Three in a row!

The Habs wins 4-3 in OT vs the Flyers

The Canadiens win again for the third time now, and not against a team that isn't making the playoff, but against another hot team recently, the Flyers. After the Senators and the Canucks, two teams that were on a very good streak, we all wondered if it was only luck, or are they really back. Last night's game gave us a good indication of the answer we have all been wondering for a while. The fact that the Habs have let in two fast goals in the beginning of the first period showed us that the Habs still aren't on top of their game yet. They are still struggling defensively. But, if we look back a few weeks ago, when the Habs were in that slump, they would have never got back into the game. They would have let in a few more goals and just give up. They would lose their concentration and feel powerless against top notch teams. This isn't the case last night. They have showed that they have character. They kept their focus and was able to capitalized on the PP. Nice goal from Plekanec by the way. They then took advantage of the momentum shift while the Flyers were lost on the ice to score two quick goals. It only took us 2 minutes to score these 3 goals. Even though the Flyers have a weak defensive team, they shouldn't allow that many goals in such a short period of time.

Plekanec and Kovalev have played a very good game again. Plekanec with 1 goal and 1 assist. He is really on fire now, he seems to have gotten back his game. Kovalev gave us another good performance with 1 goal and 2 assists. Jaroslav Halak gave us another great performance, he was very solid during the whole game. We can't blame him on any of the three goals. It was either an error made by his teammates or it was a lucky goal. He also made a few incredible saves. I didn't even know how he did it. I was sure it would be a goal. I am very pleased the way he is playing recently. Saku Koivu had a few good chances in offense, but it is his defensive play again that stands out. Also, he has done very well on the faceoffs, especially the 4 or 5 wins in OT that led to the Schneider's goal.

I seem to be repeating myself over and over about this, but the Habs are taking too many penalties. We gave them 9 powerplays! Twice, we gave them 5 on 3. Against the best team in league in powerplay at home, we should stay disciplined. Very good performance by the PK unit again. In the last two games, we have given the other team 2 times 2-man advantage in the game and was able to get out of it perfect. We better not give more of those, because it won't stay like this forever. Another bad game for Mike Komisarek, he is one of my favourite Habs and I hate to seem him give up the puck and turnovers like this. He is making mistake over mistake. As I said in previous posts, maybe we should give him some rest like Kovalev. It is only a matter of time that his mistakes will cost us the game.

It was also Glen Metropolit's first game with the Habs and the first game versus his former team. What an odd situation. He was in practice with the Flyers in the morning and he had to play against them at night. When I first heard of this news, I was disappointed by Gainey's move, because we had just traded Begin and saved some cap space. If we can trade Dandenault, we would have more room for an impact player before the trade deadline. By claiming Glen Metropolit, it somehow just cancelled the cap space we just created. Does this mean that Bob Gainey has finished his shopping? This is what I was disappointed of. In the other hand, we didn't give anyone in return for him. He will add some depth in our team. It isn't Kyle Chipchura that could help us in the long run like in the playoffs. Kyle is still young and lack experience. Glen will help us right away with his experience.

Habs Vs Sharks

Tonight, the Habs will have to face the best team in the NHL. The Sharks will be a good measuring stick for the Canadiens. We will be able to see if we can compete with them. I don't expect the Habs to win, but I hope that we will put up a fight and have a good and exciting game. If we come out with a tight game, win or lose, it will give a very good boost to the confidence level to the Canadiens players and could only benefit them. Halak will be playing a fourth straight game, he deserves it. Also, Claude Lemieux is back to Montreal after making an impressive comeback to the NHL with the Sharks. It would be interesting to see how he will perform tonight against the Habs in front of family and friends at the Bell Center. Good game everyone.

The Habs Claim Metropolit Off Waivers

Just a few hours before the game against the Flyers, Bob Gainey has claimed Glen Metropolit from them off the waivers. The 34 years old centerman has 5 goals and 10 assists in 55 games this season with the Flyers. Bob Gainey says that he was looking for a center who can give more depth to the team and support other centermen such as Koivu, Plekanec, Lapierre and Chipchura. The occasion presented itself when the Flyers has put Metropolit on waivers. Bob said that Glen is an experience player that played very well against us in the playoffs last year with the Bruins and that the Canadiens are very happy to obtain his service.

Dandenault Asks to be Traded

According to TSN Daren Dreger, Mathieu Dandenault has asked Bob Gainey to trade him before the trade deadline and Gainey has agreed to help him. Dandenault is currently in his final year of his contract with a salary cap of $1.75 million per season.
Here is the original article from TSN.

Steve Begin Traded to Dallas Stars

Steve Begin has been traded to the Dallas Stars. The Montreal Canadiens obtained in return the defenseman Doug Janik. Doug Janik measures 6'2 and weights 211 lb. In 13 games this season, he has 1 assist, taken 2 minutes of penalty and is a minus-2 player. He has a total of 159 games of experience in the NHL. Doug Janik was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 1999 in the 2nd round, 55th overall but didn't play much with them. He was then traded to the Lightnings where he played most of his NHL games. Janik is expected to play with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL. He has a salary of 500,000 this year.

