Unfortunately for hockey traditionalists throughout North America, this rivalry simply isn’t the same anymore. And that’s putting it nicely. One could argue the reasons for this, whether it be Boston’s new-found hatred for the Vancouver Canucks, or simply Montreal’s irrelevance to the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

“Certainly, it doesn’t have the same flare it had maybe a year ago.” – Claude Julien

Regardless of such, it’s simply been just another game on the schedule each time Boston and Montreal have faced off this season. This was no different on Thursday evening when the two squads met for the fifth time this year.

The game began with a bang as the B’s quickly got on the board, thanks to a surprising contribution from an unlikely source. Playing in his first NHL game since a December 10 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena, rookie Bruins’ forward Jordan Caron took advantage of the opportunity given him by head coach Claude Julien as he tapped the puck into a yawning net at the 1:23 mark of the opening frame to give his team an early 1-0 lead.

“I saw Johnny (Boychuk) was going to rim it around and I wanted to get on the forecheck and it bounced in front so I was just there for an easy tap in.” – Jordan Caron

The score would remain this way throughout the balance of a first period controlled by uncharacteristically sloppy play from both sides, with Boston holding the edge as the team’s went to the rooms.

The second period mirrored much of what we saw in the first, neither team was able to muster many quality scoring chances nor come close to putting anything up on the scoreboard.

In the third period the B’s would once again strike quickly as bruising winger Milan Lucic flipped a backhand past Carey Price at the 3:43 mark of the final frame to extend the Boston lead to 2-0. Perhaps the only bit of unsettling roughness came soon after as Habs’ d-man P.K. Subban went up-high for a hit on the B’s top-line center David Krejci. This of course was met my much resistance from the Black and Gold, which resulted in a double-minor roughing call against Andrew Ference. The Habs’ were able to take advantage of the ensuing power-play as utility man Yannick Weber’s wrister found it’s way through a screen and past Thomas to cut the Montreal deficit to one. However, the Habs’ late flurries, in hopes of tying the score, were met by heavy resistance and the Bruins were able to hold on for their third straight victory over their once-hated rivals.

Being able to find a way to pull out a victory on a night when you don’t have your best game is truly an asset for the Bruins’ and is the mark of a true championship team. Forward Milan Lucic expressed his relief in being able to come away with the crucial two points on Thursday.

“It seemed like both teams weren’t really that sharp with their passing – it seemed like the puck was spinning all over the place and jumping off everyone’s sticks. I think (there were) a lot of blocked shots, a lot of shots that missed the net and [it was] just one of those games where you have to fight it through to get to the end and get to the result. For us, I don’t think it was our best effort but we found a way to win.” – Milan Lucic

KEY STATS

Goals–                       MON (1)                   BOS (2)

Shots–                       MON (34)                    BOS (30)

Power-Play–           MON (1-2)                   BOS (0-5)

Penalty-Kill–           MON (5-5)                    BOS (1-2)

• Ben’s Three Stars– ….. 3.) Jordan Caron  ….. 2.) Milan Lucic   ….. 1.) Tim Thomas

What’s Next?

From here the B’s will depart on a four-game road trip that will begin on Saturday evening in Carolina, when they face-off with Eric Staal’s ‘Canes for the final time in Raleigh this season. The trip will also see stops in Miami, Tampa Bay and New Jersey. The Habs will now return home for a Saturday contest with the red-hot Senators at the Bell Centre.

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Tonight’s Line-Up (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS

Pouliot–Bergeron–Seguin

Lucic–Krejci–Horton

Caron–Kelly–Peverley

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE

Chara–Boychuk

Seidenberg–Corvo

Ference–McQuaid

GOALTENDER

Thomas

Rask

Scratches– ….. Marchand (Suspended) , Kampfer (Healthy) , Hamill (Healthy)

NEWS & NOTES

– This afternoon the NHL announced the rosters for their 2012 all-star game that will emanate from Canada’s capital city of Ottawa later this month. As it turns out, the Bruins will send the same contingent to the festivities as they did one year ago; Tyler Seguin, Zdeno Chara, and Tim Thomas. The most notable of snubs was undoubtedly the B’s phenomenal two-way pivot Patrice Bergeron. Despite his 36 points and +27 rating this season, the humble alternate captain was once again overlooked by the NHL brass. Montreal’s lone representative will be goaltender Carey Price.

– As I reported on Tuesday, the Bruins have officially called up forward Jordan Caron from Providence of the AHL. Caron will likely be the 12th/13th forward for the B’s and accompany them on their upcoming four-game road trip to Raleigh, Miami, Tampa and Newark.

– Forward Brad Marchand will once again be missing from the B’s lineup as he sits out game number two of his five game suspension. Former Canadien Benoit Pouliot will continue to skate in his place with Bergeron and Tyler Seguin. In two games on that line, the Alfred, Ontario native has registered a goal and three assists. Following Tuesday’s win over the Jets, Pouliot spoke of his excitement in getting another chance against his former team.

“It’s going to be nice to see the old friends. We’re going to play hard, play well and we’ll be fine” — Benoit Pouliot

– For the second straight match-up between these two Original Six franchises, the Habs will be without their captain Brian Gionta. The Rochester, New York native is out indefinitely while nursing a bicep tear. The much-maligned Scott Gomez is expected to fill his spot in the lineup.

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“Losing one of your top players like that, we all have to step up individually and as a team and tonight we did a good job.” – Tyler Seguin

Despite the suspension of first line winger Milan Lucic, the Boston Bruins continued their red-hot roll on Monday night against the hated Canadiens.

Playing without Lucic due to the one-game suspension handed down by the NHL’s discipline Czar Brendan Shanahan, the Bruins’ used goals from three different players on three different lines to edge out Montreal for a 3-2 victory on Monday night. The B’s victory gave new Habs’ head coach Randy Cunneyworth his second straight loss and a defeat in his first taste of the heated Boston–Montreal rivalry. Meanwhile, the Bruins improved their record to 19-2-1 over their past 22 games.

Scoring his sixth goal of the season at the 12:13 mark of the first period, former-Canadien Benoit Pouliot notched the first goal of his career against his former team.

“It always feels good (scoring against his former team). Obviously winning is a lot better, it feels great. And putting a goal out there, it feels good.” — Benoit Pouliot

Pouliot’s emergence as a truly reliable third line presence on this Bruins’ team is something his head coach has definately taken notice of.

“Improvement. I think he’s gotten better as the season’s gone on. He’s adapted well to our hockey club. We talked about being patient at the beginning of the year when a lot of people probably were writing him off, and right now he’s showing that he’s very capable of playing on our club and doing a great job. He scores big goals for us, and he’s got four game-winners so far.” – Claude Julien

Unfortunately for Boston, noted Bruins’ killer Tomas Plekanec would even the score at one only 1:13 later after converting on a pretty feed from Michael Cammalleri. The score would remain that way until the 2:42 mark of the second frame when top-line pivot David Krejci was credited with his sixth of the season after an Andrew Ference centering pass deflected off his leg and past Price to give Boston the lead. Collecting an insurance tally with less than six minutes to go in the game, courtesy of Brad Marchand’s beauty of a back-hand dangle, Boston was now ahead by two goals. “Seguy (Tyler Seguin) made a great play to Marchy (Brad Marchand) there. Great instinct by Marchy to go right behind that D to bring him back. He read that poke check real well so it was a great goal” said Patrice Bergeron.

The goal by Marchand turned out to be of utmost importance for the B’s, as they would allow the Habs a sliver of hope after Erik Cole deflected one past Tim Thomas for his 12th tally of the season.

However, Boston was able to hold off the Habs for the final 1:14 and come away with their 5th straight victory.

From The Room:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Seguin

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pouliot

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thomas

KEY STATS

Goals–                       MON (2)                BOS (3)

Shots–                       MON (35)              BOS (31)

Power-Play–           MON (0-2)           BOS (0-3)

Penalty-Kill–           MON (3-3)          BOS (2-2)

• Three Stars– ….. 3.) Brad Marchand  ….. 2.) Benoit Pouliot  ….. 1.) Tim Thomas

What’s Next?

The Bruins will have the luxury of a few days off while at home this week, as their next game isn’t until Friday evening when they will host the Southeast division leading Florida Panthers. The Cats defeated the Bruins at the Garden earlier this month by a 2-0 score, thanks to a shutout from Jose Theodore. “We just have to try to get traffic in front of him and get pucks to the net” said Brad Marchand of the opportunity to face Theodore for the second time this season.  Up next for the Habs is a set of back-to-back road games in Chicago on Wednesday and in Winnipeg on Thursday.

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Tonight’s Line-Up (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS

Marchand–Bergeron–Seguin

Lucic–Krejci–Horton

Pouliot–Kelly–Peverley

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE

Chara–Boychuk

Seidenberg–Corvo

Ference–McQuaid

GOALTENDER

Rask

Thomas

Scratches– ….. None

– Tonight’s game can be seen on NESN (Edwards, Brickley) and heard on 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers), the flagship radio station of the Boston Bruins.

NEWS & NOTES

– Tonight the Toronto Maple Leafs will receive a much needed emotional boost from the return of their no. 1 goaltender, James Reimer. As I suggested in Wednesday’s blog, the 23-year-old Manitoba native will make his first start tonight since October 22, when he suffered a concussion, courtesy of Montreal Canadiens’ captain Brian Gionta.

– Bruins’ youngsters Jordan Caron and Steven Kampfer are both not with the team today after being sent to Providence early on Thursday morning. Both took part in the P-Bruins’ 4-1 loss to the Connecticut Whale on Friday and will likely be back in action on Saturday evening as Providence pays a visit to the Manchester Monarchs.

– Former Boston Bruins’ prospect and 2008 first round draft choice Joe Colborne will likely be making his TD Garden debut on Saturday night. Since being dealt to Toronto last February in the trade that sent Tomas Kaberle the way of the Bruins, the 6’5″ Colborne has notched one goal and added four assists in seven career games with the Leafs.

– Tonight will mark the first game of the month of December for Boston. The Bruins enter the final month of the calendar year after a historical 12-0-1 run through November. The B’s 13-game point streak will be put on the line on Saturday against a Maple Leafs’ team looking to re-take control of the Northeast division.

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That new line combination, has allowed Jacques Martin to play Thomas Plekanec on a line with Brian Gionta and whichever winger was on fire lately. Travis Moen filled in admirably for a few games until Mike Cammalleri was reinserted in the line-up yesterday against the Hurricanes and took his spot on the Habs’ second line.

When Cole faced his former teammates at the Bell Centre in a 4-0 domination of the Hurricanes, he didn’t seem too disturbed as shown in the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the meantime, Cole’s former teammate, Eric Staal, seems lost on the ice and he’s having the worst season of his prolific career so far, scoring only four goals and four assists for eight points in 18 games. But what’s even more surprising is his league-leading -18 +/- differential, on pace for a mediocre -78 over 82 games. Staal, who had been playing with grinder Chad Larose and phenom Jeff Skinner for a while, was moved to the wing to play with two-way center Brandon Sutter and Larose, not the most talented players on Earth. Cole’s departure created a gaping hole on Carolina’s top two lines, as they filled the hole by signing underachiever Alexei Ponikarovsky who has only four points in 19 games.

