An impossible task?

Do the Habs have what it takes to get the job done? 

The Philadelphia Flyers are looking like the beasts of the east.

Fresh of of their 3-2 victory last night over the Penguins, the Flyers have now gained top spot in the Eastern Conference; and in the process, they ended the Pens 12-game winning streak.

The Flyers are now off to their best start since 1986. The have a goal differential of +30, the best in the league. They've been exceptional on the road, posting a 9-2-3 record, and are riding a 3-game win streak. Their biggest asset is probably their team confidence, which has undoubtedly held over from last year's great playoff run. Being one goal away from elimination and turning it around to being one goal away from winning it all has to lead them to believe that they can beat any team on any night.

The Habs, on the other hand, have lost their last two. They've been off since Saturday, which doesn't bode well; they have yet to win a game after having 3+ days off between games (0-1-2). Their bright spots are their penalty killing, which is at 1st in the league at an 89.3 efficiency, home record (11-2-3, second in the league) and the ability to bounce back after a loss, going 7-2-0 after a defeat. 

Good news for the Habs: they'll have the experience of Scott Gomez and Jaro Spacek in the lineup, both of them returning from injuries. Max Pacioretty gets his first call this season for the Habs, having been called up from Hamilton after the Bulldogs' win on this past Sunday.

2010-2011 Regular Season, Game 31: Philadelphia at Montreal

FIRST PERIOD:

• Subban disrespects the Flyers on his first shift by throwing his weight around. Call the NHL!
• How does a puck cleared over the glass not be a Flyer penalty? Does that mean that the Habs get a gimme for their next puck over the glass?
• Hey! Subban didn't wind up for a point shot!
• Price has had to be sharp so far, coming up big on a couple of in-close attempts
• Damn! Cammy takes a feed from AK46 and comes REALLY close. They need to cash one of these early attempts before they get used to not scoring
• Ten days out form Christmas, and I'm already tired of the commercials
• I've liked what I've seen from Pacioretty so far. A line with Pouliot and Eller might be something to watch for
• That all started from a WEAK clearing attempt by Subban, and Jeff Carter is able to blow by Picard to go in alone in the last minute of the period against Price. 1-0 Flyers

It was a pretty evenly-matched period, with the Habs leading the shot clock by 12-10, and in the faceoff circle 13-11. But P.K. Subban is the goat of the first 20 minutes when he turned a simple zone-clearance into a primo scoring attempt for Jeff Carter, who was able to bury it for the 1-goal lead.

SECOND PERIOD:

• Subban on to start the period. A vote of confidence, perhaps?
• If it wasn't for bad luck... a harmless looking pass into the slot deflects off of Hal Gill and over Price. 2-0 Flyers
• To their credit, Habs are coming on strong after the Flyer goal. Gionta rings one off the post to come close
• Gionta gets another chance in close, and his stick breaks. Is anything going to go right for them today?
• Habs are 0-7-0 when giving up the first goal. Well, that doesn't bode well...
• Price has to stop a 3-on-1
• More push-back from the Habs, but nothing to show for it
• Philly assessed a penalty? Must be a mistake
• There you go, PK! A one-timer on a 5-on-3 powerplay brings the Habs within one. 2-1 Flyers

Just what the Habs ordered: aside from a fluke Flyer goal, the Habs played a great bounce-back period to pull within a goal, outshooting the Flyers 15-8 (27-18) in the process. And Subban learned that getting his shot past the first wave of defenders pays dividends. Habs are also leading the battle in the faceoff circle 22-19.

