Game #65Another Big Canadiens Win Puts Them 1st in the Northeast

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Friday February 29th, 2008
Opponent: Buffalo Sabres
Venue: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY


Team Stripes


Final Score: 6-2 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Ryan Miller (L)

Habs goalscorers: Tomas Plekanec (3), Mark Streit, Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn
Opposition goalscorers: Thomas Vanek, Tim Connolly



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Hat-Trick for a Hab this year
1st Career Hat-Trick for Plekanec
1st 4-Point Game for Kovalev this season
1st Time that 3 Belarusians have each got a point in the same NHL game



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

2 of Plekanec's goals were near identical and both deserve mention. The only really differences were that one was a one-timer, the other was a cradled wrist shot and one was second-assisted by Hamrlik, the other by Streit.

The puck was about to exit the zone on a power-play when Streit made a great play at the left point to keep it in. He then chipped the puck back into the zone hoping that someone would be there to eventually collect it. Kovalev reached out and with his incredible skill was able to instantly gain control of the puck; most players surely would have missed it by a mile. He then took a look around and spotted a wide open Plekanec on the right side. He fired a perfect pass right to Tom who quickly one-timed it home.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Tomas Plekanec

Pleks scored his first ever hat-trick and added an assist for his second four-point night of the year. This also marked the 18th time that he has had a multiple-point game this year. Tonight was a great example of how hard it is for opposing teams to stop Pleks when he gets going. He loves getting all of his offence out in spurts and when it comes the opposition had better watch out.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
- Tom has been fairly quiet over the past few games; he hasn't played badly, but he hadn't scored many points. You could say that he was due for a big night and here it was. His 4 points were great, but he also had a great game defensively. He was too fast for the Sabres to handle tonight

Alexei Kovalev
- The bad news is he didn't score, the good news is that he got 4 assists. He is so well known for his shot and stick-handling that sometimes people forget just how good of a passer he is. If you need a little reminder watch tonight's highlights

Mikhail Grabovski
- He has been on a serious tear with Hamilton lately and it looks like the change of scenery isn't about to slow him down. He brings our third line a lot of speed and creativity and makes that trio into a very serious threat. He had 2 assists this game and finished +2

Defencemen

Mark Streit
- Mark played a little bit of D and a little bit of O tonight, a trend that will surely continue in the coming weeks. His incredible season continues and it now looks more and more likely that he'll hit 60 points - he currently sits at 47. Not bad for a guy who was a last minute choice in 2005 to be our 7th defenceman ahead of Ron Hainsey. His speed and creativity were both very evident tonight, both on the power-play and at even-strength

Roman Hamrlik
- Played a very aggressive game, but never lost his cool. This is the kind of effort we need from Hammer on a regular basis; that of course shouldn't be a problem for the big-man as he has been a force all season long. He had an assist tonight and finished with a team-high +3 rating

Goaltender

Carey Price
- Another solid outing for the 20 year old. His confidence, maturity and attitude continue to amaze me considering just how short he is in the tooth. The only negatives of his play tonight were when he was was caught out of position while venturing behind the net. Twice Buffalo had a serious scoring chance because of carelessness out of the crease. He made himself very big in front of the Sabre shooters all night long giving them very little to shoot at



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

After 65 games he now has 67 points which is his best as a Hab in 3+ seasons. He was again excellent in all facets of play tonight and looked to be in a league of his own. The most amazing thing about this season is that he has yet to play a bad game. He has had the occasional average outing, but in general he has been very good or better. It makes me remember why we started this section in the first place. This was going to be a way to track Kovy's play on a game by game basis so that at the end of the year we would have raw data to support our claim that he is a great player. To me the only difference from this year to last is about 25 points. He has been the same aggressive, crafty and talented player that he has always been with the Habs - the difference is that he is now putting up mainstream media-friendly numbers.

Kovalev's Assessment - Excellent



Overall Comments

This is not the same Buffalo that beat us in our last 3 meetings, or maybe we aren't the same Habs team. They did not play with very much speed at all and they lacked all semblance of a transition game. Campbell will be missed by this Sabre squad more than they know, while Bernier will soon fade into the background. In fact, I don't remember seeing Bernier or hearing one word about him all game - he played over 18 minutes. There are 5 different areas that I look at to see if the Habs had a good game - offence, defence, goaltending, power-play and penalty-kill. All but penalty-kill did well tonight and that was the big reason for the 4 goal win. We need to be good (or at least better than the other team) in 3 of those categories each game to make some noise - 4 if we want to go far. We played as a team and each line played with conviction and chemistry. It was a good way to start the weekend and it sets us up nicely to have a big week.

Thanks to the Habs win tonight and Huet's shutout we are now in second overall and are just one point out of first. We are also now first in the divison, moving one point ahead of the Sens. I can't remember the last time that we were ahead of Ottawa after October, but I'm pretty sure that Cunneyworth was still their captain. Ottawa shouldn't be counted out just yet, but judging by their play as of late our current situation was only a matter of time. We have 17 games left and we have 17 more points to collect, so the work is nowhere near being done. We can afford to lose half of our games from here on in if all we want is the 8th spot. If we want higher than 8th, or maybe even first place, it can all begin tomorrow when Brodeur and the Devils visit Montreal in what promises to be one of the best games of the year.

