Habs Review 2007-08: Bryan Smolinski

The numbers

2007-08
64 GP: 8 G, 17 A, 25 Pts, 20 PIM, -6, 89 Shots

Career best year – 1995-96 – Penguins
81 GP: 24 G, 40 A, 64 Pts, 69 PIM, +6, 229 Shots

2007-08 playoffs
12 GP: 1 G, 2 A, 3 Pts, 2 PIM, +1, 17 Shots

Career best playoffs – 1993-94 - Bruins
13 GP: 5 G, 4 A, 9 Pts, 4 PIM, -1, 30 Shots



Plays of the game: 2

Game pucks: 1

Domes: 10

3 Star selections: 2 First


The story

Where he started the season
We lost Bonk on July 1 2007 to free agency, so who better than another aging, former Senator with 'an offensive upside' to fill his skates. It was fairly obvious right from the get go that Bryan would be our 3rd line centre. The bonus was, thanks to his experienece, that if Plekanec or Koivu were to go down he had the scoring and passing abilities to be a top-2 line centre. Wait a minute, isn't that what we thought about Bonk? To me it was clear how Bryan's season would pan out; he would fail to register the amount of points we would want from a third line centre, we would convince ourselves that he was good defensively and was a good penalty-killer (due to his low numbers) and we would be happy to have his experience in the locker as a mentor of sorts for our youngsters.

Funnily, I started the preseason believing all that, but then at one point convinced myself that Bryan would be Kovalev's centre. How wrong was I?

8) Who will Smolinski's wingers be?

Durocher's answer: Begin and Kostopoulos. Possibly Kostitsyn.

My answer: Kovalev and Lahti.

The season
Interestingly enough, when the season started Bryan was on the 4th line likely making him the highest paid opening day 4th line Hab ever. The move was to allow Grabovski some time on the second line, but as we all know that didn't last long and soon enough Smoke was on the third line - a spot he would fill for most of the season. Smolinski seemed like yet another Hab who was just along for the ride this year as it is hard to remember many moments (good or bad) involving him. As predicted, he had pretty weak numbers - 25 points, he indeed saw a lot of time on the PK, but I would argue he was one of the worst on the team at that job and as far as the leadership and experience that is so valued in this league, well that wasn't evident until the playoffs. His numbers in the playoffs weren't that great either, but I think you would all agree that he, along with his linemates, formed our best unit against Boston and were still quite decent against Philly. He proved he knows how to play in the pressure-packed situations, a quality that isn't that easy to find anymore.

Highlights: His season looks pretty good in a one-minute summary. Albeit, even for some of these goals his involvement is minimal.




Smolinski by the numbers: Canadiens.com

Lions' links on Smolinski:
Lukewarm
10 Questions


Grade: C
Smolinski did an OK job as our third line centre, but he really didn't bring anything too dynamic to the role. He played the 'checking' role, but ended the year at -6 and his 8 goals weren't enough for me to forgive his defensive shortcomings. Our search for a Carbonneau type centre has not ended as Smolinski clearly has too much to learn in his own end. He had some solid moments on the PP (notably the 5 on 3 unit) as he was just one of a handful of Habs willing to step in front of opposing goalies and risk being hit by a Streit or Markov slapper (perhaps the rest of the team is still shell-shocked from being shot at by Souray). All in all, it was a mediocre season for the NHL vet, one that likely he and the Canadiens will soon forget.


Where we'd have him next season
As of now Smoke is still available to all 30 teams, but don't expect him to be back in Montreal in the Fall. We have too many players that are NHL-ready to jusify bringing him back as an over-priced veteran. The third-line centre should either be exceptional defensively or provide enough offence that the odd lapse in his own end can be overlooked - Smoke really has neither of those qualities anymore. His NHL journey should continue, however, as I am sure a team can find room for him as he is still a top-3 line centre on most teams, just not the Habs. We now have 12 forwards signed and ready that are superior to Bryan and a lot of those coming at a fraction of the cost, so I'm afraid it is goodbye.

Needs And Wants

In the build-up to the ever-disappointing watershed that is 12:00 noon on July 1st in NHL circles, I have been reading more and more rumours. More and more speculation.

Not wishing to be the one blogger to shy away from putting forth my lopsided opinion, I wanted to weigh in on the issues of Canadiens needs.

A commonly held notion is that the Canadiens will lose Brisebois, Streit, Smolinski and Ryder and therefore need to find replacements for all of these players (JT said as much in his article on the topic a couple of days ago). While this notion is not altogether wrong – obviously someone will have to play those empty positions – replacing them with outsiders may be an unnecessary leap, at least in my humble opinion.

Brisebois – signed (for some reason) as a 5th-6th defenceman, he gradually slipped to 8th on the depth chart over the season. His place as 4th Dman was due to Carbonneau's folly and had little to do with merit. Replacing him is a matter of calling Hamilton. Any number of rookies could fit at number 8 for us.

Streit – a unique commodity, it would be nice to replace him, but also virtually impossible. If we need to replace him as a forward (I don't think we do) then it is a 4th liner now that we carry Tanguay. No need to get excited about signing a 4th liner today. If we replace him as a defenceman, then we could be stuck. Anyone who will offer as much offense (Campbell) will be far too costly, anyone who fits into the 2nd pairing as the 5th best D will be challenged to get even half those totals. Ron Hainsey is the only real match here, and signing him would beg the question: "Why didn't Gainey just sign Streit?" If he is to be replaced on the PP, finding the right free agent here is difficult. You might think Sergei Fedorov or Brian Rolston, but neither is an out and out Streit replacement. My thinking is basically that Streit cannot be directly replaced, so Gainey should not trouble himself trying to fit a round peg into a Streit-shaped hole.

Smolinski – call him insurance or veteran presence or whatever, but he was hardly a third line centre. I don't think Bryan Smolinski would need to be directly replaced at all. I think Lapierre has earned his stripes and Chipchura will have learned what it takes to stick this time around.

Ryder – if we accept he had a bad season and played little part in getting the Habs to top in the East, and remember that he didn't even set foot on the ice when we were getting outscored by Philly, then a case could be made that Michael Ryder doesn't need to be replaced. I, however, would beg to differ. I think Michael Ryder (at least the one from rookie to year 3) is the player we most need to replace. A scorer with scoring on his mind.


