Patrick Roy Would Listen to the Canadiens

In an interview with CKAC radio station, Patrick Roy told them that if he would receive a call from the Montreal Canadiens to be coach, he will listen to what they have to say. Back when Guy Carbonneau was still the head coach, Patrick Roy kept on saying that he wasn't interested in the position, and wished that Carbo would stay head coach of the Habs for a long time. But now, a few months later, after the firing of his good friend Guy Carbonneau, Patrick Roy finally opens the door to the possibility of coaching the Montreal Canadiens. He also added that coaching the Habs is an interesting challenge for any coach.

Roy also played the GM when he was asked who he would see the best fit as the head coach. He believes that Bob Hartley could do a very good job. He has experience, he is an excellent professor, he is passionate of hockey and is probably the person that knows the game the most that he has seen. He would be the perfect candidate for the Canadiens.

Carey Price Video With The Score

Here is the video of Carey Price giving an interview with The Score's Cabbie. This took place right after game #1 when the Habs lost to the Bruins 4-2. It made some sort of controversy in Montreal because during the whole series, Carey Price wasn't available after the games with the media, but was available to give this interview. The media was also frustrated that Carey seemed having fun even after a lost.

Oh and George Laraque was also in this video, I kinda find it weird that the media only pointed fingers on Price but didn't say anything on Laraque.

Carey Price's Press Conference

Carey Price responded to the media's questions about the Patrick Roy gestures that he has made during game #4. He says that he regrets lifting his hands to the fans after the sarcastic cheers. He explains that it was a way of expressing himself. The fans wanted to express themselves, so he did the same. He could've held his composure a little bit more. He later added that he wanted to remind the fans that booing does not always help.

You can watch the entire press conference here

Bob Gainey's End-of-Season Press Conference

Just one day after being eliminated by the Boston Bruins, the Montreal Canadiens GM Bob Gainey held his end-of season press conference at the Bell Complex Sportif at Brossard.

One of the many questions that everyone wanted to know is : Will Bob Gainey be back next year or will he resign? Well, Bob answered that he is expecting to be back next year, but he understands that he too has a boss above him, and that will evaluate the overall of his work and might have a word to say about it.

The next question : Will he be back as the coach next year? After game #4, Bob said to the media that coaching wasn't for him. Now, he says that he will give himself a few weeks before making a decision and explained that he wasn't prepared for the question the day before.

A reporter asked Gainey if it was true that two weeks before firing Carbo, Gainey has promised him that he won't fire him. Bob answered by saying that he wished that private conversation stays private. He also added that Guy's situation was difficult for Guy, for himself and for the team. At one point, he had two choices, do nothing or to fire Carbo. He decided to choose the second option.

Question regarding why he hasn't put Jaroslav Halak in net instead of Carey Price. Gainey answered that a year ago he has taken the decision to give Price the chance to gain a lot experience to accelerate his development. He added that he believe Carey has been playing really well and that if he was a player on the ice, he would say "Man, he's a good goalie!".

And finally one of the most interesting things that Gainey have said during his press conference was that one of the reasons that his team start to have problems in the second half is the names of players that he has spoken with Brian Lawton for Vincent Lecavalier became public. He believes that it was a disgrace that Christopher Higgins, Josh Gorges and Thomas Plekanec had to hear these things.

You can also watch the press conference here

Canadiens Vs. Bruins 2009 Playoff Game 4

Montreal Lose 4-1 Against Boston

That was it, the season is now officially over. I thought we would have a much longer and exciting series with the Bruins, but additional injuries made it almost impossible to compete with the top team of the East.

For a second straight game, I thought we had started the game pretty well with good intensity and emotion. We were able again to score the first goal of the game with a nice wrist shot by Andrei Kostitsyn. Finally, he scored a goal. At some point in this series, I wondered if he would even get a point. We had the control of the game up until near the end of the period, Roman Hamrlik just gave away the puck right in the slot for a slapshot. Price had no chance on that one, it was really a bullet by Ryder...And then came their second goal, again by Ryder's line. Mike Komisarek went out of position to give a bodycheck, Higgins lost his battle for the puck and couldn't cover his man which led to the goal.