The Trade Deadline and What's Next

The trade deadline came and went yesterday, and as usual didn't live up to its hype. The NHL's 30 teams and fans of all of those teams waited eagerly for 6 long months for this one big chance to make a serious move, possibly the chance to become a contender. Most teams (25+) come out of the trade day (no longer a deadline, it is now the only day we see any significant trades all year) feeling that they are no better than the day before, thus no better than they were on October 1st. Despite the disappointment that this annual event brings for most fans it also brings a lot of relief to learn a lot of your key players weren't sacrificed because of economics.


On the Habs front there were of course the two big stories - the 2 Hs. Huet's departure has left a lot of fans wondering why we couldn't make it work it with him, why a former all-star would be pushed aside for virtually nothing, why we they thought 32 was too old. The rest of the Habs fans out there are pleased to see Price get his chance, believing that his 27 games to date weren't chance enough. Essentially it could be argued that by letting Cristobal go we were able to call-up Halak, which of course is true, but couldn't we have done this with Huet still with the team? If this whole thing was really about Price and Halak being given their chance why couldn't we demote Huet and have him there just in case? I seem to remember the Oilers having 3 goalies when they went to the finals in 2006, it turned out to be a good thing too because one struggled and one got injured. This trade would have looked a lot better if I was somewhat excited about a late second round pick next year. Deep draft or not how many second round picks ever make it? And those that do are normally overlooked by other teams, thus would likely be available in the third round.

Not getting Hossa represents both a failure and a bit of luck for the Habs. Hossa was likely not worth the 4 players that Atlanta was asking, especially considering that he may (probably) not have re-signed with us. Player rentals rarely mean a guaranteed cup and often turn out to be huge busts that your team pays for over the following seasons. He would have fit nicely alongside Saku, but again that would have been at the expense of our future by reducing some youngsters playing time; namely Sergei Kostitsyn. On the other hand I feel that the Habs blew yet another chance to land a big-name player. In the 'New' NHL there are only really 2 opportunities to get proven scorers like Hossa - the deadline and via free-agency. The price will always be high to score a big player, but if you ever want one you are going to have to pay. Eventually I think that we will have to just do it; go out and overpay for someone. No one will sign here because they don't believe that we are a true contender. The ironic thing is that Hossa would have probably made us a better team down the stretch and into the playoffs and it may just have been enough to encourage someone to sign with us in July. This team is being built little by little and this is a plan that I like a lot. I just hope that Gainey realizes that if we ever want that one big veteran piece to push us over the edge we will have to overpay, because if we don't someone else will.


We have 18 games left and in order to make the playoffs comfortably (according to Topham's formula) we need 19 more points for a total of 96 (based on the current pace in the eastern conference 94 should get us in). Losing in OT isn't something we should try to do, but getting to OT is. We need all the points we can get and as long as the league has that stupid rule that a losing team gets points I want to be the team that takes the most advantage of it. We have a very good chance of not only making the playoffs, but, for the first time in years, finishing in the top 4, possibly even top 2 (3rd is impossible). We have been better that Ottawa over the past 4 months and have have matched up better against the rest of the league than them all year. I think that getting home-ice for the first 2 rounds may be very plausible at this point. If there is one area of our team game that must improve it is our defence, especially the penalty-kill. We have shown good moments this year at the back end, but it is time to work out the kinks and put 15 solid efforts forward from here on in. The penalties won't be called as frequently in the playoffs (because the NHL can't decide on consistent rules for this game) and that means we won't be able to rely on our league leading power-play; the importance for defence has never been greater.

We head into the final month of the season with 13 healthy forwards and 2 more that are defencemen. We have incredible depth at this position and our balanced scoring will only help us as we go forward. There are a lot of good players to choose from so it shouldn't be hard to make 4 decent trios. Koivu's line may be the key to our success; if he can get going with Higgins and Ryder (as they have the past few weeks) we will be set. My hope is that we will get scoring from 2 different lines in each game, that will not only give the team confidence, but will confuse opposing teams who generally tend to just focus on Kovalev-Plekanec-Kostitsyn.


Defence wins games, defence wins cups. Robinson-Savard, Desjardins-Schneider, Stevens-Niedermayer, Pronger-Nierdermayer - these were all great tandems that led their teams to cups - it is rare to see a winning team have sub-par defence. Markov, Komisarek and Hamrlik are our big 3, there is no doubt there, but it is time they start playing like it. Over the past few weeks I haven't felt like they have been at their best and that is something that must change fast. The rest of our corps has been solid all year, led mainly by a resurgent Bouillon. O'Byrne has played well at times, but also tends to go through prolonged rough patches. The answer for me to that problem is Streit, who's experience, leadership and skill will bring a little more stability to the position. We still have Brisebois and Dandenault, but I would say that barring catastrophe you'll never see either of those guys line-up at the Habs blue-line again.


That just leaves our goaltenders, a now very unproven commodity. It could be argued that Price has more big-game experience than the out-going Huet, but what Price lacks is a level of experience that simply comes with age and time. That is not to say that Price won't be able to do what he did last year with Hamilton, it just means it is less likely. The good news about Halak and Price is they are both fantastic goalies, mature beyond their years and they seem to know how to win. It isn't like we are lining up with Thibault and Fiset here, these guys are the real-deal (at least that's what I've been told). We must, however, be prepared for the worse; carrying a whole city on their backs may cause them to falter. The two youngsters have just 45 games of NHL experience between them, including no playoff experience. To put that in perspective there are 20 goalies with 45 or more games played so far this year in the league. Their combined age of 42 is equal to the age of the dominator, and they were just 5 and 8 the last time the Habs won the cup. All of that being said I think we are very lucky to have them both as they both have tons of potential. If I was ever going to go with 2 goalies so young in Habs history this would be my tandem. I am hoping that Halak will share some of the load down the stretch and that if he outplays Price he will see more ice than he has done thus far. We have a bright future ahead of us with these two, time to see if that future starts now.

