The
Canadiens (38-26-7) are in Toronto Saturday night to face their bitter
rivals, the Maple Leafs (36-27-8). The game starts at 7:00 and airs on
RDS and CBC.
This is the fifth and final meeting between the Habs
and Leafs this season. Both teams have won 2 games so far in the season
series, but the Leafs hold an edge earning an extra point over the
Canadiens in an overtime loss the last time these teams met. A pair of
third period goals put the Maple Leafs ahead in that last meeting, but
PK Subban drew the Habs even with under 10 minutes to play, and Max
Pacioretty sealed the victory with the overtime game winner.
What to Watch:
Thomas
Vanek netted his fourth goal as a Canadien on Thursday, it was good
enough to even up the game against the Blue Jackets in the third period
even though the Habs could not hang on. Carey Price gave up 3 goals on
40 shots Thursday. While that gave Price a .925 save percentage on the
night, he has given up 3 goals or more in each of the 3 games he's
started since returning from injury.
After being held pointless
for 5 games, Phil Kessel broke his drought with a goal against the
Lightning on Wednesday. He leads the Leafs in goals (35) assists (39)
and points (74), a feat he's accomplished for the last two seasons. With
42 points on the year, Tyler Bozak has a chance to set a new career
high despite missing 24 games this season. His previous high was 47
points in the 2011-2012 campaign.
What's at Stake:
The
Canadiens have a chance to open up a 5-point gap over the Leafs with a
regulation win on Saturday. With 10 games remaining for both teams after
this one, that could give the Habs enough breathing room to keep them
from looking over their shoulder so they can focus on catching the Tampa
Bay Lightning, who sit in second in the Atlantic division.
Who's Out:
The
Canadiens announced Friday that Brandon Prust (upper body) would be
sidelined for the remainder of the regular season, he'll be reevaluated
for the playoffs. Josh Gorges (hand) underwent surgery on March 10, and
isn't expected to return for at least two more weeks.
Paul Ranger
(head) is out of action after a hit from Tampa Bay's Alex Killorn sent
him to hospital. Jonathan Bernier (groin) and Dave Bolland (ankle) are
questionable for Saturday's game.
What Else:
The
playoffs are just around the corner and even though it looked like a
possibility just a few weeks ago, the chances of a first round match-up
between the Habs and Leafs grow slimmer with each Tampa Bay victory. As
it stands, Montreal and Toronto are the only two Canadian clubs
currently in playoff position, and of the remaining 5 teams, the Canucks
and Jets are closest to a spot, 5 and 6 points back respectively of the
Phoenix Coyotes.
The Question Mark:
With the season winding down, which season series for the Habs has been the most fun to watch, and which has been the least?
Make your voice heard by leaving a comment or sending 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.
The
Canadiens (33-21-7) play host to the rival Maple Leafs (32-22-7)
Saturday night at the Bell Centre. The game is set to start at 7:00 and
airs on RDS and CBC.
This is the fourth of five meetings between
the Habs and Leafs, they'll meet again for the final time this season in
three weeks at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The Leafs have picked
up 2 wins in the 3 games so far, including a 5-3 victory in Toronto the
last time these teams met. The Canadiens battled back from 1-0 and 3-1
deficits, but a late goal by James Van Riemsdyk eventually put the Leafs
ahead for good.
What to Watch:
Peter Budaj
will start his third consecutive game Saturday night as Carey Price
recovers from a mysterious lower body injury. Budaj had a shaky start in
Pittsburgh on Thursday but ended up one of the heroes as he stopped
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal in the shootout. Daniel
Briere picked up goals number 10 and 11 on the season against the
Penguins. He also added an assist in the 6-5 shootout win, bringing him
up to 21 points on the season.
The Leafs dropped a 5-4 OT decision
to the Islanders in their first game back after the Olympics. They were
stung for 2 shorthanded goals and a late third period game tying marker
against the lowly Isles. James Van Riemsdyk had 3 assists in the losing
effort and fellow American Olympian, Phil Kessel, picked up a goal and
an assist.
