhwaks as an undrafted unrestricted free agent after a solid junior/college career, Bourque was a promising prospect in the NHL. During his first five seasons in the NHL, he produced respectable numbers, including his career high of 58 points. The Habs took a big risk and traded for Bourque midway through the 2011-12 season. At the time Bourque was facing heavy criticism for his play and was suspended twice for illegal hits. What made the risk so great was that Bourque signed a front-loaded six-year deal with the Flames prior to the 2010-11 season and that contract doesn't expire until the end of next season. Bourque is due to make $2.5 million this season and next. That's a lot of money to give to a player playing minimal minutes or in the AHL. As a rule, it is risky to sign a player to a big contract after one or two good seasons. More often than not, the players don't live up to their potential as they have little motivation to perform since the money is guaranteed. This is another move that will allow Sekac to play and other forwards more ice time. It is unlikely we'll see Bourque in the NHL until the playoffs as he will have to clear waivers.

Connor McDavid Injury

Top prospect Connor McDavid was injured in a pointless fight while playing in an OHL game for his junior team the Erie Otters. First of all, I'm against fighting in hockey in general. Just look at the consequences of this fight. Here you have a hockey player with all this raw talent absolutely dominating the OHL with a chance to shatter single-season scoring records set by Ernie Godden (goals) and Bobby Smith (assists and points) and now he's gone for five or six weeks with a fractured right hand. Not only is he risking his career, he's also letting his team and Team Canada down because he can't play. Personally I think too much of a big deal is being made of the potential of McDavid. He has yet to play a game in the NHL and yet people are already comparing him to the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby. The level of play in the junior circuit vs. the NHL is dramatically different. There have been countless players who dominated in Junior hockey but struggled in the NHL or never even played a game in the NHL. Here is just a sample of the big names who were first round busts. Hopefully McDavid recovers from the injury and comes back the same player. He needs to fully heal before attempting to return or the injury might affect him long-term.

Empty Arenas

I wish to respond to this tweet I posted a few weeks ago. It was in response to the number of empty seats. I suggested, sarcastically, that the Anaheim Ducks should move to Seattle. First, the goal of a successful business or team is to sell the product through ticket sales primarily. Second, I personally measure how successful that is by the number of butts in seats as opposed to ticket sales. For the purposes of this rebuttal, I will be referring to the 2013-14 attendance records located here. It should be noted that these numbers may be deceptively high because of HOW the measurement was taken (ticket sales). A couple of general considerations first. There are several factors that determines a teams game-to-game attendance. First and foremost, individual fans might have last minute emergencies that prevent them from attending the game such as illness or a car accident en route to the game. In more extreme circumstances, increment weather might prevent a substantial number from coming to the game but generally the number should be fairly low and thus the arena should look pretty full. Another factor is the popularity of hockey. Take for example the Florida Panthers. They are not a traditional hockey town and have big league teams in football (Miami Dolphins), baseball (Miami Marlins) and basketball (Miami Heat). Hockey in Florida is the 4th or 5th most popular choice. Also, team success does factor in. When Florida went to the Stanley Cup final (they lost to Colorado that year) and the years preceding and following they did okay though still bottom third of the league. What makes this an even bigger issue is every single NHL game is televised and can be watched through various online streams. This means people can see the empty seats worldwide. I encourage those of you on twitter to follow @emptyseatspics you'll see a trend happening with the Sunbelt teams (especially Florida and Carolina). The NHL needs to take a serious look at the future of hockey in Miami and Carolina.

League expansion

On a related note, the NHL is considering expanding the league by a team or two in the near future. Why is the league looking to expand when several teams are struggling to fill their buildings? Also, is there enough viable NHL talent to ensure the new teams will be competitive? To build an early fan base, teams should be somewhat successful in the first year or two. As it stands currently, parity exists in the NHL within conferences but the West is clearly superior to many teams in the East with the exception of Montreal, Tampa Bay and maybe Boston. Frankly, the league should look at relocating a team or two to a more viable location. Also, is Las Vegas the best choice? My concern is they are not a traditional hockey market and many of the people who travel to Las Vegas are supporters of other teams who will likely not switch allegiances. Seattle would be a better option as they have a natural rivalry in Vancouver. Quebec City should also get consideration as they are building an NHL capacity arena and being in Canada they will likely be very successful. In short, I support relocation over expansion

Habs fan blogging from British-Columbia.

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Habs' Bergevin Giving Fans What They Want

Greetings Habs Nation!

Rene Bourque has been sent down to the Hamilton Bulldogs
after clearing Waivers on Monday.

This past week has been quite busy for the Montreal Canadiens GM, Marc Bergevin. Either Bergevin is listening to the Habs faithful or he seems to have at least as much hockey sense as pretty much anyone who can sit through the god awful coverage of Canadiens' games provided by TVA and Sportsnet.

Since taking the reigns as the Habs general manager in May of 2012, he has done nothing but improve the most storied franchise in the NHL and arguably any other professional sport (The Yankees have more championships but... I mean... that's baseball). Bergevin's moves have always been mostly accepted and celebrated in Montreal, but none so far have been quite as popular as the double whammy he pulled off this past week. His moves have people in Montreal so ecstatic that I actually just used the term "double whammy". And for that I apologize.

While this week's dealings may not have been of the blockbuster variety, they saw two players who were at the top of 99% of the fan's hit lists head out of town.

First was the demotion of struggling forward, Rene Bourque. After having quite a successful playoff run with the team last season scoring eight goals and adding three helpers in 17 games, his game has somewhat dropped off in the current campaign. Bourque had registered a mere two assists in 13 contests before coach Michel Therrien decided to have him watch the games from the press box. Nobody could understand what happened to Bourque after his productive playoff run, but to be honest with you I was more curious as to what happened to him during the playoffs after heading into the post season with only 37 points in 128 games as a Canadien.

Bourque spent two games as a healthy scratch before being put on waivers and, not so unexpectedly, clearing them. The snakebitten winger has been assigned to  Hamilton to play for the Habs' AHL affiliate the Bulldogs. I use the term "playing" loosely.