Before the end of the 1st period, the Habs had a few really good scoring chances to tie the game. Koivu's line created 3-4 scoring chances in last minute of the game, including Kovalev's chance with that open net he has missed with 0.5 sec left. If we were able to capitalize on those chances, the game would have changed completely. Even in the 2nd period, the Habs kept on playing well with a few other good chances, but a bad pass by Matt D'Agostini during the powerplay caused a turnover just when Phil Kessel was getting out of the penalty box. Again, Carey Price had no chance against a scorer like Kessel on a breakaway.

After that, the game was pretty much over. The players just gave up on the game when again Ryder scored another goal to make it 4-1 for the Bruins.

During the game, Carey Price responded to the sarcastic cheering of the fans exactly the way Patrick Roy did in 1995. I thought the fans were really harsh on him, it wasn't his fault that the Habs were losing this game, but he should not have done that. It was really immature of him to do such a gesture and it was disrespectful to the fans. He needs to learn how to deal with the pressure in Montreal.



There were also chants of Guy Guy Guy and Carbo Carbo Carbo at the end of the game. Showing their frustration of the firing of Guy Carbonneau to Bob Gainey. Letting him know that he took the wrong decision in firing Carbo and that it wasn't Carbo the problem in this team.

It really sucked to see this centennial year end this way. The season started with so much expectation, enthusiasm and celebration for the 100th year; and had to end up like this by a humiliating sweep in the first round. It has been a very disappointing and frustrating season for all of us.

Canadiens Vs. Bruins 2009 Playoff Game 3

Montreal Lose 2-4 Against Boston

At the start of the game, I believe that everyone was as surprise as I was when they announced that Alex Tanguay and Mathieu Schneider would not able to play in this game because of an injury. There were no signs prior the game which could indicate that these two important players would miss the game. I was so frustrated and disappointed. It was frustrating because we have been having too many injuries all season long. We have never had a full roster since the beginning of the year. And now, in the most important game of the series, we lose two more talented players? Why this bad luck for the centennial season? It was disappointing because I knew deep down that the chances of the Habs winning have just drastically lowered to near zero before the game even started.

I was really amazed at how the team started the game in the first period. The Canadiens have started the game the way that I have never seen before. They were very intense and physical. They were throwing their bodies around and crushing the Bruins against the boards. They had great scoring chances. They were shooting the puck from every direction and literally dominating their opponents. Our players worked very hard to earn their first goal of the game. I liked the way George Laraque played, he was a physical presence for us. I also like how Andrei Kostitsyn played next to Koivu and Kovalev. He has just played his best game so far in this series. He needs to keep shooting that puck to the net.

Everything was going our way, until the Bruins scored their lucky goal...It all started from a turnover from the one and only Mike Komisarek. Yup, him again. The one that the media named the future captain of the Montreal Canadiens. He gave the puck right on the tape of the Boston Bruins player and created a turnover that led to the tying goal. Wow...I am really fed up of this player. He used to be one of my favorite player, but during this last few games, and even the last few months, he showed me how bad a defenseman he is. We could finally see how much Andrei Markov made him look good on the ice. He can't shoot at the net, he can't handle the puck, he can't make a tape to tape pass and he can't even clear the zone by the boards. As a defenseman in the NHL, you must be able to do at least one of these things correctly. If he is really getting 4-5 million per season in his next contract, then I hope we don't sign him and let him go elsewhere. We are better off signing another free agent during this summer say Franscois Beauchemin would be much better than Komisarek.

In the second period, the Habs start to lose the momentum of the game. The Bruins were able to score the next goal and get the 2-1 lead against the Habs. Although we able to tie it 2-2 with an accurate shot in the five hole by Yannick Weber, Carey Price gave them a goal by leaving a big rebound directly to Ryder.

Even though, the Canadiens were only 1 goal short in the third period, we could see that our players didn't have anymore energy in the tank. They gave everything they have got in the first period and didn't have enough left to score another goal. During the powerplay, we could see how much we miss Tanguy and Schneider. We didn't even get a decent scoring chance.