What's at Stake:
The Habs go
into Saturday's game with a 2 point lead in the standings over the Maple
Leafs with about a quarter of the season left to play. The Canadiens
haven't played the best hockey since the Olympic break ended bur have
still managed to pick up 3 of a possible 4 points. They have 9 points in
their last 5 games and will want to keep that streak going against
their longtime rivals.
Who's Out:
The
Canadiens are still missing Carey Price (lower body) although he is
expected to travel with the team next week for their West Coast road
trip. Ryan White (illness) missed Thursday's game in Pittsburgh and
practice on Friday. Brandon Prust (upper body), Michael Bournival
(concussion) and Davis Drewiske (shoulder) are also out.
The Leafs are missing Dave Bolland (ankle).
What Else:
The Montrealhockeytalk.com Pregame Show will be broadcast live from Brutopia Brew Pub Saturday at 6 pm, following a special edition of Murphy's Hockey Law
starting at 4 pm also live from Brutopia. Guests on Murphy's Hockey Law
will include Eric Engels from Hockeybuzz, Kevin Mcgran from the Toronto
Star, Mike Zeisberger from the Toronto Sun, and Shane Murphy who will
be in the house to perform an acoustic set.
The Question Mark:
We
want to hear from you, do you think PK Subban has been treated fairly
by Michel Therrien this season and are you satisfied with his
development?
Let us know what you think, leave a comment or send us a tweet by 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.
The
Canadiens (27-16-5) are in Toronto Saturday night to face the rival
Maple Leafs (24-20-5) on Hockey Night in Canada. The game starts at 7:00
and airs on CBC and RDS.
It's the third of five meetings between
these two original six teams, the Habs have already hosted the Leafs
twice at the Bell Centre this year, splitting victories with the Leafs.
Max Pacioretty had 2 goals and an assist in the last meeting, powering
the Habs to a 4-2 victory.
What to Watch:
Montreal's
offensive leaders, PK Subban, Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty each
found the back of the net Thursday night in Ottawa, leading the Habs to a
rocky 5-4 overtime win. Despite the 4 goals against, Carey Price was
the team's biggest star against the Senators. Price had 40 save on the
night include half a dozen highlight reel stops.
The Canadiens
will have their hands full with Toronto's top line of Phil Kessel, Tyler
Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. Bozak missed over 20 games with injury
but is up to 22 points in the 25 games he's played. Phil Kessel leads
the Leafs with 22 goals and 24 assists. Kessel has lead the Leafs in
points every season since 2009 when he joined the team.
What's at Stake:
The
Habs have the opportunity to do something Saturday night that
they've only done once since the second week of December, win
back-to-back games. Toronto is just 6 points back on the Habs for third
spot in the division, making Saturday's match up an important 4-point
game.
Who's Out:
The Canadiens are still
without Alex Galchenyuk (hand), Ryan White (upper body) and Davis
Drewiske (shoulder). Also questionable for Saturday's game are Lars
Eller and Raphael Diaz, both battling a case of the flu. In response,
Joonas Nattinen and Nathan Beaulieu have been recalled from Hamilton.
The Leafs are missing David Clarkson (elbow), Frazer McLaren (shoulder), Dave Bolland (ankle) and Trevor Smith (hand).
What Else:
While
the Canadiens will be doing battle with the Leafs, just down the road
in Hamilton at the Copps Coliseum the Bulldogs will face off against the
Utica Comets for Dskate Night.
Dskate is a one-of-a-kind hockey camp for youths aged 8-16 with type-1
diabetes, they've partnered with the Hamilton Bulldogs to support JDRF,
the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the initiative was started by
Montreal Hockey Talk's own Steven Hindle.
The Bulldogs will be wearing Dskate and JDRF patches on their jersey's
to mark the event. Learn more about Dskate on their website: https://dskatehockey.com/en/.