THIRD PERIOD:

• Habs start the period with the same kind of energy that they used to end the second period
• Well, they didn't need that. Zherdev walks through all defenders, cricles behind the net, and banks it in off of Price. 3-1 Flyers
• How about Pleks! A great rush by Pouliot never gets cleared from the zone, leading to an in-close goal for #14. 3-2 Flyers
• THERE'S the lucky break that they needed! Gomez passes to Gionta in the slot, which manages to find it's way through Bobrovsky's 5-hole. Tied at 3! The place is going nuts
• Wow... the Capitals have now lost seven in a row. Is this 1977? 
• Spacek pulls a Subban, and gets caught with a turnover at centre ice. Pleks with the penalty to foil the scoring chance
• Damn... van Reimsdyk with a powerplay goal, off a rebound, to retake the lead 4-3 Flyers
• Aaand Subban with another turnover to put the game out of reach. Another turnover sends Giroux in all alone against Price. 5-3 Flyers

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Sorry, Hal. No credit for goals scored on your own net. Photo: John Kenney/Gazette



'Tis The season, eh? The Habs led the way against the Flyers in most categories, including mental mistakes. Credit to the Flyers, who were able to cash in on three of their gift-wrapped chances, plus the Zherdev goal that Price would like back.

For the first time this season, the Habs have lost three in-a-row, and gave up more than three regulation goals in a game, minus empty-netters. They were the last team in the NHL to do so, taking until their 31st game for both of those to happen. That's a credit to a sound defensive style that's being preached by Coach Martin.

P.K. Subban. What else is there to say? Moments of brilliance, followed by plays that would be frowned on in a Saturday night beer league game. And too often, those turnovers are turning into the kind of prime scoring chances for the opposition that are ending up in the back of the net. Why is this kid not learning from his mistakes? Take the last Flyer goal: without a passing option, he turned the puck over with a bad pass to the blue line. It then comes back to him, and he makes the EXACT same mistake, 4 seconds later. That time the Flyers make no mistake with the possession, and are able to spring Claude Giroux in all alone for their 5th goal. Get the kid some Ritalin. Geez.

That said, there was plenty of brain-mush to go around this evening; P.K. was only one of the guys that needed their head screwed on a little tighter. It's games like this where they REALLY miss the calming effect of Andrei Markov.

The plus: they're mistakes which are completely fixable. Play smart defensive hockey, and the Habs can beat any team in the league. You couldn't say that about Hab teams from as little as three or for years ago.

Final shots: Montreal 41, Flyers 30. They also led the way in the faceoff circle, 33-28.

At least the Habs will get a chance to bounce back tomorrow night against a strong rival, the Bruins, who also lost tonight.

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Leaf fans in a giving mood

"Some maple (leaf) syrup for your waffles, sir?"

'Tis the season for giving. 

And Leafs fans really gave it to their team on Thursday night at the Air Canada Centre, following a weak, 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, in the form of waffles being tossed onto the ice to show their displeasure with the performance of the Blue and White.

Why waffles? Beats me. Maybe they were out of raspberries, but it probably came about in a conversation something like this: "Honey, I'm going to the game tonight with the guys. In the probable event that the Leafs suck, do we have anything that I could toss onto the ice? Toe rubbers went out of fashion soooo long ago." 

Alternatively: "I hate the Leafs. They're waffle."

The Habs' opponent for tonight's game at the A.C.C. hasn't been having a great season, but one of their few victories came in the season opener against the Habs. For that game the Habs were without the services of Andrei Markov and Mike Cammalleri. Tonight they'll be missing an ailing Scott Gomez and... Andrei Markov. Add to that the fact that the Habs played a tough game last night in Detroit coupled with the Leafs having been idle, and it adds up to what will probably be a tough night, win or lose, for the Canadiens. Or they'll kick the Leafs' asses and put Leaf coach Ron Wilson one step closer to the ledge. What the hell do I know?

Look for the Habs to try to use their speed to force the Leafs to take penalties. The Leafs' penalty-killing "efficiency" sits at only 76%, and they've allowed almost a goal per game more than the Canadiens. Hab-castoff Mikhail Grabovski has scored in each of the last three games.

David Desharnais has been recalled from the Bulldogs, though it remains to be seen if he'll be in the lineup for the Habs. On a down note, Mike Komisarek will miss the game for the Leafs, which means that Mike Cammalleri will have one fewer players feeding him tape-to-tape passes in the slot for easy goals.

Tonight's game is, for the first time, being broadcast in 3-D on Hockey Night in Canada. Let's hope that 3-D doesn't stand for Dreadful, Dire and Disheartening.