Bourque's spot has since been taken over by 22-year-old Czech rookie, Jiri Sekac. Sekac has registered three points in as many games since re-joining the roster and has provided a spark on the third line alongside Lars Eller and Brandon Prust. Eller, who had also been struggling on Bourque's line has put up three points of his own since Sekac's return, heck even Prust has chalked up two assists.

Bergevin's decision to waive Bourque has forced Sekac into the line-up after sitting out for seven games. In doing that, the Canadiens have scored nine goals in three games, in fact with Sekac in the line-up the team has averaged 3.1 goals a game as opposed the the 1.6 they average without him.

Well played, Bergevin. Well played.

On to move two.

The Montreal Canadiens acquired defensemen
Sergei Gonchar in exchange for forward Travis Moen.

Travis Moen was shipped to Dallas in return for 83-year-old defenseman, Sergei Gonchar. Moen was under scrutiny after registering a whopping zero points in nine games this year. Granted, Moen was never really brought to Montreal to score goals, but when your taking up a spot that can be given to players with more offensive upside such as Michael Bournival (who wasn't injured at the time) or the aforementioned Jiri Sekac, fans tend to lose patience quickly.

This trade benefits both sides in a less than drastic way. The Stars make room for their defensemen who could be Gonchar's grandchildren, they drop the $4.6 million cap hit that came with Gonchar (-8% that Dallas will retain... I don't really jump head first into the whole math thing but the numbers are there for you) and they acquire a hard working 3rd/4th liner in Moen.

The Canadiens get a player who can potentially add to the team's man "advantage". Now, one player won't fix this "power"play, but having Gonchar there can't hurt. Until this team starts skating with the extra man and Therrien mixes the lines nothing will change, but that's a whole other story. Finally, while the Habs do have to pay quite a bit for a defenseman whose first defence partner was a triceratops, they drop that next season along with Moen's $1.85 million that was owed on his last year of his contract. This freed up cap space will be crucial in re-signing Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher.

Moen out, Gonchar in. Another fantastic move by Bergevin.

How about your thoughts.

Have we seen the last of Bourque?
Was Bergevin out of line by waiving him just to get Sekac in the line-up (if that was indeed the case)?
What do you feel about the Gonchar signing?

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Game 16 - Canadiens vs Jets

#MTLHockey Pregame

Match Up

The Canadiens (9-4-1) play host to the Jets (8-5-2) Tuesday night at the Bell Centre. The game is set to start at 7:30 and can be seen on RDS and Sportsnet East.

This is the first of two game between the Habs and the Jets, and the only one in Montreal. Last year these teams split their two meetings, with each team winning on the road. Carey Price recorded a 36-save shutout in Winnipeg to help power the Habs to a 3-0 victory in their win last season.

What to Watch

It took a pair of games for Jiri Sekac to displace Rene Bourque in the team's line-up, so much so that Bourque has been reassigned to Hamilton after clearing waivers on Monday. Sekac had a goal, an assist, four shots, and the game's First Star on Saturday.

The Jets have been hot recently and Ondrej Pavelec has been the driving force. Pavelec is 6-2-1 in his last nine starts, allowing just 15 goals on 247 shots for a .939 save percentage. Averaging just 1.87 goals per game, the Jets would probably like a bit more offensive production. Bryan Little, Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler have done most of the heavy lifting for Winnipeg. Combined the trio has 16 of the team's 28 goals.

What's at Stake

The Canadiens need to look over their shoulder as much as they need to look ahead in the Eastern standings. The Bruins and Red Wings are within striking distance behind the Canadiens, while the Lighting are two points ahead.

Who's Out

Michael Bournival (shoulder) is out for at least the next two weeks but the Canadiens are otherwise healthy going in to Wednesday's game.

The Jets will likely be without winger Anthony Peluso (upper body) on Tuesday, he's been out of action since mid-October.

What Else

The Jets come into Tuesday's action with points in their last eight games (6-0-2), a streak that helped put them right into the Western conference playoff conversation and ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks to occupy third spot in the Central division. It's the first time the Jets have a winning record after 15 games since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg.

The Question Mark

What are your thoughts on Rene Bourque's demotion, has he played his last game with the Habs or even his last in the NHL?

Tonight's Show

Join host Steven Hindle along with Rob Elbaz and Matt Fish for the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show as we go live at 6:30 Tuesday night to preview the Canadiens and Jets.

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Great Night For A Breakout

Greetings Habs Addicts,

What a great night in Montreal last night. The Canadiens retired Hall of Famer Guy Lapointe's #5 in an emotional pre-game ceremony then went on to beat the Minnesota Wild pretty convincingly in a 4-1 victory. For those wondering the significance of retiring Lapointe's number prior to a game against Minnesota, it should be known that Lapointe is currently the coordinator of amateur scouting for the Wild, a post he has held since the teams inception. Thomas Vanek had an assist on the lone Wild goal in his return to Montreal, but was otherwise in fine playoff form as he was rather invisible as he floated around the ice. No word on whether he lost money on the game, either. Carey Price stood on his head in the first period and kept the Canadiens in the game before they took over and dominated from the second period onward.

Photo Credit: NationalPost.com

First off, Guy Lapointe's jersey retirement was long overdue. A brief history lesson about the man affectionately known as "Pointu" for those who never saw him play begins with the fact he was a six-time Stanley Cup winner with the powerhouse Canadiens squads of the 1970s. As a member of the 'Big-Three' with fellow Hall of Fame defencemen Larry Robinson and Serge Savard, Lapointe holds the Canadiens record for goals in a season by a defenceman (28) and by a rookie defenceman (15). Savard and Lapointe were key members of the 1972 Summit Series against Russia. Lapointe put up big points, laid thunderous body checks and kept the locker room loose with his notorious pranks. Among those pranks is the story of Lapointe coating his own hand in Vasoline prior to shaking the hand of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, then Prime Minister of Canada during a visit to the Canadiens locker room. For his career, Lapointe scored 171 goals and 622 points in 894 career NHL games. He shares his #5 in the rafters with the great Bernie 'Boom-Boom' Geoffrion. This honour is a long time coming. Credit to his daughter, Stephanie Lapointe (Twitter: @RavenMontreal) who spent many long hours working and rallying for this honour. Stephanie made appearances on MontrealHockeyTalk.com last year to gain support for a petition she started and the hard work paid off. Congrats to Guy Lapointe and family. Well deserved honour and we hope you enjoyed the moment!

