Montreal Canadiens Three Stars of the Week - Jan 6 - 12, 2014

A pair of 2-1 victories on home ice helped the Canadiens take 4 of 6 points last week. The Habs held on on to a one goal third period lead against the Panthers Monday night despite allowing 16 shots on goal in the final frame. The Habs fared less well in Philadelphia Wednesday, they were thoroughly outplayed by the streaking Flyers and dropped the match 3-1. But the team did managed to finish on a high note, the beat the defending Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks 2-1 in overtime and manage to look better than the Hawks just about every step of the way.

First Star: Tomas Plekanec

A force in all three games, Plekanec is back up to second on the team in scoring with a goal and an assist last week. Plekanec helped seal the win against the Panthers Monday night when his hard forecheck forced a turnover from Florida captain Ed Jovanovski, which led to Brian Gionta's game winner. Wednesday night, Plekanec had the Habs' only goal in a 3-1 loss to the Flyers, and while he was held pointless against the Blackhawks, Plek had 11 shots on goal Saturday night, including 3 of the team's 4 overtime shots.

Second Star: Carey Price 

Price went 2-0-0 on the week allowing just 2 goals in 121 minutes of play and stopping 45 of 47 pucks. Price's .928 save percentage has him up to fifth place in the league and his 21 wins are good enough for sixth. Price's highlight of the week may have come Tuesday morning when he was named as one of three goalies that will represent Canada in Sochi for this year's Olympic games.

Third Star: Andrei Markov

Andrei Markov had a somewhat quiet start to the week, he was held pointless Monday and Wednesday night and went -1 in each game. But the veteran blueliner ended the week with a bang, scoring both of Montreal's goals against the Blackhawks to power the team to their 2-1 OT win. Like Price and Plekanec, Markov was named to his national team and will get to represent Russia on home ice for the Sochi Olympics.

Honorable Mention: The Canadiens' Olympic Hopefuls

With the final Olympic rosters being announced this week, 8 Canadiens learned that they will be joining their country's national teams in Sochi next month, including all three of this week's stars. The other 5 Olympic hopefuls are Max Pacioretty for Team USA, Peter Budaj for Slovakia, Raphael Diaz for Team Swiss, Alexei Emelin for Russia and PK Subban who will join Carey Price on Team Canada. On top of being named to Team Czech Republic, Tomas Plekanec was given the honor of captaining the team even with the wealth of experience and leadership players like Jaromir Jagr, Patrik Elias and Petr Nedved will bring.

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Pregame Preview: Canadiens vs Blackhawks (Game #46)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens (25-15-5) are at home Saturday night to play host the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks (29-8-9). The game starts at 7:00 and airs on RDS and CBC.

This is the first of two meetings between the original six rivals, the haven't faced each other in over two years, stretching back to December 2011. Despite the Canadiens scoring first in that game, the Hawks beat the Habs handily by a final score of 5-1.

What to Watch:

Tomas Plekanec scored the only Canadiens goal in Philly on Wednesday, extending his point streak to 3 games. Linemate Brian Gionta also has a 3-game points streak going, the captain is up to 23 points in 44 games.

Carey Price should be back between the pipes for the Habs Saturday night, he has a 6-1-2 record in his last 9 games, stretching back to mid-December.

The Hawks are in the midst of a mini-slump, at least by their standards. The team is 1-1-2 in their last 4 and Patrick Kane, their leading scorer, has just 1 assist in that span. Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews both have 4-game point streaks going. Sharp had a hat-trick against the Devils last Friday, leading the Hawks to their only win in the last 4.

What's at Stake:

If the Canadiens want to prove they are a serious contender in this league, the Chicago Blackhawks are the perfect team to make that point against. The Hawks are on pace for just under 120 points this season and they lead the league in goals per game. On the other side of things, Montreal is fourth in terms of goals allowed per game, so Saturday's match will provide a real test to the Habs' defensive mettle.

Who's Out:

The Habs are missing Alex Galchenyuk (hand), Ryan White (upper body) and defenseman Davis Drewiske (shoulder).

The Blackhawks are just missing Nikolai Khabibulin (shoulder).

What Else:

The Blackhawks may have won 2 of the last 4 Stanley Cups, but they still have a ways to go before the catch Montreal's totals. One of the NHL's original six teams, the Hawks have had ample opportunity to bring home their fair share of Cups, but the team has only won hockey's ultimate prize 5 times since they joined the league in 1926. The Canadiens have won a league best 24 Stanley Cups, but haven't taken home a championship in over 20 years.