Staal has averaged 0.90 point/game during the six-plus seasons when he and Cole have been teammates. Without him, his productions to 0.69 point/game. Quite a dip that the Hurricanes could have foreseen, but they decided to re-sign players like Chad Larose, Joni Pitkanen and Jussi Jokinen instead. They also signed as a UFA overrated defenseman Tomas Kaberle to a three-year deal that is already looking bad as Kaberle only has four assists this season with the slumping Canes.

As for Cole, he’s gaining confidence each and every game and he might be well the power forward the Canadiens have been seeking to complement youngster Max Pacioretty as the only two forwards with some grit and size in the Canadiens’ top six (Desharnais, Gionta, Cammalleri and Plekanec are all under 6’0” and 200 lb). If the Oswego-native keeps playing with determination and spite, he might well approach or surpass last year’s totals of 26 goals and 26 assists for 52 points in 82 games (he’s on pace for 41 points after his slow start).

Do you think Cole will play all season with Pacioretty and Desharnais?

———————————-
Fred is a freelance sports write and translator, as well as a featured Montreal Canadiens blogger on http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/ and a baseball columnist on http://www.dobberbaseball.com/. Fred also joined www.habsaddict.com in time for the 2011-12 season.

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Entering Thursday, the Boston Bruins were in desperate need of points. They sat at 13th in the Eastern Conference –3 points behind the 8th place Devils –.  It was supposed to be the best game they’ve had this year, in a playoff-like atmosphere against their most hated rivals (who were also struggling, at 14th in the East). Unfortunately for the Bruins, it was the same story-different chapter on Thursday evening, as they dropped their second straight home game, 2-1 to their hated rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. In a game that went much like Saturday’s loss to the San Jose Sharks, the Bruins were ultimately doomed by not being able to capitalize on numerous scoring chances, while being essentially shut-out by Carey Price and the Habs.

Boston stormed out of the gate,with countless scoring chances and pressured the Montreal net for most of the 1st frame. However, the only time they would get on the board was when Tomas Plekanec won a defensive zone face-off and pulled the puck backwards through the wickets of a sleeping Carey Price  for a 1-0 Boston lead. Other than that, the Black & Gold were shut-down by the Canadiens’ net-minder, despite countless opportunities to expand their lead. Boston players were well aware of their offensive deficiencies, when asked about them after the game:

 ”Yeah I think we passed up some shots. I think we got to shoot a little more if we want to score goals. Tonight he (Carey Price) did make some big saves. But we got to take it upon ourselves to bury our chances.” — Rich Peverley

“I think we’re getting opportunities, we’re just not burying them. We had a lot of good chances tonight, and we either missed or hit a couple posts or whatnot. So we just have to bear down.” – Brad Marchand

From the second period on, the ice began to tilt in the favor of Montreal. It was Erik Cole who would re-direct a Jaroslav Spacek slap-shot past Tim Thomas to tie the game at the 10:27 mark of the 2nd period. While the remainder of the 2nd period did not feature any action on the scoreboard, it sure had it’s fair share of physicality, courtesy of Brad Marchand and P.K. Subban. After twice being sent to the box for matching 2-minute minors, Marchand & Subban went at it in a bout for the ages. Marchand, a much smaller man than Subban managed to hold his own against 6’0″ Canadien blue-liner. Despite the animosity between the city of Boston and Montreal’s top-pair D-man, he and B’s agitator Brad Marchand don’t feel that way about each other:

“Well, I know Marshy (Brad Marchand) pretty well and it’s just a matter of us both being frustrated out there and that’s how you settle your differences. I mean, we were kind of laughing about it after, we gave each other a pat on the pads, I don’t think there’s any true animosity between us two. But like I said, we have quite the past, winning a gold medal together. But it’s a game, you know, that’s what the fans want, that’s what both teams want, it’s energy out there, it’s fun.” –P.K. Subban

In the 3rd, Montreal forward Tomas Plekanec would redeem himself as he put the Habs ahead 2-1 when he took a rebound of the leg of Adam McQuaid and quickly put it past Tim Thomas. “It was a great play by our defense back there and a nice one-touch to me and then I got a lucky break. After the first shot the puck stayed in his (Adam McQuaid) feet and I was able to grab it and put it in the net.” said the 28-year old forward from the Czech Republic.

The problems that plagued the B’s tonight are the same that have haunted them all season long: Inconsistency and complacency. Head Coach Claude Julien summed it up best during his post-game press conference.

“The inability to focus for 60 minutes is pretty obvious and apparent. When you play the way you do the first period and seem to be heading in the right direction, then come out in the second period and play that way, it certainly shows a lack of focus, and what that translated to was a lack of execution….. I’d probably get nightmares thinking about how we’re playing right now more than anything else. It’s more about our team right now. I don’t care where we are in the standings. What I care about is how we play, and right now, we’re not playing at all to the level we should be.” — Claude Julien

So here we sit, one month into the 2011-12 season, and the defending Stanley Cup Champions sit in dead last in the Eastern Conference, with only 6 points. Not to mention another game against Montreal is on tap for Saturday at the Bell Centre. If they don’t turn it around quickly, things could get ugly (as if they haven’t already) here in the Hub.

KEY STATS

Goals–                  MTL (2)           BOS (1)

Shots–                  MTL (35)        BOS (30)

Power-Play–     MTL (0-2)     BOS (1-6)

Penalty-Kill–     MTL (5-6)     BOS (2-2)

Three Stars– ….. 3.) Rich Peverley ….. 2.) Carey Price ….. 1.) Tomas Plekanec

What’s Next?

Both teams will practice tomorrow morning at the TD Garden, prior to traveling to Montreal for game number 2 of this home-and-home series. On Saturday evening, the two squads will face off once again, for their first of 3 games this season at Montreal’s Bell Centre. Following Saturday’s game, the B’s will once again return home, as they prepare to host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday November 1st. Montreal will have the luxury of a long stretch of five off-days,  prior to making a visit to Ottawa on Friday November 3rd.

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Betts is a very disciplined player as he only took eight penalty minutes all season. Betts finished with a +/- ratio of -3. Betts led the NHL last season among forwards with 3:37 short-handed minutes on ice per game and playing a little over ten minutes per game overall.

The left-handed center finished the season with a 50.3% face-off rate, winning 411 draws on 817 attempts. The absence of a 4th-line center in the Habs organization after the departure of veteran Jeff Halpern was obvious in training camp as no rookie was able to impress head coach Jaques Martin. The leading candidate was Andreas Engvist, but he had a mediocre training camp and he will need more seasoning in the American Hockey League before he can make an impact in the NHL.

Overall, Betts started just 26.9 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. That’s the second lowest number in the NHL behind the Canucks’ Manny Malhotra, known as one of the league’s best defensive forwards

In order to reach the 23-player limit mandated by the NHL before tomorrow’s opening game in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, the Canadiens have also announced that they have demoted forwards Andreas Engvist, Ian Schultz and Aaron Palushaj to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. Yesterday, they had placed forward Michael Blunden on waivers to make room; today they did the same thing with veteran rearguard Jeff Woywitka, placing him on waivers as well.

Andrei Markov and Ryan White have been placed on the injured reserve to open the season and make space on the roster to replace them until they come back.

The Canadiens’ 23-man roster as of today October 5, 2011:
Forwards
Mike Cammalleri-Thomas-Plekanec-Andrei Kostitsyn
Max Pacioretty-Scott Gomez-Brian Gionta
Erik Cole-David Desharnais-Mathieu Darche
Travis Moen-Blair Betts-Yannick Weber
Extra:
Lars Eller (still recovering from shoulder surgery)

Defensemen
Hal Gill-P.K. Subban
Chris Campoli-Josh Gorges
Jaroslav Spacek-Rafael Diaz
Extra: Alexei Yemelin

Goaltenders
Carey Price
Peter Budaj

This means the Canadiens will most likely use Yannick Weber as the team’s 13th forward/7th defenseman at the beginning of the season as rookie Rafael Diaz stole his job on the blue line with a solid training camp. The team’s other rookie defenseman, Alexei Yemelin will most likely start as a defensive spare, as he still needs to adapt to the smaller NHL rinks and improve his overall play, especially in his defensive zone.

Carey Price is expected to be the starting goalie tomorrow in Toronto, obviously.

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Now back at 100% after an intensive summer of rehabbing and training, Pacioretty is ready to make an impact on the Canadiens first two lines. Entering his fourth NHL season, Pacioretty, who was drafted 22nd overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, will most likely play alongside Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta on Montreal’s second line.

The New Canaan, Connecticut native, had found his offensive touch, scoring 14 goals and 1o assists for 24 points in only 37 games, before going with his season-ending surgery. Pacioretty had started the 2010-11 season with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL after a poor training camp.

In 27 games prior to his call-up, Max Pax notched 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points clicking with linemate David Desharnais, who has since also made the jump with the Canadiens.

The 6’2”, 205 lb left wing possesses all the offensive tools to have success in the NHL. A great skater with quick feet, Pacioretty handles the puck very well and a great wrist shot with a lightning-fast release. He has improved his play around the offensive net and has learned how to use his size and speed to drive the net with efficiency.

Yesterday night, during the Habs 4-3 OT win against the Ottawa Senators, Pacioretty scored two power play goals to help the Canadiens rally from a 3-0 deficit. Pacioretty also scored in the shootout to help the Canadiens defeat the Senators. Pacioretty had an impressive nine shots on goal and he hit two posts on sizzling shots that goalie Craig Anderson didn’t even see in about 21 minutes of ice-time.

Playing on a line with Scott Gomez and prospect Brendan Gallagher, the trio combined for 19 shots and was the only that was able to create scoring chances on a regular basis during the game.

With Gomez playing a great game, his first of the pre-season, and ready to have a bounce-back season after a miserable 2010-11 campaign, the Gionta-Gomez-Pacioretty line should score on a regular basis this year for the Habs. They played together for a long stretch last season during which Pacioretty recorded 17 points in 19 games right before the “stanchion incident” – a 73-point pace over a full season.

Pacioretty converted goals at a fairly good 12.5% rate last season, notching 14 goals on 112 shots (or about three shots per game). If Pacioretty plays 75 games this season and continues to have around three shots on goal per game and convert at a 12% rate, that would translate to 27 goals which is feasible considering all the playing time Pacioretty will get on the second line and the power play. Players like David Jones and Rene Bourque scored 27 goals last season, both players being power forwards just like Max.

Primarily a goal scorer, Pacioretty can also distribute the puck to his linemate as demonstrated by his 25 combined assists (AHL+NHL) in only 52 games during the last campaign. This total would prorate to almost 40 assists over a full season. Another aspect that should improve this season, is his plus/minus ratio of -1 last year which was negatively impacted by the misfortune of playing in front of a mediocre .898 save percentage goaltending.

Number 67 will also continue to be a major threat on the power play, finishing 55th last season on the man-advantage, scoring seven goals despite playing only 37 games with Montreal (prorated to 15 goals over a full season). Only six players scored more than 12 power play goals last season (D. Sedin, Stamkos, Selanne, Kesler, Perry and Iginla).