2010-2011 Regular Season, Game 30: Canadiens at Maple Leafs

PREGAME:

• The John Lennon tribute on Hockey Night In Canada was nice, but wouldn't it have been better to air it the week before the anniversary? Feels like they forgot about it and are trying to catch up.
• Leafs are having a "Homecoming Night". Lots of ex-Leafs being introduced. They shouldn't do this. It just reminds viewers of how many medioce players they've had over the years.
• Leaf ceremonies always look awkward, like a bunch of high school boys standing around the edge of the gym waiting for a girl to ask them to dance. That said, Johnny Bower was one the the true greats. I would have taken Sittler and Clark on my team, too. But Todd Warriner being touted as an immortal? Yikes!

FIRST PERIOD:

• Cool! The Habs are in red tonight, for game 705 between these teams
• Cammy misses the net on a breakaway. Not a good omen
• At this rate, the Habs will end up with more icings than shots on goal
• Not good. Auld looses sight of a puck in the crease for an easy tap-in by Kessel. 1-0 Leafs
• Halfway through the 1st, and the Habs have yet to register a shot
• CA-REY!!! Auld whiffs on Kaberle's 1st goal of the season. 2-0 Leafs. And now Spacek is off with an injured hand
• Man, CBC's picture is jittery
• Grabovski high-sticks, Subban, no call
• Picard and Subban both -2 this period

Just about everything that could go wrong that period, did. The Habs followed up one of their best periods of the season in Detroit last night with one of the worst in Toronto Last night. Outshot 11-4, beat on faceoffs 12-7, down by 2 goals and a defenseman.

SECOND PERIOD:

• Well, at least they're showing a little more jump at the start of this period
• Darche takes a spear in front of the Leaf net, no call. Refereeing hasn't been the greatest over the last couple of games
• Shots 5-1 for Montreal so far this period, but all from the outside and ineffective
• Kessel hadn't scored in 11 games, Kaberle in 36. You just know that Kadri will score his 1st tonight
• Best part of the game: lots of AC/DC being blasted over the Air Canada Centre P.A.
• That makes up for missing on the breakaway in the first. Cammy with a wrist shot from the slot. Pleks and AK46 with the assists. 2-1 Leafs

The Habs skated a lot better in that period, catching the Leafs back on their heels for a number of rushes. Spacek gone for the game with an "upper body" (read: hand) injury. Shots: Montreal 12 (14) and Toronto 3 (14). Leafs lead in faceoffs, 32-18.

THIRD PERIOD:

• So many empty seasts at the beginning of a period in Torono tooks AWFUL on TV. You'd think that we were watching a game in Atlanta or Long Island
• WEAK penalty call against Hamrlik; a one-handed crosscheck, apparently
• A pretty uneventful period so far
• Hey... the Habs get a powerplay!
• But they do nothing with it
• There's been a serious lack of speed from both teams. Boring... I feel sorry for anyone who paid to be at this game
• A little life, but is it too little too late?
• Yeah, it was too late. And to top it off, and empty-net goal to finish it. 3-1 Leafs.

_________________________

 

Spacek executes the 'game plan'; shoot from bad angles and a long way out. Photo: Dave Sanford/Getty Images

What a difference 24 hours makes. Last night, between the Habs and Red Wings, we were treated to playoff-calibre hockey, and the third period was one of the best periods of hockey that the Habs had played all season. That's followed up with an extremely flat performance against a low talent team, making for a very unentertaining game to watch.

Quite simply, the Habs have a knack for playing up, or as in the case of tonight, down to the level of their opponents. As a fan it may be frustrating, especially because the Leafs didn't play a great game, but considering that they wouldn't play any bad teams in the playoffs it's a habit that I can deal with in (very) small doses.

Alex Auld might have sucked on the first two Leaf goals, but the rest of the team wasn't great, either, and didn't give him a lot of support. Still, it's tough to be down by two early while having to did yourself out of a hole. Kudos, to Alex, though, for getting sharp and holding the team in it for the rest of the game. Final shots were 23-22 for Montreal, with Toronto holding the edge in faceoffs, 35-30.

