tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-346817152011-09-13T05:16:12.273-04:00A fan's-eye view of the minutae of the Montreal Canadiens.Tonynoreply@blogger.comBlogger1571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-88947855370277158232007-10-02T20:25:00.000-04:002007-10-02T21:06:52.857-04:00

Central Division1. Detroit Red Wings2. Nashville Predators3. Chicago Blackhawks4. St. Louis Blues5. Columbus Blue JacketsAgain, this will be the most top-heavy division in hockey. Detroit for all my wondering about whether they can win or not, will go out and win the division. Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Chelios, Rafalski, Hasek and a host of players that aren't well known but get the job

Tonynoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-29796009414633837332007-10-01T22:00:00.000-04:002007-10-01T23:37:06.757-04:00

Atlantic Division1. Pittsburgh Penguins2. New York Rangers3. Philadelphia Flyers4. New Jersey Devils5. New York IslandersIt's painfully obvious how Pittsburgh plans to attack the season...offence, offence, offence. But you know what? They can do it. Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Roberts, Christensen, Armstrong, Whitney, Gonchar, Malone, Sykora. It's disgusting the plethora of offensive talent on

Tonynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-15189050126947827712007-10-01T17:56:00.001-04:002007-10-01T18:13:56.727-04:00

Well, the Habs have made their final cuts. Down to Hamilton went Ryan O'Byrne, Maxim Lapierre and Jaroslav Halak. With those cuts it means that Mikhail Grabovski, Kyle Chipchura and Carey Price will all be sticking with the big club.I love that Grabovski is staying in Montreal, I think he brings a lot of offensive flair to the team. Chipchura, I'm not as sure about. We'll see what he can do,

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-87951075798298077162007-09-26T07:46:00.000-04:002007-09-26T08:14:08.954-04:00

Montreal has pared it's roster down to 26 following cuts on Monday. No real surprises amid the cuts, though there might be some that Habs fans don't like.Players that need to clear waivers before being officially assigned to Hamilton: Yann Danis, Andrew Archer, Mathieu Biron, JP Cote, Jamie Rivers, Jonathan Ferland, Corey Locke, Duncan Milroy and Cory Urquhart.The big commotion from what I can

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-91540493526486199322007-09-16T11:02:00.000-04:002007-09-16T11:13:01.683-04:00

Montreal training camp has opened and I'm stupidly getting all excited about the team. Souray? Pff, Hamrlik is twice the player he is. Top scoring line? Ryder/Koivu/Higgins has it all, a bona fide threat. Carey Price is the next coming of St. Patrick. The 4th line will be better than the first with Kostitsyn/Grabovski/Kostitsyn. The 2nd line will be the best of the bunch with Kovalev/

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-26124669440000660342007-09-07T22:47:00.000-04:002007-09-08T00:53:17.304-04:00

Game 7, trying to keep the series sweep intact. Really at this point there are only 2 reasons to play for these kids. The first is to keep their spot on the World Junior roster, although I don't think any of them could play themselves out of a spot at this point. The second reason is to go for the incredibly improbable 8 game sweep. Did anyone see that coming before the series started? I

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-36362593293522114892007-09-07T18:59:00.000-04:002007-09-07T19:07:07.923-04:00

... and you know what? Good for him. Of course by the next day management had spoken to him and told him to retract his statement and spin it like crazy so it doesn't sound so bad. (TSN article).But in my mind, I like that he was open about it. I like his honesty in the situation. I mean, it's all well and good for a player on a team that isn't going to do well to come out and say, "We are

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-21076336466119901182007-09-07T18:51:00.000-04:002007-09-07T18:59:41.296-04:00

Horribly late on this, but going up into the rafters this season at the Bell Centre will be the jerseys two of the greats of recent-ish Montreal history."Big Bird" Larry Robinson's number 19 and Bob "Bo" Gainey's number 23 will be lifted and take their place with Jacques Plante, Doug Harvey, Jean Beliveau, Bernard Geoffrion, Howie Morenz, Maurice Richard, Guy Lafleur, Dickie Moore, Yvan Cournoyer

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-63320836435838425002007-09-05T21:35:00.000-04:002007-09-05T22:28:07.961-04:00

Yes yes, I'm around to delight you with my own special brand of play-by-play1st and 2nd PeriodDrew Doughty has been impressing me today. He has been solid on defense and jumping into the rush. Other than him not many Canadians are standing out tonight. Kyle Turris has had some moments, I've seen John Tavares do some positive things and flash his skills and I guess Claude Giroux and Brandon

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-37968032302480799102007-09-04T20:47:00.000-04:002007-09-04T22:41:00.067-04:00

So...I didn't actually get to watch the 4 games of domination that Canada had in Russia, though I did hear they were quite dominating. Canada is up 4-0 in the best of 8 recreation of the '72 Summit Series between Canada and Russia.I had some other ideas for this Super Series rather than pitting the juniors against each other. What about getting the surviving members of the original series back

Tonynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-74898268101176064402007-08-23T22:31:00.000-04:002007-08-23T22:36:33.066-04:00

As reported by TSN. From the article:Kovalev flew to the town on his own plane to visit one of his fans, and while there he managed to damage a Harley Davidson motorcycle that belonged to the mayor.I find that especially hilarious...he managed to damage a motorcycle. Just when the offseason was seeming quiet too. It's sort of neat that he has fans in Quebec, I found that to be a little

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-70376029433092337652007-08-17T22:25:00.000-04:002007-08-17T22:40:35.358-04:00

It's been a sad week in Montreal. Former Canadiens GM Sam Pollock passed away earlier in the week. He was the mastermind behind 9 Stanley Cup winners in 14 years from 1964 to 1978.Unfortunately I was not alive for that period of time, from all accounts he was a shrewd GM that made terrific trades for not only the short term, but the the long term as well. He traded 2 prospects to Boston for

Tonynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-66309124830789717332007-08-04T22:20:00.001-04:002007-08-04T22:43:36.274-04:00

Well, Patrice Brisebois accepted the Habs offer of $700,000 for one year. The thing I don't understand, is do people not remember how this all ended before? And what's the point of signing him?Brisebois was booed out of town for his lack of ability to defend. He wasn't physical and he couldn't stop anyone from just walking through him. Yes, he was making more money then and was supposed to be

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-42790155674624812002007-08-01T14:06:00.001-04:002007-08-01T14:06:51.604-04:00

Chiming in a bit late here, but Michael Ryder did in fact sign and avoid arbitration a few days ago.  The financial stuff is 1-year (of course) for $2.9 million, a raise from his previous salary of $2.2 million.Ryder has seen his value skyrocket the past few seasons because Gainey seems unwilling/unable to sign his young guys to long term deals which results in this year to year worrisome, "

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-72871686908642881102007-07-28T14:43:00.000-04:002007-07-28T14:51:06.566-04:00

So it seems like Michael Ryder may end up going to arbitration. I'm officially scared after seeing some of the contracts that are being handed out.Scott Hartnell, Derek Roy and Dustin Penner are all up into the $4 million range and I can entirely see an arbitrator saying, "Hey, Michael Ryder scores 30 goals...he should be at least in that range."Well...he shouldn't. He's completely

Tonynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-25705451927192395212007-07-28T14:34:00.000-04:002007-07-28T14:43:05.250-04:00

According a report up at TSN, Bob Gainey has offered Patrice Brisebois a 1 year, $700,000 contract.Do we not remember his tenure in Montreal? It was a love-hate relationship at the best of times. I recall an entire season of booing when he finished a -31 in '00-'01. I recall him being booed off the ice in his final season, even though he actually put up some respectable numbers. To look at

Tonynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-24783886787741454422007-07-19T20:36:00.000-04:002007-07-19T20:43:13.094-04:00

Gainey resigned a bunch of the kids from Hamilton a few days ago now so it's probably not news to you anymore.Jean-Phillipe Cote, Andrew Archer, Yann Danis, Duncan Milroy and Corey Locke were all signed to new deals and will in all likelihood be allowed to lead Hamilton in their defence of the Calder Cup.Also re-signed was Josh Gorges who came over from San Jose in the Rivet deal at the

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-36727791092647535292007-07-12T23:31:00.000-04:002007-07-12T23:47:06.118-04:00

Sometime today Sheldon Souray agreed to a 5-year, $27 million deal with the Oilers.Glad to see he's not coming back to Montreal, but also glad to see he hit paydirt. For all his awesomeness on the powerplay, you can't have a team that aspires to be a championship calibre team where your top defenseman is a -28. At that point you can't put him on the ice at even strength. He has no defensive

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-15027408538967459482007-07-05T22:59:00.000-04:002007-07-05T23:10:41.199-04:00

Gainey has wrapped up the player universally credited as being the most consistent player last year for Montreal, Tomas Plekanec. He signed a 2-year deal, potentially in the $4.25 million range.The sad part here is that Plekanec was the most consistent player last year in putting up 47 points. The good side is that he was second on the team with a +10. He's the kind of guy that I can see doing

Tonynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-51202505885561054702007-07-04T16:10:00.000-04:002007-07-04T16:18:54.443-04:00

Gainey claimed to be done on the free agent market, boy was he wrong! The most recent signing was Tom Kostopoulos for 2 years and $900,000.It's a league minimum deal so its a good enough deal ... but it's entirely confounding. He most likely comes on to play the 4th line and generally rack up what people in basketball circles would call "garbage" minutes. I don't understand why Gainey wouldn't

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-64537019663278351812007-07-02T23:02:00.000-04:002007-07-02T23:12:30.226-04:00

Our first two free agent signings and likely the only "impact" ones that will be seen this year. Bryan Smolinski comes in to likely fill the 2nd line centre role and Roman Hamrlik takes over from Sheldon Souray.I mentioned in my free agent preview that I'd be ok with Hamrlik. He doesn't bring the most physical game, but his offensive awareness will be appreciated as will his defensive awareness

Tonynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-20595084996847004812007-06-30T17:04:00.001-04:002007-06-30T18:27:15.192-04:00

Ah, it's the time in the offseason when hope springs eternal. The NHL Entry Draft has just finished, the system is full of fresh new faces and free agents will hit the open market, selling their services to the highest bidder (likely).Montreal has 6 potential unrestricted free agents. Janne Niinimaa and David Aebischer are no longer required and its fine by me to see them leave. Aaron Downey

Tonynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-68706156734839109452007-06-26T23:48:00.000-04:002007-06-27T00:35:04.399-04:00

Here's a look back at last years draft class for Montreal and how they fared this past season wherever they were, ordered by when they were picked.20: David Fischer - D, University of MinnesotaGP: 42 G: 0 A: 5 PIM: 14This was his first year at the University of Minnesota so I'm assuming as just a young kid he didn't get to see much ice time. Still, for being voted Mr. Hockey in Minnesota last

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-37515405761807948482007-06-26T18:21:00.001-04:002007-06-26T23:40:20.798-04:00

The NHL Entry Draft concluded over the weekend with the 2nd through 7th rounds. Here's Montreal's picks because we obviously care not for the rest of the league (the Blackhawks seem to have made out pretty well...just odd to see them do something good).12: Ryan McDonagh - D - Cretin-Derham (High school, Minnesota)GP: 23 G: 10 A: 23 PIM: 4422: Max Pacioretty - LW - Sioux City (USHL)GP: 60

Tonynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-40031404630496780952007-06-22T18:56:00.000-04:002007-06-22T21:36:45.506-04:00

Hi All.So...turns out the draft is on at primetime on a day when I can watch it. Who knew? I guess the big news from the Habs perspective is that Carolina is looking to draft Esposito, but supposedly Montreal really like him as well and are willing to trade to jump over Carolina. I'm all for that idea. They could package the 12th pick and a 2nd rounder and maybe a marginal prospect to move up

Tonynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-44530020655480985332007-06-20T18:00:00.000-04:002007-06-20T19:20:29.459-04:00

Well folks, the NHL Entry Draft will be happening tomorrow and that means that we get all the fun of Mock NHL Entry Drafts! Of course these are generally worthless and great fodder for writers to write about and argue about with nothing really being achieved. So I will spare you the actual analysis of each and every Mock draft I've seen, and instead just see who these nice folk have seen fit to

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-80053951420671965012007-06-17T22:00:00.000-04:002007-06-17T22:05:38.366-04:00

Both signed to two-year, $3.4 million contracts broken into a year at $1.5 million and a year at $1.9 million. The cap-hit I assume is $1.7 million (I think it's the average of the contract over the term).These are deals that had to get done, they are the building blocks of the team. Higgins is a solid 2nd line winger, or even top-line if stretched. Him and Koivu have some good chemistry

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-79758926461690967052007-06-17T21:46:00.001-04:002007-06-17T21:56:25.989-04:00

Well...he got his wish, Sergei Samsonov gets to leave pressure packed Montreal for a team that still isn't shown on local television.Samsonov is the newest Chicago Blackhawk with the Habs getting Jassen Cullimore and Tony Salmelainen back. Montreal has agreed to buyout the $1.9 million left on Cullimore's contract and Salmelainen's situation will be "examined" in the coming weeks.From Montreal's

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-29157217488380514882007-06-09T13:09:00.001-04:002007-06-09T13:18:18.631-04:00

Well, Montreal's farm club is at least winning. They took the final series 4 games to 1 against the Hershey Bears.Corey Locke was the team leader in points with 22 (10 goals, 12 assists) in 22 games and a +2. Dan Jancevski, a name I vaguely recall from a trade early in the season...possibly the Ribeiro deal, was 2nd with 14 points in 22 games and a +6, not bad output from a d-man. Other names

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-28207790881278375562007-05-30T20:14:00.001-04:002007-05-30T20:16:34.644-04:00

So, this is late. The series started and Game 2 is about to go right now. Anyway, I picked Ottawa in my mind before the series started and I'm sticking with that still. They are too awesome not to win. The only thing I worry about is Ray Emery and his mediocre 'tending. I don't get how people can think he is an elite goaltender. He's lucky, or it feels like he is lucky. He doesn't have

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-35762479107754739922007-05-29T13:54:00.001-04:002007-05-29T13:54:40.926-04:00

It's been a busy couple days in Habsland.The smaller news is Belarussian Sergei Kostitsyn has signed on with the big club.  As a 20 year old he put up 40 goals and 91 assists in 59 games for the London Knights of the OHL and chipped in 9 goals and 12 assists in 16 playoff games.  Curiously, despite all that offensive output he wasn't able to get them to the Memorial Cup, where Plymouth

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-53145444089490343032007-05-09T22:05:00.000-04:002007-05-09T22:17:23.837-04:00

My overall playoff prediction record is now at 9-3, with 2 of those 3 misses belonging to Detroit. Guess what I do this round!Eastern Conference FinalOttawa def. Buffalo, 6 games.Ottawa is clicking on all cylinders and from what I see of Buffalo, if you are physical against them you can win. This isn't to say that Buffalo can't get physical, but I think they are happiest when they can wheel

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-28892245889175676152007-05-08T17:55:00.000-04:002007-05-08T18:02:12.225-04:00

It seems that Alexander Perezhogin has moved on from the Canadiens. He has reportedly signed a contract with a Russian team for $1.7 million net, or $3.4 million gross. I'm assuming that in order to match that offer Montreal would need to pay him somewhere in the middle there. Regardless, he was worth the $600k he played for last year, not worth near $2 million.I liked Perezhogin's game. He

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-80140588050492335632007-05-03T18:07:00.000-04:002007-05-03T18:11:28.612-04:00

Well, the NHL released their nominees for various awards a couple days ago. Lo and behold, the Jack Adams Trophy for the best coach had nominees of Lindy Ruff, Alain Vigneault and Michel Therrien. Notice anything there? I do. 2 terrible coaches are nominated.I would hesitate to say that Vancouver or Pittsburgh were well coached, I think they excelled based on one player stepping up

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-70889788279661672232007-04-29T20:52:00.000-04:002007-04-29T20:58:10.046-04:00

Buffalo vs. NY RangersZzzzzz. I watched the game today and it was the most boring thing I've seen. Well, not the overtimes, those were good, but I think that's more a function of every play being amplified in OT. There is no physicality in this series at all. Like completely none. We saw it in game 2 of the Islanders series and I think it holds true today, if you can take the body on Buffalo

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-56017609602108234742007-04-29T18:25:00.000-04:002007-04-29T19:20:08.892-04:00

What's with the Habs and having Russians that don't want to be held accountable for their play? The latest words from Kovalev (via TSN), "I told (GM Bob Gainey) that I didn't want to be back on the team if I'm treated the same way as I was (this past) season."Ostensibly this is related to a benching in a third period of a game he was not good in (one of many), from which he then decided to miss

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-56094622823117116032007-04-24T23:53:00.000-04:002007-04-25T00:05:14.981-04:00

