Daily Habs Links - Halak trade in 2 weeks? Markov, Price

Habs News:
Montreal Canadiens.com - Habs Recall Webber
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=515449&navid=DL|MTL|home

Habs Inside/Out - Spacek out vs. Ottawa, Callup coming
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/28416

Le Journal de Quebec - Habs President Says Halak on Borrowed Time (French)
http://lejournaldequebec.canoe.ca/sports/hockey/archives/2010/01/20100129-091959.html

RDS - Markov tries to calm things (French)
http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/291624.html

Habs Inside/Out - Habs world is better with a hug
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/28411


Habs Inside/Out - Price still has his sense of humour
http://www.habsinsideout.com/main/28415

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Post Game Quick Hits: Habs 4 - Sens 1

Don't look now, but your Montreal Canadiens have a three game winning streak going! Not only that, but all three wins have come in regulation. Not only that, but their penalty killing unit has become the backbone of this team. Not only that, but their powerplay is slowly starting to get its act together. Not only that, but they seem to have 2, yes that's right, 2, starting calibre goalies in Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak. Not only that but....ok, enough of that! You get the point.

1 - The goalies have it. If it's not Carey Price stealing the show it's Jaro Halak. After getting shelled, 6-2, vs the Sabres last week, Halak turned in one of his most solid performances of the season last night. Stopping 45 out of 46 shots - the Habs were outshot 46-27, had 14 penalty minutes to Ottawa's 4, and won 24 draws on the faceoff versus the Sens' 47. We were just outplayed, again. Or rather, outshot, again. And, yet again, we were able to win. That winning all started in nets, where Halak was sensational, made the key saves at the key times, and kept the lead for his team all the way to the final buzzer.

2 - A goal and an assit for Andrei K, 3 assists for Pleks and a goal for Cammy. That is six points between them. That is Cammy's 5th goal in the last three games. That gives Pleks 31 points in 31 games this season and it gives Andrei K 4 points (2G and 2A) in his last four games. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a true #1 line. For those of you keeping track, Pleky's 31 points in 31 games ties him for 15th overall in league scoring a measly 9 points behind first place Joe Thornton and 7 points behind 2nd place Marian Gaborik. Wow. Note to Bob Gainey: You cannot sign this guy soon enough! Lock him in for 6 years with an average cap hit of 3.5 to 4Million a season...now...please...please...PLEASE!! Is it done yet?

3 - Cammalleri's 17th goal of the season ties him for 6th overall in goals scored. Cammy is in good company tied with former Flames teamate Jarome Iginla and Tampa's Steven Stamkos, and he is only four goals back of league leader Marian Gaborik (21 goals). This guy is proving all the critics wrong and is proving Gainey right. He is a bonafide goal scorer, regardless of who he plays with. Last year he scored 39 playing on Jarome Iginla's wing and the knock on him, by critics, was that he would not be able to repeat the feat without Iginla making space for him out there. Well, with 17 goals in 31 games, Cammy is currently on pace to score 45. Ummm, ya. That's right. Sounds to me like he doesn't need Iginla after all.

4 - Hamrlik and Spacek have become and outstanding duo together and will definitely be the 1st paring for the Czech Republic come the Olympics. Speaking of Spacek, he blocked a shot with his foot early in the 1st period, and did not return for the rest of the game. While O'Byrne filled in nicely for Spacek as Hamr's partner, I cannot underscore how bad a loss it would be for Montreal if Spacek is out for any prolonged period. No word yet on his condition, but he was not able to put any weight on it while leaving the ice. It certainly doesn't look good. Let's hope its just a bruise.

5 - Kill 'em all. Montreal's PK has quietly become one of their most potent weapons, over the couse of the last few weeks. Last night, the Habs' penalty killers killed off all seven Sens' PP's. This pushed the Habs PK unit to an 81.7% efficiency rate. That might not sound so great, but considering it was in the mid to low 70% range, at certain points this season, this is a huge accomplishment. From Plekanec to Moen to Metro to Gomez to SK74 to Hal Gill, all of the guys are buying in and all of them are helping the Habs' PK become stronger and stronger.

Overall, Montreal once again won a game where they were badly outshot and in which their goalie stood on his head. To their credit, the Habs were opportunisitic and good a capitalizing on their scoring chances. Also, their PP was a key component in last nights game resulting in two goals - with another howitzer of a shot by MAB.

Next stop, the Pens - who at last check have not yet arrived in Montreal. They were supposed to have an 11am practice, today, at the Bell Center but given the viscious winter snow storm that is it town, it is causing havoc on their travel plans. They now hope to be able to arrive in Montreal tonight. Ya, sure. Good luck with that boys.

K.

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Post Game Quick Hits: Habs 3 - Caps 4 (SO)

Wow, what a game and what a comeback and what an unfortunate tying goal by Caps with 11 seconds to go and what a heartbreaking loss in the shootout. Ummm, ya. The Habs basically came out flat in the first period and Washington used their speed to back up the Montreal defence. It resulted in a 2 - 0 Caps lead, and it would have been even worse had Price not played another solid game. This match, in many ways, came down to Price vs. Ovechkin and the two of them did not disappoint!

Ok, on with my observations from the game...