Carbo is Mad at Laraque's Declaration, Laraque Clarifies What He Said

After Laraque's declaration to the media yesterday, Carbo is unhappy of the timing of his declaration and the way he decided to handle this situation with the media. Carbo says that the team is on a good streak right now and that it isn't the time to make a distraction for his teammates. The coach says that he has spoken to Laraque three days ago about this situation and thought Laraque understood what he said. If George still has doubts, Carbo says that he is welcome to come to his office and talk about it. Carbo also added that if we look at Laraque's ice time compared to the other 4th liners players in the league, we could see that he has one of the highest ice time. Carbo says that he is paid to help the players, he doesn't need them to like him, but he wants them to at least respect him.

24 hours after his declarations, now Laraque says that he doesn't want to be traded. He wants to clarify that reporters have asked him if he didn't like his ice time. Laraque said that he answered the question honestly and said yeah. He said that he would be lying to them if he said no. Anyone with a big contract such as his would not be happy of their ice time and would want to play every game. All he said yesterday was that he won't be surprised if he was going to be traded before the trade deadline. Laraque insisted that he loves Montreal, his family is in Montreal and that he wants to stay in Montreal. He also added that he has never talked to Bob Gainey about any trade.

Related Article
George Laraque Wants to be Traded

George Laraque Wants to be Traded

During the Montreal Canadiens practice today, George Laraque told the media that he was unsatisfied with the number of games he has played so far. He said that if he knew he would be in this situation last summer, he wouldn't have signed in Montreal. He said that he was expecting to play every game, especially with the salary that he is making. He doesn't want to be in and out of the line up like this. He also added, if he is unable to play every game when there are many injuries in the team, he doesn't expect to play much after they are back. In that case he says, he is better off playing for another team who requires his help. He claims that Carbo doesn't seem to like using tough players like him. Therefore, Laraque expects to be traded before the trade deadline.

Halak Is On Fire

The Canadiens Wins 3-0 Vs. The Canucks

"Halak is on fire" Those were the words of Benoit Brunet during the game last night as Jaroslav Halak made more and more spectacular saves. He was extremely solid on a couple of breakaways, especially on Henrik Sedin. He was awesome on the penalty kill, he didn't leave any rebounds, was in complete control of the puck. Wow! And when I thought that he couldn't do better than the game versus the Avalanche, I was wrong. He was able to be perfect in this one. He showed me and a lot of fans that he can win a game by himself.

Saku Koivu, who was sick and didn't play well in the last two games, played an excellent defensive game last night. He was excellent in the penalty kill. He made the most important play last night during the 5 on 3 by diving and making the nice pass to Plekanec. If there ever was any highlights for defensive plays, this would definitely be one of the top 10s defensive plays of the week.

Ever since Plekanec's suspension, he is a changed player. For some reason, he is producing at an amazing rate. Again, last night, he has collected a goal and an assist. A beautiful breakaway goal on Luongo and a precise pass to Andrei Markov on the Powerplay. Plekanec has also done well during the penalty kill and in his defensive zone.

About Alex Kovalev, as a Habs fan, you don't know how to feel about him. One night, he can get you off your seats by making awesome plays and win a game for the team. And one night, where he is invisible and puts your team in a bad situation by taking bad penalties. Last night, well...he took 6 minutes of penalty and almost made the Habs lost. He was lucky that Halak and the team played well defensively.

I didn't like how Andrei Kostitsyn played last night. A bit like Kovalev, he was more invisible last night. He looses the puck too often and took a bad penalty. Ever since Kovalev is back, I haven't seen Kostitsyn play well . Could it be that Kovalev have a negative influence on Andrei? I don't know for sure. But one thing is for sure, when Kovalev is on the ice, Andrei always tries to give him the puck instead of keeping it.

Finally, the Canadiens have won two games in row now. They need to keep it going. The next game won't be easy again. The Habs will need to play against the Flyers. With the performance last night of Halak, I don't think anyone would have any doubt on who will be keeping the net. Go Habs Go!

Alex Kovalev Returns

Habs wins 5 to 3 against the Sens

After a few days off, Alex Kovalev returns and leads the Habs back on track by scoring a goal and obtaining two passes. But it isn't his offensive stats that had impressed me the most, it is his defensive plays. He was anticipating plays and intercepting passes on the 5 on 3. Fighting along the boards, giving a 2nd and even a 3rd effort. He kept the plays simple this time. He didn't try too much fancy moves. He thought about the team first and was aware of his defensive play. The bad Kovalev that we used to know would've tried to score in the empty net from our zone during the last minutes of the game. But this time, I was very happy that he didn't, and just cleared it against the boards...too bad it was still an icing call. But it was the intention that counted, the fact that he is willing to change and play as a team. If he can keep doing like this, we will see the same team we saw last year.

Besides Kovalev, Jaroslav Halak again did an excellent job. Wow! Another excellent performance from his part. If Kovalev didn't play that well, for sure he would've gotten the first star of the game. Halak had to face 47 shots tonight. Another high shot count...I don't think we can keep winning games by allowing so many shots. Good thing it was Halak in net, I don't think Carey is ready to face that many shots yet. We know he is still shaky. I think we need to give him more time to build back his confidence and then we can give him the net. I didn't like his performance in the Pens game.

The Canadiens players need to be much more disciplined, especially in this period of the season. We cannot give the opponent teams 2 times 2-man penalties in one game. We were lucky they didn't score that many goals or we would've witnessed the Sens comeback similar to the one we did to the New York Rangers last year. That would be very devastating for the team at this stage.