The Question Mark:
48
games into the season the Habs have 4 less points than they did during
the lock-out shortened 2012-2013 campaign, but they've also gone up
against tougher Western Conference opponents that they didn't have to
play against last season. So, we want to hear from you, have the Habs
improved, regressed or held steady since last season? Are some areas
improving while others are regressing?
Let us know what you think, leave a comment or send us a tweet by 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.
While the score is the nefflwhat will be mentioned in the record books, those in attendance will never forget the image of George Parros being taken off the ice in a stretcher during an incident that took place in the third period. During a fight with Leaf forward Colton Orr his face made direct contact with the ice. Thoughts go out to him and his family as we await news of his status.
A 4-3 loss in the season opener to the rival Maple Leafs may sting in the moment. However, the Canadiens showed many positives in areas that should bring the fans confidence in their club moving forward.
If there is one thing that any Montrealer can attest, the Canadiens never fail in bringing the city together. Before the opening face-off the sell-out crowd was on their feet as the torch was brought out by Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur and passed to Danny Briere before finally making its way through the roster and finishing with Captain Brian Gionta.
Using the momentum generated by pre-game ceremony and the home crowd, the Habs came out flying in the first. Was it the jitters that crept up on them or maybe the early season whistles from the referees? Either way the result showcased a special teams battle between the clubs.
Montreal fell back 1-0 to a goal by James Van Riemsdyk on a 5-3 in the first. Set up by newly extended Phil Kessel, the Leafs power-play made its appearance 7 times in total, this would be the only time the Habs allowed a goal down a man however. The penalty kill played very well for the Canadiens and managed to record a short-handed marker off the stick of Lars Eller.
Eller made quite the season debut posting 2 goals and a helper in the losing effort. Including one late in the third that sparked the team to attempt some late game heroics that ultimately fell short.
Making themselves known were linemates, and sophomore standouts, Alex Galchenyuk and Brandan Gallagher who, respectively, recorded; 2 assists and 1 goal.
For Montreal, the power play did fail to score on 4 opportunities but this should be a testament to the Leafs who played to their high pressure system in their zone incredibly well. Tyler Bozak was even able to catch Andrei Markov off balance by stealing the puck from the veteran and getting a breakaway, scoring short-handed.
Had the goaltenders not been on their game, the outcome could easily have been more lopside for either club. Both goalies made some spectacular saves in key moments. Carey Price made an early season highlight reel and leaving Leaf players wondering how they were unable to finish. He allowed 4 goals on 38 shots. On the other end was James Reimer, while less flashy, kept the puck out of the net numerous times, especially in the final minute holding the game for the Toronto club, he stopped 34 of 37 on the night.
P.K. Subban was noticeable despite being left off of the score sheet his presence was definitely an asset and lead all habs players in with 24:41 TOI . Leading for the Leafs, and the game, was Captain Dion Phaneuf, 27:01 TOI who put up a goal up for the club. While leading their respective teams it can be argued that Subban should find his way onto more ice time moving forward for the Canadiens.
The main criticism of the night should be that the other lines for Montreal were not able to capitalize during their opportunities in the early going. The likes of Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty, who suffered an injury setback but managed to return, need to up their play. They must find their game soon and help their respective lines produce in the coming weeks.
The Habs will take on the Flyers saturday before they go on the road for the next 4 games out in the western conference. It's important to come out of that short stretch with some wins in order to avoid falling into an early season hole in the tough Atlantic division.
Brian Gionta and Max Pacioretty traveled with the Canadiens to Ottawa but it's unsure as of yet if they will return to the lie-up tonight.
Whether or not the two top six forwards return, the Habs will need to play the way they did in Friday night's 3-1 win if they want to take the series lead. Craig Anderson will look to bounce back in goal for the Senators and if Montreal sticks to their game, he will be the main concern.
With more depth up front as well as on the blue line, Montreal will need Carey Price to outplay Anderson once again. Anderson finished the season with a .941 save%. That's a record for any goalie who has played at least 20 games in a season.