This high profile game was also used by Jiri Sekac for his breakout performance as a Canadien. Sekac was a highly-touted off-season signing by Marc Bergevin after a solid performance in the Russian KHL last season. Sekac played in the first six games of the season before spending seven straight in the press box as a healthy scratch. Fans were clamouring for Sekac to return to the lineup, especially with veterans such as Rene Bourque and Travis Moen seeing undeserved ice time. Sekac returned to the lineup against Buffalo this past week and last night had a dominating performance on a line with Lars Eller and Brandon Prust, scoring a goal and adding an assist while being named First Star of the game. It was a great time for the Czech forward to step up into the spotlight. Hopefully this is the breakout game needed to get himself and the under-performing Lars Eller going. Eller is notoriously streaky and on a line with a gritty forward like Brandon Prust could spark the beginning of good things for the trio. One cannot forget how youngsters Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher started their careers strong on a line with Prust during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.

Sekac has a ton of talent and has a great opportunity in Montreal. Spending time in the press box while Rene Bourque and his $3.3-million dollar cap hit went game after game contributing nothing to the offense was a waste of his talent and frustrated many fans. Here at HabsAddict, my own article 'Should #AlmostBourque be #AlmostBenched?' sparked some controversy with the listeners and fans at our affiliate MontrealHockeyTalk.com early on, however the analysis proved to be true as the next ten games played out and Bourque's on-ice effort continued to deteriorate. HabsAddict editor Fred Poulin's 'Jiri Sekac in Michel Terrien's Doghouse' echoed what was a growing sentiment among fans and media that Sekac was somehow being punished by Michel Therrien for his lack of offense through the first six games. Well, his replacements contributed nothing at all and Sekac finally returned to the lineup this week and hopefully will use this Saturday performance to get on a roll with Eller and Prust. There is just too much talent and potential there for him to spend the season watching the games from the rafters. The rafters that now hold another deserving legend's retired number.

---

Nick Malofy is a transplanted Montrealer, currently living in evil LeafLand. He is a contributor here at HabsAddict.com and give him a follow, as he can often be found rambling on Twitter.

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5 Reasons For The Habs Early Season Success

Greetings Habs Nation,

There was a lot of optimism surrounding the Montreal Canadiens heading into the current NHL season. The Habs were coming off of a playoff run that saw them reach the Eastern Conference finals only to fall to the New York Rangers in six games. The Team became bigger by replacing Francis Bouillon, Josh Gorges and captain Brian Gionta with the likes of Tom Gilbert, Manny Malhotra, P.A. Parenteau and Jiri Sekac and their young stars Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher had another year of experience under their belts.

Fast forward to the present, the Habs sit on top of the Eastern Conference with an 8-2 record and share the league lead with the Anaheim Ducks.

Optimistic or not, raise your hands if you saw this kind of start for the Canadiens. Good, now put our hands down because you're lying.

With all of the success, fans around the city are all weighing in on why the team is finding success so early in the season (actually a fair amount are calling for coach Michel Therrien's head because Habs fans will be Habs fans). The following points are why I believe the Canadiens are looking like an early contender in the East.

1. CHaracter

When Marc Bergevin took the reigns as the new GM of the Montreal Canadiens in May of 2012 he right away spoke of the importance of character in the roster. The word "character" came up multiple time whenever a new player was signed or any time a question was directed towards him really. Fans calling in to TSN690 and all over twitter would make their jokes and sarcastically comment on Bergevin's constant talk of character, but there has been a lot less of that mockery in recent days.

The Canadiens are 8-2 despite having a goal differential of +1. Winning eight of ten games while only outscoring their opponents by one goal shows that they are winning those tight games. Every team wins their fair share of close games but to win so many consistently shows character.

If that's not enough, the Canadiens have scored the first goal only twice. Their record after giving up the first goal is 6-2. Winning 75% of the games in which you've been scored on first is unheard of. Jokes aside, it takes character to never give up. Down 3-0 going into the third period IN Philadelphia? no problem, 4-3 win in overtime. Detroit has you scoreless with three minutes remaining in the final frame? Don't worry, Galchenyuk will battle Kyle Quincey to the ice, climb over him and bury the puck past Howard on a nifty wrap around en route to a 2-1 overtime win.

This team doesn't want to lose. This team doesn't give up. This team has character.

2. Carey Price

It doesn't hurt your team's chances of winning when you have arguably the best goalie in the world between the pipes. Price has been good enough to backstop his team to seven out of the eight games he's started and he hasn't even reached his full potential yet. His .923 save % is seventh among goalies who have played five or more games and will likely rise. His GAA of 2.43 puts him 12th among goalies with five or more games played and will no doubt improve. The 7-1 pounding delivered by the Tampa Bay Lightning (four goals were given up by Price, three by back up Dustin Tokarski) dampened his numbers but it's a long season and he'll no doubt lower that average.

Carey Price is a huge part of the Habs success and has yet
to reach his full potential.

The Habs won early on while he looked less than stellar and his recent performances against the Red Wings, Rangers and Flames should provide his team with even more confidence than they've been playing with thus far.

3. Health

The Montreal Canadiens have health on their side. Yes, I knocked on wood so please refrain from any  drastic reactions to me pointing out this element of their success. The Canadiens have missed roughly two man-games to injury so far. The healthier a team, the quicker and stronger each line's confidence and chemistry grows. Tomas "TurtlePlek" Plekanec and Galchenyuk have shown phenomenal chemistry playing together and the longer they play together the more they'll light up the lamp. David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty are finding their groove and should produce consistently if Pacioretty can finally play an 82 game season. Although, to be fair Patches heals at a rate roughly 100 times faster than any normal human being so he should be good to go.

4. Depth

Tomas Plekanec's opportunity to play a more offensive role
has paid off so far as he has nine points in ten games.

While the Habs' health is playing an important role in their success, they have the depth to bail them out in the event that they do deal with an injury or two. Their depth up front has Michael Bournival and newcomer Jiri Sekac watching the games from the press box. Michel Therrien has had the good fortune this year to shuffle the deck mid-game to get his team going if needed. Parenteau replaced Sekac on the Desharnais-Pacioretty line in Philly en route to their comeback from a three goal deficit.

