Habs face big test in Pittsburgh

It is hump day, today, and with their 4 and 2 home stand behind them, and a Halloween home tustle against the Leafs ahead of them, Montreal prepares to take on the defending Stanley Cup champions Penguins, in Pittsburgh.

After an 11 game segment that has seen some many highs and lows, Montreal seems to be hitting their stride. Yes, the only 'real' test they have faced so far was Saturday nights 5-4 overtime win against the Rangers, but in today's NHL there is no such thing as an 'easy' game. If, however, one could look at Monday's game against the Islanders as a supposed 'gimme', then tonight's game against Pittsburgh is exactly the opposite and Montreal had better be ready.

The...

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There's something about Sergei....

Ok, let me start by saying....WTF????!!!?! What is going on with Sergei Kostitsyn? This saga is developing into a drama the likes of which Bill Shakespeare would be proud of. But seriously, wtf? He comes to camp and acts like a punk so he gets demoted to Hamilton. Then he refuses to report to Hamilton and gets suspended by the Habs. Then he changes his mind, reports to Hamilton and get 4 points in 5 games. Then yesterday, he randomly decides that he no longer wants to be a part of the Bulldogs, and he goes AWOL, again, and is suspended by the team, again. Now, in the latest twist to this soap opera, Bob Gainey had a face-to-face meeting with Sergei, last night, and Sergei has now decided to...

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Post Game Quick Hits: Habs 2 - Avs 3

Ugh. This was the closest Montreal has come so far, in this young season, to playing a full 60 minutes. However, sadly, they decided to take the 2nd period off and as a result ended up losing the game. Yes, both Colorado goals were lucky bounces, butt hey resulted from work. They simply out-worked Montreal in the 2nd and were rewarded with two lucky goals. Here are a few observations:
1 - Price played a solid game, which was nice to see, because I think the jury is still out on whether he is ready for prime time yet, or not.
2 - Tomas Plekanec was the best Canadien on the ice, and maybe the best player for either team. He played aggressive, went to the net, took checks to make the play,...

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Post-game quick hits: Habs 4, Toronto 3 (OT)

HOCKEY!!!!

Sorry, I had to get that out of my system.

:-)

Just like all of you out there, I am incredibly happy to be able to watch a hockey game that counts. I'd love to say that it was one for the ages...a classic that will go down in the annals of hockey history and which we will be talking about for years. Unfortunately, that was just not the case. While it was enjoyable, you could tell that this was a match between two teams that are trying to find themselves.

Even though they lost, the Leafs completely outplayed the Habs. The Habs looked disorganized and uncoordinated for most of the 60+ minutes of the game. I guess that is to be expected and Habs fans...

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Edmonton? Chicago? Who else would want Sergei Kostitsyn?

Let me start by saying, "I called it!" re: the Sergei Kostitsyn situation. Hooray. Nice for me. Ok, enough patting myself on the back...

After being demoted to the AHL but a) refusing to report to the Bulldogs and b) requesting to be traded, it appears that Sergei 'lil-punk' Kostitsyn's time in Montreal is over. I can't say that I am sad about it but definitely disappointed, as there is no questions that Sergei is a talented player. But, like Mike Ribiero and Mikhael Grabovski before him, his bad attitude will mean that he will have to ply his trade with another NHL (or KHL) team.

So this begs the question of who in their right mind would be interested in Sergei Kostitsyn....

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You got slapped! Wake-up call comes early for S. Kostitsyn.

Back in August I wrote a blog about Sergei Kostitsyn entitled 'Sergei Kostitsyn: Superstar or Superbrat?'

Here's the link, FYI:
http://habsaddict.blogspot.com/2009/08/sergei-kotitsyn-superstar-or-superbrat.html

In this article, I talked about how I wasn't sure how or where Sergei fit in the lineup of the 2010, Canadiens. How he seems like he has top-6 skill, but he has minor league attitude, and that this was ultimately going to be what determined his fate. I also wrote that when, this past summer, Sergei was quoted as saying that he believed the only reason he was sent to Hamilton, last year, was because of his off-ice scandal, that he might be in for a rude awakening...