Today, right before game #4 of this series, we are losing 0-3 to the Boston Bruins. The series is not over, but it seems less and less likely that we would be able to get out of it. All we can hope for is at least a win tonight to not be humiliated by the Bruins. If only we had a few less injuries to the team, I am sure we could compete against them and have an exciting series. And If only we had a full healthy team, with Markov and Lang, I am convinced that we could've won this round easily. It is just disappointing to celebrate the centennial year this way.

Carey Price Scaring a Bruins Fan...

I don't know if you guys have seen this or not, but at the start of the third period in game 2, this is what Carey Price was doing to a Bruins fan...That's really an immature thing to do.

Canadiens Vs. Bruins 2009 Playoff Game 2

Montreal Lose 5-1 Against Boston

It was an ugly game to watch from a Habs fan point of view. The Canadiens didn't show up to play hockey. They were lazy and took really stupid penalties that cost us the game. We literally gave them the win. Our goaltender was weak and didn't do the important saves to keep us in the game. It was frustrating game to watch.

After the Bruins took the 2-0 lead, Kovalev scored again to cut the lead to 1. I said to myself, alright, we are back in the game and we might tie it again like in game 1! Nope, not this time. The bad penalties killed us before we even get any scoring chances. We needed Carey Price to make those saves for us at 2-1 and he didn't.

Other than Kovalev and Koivu, no one else showed up. It's a playoff game. Maxim Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse were invisible. People say that their line is made to play in the playoffs., but we haven't seen them so far. What happened? Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn also didn't do much again.

On top of that, the referees aren't on our side. They gave us 6 straight penalties! What the Hell? and none for the Bruins. I am not saying the the Habs didn't deserve them. Some of them, yes, but not all of them. It's the playoffs, the refs should just let the players play hockey. Not change the course of the game. At least if you are going call everything, do it for both teams. And when they finally gave a penalty to Lucic, it's too late, the game is already over.

Well, I am glad that the league decided to give a suspension to Lucic for that crosscheck right in Lapierre's head. By the way, Lucic always start shit around when the game is almost over. I think that only 1 game of suspension is not enough. If the NHL wants to eliminate these kind of events at the end of the game, they should suspend them much longer. One game isn't enough for a player to think twice before doing the same thing again.

Celine Dion Interested in Buying the Canadiens

According to an article published on Thursday in the Globe and Mail, Celine Dion is interested in joining bid with Seagram heir Stephen Bronfman and Quebecor's Pierre Karl Péladeau to acquire the Montreal Canadiens.

In addition, the Globe and Mail have learned from their financial sources that this consortium is planning to create a TV channel in Quebec that would broadcast the Habs games and other hockey related shows in order to increase their income.

Globe and Mail have also learned that the Cirque du Soleil's owner Guy Laliberté is out of the bidding because he is not interested in purchasing a team where he does not have full control of the decision making process.

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is also not interested in purchasing the franchise, but are still open to help out any potential buyers.

Here is the link to the original article
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090416.wspthabs15/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/Canadiens

Canadiens Vs. Bruins 2009 Playoffs Game 1

Montreal Lose 2-4 against Boston

During the whole week we have heard every expert in the media saying that the Montreal Canadiens is no match against the Boston Bruins, that the Habs would be out in the three games, they will be crushed and we don't stand a chance against the number one team in the East. But I refuse to believe them. As a Habs fan, my job is to always be behind my favorite team and always cheering for them.

Well, in this game 1, yes we still did lose our game, but I liked the way our team played. The Habs competed during the whole game, they fought hard on the boards, aggressive on the puck, showed more intensity than the Bruins. I was glad to see how our Canadiens responded when it was 0-2 for the Bruins. They kept on working, they didn't give up and slowly gained back the momentum of the game. We have put some doubt in their minds, we told them that it won't be easy against us. If you want to get to the second round, it won't be a walk in the park, you will need to fight for it. No free pass.