Pacioretty certainly enters the season as a very valuable and underrated player both for the Canadiens and the fantasy GMs looking for a late-round gem. Yahoo has him ranked 284th in his draft overall rankings, which would see him getting drafted in the 23rd round of a 12 team fantasy league… Talk about flying under the radar!

After the analysis above I would not be surprised to see Max Pacioretty score 30 goals and 27 assists for 57 points in 80 games to go along with a 12 power-play goals, 225 shots, 80 penalty minutes and a good +10 plus/minus ratio.

As Pacioretty is ranked 58th among left wingers in standard Yahoo leagues, you can easily draft him in the middle rounds (10-15) without fear of losing him to another GM or wasting a pick on him, especially on a relatively thin left wing position.

Do you think Pacioretty is ready to breakout and score 30 goals for the Canadiens? If not, why?

You can also follow me on Twitter for updates on the Canadiens and the NHL in general.

The core of the roster will be fairly similar to that of last year, especially in front, the notable departures being Roman Hamrlik (Washington), James Wisniewski (Columbus), Brent Sopel (KHL), Paul Mara (unsigned), Alex Auld (Ottawa), Jeff Halpern (Washington) and Benoit Pouliot (Boston). The newcomers are Erik Cole (Carolina), Alexei Yemelin (KHL), and Peter Budaj (Colorado).

With a healthy Andrei Markov during the whole season, the Canadiens’ already dynamic powerplay will become devastating and should finish in the top-three powerplays in the league. This key addition, and the fact that Erik Cole will cement the first line, will prove very useful over the long NHL season.

Below you will find my predictions on the 2011-12 Canadiens’ players:

Tomas Plekanec: 80 games, 27 goals and 46 assists for 73 points
Coming off five consecutive 20-goal seasons, Plekanec has been the most consistent Habs forward in the past few years, but his production suffered last season when Mike Cammalleri went down with an injury and because of the lack of stability at left wing during the season. Expect Plekanec to rebound offensively with a healthy Cammalleri and the addition of power forward Erik Cole.

Mike Cammalleri: 75 games, 31 goals and 36 assists for 67 points
After missing 17 and 15 games respectively the past two seasons, one has to wonder if Cammalleri will finally be spared by injuries in 2011-12. His head coach Jacques Martin certainly hopes so as Cammalleri is a deadly weapon on the power play (he is only two years removed from a 19-PPG season) and a key cog offensively for Montreal.

Brian Gionta: 81 games, 30 goals and 27 assists for 57 points
After scoring 28 and 29 goals since joining the Canadiens as a free agent, Gionta has proven his scoring abilities despite playing with a disappointing Scott Gomez most of last season. This season, Gionta should benefit from a more mature and healthy Max Pacioretty, and more consistent Gomez. With more stability, I expect Gionta to finally break the 30-barrier with the Canadiens.

Erik Cole: 76 games, 25 goals and 29 assists for 54 points
After a bounce-back season with the Carolina Hurricanes, Cole signed a multi-year contract with Montreal during the off-season. Coming off a 26-goal season, the oft-injured Cole played all 82 games after a 2009-10 marred with injuries. The newly acquired power forward will slot alongside Plekanec and Cammalleri on the Habs’ first line and his mandate will be to create space in front of the net, battle pucks along the boards and lay big hits to make room for his diminutive linemates.

Scott Gomez: 78 games, 11 goals and 40 assists for 51 points
Dubbed the most overpaid player in the NHL by many pundits, Gomez had is worst season of his career, scoring only seven goals and notching a miserable 38 points despite playing 80 games. He also finished the season with a horrible -15 plus/minus ratio. Yet, he had moderate success on a line with Max Pax and Gionta before Chara ended Pacioretty’s season, so there is no reason Gomez cannot reclaim back his confidence and improve on his numbers and hit the 50-point mark for the 10th time of his career.

Andrei Kostitsyn: 81 games, 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points
The most enigmatic Canadiens forward, Kostitsyn can dominate a game both offensively and physically at times before disappearing for a few games. After scoring career highs of 26 goals and 53 points in 2007-08, the older of the Kostitsyn brothers has been fairly disappointing and inconsistent the past few seasons. At 26 years of age and an impending UFA, Kostitsyn needs to perform offensively to land the biggest contract of his career, or else he could be heading to the KHL. Expect Kostitsyn to play on the third line and get some powerplay time.

Max Pacioretty: 70 games, 23 goals and 22 assists for 45 points
The biggest question surrounding Pacioretty this season is not his health, but rather his confidence and his fear of being hit hard again. We all know what happened last season when Zdeno Chara hit him hard into the stanchion at Bell Centre, but Pacioretty now appears to be fully healthy heading into training camp. It is expected he will a few games to find back his rhythm and confidence, but the young American should be able to provide a fairly consistent offensive output alongside Gionta and Gomez.

David Desharnais: 77 games, 12 goals and 26 assists for 38 points
Coming off a surprising rookie season, Desharnais showed great hockey sense after being called-up from Hamilton in early January. The diminutive center managed to earn a one-way contract for the upcoming season after going undrafted and being signed as a free agent by Montreal. Desharnais will most likely man the fourth line, while getting powerplay time on the second unit and also killing penalties.

Lars Eller: 75 games, 9 goals and 19 assists for 28 points
Ahead of schedule in his recovery from off-season shoulder surgery, Eller should be ready for the regular season. The young Dane had a very inconsistent rookie season with Montreal, showing flashes of brilliance at times while going AWOL for long stretches still trying to adapt to the rigors of the challenging NHL season. Eller should improve in all aspects of his game, but don’t expect big numbers from him as he is buried down the depth chart at center.

Mathieu Darche: 78 games, 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points
The hard-working Darche had a very surprising season in 2010-11, recording 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in only 59 games, missing 23 games mainly because of a broken ankle. Darche is the perfect veteran to play on a third or fourth line and will never complain if he is made a healthy scratch.

Travis Moen: 80 games, 6 goals and 12 assists for 18 points
The rugged veteran with cement hands is the Canadiens’ tough guy even though he’s not very good at it. Moen is an efficient penalty killer, but is not an offensive weapon. Jacques Martin utilized Moen on the Habs’ first two lines during the past season without great success and with the addition of Cole and the emergence of Pacioretty, Moen will remain on the bottom two lines.

Ryan White: 70 games, 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points
Promoted in late January when the team was decimated with injuries, White played well in a fourth line role, dropping the gloves when needed and laying big hits despite being only 6’0” 200 lbs. His dedicated play earned him a one-way contract and White will act as the team’s agitator.

Do you agree with the above predictions? Which player is the most likely to have his best season? The worst season?

Next week I will have a look at defensemen and goaltenders, but in the meantime don’t hesitate to comment on the above blog and follow me on Twitter for news on the Canadiens and the NHL in general.

However, as with everything there are always exceptions to the rule, and the ten players below, all under 5’10”, made sure to silence the detractors by proving to the world that undersized players can have successful careers in the NHL.

1. MARTIN ST-LOUIS, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Vital statistics: 5’8″, 176 pounds
Never drafted, St-Louis started making an impact at the NHL level at the age of 27 in 2002-03. Since then, the speedy right-winger has averaged 33 goals and 53 assists for 86 points while missing only two games over eight seasons. Talk about durability! He has been named a Hart trophy finalist this season after scoring 31 goals and 68 assists for 99 points in 2010-11. One of the most spectacular player in the NHL, St-Louis won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning back in 2003-04.

2. DEREK ROY, BUFFALO SABRES
Vital statistics: 5’9″, 184 pounds
Despite missing 47 games this season with a torn left quadriceps muscle, the diminutive center managed to score 35 points in 35 games, an 82-point pace over a full season. Prior to this season, Roy had averaged 25 goals and 41 assists for 66 points in 77 games over five seasons. Thanks to great skating abilities and a great vision, he is an important cog of the Sabres’ offense along with Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford and Jason Pominville.

3. MICHAEL CAMMALLERI, MONTREAL CANADIENS
Vital statistics: 5’9″, 182 pounds
Cammalleri, who had a down year for the Canadiens, scoring only 47 points in 67 games, was red-hot for Montreal during their seven-game series loss to Boston. The undersized left winger scored three goals and seven assists for ten points in seven games after scoring 13 goals and notching 19 points in 19 games during the 2009-10 Habs’ surprising playoff run. He has scored 25 goals or more in a season four times. His wrist shot is one of the most accurate in the NHL.

4. BRIAN GIONTA, MONTREAL CANADIENS
Vital statistics: 5’7″, 173 pounds
Named the Canadiens’ captain earlier this season, Gionta scored 29 goals and added 17 assists for 46 points in 82 games despite playing on a line with unproductive center Scott Gomez. Since the lock-out, the feisty right-winger has averaged 29 goals and 28 helpers for 57 points in 75 games. He has won the Stanley Cup with the NJ Devils in 2002-03. Despite his smallish size, Gionta is always ready to drive the net with energy and grit to bury a lose rebound past the goaltender.

5. BRAD MARCHAND, BOSTON BRUINS
Vital statistics: 5’9″, 183 pounds
Marchand was quite effective as a rookie this year, notching 21 goals and 20 assists for 41 points along with an impressive +25 plus/minus rating in 77 games with the Bruins. Playing on a line with veteran Mark Recchi and play-maker Patrice Bergeron, Marchand is a very good penalty killer and can play on the power play. The gritty left-winger has made his mark already in the playoffs, scoring four goals and adding six assists for ten points in ten games for Boston in the current playoffs.

6. TYLER ENNIS, BUFFALO SABRES
Vital statistics: 5’9″, 157 pounds
Another rookie, Ennis had a great first season with Buffalo, recording 20 goals and 29 assists for 49 points in 82 games. The shifty left-winger has been fairly consistent since making his NHL debut late late season. The speedster finished fourth in scoring among rookies in 2010-11 and he has a very bright future ahead of him.

7. SERGEI SAMSONOV, FLORIDA PANTHERS
Vital statistics: 5’8″, 188 pounds
Splitting last season between the Hurricanes and the Panthers, the nifty left-winger managed to score 13 goals and 40 points in 78 games without making much noise. Whether you like his style of play or not, Samsonov can be spectacular with the puck in the offensive zone. Consistency has been his biggest problem during his great NHL career, as Samsonov can disappear for several games in a row before heating up. He has scored 19 goals or more six times.

8. STEVE SULLIVAN, NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Vital statistics: 5’8″, 160 pounds
One year removed from a 51-point season, Sullivan’s season has been plagued by injuries, recording 22 points playing only 44 games. Since the lock-out, the brisk winger has only played more than 70 games once in a season. Sullivan, 36, has scored 60 points or more seven times, but because
of all the injuries he sustained during his career, it might be time for the veteran to hang his skates after the season.

9. NATHAN GERBE, BUFFALO SABRES
Vital statistics: 5’5″, 178 pounds
The smallest NHL player plays big! The quick center scored 16 goals and added 15 assists for 31 points in 64 games with Buffalo in his rookie season. The Sabres were 19-2-4 when he recorded a point in 2010-11. If he can be more consistent and get more ice-time from head coach Lindy Ruff, Gerbe could easily crack the 50-point mark next season as he has all the tools, except the size, to be a successful NHLer.