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5 Keys to Habs' Season - Part 5 - Carey Price

This is part 5 of 5 in this series, and I just want to thank everyone for the feedback and emails! The support and feedback, whether negative or positive, is always appreciated!

So without further ado....

Carey Price
When Carey Price was drafted, 5th overall, in the 2005 NHL entry draft, a lot of people were unsure as to why the Habs grabbed this kid. As good as he was supposed to be, Montreal had Hart and Vezina trophy winning Jose Theodore in nets, and there didn't seem to be any good or convincing reason to draft a goalie. That year, however, Jose showed everyone his true colours, and that was those of a one hit wonder. In that light, the Price pick...

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5 Keys to Habs' Season - Part 4 - Andrei Kostitsyn

Back again, and in the home stretch with part 4 of 5, in this series.

Training camp is in full effect and the new look Habs hit the ice tonight against Florida, in Montreal. Gomez asks Lapierre if he thinks it will be a sold out tonight.

Hehe.....good one Scott. In a few short hours, you will experience, 1st hand, what it feels like to be a home boy in the largest capacity building in the NHL. Enjoy!

Ok, on with it then...

For Part 4, in the continuing series on the keys to Montreal's season, I turn my focus to Andrei Kostitsyn. Ah Andrei, Andrei, Andrei. Where to start? So much talent, such a perfect package of skill and size and yet, for some reason, you...

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5 Keys to Habs' Season - Part 3 - Mike Cammalleri

Greetings all! Hope eveyone is enjoying my take on what I believe the Habs will need in order for them to have a successful year. For part 3, in this series, I turn my attention to our shiny new sniper, Mike Cammalleri.

Mike Cammalleri
For a few years in a row now, there has been talk of Gainey fishing for three players around the league; Vinny Lecavalier, Patrick Marleau and Mike Cammalleri. I remember reading, a few years back, that Gainey was trying to pry Cammalleri out of L.A., at the deadline. But, as with most of the trade deadlines under Gainey, everything went up in smoke. However, where there is smoke, there is fire and I can only assume that going into...

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5 Keys to Habs’ Season - Part 2 - Tomas Plekanec

So, continuing in my 5 part series on what will (or won't) make the Habs successful this season, I want to start off by replying to one of the comments from my last post. In my previous post, I had said that I define the Habs' success as finishing anywhere between 4th and 8th, in the East. The poster, 'flamminghead', wondered why not 1st, 2nd, or 3rd? Well, the answer is that OF COURSE that would also be seen as a successful season, and a very successful one at that! But, I guess for me, if the Habs finish in the bottom four or five spots, I consider that they have had a successful regular season, given that I am not 100 sure about this line-up yet. If, however, they manage a stellar season...

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5 Keys to Habs' Season - Part 1 - Scott Gomez

With training camp only a few days away and the Habs rookie camp already underway, there is no doubt that hockey is in the air....and I'm lovin' it! Given that the 2010 season is almost upon us, it got me thinking about the new-look Habs and what their chances of success are, this season. While I'm not brave enough to make a prediction, I think that I can say that I am cautiously optimistic. I mean, even the biggest Habs hater should be able to see that Montreal's D got better and bigger than last year, and their forwards went sideways in the improvement category, at worst. Plus, the additions of Moen and Mara mean that Montreal will be a tougher team. I think people are focusing too much on...

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2010 Montreal Canadiens - Who are these guys?

With the 2010 NHL training camps only a few weeks away, I think that Habs fans are excited about the upcoming season but with all the changes over the summer, left feeling a little lost too. The question is, why? Why was this summer's upheaval so traumatic? Why do we feel like we are floating in the wind waiting for the breeze to deposit us somewhere? I'll tell you why. It's because we have no emotional attachment to the new players and, to a large extent, this team.

Now don't get me wrong, because I know that, generally speaking, Habs fans have an extremely strong emotional attachment to our team, but that is more about being attached to being a Habs fan, than anything else. With so...

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