We even beat them physically in this game by giving more bodychecks than them 31-23 on their own ice. It is funny how things could change just by putting a George Laraque in front of Zdeno Chara. I was very surprised to see him on Koivu's line, I thought Gainey was crazy, he was destroying our only offensive line. As the game progressed, I was pleasantly surprised to see how Chara was almost invisible during the whole game. Except for that powerplay winning goal that Chara scored, we didn't see him in the entire game. He wasn't a factor defensively against our first line. At some point, did I really see Saku Koivu give a good bodycheck on Chara and beating him for the puck possession? Wow...

As for Carey Price, I thought he was good overall in the game. It wasn't his best performance, but still good enough for the team to compete. The only mistake he did was on that first goal and not holding on that puck fast enough. He needs to stay focus and be quicker on those rebounds.

The worst player of the game, I would say would be Plekanec. He took two bad penalties and was on the ice for the Bruins 2nd goal. It was his responsibility to cover Krejci in the slot. I don't know what's going with him this season, he just can't get his game together. This is the time when we need him the most. We need a second line that can contribute offensively. If we want to go far in the playoffs, he needs to wake up and stop playing like a little girl. If he wants to be forgiven for the bad season he had, he has to perform now!

Plekanec is not the only player that isn't playing well, Andrei Kostitsyn is also. Ever since they got back from their long trip from the West and that the article in La Presse was published, he hasn't been the same player anymore. I think it's time to put him and Sergei together again to wake them up.

I am very disappointed with the results of the game, but not of the effort. The Canadiens deserved to win this game, and we only lost by one goal during the PK. Fellow Habs fans! be assured, it will be a long and exciting serie. There is still a lot of hockey ahead for our Canadiens.

Bring On The Bruins!

Montreal Lose 3-1 Versus Pittsburgh

After last night's game, it is clear that we would be playing against the Bruins. It seems as if Bob Gainey wanted to play against our great rivals when he put Alex Tanguay aside for the game. The Canadiens were dominated during the whole game by the Pens in shots and scoring chances, but Carey Price seems hot and ready for the playoffs by keeping the Habs in the game.

In the second period, he made really awesome saves, unbelievable stops by doing the split and reaching for the puck with his gloves on the 2-on-1. He didn't do that once, but twice a few seconds later. Wow! That's all I have to say. This is the way that Carey Price needs to be playing in the playoffs. He needs to steal some goals and make huge saves to give confidence to his team. He can give the team the momentum when he plays this way.

In the third period, we could see the effects of the saves as the Habs were gaining more scoring chances and dominating the game more and more. Even Big George Laraque had opportunity to score his first goal of the season. Plekanec's line also had a couple of scoring chances. The Habs were playing great until the two shorthanded goals that we let in. Twice, Alex Kovalev gave them the puck and let them score. We can't expect Carey Price to stop them all.

Although, the Habs lost the game 3-1 and got outshot 41-30, I don't think the Habs played a bad game, I thought we were in control of the game in the third. Overall, I felt it was a good and exciting game. With a full lineup, I believe we could've won. It was just too bad that the season ended on a negative note with 4 straight losses.

Below are the two amazing saves that Carey Price made for those of you who wants to watch it again.

Carey Price save against Matt Cooke




Carey Price save against Bill Guerin

More line changes

Before the game tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Bob Gainey decided to make more line changes and giving some rest to some players. Obviously, our GM is already preparing for the playoffs. He is giving rest to Alex Tanguay for tonight's game. He has made some line changes. Here is how the roster would look like for tonight :

Stewart - Koivu - Laraque
Higgins - Metropolit - Kovalev
Latendresse - Lapierre - Kostopoulos
A. Kostitsyn - Plekanec - D'Agostini

Like most media like to say, Bob Gainey is a real poker player, he hides his cards well. We can never know what he is really thinking. As you can see, Saku with Stewart and Big George, Kovy with Higgins and Metro and the other lines are unchanged. Is Bob doing some experiments right before the playoffs? Is Bob protecting his key players? Will he change his line during the game? Has Bob giving up on this game already and preparing to face the Bruins? We don't know. But one thing is for sure, he is messing with our minds.