So far I'm 6-2 only missing the toss-up of San Jose/Nashville (for my money that was the real Stanley Cup Final) and Detroit beating Calgary, which in retrospect really made a lot of sense. Luongo was huge for Vancouver, Lecavalier was big for Tampa just not quite big enough. On to the next round!Western Conference:San Jose over Detroit. Yes, I'm taking Detroit to lose again. I know I'm

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-51335653203531317412007-04-21T00:13:00.000-04:002007-04-21T00:28:50.879-04:00

In possibly the greatest thought that has ever come out of the IIHF's collective head, we get the possibility of a Champions League of Hockey (as brought up by TSN).Basically it would take the top teams from Europe and pit them against each other in a round robin format. The winner would potentially play against an NHL team for...well I don't really know what purpose.At first I thought this was

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-68132896800826947482007-04-16T21:11:00.000-04:002007-04-16T21:26:20.278-04:00

I like the overtime format in the playoffs. 5-on-5 until a winner is decided (barring penalties and such), it's just a continuation of the game. Baseball doesn't go to 8-on-8 and playing without a centre fielder, basketball doesn't go to 4-on-4 with no centres, football doesn't go to...x-on-x without a running back. Why should hockey change?The arguments are mostly lame, to my ears anyway.

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-2474991928589368972007-04-15T19:54:00.000-04:002007-04-16T21:37:41.041-04:00

As a reference point, I'd like to send you to here (Montreal @ Pittsburgh, my notes).This would be the second time that I have seen Armstrong pull this B.S. A player coming around the net and he is charging from the blue line with full intention to kill Eaves. He did it with Koivu and thankfully Koivu came out of it ok. This time Patrick Eaves was not so lucky. If you watch the replays (I'll

Tonynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-15805259848291555022007-04-14T09:50:00.000-04:002007-04-14T09:56:22.847-04:00

Mickey Ribs is no longer bitter with Montreal for trading him. He somehow led Dallas in scoring with 59 points and was a plus player. Looking back, that would've been very helpful for a 2nd line centre, although Plekanec had 47 and was +10 himself. Maybe he wouldn't have been that much of an upgrade.The thing that still amazes me is that he didn't see it coming. Like...how? Everyone on Earth

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-35691345893319096542007-04-11T21:26:00.000-04:002007-04-11T21:37:08.041-04:00

Not sure that I can provide too much insight, so I'll just make my picks with some quick thoughts if I feel they add something.Eastern ConferenceBuffalo over NY IslandersNew Jersey over Tampa Bay: This will be close I think. 6 or 7 games. Watch out for Vinny.NY Rangers over AtlantaOttawa over Pittsburgh: I had this picked in my mind before watching most of this game 1. I swear.Western

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-13545041479120913152007-04-11T19:04:00.000-04:002007-04-11T21:37:38.657-04:00

Time to see how I did in my preseason picks.Eastern ConferenceSeed. My Pick - Actual1. Ottawa - Buffalo2. Tampa - New Jersey3. New York Rangers - Atlanta4. Carolina - Ottawa5. Buffalo - Pittsburgh6. New Jersey - Rangers7. Philadelphia - Tampa Bay8. Boston - Islanders9. Atlanta - Toronto10. Montreal - Montreal11. Florida - Carolina12. Pittsburgh - Florida13. Toronto - Boston14. New York Islanders

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-67498811740578320192007-04-11T18:06:00.000-04:002007-04-11T18:55:13.928-04:00

As we all know, Montreal's season is over but that doesn't stop the news from pouring in.1. Markov and Souray both say they want to staySays Souray:"The priority is to give Montreal a real good chance of signing me."and"We have lots of time. There's three months before anything has to be done. Montreal has been really good and I hope our relationship continues. I love Montreal. It's a challenge,

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-59740750756317557512007-04-08T10:01:00.000-04:002007-04-08T10:14:20.337-04:00

A horrible smoking pile of rubbish, covered in...rubbish.Ugh. 6-5 loss to Toronto. Just...like...I don't even have words for this game. First of all I'm going to second guess Guy Carbonneau for putting in Huet. I know he's the number one goalie but he hadn't seen game since February (unless you count garbage minutes last game against the Rangers in the 3rd period). In a one game playoff you

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-67616987730323603222007-04-07T01:57:00.000-04:002007-04-07T01:59:40.014-04:00

I refuse to acknowledge Thursday ever happening.From all the grumblings around, it seems like Huet might get the start in the biggest game of the season for the Habs.It's essentially a must win. Doesn't matter when or how, they just have to win.Sigh...all those shoddy losses in mid-season. This is when they come back to haunt you.

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-31693210738960601322007-04-04T20:51:00.000-04:002007-04-04T21:05:44.603-04:00

Holy smokes. What a night. Where to even start. Let's go with everyone other than Montreal.Toronto wins against Philly in O.T. Undoubtedly the Flyers are upset they took a point in their quest to get a top draft pick, Toronto is thrilled to pick up the two points. I like this result.The Islanders beat the Rangers. Another good result. This keeps the Habs in striking distance of the 6th

Tonynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-25722446166249266362007-04-01T17:10:00.000-04:002007-04-01T18:16:56.329-04:00

Ah...getting close to playoff time and life goes to hell! Yay! Ok, so let's do some recapping.Game 1: Montreal 2 @ Ottawa 5Some ugly goals here. Halak is as inconsistent as most young goalies. I think the nights when he is on are the nights when the Habs play the best team defence. Koivu managed a -4 and took the penalty that the Senators converted on for the first goal of the game. Not

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-80796071486563832172007-03-26T20:17:00.000-04:002007-03-26T23:03:53.973-04:00

So, it's finally come to me actually putting my thoughts out there on the subjects of fighting and head shots. I think they are generally separate topics so I'll handle them sort of separate.First up is head shots because I know where I stand on this issue. It's appalling. Some guys are good, clean, hard body checkers. On Montreal that would be people like Souray, Komisarek, Begin and