The Question Mark:

We want to hear from you, what were your expectations for the Habs this season and are you satisfied with their performance up to now?

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.

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World Junior Hockey Championships a Huge Success !!! Part 1

Ok so Team Canada did not bring home the gold, or I guess for that matter they did not bring back any medal. I am sure the burn of defeat is still extremely fresh in everyone’s mind as well, but truth be told, the outcome of the tournament was of little consequence to me.

Going into this tournament I did not expect huge things from Team Canada, they were young and inexperienced and if I am not mistaken were projected to finish 4th when all was said and done anyway.

None the less, let me take this a step back for a second.

Like most of you reading this, I consider myself a pretty big hockey fan. I play twice a week, read 100 blogs a week and I have the privilege of watching a good seven to eight NHL games a year live. I have had the privilege of watching NHL games live in Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, New York, New Jersey, Dallas, Detroit, Boston, Florida, Tampa Bay and will this year be watching games in Toronto, Anaheim, LA and San Jose.

I have had the luxury to see quite a few playoff games and have even seen a game in the Stanley Cup Finals. I have seen games in the World Cup, heck I am old enough to remember when Gary Suter cross checked Wayne Gretzky in the Canada Cup, but despite all of this, I have never had the privilege of watching a Team Canada game in the World Junior Hockey Championships (WJHC), well… until now.

You see, thanks to my crazily supportive parents watching my kids for a week and thanks to my amazing wife, I got to spend a week of my Christmas break in between the cities of Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden.

With our passports in hand and two simple backpacks as the only luggage, my wife and I headed to the Montreal airport. We did not book a hotel, we had no Danish or Swedish currency, heck we had no idea where we were even going. All we knew is that our final destination was Malmö for what promised to be an amazing experience.

For starters, let’s just say that the service provided on Air Canada was absolutely superb. I have taken my share of flights to and from Europe, but the service of this crew was A-1. Perhaps this had to do with the fact that the wife and I flew First Class, but that my friends is nothing but a minor detail.

Not to tout my own horn, but travelling with my wife and I is an amazing experience. We are not the type of people to stay on a resort, or stick to ourselves in touristy parts of a city. We are the type of people who embrace new cultures, love to meet new people and who have the most vivid of memories from the people we encounter along the way.

Not to go off track, but one day you absolutely must ask me about our trip to Barbados and our experience at Judy’s Watering Hole where we shared stories for hours over a few bottles of Mount Gay Rum with the Rum Ambassador, Chesterfield Browne.

With that said, Copenhagen was a very beautiful city. The people are inviting, for the most part speak perfect English and from what we experienced, seem to go out of their way to ensure your visit was a pleasant one.

Then there was the beauty of places like Vivoli, (the 2nd oldest amusement park in the world), or the Little Mermaid Statue or the Rosenborg Castle or of course a stop at the Carlsberg Brewery, but in all truthfulness I found it difficult to enjoy the city knowing very well that my sole reason for being there was a simple half hour minutes train ride across the sea.

So after a short couple of days in Copenhagen, my wife and I jumped on a train, destination, Malmö.

The train ride, although short and sweet was arguably the highlight of our stint in Denmark. It was there that we befriended a young Danish man and his British girlfriend who were headed to Gothenburg, Sweden to join up for New Years with some friends.

Not to bore you with the details, but we started off as strangers and in just a short time became friends to the point where my wife and I were offered sandwiches, Danish Snacks, drinks, chocolates and of course the use of his Mac book to book our hotel in Sweden as we shared stories of travel, Denmark, England, Canada and of course my love of hockey.

We said our goodbyes to our new found friends, jumped off the train and landed at the Hylle train station at the Southernmost part of Malmö. Not knowing where we needed to get off or where we needed to go, we casually made our way from the landing platform following the hundreds of people wearing a Team Canada Jersey.

If we were not in the right place then surely we would be lost with some fellow compatriots. But alas, we knew we had arrived, because right in front of my eyes was this enormous edifice, the Malmö Arena.

Part II to follow.

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Sochi 2014: Team Snublandia

Now that all the Olympic teams have been named for the upcoming 2014 Sochi Olympics, let’s have a look at the notable omissions of each major country and form the best possible team with the talented players that have been left out by their respective countries. Luckily for us Habs fans, P.K. Subban was named to Team Canada so there will be no riots in Montreal this week.

This squad of cast-offs would be one of the most dominant teams of the Olympic tournament thanks to a mix of talent, speed and leadership. Those disgruntled players are ready to prove their detractors wrong and go for Gold in late February.