10. JORDIN TOOTOO, NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Vital statistics: 5’9″, 197 pounds
The Tootoo train hurts despite his smallish stature! Not know for his offensive prowess, Tootoo is a great agitator and bodychecker who likes to spark his teams by getting under his opponents’ skin. Tootoo played only 54 games this year, recording eight goals and ten assists for 18 points after has entering the NHL-NHLPA substance abuse and behavioral health program in late December. Since his return, Tooto has been a catalyst on the Predators’ third line, especially in the playoffs.

Honorable mentions: Francis Bouillon, David Desharnais, Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Chris Conner, Ryan Shannon, Scott Nichol

Think I missed someone or believe the above order is incorrect? Drop me a comment to express your opinion!

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Chris Kelly gave the Bruins the lead in the third period on a rebound after being left alone in the crease. The Bruins then had several scoring chances to put the game out of reach, but Price kept his team in the game with great saves.

A late high sticking call on Patrice Bergeron gave the Habs a power play late in the third period, and rookie P.K. Subban tied the game with a perfect one-timer past Tim Thomas with 1:57 left in the period. The ultimate game was heading to overtime.

Finally, the Habs season ended when Nathan Horton (invisible until then) fired a slap shot past Carey Price from just inside the blueline at 5:43 of the OT. The shot deflected on a sprawling Jeff Halpern to fool Price glove side. It was Horton’s second OT winner of the series (he scored the winning goal in game 5).

The victory ended a four game losing streak in Game Sevens for Boston, who will now face the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round. The Flyers eliminated the same Bruins in 2009-10 after trailing the series 3-0 and game seven 3-0.

Tim Thomas stopped 34 shots for the winners while Carey Price had 30 saves for the losers.

Rearguard James Wisniewski was back in the lineup for Montreal after missing yesterday’s contest with a lower body injury.

The Bruins, who were 0 for 2 in the game, finished the series 0 for 21 on the power play.
The Canadiens, who were 2 for 4 in the contest, finished the series 6 for 27 on the man advantage.

Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta each finished the series with a -6 plus/minus ratio.

SCORING SUMMARY
SCORERS
First period
03:31 BOS Johnny Boychuk, 1 (Brad Marchand, 4 Patrice Bergeron, 5)
05:33 BOS Mark Recchi, 1 (Andrew Ference)
09:49 MTL Yannick Weber, 2 (PP) (Roman Hamrlik, 3 Michael Cammalleri, 7)
Second period
05:50 MTL Tomas Plekanec, 2 (SH) (Unassisted)
Third period
09:44 BOS Chris Kelly, 3 (Andrew Ference, 3 Rich Peverley, 4)
18:03 MTL P.k. Subban, 2 (PP) (Tomas Plekanec, 3 Brian Gionta, 2)
Overtime
05:43 BOS Nathan Horton, 3 (Milan Lucic, 2 Adam Mcquaid, 2)

Now the his team has been eliminated from the playoffs, GM Pierre Gauthier will have a lot of work to do in the upcoming months as several of his key players are heading to free agency.

Unrestricted free agents:
Alex Auld
Andrei Markov
Hal Gill
Roman Hamrlik
James Wisniewki
Brent Sopel
Paul Mara
Jeff Halpern
Mathieu Darche

Restricted free agents:
Josh Gorges
Yannick Weber
Alexandre Picard
Andrei Kostitsyn
Max Pacioretty
Ryan White
Tom Pyatt
Benoit Pouliot
David Desharnais

With only P.K Subban and Jaroslav Spacek signed on defense for next season, Gauthier will have to reshape most of his defensive corps, either by re-signing some of his free agents or by acquiring new blueliners, either via trade or free agency.

Who do you think the Canadiens should re-sign among the upcoming free agents?

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The Canadiens, under head coach Jacques Martin, have played two perfect road games so far, making life very easy for their young goaltender Carey Price. The latter has blocked 65 of the 66 shots (a save percentage of 98.5) he faced in the first two games, shutting the door repeatedly after the Habs took two early leads.

In game 1, the captain, Brian Gionta, scored the Canadiens’ two goals to lead his team to a 1-0 series lead, but in game after an early goal scored by Michael Cammalleri, hard-working winger Mathieu Darche and rookie Yannick Weber added goals to help Montreal defeat the Bruins on home ice 3-1. Patrice Bergeron is the lone goal scorer so far for Boston.

Tim Thomas, a Vézina Trophy candidate for 2011, has been beaten five times on only 46 shots, a mediocre 89.1 save percentage. Thomas, despite making some good saves, has looked shaky at best on home ice.

Rearguard Zdeno Chara missed yesterday’s contest after suffering from dehydration and dizziness. The 6’9” giant skated during the pregame warm-up after spending Friday night in the hospital.

Chara’s absence proved to be very costly for the Bruins, as the rest of its defensive corps is slow and is having problems making a good first outlet pass. Tomas Kaberle and Dennis Seidenberg have been mediocre at best. The German rearguard is -4 on the series so far, a team worse.

For the Canadiens, veteran Roman Hamrlik is a team-leading +4 after two games. Michael Cammalleri (1 g, 1 a), Brian Gionta (2 g) and Scott Gomez (2 a) lead the team in scoring with two points apiece.

Boston is having problems of moving through the neutral zone in possession of the puck and with speed. The Canadiens are able to apply Jacques Martin’s five-man defensive system that is so effective on the road, and the Bruins, despite having many shots each game, haven’t had many breakaways or odd-man rush in the series. The Bruins are not generating any traffic in front of Price and as a result, #31 has been able to see most of the shots he had to face.

Patrice Bergeron, Dr. Mark Recchi and rookie Brad Marchand has been the only dangerous line so far for Boston. Center Tomas Plekanec, despite not having any point in two games, has been very effective at stymieing the Bruins’ first line of Davdi Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton. Krecji has shown signs of frustration, while Norton has been invisible and Lucic has made bad plays with the puck, especially on Gionta’s second goal on Thursday when he gave up the puck on his own blue line to Scott Gomez.

The Canadiens’ penalty kill was 4-for-4 yesterday, 7-for-7 in the series, while their powerplay was 1-for-3, now 1-for-7 in the series. They haven’t taken too many bad penalties and have taken advantage of the Bruins’ mistakes, scoring all five goals off turnovers.

They managed to win yesterday’s contest despite playing without Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, Max Pacioretty and Andrei Kostitsyn, who blocked a Zdeno Chara on Thursday and suffered a lower-body injury on the play. In fact, the Canadiens handed a beating to the Bruins on their own ice.

Now the series moves to Montreal on Monday and the pressure has now shifted on the Bruins and their head coach Claude Julien who has to find a way to motivate his struggling team. If the Bruins were to fall behind 3-0 in the series, this would all but seal the deal, and send the bruins’ players golfing and Julien to the unemployment bureau. Wait, didn’t the Bruins blew a 3-0 series lead last season against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2nd round? Weren’t they even leading game seven 3-0? Well, the Canadiens players know that and they won’t sit on their laurels and make the same mistake.

In the meantime, it is still uncertain if Zdeno Chara will play on Monday at the Bell Centre, but he will make the trip with the team and his case will be reevaluated tomorrow.

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The current Canadiens team has been here for only the past two seasons and has won nine times in twelve games against the Bruins over the past two seasons and Carey Price’s regular season record over the last two seasons is 7-2-0 (13-4-2 over his career against Boston), while Tim Thomas holds a 10-14-4 career record against Montreal.

The Canadiens won the season series 4-2, but the Bruins won the last 7-0 torching the Habs in Boston the game following the Chara/Pacioretty incident.

Bruins-Canadiens comparison:

Goaltending: Even.
Carey Price 38-28-6, 2.35 GAA, .923 save % vs Tim Thomas 35-11-9, 2.00 GAA, .938 save %
Price is coming off his best NHL season, but he will have a lot of pressure to repeat Jaroslav Halak’s playoff brilliance of 2010. Tim Thomas, who had a great regular season, has been shaky at best over his career against the Canadiens, especially in Montreal.

Defence: Even
J. Wisniewski 51 pts, PK Subban 38 pts, R. Hamrlik 34 pts, J. Spacek 16 pts, Y. Weber 11 pts
T. Kaberle 47 pts (only 9 with Boston), Z. Chara 44 pts, D. Seidenberg 32 pts, J. Boychuk 16 pts, A. McQuaid 15 pts
While the Canadiens have no one to compare to Zeno Chara and the gritty aspect of the Bruins’ defense, Boston doesn’t have true offensive threats like P.K. Subban and James Wisniewski. The Canadiens boast a very experienced defensive corps with Hal Gill (Stanley Cup), Brent Sopel (Stanley Cup), as well as experienced veterans like Roman Hamrlik and Jaro Spacek. The Bruins have a few youngsters on defense without much experience (Kampfer, Boychuk and McQuaid) which could hurt them if the series goes to seven games.

Forwards: Advantage Boston
T. Plekanec 57 pts, M. Cammalleri 47 pts, B. Gionta 46 pts, A. Kostitsyn 45 pts, S. Gomez 38 pts, B. Pouliot 30 pts
D. Krejci 62 pts, M. Lucic 62 pts, P. Bergeron 57 pts, N. Horton 53 pts, M. Recchi 48 pts, B. Marchand 41 pts
The Bruins have a very productive line in David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton that had great success this year against the Habs. They also have more depth on their 3rd and 4th lines. However, they lack experience with youngsters like Tyler Seguin, Brad Marchand and former Panther Nathan Horton all playing their first playoff games. The Canadiens can count on speedy forwards Tomas Plekanec, Michael Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn to put pressure on the Bruins defense. Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and Travis Moen all have Stanley Cup rings, which could become a factor if Gomez can wake up from him season-long slumber.

Special Teams: Advantage Montreal
The Canadiens power play is ranked 7th in the NHL at a 84.4% rate just like their penalty kill which is ranked at a 19.7% rate.
The Bruins’ penlaty kill is 16th in the NHL at 82.6%, while their power play is 20th at 16.4%. The Canadiens would have a big edge in that department if they weren’t on of the most undisciplined teams in the league, having taken 363 minor penalties this season, second only to Pittsburgh’s 369. Subban with 124 penalty minutes, will have to stop taking stupid hooking and holding penalties if the Canadiens want to stand a chance in the series.

Coaching: Even
Both Jacques Martin and Claude Julien are solid experienced head coaches. While they never won the Stanley Cup, they are both used to go far in the playoffs and know how to get the maximum from their players.

Experience: Advantage Montreal
Mark Recchi and Shawn Thornton both hold a Stanley Cup ring for Boston, while Scott Gomez has two rings, and Brian Gionta, Hal Gill, Travis Moen and Brent Sopel each have one. The Bruins have 702 career playoff games under their belt, while the Canadiens have 825 games of playoff experience in the room – 123 more than the Bruins. Brian Gionta and Michael Cammalleri had a great playoff run last year and are starting to heat up at just the right time.