The same thing happened yesterday during Gainey's press conference, the reporter Marc De Foy asked him why he didn't dress Laraque for the Bruins game. And he answered : "I don't want to explain you why. You will write it and everyone will know why. I prefer keeping a card or two." A pretty surprising answer to a simple question.

Maxim Lapierre gets the Jacques-Beauchamp trophy giving annually to a player which has a dominant role in the team without obtaining a particular honour. Congrats to Max, he deserves it well.

Habs Make the Playoffs!!

Montreal Lose 5-4 in OT Vs. Boston

With the 1 point that the Habs gained in the Bruins game, the Montreal Canadiens have secured a spot in the playoffs with 93 pts. It wasn't easy to get that 1 point as the Habs get beat up pretty badly without answering back to them. I have to say, yes it was ugly to see our players lying on the ice that way. But without it, the Habs would not been able to come back and tie the game. The Habs would probably still be playing their season tonight. The Bruins on the other hand didn't have anything to lose, they have already clinched the eastern conference championship whether they win or lose the game.

As most of fans out there, while the Habs were down 3-1 in the second period and saw the way Komisarek got hit by Chara and Lucic, I am sure that we were all saying the same thing. "Where is Big George?" or "Gainey lost this game by not suiting up Laraque and Stewart!" Well, maybe that was Bob's plan after all. He knew that the Bruins are going to go after Komisarek and our best players, he knew they would take lots of roughing penalties. I don't know for sure if that was really his plan, but it worked. The Habs were able to take advantage of the grudge that the Bruins had against us and turned it over. Don't try to make me believe that Gainey didn't see it coming, he used to be a player in the days of the Big Bad Bruins and know everything about this rivalry.

The surprise of the night, Mathieu Schneider came back and scored an important goal to tie the game 3-3, and everyone thought he was done for the season. Well, he showed us that he has character and his importance to the team. His slapshot doesn't show any signs of injury at all. I also like what Weber did in the game, we could really see that he has the talent to play in the NHL. Another surprise was Mat D'agostini, everyone wanted to swap him for Laraque in that game, but Gainey said otherwise and scored two goals. Wow, that kid really have a nice wrist shot!

The Habs lost in overtime, but by making the playoffs, we felt like if we actually won. We stole a point from the top team in the eastern conference and on their own ice. We showed them that if they want to play by intimidation, they might not be able to win that easily because our powerplay can really kill them. It was a moral win for us as it put a little doubt in their minds. We can still take them out as we did like last year.

So have a great and exciting playoffs Habs fans! Let the real season begin!

Yannick Weber Called up

After losing an awful game versus the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, the Habs have recalled Yannick Weber from the Hamilton Bulldogs yesterday. In the same time, the Canadiens has also sent down Doug Janik.

The question that everyone is asking, why in the world would Bob Gainey call up a guy for two games and then send him back? Well it just shows that Bob made an error and is admitting it to everyone by doing this. He should have called up Yannick Weber in the first place, not Doug Janik. When you lose two of you top offensive defensemen, you need to replace them by another. Doug Janik is a defensive defensemen.

Bob's mistake doesn't stop here. He paired him with the most unstable defenseman we have...Ryan O'Byrne. I felt that Doug Janik did well during these two games, he wasn't incredible, he wasn't perfect, he even made a few bad plays that cost up the game. But he wasn't the worst of the defensemen, O'Byrne was! So why not send him back instead of Janik?

There are so many things that we just don't understand. When even the fans can see that there is something wrong and that those were bad decisions, how would you think the players would feel? How should they react? Would you think they would play with confidence knowing deep down that the decision the big boss made was a wrong one? Well it sure don't help them.

Schneider might be able to come back in tonight's game. Just a few days ago, RDS said that he is done for the season...whether they got their info wrong or Schneider just healed by miracle. Anyhow, I'm glad he will be able to play. We need his help on the PP.

For tonight's game against the Bruins, the Habs only need 1 point to assure a spot in the playoffs or that the Panthers would lose 1 game. The Canadiens are still sitting in the 7th position and 1 point ahead of the Rangers. Nothing is over yet. Go Habs Go for tonight!!!