Bringing in Manny Malhotra to take face offs and kill penalties adds depth to their defensive end giving Plekanec more offensive responsibilities. The alternate captain (one of... like... 12) gas responded by putting up a team leading five goals and nine points. More than that, he is noticeably happy. When was the last time you saw the normally straight faced Plekanec smile and celebrate so much after a goal?

On the backend, Nathan Beaulieu has been spending the majority of the games watching from above but he's readily available to jump in if needed, as is Greg Pateryn who's is playing with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

It's worth considering having Beaulieu, Bournival and Sekac play with the Bulldogs rather than be on the sidelines just to get some playing time. Demote them to keep them in game shape? Keep them to watch the game from a different point of view and be ready if called upon? These are problems any GM would want.

Heck, the Habs even started the pre-season with three goalies!

5. Michel Therrien

I feel as though if any of my reasons for the Habs success are going to be slandered it's this one. Therrien is not the most popular man in Montreal. His insistence on playing Rene Bourque despite his production baffles the majority of Habs fans and even media. His decision to bench Lars Eller after only five minutes of ice time in the recent win over the Calgary Flames has lead people to believe that Eller is his whipping boy. Therrien putting both Dale Weise and Travis Moen in the line up on the same nights while sitting more offensive minded players like Michael Bournival and Jiri Sekac has many, including myself, scratching their heads (it could be dry scalp but I'd like to think it's MT's line-up decisions).

Lars Eller has been one to respond on the ice after being benched in the past. It could be that Therrien knows his players better than the fans (crazy, right?!). Each player is sparked differently, it's for that I don't go for Therrien's jugular when hearing about Eller's night off. Plus, as mentioned above the Habs depth provides Therrien the luxury of this approach while giving Michael Bournival a chance to play in his first game this season.

Therrien's decisions will never make all of Habs nation happy. The Canadiens sit atop the standings with an 80% win rate and fans are still complaining about anything they can, most notably the coach. There are a few things I myself question such as Sekac's lack of ice time and at the opposite end of the spectrum, Travis Moen's... well, Travis Moen is getting minutes.

Despite people's minor or major problems with him, Therrien, in his second go as the Canadiens head coach, had his team finish first in the NorthEast in 2012-13, brought them to within six wins from the Stanley Cup in 2013-14 and has an 8-2 record early in the 2014-15 season.

You may not like him, but Michel Therrien is a big reason for the Montreal Canadiens' Success.

What are your thoughts on the Canadiens quick start?
Have I ignored any important factor?
Are any of the above reasons given more credit than deserved?

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Game 10 - Canadiens at Flames

#MTLHockey Preview

Match Up

The Canadiens (7-2-0) are in Calgary Tuesday night to face the Flames (5-4-1) at the Saddledome. The game is set to start at 9:00 and can be seen on RDS2 and City-Montreal.

This is the first of two games between the Habs and Flames this season, they'll meet again this coming Sunday back at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Last season the teams split their two meetings, with Carey Price and the Canadiens earning a 2-0 win on home ice. The Habs got goals from Rene Bourque and David Desharnais to help power them to victory.

What to Watch

For the first time this season, the Habs were shut out Monday night against the Oilers, a 3-0 defeat, despite directing 29 shots at Ben Scrivens. Manny Malhotra had a rare off night at the faceoff dot, winning just 41.7% of his draws. It marked the first game this season that Malhotra ended the game under 50% on the draw.

24-year-old Calgary native Joe Colborne is of to the hottest start of his career with eight assists in ten games. Colbourne is playing on a line with Jiri Hudler and Sean Monahan. Defenseman TJ Brodie, also got off to a strong start this season and parlayed that into a five-year, 4.65 million AAV contract extension.

What's at Stake

The Canadiens are still on top of the NHL, but things can change very quickly in this league. With division rivals like the Lightning and Bruins facing injury trouble early this season, the Habs should be looking to build up their cushion while they have a chance. The team will also want to bounce back after being held goalless the night before.

Who's Out

Czech rookie Jiri Sekac has been a healthy scratch for the past three games, but after the team's poor offensive showing on Monday he could finally draw back into the line-up. Jarred Tinordi was left in the press box on Monday as well in favor of Nathan Beaulieu.

The Flames were without winger David Jones (lower body) for most of this season, but he's expected to make his return on Tuesday. Mason Raymond is day-to-day with an upper body injury and is expected to miss the game against the Habs.

What Else

While the Canadiens had another strong night on the penalty kill Monday, they also continued to struggle on the power play, going 0-for-4. The Habs are now 23rd in the league with the man advantage, scoring just three times on 26 opportunities, including an empty net power play goal against the Bruins. The Canadiens have generated a mere 34 power play shots this season, adding three shots on four PP attempts on Monday.

The Question Mark

What do the Habs need to do to improve their power play?

Tonight's Show

Join host Steven Hindle along with Kosta Papoulias and Rob Elbaz for the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show as we go live at 8:00 on Tuesday to preview the Flames and Canadiens.

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Should Almost-Bourque Be Almost-Benched?

Greetings Habs Addicts,

After last night, the Montreal Canadiens are sitting pretty with a 5-1 record. Of course the loss was a 7-1 dismantling by the Tampa Bay Lightning, surely hell bent on avenging the playoff sweep of last year. The Habs spoiled the Toronto Maple Leafs home opener with a 4-3 win on opening night and beat Boston 6-4 on Thursday in a sloppy, but very entertaining home opener in Montreal. Overall, it has been a solid start to the season for the Habs.

Thus far, Carey Price has been far from stellar. His 4-1 record is deceiving with a 3.38 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage thus far. Most of the goals have not been weak and it's safe to say that the pre-season Vezina darkhorse will turn things around soon enough.

Photo Credit: LaPresse.com

While Thomas Plekanec (four goals, seven points), Alex Galchenyuk (two goals, six points), Brendan Gallagher (three goals, five points) and P.A. Parenteau (two goals, five points) have started the year off well, two players who struggled mightily are struggling again. Lars Eller and Rene Bourque have combined for two assists (one each) and are each minus players (-6 for Eller; -7 rating for Bourque) through the first six games of the season. They are playing 14:33 and 12:54 per game respectively and have totalled 20 shots on goal combined (12 and 8 respectively).