Prediction:While I would really like that the Canadiens win the series and play the spoilers once again this season, I don’t think they have enough depth at forward to compete with the Bruins. The absence of Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges on defense will hurt them if the series goes deep. The Canadiens will have problems winning on the road, which will eventually be their end as I think it will be a homer series, with each team having great success at home. Boston in 7

What is your prediction?And why

The soon-to-be 39 year old goalie has a 40-17-5 record in 62 games against Montreal to with an incredible 1.76 GAA and a great 9.33 save %; however, his performance was not enough to beat Carey Price and the Habs, and as a result, the Devils were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

The win gives the Canadiens 91 points with 79 games places (42-30-7), four more than the Carolina Hurricanes who sit in 9th place in the Eastern Conference. A win against the Blackhawks, the Senators or the Maple Leafs will give the Habs 93 points, which will clinch their playoff berth. The Canadiens have already 42 wins (four more than the Canes). Also, the Habs are eight points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for 5th place, so they will most likely finish between 6th and 8th in the conference.

The team will also welcome back veteran Jaroslav Spacek in the lineup Thursday in Ottawa or Saturday in Toronto. Spacek’s absence has been felt lately on defense, especially on the puck transition and mobility side as Paul Mara and Brent Sopel are slower than a bus stopped at a red light.

Max Pacioerrty has resumed skating, but we still don’t know if he’ll return this season due to the severity of the injury he sustained.

This means the Canadiens will start the playoffs on the road again against one of the top-three teams in conference.
Teams Games Points
1. x-Philadelphia 79 103
2. x-Washington 79 103
3. y-Boston 78 99
4. x-Pittsburgh 79 100
5. x-Tampa Bay 79 99
6. Montreal 79 91
7. Buffalo 79 90
8. NY Rangers 79 89
9. Carolina 79 87

While there is an outside chance the Penguins or the Lightning catch up a division leader, this seems fairly unlikely so we’ll concentrate on the top three seeds and see what chances the Canadiens stand against these three powerful teams.

As the following cliches “anything can happen in the playoffs” and “the playoffs is when the real season really starts” say, even if you’re the underdog, nothing is impossible come April, just ask Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby after last year’s playoffs…

Now that last playoff run hero, Jaroslav Halak, is gone to St. Louis (where he will play golf in one week), the Canadiens fans have to wonder if his replacement, Carey Price, will pull a rabbit out of his hat and propel the Blue Blanc Rouge fans into another surprising journey deep into May for a second consecutive year.

Boston Bruins

The most likely opponent are the Bruins, which the Canadiens would face if the playoffs started today. Their arch-rival beat them 7-0 in their last match-up in Boston, a game where the Canadiens fell flat and proved to be an easy prey for the big hungry bears, despite all the hype surrounding the revenge match-up following the Chara-Pacioretty incident. However, what most people forget is that the Canadiens are 4-2 against Boston this season and while Tim Thomas is having a Vezina-worthy season, Montreal has Thomas’ number over his career (he’s only 10-14-4 with a subpar 3.05 GAA and .906 save %).

The biggest challenge against Boston lies in their team’s size, grit and physicality. They play a bruising style that can be intimidating at time, especially with players like Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic, Shawn Thornton, Adam McQuaid and Nathan Horton.

The Canadiens have had success in the past when took the early lead and set the pace of the game using their speed and skill, and capitalizing on their scoring chances and the power play. This series would undoubtedly be emotional for both teams given their history, both during the season and the playoffs.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals will most likely win the Southeast division after going on a tear the past six weeks. Washington enters the post-season facing serious questions about their capacity to go deep in the playoffs given their past failures, despite their recent regular season success. The addition of savvy veterans such as Jason Arnott and Scott Hannan, who both have extensive playoff experience will certainly be a key to their spring success.

After an early exit at the hands of our Canadiens last spring, head coach Bruce Boudreau changed the Capitals’ style of play to suit go deeper in the playoffs. After a difficult period of adaptation in January, his troops have adopted the new style successfully and have been very good in close games, winning eight one-goal games, in March only.

Their goaltending is still their biggest concern as last year starter, Jose Theodore, is now in Minnesota, and his replacement, Semyon Varlamov, is more often than not on the shelf with various ailments. Michael Neuvirth, who will be the most likely starter come the playoffs, has a big total of zero playoff appearance in his career, but that doesn’t mean a rookie goalie can be sharp and make clutch saves in crunch time. Just ask the Habs fans about Cam Ward in 2006.

The Capitals won the season head-to-head three games to one and are the clear-cut favorites should both teams face each other once again in the playoffs.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers are the favorites to win it all in the East this season after surprising everyone last season as underdogs and losing against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup final. The have depth both at forward and on defense, with a great mix of youngsters and veterans. They’re pretty fast, big, skilled and clutch, just ask the Bruins who a 3-0 lead both in the series and in game 7.

The Canadiens lost in five easy games against the Flyers last spring in the Eastern Conference final and have had no success against them in the playoffs recently, but at least RJ Umberger and Michael Leighton are not playing for them anymore, well Leighton is playing for their AHL affiliate, duh.

However, the Flyers have the same concerns as the Caps in front of the goal. Sergei Bobrovsky has been good, but inconsistent all season-long and with Brian Boucher backing him up, one has to wonder if the Broad Street Bullies would not call Leighton up once he doesn’t have to clear re-entry waivers? But unless a complete collapse from Bobrovsky he should be the starter.

Just like Capitals, Philadelphia won the season head-to-head three games to one and are the heavy favorites if both teams end up facing each other once again in the playoffs.

——————————————————————————————————-
As you can see, the Canadiens will have a tough time winning one round this season, even more so than last year, and they will need a sensational performance from their star goalie Carey Price and another exceptional playoffs run from veterans like Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez (is he still hibernating?) and Roman Hamrlik.

The Canadiens added a Stanley Cup winner in Brent Sopel (with the Hawks in 2010) due their squad, so experience is certainly one of the advantages Montreal boasts over some of his potential opponents, with the like of Hal Gill, Travis Moen, Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and Sopel.
I sincerely hope the Habs win at least one series, as I need at least two weeks to grow a respectable playoff beard (not Crosby-like) at the great displeasure of my girlfriend.

Who would you rather face among the three teams mentioned above?

I would go with the Capitals, as the Canadiens have proven they can beat them, Mike Green is still suffering from concussion-like symptoms and their goaltending is the most suspect of all three teams.

First, Montreal got blanked 2-0 on home ice against division rivals, the Buffalo Sabres, providing a less than stellar effort in front of their home fans. While the Habs shot 31 times at Ryan Miller, none of them was a very good scoring chance. The Canadiens were also undisciplined as they tend to be most nights taking five minor penalties during the game. The team was still without Brent Sopel, Jeff Halpern, Tomas Plekanec and Mathieu Darche.

Two days later was the biggest game of the season in Boston against the Bruins. A game that was supposed to be very important for a team trying to catch up the division leader and against Zdeno Chara, who had viciously checked into the stanchion one of their teammates, Max Pacioretty. Well, they didn’t same to care, as the Canadiens played their worst game of the season, getting destroyed 7-0. The Bruins took an early 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back, chasing Carey Price midway through the third frame, scoring five goals on 33 shots against the All-Star goalie. Back-up Alex Auld didn’t fare much better allowing two goals on only eight shots in relief.

To add insult to injury, Chara finished the night with three assists and a +3 plus/minus rating and was named the game’s 1st star. Mike Cammalleri and Tomas Plekanec each finished the evening with a dismal -4 plus/minus ratio, while Scott Gomez (getting more and more useless) played more than 20 minutes once again and took two dumb penalties that nullified any chance the Habs had to come back in the second period.

Hell, Tim Thomas, despite receiving 24 shots, was seen laughing all night with the referees… while Jacques Martin remained stoical as his usual self in spite of the carnage.

One would have thought this humiliation would wake up the Habs from their slumber in light of their imminent match-up with the red hot Washington Capitals who had just been blanked 2-0 on Friday in Ottawa. Well think again, the Canadiens were hapless and uninspired during the whole game and were about to be blanked for a third consecutive game, a first since 1949!! Rookie netminder Braden Holtby earned the easiest shutout of his young NHL career, stopping only 18 shots, none of them being much of threat.

The Caps took an early 1-0 lead 1:24 into the game when Marco Sturm buried a rebound past Price. They never looked back as they a methodical road game putting the game out of reach 16:24 into the third frame on a beautiful goal by Alexander Semin.

Over the past three games the Canadiens have averaged only 8.3 even strength scoring chances per game, down from the 12.3 scoring chances they averaged during the ten games prior to the 6-3 loss against the Rangers. The Canadiens went 7-3-0 in that span and scored 2.2 even strength goals per game, meaning they cashed in once for every 5.6 scoring chances. On special teams, the Canadiens went 8-for-32 on the power play in the 10-game sample and have gone 0-for-10 over the past three games.

It was finally enough to convince Martin to hold a practice on Sunday, usually a day-off for the players, during which he ordered his hapless team to skate more than they did the previous three games combined…

Martin began his practice without pucks, by skating his team 25 laps at a gradually increasing pace, forward and backward. He then asked for sprints – from goal line to blue line, then centre ice, then the far blue line, then to the top of the far face-off circle. Without a break, Martin started running one-on-one rushes, then two-on-zero. Soon he had two hard-skating trailers in pursuit of the two up front, muscles burned for 17 minutes before he called the first short timeout for water.

After, the coach ran a series of fast-paced line drills, then sent his team into hard, physical one-on-one battles, grinding with purpose along the boards and in front of the net, an area unknown for most of the Habs forwards. After almost an hour, he ran another set of gradually lengthening start-and-stop sprints to end the practice and send his players gasping for air and water.

With only three wins in their past nine games, and only six games left on the season, only two at home, there is no margin for error for Jacques Martin and his struggling team. And invisible veterans like Brian Gionta, Mike Cammalleri and Scott Gomez will have to start producing offensively if the Habs hope to make the playoffs and win at least one round.

The Canadiens will host the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday and fly to Raleigh to visit the dangerous Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday in what would prove to be a very game for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal will then visit the New Jersey Devils in Newark on Saturday.

Currently tied for 6th place with the Rangers with 87 points in 76 games, Montreal is now seven points behind the Bruins for the division lead. They can still catch the Tampa Bay Lightning for fifth place (91 points), but it’s more likely they will finish 6-7-8 in the conference. The Hurricanes are currently ranked 9th with 80 points in 75 games.

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Game 70:  Lightning 6 – Maple Leafs 2 “Ritola Provides Relief”

The Tampa Bay Lightning (39-22-9) got just what the doctor ordered Monday night at the Air Canada Centre… a total team effort resulting in a beat down of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Mattias Ritola scored twice in a three minute span of the second period to lead the Bolts over the Leafs 6-2. The 2005 fourth round pick of the Detroit Red Wings scored on a rebound and then blazed a wrist shot past Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer to put the Lightning up 3-1.

Nate Thompson scored the first goal of the contest at 9:53 of the opening period and added an assist. Vincent Lecavalier, Dominic Moore and Mike Lundin all participated in the goal fest. For Lundin, it was his first of the season. Teddy Purcell had three helpers while Martin St. Louis and Brett Clark had two assists each.