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-10263919415581789442007-03-25T20:41:00.000-04:002007-03-25T20:53:30.814-04:00

For those keeping score at home, this would be the 6th win in 7 games since I said I wanted the Habs to just lose out the rest of the season. See, I did good!On to other notes...watch for the end of the world. I assume it's coming soon because all of the Canadiens were a plus or even on the night. Not sure the last time that happened, but lets say it's been a while. Oh...I guess there was

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-31103166830793484872007-03-24T12:45:00.000-04:002007-03-24T12:57:10.800-04:00

I had the pleasure of watching all the parts of this game where Montreal stank. Specifically from the middle of the first period to the end of the second and it was business as usual from a stinking standpoint. Nobody was skating all that hard, turnovers were coming fast and furious as they attempted to pour on the pressure while losing 3-1.But then a funny thing happened. Plekanec got in and

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-47093164142351252612007-03-21T21:27:00.000-04:002007-03-21T21:37:29.883-04:00

And this would be shutout the first for Mr. Jaroslav Halak. 30 saves sounds pretty impressive to me though of course I didn't get to see anything but the highlights.All in all it looks like the Habs dominated and Tim Thomas was insanely good/lucky. There's something about that guy and playing against Toronto/Montreal that just gets him pumped up and putting on a show. His numbers are against

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-29494320174252275172007-03-18T11:24:00.000-04:002007-03-20T19:54:22.222-04:00

I actually got to watch a game! More surprisingly, Kovalev seemed like he cared!I think the big news is I finally got to see Andrei K's sweater, and he spelled his name like so: Kostitsyn. So that is how I will be spelling it and damn the rest of the media!The win moved Montreal into a 3-way tie for 9th, though due to games played and such they stay in 11th "officially". They are still only 4

Tonynoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-88993922137506131962007-03-17T10:54:00.000-04:002007-03-20T19:53:52.571-04:00

5-on-5 play? Who needs that!The night started poorly with Sidney Crosby having 4 Habs converge on him in the slot...he controlled the puck, fell to his left out of the 4 Hab-box and shot a wrister past Aebischer. It was a beautiful goal no doubt, but ugh. He beat FOUR Habs! That had him boxed in!Abby let in at least 2 softies, I'm not so sure I can call him a goalie that makes all the easy

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-14944473262114483252007-03-15T22:03:00.000-04:002007-03-15T22:08:58.374-04:00

Sergei, Sergei, Sergei. He's spoken out before and gone back on his comments, and here he goes again. After all those inflammatory remarks he comes back with:"You guys ask me questions and I'm trying to answer as truthfully as I can. That probably wasn't the right time. I shouldn't be the subject of talk, we're fighting for a playoff spot."Does he not learn? Carbonneau scratched him in the

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-41507679434473762832007-03-14T23:03:00.000-04:002007-03-14T23:10:35.097-04:00

In classic Montreal fashion, they just won't make things easy one way or the other.On this particular night it was the young guns lifting the team. Latendresse chipped in 2 goals, Andrei Kastitsyn had 3 assists and Ryder and Plekanec had a goal and an assist each. Montreal continues to sit just 2 points back of 7th/8th, but have still played more games. If they keep beating teams just ahead of

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-10283465821756732882007-03-13T11:43:00.000-04:002007-03-13T12:12:26.909-04:00

Is it just me or this getting to be old hat already? TSN had this article up yesterday in which one Mr. Sergei Samsonov expresses some displeasures. Let's hear what he had to say and I'll chip in some thoughts along the way."I've been blamed for everything that has gone wrong. Why stop now?"It's sort of true, the whole lack of secondary scoring thing has fallen on Samsonov. Two things about

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-61046047619739363482007-03-11T11:11:00.000-04:002007-03-11T11:21:45.011-04:00

Well...the Habs certainly still don't make anything easy. It was back to their winning game plan of getting outshot, outpowerplayed, and scoring shorthanded. Still, with a 3-0 lead it couldn't be held and only a late late goal by Kovalev salvaged the 2 points.I was following up on some thoughts from a while back where the top 3 Habs point getters were a minus and was looking around at some

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-19520245739262762142007-03-11T11:00:00.000-04:002007-03-11T11:11:43.255-04:00

Well, after a 4 day lay off the big question was will the rest help or hurt the Habs. And the glorious answer would be "hurt".Halak, after some fairly good outings to start his career, is starting show that he might not yet be ready for primetime following up his 3-0 start by going 0-4. What does this mean for the Habs? Well...it means one of two things.Option 1. Play Halak and get him

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-47291428822197267602007-03-04T09:50:00.000-05:002007-03-04T10:05:53.937-05:00

After Aebischer allowed 7 goals on Friday night, it was Jaroslav Halak getting the call tonight. He did a not terrible job. 3 goals on 36 shots is pretty good, of course one he should have had and another was a brutal bounce off of my favourite target, Mr. Souray. And of course, being Sheldon Souray, he came back with a goal of his own that took a funky bounce.Not much to really say about this

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-67200716384157193562007-03-04T09:38:00.000-05:002007-03-04T09:50:33.486-05:00

Well...I think Carbonneau has given up."These kinds of games will happen. We were able to come back a lot of times, but every time we came back we made mistakes on top of mistakes," said Carbonneau. It sounds like he has come to expect this type of thing and that it is becoming commonplace. Bad sign.The Habs are suffering their 2nd bout of flu of the season. Higgins missed the game and Koivu

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-48827380407871866472007-02-28T21:19:00.000-05:002007-02-28T21:43:34.373-05:00