Montreal Canadiens Officially For Sale

The Montreal Canadiens and the Bell Center are officially for sale according to SRC (Radio-Canada). They have learned today that about 10 buyers are showing interest in purchasing the arena and the NHL franchise team.

BMO Capital Markets, who was asked to evaluate the future of the Montreal Canadiens and the Bell Center, have identified 50 potential buyers. They would have until 5:00 pm Thursday to submit their offer to the Gillett family.

SRC have also learned that 10 companies have signed a confidentiality agreement to analyse the case.

Here is the list of the interested buyers :

• Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
• Guy Laliberté of Cirque du Soleil
• Productions Feeling of René Angelil
• Joey Saputo owner of the Montreal Impact
• Claridge of Stephen Bronfman
• Québecor
• Roustan Capital from Bauer
• Aldo Group
• Spectrum Equity
• Molson Family

Related Articles
Serge Savard Ready To Buy the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens For Sale?

Serge Savard Ready To Buy the Montreal Canadiens

According to La Presse, Serge Savard says that he is ready to buy the Montreal Canadiens.

"If Geoge Gillett clairly says that the Montreal Canadiens is for sale, if it is the case, I am ready to do the transaction." says Serge Savard in an interview with La Presse.

The paper says that Serge Savard can put a consortium of businessmen together which are capable of purchasing this franchise. As a reminder, at the end of 90s, Savard was able to put together a group of millionaires capable of buying the Expos, TQS and the Canadiens.

Savard concludes by saying that we will need to wait to see the final intentions of George Gillett, it is pointless to have the money to buy the house if the house isn't for sale.

Here is the original article in French
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/hockey/200904/06/01-844157-serge-savard-pret-a-acheter-le-canadien.php

Without Markov and Schneider the Habs Lost

Montreal Lost 3-2 Vs. Ottawa

We could see a big difference in the Habs play last night when these two players aren't in the lineup. The passing and transition play is deficient. And obviously the powerplay is not as effective than last 6 games. Two important players that we cannot afford to lose in this time of the season.

The Habs played a good first and second period. It wasn't explosive or anything, just good enough. Koivu's line has produced a goal to tie the game 1-1. A nice little deke by Saku who passes to Alex Kovalev. He then scored on an accurate shot in the top left corner. Plekanec's line contributed to the 2nd goal of the Habs of a shot from the point by Hamrlik. By the way, I didn't like the way Ryan O'Byrne played last night and the bad 4 minutes penalty that he took for no reason.

I didn't like the 3rd period as the Canadiens seems to be sitting on their 1 goal lead and hope to win the game. You can't do that against players like Alfredsson and Heatley, they will make you pay. That is what Dany Heatley did to the Habs last night by scoring two goals at the end of the game. For his first game in the Habs jersey, Janik gave a really bad turnover in the neutral zone that have cost the Habs 1 or even 2 points to the standings.

I personally don't understand the decision to go with Ryan O'Byrne and Janik in last night's game. We could've just use Dandenault in defense. He has done well the few times that we used him there. Why put unstable defensemen on the ice in such an important game? As the team lost two offensive defensemen in the roster, why not let Andrei Kostitsyn back in the lineup? I would bring back as much offense as possible to the team. Not putting more holes in my defense.

I would not say that we won't make the playoffs because of this loss. We are still in an excellent position to make it with 3 pts ahead of the Panthers and Rangers. But we have just wasted a very good opportunity to advance in the standings. Good game tonight against the Rangers, It could be the most important game of the season!

Andrei Markov and Mathieu Schneider Out for Tonight's Game

Bad news for the Habs as Andrei Markov and Mathieu Schneider are out of the line up for tonight's game. Andrei got hit from behind by Grabovski during last game and Mathieu has a upper body injury. Two big losses for the Habs as they undergo the last week of the season without their top powerplay defensemen. They will be replaced for tonight's game by Ryan O'Byrne and Doug Janik who was just recalled from Hamilton. Really bad news at this time of the seaons as the Habs are just 3 points away from making the playoffs.

Update : According to RDS, the two injuries are more serious than we thought, Mathieu Schneider's season is apparently over and needs to undergo surgery to the upper body. As for Markov he will be out for 3 weeks because of a knee injury.