Needs/wants
I hear it bandied about every few minutes (or seconds these days): What Montreal really needs is a number one centre.

I think there needs to be some clarification here. Montreal does not need a number one centre in the way that Columbus, Vancouver or Atlanta do. With a bit of analysis, in fact, there could be 10 or more teams in the NHL that would be glad to have either Koivu or Plekanec as their number one pivot.

No, Montreal would really really like a "number one/two/three" centre who's bigger than Koivu – that's all.

While signing Sundin would unquestionably be an improvement for the team, it would be silly to break up Kostitsyn and Plekanec, for example, just to make him the de facto number one. Would Sundin still be the number one with Latendresse and Sergei? Would it matter?

Furthermore, how much evidence do we need that Koivu can hold his own anyway as an offensive force in tough situations?

At the end of the day, a big centre would be nice – possibly even great for the team – but I don't think it falls under the heading of need.


Apparently, we are also in dire need of a veteran back-up goalie.

Even more ludicrous than the aforementioned, any team would be thrilled to have two good young goalies. Why should we be looking for someone on the downside of their career. I laugh when I read about Toronto signing (ahem) future hall-of-famer (ahem) Cujo. We should all be...


So what is it the Canadiens need, then?

At the risk of becoming very repetitive: A scorer who can shoot. That which makes Andrei Kostitsyn the biggest priority bar none this July.

As for a new guy, what we need is Higgins with hands, Ryder with drive, Tanguay with lower propensity for sharing.

Hossa, were it not for his looming multi-year 9 million+ deal, might be worth a look. Committing that kind of money to Hossa would mean committing the future to Hossa. Something which, we should note, neither of the two previous Stanley Cup contenders from the East, and even a team who looked like they would have nothing to lose in doing so, would do. Obvious alarm bells ring. Loud as those that were buzzing through this blog at Briere time last seaosn.

Yesterday, I think I suggested Miroslav Satan as a possible option (an obvious risk). Niklas Hagman is another, as is Rolston. And Teemu Selanne continues to scream out in the way he so obviously fits the position we need to fill. These are the next tier, the possible bargains.

If it's not one of those, what Gainey needs to look for anyone who can shoot over 10% with more than 200 shots (sorry Ribeiro). Check out the guys who meet that criteria on this list, and you'll see why. Getting a big centre who passes golden chances to others will not help while Higgins is shooting for crossbars all season. A sly point-man to feed pucks around the goalmouth on the PP will add nothing if Latendresse is expected to be the one to punctuate the plays.

I hope Gainey doesn't confuse needs with wants once the frenzy begins. Needs lead to desperation and desperation contracts (see Samsonov, Sergei). Fulfilling wants creates great feeling around the team, may even allow the team to progress that much quicker, but may just not be worth mortgaging the future (contracts beyond this year) for.

Game #1-3Habs Finally Fall to Bruins; Still Lead Series 2-1

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Sunday April 13th, 2008
Opponent: Boston Bruins
Venue: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA


Team Stripes


Final Score: 1-2 (OT) - Loss

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (L)
Opposition starting goalie: Timothy Thomas (W)

Habs goalscorers: Tom Kostopoulos
Opposition goalscorers: Milan Lucic, Marc Savard



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 Loss to Boston this season (11 GP)
1st Time this season that Boston scored the first goal
1st Time we were ever trailing in this series (lasted 18 minutes)



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

The best play I saw tonight by the Habs was the result of a typical Brisebois miscue in which he pinched at the absolute wrong time allowing a 2-on-1 to happen.

Breeze-by lived up to his name when a penalty to David Krejci was just ending and he decided to go fishing in the offensive zone. The pass from Kostitsyn went awry and it meant an opportunity opened up for Boston. With so little time left in the game at the time (9 minutes) a goal would have certainly ended it. Price, however, once again bailed out his 'defenceman' and made an incredible save when the Bruin decided to shoot. This play kept us in the game much longer than we actually deserved.



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

Carey Price

Carey was fantastic tonight. He very nearly did what I had predicted he would not, steal us a game. Boston had a lot of good chances tonight and Price made a lot of key, difficult saves. He got very unlucky in OT when it seemed like his team crumbled right in front of him. Thomas also had a great game tonight, but to me there was no doubt who the top goalie was.



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

Tom Kostopoulos
- Tom was our most dangerous forward tonight as he crashed and banged all over the ice. His goal was the result of hard fore-checking and great effort. One thing that does bother me though is that our 4th line wingers are our best players so far this series

Maxim Lapierre
- Max played a great game, especially in the first two periods. He was great in the offensive zone as he surprised everyone by generating a few quality scoring chances. He used his speed a lot tonight as he proved yet again how slow the Bruins' defence really is

Bryan Smolinski
- He had a great little pick on our goal tonight. It was something that probably should have been called as interference, but since it wasn't it was a smart play. He played very well again with Tom and Steve as their line continues to be our best defensive AND offensive weapon. It was a good night in the face-off circle as he won 13 of 23

Defencemen

Mike Komisarek
- Mike played with a lot of heart tonight. He may not be 100% healthy yet, but that doesn't seem to be enough to slow him down. He was particularly effective in our zone, especially on the PK. Towards the end of the game he joined in the offence on a few occasions and actually came close to ending the game himself

Josh Gorges
- Josh was on the ice for the wining goal, but it was far from being his fault at all. He was used a lot tonight as Carbo went with 4 defencemen for most of the game and he played like he deserved it. He got involved a bit offensively too, but continues to be snake-bitten in the goal-scoring department. Tonight he could be counted on for good, simple, risk-free defence - the type that wins you games

Goaltender

Carey Price
- Carey gave us a serious chance of being up 3-0 in this series, but not enough of the team bought into that idea. Boston hit him, got in his face and shot the puck from anywhere and all he did was make key saves and keep a cool head. He just has to keep doing the same thing in the next games and hope that his team rises up around him



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

I thought there was a chance that with back-to-back playoff games Alex would have been able to excel during both, but I was wrong. Following his season-long trend of being weak in one of the two games Alex followed up a great game #2 performance with what can only be called a mediocre showing. He can't do it all himself though and the team and Carbo have to know this. He will do his best to do as much as he can (and he does), but he won't always be the one to bail us out. The PP is looking dangerous still, it's just a matter of time till a few pucks find their way through.