Koivu didn't play well, he took a bad hooking penalty while we were already shorthanded. I know he has done a lot of improvement in terms of penalties this season, he needs to be careful not to fall back to his old habits. I didn't like Komisarek again, he's been making turnovers and also seems to always hit a player when he shoots the puck. I mean...does he even look in front of him or he just look at the puck on the ice and hope nothing goes in its way?

Higgins played another good game, he seems to be getting back to his game shape now. Plekanec is on fire, he scored again tonight. The two games suspension seems to have helped him a lot. Strange...Kovalev also had two games of rest. I wonder if we shouldn't give some rest to some other players who are playing bad like Komisarek for example. It might help him get back his game. Schneider has scored again tonight and the powerplay is going extremely well lately. Great move Gainey! Hamrlik obtained two assists, the controversy seems to have not affected his play on the ice.

This was an important win tonight, other teams in the race for a playoff spot have also won. The Pens have won their game against the Flyers. The Panthers have surprisingly beaten the Big Bad Bruins and the Sabres have also won against the Rangers. This is an important two points for us. We need to keep going and leave the bad streak behind us. The next game will be a challenging one, the Canucks are hot right now with 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

Bob Gainey Press Conference

Bob Gainey held a press conference today to announce that Kovalev is back with the team. Kovalev is now rested mentally and physically. Kovalev wasn't able to disengage from hockey as most players did during the All-Star break. He is now ready to play and help the team again. According to Gainey, the problem with Kovalev was that he was trying to do too much. He put a lot of pressure on himself and tries to find the solution alone instead of finding the solution as a team. He had to carry the team by himself when key players like Tanguay, Koivu and Robert Lang got injured. The weight is now too heavy on him. At some point, he was distant with the team and didn't communicate much with his teammates or with the coaching staff. Bob Gainey also added that he cannot guarantee if Kovalev would stay with the team for the rest of the season. He says that there is four more games before the trade deadline and that anything is possible not only for Kovalev, but also for the other players.

The presse conference was not only about Kovalev. Bob Gainey also had to face questions about the article in La Presse today. He says that he is very concerned. He has conducted a meeting with the whole team this morning about the whole situation. He had made them aware of the importance to avoid these kind of situation and be careful of the people they meet. Bob Gainey says that it isn't the first time that a person tries to get inside of the inner circle of the NHL or of the Habs organization. These people usually want to have trophy friends or know someone that earns millions of dollars a year.


Related Articles
Kovalev Denies The Claims
Kovalev Won't be Back in Montreal Next Year
Sergei Back to Hamilton, Kovalev Stays in MTL

More on the Kostitsyn Story
The Kostitsyn Brothers Related to Organized Crimes?

More on the Kostitsyns Story

After this story had been published by La Presse today, ESPN has learned that the NHL have sent security officials to investigate with the police on the players related to the Mangiola.

La Presse have asked Andrei Kostitsyn after the game last night about Mangiola. Andrei confirms that he knew Mangiola, but he didn't know anything about that person. Andrei continues to say the he doesn't know anything and that he only concentrate on hockey. When he was asked if Mangiola helped him to get alcohol and girls, Kostitsyn said that he takes care of these things himself.

The Kostitsyn Brothers Related to Organized Crimes?

According to La Presse, Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn are very close to a member of a criminal organization. His name is Pasquale Mangiola and was arrested by the police in the Axe Operation on February 12th for drug possession, cocaine traffic and illegal gun possession. The police said that he was the middleman between three criminal gangs : the Blues, the Syndicate and the Lavertue brothers. All these three groups are affiliates of the Hells Angels.

The police only found out that they were good friends because of the many phone calls conversations that Mangiola had with the Kostitsyns. They were seen regularly partying in bars and restaurants on the St. Laurent Boulevard in Montreal. Sometimes, they were seen together at the Bell Center after hockey games.

Mangiola also played an important role in their life. When the Kostitsyn first came to Montreal, He guided them and showed them around the city. He helped them to find an apartment and get a car. He also had access to their credit cards and did purchases for them. If the Kostitsyn needed anything such as vodka, luxurious cars or girls, he would get it for them. Oddly, the police have found financial documents from the Canadiens with the Kostitsyns names on it at Mangiola's house.

Other than the K brothers, the police have also found that Roman Hamrlik knew Mangiola. Although, they weren't as close, they were seen together at a bar.

The police told La Presse that the three players are not related to any illegal activities, therefore they will not face any accusations.

Here is the full article in La Presse :

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/justice-et-faits-divers/200902/19/01-829301-un-criminel-lie-a-trois-joueurs-du-canadien.php

Here are some links to other article related to the topic :

http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/269591.html
http://www.corussports.com/canadiens/hamrlik_kostitsyn_lies_mafiozo-20090220-1426483.html
http://lejournaldequebec.canoe.ca/journaldequebec/sports/hockey/archives/2009/02/20090219-235652.html

Kovalev Denies The Claims

On TSN, Darren Dreger said that he has spoken with Kovalev. Alex said that he didn't talk to anybody, he would never talk about his teammates. His focus is on getting back in the line up with the Canadiens. About his future, he says he's nobody, and doesn't control anything. All he can do is to come back and play better and help the team.

Bob Mckenzie added that some NHL teams, who were interested in Kovalev, asked Bob Gainey if he was available. The answer is : "He is not available right now.". Mckenzie claims that the Habs GM wants to get Kovalev back in the line up and see how he is going to play.