Hand picked team Canada myself so I wouldn't have to toss a hipcheck at Claude Giroux if he came close to scoring a golden goal.
— Sidney Crosby's Ego (@SidneyCrosbyEgo) January 7, 2014

Forwards:

James Neal (CAN) – Claude Giroux (CAN) – Martin St. Louis (CAN)
Alexander Semin (RUS) – Joe Thornton (CAN) – Bobby Ryan (USA)
Taylor Hall (CAN) – Logan Couture (CAN) – Tyler Seguin (CAN)
Sean Bergenheim (FIN) – Eric Staal (CAN) – Jiri Hudler (CZE)
Extras: Kyle Okposo (USA), Radim Vrbata (CZE)

-Canadian forwards with more points than Claude Giroux since the 2010 Olympics: Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos. This means that if Stamkos is not ready to go, all three players will be left off Canada’s roster.

-Joe Thornton not only leads the NHL with 43 assists in 42 games this season, he is also 4th in scoring with 48 points and has a lot of international experience.

-Alexander Semin, despite being a 0.86 point per game player in his career, was snubbed in favor of some unknown KHL players who are struggling to put points on the board in Putin-land.

-Talented wingers Jiri Hudler and Radim Vrbata was left out of Czech Republic’s roster in favor ofPetr Nedved who played for the Canadian National Team back in 1993-94…

Olympic snubs are trying to create their own Olympics.

Defensemen:
Keith Yandle (USA) – Victor Hedman (SWE)
Jack Johnson (USA) – Kris Letang (CAN)
Jonas Brodin (SWE) – Brent Seabrook (CAN)

Extras:

Dan Boyle (CAN) – Jan Hejda (CZE)

Paul Martin made Team USA over Keith Yandle, Jack Johnson, and Erik Johnson. Lord help us. https://t.co/irLdCWP75Q
— Drunk Patrick Kane (@Drunk_Kane88) January 6, 2014

-Kris Letang, Brent Seabrook and Dan Boyle were all left off the Canadian squad because they shoot right. Instead, left-handed Canuck Dan Hamhuis gets the call despite scoring only 13 points this year.

-Sweden decided to select washed up defenseman Henrik Tallinder instead of talented youngsters such as Victor Hedman and Jonas Brodin…

Goalenders:

Marc-André Fleury (CAN)
Ben Bishop (USA)

Pekka Rinne (FIN)

-Team Canada decided to chose Mike Smith, who has more goals than shutouts this season, over former Stanley Cup winner Marc-André Fleury. Flower also leads the NHL with 24 wins this season.

-Despite suffering from the lingering effects of an infection to his surgically-repaired hip, Pekka Rinne should have been nominated, at least temporarily, as one of the top three Finnish netminders.

Other notables:  Nail Yakupov, Brandon Saad, Jordan Staal, Mike Richards, Jeff Skinner, Sven Baerstchi, Dustin Byfuglien, Marc Staal, Mark Giordano, Erik Johnson, Dmitry Kulikov, Corey Crawford, Josh Harding, Robin Lehner.

Did I miss anyone?

Do you think this team of misfits could contend for gold in Sochi?

Follow me on Twitter to debate and talk about puck!

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Pregame Preview: Canadiens at Flyers (Game #45)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens (25-14-5) are in Philly Wednesday night to face the Flyers (22-17-4). The game is set to start at 7:30 and can be seen on RDS and TSN.

This is the third and final meeting between the Habs and Flyers this season, each team has won on home ice. Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist and Jakub Voracek had a pair of helpers for the Flyers in their 2-1 win a month ago.

What to Watch:

Carey Price saved 16 of 16 third period shots against the Panthers on Monday to preserve Montreal's 2-1 lead and secure a victory for the Habs. The performance was a welcome turnaround from his recent play, Price had allowed 13 goals in the previous 3 games although the netminder has still managed to earn at least one point in each of his last 6 starts, including Monday's win.

The Flyers are coming off a 3-2 overtime win against the Devils Tuesday night, Brayden Schenn scored the winner and picked up an assist in the victory. Flyers leading scorer, Claude Giroux, has goals in back to back games. Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds may be the hottest Flyer of late, Hartnell extended his point scoring streak to 8 games with a goal against the Devils while Simmonds has 14 points in his last 10 games.

What's at Stake:

The race for top spot in the Atlantic division is heating up, the Bruins, Bolts and Habs are separated by just 3 points with half a season of hockey left to play. Montreal is at the bottom of that pile and both teams hold a game in hand, so every win helps close the gap for the Canadiens.