Kovalev's Assessment - Average


Overall Comments

Boston has been getting better in each game that we have played them dating back to the regular season. Tonight they were the more imposing team by far, but yet they still barely beat us. We can look at this one of two ways. The first is that they are getting better with each passing game and may be working the Habs out, in which case we should be worried. However, you can also look it as though their best coupled with our worst was still only a close OT affair. I had thought the Habs had a sweep in them and was actually surprised at the effort tonight. The next game now becomes a must-win as we can't afford for them to come back to Montreal with the series even and with all the momentum. Tonight we adjusted our game to their style for the first time in our 11 meetings this year. We have won against every team this year by sticking to our game plan of offence and speed, thus simply overwhelming the opposition.

The Habs were hurting tonight in the offensive-creativity department. We have a lot of offensive weapons, but not too many with much imagination. Players like Higgins, Ryder and Latendresse are good at burying chances, but they lack the abilities to create plays out of nothing. Everyone knows that Saku is the answer, but until he is ready there is not much we can do. Apart from using our next closest thing that is - Mikhail Grabovski. In his last 11 games of the season Grabo put up 7 points and an even rating. That isn't bad for a player who everyone assumes is a defensive liability and nothing more that a fast skater. Right now we are playing with 2 lines - Kovalev's line, which is being watched heavily and Smolinski's line which is scoring, but is ideally needed for other duties.

Streit didn't see much ice tonight which was shocking to me. He is knocked around the league for not being a good enough defensive defenceman and I think Carbo is buying into the hype. Most people assume since he played forward and got so many points he can't be any good in his own end. Well they're wrong. Let's not forget that Mark made the team as a defensive defenceman and was regarded as that for his first season and a half with the team. He plays the position well and if he were partnered with Hamrlik we would see a very good combination. Brisebois on the other wasn't able to have a rebound of one his weak shots tucked in tonight, thus rendering him even more useless than I thought possible. After the first 2 games people were saying he played well, when I think what they meant was that he didn't play as brutal as usual (but was still brutal). Tonight he was horrid, a big reminder why we booed him for 13 years before his latest stint. He wasn't good enough all year for a top-6 (or 7) spot, but now is riding the fact that he was on a great team in 1993 to a permanent roster spot.

Game #1-1 Playoffs Are Here; Habs Take Early Series Lead

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Thursday April 10th, 2008
Opponent: Boston Bruins
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 4-1 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Timothy Thomas (L)

Habs goalscorers: Sergei Kostitsyn, Andrei Kostitsyn, Bryan Smolinski, Tom Kostopoulos
Opposition goalscorers: Shane Hnidy



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 Home Game #1 Since The Kings in 1993
1st Career Playoff Win for Carey Price (1 GP)
1st Career Playoff Goals for Sergei, Andrei Kostitsyn, Kostopoulos (1 GP each)
1st Career Playoff Points for Komisarek, Streit, Lapierre



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

The 3rd line was applying a very nice fore-check all game and were particularly effective on this play.

The Bruins were unable to get control of the puck and tried clearing it by the boards. At the left point Streit made a great play to keep the puck in and instead of shooting he took a look and made a great bank pass to Lapierre behind the net. Max wasted no time with the puck as he quickly fired a perfect pass to Kostopoulos in the slot. Tom one-timed the puck, from his knees, and for the fourth time all game we scored a goal through Thomas' 5-hole.



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

Roman Hamrlik

Gainey made some great acquisitions last summer, but none may be more important than the big Czech defender. He may have been the steal of free-agency, a question that will be answered with a resounding yes if he keeps this play up throughout the playoffs. He was absolutely fantastic in his own end tonight, he really controlled the flow around Price. He had a game high 6 hits and they were all big hits too. Carbo recognized the type of game Roman was having tonight by rewarding him with more ice-time than any other Hab.



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

Maxim Lapierre
- It is still hard to believe that Max didn't make the team at the start of this year. Tonight he was our biggest pest on the ice and even though he may be small he backed down from no one. He led the team in shots with 5, hits with 6 and had a beautiful assist on our fourth goal. He brought a very good mix of offence and fore-checking to the game tonight

Bryan Smolinski
- Smoke built on his hot play of late to put in a very good game #1 performance. His line was a constant nuisance to the Bruins who just couldn't match the depth of our 4th line. His goal came at a very good time as it looked like Boston could have gotten back in the game. I think that he has come to realize that offence is still very possible and encouraged so long as he plays well defensively - which he certainly did

Tomas Plekanec
- The slow Bruins have now had trouble containing Plekanec in 9 games this season and it seems no matter what they try he has the answer. He was very clever with the puck in this game as he not only created chances, but never put himself, nor his linemates, in compromising situations. He excelled in the face-off circle winning 13 of 19 draws

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
- We looked at Markov and Chara as the two game-makers of this series and I think it was pretty obvious who came out on top tonight. Chara has been Markov's main competition this year to win the title of Eastern Defenceman of the year (be it points, defensive play or all-star votes). Markov, however, showed tonight why he is really in a league of his own. His play in both ends was again so dynamic that no opposing team seems to have an answer to his style of play

Roman Hamrlik
- It is great when one of the best defenceman in the league has a great game and is outplayed by a teammate. Hamrlik played with passion and desire tonight showing that he values nothing more than winning. He played with Brisebois this game, but wasn't called on too much to bail out Patrice as Hammer just seemed to take control of all situations himself. He will be almost, if not as, valuable as Markov and Komisarek this series and is truly a gem as a third defenceman

Goaltender

Carey Price
- As predicted Carey showed no signs of nerves tonight as this was just another night at the office. Granted he only faced 18 shots, but he still had to make the saves to give us that chance. The team looked 100% comfortable in front of him, a trait that is necessary at this stage of the season. His communication with his teammates was great tonight as he made very few (if any) mistakes handling the puck. Price's rebound control was fantastic and it meant that Boston's perimeter shots were nothing more that that



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

Kovy played well tonight, but was never called upon to steal us the game. He played a smart, conservative game, which is good considering how many tough contests lay ahead. The Power-Play lacked a little bit of synchronism tonight, but I am glad that an 0/5 night came now and not when we needed a goal. He had a few good chances and played well defensively, pretty much what you would expect from the player wearing the 'C'.

Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good



Overall Comments

What a start! Within 2 minutes we were up 2-0 with 1 goal from each of the Kostitsyn brothers. From then on we never really looked back. Boston did play strong during a 15-minute stretch which spanned the first intermission, but all they could muster was a single goal. After that it was back to good old Habs-Bruins hockey; Montreal shear dominance that is. All season long we beat them with speed, speed and more speed and tonight it was the same deal. For some unknown reason Tim Thomas has no confidence against the Habs and if they even want a fighting chance in this series they will have to make a switch at some point. The atmosphere was absolutely electric and the players fed immensely off the energy of the crowd. No team does pre-game psych-ups better than Montreal and I have to admit I was totally pumped at the start of this one. If playoff hockey means non-stop effort and action then we were treated to a true Montreal playoff classic tonight.

I was a little disappointed to see Brisebois and Dandenault playing tonight as I really thought O'Byrne and Grabovski had earned their spots. I know that Guy wanted to go with experience and experience is what those two have. I would like to point out, however, that in their 4 combined Stanley Cups (Dandy - 3, Breezer -1) neither player had anything to do with the victory. We aren't talking about Yzerman, Sakic or Niedermayer here, we are talking about guys who were in the right spot at the right times in their career. Youth and inexperience has been getting the job done all year for Montreal, so I was sorry to see this move. After all how else will those youngsters gain their experience. Soon, however, we will be getting two very good veterans back which should end this debate. Look for Koivu and Bouillon to take the spots of Brisebois and Dandenault and to add even more to this great group.

In all 5 Habs played in their first career playoff games tonight and all 5 had outstanding efforts - Kostitsyn, Kostitsyn, Lapierre, Kostopoulos and Price. I don't think that experience will play such a huge role in this series as we just have too many weapons for that to be a deciding factor. We know what to do against this team and more importantly we know how to do it. All four lines were going tonight and all 6 D. We played like a team and got the result because of it. The rest of the series will get tougher, especially the games in Boston, so the key is to keep fore-checking, keep skating and to keep exploiting a team we know oh so well.

Round 1: Montreal - BostonHabs Preview

Go to Topham's Bruins Preivew.

The Habs head into tonight's Game #1 as true contenders, not just for this series, but for the cup. Things have to line up right if we expect to be celebrating in mid-June and I believe that the first star has aligned for us with a Boston match-up. We have played extremely well against Boston over the last 6 years - that includes two 1st round playoff wins. Some of the players have changed, our coaches have changed, even our style has changed, but one thing that hasn't is that the Canadiens always rise up in the spring. The Habs have always been the best team at exceeding expectations in the playoffs, let's see if they can do it one more time.

Here is a look at the key players for Montreal in round 1. If these players play up to (or exceed) expectations then so will the team as a whole.

The Last Line - Carey Price - #31 G


Carey hasn't done much of anything but win since Christmas 2006. A World Junior gold medal coupled with a Calder Cup championship will prove to be invaluable this year as nothing can substitute winning. It should also be mentioned that during the 2006-2007 season he was named CHL Goalie of the year, World Junior MVP and Calder Cup MVP. He has certainly earned the right to be playing in the NHL, on this stage, at such a young age.

As for his play in the NHL he has been stellar, especially since the trade of our former #1 Cristobal Huet. His save % rose to .920 for the season which ranks 7th in the NHL which is very impressive for a rookie. Starting with a win against Boston on March 20th he has won 7 straight games. He ended the year as the NHL's 1st Star for the last week of play and was NHL Rookie of the Month for March. Against Boston this year he is 5-0-0 and has only allowed 11 goals.

Whether he is Patrick Roy or Martin Brodeur is still yet to be determined, but I think what we can all be assured of is that he will give us solid play. Only 12 of his 39 decisions were regulation losses this year as he was 24-12-3. As the first place team we will need solid goaltending to go deep, but goaltending isn't our only chance to succeed. What Carey will do is wins games for us that should be won and keep us in close games. He will steal the odd game for the Habs this year, but it isn't something that we should bank on. The team will do it's best to relieve the kid of the immense pressure that the city and country is putting on him, but to be fair if there were one player that can handle it it's him.

The Game Maker - Andrei Markov - #79 D

Markov has been the leader on the Habs blue-line for a few seasons now, but what happened this year went beyond just our team. Andrei played in the All-Star game this year and was the top vote-getting defenceman. It seems that the rest of the league is realizing what we have known for years - Markov is special, an elite 2-way defenceman. There is no better D-Man in the East than Andrei right now. He will be called on a lot this series to lead a very experienced corps.

His stats show that he really can do it all. He played in all 82 games this year finishing with a very impressive 58 points (6th in the league). His 24:58 minutes of ice time was the 15th best average among NHL skaters this year and he played more hockey than all but 6 other NHLers. His play against Boston has been not much different than his play against the rest of the league - in 8 games he had 2 goals, 3 assists and was +5. He has been a model of consistency for us all year and can do well against any opposition.

He will be our number one shutdown D-man this series as he and Komisarek will see a lot of ice on the PK and against Boston's top 2 lines. Markov's responsibilities, however, won't stop there. We will need him to show the same play for us on the PP that he has shown all year. Without our Power-Play going we will be in tough, but I am sure the quarterback of the #1 unit in the league will bring what he has all year - goals. He is our most important piece in this series as his play is so dynamic. If he is on we will do well, if he struggles then you will see the whole team do the same. The good news is that his career and season have been nothing more than consistent - he knows how to get the job done.

The Game Breaker - Alexei Kovalev - #27 RW

Our most exciting and dynamic forward has been Alex all year. He played in all 82 Habs games of which I can count on one hand his weak performances. His 35 goals and 49 assists surprised many in the hockey world, including myself. What didn't surprise me, however, was his effort, his creativity and his leadership. Alex has always shown the aforementioned qualities, even last year. The difference this year was more trust from his coaches and fellow players and let's face it, better linemates. He wasn't asked to carry a disgruntled veteran this year (Samsonov), but instead was asked to lead 2 very eager young-guns.

His play against Boston has simply been spectacular. He has used his speed and that of his linemates to expose a very slow and weak Boston defence. He gets very tricky when he plays Boston as some of his best moves all year have been against the Bs. He missed goal/game status versus Boston by one as he notched 7 in 8 games, he also added 4 assists. Boston seem to be a team tailor made for Alex to play against. They give him more space than any other team does and he makes the most of that.