.

Game #64Habs Get The First Win of The Price Era

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Tuesday February 26th, 2008
Opponent: Atlanta Thrashers
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 5-1 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Kari Lehtonen (L)

Habs goalscorers: Maxim Lapierre, Christopher Higgins (2), Andrei Markov, Sergei Kostitsyn
Opposition goalscorers: Ilya Kovalchuk



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Game without Huet in the organization since 2004
1st Multiple Goal Game for Higgins this year
1st Time in NHL history to have 3 Belarussians play for one team
1st Win in Regulation vs. Atlanta this season (4 GP)



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

The game was 1-1 and I was sitting there wondering if this was going to be a third straight home loss. Koivu's line had a different plan and got the ball rolling with a beaut on the power-play in the third.

Markov played the puck down into the left corner to Saku. Koivu then skated with the puck to the high-slot and sent the puck down low to Ryder on the goal-line. Mike moved in towards the goalie and had Kari thinking shot. He then slid a perfect tape-to-tape pass right to Higgins and all he had to do was tap it in.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Christopher Higgins

It is quite possible that Chris was just simply relieved to have not been traded today. He played an extremely good game at both ends of the ice. He had great chemistry with Saku and Ryder and generated a lot of chances. He skated very well and hit a lot - he was quite the power forward.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
- This was a very good game for Pleks. He may have been held off the scoresheet, but excelled in most other categories of play. He was creative with the puck, was fast and did a great job fore-checking. He finished with 4 shots and went 12/19 in the face-off circle

Saku Koivu
- Saku added 2 more assists tonight to give him 35 for a total of 47 points. He was our most creative player in the offensive zone tonight and was a big reason for Higgins' big game. He has 8 points in his last 7 games and as expected is playing his best hockey of the year right now, down the stretch

Christopher Higgins
- This was why we didn't want to trade Higgins and hopefully why we didn't in the end. At 1.7 Million (average) you can't get much of a better bargain. His 2 goals tonight give him 21 on the year and his third straight 20+ goal campaign. He is a big, gritty forward with very soft hands and having him in the team for the long term is far more advantageous than having a rental around for 2 months

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
- This was probably Andrei's best game in the past few weeks. He moved the puck well and got very involved offensively, but there was also a noticeable improvement in his defensive play. It was good to see him get multiple points (50 on the year!) and finish with a plus rating

Josh Gorges
- A very tight defensive game from Gorges. He made no mistakes tonight which in turn allowed him to move up the ice further than usual. His +3 rating was tops on the team bringing him into the + for the season

Goaltender

Carey Price
- Like it or not he is now our man. Most people hope that he is great, others hope he just isn't brutal, but either way he got the job done tonight. He looked very solid all game - a far cry from the way he played in his last 3 starts. He has a very dependable back-up now in Halak who will hopefully (unlike Huet) be used if Price starts to falter



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

Kovalev saw diminished PP time tonight thanks in most part to the second unit's effectiveness. He played a good two way game and even spent over 2 minutes on the ice at one point killing a whole penalty. His line is getting more support from the rest of the team in the scoring department lately which has taken a little bit of the pressure off. That being said he is still a major threat and will be back on the scoresheet this week for sure.

Kovalev's Assessment - Good



Overall Comments

Atlanta looked like a very weak team tonight. They are obviously going to be hurt by the loss of Hossa, but I was surprised as to how weak the rest of this team really is. They are a team that did all they could to make the playoffs last year and seem to lack any ambition or plan beyond that. This was a game that I was calling a must-win and after about 5 minutes I realized if we lost this one we were a team in trouble. Yes they are still fighting for their playoff lives, but there is only so much that Perrin, Holik and the others can do - winning is not included in there. The Habs played a strong game and never looked in danger of losing this one. They simply played a smart defensive game and waited for their chances to come. We scored 4 goals in less than 7 minutes early in the third and that was plenty tonight to give us the crucial 2 points. We are now just one point back of Ottawa and we are level with them in games. It would be best to finish 1,2 or 6 this year. 4th or 5th will be very hard as that will likely mean a first round date with NJ or Pittsburgh. At this point our focus should be to win the division which will give us top 2 - coming 1st would be an added bonus. That of course is all the secondary goal, the primary being of course to make the playoffs.

Today I was upset to see a truly great man and great Hab go. Huet has been our best goalie since Roy and I really thought he had what it took to win big with us. Getting nothing in return is not only a slap in his face, but also a slap in all of ours. Deciding that Price is your future is a risk that could have been taken with Huet there as a back-up. Washington got a serious deal when they landed the NHL's best goalie (Save %) since the lockout, a former all-star and starter on a 4th place team for virtually nothing. The fact that we got so little shows a lack of effort from the Habs to find a deal, but also shows a lack of confidence around the league in Huet. He has never been branded with superstar status by the media and it is for this reason that I believe he is gone, and gone for so little. I could never imagine Luongo being traded for so little (a true media darling), in fact we all know that he would command a bigger price than Hossa did today. Maybe comparing Huet to Luongo is foolish, but I would rather have a goalie who could lead an average team to the top than an over-rated goalie who has never done anything but been on losing teams. Worst of all our second-round pick in 2009 won't be able to bail us out in the playoffs if/when Price gets in over his head.