Both players were catalysts in the playoff run last season after miserable regular season showings. Lars Eller signed a lucrative extension (4-years/$14-million; $3.5 AAV) this summer with expectations that he would produce. Rene Bourque is under contract for another year after this season at a cap hit of $3.33 million. CapGeek.com has his actual salary for this season and next at $2.5-million.

Lars Eller is also a younger player that still has a tremendous amount of upside. He is also a strong defensive player, so his offensive shortcomings can be hidden so far. He sparked P.K. Subban for a gorgeous breakaway goal coming out of the penalty box Saturday night against Colorado while killing a penalty. Bourque is 32 years old and is not going to return to his Calgary glory days unless he receives top-line minutes. That will never happen.

So what is Michel Therrien and Marc Bergevin going to do with the player affectionately known in the Twitter-verse as #AlmostBourque for his ability to "almost" score goals?
Is there a cap-floor team that would be willing to pick up some of that salary in a trade to dump the underwhelming native of Alberta?
Did Marc Bergevin drop the ball by not finding a deal - any deal at all - this summer with Bourque coming off a clutch playoff performance?
After all, professional sports is all about "What have you done for me lately?"

There are a lot of questions being asked and no real answers. It is only six games into the season. This really is not a time to panic. But we have seen plenty of nothing from Bourque since he was acquired from Calgary in the Mike Cammalleri trade back in 2011-12. Since joining the Habs, Bourque has managed only 21 goals and 38 points in 134 regular season games. Cammalleri surpassed that (24 goals) in his first 72 games with Calgary (rest of the 2011-12 season and all of the strike-shortened 2012-13 season). Cammalleri would also have been off the books at this point in time as well (he signed a free-agent deal with the New Jersey Devils this past off-season). Unless Zac Fucale - the draft pick acquired along with Bourque - develops into a stud netminder/great trade bait, it's safe to say the in-game trade made out of anger and panic was one of the worst made by the Habs in a while. It was also not Marc Bergevin's doing, no fault is being dished out.

But rehashing the past aside, should Rene Bourque be spending time in the press box again this year? He was benched frequently towards the end of last season. When he returned to the line-up, he would produce for a small stretch before disappearing again. Is it time for him to return to the spectator role for a few games? Should Michel Therrien separate Eller and Bourque in order to spark each player? Do you mess with the chemistry of the top two lines in order to do so? Is it bad luck and not a lack of hustle that has led to the disappointing numbers so far?

There are many questions to be answered, but it is safe to say that most Habs fans do not expect anything this year from Rene Bourque. He has given us no reason to expect anything other than an ugly cap hit that keeps the Canadiens from adding pieces down the stretch. Most fans are certainly ready to see #AlmostBourque be #AlmostDone in Montreal.

---

Nick Malofy is a transplanted Montrealer, currently living in evil LeafLand. He is a contributor here at HabsAddict.com and give him a follow, as he can often be found rambling on Twitter.

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Dustin Penner on a Professional Try-out?

On Sunday , the rumors were swirling on the social media that unrestricted free agent Dustin Penner, who is still without a contract, was looking to get a professional try-out from several NHL teams in order to land a gig for the upcoming season, and the Montreal Canadiens would be one of the interested teams.

The hulking left winger scored 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 67 games between the Anaheim Ducks and the Washington Capitals, posting a +25 plus/minus rating in the process along with 30 penalty minutes. Penner had much more success before the trade, posting a 0.65 PPG ratio in Anaheim before recording a putrid 0.16 PPG pace with Washington.

The 31-year-old winger is looking for a last chance to prove he still belongs to the NHL after seeing his offensive numbers decrease over the years, having his best offensive season in 2009-2010 with the Edmonton Oilers when he potted 32 goals and 31 assists for 63 points in 82 games. The 6'4'', 242-lb is exactly what the Habs need in their bottom-six as Penner's former teammate, Travis Moen, is now a shadow of his former self.

Bringing Penner to the Habs' training camp would also be a very inexpensive option to challenge other players vying for a roster stop, especially rookie Jiri Sekac and inconsistent winger Rene Bourque. The native of Winkler, Manitoba would give everything he can to land another professional contract and the worst that could happen for the organization would be a disappointing showing. Should that happen and Penner doesn't live to the expectations, they could simply release him before the season and Ta-dam, no harm's done!

On the other hand, if Penner plays very well and finds chemistry with someone like Lars Eller, then Marc Bergevin would have the option to sign him at an affordable one-year contract and try to trade a more expensive contract such as Travis Moen (owed $1.85M/year over two years) or Rene Bourque (owed $3.33M/year over two years).

Fun fact:
Did you know that Dustin Penner and former Hab winger Richard Zednik have one thing in common? 

They have the same ex-wife, actress Jessica Welch, who is a native of Montreal! Penner and Welch even tied the knot in Montreal during the 2011 All-Star break so Dustin is very familiar with the area.

Penner, who is a pretty colorfoul player on Twitter (@dustinpenner25), would certainly be a fan favorite in Montreal, much like Mike Weaver since his arrival last season.

Do you think Penner will trade the pancakes for the poutine if the Canadiens offer him a contract?

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Playoff Preview: Canadiens at Rangers (Round 3, Game 6)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens will still have their backs against the wall when the puck drops for Game 6 against the Rangers Thursday night in New York. The Habs still trail in the series 3 games to 2 after a big win in Montreal on Tuesday.

The Canadiens chased Henrik Lundqvist from the Ranger goal after he allowed 4 goals on 19 shots. New York did manage to draw the game even at 4 after that, but the Habs scored the next 3 to cruise to a 7-4 victory. Rene Bourque scored his first playoff  hat trick in Game 5 and Andrei Markov pitched in with 3 assists. Chris Kreider had a goal and 3 assists in the losing effort.

Game 6 starts at 8:00 on Thursday and can be seen on RDS and CBC.

What to Watch:

The Canadiens were able to assert their will offensively in Game 5 for the first time this series. Bourque's hat trick gave him 4 goals and 6 points against the Rangers, despite playing under 13 minutes per game on average. Max Pacioretty picked up a goal and an assist in Game 5, giving him 5 points and goals in each of Montreal's 3 elimination games these playoff.