Never mind the final score, the biggest loss tonight might be that of Jaroslav Spacek. With Andrei Markov already out for the season, Spacek has been teaming up with Roman Hamrlik on the team's first defensive pairing. There's no word yet on the severity of his "upper body" injury, but if he's out long-term, the Habs are really going to miss his veteran play, especially with a tough couple of games coming up against Philadelphia and Boston.

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Protective eyewear... check

The Man.

I still miss Saku Koivu.

Captain of the Habs for nine of his thirteen years in the CH (not counting that little lockout thingy) he bled for the Habs. Literally. When I think of Saku, I think of triumph over tragedy, including his return from having kicked cancer's ass, and the night of April 26, 2006. That was the night that Justin Williams of the Carolina Hurricanes attempted to remove Koivu's left eye without an anesthetic. The most obvious high stick in NHL history wasn't called, Saku spent the rest of the playoffs in the hospital with a detached retina, and the Hurricanes went on to win the Stanley Cup. And I've never forgiven them for it.

Tonight, the 8-8-0 Hurricanes again visit the Habs. The Molson Bell Centre has been kind to the 'Canes since the lockout: 8-0-2 isn't shabby regardless of how you slice it with the business end of a hockey stick. 

All indications lead to this being a tight game. The Canadiens sit 23rd in the league in goal scoring, while the Hurricanes are 23rd in goals against. Carolina is 5-2-0 after suffering a loss, and they were absolutely pummeled to the tune of 8 goals in their last game against the Flyers. They've been licking their wounds and will be looking for retribution. However, The Habs are a perfect 7-0-0 when playing after one day off. On Thursday the Habs played a fantastic road game in knocking off the Bruins, and earlier in the week a 2-0 shutout of the Canucks. 

Carey Price has been hot, with a 0.50 goals against average and a .986 save% over the last couple of games. Carolina goaltending over the last four games has posted a SV% of just .857. Both teams are healthy, with no injuries to report.

2010-2011 Regular Season, Game 17: Carolina at Montreal

NOTE: I've either got to start leaving work earlier, or invent some sort of teleporting system. Once again I've missed the first period. Just switched on the game at the siren to find that Plekanec and Cammalleri have scored. The Hurricanes lead in shots 15-10, so I'm guessing that Price has had to be sharp in the period. Just checked the stats page to see that Montreal has dominated the faceoff circle, 16-5.

SECOND PERIOD:

• They've got to start the second period killing a penalty. Saw the replays of the goals; sweet passing!
• Not sure who the referee is, but that's one cheesy Mo-vember moustache
• Cam Ward fell pretty easily there to draw the goalie interference penalty against Lapierre
• Habs need to release their shots a little quicker. Too many telegraphed and getting blocked
• Man, those 'Canes fall easily. Cammy nailed for a featherweight cross-check behind the net
• Aaaaand... Hurricanes tic-tac-toe on their 5th powerplay. 2-1 Habs. Cammy has words for the ref on the way out of the box
• Damn. Kostopolous with a quick one from the slot. Did he pick a corner like that when we was with the Habs? Some weak coverage there by Georges. 2-2.
• Habs have had some shots this period, but they all meet to be from a distance and easily seen. And as I type that Gionta works a nice give-and-go in close an snaps one just inside the near post. 3-2 Habs!
• Lapierre breaks in alone, almost over skates the net, recoups with a spin-a-rama in front of Ward, and beats him along the ice. 4-2 Habs! Ward pulled, Peters in
• Free wings! Peters down an out on the powerplay, Spacek from behind the net finds alone in front, open net. 5-2 Habs!

The Habs came out pretty light in that period, and couple that with a two moments of indiscipline (one penalty, one missed coverage in the slot) and they found themselves back on their heels and in a tie game. But credit them for being opportunistic and not sitting back in a defensive shell, replying with three unanswered goals. Shots that period were 16 for Montreal (26) and 7 for Carolina (27).