Who's Out:

Alex Galchenyuk suffered a broken hand in Montreal's win against the Panthers, the early reports have him out until the end of the Olympics. Ryan White (upper body) is out for two weeks but George Parros has been cleared to play and should be in the lineup Wednesday night. Davis Drewiske (shoulder) is still out long term.

For the Flyers, Matt Read has missed the past 3 games with an upper body injury, Erik Gustafsson (knee) could be nearing a return, but did not play against the Devils Tuesday.

What Else:

The Canadiens had 8 players named to their respective national Olympic teams. Max Pacioretty for Team USA, Tomas Plekanec, the slated captain for the Czech Republic, Slovakia's Peter Budaj, Swizterland's Raphael Diaz, Andrei Markov and Alexei Emelin for Russia and Canada's PK Subban and Carey Price.

At the other end of the ice, the Flyers will be sending 5 players to Sochi in February. Kimmo Timonen for Finland, Mark Streit for the Swiss, Michael Raffl for Team Austria, Czech Jakub Voracek and Slovak Andrej Mezaros all received the honor. Missing from that list is Canadian Claude Giroux, who was not named to the team when the roster was announced on Tuesday.

The Question Mark:

We want to hear from you: what was the biggest surprise surrounding the announcement of the Olympic rosters?

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.

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Monday Musings: Things I Think I Think

Greetings Habs Addicts,

Photo Credit: CBC.ca

Welcome to the first of what I plan on making a weekly in-season contribution here at Habs Addict.  Since Rob Elbaz is doing a great job recapping the week that was in his Three Stars of The Week column every Sunday, I've decided to give us something to spark each new week on Monday.  Each Monday, I'll reflect on some of the events of the previous week, rumours and news that has been floating around in the media and the Twitterverse (#mtlhockey).  The hope is to spark a lively debate in our comments section with our wonderful readers.  As such, I shall commence my Monday Musings.

- In 5 of the past 7 games, the Habs have allowed 4 or more goals against; losing 4 of those games. The goaltending had been stellar up until this stretch. Carey Price has allowed 4+ goals in 5 of his past 10 starts; however he has also won 5 of those 10 starts with a shutout in the mix. While the defense surely harbors some of the blame, Price does sport a mediocre 3.01 goals against average with an .890 save percentage over those past 10 starts. Those numbers may be acceptable if you're Ondrej Pavelec of the Winnipeg Jets, but not if you're Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens who happens to be the potential starting goalie for the Canadian Olympic team next month. Expecations are higher for you in these roles. The safe assumption is that this is simply a blip on the radar and not the beginning of the second-half collapse in goal that we witnessed last season with Carey Price. With better defensive play in front of him and better coaching from Stephane Waite on the sidelines, he’ll right the ship.  He’s still going to be the starting goalie for Team Canada in Sochi.

- Speaking of the Olympics, PK Subban cemented his spot (in my eyes) on the Canadian Olympic roster with his eye-popping performance in the 6-4shootout with the Dallas Stars this past Thursday (January 2).  Subban finished the game with 1 goal, 3 assists – all at even strength – and completed many a breakout pass, contributed 6 hits and set up both of Max Pacioretty’s goals (Patches had 2 goals, 2 assists himself).  Subban is an elite puckmover, the reigning Norris Trophy winner and ESPN has Subban has its mid-season Norris Trophy winner as well.  While much fuss is made about his defensive play, it’s worth noting that Subban has never been a minus player in any level of professional hockey for his career (career +27 in 245 NHL games; +46 in 77 AHL games; +77 in 234 OHL games).  He may not be used consistently as a penalty killer, but powerplay points don’t positively affect your +/- either.  He’s making the Olympic team and he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in Sochi.

- Daniel Briere ended 2013 and started 2014 as a healthy scratch.  He missed time earlier this season with a concussion and overall has appeared in 30 games, contributing 7 goals and 6 assists.  He returned to the lineup against the Senators on Saturday night (January 4) and potted 2 goals and 1 assist, to help the Habs earn a point in a 4-3 overtime loss.  Briere started the night on the checking line with Travis Moen and Michael Bournival, but played the majority of his 13 minutes with Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec; these two being the most talented linemates he’s had all season.   His numbers projected over a full 82-game season would be 19 goals and 35 points.  He’s not going to play in 82 games. He’s also taking up $4 million in salary cap space.  If anyone offered to take him off our hands, Marc Bergevin will be running out of the Bell Centre offices yelling “Start the car! START THE CAR!”  This is one new addition that has failed to make the desired impact.