Anderson no doubt has the ability to steal a game or two in the series - hence the 48 saves in Ottawa's 4-2 game one win - and so the Habs will have to keep their offensive game going.
The Bourque-Plekanec-Gionta line has combined for 22 points
through the first ten games.
After two consecutive losses to the Bruins and Sabres, the Habs will look to return to their winning ways tonight against the Maple Leafs. The Leafs will be looking for their third straight win after defeating the Capitals and the Jets.
The win against the Jets on Thursday came with Phil Kessel finally netting his first goal of the season for the winner.
Although the Canadiens haven't banked two points in the win column since Sunday afternoon against the Senators, their losses didn't come without effort. There are some positives in the fact that if Tuuka Rask hadn't stood on his head in the first period of the Bruins, tilt the Habs easily could have finished the frame with a three or four goal lead rather than heading into the second period tied at zero.
The following night in Buffalo the two points were pretty much in the bank before Ryan White took yet another selfish penalty giving the Sabres the opportunity to bring them to within one goal of the Habs. Things went from bad to worse for Montreal as the game was tied with less than two seconds left and the breakdown was complete when they lost in the shoot out.
While tonight's line up has yet to be finalizes it should be safe to assume that White will sit after costing his team a point and Travis Moen will be in.
One thing for sure is that the Pacioretty-Desharnais-Cole line is going to have to start producing. If they can mirror the success of the Bourque-Plekanec-Gionta line, the Habs will have little trouble piling up w's.
Habs And Hockey News - Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) of lnh.com points out that Carey Price appears to be the player Bob Gainey knew he would become when he drafted him fifth overall in the 2005 draft.
Our beloved Habs, fresh off a lacklustre performance on Saturday against the Leafs, brought their A game last night, beating the Florida Panthers 4-1. The Canadiens were led by Andrei Markov, who scored two power play goals, his first tallies in over two years.
Rookie centre Alex Galchenyuk, who centered the Habs' third line alongside Brandon Prust and Brendan Gallagher, scored his first career NHL goal. Gallagher tallied his first career point on the play.
Many were questioning the removal of Lars Eller from the lineup, but Galchenyuk's performance, which earned him the first star of the game, brought the capacity crowd to its feet and quickly silenced the naysayers. It was obvious through his performance that the Canadiens' 2012 third-round pick was right at home playing the centre position.
The team's character was also in evidence when Ryan White threw a couple of punches at the Panthers' Thomas Fleischman after he hit Josh Gorges from behind. While the altercation earned White an instigator penalty and ejection, no one criticized that fourth liners for coming to the defence of one of his teammates.
Kevin Dineen, the head coach of the Panthers, started Scott Clemmenson in goal versus the Canadiens. Coming into the game, Clemmenson boast a flawless 6-0 career record versus "Les Glorieux."
The Canadiens are next in action on Thursday night, as they travel to Washington to take on Alex Ovechkin and the still winless Capitals.
- With Vancouver GM Mike Gillis' comments yesterday about a possible deal being close for trading goaltender Roberto Luongo, rumbling out of Toronto suggest that the "additional player" in the deal may be either Joffrey Lupul, who just signed a five-year extension with the Leafs, or Phil Kessel, who has lost favour with head coach Randy Carlyle.
- While we already knew sports merchandise sales were down during the NHL lockout, SportsPosterWarehouse.com posted some interesting stats in regards to how overall poster sales were affected. Hopefully, business is about to pick up.
In playing their second game in 24 hours the fear was that the Montreal Canadiens might be tired against the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. Add to that the fact that they arrived in Toronto late Friday night and that they spent a lot of energy in the third period against the Red Wings, and it seemed like the perfect storm might be brewing.
The only saving grace, at least on paper, was that the Habs were playing against a Leafs team that has a lot of trouble scoring goals. The Leafs are third from last in the league in goals, with just 65 in 29 games—a 2.24 goals per game average.
Hardly an offensive juggernaut.