Game #63Gainey and Leclaire Steal the Show

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Saturday February 23rd, 2008
Opponent: Columbus Blue Jackets
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 0-3 - Loss

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (L)
Opposition starting goalie: Pascal Leclaire (W)

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Rick Nash, Andrew Murray, Manny Malhotra



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Time that Bob Gainey has skated in a Habs jersey since 1989



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

The play of the game actually happened before the game tonight. It was when Bob Gainey's #23 was raised to the rafters to the roar of the Montreal faithful. It was an honour that was well deserved for the former captain. This will surely rank up there as a career highlight for the Hall of Famer who has bled Bleu, Blanc et Rouge for over 35 years. Unfortunately there was no play made by any current Habs that could top this one tonight, and I mean no play.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Francis Bouillon

He was one of a select group of Habs that played with any sort of spirit tonight. Francis can't offer too much in the skill department, but he made up for that with his effort. He was as mobile as ever and played strong in his own end.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Sergei Kostitsyn
- This kid never gave up all night, he just kept going and going. He is still a little rough around the edges, but should be fine if he continues to give efforts like this one

Saku Koivu
- Saku played with a lot of heart and grit tonight. He got very involved in the corners and along the boards and was often our best player on the ice at any given time

Mark Streit
- Could this be Mark's last game as a Hab? I sure hope not. Whether or not he plays D doesn't matter at the end of the day; I would rather have him as a forward then not at all. He was fast tonight and played well on D when he had to

Defencemen

Francis Bouillon
- Franc is putting together quite a good stretch; he has probably been our top defenceman over the past month. The play of Markov and Komi has left me scratching my head a little bit and that is why I am forever grateful that Bou has stepped it up

Roman Hamrlik
- I liked the way Roman played tonight. He does exactly what Gainey did his whole career - leads by example. Right now O'Byrne is benefiting so much from the vast experience of the former #1 draft pick and he will hopefully one day progress as much as Phaneuf did under Roman's tutelage. Hammer pinched up into the play tonight, but he always did so at the appropriate time, never getting caught

Goaltender

Carey Price
- Carey had 2 weak goals against him, but he did what I asked and that was to let up 3 goals or less. I still think that Price has a better mental game when he is being challenged. Every time that we declare him our #1 it hurts his game - and incidentally Huet's too. I would expect Huet to get the start against Atlanta in a game that I think will now be declared a must win



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

Alex wasn't given much space to work with tonight, but he did the best he could given the circumstances. His linemates really dropped the ball tonight and cost him an assist or two. He ended the game at -3, but that stat is deceptive as none of the goals were his fault. He didn't make any mistakes himself tonight, but at the same time didn't steal the show.

Kovalev's Assessment - Average


Overall Comments

I thought that for the most part we played better than Columbus tonight. We didn't play that well, but we played better than them. What we lacked was finish and luck - both of which may have been used up mid-week. After watching the Blue Jackets play a few times this year I have come to the conclusion that they aren't that great of a team. Leclaire may have 9 shutouts, but again I don't believe he is that great. He seemed to get lucky tonight so I am assuming that he likely has luck on his side this year (If you disagree that he isn't great see his career stats). Much like teams such as the Islanders and the Panthers, Columbus will win games like this and then go on epic losing streaks.. At the end of the day we got unlucky against a middle of the pack team and although it stings, it is bound to happen once in a while. I must say, however, that I am sick of french players, goalies in particular, shining in Montreal - often having their best games of the season. Aren't these guys meant to be Habs fans? Are they upset we didn't draft them? What exactly are they trying to prove? The one thing I do know is that we don't want to face a french goalie in the early stages of the playoffs - that means avoiding the Devils and Brodeur.

The week ahead will be a big one for the Habs. First off, before any games, is the trade deadline. It will be interesting to see what Bob has in store for us on Tuesday, but I am sure that whatever moves he makes won't be shortsighted. I am confidant that he will value the team's long term success more than trying to make himself like the 'winner' of the day. At 3pm on Tuesday we will know the players that we are going to war with for the next 19+ games. There are 3 games next week and I think we have put ourselves in a position where we have to win 2 (or at least get 4 points). Flirting with first place is one thing that I can deal with, whereas flirting with eighth is not.

To Trade or Not to Trade

The Habs have just one more game to play before the trade deadline. That game is against Columbus on Saturday night - a team that just did us a huge favour by beating Ottawa. The busiest man in town over the next 4 days may very well be Bob Gainey. Not only is he going to be in the spotlight come trade day, but, on the 23rd, he will also become the 14th (or 16th - still unknown) player in Habs history to have his number raised to the roof. It will no doubt be a hectic few days for one of the most well respected men in hockey.


We have all heard the rumours that we are involved in talks for absolutely every player in the NHL. If you ever visit Eklund's site you will have noticed that in order to bring in readers (especially readers from big markets like Montreal) the Habs are involved in a new rumour daily. This genius has a great system for announcing a trade - he reads it on TSN then quickly posts it on his site. He claims to be an insider with a lot of knowledge about hockey, but if you read his site you would realize that he is not close to being that at all. The Habs of course have not made a trade every day this year and wouldn't you know it haven't made a deal since last February. This doesn't mean some of the stuff on his site won't come true, because after all he has posted every possible trade that could be made so if one does go down I am sure he can find some sort of reference to it - likely posted in August.