1 - Carey Price has found a new gear. This can no longer be called a streak. Price has simply taken his game to another level. He looks calm, cool and collected in the net but also displays the intensity needed to succeed as an elite goalie in this league. When Markov went down in the first game of the season, everyone said that in order for Montreal to have ANY chance, Price was going to have to carry them. Well, in his last 7 games, Price has let in 3 or less goals, per game. He is centainly doing his part! Interesting fact: Steve Yzerman was in attendance at the game, scouting for team Canada for the olympics. Given his rebirth, does Price get consideration as the thrid goalie for Team Canada?

2 - Roman Hamrlik continues to be one of the unsung heros of this team. Playing more than 20 minutes a night, every night, Hamrlik is better compared to a metronome than a hockey player. Constant, constant, constant. He is a stabilizing force on the blue line and is Montreal's best defenceman game in and game out.

3 - In the two games Montreal has played against the Caps, Spacek has done a phenomenal job of shutting down and shadowing Ovechkin. Yes, Ovy scored tonight, but the number of times that Spacek shut him down or took the puck away or block one of his shots, could have been the difference between losing in shootout or in regulation.

4 - Sergei Kostitsyn looks like a new player. He puts his head down and works, shift after shift. He makes great defensive players, dusplays excellent vision on the ice, and is, generally speaking, a key contributor on the team and will continue to be until at least the injured players come back. That brings up another quandry, and that is what do you do with Sergei when Andrei K, Gionta and Gomez are back?

5 - Ovechkin is simply a stupifying player. Unbelievably fast, incredible strength, wicked shot...this guy can do it all, and that was evidenced as he undressed Marc-Andre Bergeron and almost scored. This guys is a treat to watch every time he steps on the ice and hockey is a better game with him in it. Now if we could only get him to sign in Montreal!

6 - Montreal has to stop taking stupid penalties. From the MaxPac penalty less than 3 mins into the game to Mara's penalty with less that 20 seconds left in a 3-2 game, Montreal takes too many bad, untimely penalties and they have to stop. If not for Mara's penalty, Montreal would likely have won this game in regulation. Sadly, however, the Caps won the o-zone faceoff and scored the tying goal with 11.2 seconds left in the game, to force overtime. No goals in overtime led to the shootout where Backstrom was the only player to score for either team, and the Caps sealed the deal.

The bottom line is that Montreal, a team decimated by injuries, was down 2-0 in the first and Price held them in the game long enough to get their offence going. While the second point in the standings would have been great, there were a lot of positives to take out of this game, not the least of which is that Montreal continues to win and/or get points with one third of their regular players out of the lineup. I don't know how, but Jacques Martin is performing miracles with this lineup. Let's hope the miracles keep rolling in December!

K.

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Post Game Quick Hits: Habs 4 - Yotes 2

Montreal was finally able to spin out of their offensive lethargy last night by beating the Phoenix Coyotes 4 - 2 IN REGULATION! Yes, in regulation. For the record and in case anyone is counting, that is only their second regulation win this season. A frightening stat for even those with the most stable hearts. Ok, on with the observations:

1 - Tomas Plekanec has not so quietly become the leading scorer and most consistent player on this team. Even the other night, against Calgary, when Plekanec was clearly being targeted for punsihment by the Flames, Pleky was no shrinking violet. He became aggressive and combative, whereas last year he would have disappeared. Note to Bob Gainey: You can't resign this guy soon enough! DON'T make the same mistake you made last year!
2 - Carey Price is one unlucky guy. You've got to feel bad for the kid because despite his playing his heart out he just has no luck on his side. Both goals last night were unfortunate and unlucky. On this first goal, he was speared in the throat by his own player, Paul Mara and was on lying on his back when the puck went in the net! On the second goal, a harmless shot that was about three feet wide of the net hit Paul Bissonette's skate and deflected behind Price. Poor guy. You'd imagine that luck has to turn around for him at some point!
3 - Montreal's already poreous D took another hit last night and if they keep getting over-worked, more of them are sure to go down with injury too. Last night it was Spacek's turn to leave the game with an injury. This is what happens when you take a 35 year old third or fourth string defenceman and make him play first or second string minutes. I was wondering to myself, just this past week, how long Hamrlik and Spacek, both 35 year olds, could go playing 25+ mins per game before they go down with an injury. Well, as you saw last night, the answer was NOT very long! Yes, O'Byrne is coming back soon, but losing four regulars from your defence corp would severely weaken even the best team in the league. Things are definitely not getting easier for this team.
4 - Tom Pyatt did not look out of place on the second line. While Pleky keeps producing points no matter who he plays with and Andrei K still looks like he is asleep, Pyatt added a nice burst of energy to that second line. He is definitely not a permanenet solution but I think that at least for now, he could be a great fill-in.
5 - Montreal limited Phoenix to 20 shots on goal and very few scoring chances, as they tightened up their defensive play.
6 - Monteal only managed to throw 20 pucks as the Phoenix net and somehow managed to score goals enough to win.

With Phoenix out of the way, Montreal takes their 1-game winning streak into Nashville for a Saturday night tilt against the Preds. With Spacek potentially out of the line up, things could get even more grim for a team that has struggled to play .500 hockey so far.

K.

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