Habs Get Their Revenge Against Leafs

Canadiens Win 6-2 Versus Maple Leafs



After getting humiliated by the Leafs at the Bell Center 5-2 two weeks ago, the Habs get their revenge by crushing them back on their home ice 6-2 at the Air Canada Center. Another easy win for the Habs as they gained yet another 2 important points in the standings.

Alex Kovalev played a great game by obtaining 1 goal and 3 assists for a total of 4 pts. He scored the first goal on the Powerplay which allowed the Habs to get the momentum of the game. A very accurate shot in the top right corner. Awesome precision! Gerber didn't have the chance to see anything because of a screen from his own players.

Latendresse and Lapierre played a very excellent game, not only do they give energy to the team, but also contribute offensively by scoring 2 goals for the Habs. Guillaume with his 14th of the season off a juicy rebound in the slot and Maxim with a nice pass by Guillaume. It seems like Latendresse will ended up the season with 16 goals again like the other two seasons despite the games he has missed this year. Lapierre is also very impressive with his 15th goal of the season. Who would think he would ever score more than 10 per season?

Saku and the other Alex also did very well by showing great chemistry on the 3rd goal of the Habs. What a nice pass to the slot for an easy tip in. This was really the goal that put the game out of reach for the Leafs.

I have say though, I do believe that on the 4th goal, Plekanec should've been penalized and it shouldn't have counted. But hey, we'll take all the goals we can get right?

The 4th line has also played another solid game, and Big George even had a great chance to score his first goal in the Habs uniform, but Gerber made a great save. Oh and how about that fight Laraque got into? :D Poor kid who got his face crushed...that was really a direct blow in the face. Ouch!

The Habs will be playing tonight against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Center. We will only need 3 points on a possibility of 8 to assure a spot to the playoffs. That is assuming that the Rangers and the Panthers wins all their three games. If they don't, well we might need less than 3 points to make the playoffs. On the other hand, I prefer looking in front of us and say that we are only 1 point away from the Pens 6th spot and 3 away from the 4th spot. The standings are so close that the 4th position is still attainable mathematically. So we never know, everything is possible! On this, good game tonight Habs fans!

Easy Win Against the Islanders

Montreal won 5-1 versus Long Island

The Habs played a really good game once again on Thursday night. I was afraid that the Islanders would surprise every one like they did against the Red Wings a few weeks back. I was afraid that the Habs would start off the game with overconfidence, that they would take them lightly. We all know that with all the injuries that they have, with Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo out of the line up...we can say that they are an AHL team. The Habs couldn't let this one slip away from them, especially in this time of the season where every point to the standings are crucial to the survival of the team. Good thing they didn't.

The powerplay has been working extremely well lately with the first line scoring all 3 goals on the PP. Plekanec's line need to find a way to start contributing offensively. I know that Plekanec has always been working hard trying to get out of this slump, but it hasn't worked so far. Maybe he needs to try things differently now. The second line needs to wake up. We can't expect Koivu's line to score 2-3 goals per game. As Bob Gainey kept saying in his press conferences, we need secondary scoring. He is right. Once we get in the playoffs, we will be playing against much better teams and they would match their defensive line against our best line. We won't be able to get more scoring chances. That's when the secondary scoring is so important in the playoffs and they are usually what makes champion teams win Stanley Cups.

Jaroslav Halak was also solid during the game. The Habs didn't give them much scoring chances throughout the game, but when they did get some, Halak was there to stop them. He let in one easy goal that made him lose his shutout, but I guess it is hard to keep your focus when you are winning by that many goals.

Everyone played well, even George Laraque and the 4th line. They even had a very good scoring chances and stayed in the offensive zone for as long as 1 minute. How about that fight Laraque had with Joel Rechlicz, and that big smile on Big George's face each time he fights a guy. It almost insulting for the other guy. Btw, here is the clip of the fight.




The Panthers lost last night against the Thrashers. The Habs are in a much better position to make the playoffs now. If we are able to win tonight against the Leafs, 5 pts ahead of the 9th spot and we would be tie with the Pens in 6th place. It looks good for us. Let's hope we keep winning. Go Habs Go!