Habs fans, thanks to too many unfounded rumours, are a bit too excited this time around about the prospect of us landing a big name player. People are having a hard time seeing that we have 75 points, that we are 1 point out of first and that we are having our best season in years. In typical Montreal fashion the mob wants more, more, more. Ryder only has 12 goals, but we have 75 points - trade him. Koivu isn't following up a career year with another career year - trade him. Higgins scored most of his goals in the first half - trade him. Kovalev is and always was my favorite player, I never booed him - un-tradeable. Unfortunately Habs fans are like kids in a way - they always want something new and exciting, they can't remember anything beyond a month ago and they will more often than not do what everyone else is doing; whether that means booing certain people or getting off one bandwagon and onto another.

We have to be extremely careful with what we hope for and we should all realize that in order to get someone good at this stage in the year you are going to have to give something up, something big. Most fans can't understand why a package of Dandenault, Smolinski, Ryder and Brisebois wouldn't be enough for Hossa, I mean it's 4 for 1 why wouldn't Atlanta do it? If getting a big name player is going to cost us a star or a potential star then it is something we should think long and hard about. We don't want to fall into the trap of trading away our future just because we think this is the year. Teams like Atlanta, Toronto and Edmonton have all made deadline deals in the past few years that were intended to make them better. It may have made them slightly better than they would have been in that year's playoffs, but beyond that we all know what happened to those teams. Smart teams are teams like Detroit and Ottawa who stick with their guys and stick with a plan, even if it takes years, occasionally making minor adjustments.


Not all trades are bad of course and sometimes there can actually be 2 winners in a trade. The last time we won the cup we sacrificed players like Courtnall, Chelios, Corson and my all-time favorite Skrudland to get the missing pieces - Damphousse, Savard, Leaman and Bellows. So it is tough to say - trade or not. At least 18 teams make deals at the end that think give them a shot, but at the end of the day there can only be one winner, thus only one GM can look like a genius. I would probably chalk all of that up to luck rather than strategy as the 'missing piece' is often not what you think it is. Last year it wasn't Tkachuk, Comrie, Guerin, it may just have been Brad May.


Whether the Habs land Hossa, Jokinen, Sundin or Tanguay or stay absolutely still may make no difference at all. If we are going to have to give some of the future for to gain a bit in the now then it is a very risky game to play. We have the makings of a great team with great chemistry, not just for this year, but for many years to come. Any deal that we make now could be one-step forward for 2008 and 2-steps back in our overall development. We have been putting this team together for 15 years now and I think that we finally have the team that we all had hoped for. With a little patience and trust in Bob then I am sure we will come out of next Tuesday's deadline bonanza with a team that will not only be competitive this year, but will indeed challenge for the cup in the very near future - and, that may very well mean no moves at all.

Game #62Canadiens Come All the Way Back Only to Lose

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Thursday February 21st, 2008
Opponent: Pittsburgh Penguins
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 4-5 - Loss

Habs starting goalie:Cristobal Huet (L)
Opposition starting goalie: Dany Sabourin (W)

Habs goalscorers: Saku Koivu, Christopher Higgins, Michael Ryder, Roman Hamrlik
Opposition goalscorers: Ryan Whitney, Jarkko Ruutu, Ryan Malone, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Game in which Koivu, Higgins and Ryder have all scored this season



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

The crowd wanted a comeback and the Habs almost gave it to us. With the score at 3-3 in the third we scored our 4th, a goal we all were hoping would have been the eventual winner.

Kovy was at the end of his shift on the power-play and simply passed the puck to Saku from his own end before heading off. Koivu then skated down the right hand side into the Penguins' zone. He made a nice move to get around the defenceman and then made an even nicer pass to a pinching Roman Hamrlik. Hammer cradled the pass and then quickly snapped off a shot right by Sabourin. It gave us the lead for the first time in the game.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Saku Koivu

This was another great game for the skipper as he had a goal and an assist. He skated very well tonight and created a lot of offence. He looked especially good on the power-play, working well with Kovalev, Higgins and Ryder. He won 8 of his 12 face-offs including going two for two with the Huet pulled.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Michael Ryder
- Ryder's strong play continued tonight with another goal. He was a menacing force all game around Pittsburgh's net, often creating good chances. He got very involved in the play which is a great sign as it becomes more and more obvious that his confidence is back

Saku Koivu
- He looked very quick tonight with and without the puck. His goal was very nice and, like Ryder's goal the other night, got us back into the game. Made some great plays and as all good passers do he used each of his four teammates with regularity

Alexei Kovalev
- For the first time this year Alex is over point per game status - his fantastic play continued tonight. His pass on Higgins' goal was spectacular and has again re-hatched the debate as to whether he is a better passer or scorer. Dictated a lot of the play in the Pens' zone, but his linemates weren't as supportive tonight

Defencemen

Mark Streit
- Mark only had one point tonight and finished +1. Towards the end of the game he was being used alongside Roman to obviously spark some offence. It makes me ask the question yet again - why is he still playing forward? When we need it the most we ask him to play D - and what does he do? He becomes our best blue-liner

Roman Hamrlik
- Roman's goal really had everyone believing that we had done it, we had mounted another huge comeback. He played a very solid game in his own end being both responsible and adventurous. He pinched up very well all game and was rewarded with his 4th of the season for his efforts

Goaltender

Carey Price
- Huet got unlucky tonight, he got hung out to dry tonight, but at the end of the day he didn't get the job done. Huet's numbers as of late have not been all that flattering making me wonder just who we should go with down the stretch. At this point I would say go with both of them. Both goalies have been great in the past month and both have been brutal. I would probably stick with Cristo on Saturday only because he seems to be the type of person that strives when the team, coaches, media and fans believe in him. Price, on the other hand, strives more in the underdog role - a big reason he is always great after sitting for lengthy stretches, but usually crumbles in his third or fourth of successive games



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

Kovy matched up well against the surprising NHL point leader tonight. Alex often tends to gravitate towards the other teams' stars whether it be Malkin, Ovechkin or Jagr. Outplaying these stars is one thing, but letting them get the better of you is another. He got the better of Malkin during their one on one battles, but it was his eagerness to target Geno that led to a penalty and the eventual game-winner. The penalty was not malicious, but did hurt the Habs big time.

Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good


Overall Comments

We didn't get into this game early on as I think most people still had Tuesday on their mind - yours truly included. After Pittsburgh went up 2-0 I think we were awoken and we started to play some good hockey. The atmosphere at the Bell Centre was tense as everyone was wondering whether we could do it all over again. When we made it 1-2 not a person in the building doubted that we could claw our way back. Soon it was 2-3, 3-3 and then 4-3. We had done it, another great comeback and it was now time to relax; and there lies the problem. We stopped playing hockey with 16 minutes to go, believing that we had already won. Once one team stops playing it becomes infinitely easier for another team to score and that is exactly what the Pen's did, and they did it twice.

We can't win every game and after Tuesday's win I must say I am not as disappointed as I may have been had it been 2 straight losses. That being said a loss is a loss and it comes because we didn't follow our gameplan. Our defence was sloppy as was our goaltending - both of which have to be much better against the Malkin's of the league. The Habs have let in 13 goals in their last 3 games which is quite shocking as I thought we were known for our defence. We have to go back to basics, as they say, and that starts at the back. It looks more and more likely that we will be playing some post-season hockey, but without a good back end it could be very short lived. It has to start with Huet and Price, they have to be able to let in 3 or less on most if not all nights from here on in. It is then up to Markov and Komi to re-find their games as they haven't been themselves for over 2 weeks now. Hamrlik and Bouillon have done well lately so nothing to say there. Streit should be playing D and this is something that should be sorted out by April. That leaves one of O'Byrne or Gorges to give us 15 minutes of quality, no-mistake, no-risk hockey. Like all great Habs teams of the past we shouldn't have to rely on our offence. The guys up front will do what they can to help, but they will need far superior performances than the one we saw tonight from our back end if we want to do anything but play golf come May.

Game #61Habs Mount Biggest Comeback in Team History

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Tuesday February 19th, 2008
Opponent: New York Rangers
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 6-5 (SO) - Win

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price, Cristobal Huet (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Henrik Lunqvist (L)

Habs goalscorers: Michael Ryder (2), Alexei Kovalev (2), Mark Streit (Saku Koivu - SO)
Opposition goalscorers: Brandon Dubinsky, Sean Avery, Brendan Shanahan (2), Chris Drury



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Comeback from 0-5 down for a win in 99 years of Habs history
1st Win against the Rangers this season (4 GP)
1st Time that Price has not lasted 40 minutes in his career (13:41)



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

Goal after goal how can I choose! All our goals were great and all of them made the crowd 10 times louder. The best of the bunch was the tying goal by Kovalev, scored in quite a dramatic fashion.

Koivu, on the power-play, broke into the zone down the left hand side and dished the puck to the corner to Andrei Kostitsyn. Andrei then made a quick pass into the slot to a streaking Kovalev. Kovy reached for the puck and took a one-timer as he was falling. When the puck went in over Henrik's arm Alex was upside down on the ice in a ball and the score was 5-5.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Michael Ryder

Michael gave the Habs life when we needed it the most. Most people had probably written the Habs off by the time it was 0-5, but Ryder of all people kept chipping away. He scored 2 goals in the second period to give us life. The best thing of all was that his 2 goals got the crowd into it and they were as lively as I had ever seen them from there on in. The momentum created by Ryder with his two goals carried into the third where he added an assist on Streit's goal.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Michael Ryder
- Ryder played with heart all game and he was rewarded with some luck tonight as he bagged himself 3 points. Ryder now has 11 goals, but more importantly 8 in his last 19 games - a pace that would give him 34 on the year. Ryder has been good over the past 2 months and is far cry from the player he was before Christmas. He is a player I want on our team as you never know when that goal-scoring ability will surface

Mark Streit
- 3 more points for Streit tonight - 42 on the year. Streit formed a lethal combo with Lapierre and Ryder and has done so over the past 2 games. He was also very valuable on the PP and in OT as, you guessed it, a defenceman

Alexei Kovalev
- Alex had a fantastic game and scored 2 of his biggest goals of the season - his 28th and 29th. He has now reached point per game status with 61 on the year. It was interesting to see him outplay Jagr tonight as he often won the one-on-one battles vs. his 2-time teammate

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
- He played extremely well from the second period onwards. He was our most dangerous player in OT and almost ended it himself. His classic 'left point to right corner Kovalev pass' paid off yet again; their chemistry is incredible and is a huge reason for our success

Roman Hamrlik
- He was our best defensive defenceman tonight and was only on the ice for one of the Rangers' 5 goals. He ended with a +2 rating and played over 25 minutes of hockey. He played a very smart and responsible game as his apprenticeship of O'Byrne continues (Ryan was +3)