I think that we can count on a great performance every night from Alex this series. If there was going to be one night where he may not show up as much it may be game 3. Whenever the Habs play on back-to-back nights he generally fades in one of the games. This is, however, the playoffs so I wouldn't be surprised if we saw that trend disappear. The former Stanley Cup Champion (NYR - 1994) seems more excited than anyone about getting the job done this year. His father has made his first ever trip to Canada to see his son play. Alex had to convince the patriarch of his family to come, but now that he is here he is loving the atmosphere. Alex told him that this wasn't Pittsburgh or New York, that Montreal in the playoffs is something special - and, it really is. His father's presence will certainly help the sniper keep focused, but it is still great to see a player as excited as all of us about the atmosphere in Montreal from April onwards.

The Great Hope - Christopher Higgins - #21 LW

Christopher is a big question mark for the Habs this time around. In theory he should provide us with the secondary offence that we need, but I believe that is dependant on the play of his linemates. There is still a team wide search to figure out line 1A. Higgins has enjoyed so much success with Saku and Ryder that I am positive we will see that combination at some point in the near future. What we need though is Higgins to play at an elite level with or without those two. He wears an 'A' on his chest for a reason, I am hoping he can lead on the ice, no matter who he plays with.

His play as of late has been great - 6 goals in his last 9 games. In mid-March Carbo gave Chris a DVD showcasing his goals. That obviously helped Higgins re-discover what he was capable of and his play has really improved. What scares me a little is that a he is a player that at certain times seems to forget how to play his game. He goes through long stretches where he is no more than a spectator on the ice. The good news is that his playoff play 2 years ago was very solid and could have been even better had Koivu not been taken out - 4 points in 6 games.

We need 2 lines (at least) scoring goals in this series if we want to win. Begin, Smolinski and company have done a good job at chipping in lately, but they will have other roles to play, so I wouldn't bank on goals from them. Koivu will deliver when he is back, but until then Chris must give us this option. He is capable of great offensive play, both scoring and fore-checking. Unlike other Habs, however, his play against Boston hasn't been too spectacular (5 points in 8 games). He is tough though, he played in all 82 games, and despite ups and downs all year he has never given up. If he gets hot we will have no problems this round, if he doesn't Carbo will have to adjust fast.

Others to Watch

Saku Koivu - #11 C
Saku has always been a playoff warrior. In fact any tournament he plays in he is usually one of the top (if not the top) player. He will likely miss games 1, 2 and 3, but hopefully he will come back very soon after that. I can't count how many injuries and illnesses the poor guy has had over the years, but he always bounces back stronger than before. A small broken bone will not be enough to hold back our star centre and when he comes back you will notice his strong play. If he comes back, he will create goals and we shouldn't have a hard time reaching round 2.


Mike Komisarek - #8 D
Mike will be returning after missing 7 games due to a sore hip. The Habs played very well in his absence, but you can trust me when I say they would have played even better with him in. He has formed a great partnership with Marky all year and I am excited to see them reunited tonight. He has been our best defensive defenceman all season long, something that allows Andrei more offensive freedom. He will be tough this series, but the key for him is while being tough to stay out of the box. Most teams recognize that it is easy to rile Mike up. He will take stupid penalties from time to time and that will hurt the Habs is he does. If he stays out of the box and plays a simple game the rest of the team will take care of the rest. I predict Mike will shine in these playoffs and that the hockey world will hail him as a true defensive powerhouse as they have done with Reghr and Beauchemin in recent years.

Bryan Smolinski - #20 C
Bryan has been a different player since early March and is now looking like a very valuable acquisition. We picked him up for his veteran leadership, playoff experience and even his offensive play. Unlike his days in Ottawa, Chicago or LA he is now asked to be a defensive, 4th line player. I think it took Bryan a long time to accept his role, but since he has he has been a true force. There was a game in February against Florida in which he was used in OT on the PP with Saku and Kovy - we won that game with a goal generated from those 3 and I don't think he has looked back. He accepts his defensive role, but knowing that he had the coaches' confidence in key offensive situations helped Bryan to get his own confidence back. His 111 playoff games worth of experience will go a long way to help us this round. If he, Kostopoulos and Begin can play like they did down the stretch then we have nothing to worry about on our checking line.

Mark Streit - #32 D
Can the Habs biggest surprise player of the year (and possibly all time) keep it going now? I honestly believe that he will. He may only be in his third season in the NHL, but let's not forget he is 30 and has bags of experience. The best of all his experience may have come from the Torino Olympics where he captained his native Switzerland to an improbable victory over Team Canada. His skating and puck-handling will be key for the Habs in this series as will his play on the PP. Anytime Mark gets involved offensively I always see it as a bonus though. We have so many weapons that getting secondary defenceman scoring is awesome, but not crucial to our success. He will hopefully be teamed up with Hamrlik which will allow Mark to get involved in Boston's zone more. Hammer is a rock in his own end and, like Komisreak with Markov, his play will allow Streit to take more liberties with the puck.

Go to Topham's Bruins Preivew.

Game #811st in The East Still Up For Grabs; Habs Keep Pace With Pens

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Thursday April 3rd, 2008
Opponent: Buffalo Sabres
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 3-1 - Win

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

Habs goalscorers: Christopher Higgins, Bryan Smolinski (2)
Opposition goalscorers: Ales Kotalik



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 the Habs have had 7 50-Point Scorers Since 1989-1990
1st Time the Habs have had 4 25-Goal Scorers Since 1995-1996
1st NHL Game for Matt D'Agostini



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

Our first goal on the Power-Play was our nicest tonight. The Habs PP is so effective these days that I have come to take goals like this one for granted. Kovalev fed it back to the point to Hamrlik. Hammer then sent the puck straight back to the right side to Streit who released a very good slapshot. In front of the net Higgins was providing the screen and had just the right touch to tip it up over Miller.



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

Bryan Smolinski

Smoke scored a pair tonight as he and his linemates (Kostopoulos and Begin) had great chemistry. He was very effective as a penalty-killer and was just all around solid in our own end. His experience showed tonight and will be a valuable asset in a week's time.