Derek Stepan returned to the Ranger lineup on Tuesday after missing Game 4 with a broken jaw. Stepan picked up 2 goals in Game 5, extending his point streak to 6 games with 3 goals and 9 points in that span. With 13 points in the postseason, Stepan is tied with Martin St. Louis for most points on the Rangers. St. Louis was held pointless in Game 5 for the first time in this series.

What's at Stake:

The Canadiens survived their third elimination match of these playoffs on Tuesday but they must still win two more games against the Rangers starting Thursday night.

Also at stake is the potential return of Carey Price. Price has been ruled out for Game 6 but it looks like he might be ready for a return before the Stanley Cup is raised. For now, it's up to the rest of the team to stay alive until then.

Who's Out:

Price (knee) was joined on the sidelines by Alexei Emelin (undisclosed) in Game 5. Emelin was leading the team in blocked shots (44) and hits (52) before the puck dropped on Tuesday. Dale Weise was shaken up by John Moore and spent time in the dark room during Tuesday's game but returned in time to finish with his teammates.

The Rangers are missing J.T. Miller (upper body), while Derek Stepan (jaw) and Derick Brassard are playing through injuries. John Moore and Daniel Carcillo are both serving suspensions and won't return this series.

What Else:

With their win on Tuesday, the Canadiens are now having their most successful playoffs since their last Cup win in 1993. The Canadiens are up to 10 playoff wins so far this season, the only other time they've made the Conference Finals in the past 20 years they were beaten in 5 games by the Flyers. Aside from their run in 2010, the Canadiens have won 31 playoff games and just 4 other playoff series in the past 20 years.

The Question Mark:

Tell us what you think:

How do the Habs recreate Game 5's results on the road in Game 6?

Let us know by sending us your answers on Twitter using the #MTLHockey hashtag, or leave a comment below.

The Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show starts an hour before puck drop, join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter. And don’t miss the Post Game Show starting 5 minutes after the final siren.

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Playoff Preview: Canadiens at Bruins (Round 2, Game 5)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens return to Boston for Game 5 against the Bruins Saturday night with the series tied 2-2. The game is set to start at 7:00 and airs on CBC and RDS.

Carey Price and Tuukka Rask both played 60 minutes of shutout hockey Thursday night in Game 4, sending the match to overtime tied 0-0. Rookie Matt Fraser, playing in his first NHL playoff game, broke the deadlock less than 2 minutes into the first overtime to even up the series.

What to Watch:

Max Pacioretty has been held to just 1 goal and 3 points in these playoffs, with 1 assist in 4 games so far versus the Bruins. Linemate David Desharnais has the same stats heading after 8 playoff games, numbers the top line forwards can't be happy with. Rene Bourque has also struggled recently, he's minus 5 with no points in his last 3 games after starting these playoffs with 4 goals and an assist in his first 5 games.

As effective as the Bruins have been in shutting down Montreal's big threats, the Canadiens have been equally solid against Boston's top line. Milan Lucic has an empty net goal and a pair of assists against the Habs so far, Jarome Iginla has been held to just 1 goal and David Krejci has 1 assist so far in this series.

What's at Stake:

With the series tied 2 games apiece, the winner of Game 5 will push their opponent to the brink of elimination with a chance to close out the series Monday night in Montreal. The Canadiens have not yet trailed a series in these playoffs, winning 4 straight against the Lightning and taking the first and third games in Round 2.

Who's Out:

For the Habs, Alex Galchenyuk (knee) is still not ready to return, although he has started skating again.

The Bruins are still without Dennis Seidenberg (lower body), Chris Kelly (back) and Adam McQuaid (ankle).

What Else:

Thursday's game was the 18th of these playoffs that needed overtime to find a winner out of the 64 played as of Friday's action. The Habs and Bruins have gone to overtime 3 times each, twice in Round 2. The Blackhawks and Blues went to overtime 4 times in Round 1, as did the Wild and Avalanche. The Rangers have seen the least OTs of the remaining teams, going to the extra frame just once in 12 games so far.

The Question Mark:

What can Michel Therrien do to help spark Pacioretty an Desharnais in Game 5?

Let us know what you think, leave a comment or send us a tweet using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

The Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show starts an hour before puck drop, join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter. And don’t miss the Post Game Show starting 5 minutes after the final siren.

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Playoff Preview: Canadiens at Bruins (Round 2, Game 2)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens and the Bruins face-off in Boston Saturday afternoon for Game 2 of the second round. The game starts at 12:30 and airs on RDS and CBC.

The Habs went up 1-0 in theseries with a 4-3 double overtime win thanks to PK Subban's second goals of the night. The Bruins out-shot the Canadiens 51-33, including a 15-10 advantage in overtime, but they weren't able to beat Carey Price until the third period after the Habs went up 2-0.

What to Watch:

Rene Bourque continued to be the Habs most dangerous forward in this postseason. Bourque tallied a goal and an assist bringing him up to 5 points in 5 playoff games this year. PK Subban scored his first 2 goals of these playoffs bringing his points total to 7.

Torey Krug scored his second goal of the playoffs and Patrice Bergeron picked up an assist keeping them at the top of the Bruins scoring leaders with 6 points apiece. The Bruins laid 56 hits on the Habs in Game 1, led by Kevan Miller and Johnny Boychuk who had 7 each.

What's at Stake:

If the Canadiens were looking to return to Montreal with at least a split in Boston, they've already accomplished that mission, but the Bruins did drop Game 1 to the Red Wings before winning the next 4. The Habs will be trying to keep alive the 5-game win streak they're on to start the playoffs, a 6-game streak stretching back to the regular season.

Who's Out:

Aside from Alex Galchenyuk (knee) the Habs are healthy heading into Game 2. Michael Bournival was a healthy scratch in Game 1 to make space for Travis Moen who returned from a concussion he suffered the last time the Habs and Bruins met.

The Bruins are missing Dennis Seidenberg (lower body), Adam McQuaid (quadriceps) and Chris Kelly (back).