But that didn't matter last night, as the Canadiens played a passive trapping game from the first buzzer, allowing the Leafs to dominate play in their zone. The Canadiens had a few decent shifts to start the game but seemed to be suffering the after effects of the previous night's tilt against the Red Wings.
With the Canadiens sitting back and letting the Leafs take the play to them, they once again got themselves into penalty trouble which further compounded their problems.
The Leafs opened the scoring in the first when Alex Auld lost sight of a shot off of the backboards. With Auld looking the wrong way Phil Kessel put the puck into the empty net to make it 1-0.
Tomas Kaberle made it 2-0 when his shot on a two-on-one eluded Alex Auld low stick side. Shortly after the goal, Jaroslav Spacek and Clarke MacArthur dusted off in the Leafs zone, with Spacek leaving the game with an "upper body" injury. Fortunately for the Habs, Yannick Weber was in the lineup as a forward on the fourth line and Jacques Martin quickly shifted him to D with Roman Hamrlik.
The fight seemed momentarily to wake the Habs from their slumber, and they finally started to get a few scoring chances.
Both teams played a sleepy second period until Jacques Martin switched Michael Cammalleri back to the first line with Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn. The trio produced the Habs' first goal of the game when Cammalleri fired a wrister top corner past Jean-Sebastien Giguere. After the goal, the Habs came back to life, dominating play and out-shooting the Leafs 10-3 in the second period.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, they just couldn't keep the momentum going, and they started to look slow and disorganized again in the third. The Leafs didn't have a lot going on either, but playing against a listless Habs squad, they didn't need much to pull out the win and closed it out in the third with an empty netter.
Final score: Leafs 3 - Habs 1
Habs' scorers: Michael Cammalleri (10)
Leafs' scorers: Phil Kessel (11), Tomas Kaberle (1), Kris Versteeg (9)
Three stars: 1. Tomas Kaberle, 2. Phil Kessel, 3. Fredrik Sjostrom
Game Notes
1. Auld let in two weak goals but was not the reason the Habs lost.
Auld didn't look very good on either of the Leafs' first period goals, but I guess that is to be expected from a guy who was making only his third start of the season. On the first goal he didn't have enough focus to track the puck properly, and it ended up in the back of the net.
The second goal—Tomas Kaberle's first of the season—was a low shot, unscreened, that Auld would have had if he had tried to stop the puck with his pad or stick. Instead, he sort of bent over to try to stop it with his glove and he missed it completely, resulting in what ended up being the winning goal.
Fortunately for the Habs, Auld settled down after the second goal and made enough saves to keep them in it when they looked like they needed a nap. When the Canadiens finally came to life in the second, Auld wasn't tested very much, but when he was he was there to make the save.
It makes you think that as the season progresses, the Habs might have to try to get Auld into some more games in order to keep him sharp. More importantly, if the Habs hope to have a long playoff run they need Price to be rested and fresh come spring time.
Price is currently on pace to play 74 games, and that is far too many if they want their star keeper to be in prime form come playoff time.
2. So much for being disciplined.
The Habs gave the Leafs three power-play opportunities in the game, which might not seem like the end of the world, but two of them were back-to-back—both by Jeff Halpern—in the first period. These PKs seemed to sap a lot of energy out of an already lethargic Habs squad and helped keep the momentum going for the Leafs.
Good thing for the Habs that the Leafs don't have a great power play, at only 25th in the league and operating at a 14.8 percent efficiency. That combined with the Habs league-leading 89 percent efficient penalty kill meant that the Leafs weren't able to do any damage on the scoreboard.
As I have said before, when the Canadiens are not skating they tend to get themselves into trouble, and their penalties last night were because the sluggish Habs were not moving their feet.
Sluggishness is never a good thing, especially for a team whose success is based on skating and speed. But the Canadiens played a passive trapping style from the drop of the puck when they should have been attacking the Leafs. The result was that, like the first period against Detroit, they were chasing the puck and taking penalties in the process.
I understand fatigue as a reason for the Canadiens' tired play, but these constant, untimely trips to the penalty box have to be addressed.