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

Bryan Smolinski
- Bryan got his 650th career point tonight which when you think about it is very solid. It may have taken him a while to accept his role (a la Bonk) as a checking forward, but all seems well these days. He has been one of our top forwards of late and ironically he is also getting more involved offensively

Alexei Kovalev
- For a second straight game Alex played like the captain. He was fantastic with the puck, but his play without it was equally as impressive. He got very involved physically in this game and made sure his opponents knew that he wasn't the type to back down. He was used less than usual on the PK tonight, but when he was used he did well

Sergei Kostitsyn
- Sergei was very gritty tonight as he got involved in all aspects of play. He was flashy on offence, despite not getting a point, and was also tough in his own end. He was not afraid to muck it up with the Sabres tonight which is nice to see from such a young player

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
- Another quality performance from the big man. He has not missed a beat in Komisarek's absence, he has actually looked even better. Tonight he was very physical and, though, I get nervous he will pick up a stupid injury, it is great to see such a good player being able to fight for himself

Ryan O'Byrne
- It will be a tough call for Carbo when Bou and Komi are back because at times Ryan really does look like he deserves a top-6 spot. Whether he plays in the playoffs or not is actually good news for the Habs since it means we will have 7 quality defencemen to call on when needed. He blocked 5 shots, dished out 6 hits, was +2 and had nearly 20 minutes of ice-time

Goaltender

Carey Price
- If confidence is truly the key to goaltending then I think we are in a very good place going into next week. Carey stood up to everyone and everything tonight as he truly dictated the play in and around his net. His puck-handling was more or less good with a few close calls and still remains an area of concern. His shot-blocking, however, looked fantastic as the Sabres had no real answer to his solid play



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

No points for Kovy tonight, but 2 for the Habs - the way he would want it, I am sure. Kovy proved tonight that he is there for his teammates and is quite possibly the farthest thing from 'selfish player' status that he can be. He looks very ready for the post-season as he is right now playing at his quickest and most dangerous of the the year.

Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good



Overall Comments

Buffalo were desperate tonight because they knew that a loss would mean no playoffs for them. Their elimination marks only the third time that a defending President's Trophy winner has failed to make the playoffs. (Habs '71-'72, NYR '92-'93). The only good news for them is that in both those cases the teams went on to win the Cup the following season. The fact that Buffalo played a spirited game tonight and were desperate was important for us. Even though we are assured of a playoff spot we don't want to become complacent. Playing teams that have something on the line ensures a good, hard, playoff like game. The Habs did extremely well in all of the main categories and I was particularly impressed with their PK. This season we haven't been all that good with a man disadvantage, but over the past 5-10 games we have turned that around. Tonight was a good example of how crucial a good PK can be towards a team's success. If we can rely on our PK the same way that we rely on our PP then I like our chances.

Luckily for us Ottawa won tonight which kept them in 6th place. A first round match-up with them or even the Huet/Ovechkin led Capitals would be something I would like to avoid at all costs. People often say that you have to be the best team to win the cup, thus you shouldn't fear anyone. I, however, disagree and say that in order to win the cup you need to face 4 suitable opponents at the right time, you don't necessarily have to be the best of all the 16 teams. I would much rather have Pittsburgh play Washington and New Jersey play Ottawa than play any 3 of those 4 teams. Not only would a match-up with 3 of those clubs drain the Habs it would also severely limit our chances of going deep.

Game #79No Koivu, No Luck - Habs Lose to Leafs

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Saturday March 29th, 2008
Opponent: Toronto Maple Leafs
Venue: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON


Team Stripes


Final Score: 2-4 - Loss

Habs starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak (L)
Opposition starting goalie: Vesa Toskala (W)

Habs goalscorers: Mathieu Dandenault, Tom Kostopoulos
Opposition goalscorers: Anton Stralman (2), Jiri Tlusty (2)



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 for Halak in his new mask
1st Game that Mark Streit has missed all year
1st Time that Dandenault has played defence this year



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

Ryan O'Byrne elbowed a Leaf halfway through the first period which led to a game misconduct and a 5 minute Toronto Power-Play. It was a brutal call by the ref(s), one which was surely influenced by the reaction the player had to the hit.

Out of this play came our best moment in the game and something that I must sadly call the play of the game. The Habs penalty-killers were absolutely fantastic for the 5 minute stretch allowing just a single shot through on Halak. It seemed that this kill, at the time, was the momentum-shifter the Habs would need to get going tonight; it turned out to be a rare strong point in an otherwise weak game.



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

Andrei Markov

Andrei had to step up tonight as our defence corps is starting to take some serious hits. With Komisarek and Streit out it was already a dire situation for the Habs. Added to the list of missing blue-liners throughout the game were O'Byrne (game-misconduct) and Bouillon. That left us with 5 defenceman (of 9) to play with, two of which are Brisebois (no explanation needed) and Dandenault - a player that hasn't played D in almost a year. Markov was our mightiest player tonight and made our situation look a lot better than it actually was.



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

Bryan Smolinski
- Bryan and his line played a good game and did exactly what was asked of them - they scored a goal, skated for 60 minutes and actually presented the Leafs with a fore-check. Bryan himself ended at +1 and was 10/14 on face-offs

Christopher Higgins
- Higgins was the only player on our 1B line that didn't look completely lost without Koivu. He skated very well and generated quite a few chances. He had 3 shots, including a near-goal on a penalty-shot

Tom Kostopoulos
- Tom played a hard game from start to finish and though he didn't play much he made the most of his ice-time. He managed to score his 7th of the year in the dying seconds of the game which is a good sign as it shows he has character and will fight right until the end for us

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
- Roman played another decent game in his own end as he ended up with an Even rating. He did very well on the PK as he spent almost 8 minutes of his 25 on the ice while Toronto had an extra man

Andrei Markov
- He led defencemen in shots with 3 and led all Habs in ice time (PK and overall - 9:04, 25:28). He played well on the PP, but the unit looked very lost without Streit - Markov took over point-shot responsibilities tonight and seemed to handle himself quite well

Goaltender

Carey Price
- This was not Halak's night. Jaro's game in the ACC should have been in April of last year, not tonight - this will be a night to forget. Carey deserved the night off and I am sure the fact that he got a rest will serve the team better over the next few weeks. Halak didn't look too comfortable all game and let in a goal (Tornoto's second) that he shouldn't have - it essentially killed the Habs' chance



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

Kovalev likely had his worst offensive game of the season and quite possibly worst one as a Hab. He was invisible in the offensive zone and he actually made a few mistakes which resulted in give-aways. His penalty-killing saved him a 'Bad' rating tonight, but I assure you we do not have him around to kill penalties.