So...another loss to a team that is chasing the Habs for the final playoff spots. Good stuff. To top it off the game only accentuated the Habs' needs that didn't get filled.Anyway, Montreal now sits in 8th spot and has still played more games than any team around them. They are in the midst of playing 6 away games out of 7, so this stretch is hugely key. So far they are 2-2, and I don't see

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-75887476468914003912007-02-27T23:08:00.000-05:002007-02-27T23:19:25.365-05:00

Well...the trade deadline has come and gone and the Habs big move was...*drum roll*...to claim goalie Michael Leighton off waivers. Yes, they claimed a backup goalie. Woo.In the meantime every team ahead (and some behind) got better in some or multiple ways. Tampa added Shane O'Brien and Jason Ward, the Senators added Oleg Saprykin and Mike Comrie earlier, the Penguins added Gary Roberts and

Tonynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-43334943906062311612007-02-26T23:06:00.000-05:002007-02-27T18:32:06.809-05:00

Wow...so that was more exciting of a finish than it needed to be. Abby made it a tight one.I see why Latendresse is still getting the short end of the minute stick. His shifts are still too long and he's still adjusting. Having said that, wow can the boy hit. The line of him, Lapierre and Begin was fun to watch all night. I don't see Lapierre ever really growing out of a 3rd/4th line role.

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-57918761413238574662007-02-26T21:44:00.000-05:002007-02-26T21:48:43.065-05:00

Wow. I love this move. Montreal gives up Craig Rivet and in return San Jose gives up their first-round pick in this year's draft and Josh Gorges.Rivet, while serviceable and a likable guy and all that, just isn't all that good. I have this feeling that he was getting many a free pass because of his long tenure and this mystery of him being a "great leader". Every time I watched him he was

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-24246561069851124172007-02-26T21:38:00.000-05:002007-02-26T21:44:26.612-05:00

Jaroslav Halak tasted defeat for the first time as a Montreal Canadiens in this game.The big problem is that this drops Montreal out of the playoffs with the Isles jumping ahead of them with 2 games in hand. That, quite simply, is huge. This game right here could be the game that spoils the playoff run and makes the Habs finish out of the playoffs AND with crappy draft position, the worst of

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-71180437433514576332007-02-23T21:10:00.000-05:002007-02-23T21:21:52.450-05:00

Hmm...what's with Forsberg? I thought being with some real forwards again and on a good team he'd be a gigantic difference maker. So far, no points in 3 games? That's pretty bad. We'll see what he does come playoff time.On to more interesting things. The Habs. This is win number 3 in a row, officially solidifying them as a weird, streaky team. Montreal had to come back from 2 down on 3

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-91124777415368289852007-02-21T19:03:00.000-05:002007-02-21T19:20:15.872-05:00

Well...Halak is 2-0!Another win for the Habs, your new 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. To be fair they have played 2 more games than the 9th and 10th seeded teams who are only 2 points back each, so it's not a comfortable 7th seed. This mini winning streak comes also comes against 2 of the bottom 4 teams in the league...so let's take it with a grain of salt.Higgins and Ryder managed 2 goals

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-50534650755232585702007-02-20T19:01:00.000-05:002007-02-20T19:13:17.524-05:00

Don't know what to tell you. The Habs beat a bad team, the scarier part was that they were up 3-0. Halak got his first career win which is of course cool for him. It remains to be seen if this was just Montreal beating a bad team or Montreal starting on their 2nd run of the season.On a ridiculously stupid note, the NHL is no longer allowing embedding of game highlight videos that they post on

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-22372155973168350542007-02-20T18:54:00.000-05:002007-02-20T19:01:07.134-05:00

Apparently his injury wasn't as bad as they had thought, so I guess that is good. I still don't see Huet being down as a hugely terrible, earth-shattering event. I maintain that he mystifies me with the way he stops the puck and that was starting to show recently as he stopped stopping it. He seems like a great guy to give 20-30 games to, but not ride as a starter for a whole year.I see all

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-64558644769636115162007-02-18T10:54:00.000-05:002007-02-20T19:19:21.896-05:00

Freaking. Cam. Ward.Wait...whoa...deja vu. Didn't I write this already? 11 days ago Carolina came into Montreal and took a 2-1 decision with Cam Ward being the star. Montreal's PP and PK sputtered and of course their 5-on-5 scoring was what it always is. That was 5 losses ago, and Carolina extends the streak to 6 now with pretty much the same game plan.Souray kept up his inspiring play of

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-52395455665906585892007-02-16T16:10:00.000-05:002007-02-16T16:38:19.979-05:00

Holy Moly...I miss a week and it's all gone to crap. Let's do some quick hits.Huet is out indefinitely. Is this the breakdown everyone would come from trying to play a whole season? He went from a backup goalie in LA, to eventual starter in Montreal last year. Regardless, he's never played more than 41 games in a seasons and this year he was at 40 games, playing in about 2/3rds of Montreal's

Tonynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-37293816412434898372007-02-07T20:55:00.000-05:002007-02-06T20:41:29.796-05:00

Freaking. Cam. Ward.I wish I'd never have to say that again, but there it is. Between him and Justin Williams...just ugh. I could so love the Hurricanes, they have a cool team and all, but why must they continually make the Canadiens look so bad? And it's always Ward or Williams...or Cole. Those 3 just love playing Montreal and so was the case again.Samsonov sat for a 2nd straight night which

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-85547441267721568852007-02-06T13:12:00.000-05:002007-02-06T13:23:46.276-05:00

For the 2nd time this year, Sergei Samsonov wants out. And you know what? That's fine by me. An article up on TSN says that Samsonov has been waived as of this afternoon, hopefully not to be claimed. The grumblings are that he could go to Chicago with Rivet for Adrian Aucoin and Bryan Smolinski.Sergei clearly isn't cut out to handle playing in Montreal. I know he's been in some hotbeds of