According to RDS, Kovalev will be back with the team on friday for practice. But we still don't know if he will be in the line up, that decision is up to Carbo.

Lafleur Criticizes Gainey and Carbo on the Kovalev Situation

Guy Lafleur comments on the Kovalev situation in this article in The Gazette written by Dave Stubbs. Flower says that if he was in Kovalev's shoes, he would've played his last game in Montreal. He believes that no one should be humiliated in such a way especially someone with that much talent like Alex Kovalev. Lafleur continues by saying that he doesn't know what Bob Gainey is trying to prove by doing this. He would've expected Bob to sit down with him and try to solve the problem. He also criticizes Guy Carbonneau for mixing the lines constantly and for rolling all four line equally. He says that if you pay a player $4 Million a year, you need to put him with the best players and give him as much ice time as possible. Lafleur believes that the Habs won't be able to make the playoffs because the players are not playing as a team and aren't ready to sacrifice themselves for their teammates.

I have to admit that I do agree with him on certain aspects. It is been a while that I don't like the way Guy Carbonneau changes his lines. It doesn't make sense to put the talented players in a losing situation. How do you want them to perform with fourth liners? I like Carbo when he was a player and I hope he could become a good coach. But the lines that he makes are just ridiculous. I know that he wants all his players to be well rested to prepare for the playoffs, but you need to make it first or everything will be pointless. If he wants to have a good coaching career, he needs to start changing his style. Where I disagree with flower is, you cannot entirely blame everything on the management staff, Kovalev also have to take his own responsibility as a professional hockey player. He is the one playing on the ice.

Canadiens Lost in Shootout 4-3 Vs the Capitals

Ok, so the Canadiens lost again. I know it's disappointing for all of us. But this time, I liked the way we played. The Habs have finally started to play more as a team now. There's a lot of positive things the players could build on.

I know the first period wasn't that great. We were lost in our zone a couple of times, and if the Capitals were able to score on those chances we would be back to where we were. Carey Price was solid tonight, he made the important saves to keep the Habs in the game. He robbed Ovechkin from a sure goal with the glove in first period. Wow! What a save. I thought it went in. He also made 3-4 key stops in overtime. We can't really blame him for the three goals he let in. By the way, even though I hate it when we get scored on, I have to say that Ovechkin's goal was really a beauty.

Offensively, I felt that Higgins played one of his best games this season. He was solid on the boards and won his battles. He got a couple of good scoring chances and played more aggressive. Plekanec played a good game tonight. He generated a few good scoring chances and scored an important goal. Maybe he plays better without Kovalev in the line up and plays with less pressure now. Pacioretty did a good job tonight again, I kinda like this new line with Thomas and Andrei. They might be able to create some chemistry together in the long run. Andrei Markov also played an excellent game and collected 3 passes. Before the game, I wondered how Andrei Markov would react been paired with Schneider. Well, we scored 3 goals on the powerplay! Is Schneider really the solution to our powerplay? Lets hope they keep going.

Defensively, I felt that we did very well tonight. I was only disappointed in Komisarek's game, his play was poor and again made a bad pass which resulted in Ovie's goal. What happened to him? Is he really injured? He is really getting me worried. Other than him, we did fine. We didn't give them much chances in the second period and especially in the third period. As the game progressed, the Habs played with more confidence and applied more pressure and better forechecking. Kostopoulos played well defensively and did some really good forechecking. I remember at one point, the Capitals couldn't even get out of their zone for a few minutes because of it. Also, Schneider did very well defensively in his first game and help repair some errors.

The Habs did very well defensively against one of the hottest offensive teams in the league, especially for a team that is struggling defensively right now. Even if we didn't get the two points, I believe that for the players it's a win deep down inside. After this game, they know that they can compete with the top teams again. So cheers Habs fans, we'll get out of this slump and start winning hockey games soon.

Kovalev Won't be Back in Montreal Next Year

The Kovalev situation is getting worst in Montreal. According to the reporter Marc De Foy, Kovalev has told a member of the russian community in Montreal that he doesn't believe he will be back with the team after the two road games. He also confirms what Perrons have said about the young kids partying too much and that it is the main reason why they are losing so much recently. He also added that what we have heard was only the tip of the iceberg. Kovalev says that he would be surprised if he would be back with the Canadiens at the end of their trip and he is expecting to be traded. If he isn't, then he will just finish the season with team, but he will definitely not be back next year.

Kovalev continues to say that everything started at the beginning of February when Carbo decided to bench Kovalev in the third period versus the Boston Bruins. Kovalev created a turnover which resulted in a goal with a minute left in the first period. Afterwards, he took two more bad penalties in the second period and cost the Habs the game. At the end of the game, Bob Gainey was furious and went to see him. Gainey suggested him to take a week of break, but he declined.

More on Kovalev, Francois Gagnon said in the air of RDS that many rumors are circulating that Kovalev would be traded to Pittsburgh and that the Pens would love to have Kovalev next to Crosby. The player going to Montreal is Kristopher Letang. But Gagnon does not believe that gainey would do such transaction because the Habs are directly in the race with the Penguins for a spot in the Playoffs. He believes it will mostly be a team in the Western conference like Dallas who has just lost Brad Richard because of an injury, or the Calgary Flames where Mike Keenan have already coached Kovalev.