Goaltender Dwayne Roloson continued his dominance over Toronto, stopping 30 of 32 shots. Roloson is 3-0-0 versus the Leafs this season and 5-1-0 against Toronto since 2008.

The Bolts were three for three on the penalty kill and stunningly didn’t get a power play chance.

The Bolts broke out of their scoring slump as 11 different players recorded points.

Tampa Bay pulled to within three points of Southeast Division leading Washington.

Game 71:  Lightning 2 – Canadiens 3 SO “Just a Little Short”

Simon Gagne scored on Tampa Bay’s third attempt to extend the shootout, but Montreal’s Mike Cammalleri beat Dwayne Roloson on the Habs fourth attempt to beat the Bolts 3-2.

Carey Price was tremendous in net for the Canadiens as he made three big shootout saves. He laid-out and poke-checked the puck away from Superstar Steven Stamkos and then stopped Martin St. Louis’ attempt. After Cammelleri scored, Price made a glove save on Teddy Purcell to secure the win for the Habs.

Price stopped 35 shots, and Brian Gionta and Andrei Kostitsyn had goals for sixth-place Montreal, who now has 85 points, three fewer than the fifth-place Lightning  in the Eastern Conference playoff battle.

Bolts backstop Dwayne Roloson was solid in net stopping 26 shots. Roli dropped to the ice after he was hit on the collarbone by Scott Gomez’s slap shot 42 seconds into overtime. He stayed in the game.

Simon Gagne scored his 12th goal of the season on a power play 9:29 into the third period, tying the game at two. Teddy Purcell also scored on the power play early in the second period.

Vincent Lecavalier was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for a two-handed slash of Canadiens P.K. Subban late in the first period. Both were whacking each other while battling in front of the net, but Vinny lost his head and got caught. I’m sure the league will review this play.

Superstar Steven Stamkos thought he scored shortly after Kostitsyn tied the game, when he took a pass from Martin St. Louis and pushed the puck under Price, but the referee called no goal and video review confirmed that the puck hadn’t crossed the goal line.

Brian Gionta scored shorthanded as he stole the puck from Marty St. Louis and gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead earlier in the period..

The Lightning added a point to their total and is within four points of the Capitals for the Southeast Division lead, two points behind Pittsburgh for the fourth seed, while holding a three-point lead over Montreal, which is in the sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Game 72:  Lightning 2 – Senators 3 OT “Giving One Away”

The Tampa Bay Lightning (39-22-11) led the Ottawa Senators 2-0 midway through the third before the wheels fell off and the Sens began an epic comeback that culminated in Jason Spezza scoring from Erik Karlsson on an odd-man rush with 1:32 left in overtime to beat the Bolts 3-2. Spezza lost control of the puck on an attempted deke and that threw Dwayne Roloson off balance as Spezza beat him.

Ryan Shannon’s short-handed goal (the league leading 13^th given up by the Bolts) 12:27 into the third period spoiled Dwayne Roloson’s shutout bid and brought Ottawa within a goal. Nick Foligno tied it with his 12th goal at 16:05 before Spezza’s overtime heroics.

Karlsson picked up a pair of assists. Ex-Lightning goalie Curtis McElhinney made 35 saves for his second consecutive win over Tampa Bay, who are in the midst of a 2-4-4 slide.

Superstar Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis had a terrible game. Both had trouble with the puck and gave it away multiple times.

This was an awful loss to the Eastern Conference’s worst team. The loss ended the four game road trip that saw the Bolts go 1-0-3 and get five out of eight points. Tampa Bay is fifth in the Eastern Conference with 89 points, one behind Pittsburgh.

Vincent Lecavalier and Dana Tyrell scored for the Lightning.

Goalie Dwayne Roloson stopped 31 shots while facing just three shots in the first period, including a pair in the final 28 seconds. Roloson will need to be better in the third period if the Lightning is going to do anything in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay will have to get much better in the third period as a team, too. They have been outscored 78-52 in the final stanza and have now lost five times when leading after two periods, seventh worst in the NHL.

Where They Stand

The Lightning went 1-2 for the week, but still managed to take four of a possible six points.

Tampa Bay is 39-22-11 with 89 points and trails the Capitals in the Southeast Division by five points. The Lightning are fifth in the Eastern Conference, only one point behind Pittsburgh in the battle for home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. If the season ended today, the Bolts would play those same Pittsburgh Penguins.

This team has found a variety of ways to lose eight out of their last ten games, but somehow have managed to keep pace with the fourth place Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Bolts are making it a habit of losing games late and that has to be fixed before the playoffs begin.

Transactions

The Lightning reassigned goalie Jaroslav Janus from Florida (ECHL) to Norfolk (AHL) and then returned him to Florida on Sunday.

Injury Update

Forward Simon Gagne is listed as day-to-day with a pinched nerve in his neck.

Steve Downie is still recovering from a high ankle sprain and is day-to-day.

Ryan Malone is skating with the team in a red no-contact jersey. An early April return is expected.

Defenseman Randy Jones hasn’t played since March 7 and is still listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury.

Three Stars of the Week

Teddy Purcell – A goal and three assists.

Martin St. Louis – Four assists.

Mattias Ritola – Two goals.

The Upcoming Week

Tuesday versus the Islanders. Friday versus the Hurricanes and Saturday at the Hurricanes.

*Lightning clip-art logo courtesy Hockey Jersey Concepts.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the 1st period on Jeff Halpern’s 11th goal of the year, the Canadiens stopped playing and the Blues took control of the game, which they tied on David Backes’ 24th goal of the season, after Andy McDonald won an offensive draw. Backes’ shot went through Carey Price, who looked weak on the play. Then, 1:06 in the 2nd frame, the same McDonald fooled Price after being left alone in the slot.

After that, both teams played uninspired hockey and both Halak and Price made a few key saves, but they weren’t really challenged. Finally, former Hab Matt D’Agostini sealed the deal late in the 3rd period, redirecting mid-air a perfect pass by Andy McDonald over the glove of Carey Price. TJ Oshie added an empty-netter in the 4-1 win.

Both Brian Gionta and James Wisniewski ended the night with a dreadful -3 plus/minus ratio. As for the Blues, the McDonald, Backes-D’Agostini line finished the night with a combined +9 ratio and six points. Halak made 27 saves to earn his 21th win in a Blues uniform.

Two days later, after a good practice, the Canadiens were far more prepared to face the Penguins at Consol Energy Center in a matinee. Tomas Plekanec and Michael Cammalleri scored important goals in the first minute of the first two periods to stun the Penguins in front of their home fans. Travis Moen put the game out of reach and the Habs in front 3-0 6:51 into the second period on a great passing play with his new linemates, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez.

Cammalleri played one of his best games of the season, finishing the afternoon with 1 g and 1 a and a +2 rating in 18 minutes of play. Rearguard Roman Hamrlik and James Wisniewski were on the ice for all Montreal goals and ended the game with a +3 rating each.

Carey Price earned his 8th shutout of the season for the Bleu Blanc Rouge, stopping 26 shots, none of which being overly difficult to stop and the Canadiens played a strong road game, avoiding turnovers and the sin bin.

Price is now leading the NHL with 33 wins, tied with Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings. He’s also 2nd in the league with 8 shutouts, only one behind Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers.

With the win, the Canadiens now comfortably sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 38-24-7 record, good for 83 points in 68 games. They hold a seven-point lead on the Sabres and the Rangers ranked 7th and 8th respectively. But what’s even more important, is that they trail the division leaders, the Boston Bruins, by only two points, after the latter dropped a 4-2 against the lowly New York Islanders on Saturday.

The Habs now enter a very important week, as they will face teams that are just in front or behind them in the rankings. First, they will host the Washington Capitals at Bell Centre on Tuesday and their red-hot rookie goalie Braden Holtby. Holtby has won his past four games, after he came in relief of Michael Neuvirth on March 7th. Holtby has a 8-2-2 record this season with a great .931 save % and a 1.95 GAA.

Alex Ovechkin has also caught fire lately, scoring seven goals and adding ten helpers for 17 points in his last 13 games. The Caps currently have 90 points, only one behind the Conference leaders, the Philadelphia Flyers.

Then, two days later, the Lightning come into town to face the Habs. The Bolt have lost six of their last seven games and are only two points ahead of the Canadiens in the rankings. They have recently lost the Southeast division lead to the above Capitals.

Finally, the Canadiens will visit the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Friday. A team against which they had great success in the past.

Around the team:
Newly-acquired defenseman Brent Sopel has missed the past two contests with a broken left hand. He will try to play with a cast in the next few days, but he skated alone.
Veteran Mathieu Darche was also back on the ice today, still suffering from a groin injury. He will try to avoid surgery and play through the ailment, but no timetable has been set for his return.
Jaroslav Spacek is still at least 3-4 weeks away from a return and don’t expect him back into the line-up before the 2nd round of the playoffs, should the Habs win one round.
Max Pacioretty is obviously out for the season with a concussion and a cracked vertebrae following the vicious Zdeno Chara hit.

Expected forward lines:
Cammalleri – Plekanec – Halpern
Moen – Gomez – Gionta
Kostitsyn – Eller – White
Pyatt – Desharnais – Pouliot

Expected defence pairings:
Hamrlik – Wisniewski
Gill – Subban
Mara – Weber

Goaltenders:
Price
Auld

The night had begun fairly well for the Habs, after rookie Ryan White went after defenseman Johnny Boychuk who tried to hit PK Subban with his knee in the middle of the ice. The bout was filled with punches and both players were out of gas at the end of the fight. White received a two-minute instigator penalty on the pay, which Montreal promptly killed to gain the early momentum.

The Habs, who seemed jumpstarted by the fight, took an early two-goal lead in the first period, thanks to two goals by rookie Lars Eller. Eller opened the score 8:21 into the game when he buried a rebound past Tuuka Rask on the stick side. Then, nine minutes later, Eller took advantage of a turnover created by Travis Moen at the Bruins’ blue line to elude Rask on a quick backhand-forehand move to beat him again on the stick side.

Eller’s emergence is no stranger to the Canadiens’ five-game winning streak. The rookie, who was acquired in exchange for Jaroslav Halak prior to the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has regained his confidence since he was moved back to center, his natural position, by head coach Jacques Martin. The Danish rookie has now recorded six points (4 g and 2 a) in his past seven games. He has also a +2 plus/minus rating, two hits and eight shots on goal (50% scoring rate!!) over that span playing on a line with Travis Moen and Andrei Kostitsyn. After a dismal start, Eller now has seven goals and eight assists in 62 games with the Habs.

Then, in the second period, captain Brian Gionta put the Canadiens ahead 3-0 on the power play, scoring his team-leading 24h goal of the season, assisted by Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec. Rask was not very good on this shot, which slowly trickled in the net after a partial save. Eight minutes later, the power play stroke again when James Wisniewski beat the Finnish goaltender on a hard slap shot from the left point. The Habs finished the evening 2 for 5, while the Bruins were blanked on four PP opportunities.

Milan Lucic scored the lone Boston goal 13 minutes in the third period when he beat Carey Price high glove side. Price stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced for his 32nd win of the season, a league high. He even stopped rookie Brad Marchand on a penalty shot early in the third period with a quick left kick save.