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-68969123344083680662007-02-04T17:04:00.000-05:002007-02-04T17:31:33.208-05:00

Well...if I was a Penguin I wouldn't be too happy about this one. They dominated most of the game and the Habs were not terribly impressive for large stretches.Having said that, when they finally decided to play they looked good...kind of. What was up with Koivu playing with Streit and Johnson? That was weird. In fact, most of the lines were weird. I'd say the Kovalev/Latendresse/Plekanec

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-26551881013474228522007-02-04T16:56:00.000-05:002007-02-04T17:04:50.656-05:00

I guess one thing that needs to be mentioned is that Radek Bonk seems to be possessed. I don't know what got into that guy recently, but he's picked up his game (in the offensive zone) a whole lot. It's good. I like it. He used to be a perennial 20 goal scorer and 60 point getter. Obivously now he's in a shut-down defensive role instead of centring a top line that includes Daniel Alfredsson,

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-90066211171279738542007-02-01T19:42:00.000-05:002007-02-04T16:53:58.251-05:00

1st Period15 seconds in and there's already fireworks...I don't quite know why Lapierre would butt-end Crosby off the first faceoff, but he did. I must say that Crosby went down mighty easily, it looked more like Lapierre was just trying to get by him. Anyway, Crosby got his revenge sloo-footing Lapierre on the next faceoff. If they wanted to face a pumped up Crosby that's what they are gonna

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-60471472892583904882007-01-30T14:50:00.000-05:002007-01-30T15:03:22.728-05:00

The night got off to an auspicious start with Chris Phillips scoring 50 odd seconds into the game. I'm not going to lie, at that moment I figured, "Here we go again...". Little did I know that Aebischer was going to play a very solid game in net (including 1 "OMG" save) and that the team would actually pull together and get the job done...for about 3 minutes in the 2nd period.I think that

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-50529735618027054802007-01-29T23:53:00.000-05:002007-01-30T00:25:52.784-05:00

A few things to preface this with...or maybe one, I tend to write and just get on a roll. Whenever there is a chance to win a championship, I say jump on it. The Habs have a decent team this year, it's not great, it's not terrible...it's 6th-8th seed-ish. A lot of this can be thrown on the complete lack of secondary scoring, a 2nd line that is brutal when all is said and done, and a top line

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-50781609909826682042007-01-29T22:59:00.000-05:002007-01-29T23:29:48.100-05:00

...and out the window goes another number for new Habs to wear.All in all a good thing. He won like 6 Cups in 9 years with the Habs.GG Ken Dryden.

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-63605946317775073122007-01-25T22:08:00.000-05:002007-01-25T22:15:33.720-05:00

... happened.Now back to real hockey.I must say I'm kind of sad to see what the All-Star game has become, or maybe it was always this way. I remember back in the 90's I watched them all the time and even remember going to tell my mom at the intermission, "They scored 5 goals that period! That's like, one every 4 minutes!" I was always excited to see it and all the players play together. After

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-60165296265309459612007-01-24T19:59:00.000-05:002007-01-24T20:10:54.614-05:00

There's much less fanfare around the demotion this time. It was likely a money saving move of some type I would wager, as Garth Murray cleared waivers and could have been sent down in Lapierre's place.Regardless...he was a 4th liner this year and his play had trailed off from the "incredible" play of his previous callup. He'll get his chance in the future, I'm not sure he'll ever be more than a

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-19039619672939551572007-01-21T16:56:00.000-05:002007-01-21T17:09:54.457-05:00

A regulation win versus Buffalo! This was big. Montreal goes into the All-Star break one point up on Ottawa and the 4th seed in the playoff picture.Buffalo was up to their old tricks in this game however, falling behind only to storm back. Montreal was up 3-0 before Buffalo tied it at 3. Perezhogin assisted on Ryder's game winner with just over 2 minutes left. I liked seeing that Latendresse

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-44204489692684551242007-01-19T21:15:00.000-05:002007-01-19T21:28:43.125-05:00

Welcome to the Cristobal Huet show starring Cristobal Huet.44 saves a game after being called out by coach Guy Carbonneau for letting in 2 soft goals, I'd say that's the kind of response an All-Star should have. Speaking of All-Stars, Souray popped in a goal. And the other two? From quite unlikely sources actually. Samsonov put one in in his return to the lineup (Rivet was a +1 on the night

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-83951342616973104552007-01-17T19:32:00.000-05:002007-01-17T19:45:05.765-05:00

This game marked the return of two former Habs, one coach and one player. Alain Vigneault was back for the first time since blundering his way through the playoffs in ... 2002/2003? I recall not enjoying something about the run that he made, but I forget precisely what it was that annoyed me. It was also the first game back for Jan Bulis, who managed a goal and an assist on the night.The Habs

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-14161050549659259512007-01-17T19:24:00.000-05:002007-01-17T19:28:16.892-05:00

Garth Murray cleared waivers today after being put on them on Tuesday. He was part of the big kerfuffle back when Maxim Lapierre was sent down after 4 good games, he was coming off the IR and the Habs were worried someone would claim him.Well, I'm guessing they weren't worried anymore with Lapierre seemingly up for good now. I'm assuming this move results in Murray being sent down to play in

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-71018820061405094022007-01-15T23:43:00.000-05:002007-01-15T23:45:08.914-05:00

I guess I should "report" on this, though it is likely old news by now.Sheldon Souray was voted into the All Star game as a starter, and Christobal Huet will be going as a reserve, likely to see one period of action as is customary.Of all the Habs I'd say that Koivu should be there more than anyone, but what do I know.Have a good time guys, and don't get hurt.