Here is the link to Marc De Foy's article

Vincent Lecavalier Habs Rumors

Guess what? Yeah, Vinny rumors resurfacing again! With Bob Gainey's recent move to obtain Mathieu Schneider, many people have started to believe that this is just the beginning of many transactions to come. Especially in the case of Vincent Lecavalier, some believe that the Canadiens are now ready to accept the rumored transaction of sending Andrei Markov, Christopher Higgins and some prospects to the Bolts. In addition, if Bob is successful in trading Kovalev for some picks, the Habs could have cleared enough cap space to welcome Vinny to Montreal. All of this is pure speculations, but yesterday in Bob Gainey's press conference, he has admitted and confirmed for the first time ever since the whole Lecavalier rumors saga, that there has been discussion with the Lightnings about his availability. He also noted that it was the Bolts who have contacted him first. Wow, remember what Brian Lawton said a few weeks ago in his press conference about the rumors? He said he never talked to any teams about trading Lecavalier...hehe. Well, it only confirms what everyone already knew.

More rumors regarding Lecavalier is from Eklund, the anonymous hockey blogger. He says that the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers are the most interested teams and that they are in a tight race in acquiring Vinny. He claims that he has four solid sources that the Rangers have had discussion with the Bolts. The players involved for the Rangers are Marc Staal, Dubinsky, Girardi and some picks. For the Habs, the main player involved is Markov and the others are the same names we have all heard during the All-Star break, which was Higgins, P.K. Subban and some picks.

I guess we'll have to see how things turns out in the next month. All of this is only rumors and speculations, but there's always a little bit of truth in it. It all depends on if it will materialized or not. If it doesn't, we'll just say it's some crazy rumors. If it's true, then we could all say I talk you so. :D

The Canadiens Have Been Trying to Trade Kovalev for 2 Weeks

According to an article from La Presse written by Richard Labbé, the Montreal Canadiens have been shopping Kovalev for at least two weeks now. Kovalev became a problem in Habs dressing room. Labbé claims that three agents have confirmed to La Presse that Bob Gainey have been contacting many teams around the league to try to trade him. The Habs have difficulty to trade Kovalev because of his unrestricted free agent status next year and also because of his current $4.5million contract. The teams that would be interested in him would need have at least $1.4 million in cap space. In addition to all of this, Bob Gainey has said yesterday in a press conference, that he is open to anything and that everything is possible. He doesn't dismiss that Kovalev could be traded or that he could rejoin the team soon. Another agent says that Bob Gainey's decision to send Kovalev home wasn't a sudden decision, that it have been thought of for a few weeks ago and its serious. The chances to trade Kovalev have considerably lowered by sending him home. It's like telling the rest of the league that we have a big problem here. Labbé continues to state that Kovalev won't have much value on the market and the only teams that would be interested in him would be western teams that are fighting for a spot for the playoffs such as the Blues or the Coyotes.

Here is a link to the full article :
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/hockey/200902/17/01-828404-le-ch-tente-dechanger-kovalev-depuis-deux-semaines.php

Sergei Back to Hamilton, Kovalev Stays in MTL

The Montreal Canadiens have annonced that they have sent back Sergei Kostitsyn to the Hamilton Bulldogs and have recalled Gregory Stewart. This move from Bob Gainey is a clear message to the younger Kostitsyn that he has not earned a permanent spot on the team yet and that he should work alot harder in order to stay. The same message was giving to Maxim Lapierre last year at the start of the season and look at him now. Hopefully, Sergei will get his act together and start working his way back to the NHL.

Other news related to the Canadiens, Bob Gainey have asked Kovalev to stay in Montreal and not to make the trip with the team to Washington. He believes that Kovalev needs some rest and take some time off to clear his head. According to Gainey, there is alot of pressure on Kovalev right now. He says that with the way Kovalev is playing right now, the team don't need him. The team can survive without one of their good players for a short period of time. Gainey also stated that Kovalev have not asked to be traded and that he wishes to stay in Montreal. But he doesn't dismiss that anything is possible.

Top 20 Russian Prospects

There is an interesting article from hockey's future written by Alessandro Seren Rosso on the top 20 russian prospects, drafted and undrafted. It is interesting because the top russian prospect belongs to the Montreal Canadiens organization. His name is Konstantin Korneev. Do you know him? Probably not. Why? Well that's because he was drafted very far away in the 9th round, 275th overall in the 2002 NHL draft. Other than the defenseman Korneev, there is three other Habs prospects on that list. The number 4 prospect is the defenseman Alexei Emelin and he was drafted in the 3rd round, 84 overall in 2004. He was the one who has expressed his interest in playing for the Canadiens, but his agent fooled him to sign a two year contract to play in Russia instead. His contract is ending this year, so hopefully we will see him next year. In the 14th position is the forward Maxim Trunev and was only drafted this year in the 5th round , 138 overall. He was one of the youngest players eligible to the draft this year and Trevor Timming said that he could be the steal of the draft. Finally, the 20th prospect is Pavel Valentenko who was playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs this year, but left in the middle of the season to play in Russia saying as an excuse that his father was ill. He was then suspended by the Canadiens without pay for leaving the team. Though the Habs still have the rights on Valentenko, but I doubt he would get any chance to wear the Canadiens uniform again. Below is the link to the entire article if you want to know more about these players.

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/10944/top20_russia_prospects_drafted_and_undrafted/

Price, Higgins and Sergei Kostitsyn Partying Too Much?