But what clouded what would have been a very successful and positive evening for the Canadiens and their fans is a very dirty hit by giant Zdeno Chara on forward Max Pacioretty at the end of the second period. Pacioretty laid on the ice and remained motionless for several minutes before he was taken off on a stretcher after the hit by Chara, which sent him flying into the glass partition (stanchion) at the end of the Bruins’ bench.

“I knew we were somewhere close to our bench but obviously that wasn’t my intention to push him into the post,” commented Chara after the contest, who was given an interference major and a ten-minute game misconduct, and was thrown out of the game, with 15.8 seconds left in the period. “It’s very unfortunate. In that situation everything’s happening fast and even planning to do that, that’s not my style to hurt somebody. I always play hard. I play physical but I never try to hurt anybody so I’m hoping he’s O.K.”

It was reported Pacioretty was conscious and moved his extremities before he was transported to the hospital where he spent the night for observation and as a precautionary measure.

His status was updated this morning by RDS’ Renaud Lavoie:
Max Pacioretty is suffering from a severe concussion and a neck injury.
The possibility that the forward has suffered a fracture is not excluded.
The Montreal team will have a press briefing today to make an assessment on the health status of No. 67.

The extenuating circumstances surrounding Chara’s dirty hit are helping his case:
1. The score was 4-0 Montreal when the incident happened.
2. Chara tried to fight Pacioretty the last time the two teams met in Boston on February 9th, a game filled with 182 penalty minutes.
3. Pacioretty had pushed Chara in the back after scoring the game-winner in overtime on January 8th at Bell Centre.

Video of the hit:

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can clearly see Chara extending his arms at the last second just before he rams Pacioretty into the stanchion, therefore invalidating the comment he made after the game. While I don’t believe Chara wanted to knock Pacioretty unconscious, he clearly wanted to hurt him by hitting hard into the bench and blocking him the way. He raised his arms to make sure Pacioretty was not going past him and was hit by the stanchion even if the latter didn’t have the puck anymore. While Chara is not known as a dirty player, he was looking to exact his vengeance on Max Pax ever since the January 8th incident.

Head coach Jacques Martin commented the incident after the game: “It’s serious when you see an injury like that. The league has to deal with those issues. It’s not the first time. It seems to be getting worse and worse. The league has to take some responsibility. It was a dangerous hit.”

However, we all know that the NHL never takes responsibility for this kind of dangerous hit and unless you’re a well-known goon (Trevos Gillies), you rarely receive a lengthy suspension. The fact that Chara is only scheduled for a phone hearing, which means a suspension of five games or less, is reflecting the league’s position on that particular matter. The NHL doesn’t to care if his players are injured and out for an extended period of time. Just think about Marc Savard, viciously hit by Matt Cooke last season, who is still suffering from post-concussion symptoms. Savard tried to come back this season, but he was shutdown for the remainder of the campaign because of continuous symptoms…

Colin Campbell, whose son Gregory plays for the Bruins, will not be the one who’s going to handle the suspension, if any. it will rather be his assistant Mike Murphy who’s going to be responsible for Chara’s fate.

While I believe the NHL will suspend him, I don’t expect it to be longer than two or three games, as the NHL made a habit this season. NHL Suspensions in 2010-11

Do you think Chara’s action was premeditated?

Please add your comments as I want to know your opinion on this particular matter.

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Atlanta Despite being outshot 41-22 by the Thrashers on Tuesday, Montreal managed to hang on and win 3-1. The Canadiens took the early lead on a Max Pacioretty slapper, his 12th goal of the year, in the middle of the first period. Then early in the second frame, James Wisniewski scored on the power play, notching his 7th goal of the year to put Montreal 2-0.

But then, as they regularly do when taking the lead, the Canadiens decided to stand on their laurels and stop forechecking. As a result, the Thrashers kept shooting the puck behind the Habs’ defensemen and put pressure deep in the offensive zone. That pressure let to multiple shots on goal, which eventually ended in Nik Antropov’s 11th goal of the season late in the third frame. The goal occurred after Anthoney Stewart created a turnover off a bad pass by former Thrashers Brent Sopel. But, the Canadiens put the last nail in the Thrashers’ coffin when Brian Gionta scored the insurance goal in an empty-net. The goal was his 23rd of the season.

The Canadiens were very good on the face-offs, winning 35 of 53 for a 66% efficiency. David Desharnais led the way, winning 11 of 13 face-offs.
Carey Price earned his 29th win of the season, stopping 40 shots, his first win in a week.

Florida Two days later, the team headed to Sunrise to face the lowly Panthers who had just cleared house, trading veterans Chris Higgins, Bryan McCabe, Dennis Wideman and Brian Allen to playoffs contender. In front of many Canadiens fans, the Panthers were no match for the speedy Habs, who took an early 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Hal Gill, his first of the season, and Andrei Kostitsyn, his 16th of the year. Gill had last scored a goal in December 2009 in that same building, a 100-games pan between his two goals.

As for AK46′s goal, a great slap shot just inside the left post, it chased starter Tomas Vokoun from the game. he was replaced by Scott Clemmensen. The latter was very weak on David Desharnais’ 7th goal of the season, a weak backhand that deflected off of Clemmensen’s stick and in. Finally, rookie Lars Eller, scored his 5th tally of the year on a nice deflection early in the 3rd to seal the deal for the Bleu Blanc Rouge.

Carey Price stopped the 30 shots he faced to earn his 30th win of the season and his 7th shutout. The seven shutouts are the most by a Montreal goalie since Jose Theodore had seven in the 2001-02 season. Price was the first star of the game for the second consecutive game. Hal Gill and Andrei Kostitsyn finished the evening with a +3 plus/minus rating.

Tampa BayTwo days later, what was expected to be the toughest game during the three-game trip turned into a one-sided contest as the Habs stumped the Lightning 4-2 at home in front of a split sell-out crowd. The Canadiens went up quickly ahead 2-0 when Hal Gill, his 2nd goal in two games!, and David Desharnais, his 8th goal, beat Dwayne Roloson 3:14 apart in the first period.

Former Hab Dominic Moore closed the gap to one goal early in the second period on the power play, but Max Pacioretty retaliated with his 13th of the season, also on the power play, later in the second frame, to put the Habs ahead by two again. Max Pax added another goal early in the third period to put the game out of reach. Vincent Lecavalier scored his 16th of the year with six minutes to go, but it was too little too late for Tampa.

The Habs finished two for three on the PP while the Bolt only converted one of their six attempts. With Price earning his 31st win of the season Saturday, he is now leading the NHL tied with Miikka Kiprusoff and Jimmy Howard. Montrealer Roberto Luongo is fourth with 30 wins.

With back-to-back-to-back wins, Price is slowly earning himself Hart considerations. He is ranked 1st in wins (31), 3rd in games started (54), 8th in GAA (2.34) and 6th in save percentage (.923). He has also faced the second most shots in the NHL with 1,739, only behind Cam Ward.

Montreal has now won four consecutive games, including three on the road, and the sixth-place Canadiens are only two points behind Tampa Bay in the East. They hold a five-point lead over the 7th place New York Rangers.

Best players during the Southeast trip:
Max Pacioretty: 3 g and 1 a for 4 pts and a +5 rating
Andrei Kostitsyn: 1 g and 3 a for 4 pts and a +2 rating
David Desharnais: 2 g and 1 a for 3 pts and a +1 rating
Hal Gill: 2 g and 0 a for 2 pts and a +4 rating
James Wisniewski: 1 g and 2 a for 3 pts and a +3 rating

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The last time Montreal had won in Vancouver was in November 2000, so few Habs fans were expecting the hapless Habs to come out of this game with two points. But quick first period goals by rookie David Desharnais on a breakaway and captain Brian Gionta on a rebound put the Habs in front 2-0 midway through the first frame. Scott Gomez’s assist on Gionta’s goal was the 500th of his NHL career.

They even had a 14-1 shot advantage in the first 10 minutes, but the Canucks roared back in the second half of the first period to end the period with 12 shots. Early in the second period, the Canucks finally beat Carey Price on the power play. Henrik Sedin scored his 15th goal of the year on a great wrist past Price.

But seven minutes later, something rare happened: Andrei Kostitsyn scored a goal for the Habs. His 14th of the year and first since January 21. AK46 was one a nine-game pointless streak before beating Luongo between the pads with a quick wrist shot. Notoriously known as a streaky player, expect Kostitsyn to heat up in the next few games, just in time for the NHL trade deadline…

But indiscipline almost cost the Canadiens again in the third period, after Benoit Pouliot took a dumb interference penalty with two minutes remaining in the second frame, Jeff Halpern was called for hooking, a very questionable call by anti-Hab referee Frederic L’Écuyer. The Canucks took advantage of that penalty by closing the gap at one goal on Mikael Samuelsson’s 17th goal on the season. The David Desharnais, Benoit Pouliot and Ryan White line didn’t play at all in the third period.

Finally, thanks to a great performance by Carey Price, who stopped 37 pucks en route to his 28th win, the Habs were able to seal the deal and put those very important two points in the bank. Playing in front of at least 50 family members and friends, the B.C. native goalkeeper won for the first time in him career in front of his family. Newcomer Paul Mara recovered the game puck to present it to Price as a souvenir.

The Canucks, who had been depleted by injuries on their blue line, were happy to welcome back veterans Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard on defense.

Actor Tom Cruise, in town filming a “Mission Impossible” movie, watched the contest from the Canucks’ management suite.

The Canadiens will be back in action tomorrow hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bell Centre before welcoming the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, their last two games before the NHL trade deadline, on February 28th.

With yesterday’s win, Montreal now has a 32-22-7 record in 61 games good for 71 points. Ranking 6th in the Eastern Conference, they are four points back of the Northeast Division leaders, the Boston Bruins. They also have a comfortable 11-point lead on the 9th seed, Carolina Hurricanes.

After acquiring Paul Mara from the Ducks last week for a draft pick, it is rumored that Pierre Gauthier is looking to add a top-six forward to his struggling team. Players such as Dustin Penner, Cory Stillman, Andrew Brunette and Kristian Huselius have all been mentioned as trade possibilities.

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Benoit Pouliot, Brian Gionta and rookie David Desharnais found the back of the net for the winners while Carey Price earned his sixth shutout of the season and 27th win, one less than the league-leading James Howard, who earned his 28th win earlier this afternoon against the Boston Bruins.

Roman Hamrlik, who played one of his best games, added two helpers in the win. Hamrlik logged a team high 25:15 of ice-time, including 4:50 on the penalty kill. The veteran added five shots on goal, six blocked shots and three hits.

Rookie rearguard PK Subban also dropped the gloves against the Leafs’ newest acquisition, Joffrey Lupul, at the end of the first frame.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The diminutive David Desharnais is on a roll, recording six points (2 g and 4 a) in the past six games for the Bleu Blanc Rouge. The rookie also went 12-4 on draws and played 4:12 on the power-play.