- On the topic of the new additions, George Parros is still sidelined with a concussion.  This is his second concussion of the season, both suffered during fights.  While ESPN had a great article about Parros, his fighting style and his recovery from his first concussion earlier this season, this second one has us wondering whether its time for him to hang up the gloves entirely.  Parros has been sporadically used this season when healthy and while he brings an element of toughness to the lineup, his statline reads 0 goals, 0 assists, 1 shot on goal and 42 penalty minutes in 9 games.  In those 9 games he’s averaged 3.42 minutes of ice time and is a -5; opponents score an average of 1 goal against every 7.06 minutes of ice time Parros receives.   Montreal is 3-6 in the 9 games he’s played in.  Parros is one of the greatest heavyweights in the NHL, but the game has evolved and at 34-years old, this should be the final season for the Greek God of Fist and a disappointing one at that.

- Michel Therrien has made Alexei Emelin and Rafael Diaz healthy scratches in each of the past two games (Emelin against Dallas; Diaz against Ottawa).  This allowed Douglas Murray to be active after 3 straight games as a healthy scratch to end 2013.  Murray responded with solid play against Ottawa, setting up two Daniel Briere goals.  For the season, the quartet of Diaz, Emelin, Murray & Francis Bouillon have gone a combined 0 goals, 20 assists in 119 games collectively. They are also a combined -31 on the season.  Diaz has been the strongest of the group, collecting 11 assists in his 42 games played; however 6 of those came in the month of October.  Emelin will receive a pass, as he missed training camp and a portion of the season coming back from a nasty knee injury suffered last season.  However, outside of Subban, Markov and Gorges there’s been a revolving door of mediocrity on the blueline.  With youngsters Jarred Tinordi, Nate Beaulieu and Greg Pateryn waiting in the wings, its time to cut the dead weight (all 245 pounds of Douglas Murray) and replace some smurfs (Bouillon is only 5’8”; Diaz 5’11”) with the talented and hungry trio currently residing in Hamilton.

That concludes the things I think I think for this first week of 2014.

Three Questions from my musings:

A) Is his play over the last 10 games indicative of Carey Price collapsing again, or just a blip all goalies hit during a long NHL season?

B) Has Danny Briere received a fair shake as a member of the Montreal Canadiens?

C) Is it time to bring up Jarred Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu or Greg Pateryn from Hamilton to replace Murray, Bouillon or Diaz?

Nick M. 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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Pregame Preview: Canadiens vs Panthers (Game #44)

 
Match Up:

The Canadiens (24-14-5) play host to the pesky Florida Panthers (16-20-6) Monday night. The game starts at 7:30 and can be seen on RDS and TSN-Habs.

This is the third of four meetings between the Habs and Panthers this season, the Canadiens are still looking for their first win against Florida. Scott Clemmensen has played nets for the Panthers in both games this season, giving up just one goal in each start and stopped 48 of 50 shots in both games combined.

What to Watch:

Daniel Briere spent the beginning of 2014 in the press box as a healthy scratch, but when he came back to play Saturday night, he factored in all 3 Montreal goals, scoring 2 and assisting on the third. The line of Briere with Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta combined for 3 goals and 6 points. For Gionta and Plekanec, they each broke out of 4-game scoring droughts against the Sens.

For the Panthers, rookie Aleksander Barkov has a goal and 5 assists in his last 5 games, bringing him up to 21 points on the year to lead the Cats. Brad Boyes has 2 goals and 3 assists in his last 3 games, he's up to 19 points in his first season with the Panthers.

What's at Stake:

The Habs haven't beaten the Panthers yet this season and there's no time like the present. While the Canadiens earned points in each of their last 3 games, they can't be satisfied with the pair of OT losses to the Hurricanes and Senators last week. A pair of missed opportunities that have the Habs sitting in fourth place in the East, a point behind the Lightning.

Who's Out:

The Habs are missing Davis Drewiske (shoulder), while George Parros (concussion) and Ryan White (upper body) are day-to-day.

Ed Jovanovski played his first game this season last Saturday, but Erik Gudbranson (orbital bone), Dylan Olsen (lower body), Jesse Winchester (hand) and Alex Petrovic (upper body) were still sidelined. Gudbranson traveled with the Panthers to Montreal and could play Monday night.

What Else:

The Canadiens only managed one win in their past 3 games but they piled up 13 goals over that span. The team scored the same amount in their previous 9 games, starting with a 6-0 loss against the Kings. Max Pacioretty led the way last week with 4 goals and a pair of assists. His 4-point night in Dallas Thursday earned him a nod as NHL.com's second star of the night.

The Question Mark:

During the past week, have you been more encouraged by the increased offense the Habs have put up or discouraged by their shaky defense and slack discipline?

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

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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