Jean Perron, the former Montreal Canadiens coach said on the air of CKAC radio yesterday that Carey Price, Christopher Higgins and Sergei Kostitsyn have been partying too much recently and is a source of distraction to the team. Hence, the cause of this bad streak the Habs are going through. He claims that he has learned this from sources of very competent and important people in the Montreal society. These sources say that these three players have been constantly on the party in Montreal at night. In addition, he says that Andrei Kostitsyn has tried to calm down his brother from partying, but Sergei don't want to listen to him anymore. Andrei has completely lost control over his brother and ever since they have stopped talking to each other.

Perron continues to say that the Canadiens management staff needs to strictly forbid them from partying. He says that the same thing happened to him when he was coach with Corson, Chelios and Svoboda in 1988. The three went out to party and crashed their car. Everyone in the team knew about it except the coach. It was a source of distraction to the team and it costed Perron his job. He is mentioning this because he doesn't want the same thing to happen to Guy Carbonneau as well.

Here is the original article from CKAC in french :
http://www.corussports.com/canadiens/price_higgins_sergei_trop-20090216-1419793.html


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Montreal Acquire Mathieu Schneider from Atlanta

After the lost against the Vancouver Canucks last night, Bob Gainey finally made his move and acquired defenseman Mathieu Schneider from the Atlanta Thrashers. The trade include the Habs 2009 2nd round pick and 2010 3rd round pick in return for Mathieu Schneider and a Thrasher's 2009 conditional pick. Also note that the Habs 2nd round pick was obtained from the Huet trade with the Washington Capitals. Schneider would be filling the 4th defenseman position in the team that Bob has been looking for. Schneider is an experienced offensive defenseman that could help the Canadiens on the powerplay. As a result of the trade, Ryan O'byrne has been sent back to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The Habs Lose 4-2 Against the Canucks and Sedin Brothers

Yep, the Habs lost another one in this 6-game trip. I hoped that they would come out better in this game because of the last win. Well, It didn't happen. Once again, they started the game unorganized. The first period seems to be the replay of the last 3-4 games except for the different opponents' jerseys. The unability to clear their zone, miscommunication between the players and confusion and some bad bounces have sunk the Habs once again.

In the first period, as the Canadiens were getting overworked in their zone by the Canucks, Halak was keeping the Habs in the game by making multiple saves. He was very solid and didn't give the Canucks any juicy rebounds. As the Habs kept losing their battles against the boards for the puck possession, they were giving Vancouver more and more scoring chances. One of them found the way to the back of the net. It was a puck that got deflected from Josh Gorges' stick and went over Jaro's shoulder. The Habs seems to be discouraged everytime they get scored on a bad bounce. As if they believe they were cursed somehow and that every error would turn into a goal. They then start to become very stressed out and make more errors or take penalties. The second goal was score right after a penalty was called to Andrei Markov. Fortunately, Saku Koivu scored from a nice pass by Kostopoulos to the slot to get the Habs back into the game. This was a crucial goal for the Habs. It allowed the players to get their focus back. If they were down 2 goals going into the dressing room, it would've been devastating mentally for them.

We could see the effects of Koivu's goal in the second period. Even though the Habs player haven't created much offense, I felt they played well defensively. Much better than the first period. The Caucks was controlling the puck in the Habs' zone, but they didn't get much real scoring chances. Halak was solid keeping the rebounds and the players kept the Canucks outside the slot. Everything went well, until a bad line change by the players which created a 2 on 1 chance and led to Henrik Sedin's goal. The Habs have done positive things in the second period but still got scored on. Nothing to help the confidence level.

In the third period, the Canucks scored a fourth goal and stopped working. They only wanted to conserve their lead and play defensive. The Canadiens finally decided to start playing hockey and went into the offensive zone for one of the rare times in the game. I love the way Pacioretty played, I thought he was our best player. D'agostini also got a few good scoring chances. Lapierre also did well. Andrei Kostitsyn gave away the puck a few times again, but was able to score the Habs second goal on a one-timer. He has such a wicked shot. If only he can use it more often and hit the net. With only 2:27 left to the game, it was too late and they Habs lost another one.

It was a very disappointing game for the Habs. Kovalev was invisible once again on the ice. We only saw Koivu and Kostopoulos exchanging the puck when their line was playing. The only time we saw him was when he got injured by the skates of Canucks player. I got scared for a while, if he was going to be out like Zednik did, we were going to have a huge problem trying to access the playoff. Carey Price was able to play a little bit last night in front of his familly and friends. I guess the fact that Carbo got critisized from the Vancouver media for not letting Carey goal made him change his mind. I thought Carey did well, he seems much more solid and confident then in the Oilers game. The Habs will have two days of rest before the next game against the hot Alexander Ovechenkin and the Washington Capitals.

Halak Outstanding Performance in Canadiens 4-2 win Vs the Avalanche

What a relief! Finally, the Canadiens won a game to stop this losing streak. But it took an outstanding performance from Jaroslav Halak against the worst team in west to get this win. It has been a long time we haven't seen the goalie win a game for us. Halak was very solid in the entire game and had to face 48 shots.

The Canadiens came out strong in the first period. Scoring two goals to give the Habs the lead in the game. Two goals from two defensemen. The first goal was a nice play from Pacioretty to find Francis Bouillon in the slot. The second was a lucky bounce off Koivu towards Patrice Brisebois who had a open net to shot in. We were lucky to have finished the first period with a score of 2-0. How many times did we forget an Av's player at the blue line? We were giving multiple breakaways, thank god Halak was there to repair those errors. It could have been over in the first period without him.