What Else:

Tuukka Rask's struggles against the Canadiens continued Thursday night, the Vezina-nominated goalie lost his 14th game in 17 starts against the Habs. Thursday was the first time Rask faced the Habs in the playoffs. Carey Price picked up his 21st career win against the Bruins, but just his 4th in 12 playoff starts.

The Question Mark:

Are there any lineup changes you'd like to see for the Habs heading into Game 2 or should Michel Therrien stand pat?

Let us know what you think, leave a comment or send us a tweet using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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Playoff Preview: Canadiens at Bruins (Round 2, Game 1)

Match-Up:

The Canadiens, fresh off of 9 days of rest, are in Boston on Thursday to kick off the second round of the NHL Playoffs. The game starts at 7:30 and airs on CBC and RDS.

Both the Habs and the Bruins are coming off 4 straight playoff wins, but the Canadiens went a perfect 4-for-4 in their series against the Lightning while the Bruins dropped Game 1 to the Red Wings before winning out. The Canadiens had the advantage for the season series between these teams with a 3-1-0 record. The Bruins earned just 3 points in 4 games against the Habs this year.

What to Watch:

The Canadiens were led offensively by PK Subban, Brendan Gallagher and Lars Eller in the first round, each picking up 5 points in 4 games. Gallagher is tied with Rene Bourque with 3 goals to lead the team in that department. Carey Price gave up 4 goals in Game 1 against the Lightning, he then went on to allow just 6 over the next 3 games.

Torey Krug got off to a good start in his second taste of playoff action. The 23-year-old defenseman had a goal and 4 assists against the Wings, giving him 11 playoff points in 20 games. Tuukka Rask heads into the second round with a playoff best 1.16 goals against average and .961 save percentage.

What's at Stake:

If the Canadiens can take one of  the first two games in Boston, they'll return to Montreal with home-ice advantage in hand. Game 1 is also an opportunity for the Habs to get in Tuukka Rask's head. The Vezina-nominated goalie has won just 3 games in 16 lifetime starts against the Canadiens. Rask went 1-2-1 against the Habs this year despite posting a 1.91 goals against average and a .932 save percentage.

Who's Out:

The Habs are still missing Alex Galchenyuk (knee) who could potentially return in this series.

The Bruins have been playing without Dennis Seidenberg (lower body) and Daniel Paille (upper body), but both could return this round. Adam McQuaid (quadriceps) is not expected to return anytime soon.

What Else:

The Canadiens and Bruins face-off in the playoffs for an NHL-most 34th time, making them far and away the most familiar of rivals in the league. The Canadiens already hold 24 series victories to their credit but Boston has won the last two playoff meetings. The Canadiens have won 7 of their 24 Stanley Cups by beating the Bruins in the Finals, winning every Stanley Cup Final series these teams have played against each other.

The Question Mark:

Give us your Round 2 predictions, who wins, how many games, who is the series MVP and Little Bear?

Let us know what you think, leave a comment or send us a tweet using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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Playoff Preview: Canadiens vs Lightning (Round 1, Game 4)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens take to Bell Centre ice on Tuesday, looking to close out the first round series against the Lightning in front of their faithful. The game starts at 7:00 and airs on RDS and CBC.

The Habs have gone 3-for-3 so far this series and have the first opportunity to eliminate a team from the 2014 playoffs. The Lightning can take solace in the fact 2 of the 3 games could have gone either way, they lost Game 1 in overtime and dropped Game 3 by a goal after a controversial disallowed marker.

What to Watch:

Rene Bourque is on a tear, opening the scoring Sunday with a goal 11 seconds into the game. He finished the night with 8 shots and leads the team with 15 through 3 games. Brendan Gallagher and Lars Eller each have points in all 3 playoff games for the Habs. Eller's point streak stretches back to the regular season, he has 7 points in his last 5 games.

Steven Stamkos is up to 4 points in the playoffs after assisting on both Tampa Bay goals Sunday Night. Despite recording 3 straight losses, the play of Anders Lindback has improved during the playoffs. Lindback made 28 saves in Sunday's 3-2 loss and did what he could to keep his team in the game despite a handful of top-quality scoring chances for Montreal.

What's at Stake:

The Canadiens have a chance to close out this series and move on to the second round for the first time since 2010. A win on Tuesday would see the Habs as the first team through to the second round in this year's playoffs, giving them plenty of all important rest and time to prepare for the winner of Boston-Detroit. A win for the Lightning would keep their playoff dreams alive and shift the series back to Tampa for Game 5.

Who's Out:

The Canadiens are missing Travis Moen (concussion) for at least one more game, but he's received the green light for contact. Alex Galchenyuk (knee) is still out for the time being.

The Lightning are missing Ben Bishop (elbow). Steven Stamkos, who missed the end of the second period in Game 3 is expected to play game 4.

What Else:

The Canadiens are looking to sweep their first playoff Series since eliminating the Buffalo Sabres in 4 en route to their last Stanley Cup in 1993. The haven't been on the verge of a sweep since that series, but they have been swept 3 times since, once by the Lightning. The Habs have gone up 3 games to none 30 other times in their history, winning Game 4 in 22 of those cases.

The Question Mark:

Which teams look most to you like Cup threats so far? Are the Habs in that mix?

Let us know what you think, leave us a comment or send us a tweet with the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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Playoff Preview: Canadiens vs Lightning (Round 1, Game 3)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens return to Montreal with a 2-0 series lead over the Lightning after a pair convincing victories in Tampa Bay. Game 3 goes Sunday night at 7:00 and airs on CBC and RDS.

The Habs scored 4 straight goals before Teddy Purcell added a late power play marker to spoil Carey Price's shutout bid. Rene Bourque scored a pair for the Canadiens, including the game winner. The Canadiens also ended their power play drought going 1-for-4 on the man advantage.

What to Watch:

The line of Lars Eller, Brian Gionta and Rene Bourque have combined four 4 of Montreal's 9 goals in this series, including a shorthanded marker by the captain. Eller leads the Habs with 3 points in the playoffs. David Desharnais got his first career playoff goal and Max Pacioretty earned his first playoff point in Friday's game.

Tampa's coach, John Cooper, will have a tough decision to make as far as his starting goalie for Game 3 is concerned. Anders Lindback was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 23 shots in Game 2, while his replacement Kristers Gudlevskis gave up a goal on one of 3 shots faced in relief.