“I’ve been watching that guy for the better part of three years, and he never ceases to amaze me,” Ryan White said. “It’s not about his offensive ability, it’s about the way he competes. I mean you’ve got a guy who’s five-foot whatever and he out-competes guys that are 6-foot-4 every night. He battles in front of the net, he goes into the corners. When you have a guy like that, how don’t you come out to play when you see him play as hard as he does.”

Injury update: Mathieu Darche (lower body) said he will be ready to play Tuesday against the Sabres. Tom Pyatt will likely be the odd-man out as Ryan White has played very well since he was called-up last Thursday.

Sniper Michael Cammalleri has skated for the last two days and he also took some shots Saturday. He is about ten days away from returning into action.

Surging forward Max Pacioretty left the game in the third period after being hit from behind by defenseman Luke Schenn. The winger was holding his left arm after the sequence. His status is still unknown for the upcoming game.

Montreal now has 68 points (31-20-6), the same number of points as the Washington Capitals, who sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference because they hold a game in hand. The Habs are only one point back of the division leaders with one more game played.

The Buffalo Sabres will visit the Bell Centre on Tuesday before the Canadiens head to Western Canada for games against the Oilers, Flames and Canucks.

Mathieu Perreault scored on a turnover 2:29 into the game beating Carey Price between the legs on a weak wrister. Five minutes later, Mike Knuble fooled Carey Price on a great cross-crease pass from Mike Green on a power-play to put the Caps ahead 2-0. Perreault also added a helper on the goal.

Then, the Capitals slumbered and the Canadiens started to attack and press their defensemen with much more efficiency and determination. The Canadiens began the second period on the power play following a dumb slashing taken by Alex Ovechkin at the end of the first period. While the Habs didn’t score, they generated many scoring chances and gained momentum.

A few minutes later, Gionta and Kostitsyn rushed in the Caps’ zone on a 2-1 after a great defensive play by James Wisniewski. Gionta beat Semyon Varlamov on the blocker side with a perfect slap shot. Then, ten minutes later, Tomas Plekanec sent Gionta on breakaway after a Caps’ turnover at the Habs’ blue line. Gionta beat Varlamov on the blocker side again with a perfect wrister.

Montreal completely dominated the second period, shooting 15 times for only six times for Washington. After a scoreless third period during which each team had good scoring chances, the game headed into overtime. Each team exchanged odd-man rushes, getting good scoring, but nobody managed to score, so here came the shootout. Of the six shooters, only Brian Gionta managed to score on a great forehand-backhand deke beating Varlamov, again on the blocker side.

Nice hip-check by Alex Ovechkin on rookie PK Subban at center ice:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fred’s notes about the game and the Canadiens:
-The Canadiens went 0 for 6 with the man-advantage despite getting numerous scoring chances. They were 0 for 7 against the Flyers last week prior to the All-Star game break.

-With an assist yesterday, James Wisnieswki now has 2 goals and 11 assists for 13 points in 14 games with the Canadiens. The Wiz played a team-high 24:59 against the Capitals.

-With two goals, now Brian Gionta has 18 goals and 9 assists for 27 points in 51 games this year, on pace for 29 goals and 43 points. Gionta scored only three goals in January.

-Carey Price set a new personal high in wins for a single season notching his 25th win of the campaign.

-The win moved the Canadiens to within a point of the sixth-place New York Rangers with Montreal holding two games in hand. The Canadiens also moved four points ahead of eighth-place Atlanta and five up on ninth-place Carolina.

-Michael Cammalleri, who suffered a separated left shoulder on January 18 in Buffalo, has resumed skating and is hoping to return this weekend against the New Rangers or the New Jersey Devils at Bell Centre.

-The Canadiens will host the Florida Panthers tonight in Montreal. Back-up Alex Auld will be in goal for the Habs. The Panthers lost 4-3 in overtime yesterday to the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Florida is ranked 11th in the Eastern Conference, eleven points behind the Canadiens with one game in hand.

Expected line-up for tonight’s game, the puck drops at 7:30PM.
Goaltenders:
Alex Auld (starting)
Carey Price

Defense Pairings:
Roman Hamrlik, James Wisniewski
Hal Gill, P.K. Subban
Jaroslav Spacek, Yannick Weber

Forward lines:
LW Max Pacioretty, C Tomas Plekanec, RW Brian Gionta
LW Andrei Kostitsyn, C Scott Gomez, RW Lars Eller
LW Benoit Pouliot, C David Desharnais, RW Mathieu Darche
LW Tom Pyatt, C Jeff Halpern, RW Travis Moen

You can follow me on Twitter to get updates on the Canadiens and the NHL in general.

Finally, below you will find a video of my two-year old daughter naming the Canadiens’ players (please note she starts picking her nose when I mention Scott Gomez:)).

Click here to view the embedded video.

O’Byrne, who was traded for forward Michael Bournival in early November, has found a niche in Denver. In 18 games, O’Byrne has recorded four assists and a +/- differential of +13. The rugged defenseman is partnered with a rejuvenated John-Michael Liles in the blue line. Liles has 5 goals and 23 assists for 28 points in 32 games this season. He is also an unexpected +15 with Colorado.

And with always O’Byrne around, Liles can roam around the ice and jump into a play whenever there’s a good scoring chance, knowing his defensive partner has his back. O’Byrne’s presence has solidified the Avalanche blue corps which has been marred by injuries this season.

Kyle Cumiskey has been out since October 30 due to concussion symptoms and Kyle Quincey will be sidelined indefinitely after injuring his shoulder on December 11.

The Avalanche is still missing Chris Stewart, who broke his hand in a fight last month, and Milan Hejduk, who is nursing a groin pull. Youngster Peter Mueller has yet to play this season due to severe concussion symptoms. Luckily for the Avs, center Paul Stastny will make a comeback tonight after missing Friday’s 6-5 OT win over Ottawa Senators.

Colorado is currently ranked 4th in the Western Conference standings with 40 points in 32 games, only three points back from the conference leaders, the Detroit Red Wings with 43 points.

On the other side of the ice, the Canadiens lead the Northeast Division with 40 points in 32 games, trailing the Philadelphia Flyers by nine points. Montreal’s stingy defense will face a powerful offense tonight, the Avalanche having scoring the most goals in the league with 118 tallies in 32 games this year.

The Canadiens’ penalty killing unit, ranked 1st in the NHL at 88.3%, will face a tough test against the 4th ranked power play in the league at 23.6% of efficiency. After ranking last in the NHL for most of October, the Habs’ power play has improved of late now ranked 14th at 17.9%. The Avs’ penalty kill is the team’s most glaring weakness, ranked only 26th in the NHL at a paltry 79.2% of efficiency.

Since the Canadiens called-up forward Max Pacioretty from the AHL, its second line seems to have found a new life. In two games with the big club, Max Pax has one goal and one assist. His teammates, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta, have played much better in his company. Gomer has four assists while Gionta has two goals in the past two goals since being reunited with the youngster.

This new combination has allowed head coach Jacques Martin to put back together Tomas Plekanec, Mike Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn who had great success together earlier this season. Plekanec leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points in 32 games.

We’re in for a very interesting match-up tonight as both teams have great skaters and highly skilled players who like to play an up-tempo style of play and score of the rush. Carey Price for Montreal and Craig Anderson for Colorado, will likely be the goaltenders.

With the win, the Canadiens’s record now stands at 18-8-2 through 28 games, good for third place in the Eastern Conference standings, two points back of the conference leaders, the unbeatable Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Habs hold a five-point lead on the Boston Bruins, who are second in the Northeast Division with 33 points, but with two games in hand on Montreal.

Carey Price made 27 saves to earn his 17th win of the year, already four more than the 13 wins he earned all of last season. Price now has an excellent 1.92 GAA and an incredible .936 save percentage in 26 games. Price is also the top-vote getter for the 2011 All-Star game that will played in Raleigh in January despite being a write-in on the All-Star ballot.

The Canadiens are 8-1-1 at home since a 3-2 loss to the Senators on Nov. 6.

Scott Gomez left the game at the beginning of the middle frame due to a lower-body injury; he didn’t return into the game, playing only 6:50 against the Senators. We’ll know more about his situation tomorrow after the team practice. If Gomez can’t go, expect Dustin Boyd to draw back into the line-up. Boyd last played on November 6 against those same Senators.

Rookie PK Subban continues to suffer in silence, being a healthy scratch for the past three games after a dreadful performance against the Edmonton Oilers a week ago. It is yet unknown if Subban will be in uniform Friday when the Canadiens visit the powerful Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. Coach Jacques Martin is well-known for not changing his line-up after a victory, but Gomez’s injury could force him to thinker with his formation and dress seven rearguards.

Stay tuned for more info on the situation.

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On Wednesday, Dustin Penner took advantage of a bad play by PK Subban, which led to a breakaway and the game-winning goal in overtime in a 4-3 loss. Subban played his worst game of the season, leading to a healthy scratch on Thursday. Ales Hemsky, Sam Gagner and Kurtis Foster scored the goals for the Oilers, while the Habs got goals by Mathieu Darche, Roman Hamrlik and Scott Gomez in the loss.

Hamrlik reached the 150-goal milestone when he eluded Devan Dubnyk on a rebound in the second frame. A few minutes earlier, Hamrlik had reached the 600-assist milestone when he assisted on Darche’s power play tally. Hammer, who added two assists against the Devils yesterday, now has 13 points in 24 games this season. In 1,256 games, the Czech rearguard now has 150 goals and 453 assists for 603 points. He has played for the Lightning, the Oilers, the Flames, the Islanders and the Canadiens during his illustrious career.

Subban’s healthy scratch allowed rookie Yannick Weber to draw back into lineup last night against the Devils. The Swiss defenseman recorded one assist playing a little bit more than 17 minutes.

Early goals by Brian Gionta and Lars Eller 1:38 into the first period chased started Johan Hedberg from the game. Mike McKenna, who came in relief, stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced. Tom Pyatt, Scott Gomez and Benoit Pouliot scored in the second period to put the game out of reach. Jason Arnott scored the lone goal for New Jersey in a losing effort.

The Canadiens who are unable to find consistency having gone loss-win-loss-win-loss-win-overtime loss-win in their last eight games will host the San Jose Sharks in a matinee match-up on Saturday. The Sharks and Dany Heatley blanked the Ottawa Senators 4-0 last night in Healtey’s return in the Nation Capital after he was traded last year for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a 2nd round draft pick.

Fred’s notes on the Habs:

- With the win, Carey Price now has a league-leading 15 wins this season. One more win than Jimmy Howard.
- Tom Pyatt scored his first goal of the season yesterday. He now has three goals in 64 games with the Habs.
- Lars Eller has four points in his last five games, after notching only one assist in his first 20 games with Montreal.
- Tomas Plekanec is the Habs leading scorer with 8 goals and 16 assists for 24 points in 25 games.
- With four points in his last two games, Roman Hamrlik now leads all Canadiens defensemen with 13 points.
- After being a healthy scratch for two games, Mathieu Darche responded with four points in his last five games.
- The Canadiens are second in the league defensively with 1.99 GAA. Only Boston and Tim Thomas have a better GAA at 1.86.
- After a terrible start, the Habs power play is now ranked 11th in the league at 17.9%.
- Montreal is still first in the NHL on the penalty kill with a great 89.9% efficency.

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