In the second period got worst. It was a horror movie. The Habs got back into their bad habits of the last few games. The defensive play was horrible. The presences was long and there was many icing calls. We couldn't get out of our zone anymore. We were stuck in our zone against a team that don't have their top 2 centermen in the lineup. If Sakic and Stastny was playing last night, we wouldn't have made it out allowing only one goal at the end of two period. The shots were 17-4 for the Avs...

The third period was as bad as the second period. We gave a lucky goal when the rebound of a point shot hit Josh Gorges's Arm and slowly slide through Halak's Legs. The Avs' second goal was expected. The way the Habs played defensively and the bad penalties. It's only a matter of time that they score. With only 2:15 min to go in the third period, Mathieu Dandenault, our best player in the last two games, made a beautiful breakaway pass to Andrei Kostitsyn. He scores on a nice move between the legs of Budaj. In the last 34 seconds of the game, Josh Gorges got a penalty, the Avs then removed their goaltender for an extra player. Saku Koivu wins an important faceoff and Kostopoulos clears the puck all the way into Colorado's empty net. Kostopoulos finally scored, with all the chances he had missed in the other games, he deserves this one.

It wasn't a nice win...actually it was ugly, but the important thing it's still a win. This win will relieve alot of pressure and hopefully help the players gain back their confidence and get back on track.

Another Chance for Chipchura

The Habs has just recalled Kyle Chipchura up from Hamilton. Due to the two games suspension of Plekanec, Kyle will get another chance to prove himself to be an NHLer. It is the 4th time that Chipchura has been recalled this year and he hasn't done much so far to impress me. I would've hoped that they recall Yanick Lehoux up instead, since he has 47 pts in 52 games. I thought he derserves at least a chance this year. But since the Canadiens are going through such a rough time defensively, I understand the Canadiens for choosing Chipchura. Kyle needs to show lots of intensity, speed and be more agressive on the puck this time. As a defensive forward, he needs to show that he is excellent defensively and able to occasionaly score a few goals. This could be his last shot at making the big league, so he better not mess it up.

Plekanec has been suspended

Thomas Plekanec has just been suspended for 2 games by the league for his incident during last game on defensemann Denis Grebeshkov. Plekanec will therefore miss the Colorado and Vancouver game and will only be back versus the Washington Capitals. I looked at the replay and it was just an accidental trip, nothing more. I don't think he deserves to be suspended. Although Plekanec is going through a disappointing season so far, losing his service for 2 games will not help the Habs at all in getting out of this losing streak. Everything points toward another lost this friday...

Montreal Canadiens lost 2-7 against the Edmonton Oilers

I don't know where to start and I don't know who to put the blame for this lost. Carbo's line composition wasn't good. Carey was terrible. Once again the powerplay got scored on. They play with complete lack of confidence and their defensive coverage was awful. When things goes wrong, the bounces aren't on our side.

First of all, please look at Carbo's line composition :

Pacioretty – Koivu – D’Agostini

Kovalev – Plekanec – Dandenault

Kostitsyn A – Higgins – Kostopoulos

Gorges – Lapierre – Laraque

I mean, even if we had a top superstar on our team, put him on one of those lines and he wouldn't be able to do anything with it. When I first saw them, I said what the hell was Carbo thinking. He better hope he wins, if not, it would be his fault. Well there you have it, we lost. How are you suppose to win with a 4th liner on every line? Also, putting 2 rookies with Saku won't help much. Carbo should've put his best players together in two lines and give them more ice time. In desperate times, you use desperate mesures. Rolling four lines with random linemate won't get you any wins especially when the confidence is low. I think Carbo should rethink his game plan.

Carey Price has completely lost his game. He has lost all confidence in himself. It isn't the same goaltender who won the gold metal, Calder cup and MVP anymore. He seems to not be able to keep the rebounds and stop a routine save. We can see that he gives up too easily after allowing a few goals. We often hear that the goaltending position is very tough to play because it is all between the ears and it is even more when you play in Montreal. We are having a very good example of it right now. We all know Carey Price is excellent technically, but mentally, he still have lots to learn. Patrick Roy have said it before, if he had to choose any player to build his team around, it would be Price. But he is still young and he will give in bad goals. Consistancy comes with maturity.

The powerplay got scored a third time within two games. What happened? How come we give so many breakaways now? As I said it before in my last post, the Habs are making complicated plays on the powerplay which often lead to turnovers and breakaway. Andrei Kostitsyn keep giving away the puck in their zone. Kovalev looks for the perfect plays. No one in front to screen the goaltender. No one goes into the corner to get the puck out. The number one powerplay of the league for the last two years can't get their powerplay going anymore. Sometimes you wonder if we should just get Mark Streit back from the Isles in a trade. The powerplay is what kills the Habs momentum each game.

The defensive coverage was very bad. Komisarek have been playing very bad the last few games. He has been creating turnovers over turnovers and making very costy mistakes that make us lose the game. He should've covered his guy better on the Oiler's first goal. The communication between the defensemen and forwards is bad. The players don't know who to cover anymore and gets confused. Ryan O'byrne keeps getting out of position and taking penalties that eventually ends up as goals for the opponent.