THIRD PERIOD:

• 'Canes look like they're going to forecheck their little hearts out this period. Habs are going to have to play some disciplined defense, and that doesn't mean sitting back on their heels
• Both teams have had a couple of chances in close
• So far the Habs have dominated the faceoffs 32-17
• Not many whistles. Quick period to this point
• Price just made the best outlet pass of the night
• Holy SH*T!!! If that Price save isn't the highlight of the night...
• Uh-oh... Markov down in the corner. His knee again? At least he was putting a little weight on it as he came off the ice
• 4 minutes left in the game, and all I care about is that Markov, ain't hurt bad
• Game out of hand, not here comes the chintzy stuff. Habs with a 5-on-3 powerplay for 2 minutes
• And there we go! Pleks to Kostitsyn in the slot, PPG, 6-2 Habs!
• Did I just see a replay? Gomez from behind the net to Darche in the slot, another PPG. 7-2 Habs!
• Hurricanes have how given up 15 goals in their last two games

Lots of rough stuff towards the end of the period, as to be expected in a blow out. Lapierre and Kostopolous get misconducts a various other penalties which led to a Montreal 2-man advantage on the powerplay... and the Habs promptly potted 2. Shots in the 3rd were 8 for Carolina (30 and 7 for Montreal (33)... seemed like both sides had more.

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Cammy and Moen help Pleks celebrate his first period goal. Photo courtesy John Kenney/The Gazette

Save for the first 10 minutes of the 2nd period, the Habs dominated against the Hurricanes, ending off a tremendous three-win week in which tough teams Vancouver and Boston were also victims. Tomas Plekanec had another tremendous game with a goal and three assists. Brian Gionta had a goal and and assist, and after a slow start the captain has now scored in three straight. And how about that goalie? Carey Price ends the week going 3-for 3 with a GAA of 1.00 and a SV% of .970. And consider this: both goals against tonight were completely doe to a couple of boneheaded Hab plays; one poor penalty and one defensive breakdown in the slot. If those don't happen, Price numbers for the week would have been 3 wins (2 shutouts) a GAA of .333 and a SV% of .990. Awesome.

Sharing the love, Cammalleri, Gionta, Gomez, Kostitsyn and Spacek all ended the night with 2 points. Gorges, Hamrlik, Moen and Pouliot all chipped in with a point. Only two Habs--Gill and Georges--didn't register a shot on goal. Additionally, the Habs didn't have to do a lot of excessive puck-chasing tonight. They won 38 of 64 faceoffs, which translated into a high amount of time with the puck in their possession.

There's only one concern from tonight, and that's with the health of Andre Markov. He went down awkwardly on a knee after leg-on-leg contact with the 'Canes captain Eric Stall. The good news: Markov was putting some, if not a lot of weight in the leg as he left the ice. Hopefully it turns out to be nothing to serious; it would be devastating to again have him out of the lineup for any length of time. If that's the expectation, then we may have to move the Centre Hice Mood Indicator down to a Code Orange.

Geez... is it too late to get O'Byrne back, just in case?

Next week the home stand continues with games against the Flyers, Predators and Maple Leafs.

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Habs host cakemakers

Better call Saul! I think that someone should be lawyerin'-up

If I were the folks at Vachon, I'd be checking to see if any of my ex-graphic artists had been hired by the Canucks.

I know that there a lot of coincidences in this world, such as two people looking alike even though they're not related, but the Canuck's "Johnny Canuck" secondary logo bares an uncanny, almost spooky resemblance to Vachon's chef logo. Not that it's entirely surprising; the 'Nucks have a history of "borrowing" a good similarity. Heck, they even have two guys named Sedin on their team. Yeah, I know that they're twins, but Johnny Canuck and Mr. Vachon look like their from the same gene pool, too. And Vachon and Vancouver both start with the letter 'V'. There's definitely something fishy goin' on here. We'll get the crack Centre Hice research team to do some digging.

And yes, Centre Hice is well aware of the irony of ragging on some corporate hack graphic designer for pilfering a logo, while at the same time using someone else's kindergarten photoshop talents to illustrate our point. Hey, at least we're honest about it. 