3. Cammalleri and Plekanec make beautiful music together.
Michael Cammalleri was placed back on the Tomas Plekanec line in the second period and played some inspired hockey as a result.
It's been pretty evident that Cammalleri was not happy playing with struggling center Scott Gomez but, being the team guy that he is, would never publicly say anything to that effect.
The reality is that he has looked everything from angry, annoyed, frustrated and despondent while playing with Gomez over the last few weeks. And while Cammalleri was still getting points on the second line, last night you saw why he truly belongs on the first line with Plekanec.
He is the Canadiens' best sniper, and he should be playing with their best center.
After going through a four-game goal drought, Cammalleri suddenly has had three goals in his last four games. With no official word yet on the status of Gomez and with huge back-to-back games against Philadelphia and Boston next week, I think it is time for Martin to reunite his top two offensive players permanently.
The Habs could certainly use the scoring punch.
4. P.K Subban continues to look lost on the ice.
To steal a line from RDS play-by-play announcer and former Habs forward Benoit Brunet, "Aye, aye, aye!"
In his second game back since being banished to the press box for three, Subban continued to struggle last night. Subban, who looks like a shell of the player who started the season with fire in his eyes, looked hesitant, confused and handcuffed out there. He looked like he was trying not to try, trying to be low-key and trying not to make any waves. Moreover, Subban is no longer yapping on the ice like he was at the beginning of the season; it all looks very unnatural to him.
It's a bit painful to watch.
So it seems like Jacques Martin's plan to reel Subban in worked in that he is definitely a subdued version of the player who got fans excited only a few weeks ago. The problem, however, is that his three-game stint in the press box seems to have turned a confident, brash young man into a nervous and tentative player.
For the first time this season, Subban actually looked like a rookie, and this once again raises the specter of Jacques Martin's poor track record with young players. Remember that this is exactly what happened to Max Pacioretty last season: It has taken him a good 30-40 games to get his confidence back.
Subban is a player who is thought to have more mental toughness than Pacioretty, and he should be able to find his game again. It won't happen over night, but I think that over the next few weeks he will slowly come back to life.
The only question is how long it will take and have the Habs, who might now be without the services of Jaroslav Spacek, done more damage than good?
5. The Habs have no net presence.
While the Habs are a skilled team, they do not have size up front and have few players that excel at crashing the net and posting up in front of the goaltender.
The Habs had sequences where they controlled the play but took far too many shots with no one standing in front of the goaltender. You are, generally speaking, not going to beat an experienced goaltender like Giguere without some kind of traffic in front of him.
The Habs had the same problem on the power play, often rifling shots right at Giguere's chest with no one standing in front. Part of the problem is a lack of patience on the part of the defensemen, particularly Subban, who seem to want to fire the puck as soon as they have a shot. The rest of the problem lies with the forwards who just don't seem to have it in their DNA to go to the front of the net.
Brian Gionta is one of the only Canadiens players who is constantly going to the front of the net, and he is the smallest player on the team.
Perhaps it's time for the Habs to look at addressing this gaping hole in the lineup, and with rumours of their interest in players like Jamie Langenbrunner, they might already be looking to move in that direction.
Standings and Next Game
The loss moves the Canadiens' record to 18-10-2, stalled at 38 points in the standings. While they are still in first place in the Northeast division, the Bruins' overtime loss to the Flyers inches them ever closer to the Habs in the standings.
The B's now have 36 points with two games in hand.
The Habs now have three days off before two critical back-to-back games in Montreal against the Flyers on Wednesday and the Bruins on Thursday. Both teams are exactly the type of physical opponents that the Habs tend to have problems against, and with the injuries slowly starting to mount, they represent the biggest challenges so far this season.
With injuries to Gomez and Spacek and problems with Subban on the back end, this is the first time this season that the Habs will truly have to deal with adversity.
How they respond will go a long way towards showing us what kind of team they really are.
(Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images North America)