Carey Price is Sick

It is Carey Price's turn to be sick after so many players have been sick in the past weeks. It could not have come to a worst time as Price is playing his best hockey for months. Just when the team is going through the most important stretch of the season...Carey will therefore miss the game tonight and will stay at the hotel.

The Montreal Canadiens have recalled Marc Denis from the Hamilton Bulldogs as a result. Jaroslav Halak will most likely be in net tonight.

Ben Maxwell and Yannick Weber Honored

Ben Maxwell has been named Reebok edge/AHL rookie of the month for March. Ben has collected 6 goals and 7 assists for a total of 13 pts in 15 games. The highest total for all rookies last month. Ben Maxwell who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2nd round in 2006 and is currently ranked 3rd in the AHL rookies in points. He has obtained 21 goals and 32 assists for 53 pts in 68 games this season.

Yannick Weber was named on the 2008-09 AHL All-Rookie Team by coaches, players and media in the AHL. He has obtained 14 goals, 27 assists for a total of 41 pts in 66 games. He is 2nd in the number goals for all defensemen in the AHL. Yannick was drafted by the Habs in the 3rd round, 73rd overall in 2007.

Congrats to our prospects, it looks promising for the future. Below are the links for more information on them.

Ben Maxwell
Yannick Weber

Top 10 Russian by The Hockey News

According to an article by John Grigg from The Hockey News, the Montreal Canadiens Andrei Markov is in the 5th position of the Top 10 Russian players that are currently in the NHL.

It isn't surprising to see his best friend Alexander Ovechkin is in the first position as the best Russian NHLer, followed by Pavel Datsuk and Evgeni Malkin.

Also note that Alex Kovalev is not listed in the top 10 Russian players who is having a difficult season with only 23 goals and 33 assists for a total of 56 pts in 72 game so far.

Here is the original article from THN.com
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/24926-.html

Hamrlik Coming, Not Sergei

Hamrlik will be traveling with the team to Long Island and might be able to play tonight.

For Sergei Kostitsyn, it seems to be a bit more serious as he has already hurt his shoulder prior the hit and it now has worsen. He will stay in Montreal for treatment.

Also, in replacement of Sergei, it will be Christopher Higgins who will be replacing him on the 2nd line with Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn. Higgins has been playing really inspired hockey lately on the 4th line with Metropolit and Dandenault. It would be curious to see how he will do on an offensive line again.

Canadiens Win 4-1 Against the Blackhawks

Great game last night! The Habs played another excellent game. They were dominant for 60min. What can we say about Carey Price? Wow! Is he back or what? He was very solid and seems to have his confidence back. Now that's a relief. I was afraid that he won't be able to get his game together for the rest of the season.

Saku's line again played another good game producing two goals for the Habs last night. Kovalev has been scoring and Tanguay sees the ice very well. What a fine playmaker. Koivu has been very intense again, going in front of the net and paying the price to get a goal.

Plekanec line didn't do much in this game, but it wasn't his fault that both his wingers didn't even play the entire game. Sergei left the game with a upper body injury and Andrei got 4, 5 and 10 minutes of penalty. I am not surprised to see him defend his brother after that hit, but why did he only drop one of his gloves? He should have dropped both and throw some punches over...he needs to get some fighting lessons from Big George. I Hope this hit would wake Andrei up for the rest of the season and get ready for the playoffs.

Guillaume is getting more and more impressive. He is producing at a very good rate ever since his return from his injury, almost 1 point per game. Max and Tom are also doing very well throwing some bodies around.

Christopher Higgins is on a roll. I think he actually touched the puck on that last goal by Mathieu Schneider. He is really playing some great hockey on this defensive role that Bob Gainey has giving him. Metropolit and Dandenault also did a good job containing the opponent's best forwards. Dandenault also did pretty well in replacement to Hamrlik as a defenseman. I just hope that the injury isn't serious.

Like I said, great game by the Habs, 2 very important points that we picked up. Even more important knowing that the Panthers have also won their game. Next game the New York Islanders on Thursday.