The Canucks come into tonight's game riding a six-game winning streak, though six of their eight wins come on home ice. Vancouver hold the edge in both goals scored (40 vs. 34) and goals against (32 vs. 33), but the biggest difference is undoubtedly the powerplay, where the Habs sit dead last in the league at a minuscule 6.4% of crappiness, while Vancouver is humming along at 29.4%, good for first in the entire league. If I'm coach Jacques Martin, my pre-game comments include a stern warning about staying out of the penalty box. Interestingly, the Canucks are 4-0-1 when getting outshot.

2010-2011 Regular Seaon, Game 15: Vancouver at Montreal

FIRST PERIOD:

• I'm not sure what to think of Price's Movember catepillar moustache. But he's the Molson Cup winner for October (presented before the game) so who am I to argue?
• Gomez: no points in the last 7, and Cammalleri none in his last 6. Yikes! Secondary scoring is nice, but Vancouver is a Cup threat. The big guys need to play a big game against a big team
• Subban with a nice hit along the boards to start. I want to see more the the physical part of his game
• I'd be surprised if Price doesn't see 40 shots tonight
• Luongo: ugliest mask in the league? 
• How did that go in? Markov with his 1st of the season, a rebound from a foot out shoveled past Luongo. Stinky, but I'll take it. 1-o Habs!
• What's this? Another ineffective Hab powerplay? 
• Even in a great shooting position, Gomez will still pass to a man who's covered.
• I've never seen a puck-over-the glass penalty for the puck going out of play at the far end of the rink.

Not a bad period be the Habs against a team that figures to play a prominent role in the Western Conference playoff race, holding an 11-8 advantage in faceoffs and a 10-6 lead in shots. Hal Gill lead the team with 7:33 of ice time.

SECOND PERIOD:

• Aaaand... the kill off the holdover penalty from the first period
• Ouch! Darche takes a blatant cross-check to the face. Check the ice for teeth! Four-minute powerplay coming up which means that the Habs will get to not score twice
• Price has to stone a short-handed 3-on-1. You'd think that with all of this powerplay practice that they'd actually get good at it
• No goal on the 4-minute powerplay, and dominated right after in their own end.
• Shots halfway through the game: 14-12 for the Habs
• Crummy passing from both sides. It's like watching the Timbits scrum during intermission.
• Price has had to come up big a number of times
• They've kept the #1 powerplay off the board... so far

No goals in the second period, with shots split at 9 apiece. Still, the Canucks have started to take the bulk of the action into Hab territory, helped by a couple of borderline penalty calls. Josh Gorges leads the way with 3 shots on goal for the Habs. Did Lars Eller get more than a shift that period? He's only played 3:44.

THIRD PERIOD:

• Just like the second, Habs will start the third period killing a penalty
• Why is the tint on RDS always so far off? I have to adjust my TV every time I watch a game
• Great! Killed it off, and the Canucks take a delay of game penalty. Can the Habs refuse it?
• A Cammalleri shot goes wide, But Hamrlik is there to slam it home as it comes out from behind the other side of the net... and a powerplay goal to boot! 2-0 Habs!
• Leafs losing 4-0 to Tampa Bay. Shame, that.
• Price has had to bail out his defense more than a few times tonight
• Getting pressure in the Vancouver zone would be a sound defensive strategy for the rest of the game
• Gio and Cammy are getting some chances, but 45-footers unscreened aren't high-percentage plays
• 'Nucks pull their goalie with 2:15 left
• Price snuffs 'em out with a couple of huge stops at the end, then loads up for a shot on the Vancouver goal. I'll bet my house that he scores at least one during his career



Markov's game-winning goal gets ready to cross the goal line. Photo courtesy Habs Inside/Out



Montreal was outshot 20-10 in the 3rd period, but Carey Price was the main story as he shut the door against a pressing Vancouver offence to earned his second shutout of the season while stopping Vancouver's winning streak at six games. Jaroslav Spacek also played a solid game. Gionta and Plekanec each accounted for 4 shots and an assist, and Andrei Markov, with his first goal of the season (and game winner) led the Hab skaters with 24:53 of ice time. Lars Eller was only on for 4:24, but his 2 shots we still more than the 0 of Kostitsyn and Pouliot, though AK46 generated a couple of decent scoring chances for himself. Hal Gill was the only other Hab not to register a shot on goal.