Goaltender

Cristobal Huet
- When Huet came into the game with 6 minutes left in the first the game was 0-3 and it looked out of reach. That, however, didn't stop Cristo from playing as hard as he could and doing everything for the win. He did, however, let in 2 PP goals, but neither were his fault. He was outstanding in the third period, overtime and in the shootout and was a big reason that the comeback ended in a win and not a tight loss. Price didn't have a good game, but that happens to everyone and that is all it was, a bad game. This, however, is a perfect example of why we shouldn't get too excited when someone wins 3 in a row. We have 2 great goalies and we should continue to play both of these great players on a regular basis



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

There are 2 other comeback moments like tonight that stand out in my mind when I think of Kovalev. When he was first with the Habs he had a fantastic series against Boston and, along with Koivu and Zednik, was a big reason we overcame that 1-3 deficit. The second time was in December of 2005 against Ottawa when he was instrumental in a come from behind win against the Sens. Tonight was his third memorable comeback moment with the Habs; his 2 goals showed that he is capable of being a big-game player and a big-game breaker.

Kovalev's Assessment - Excellent



Overall Comments

Going into this game I was giving the game a 'nice-to-win' status. I realize that we are not going to be able to win every game and that considering we were coming off of a 3 game winning streak I could have stomached a loss. After we went down 0-5 I felt that this would be a good opportunity to lose big and to learn the lessons that come along with that. After we scored our first goal, with plenty of time left, I started to think that if we were within 3 goals by the end of the second then we may yet have a chance. What the Habs and the folks at the Bell Centre did in the third period was actually quite unprecedented. It was in the the third that Ryder, Kovalev and what was left of the 21,273 people at the game took the game by its throat and decided that the game had now been upgraded to 'must-win' status. The atmosphere was absolutely electric and had the feel of a playoff game. You can't ask for a better crowd in the whole league to play in front of, and it now seems like we can't ask for a better team in the whole league to play in front of us. The crowd got us back into the game and the warriors, all 20 of them, got us the huge win.

We now have 75 points after 61 games and we avoided falling out of first place with this win. Ottawa also won in a shootout so we will remain in a tie for now. Topham called for 96 points to make the playoffs this year and that of course is still the ultimate goal. Now, for the first time all year, we only need to get 1 point in each of our last 21 games to make 96 points a reality. With the way things are going now it seems more and more likely that we may be able to hit the 96-point mark and I wouldn't be at all shocked if we made it to 100. We have a fantastic bunch and we are getting contributions from absolutely everyone - Gainey has to be careful now not to do anything too rash. The team has great chemistry, leadership and skill so any major changes should be avoided. That being said I am sure that Bob knows exactly what we need. Also, I am sure that if we go out and get anyone in the next week we will be the team that comes out on top of any deal.

Montreal Canadiens 5-Game Review (#11 & 12)

[Montreal Canadiens 5 Game Review takes a look at the last 5 games from an objective standpoint, with tabulations from Tobalev's game reports]

Date: Sunday, April 6th, 2008


The last 10

Opponents: Washington, Islanders, Rangers, Ottawa, Toronto, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Florida, Philadelphia, Philadelphia

Record: 5-4-1
Home record: 3-2-0
Away record: 2-2-1

How it happened: OTL, W, L, W, L, L, L, W, W, W
Goals for: 28
Goals against: 31

Conference ranking (Season): 1
Conference ranking (5 games - i.e., 01/05 to 01/30): T5





Stack of pucks

Alex Kovalev (12)

Cristobal Huet (10)










Play of the set
Contender for play of the year...

Our own Russian wonder:

Have you seen Ovechkin's unbelievable goal that he scored while on his back? Want to see it again?

On a PP (1 of our 7) Kovalev took a great pass from Markov. Alex then broke into the zone and deked out a couple of Flyers before losing the puck. At that moment Kostitsyn came flying in to pick up the loose puck and work his magic. He cut in front of the net from left to right and tried to stuff it in, but Niitty got the leg out. Then, as he was falling Kostitsyn reached back behind himself and slid the puck in while falling to his back. It was absolutely fantastic.

10-game domers

F: Koivu (6/10); Kovalev (5/10); Plekanec (4/10)

D: Streit (5/10); Markov (5/10)

G: Huet (4/10)








Kovalev's 10-game Assessment - Good to Very Good

More excellent patches and a couple of average ones. Navigated the turbulent patches well to emerge in excellent form coming out the end of this period. No emergency landings required yet (just stay off the motorcycles)...




Scoring and statistics (Top 5 over 10):

Goalscorers: Kovalev, Plekanec (5); A Kostitsyn (4); Higgins, Latendresse, Streit, S Kostitsyn (2)

Point-getters: Kovalev (13); Plekanec, Markov (10); A Kostitsyn (8); Streit (6)

Shooters: Plekanec (37); Higgins (33); Kovalev, Markov (27); Streit (23)

+/-: Lapierre, S Kostitsyn (+1); 8 players (Even)


GAA: Price (2.03); Huet (3.92)
Save %: Price (.937); Huet (.880)

Game #60Habs Sweep Home and Home, Now 4 For 4 Vs. The Flyers

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Sunday February 17th, 2008
Opponent: Philadelphia Flyers
Venue: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA


Team Stripes


Final Score: 5-3 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Antero Niittymaki (L)

Habs goalscorers: Alexei Kovalev, Francis Bouillon, Michael Ryder, Saku Koivu, Maxim Lapierre
Opposition goalscorers: Mike Richards, Braydon Coburn, Riley Cote



2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...