What's at Stake:

The Canadiens can put a stranglehold on the Lightning Sunday night, with a chance to take a 3-0 series lead. The Lightning are essentially fighting for their playoff lives after losing both of their opening home games.

Who's Out:

The Canadiens are still missing Alex Galchenyuk (knee) but Travis Moen (concussion) could be ready to play on Sunday if called upon.

Ondrej Palat (upper body) missed Game 2 for Tampa and is day-to-day. Ben Bishop (elbow) is still about a week away from a return.

What Else:

The Canadiens will try to erase the memory of their last 2-0 series lead, one they couldn't capitalize on against the eventual Cup-winning Bruins in 2011. After taking a 2-0 series lead in Boston, the Habs lost the next 3 games, including a back-and-forth Game 4 that saw the Canadiens blow 3-1 and 4-3 leads before eventually losing 5-4 in overtime.

The Question Mark:

Which other series are you enjoying most?

Let us know what you think, leave us a comment or send us a tweet with the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.

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Report: Canadiens Apparently Reject Bourque for Parenteau Deal

According to Louis Jean of TVA Sports, Habs GM Marc Bergevin has turned down a trade that would have sent Avalanche forward Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau to the Canadiens in exchange for forward Rene
Bourque.

Parenteau, 30, is slated to receive $4M/year for the next three seasons while Bourque, 32, is under contract through the 2015-16 season at an affordable cap hit of $3.33M.

Parenteau has 9 goals and 17 assists for 26 points in 41 games this season whereas Bourque has a mere 7 goals and a single helper for 8 points in 39 games with Montreal. 

At the moment it is still unclear if other elements were involved in the deal, but it is also reported that the Canadiens would retain part of Bourque's salary and would send a low draft pick in the trade. 

While Avalanche beat write Adrian Dater indicated that this rumor is untrue, NHL insiders Renaud Lavoie and Bob MacKenzie confirmed that Parenteau is on the trade market right now. 

To add fuel to the fire, PAP is a healthy scratch tonight for the Avalanche.

While reports are contradictory, it is highly doubtful Marc Bergevin would reject a one for one trade that would allow him to get rid of the unproductive Bourque for a top-six forward that would definitely help the Habs' sputtering offense. 

Stay tuned as there might be more developments on that rumor du jour in the upcoming hours or days.

Follow me on Twitter @FredPoulin98 to get more updates and news on the Habs.

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Habs/Blues Post Game November 5th 2013

Oshie scores the lone shootout goal against Price

It was a back and forth game between the Blues and Canadiens which needed a penalty shoot-out to settle the score. The Blues eventually won the game when TJ Oshie, who scored the only goal in the shoot-out, put one by price with a forehand top corner.

The Canadiens came off of back to back losses against west coast teams and were facing a team that some voted as the cup favorites going into the season in the St-Louis Blues. In a very strong central division they sit 4th. They have a few games in hand against their opponents and were eager to gain ground with the red hot Avalanche. The Blues rank 7th in goals against per game, the Canadiens sit 4th in that category and needed to hold down the NHL's 2nd ranked offense.

The Blues got on the board 2 minutes into the game when David Backes outmuscled Douglas Murray behind the net and fed Alexander Steen in the slot who sent a wrist shot by Price. Steen has been on a torrid pace this season scoring his league leading 13th goal. 

The Blues maintained pressure and strong passing against the Canadiens throughout the first. Being under constant pressure, they forced the Habs to take four penalties throughout the game to send the Blues on the man-advantage. The Habs killed all four penalties and after each kill attempted to use that momentum to gain the Blues zone but didn't generate many scoring chances in the first.

With nearly five minutes in the first George Parros wanted to spark the team by getting into a fight against Reaves. This gave the Canadiens an emotional boost. Offensively they started to get more pucks on net and while they didn't score in the first they got their best opportunity to score when a shot from Markov gave way to a  juicy rebound that no one was able to put by Halak. 

The Canadiens got off to a good start in the second period and eventually took the lead with a pair of goals.

They tied the game with a drive by Andrei Markov to the front of the net that left a puck wide open for Rene Bourque who put the rebound off of the pad of Halak to the back of the net.

The Blues jumped right back onto the attack and had it not been for some timely saves by Price the Habs would have been down in the minutes following the tieing goal.
The rest of the period the Canadiens elevated their rate of play. Though many of the odd-man rushes were broken up by the Blues back-check.
Max Pacioretty was attempting to be a catalyst for the offense and despite coming off of an injury was getting back into his role as a top line player for the Habs. While there was still rust showing in his game, he showed a ton of determination that seemed to inspire the younger players like Gallagher and the goal scorer, Bournival.
Bournival's goal was scored all thanks to strong pressure put on Jay Bouwmeester by Brian Gionta. The puck was coughed up right onto the stick of Bournival in the slot who ripped a slap-shot by Halak.
The Canadiens held back the Blues attack and had a majority of the puck possession to end the period.

The Habs didn't let up in the third. They came out with the same intensity that they finished with in the second. A lot of pressure and puck control, a role reversal from the first period. That extra step to push the Blues into their zone, beating them to the puck and while the Habs are not typically a physical team they were forcing the Blues to make awkward passes and turnover the puck, despite having a lackluster night off the face-offs finishing with only a 36% success rate.
When it looked like the Habs had all the momentum, the Blues took a point-shot midway through the third by Kevin Shattenkirk and wound up making a series of deflections before hitting Chris Stewart and beating Price.
The Blues nearly shot themselves in the foot when they took a penalty with less than a minute in the game. David Backes hit the net off and the Habs received a penalty shot for delay of game. Tomas Plekanec was called upon for the penalty shot but Halak came up big and stopped him to preserve the game for the Blues.

Ultimately the Canadiens proved to match-up well against the Blues who have seen a lot of success this season. Positives included the ability to not let-up the pressure, while a bad bounce could have cost the Canadiens two points. They came away with one on a night that many may have believed they'd fall short. A big game by Price and the Habs shot blockers prevented more dangerous goal scoring chances from being a determining factor.

While the shooters in the shoot-out were questionable by Therrien it was the first time the Canadiens were in a shoot out this season so it was a test to see where his shooters stand.

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