Kovalev's Assessment - Average


Overall Comments

Toronto didn't let their recent elimination from the playoffs stop them from playing another hard game against us. No matter how high or low either team is in the standings a Leaf/Hab match-up will always be a tough game. We seemed lost without Koivu out there all night, even Kovy's line lacked direction. You never really know the value of a player (or players - Streit too) until you play without them. The last time I remember Koivu being out for a while with an injury was in the '06 playoffs against Carolina - a series in which we lost four straight without Saku. Sak is our leader, both on and off the ice. His offence was surely missed tonight, but more importantly was his leadership.

This loss means little in the grand scheme of things which has become a very nice luxury to have. All we need is one more point to clinch top in our division and a top 2 seeding. Coming first in the East would be nice, but knowing that at least second is now quite likely I must admit that I am happier than I thought I would be at this point in the season. Winning or losing games has now become my second priority as the new focus is getting 100% healthy in time for the playoffs. Komisarek, Streit, Koivu and even Bouillon have all been huge reasons for our success this year and I fear that without them we will not be the same team. We need absolutely every player at our disposal in 2 weeks time starting with players like Saku and Kovy and going right down to others such as Dandenault, Smolinski and Begin.

Game #77Canadiens Play With Fire Against Sens, but Get the Win and a Playoff Spot Nonetheless

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Monday March 24th, 2008
Opponent: Ottawa Senators
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 7-5 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Martin Gerber (L), Ray Emery

Habs goalscorers: Andrei Kostitsyn (2), Christopher Higgins, Francis Bouillon, Andrei Markov, Mikhail Grabovski, Tom Kostopoulos
Opposition goalscorers: Antoine Vermette, Dany Heatley (2), Martin Lapointe, Jason Spezza



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 Team to clinch a playoff spot in the East
1st 7 Goal effort against Ottawa this year



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

The first goal, the one that got all of the fun going was the play of the game. There was some very good puck-control and passing that went on between Hammer and Pleks which made this one possible. Most of the work for the goal was done in the neutral zone before Plekanec broke in on the right side with good control. His best option for a pass was Kostitsyn, but the defensive coverage was good so Tom opted for a non-conventional pass. The pass he made was very smart and something you don't see nearly enough of in the NHL - it was off the back boards, around the net and out the other side. On the left was Andrei Kostitsyn who received the tape-to-tape pass well and put it up into an open net as Gerber was over on the other side in reaction to the pass that had just gone by him.



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

Andrei Kostitsyn

Tonight Andrei hit two personal milestones - 25 goals and 50 points. His 2 goals tonight were goal-scorers goals as he had no hesitation whatsoever in putting them to the back of the net. He was dangerous around the Ottawa goalies in this one, especially at even strength. Aside from his goals he played a strong physical game; he won a lot of battles along the boards and in the corners.



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

Bryan Smolinski
- Smolinski had just a single point tonight, an assist on Bouillon's goal. At the time of the game that he set-up Bou the Habs were badly outplaying Ottawa and it was Bryan's line that was playing at the highest tempo. He was on the ice for our 5-on-3 and played well; he won 2 key face-offs during the 2-man advantage

Alexei Kovalev
- Kovy had 2 assists tonight, both of which were passes to the point and were on the power-play. There aren't too many players in the league that can control the puck and pass it like he does on the PP and for that we should be very grateful. His 2 passes weren't much, but I have a feeling a lot of other players would have trouble getting similar assists. He created so much space and time for his teammates tonight, especially his point-men - the points are just a clear example of his value to our team

Andrei Kostitsyn
- It is very nice to see Andrei hit the 50 point mark as he becomes the 6th Hab to do so this year. Believe it or not it was only 7 years ago that the Habs went 3 years in a row without a single 50 point man. Andrei was fast tonight and his shot was on, it was another very good game for the 'other guy'

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
- He played a very strong game, especially offensively. He scored a goal and added an assist giving him 57 points on the year. His play on the power-play is so dynamic that it just seems to baffle opposing teams. He may not be the most creative player on our PP, but I bet would rank top 5 in the East in that category - and that's the big reason we have been #1 on the PP all year

Roman Hamrlik
- Roman's best play of the game came when he had a 2-on-1 in the second period and came ever so close to scoring. The play was created when he himself blocked a shot and then used his surprising speed to get loose. He was solid in our own end for most of the game and added an assist to cap off a good night

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak
- I am not entirely sure what caused the Habs' meltdown in the third, but I know that Carey played a bigger role than anyone else. The Canadiens looked like they were just playing the last 20 minutes as a formality and no one showed this more than our young keeper. Price is extremely lucky that our offence was on fire tonight because I guarantee that 9 times out of 10 we won't score 6+ goals against Ottawa. He was careless with the puck behind his own net (he cost us the goal I had foreseen, but fortunately not the game) and his rebound control was very weak. This game was a great reminder of the talent we have on the bench in Halak, a guy who must be given at least one more chance before the playoffs



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

Kovalev and his line dominated Alfie and his tonight...for the first two periods that is. He was darting all over the ice early and was creating chance after chance. His work with the puck was fantastic as he had no problem keeping it away from a very tentative Ottawa D. He worked well on special teams especially during some third period penalty-kills.

Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good



Overall Comments

Well, it wasn't the prettiest finish that I have ever seen, but at this point who cares. We did it, we got our 96 points and now we have officially clinched a playoff spot. We played two of our best periods of the year to start this game and most definitely our top two against Ottawa. We were all over the Sens' goalies and D right off the bat, so much so that Alfredsson and company were hardly noticeable for 40 minutes. Instead of sitting back and wondering what Ottawa was going to do next, how they were going to embarrass us in our own building, we took it to them and played like we do against almost every other team (still waiting for the same against Detroit and Anaheim). This unfortunately all changed in the third period as it was back to normal Habs-Sens hockey - us watching them as we try to hold on for dear life. Ottawa showed that they are indeed still a very dangerous team and when they are given an opening they will score. They outscored us 4-0 in the final frame and out-shot us by 10 (14-4). A win, however, is a win and this should be a great example to ourselves of how we can beat this team. Let's just hope that the next time we play them the team that went into the dressing room after 40 minutes faces them, and not the team that came out of it.