1st Goal for Bouillon this season
1st Time the Habs have been 1st in the conference since 1994 (non-October)
1st 3-Point Game for Markov this year



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

With the scored locked at 1 and the first period coming to a close Josh Gorges made the best play of all. Upshall came into our corner and laid out Andrei Kostitsyn with a questionable hit - it was an obvious reply to Begin's hit on Tolpeko. A scrum formed around Kostitsyn as 3 Habs players skated up the ice. The Flyers, playing as dumb as ever, had 4 players commit to the scrum while we carried the puck up. Eventually Jeff Carter decided to skate back as he saw a 3-on-1 developing; he was too late. Gorges was taunted, but he kept his head about him and didn't drop the gloves, thus avoiding a whistle. This allowed our 3-on-1 to continue and out of it came a top shelf laser, Bou's first of the year, and a 2-1 lead with 1 second to go in the period.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Alexei Kovalev

Kovalev dominated tonight which should be no surprise to anyone after yesterday's 'good' performance. Like I have mentioned before Alex rarely dominates on back-to-back nights, but it is always almost a guarantee that he will excel in one of the games. So I guess I can say he was due, yet again, for a great game. He had 3 points tonight and was an absolute force in all aspects of the game.



Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Michael Ryder
- Rydes played a great game after being a healthy scratch for the past few. He scored a goal and he now has 9 on the year. That number of course isn't that good as he should have 15-20 by now, but sometimes (like tonight) he can bring more to the table than just goals. He fore-checked very well all game, had four shots and most importantly played with heart. Unlike our Ryder of last year (Samsonov) this year's version has responded with dignity and class and deserves every chance he gets. I would much rather have a player like Ryder on the ice than Kostopoulos for example - neither score that much, but at least Ryder has that ability to score embedded within him

Maxim Lapierre
- The 'tough' Flyers again proved no match for Max as he proved for a second time in 24 hours that he can out agitate anyone on that team. He played with speed and conviction and was rewarded for his efforts with his fourth goal of the season. He is the third line centre that we have been hoping for all these years - he skates, can move the puck and gets in the other teams' face

Alexei Kovalev
- Alex set the pace of this game whether it was while he was killing penaltes or on the power-play himself. Everytime that he was on the ice he took control of the situation and made a slow, downtrodden Flyer bunch look worse and worse with each new shift. He made his linemates look way better tonight as he just conituned giving them chance after chance

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
- Markov had 3 assists tonight in what may have been his best offensive game of the season. I am not just basing that on his assists, but rather the work he did on the power-play. He is one of the best passers in the league right now and one of the best to ever suit up for the Habs. He kept finding his teammates all night long with passes of all kinds. Did a very good job of shutting down Philly's 'stars'

Mike Komisarek
- When Andrei plays offence, Mike plays defence and the Habs win games. Mike had 8 blocked shots tonight and was fearless time and time again in front of Flyer shooters. He played extremely well on the PK and was a big reason that Philly was 0/6 with the extra man

Goaltender

Carey Price
- Carey played another very solid game. He may have let in 3 goals, but on two of those he was not to blame. He made 33 saves, making 30-31 of them look routine. He has the unique ability to slow the game right down at the most hectic of times. He was one of our best penalty-killers - his calm play sends confidence to the rest of the team and must scare the crap out of the opposition. His positioning was again very good and he took no chances out of his crease. Play like this is great news for the Habs, we just have to be careful not to over-use him as we did in December



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

His goal and two assists give him 59 points on the season; 27 goals and 32 assists. Alex is now on pace for 37 goals and 44 assists which would not only be his best season as a Hab (by 16 points), but would be his second best ever (he had 95 points with Pittsburgh in 2000-01). He has 13 points in his last 9 games and is getting even hotter at the right time. He can be counted on in absolutely every situation and I think it is only a matter of time before he tries nets or maybe sees what kind of deals he could swing at the deadline.

Kovalev's Assessment - Excellent



Overall Comments

I seem to remember making a claim that we would be a better team this weekend due to Hamrlik's return and I must say that Roman did not let me down. He played excellent in both games as we managed an incredible non-OT sweep of the Flyers; giving them their 6th, 7th straight losses. The good news for us is that they play Ottawa on Tuesday and they may just be ready for a win. This game was not too different from yesterday's. We played well as a team and the chances were there, the difference being 4 more goals scored. Like yesterday's match this was a penalty-filled affair which is never shocking against Philly. The Flyers only seem to know one type of hockey - 'Bobby Clarke Style' aka cheap and dirty. This was our 4th win in as many games against Philly this year. We match up against the Flyers much like we do against Boston as our speed and skill dominate their slow, 'tough' approach. 20 of our 73 points come from those two teams alone and I can only hope that they both make the playoffs. Unlike some of the other teams that are lower in the standings we have absolutely no problem with these two teams and a spring meeting would suit me very well.

We now sit at the top of the conference with 73 points in a tie with Ottawa. We are a better team against the rest of the conference than Ottawa is, but they still have our number. We still have 3 games left against the Sens so there is still a big chance to prove ourselves to them and maybe prove a little something to ourselves. Whether we finish first or not doesn't really matter at this point, but of course it would be nice. To me making the playoffs is our top priority and avoiding the Sens as long as possible in the playoffs is priority #2. It now looks more and more likely that one of the two of us will finish first in the northeast divison and barring catastrophe that should mean we won't face them in round 1. We need 23 points in 22 games to book our ticket to the big show and that remains our main goal. It will, however, be inteesting to see how the Habs handle their new found glory - this of course is a poistion that we haven't been in for almost 15 years.