On top of everything else, the bounces aren't on our side. For example that breakaway goal that hits the lineman. A few goals that got tipped or that hit a skate. Goals that usually goes in last year, don't go in. Kovalev's open net shot that got robbed by Roloson.

I am starting to think that this trip could be the worst thing that could possibly happen to the Habs right now. With one of the worst schedule of the season in the worst possible time could be devastating for this fragile team. Everyone else is winning as the Canadiens slide down to 6th position in the Est. I just hope that they will still be in the playoff after this 6-games trip.

Difficult time for the Habs

Last 10 games

The Canadiens are going through a very difficult time. The lost versus the Flames last night is even harder to accept. In the last ten games, the Habs have lost 8 of their games in regulation. The confidence level is very low. We see an extremely fragile team when they get scored on a couple of goals. Sergei's turnover that led to the Flames second goal is a good example. Afterwards, the momentum shifted, and the opponent scored another goal. It is very hard to understand what is actually going on. How can the team's play become so poor? It is still the same group of players that captured the conference championship last season with 104 pts. Not long ago, only a few weeks back, it is the same group of players that had a record of 8-1-1. For some reason, after the return of the All-Star game, the players can't perform. I have heard many reasons as to why they can't win. Could it really be because of the return of Saku? The return of a few injured players like higgins and Laraque? The fact that Kovy lost the C? Could it be that Carey Price has not fully recovered from his injury? that Carbo does't know how to coach his team? There are so many possible reasons but which is the real reasons of this bad streak? I don't know. But curiously, I have noticed that the problem is always related to the powerplay. It is weird, the powerplay usually help other teams to gain momentum. But for the Habs, it is the other way around. They often lose confidence when nothing is working during their powerplay. They try to do too many fancy moves and loses the puck possesion. Kovalev isn't as dangerous as last year anymore, everyone knows his moves now. He becomes too predictable. I believe that it is up to him to find a new way to score on the powerplay and stop trying to make impossible highlight goals. For now at least, because once his play fails, it is the whole team that loses confidence. He can start making highlight plays after the team has gained back their confidence, but not now. I believe this is the main problem for the Habs. They need to figured it out fast and resolve it. If we keep losing this way, it won't take much time for the Habs to be out of the playoffs. After last night game, the players had a meeting for 32min before letting the media in the dressing room. Hopefully, this meeting between players can help them get back to winning.

Rumors

New rumors from TSN Bob Mckenzie, apprently there have been discussions between the Habs and the Coyotes. Bob Gainey is interested in forward Olli Jokinen and defenseman Derek Morris. No players from the Canadiens was mentioned.

Canadiens Win Over Penguins

Habs win over Pens

After five losts in the last six games, it is about time that the Canadiens stops their losing streak and gets back on track by winning one against another struggling team such as the Pittsburgh Penguins. This time, we see the Habs play a full 60min with alot more intensity and effort. Every line played hard. Even if some didn't score any goals, but the scoring chances was there. I very much liked Pacioretty-Lapierre-S.Kostitsyn line. I find that Sergei have played one of his best game of the season so far. Pacioretty did an awesome play behind the net for Lapierre's goal. After that Carbo had benched Kovalev during the 3rd period against the Bruins, we all wanted to see what Kovalev would do in this game. Will he start playing hockey again or will he be invisible? Well, he didn't score any goals, but he definitly was more present. He wins more battles on the boards, play with more intensity and got a very nice assist on Andrei Kostitsyn's goal. Let's just say that he got Carbo's message and hopefully he will keep playing like this. Koivu and Higgins seems to have gotten their legs back after such a long period of time out of the lineup. What a beautiful goal Higgins scored, top corner on a breakaway. Wow!

More injuries

It is getting worse and worse in the clinic, Habs players are dropping one by one. Robert Lang will most likely be out for the rest of the season after his heel's tendons got sliced by the skates of Stephane Yelle after a harmless bodycheck on the boards. Guillaume Latendresse will be out for approximately 4-6 weeks because of a bad colission against the boards. While some are getting out of the lineup, some others are getting ready to play. George Laraque and Mathieu Dandenault says that they are at 100% and that they can play as soon as this friday against the Sabers. But everything still needs to be confirmed by Carbo first.

More Rumors

With the increase of injuries and the trade deadline coming up, rumors are starting to pop out. CKAC reports that Bob Gainey is interested in Centerman Brad Richards and young defenseman Matt Niskanen. No players from Canadiens have been mentioned. However, RDS claims otherwise and believes that the Stars have no interest whatsoever in trading Richards and have no interest in any of the Habs players. Another rumor running around right now with no reliable source is that Lecavalier will be traded against Carey Price and Alex Kovalev. I personally don't believe in either trade rumors. Even though Brad Richards is very talent player, he is extremely over paid with a 7.8M/year contract. With the cap that is about to go down next year, I don't think Gainey would even think about acquiring him. At that salary, We are bettter off going for Lecavalier which is a much better player. As for the 2nd rumor regarding Lecavalier, yes Gainey and the Montreal Canadiens organization is very interested in him, but they are not willing to sacrafice the core of the team to obtain him. Pierre Bovin said it himself a few weeks back. Carey Price is a franchise player to build a team with, no way we are trading him. Kovalev is our best skilled player in the team, we need him if we want to score goals. If Gainey does the trade, mind as well forget the playoffs. I believe this rumor is made up of pure speculations from the fans.