With the win we now sit on top of the East with a 3 point lead over the next closest team; Pittsburgh, who lost 1-4 to the Isles tonight. We now have a very comfortable 7 point lead on Ottawa as winning the division and a top-2 seed seems more and more likely (sorry Southeast). It is hard to pick out the story of the year for the Habs so far - is it Kovalev? Markov? Streit? Kostitsyn? Plekanec? Price? Trading a #1 for nothing? Having the league's best PP? Scoring the most goals in the NHL? Having 6 (soon to be 7) 50 point scorers? Or is it being 1st in the conference and assured of a playoff spot? To me, it has to be, all of the above. A team that has so much to be surprised about is surely a team that is not only on the rise, but a team that seems to have arrived. My biggest hope now is that the biggest surprise is yet to come, we'll just have to wait and see!

Game #71Price Outduels Brodeur to Put Habs Back on Top

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Tuesday March 11th, 2008
Opponent: New Jersey Devils
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 4-0 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Martin Brodeur (L)

Habs goalscorers: Bryan Smolinski, Saku Koivu, Maxim Lapierre, Michael Ryder
Opposition goalscorers: None



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 Season-Series Win Over NJ Since 1992-93



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

The play of the game tonight lasted 4 minutes and was accomplished in most part by nearly half of the team. With the score at 1-0 Andrei Kostitsyn accidentally took a high-sticking (stick to un-visored face) penalty. Added to the usual 2 minutes were the bonus 2 for cutting the player, which, in my opinion is the worst rule this league has ever come up with. That put the Habs in a very tough position, but for 4 minutes we stood on our heads and halted the Devils; I believe that was the defining moment of this game. There are at least 9 penalty-killers that helped us kill this critical penalty. Of them I just wanted to mention a few who really stood out for their superb work; they are Price, Bouillon, Kostopoulos, Komisarek and Smolinski. Those players rarely get a mention in this section, but it goes to show that to be great and to get to the top you need your whole team to play at their best.



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

Michael Ryder

Mike had quite possibly his best game of the season tonight. Scoring his 13th of the year was merely icing on the cake for the Newfie who played 60 minutes a great hockey. He was a physical force, his passing and shooting were both great and I haven't seen him hustle like this in weeks. He was noticed on each of shifts which is quite rare for any player other than Kovalev these days.



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
- This is why I am glad we didn't trade Ryder and this is why I am glad we stuck with him all season. Michael has so much ability and skill, and, although he may not be the scorer he was when he was on a better line/seeing more PP time, he is still a wicked weapon to have. He played a complete hockey game, in all facets possible

Saku Koivu
- We may not need as much of a reminder of Koivu's value as of Ryder's, but it is still worth noting how valuable the captain has been over the past couple of months. Most people wanted him traded in December and January and now I think it is quite evident that we wouldn't trade him for the world. He was a constant nuisance for the Devils tonight - he was especially fantastic on the PK

Sergei Kostitsyn
- I continue to be surprised by Sergei as he has been one of our top forwards since he was called up. He just keeps getting better and better as each game goes by, this one perhaps being his best yet. He got 2 assists tonight giving him 23 points in 41 games. That's not too bad for a 20 year-old pretty much straight out of junior. He was explosive tonight, his speed, his passing, his vision, it was all there

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
- Markov was another one of the big penalty-killers that helped erase the 4 minute disadvantage. He, like those players above, played a complete game in every sense of the word. His puck-movement and play without the puck were both incredible tonight as he gave Lou Lamoriello a first hand reminder of what a top-flight defenceman looks like

Francis Bouillon
- What can you say about this guy? People have doubted his strength, size and skill his whole life and he just continues to prove every single person wrong. After an average 2006-07 and an average start to this year there were those who started doubting him again, but luckily Gainey didn't give into to the media pressure and kept Franc around as a regular. Tonight was another great example of how he is more than just a regular, he is actually an above-average defenceman. He hit anything that moved, but unlike other big-hitting D-men of the league, he never let himself get out of position

Goaltender

Carey Price
- Wow! Now that was a game. This has to have been Carey's best game as a Hab, quite possibly of his career. I am sure that he wanted to prove something to Coach Sutter who snubbed him on Team Canada a few years back and maybe also wanted to show Brodeur that he can play too. He was very alert all game, his positioning was great and he, thankfully, never got into trouble handling the puck



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

Tonight Kovy's big task was to take the attention off the other 3 lines as the Devils' plan seemed to revolve around shutting him down. They may have held him off the scoresheet, but I still thought that he had his way with them. The 3 other lines benefited from this extra space and time proving yet again how valuable depth is.

Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good



Overall Comments

That was quite possibly the most complete hockey game I have seen the Habs play since Game #2 of the '06 playoffs. We played as a team tonight, getting a total commitment from all 20 players. We started the game hard as we applied a lot of pressure on Brodeur. Instead of shutting down into defensive mode when they countered we just came right back to their end and applied even more pressure. Our goaltending was great, our defence as solid as ever and our goals were pretty to say the least. It isn't often that you can get 4 past Marty in his home town, so that just makes this even sweeter. We beat the Devils 3 times this year (out of 4) and I have to attribute our success to the come-from-behind win down in Jersey in January. Coming back from 1-3 down to win 4-3 taught us a valuable lesson that I hope we will never forget; the Devils are beatable, Brodeur is beatable and that we are better than New Jersey.

At the beginning of the season I was quite confidant that we could and probably would make the playoffs, so our goal of 96 points never seemed out of reach. What I didn't expect, however, was that after 71 games we would only be 9 points back of our goal and sitting atop the Eastern Conference. We have 11 games to make sure we get to where we want to be, but with performances like the one I saw tonight (and that I see on most nights) I am not too worried. We have almost instantly become the fastest team in the league, the best PP team in the league and the highest scoring team in the league - I can't even believe it sometimes. At this point I wouldn't rule out a first place finish after 82 games, 100 points and quite a bit of playoff success. The key now is to remain focused, to beat the teams that we are in competition with and to prepare mentally and physically for what could be a long Spring of hockey.

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.