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-44926183979448232222007-01-15T19:27:00.000-05:002007-01-16T20:25:50.225-05:00

After 1 Period:Montreal has jump, there's no doubt about it. The only problem is that they are giving up the puck at an incredible pace. Between Kovalev, Rivet, Souray and Samsonov there must've been a turnover on every shift. They couldn't maintain any pressure at all in the offensive zone and look scared in the defensive zone. All that said they are skating well. Glenn Healy brought up an

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-1556597399426642622007-01-14T21:25:00.000-05:002007-01-16T20:27:09.278-05:00

Yes, that is an 8 and no, it is not a typo. 8 through the first 2 periods no less, with 4 in each. Of the defencemen making absolutely brutal errors, the usual suspects come up. Rivet and Souray, just like, I don't even have words for what they do. Souray at least brings the offense on the PP (speaking of which, he set the single season record for PP goals by a defenceman with 13 so far this

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-72091612971159368572007-01-12T21:11:00.000-05:002007-01-12T21:32:04.123-05:00

Seems that the new 3rd line is a winner. 2 of the 4 goals on the night came from that line and in the highlight pack below you will hear the names of Higgins and Johnson more than any other (or at least see their numbers). Abby got the start in net and I guess he was solid in stopping 34 of 36 shots, though I get the feeling that most of those shots were of the easy stop variety given that

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-23881649676229447542007-01-11T14:07:00.000-05:002007-01-11T14:23:56.699-05:00

As reported on TSN. With some thoughts from me.Mr. Carbonneau has seen fit to try and juggle the lines in order to get a bit more offence and make up for Bonk being out with a facial injury. The prime benefactors here are the young guys.Latendresse is skating with Koivu and Ryder on the top line. I love it. More ice for my boy is always good and Ryder's play seems to be picking up a bit.Maxim

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-53501945324527632232007-01-11T14:00:00.000-05:002007-01-11T14:03:58.542-05:00

With everyone now recovered from that nasty flu blug that swept through the locker room, Mikhail Grabovski was the most expendable and so was sent down to continue his season in Hamilton. I expect this won't get the fanfare of last month when rookie sensation Maxim Lapierre got sent down after 4 good games, but if I were to predict a future for these 2, I would say that Grabovski will play a

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-29998896971770692782007-01-10T22:59:00.000-05:002007-01-11T14:00:30.089-05:00

Well, I'd love to have something to say here. It was really nice to see Ryder step up and get some goals finally and Plekanec continues a modest streak of 5 points in 3 games. The Habs were all recovered from a flu bug that bit them all weekend, so they apparently had a bit more pep. Check out the highlights.Update: Can't believe I forgot to mention this! Saku Koivu notched point 500 of his

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-53234365733783454382007-01-07T16:37:00.000-05:002007-01-08T22:01:48.436-05:00

Finally a chance to watch the blue, blanc et rouge. I missed the first, but we can pick it up in the second.After 2 PeriodsWow are the Devils fast. Gomez had about 5 shots by himself just because he can outskate Montreal's defence. I'd love to know what Souray was thinking when he ended up behind the net on the PP. He sort of started to skate, I think to get a shot...but then he got lower and

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-63398985181542613852007-01-06T12:06:00.000-05:002007-01-06T12:18:07.566-05:00

There was apparently some controversy in this one, and apologize that the highlights don't actually show it. It seems that at 2-1 down Montreal scored a goal, but Koivu was called for goalie interference. Having just now seen the play it's sort of iffy, but I can see why it was called. I'd say more that Kolzig knew he was going to be scored on and so chose to dramatize the whole thing as Koivu

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-55882089676004737822007-01-06T11:54:00.000-05:002007-01-06T12:06:37.402-05:00

And so we come to the end of 2 weeks of great and entertaining hockey with the gold medal coming home to where it belongs and should never leave. Even with the so-so- forwards that couldn't score, the defence and Carey Price stepped up huge to lead the way for Canada.The game itself was mostly chippy. With Canada jumping out to the big early lead, 3 to 0, it sort of took a lot of the drama out

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-39849283640725791742007-01-04T12:57:00.000-05:002007-01-04T13:07:07.020-05:00

Ah Montreal. How I love thee. Bouncing back from a brutal game against these same Tampa Bay Lightning, the Habs managed to blow them out, getting 2 goals from the 2nd line centre. Now, one wouldn't normally consider that a huge deal, the 2nd line centre should normally contribute to the offence, but here in Montreal the man that fills that role is one Mr. Tomas Plekanec, entering the game with

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-43775034118662873182007-01-04T12:33:00.000-05:002007-01-04T12:56:58.087-05:00

So, through a fluke of IIHF rules, despite Canada being the higher seed they were actually the away team for this contest. If two teams meet in the same competition, the road team for the first becomes home for the second, and in the first game Canada was the home team. I fail to see exactly why this carries over for the elimination rounds, but I digress.I was a semi bad boy and actually

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-13100315570168857722007-01-02T17:21:00.000-05:002007-01-02T17:31:09.277-05:00

After taking a leave of absence to mourn his daughter's (Laura, 25) tragic death, Bob Gainey has come back to resume his GM duties with Montreal. Pierre Gauthier had taken over all of Gainey's duties in his absence.It'll be tough, but Bob is a strong guy and I'll try to take it a bit easy on him. Sorry for your loss.

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34681715.post-52718438357828850902007-01-01T19:56:00.000-05:002007-01-01T20:26:57.844-05:00

I get a chance to watch a lot of Leafs games seeing as I live in Toronto, and one thing that always mystified me was how Chad Kilger ended up not being a Hab. I didn't really ever care too much, like not enough to investigate (because as soon as I don't see him I forget), but today he's playing really well and I always liked his game. He's the consummate 4th liner. He skates hard, plays with

Tonynoreply@blogger.com0