The biggest story of the night was the Montreal penalty kill, which held Vancouver's top-rated powerplay (35% on the road coming into the game) off of the scoresheet, going 0-for-4. What's odd for the Canucks is that even with such a smoking road powerplay, their record away from home has only been worth two wins.

Overall, a much better effort by the Habs tonight. Let's see if the same sort of effort makes an appearance Thursday night against Tim Thomas and the Bruins' stifling defense. In his career versus Boston, Price is 9-2-2 with a GAA of 2.39 and a SV% of 9.23. His corresponding road numbers this year: 4-2-0, 1.84 and .931. 

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Truckin' up to Buffalo



It was 40 years ago today...



Game four of the regular season, and tonight Centre Hice will be taking it in live from the HSBC arena.

I've always found Buffalo to be a strange hockey town. It has a rich hockey history, and in fact before tonight's game the Sabres will hold a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of their first game. But to me it's always felt like a minor-league town. I don't mean that in any offensive way, it's just that Buffalo has never struck me as a place that a player would go to play in the limelight. On top of that, the HSBC, though a competent arena, feels like an overgrown AHL rink. Thank goodness their fans tend to breathe a little life into the place, and having thousands of Hab fans descend on the place when the Canadiens roll into town definitely helps the atmosphere.

The pregame ceremony should be interesting; the Pocket Rocket will be on hand to help commemorate the Sabres' first game, which just so happened to be against the Habs 40 years ago tonight. Hopefully the Habs will be able to lend a hand with the retro feel of the game by repeating the score in that first game: a 3-0 shutout for the guys in blue, white and red.

Speaking of uniforms, the Habs will be sporting the red unis tonight; Buffalo will be wearing their "new retro" whites. On this point I have to tip my cap to the Sabres' organization; thank goodness that they killed off the BuffaSlug. Mind you, a logo that looked like a cross between something slimy and Barney Rubble's hair was always fodder for a good taunting to a Sabre fan, especially in their own building, but it had no place on an NHL jersey. Thanks for coming to your senses, Buffalo.

In any event, the Habs need to start converting some chances. Buffalo hasn't had a good start to the season, and at 1-1-1, the Habs, if not for some great goaltending in their last two games, could easily be 0-3.He Gio... pot a couple tonight, would ya? Preferable on the power play. And Cammy... no lame-ass penalties, please.

The best news from today is that Andrei Markov is targeting next Thursday for his return from knee surgery. One can hope.

Well, off to sit in line at the Peace Bridge border crossing. I might update this after the game. Or not.




Patrick Kaleta makes his "I'm Carey's bitch" face. Photo courtesy Habs Inside/Out.



UPDATE > > > Victory in the Sabrehood! (I'm trademarking that, by the way) 

In a repeat of the Sabres' first ever game, the Habs come in to town and ruin the party. 2-1 final. Alexandre Picard and Josh Georges with the goals. Carey great. AK great. Moen great. Spacek save, great. Pre-game ceremonies? Not so much. I found the waiting room at U.S. Customs more interesting. And who the hell does a ceremonial face-off in one end of the rink? The Sabres, that's who. What, too lazy to stroll all the way to centre ice?

The Slug lives. Even though the Sabres have dropped the BuffaSlug/Barney Rubble's hair as their logo, it's still plastered all over HSBC including their entertaining, kid-friendly ridiculous smoke-belching scoreboard. I guess that they forgot to call the exterminators. Somebody step on that thing, will ya?!

Light crowd tonight, too. Upper corners in the 300 level were empty, as were noticeable stretches of seats in the lower bowl. Good thing so many Hab fans were in the arena, or it would have looked like a Toronto Marlies game. They announced the crowd at 17,500. The 15,000 in attendance shared a good laugh at that. 

By the way, great song selection by the Buffalo production staff to serenade the Sabre faithful out of the arena after the Sabres collected 1 out of a possible 8 points in their first four games: "Up" by Shania Twain.

It's 'bout as bad as it could be
Seems everybody's buggin' me
Like nothing wants to go my way 
Yeah, it just ain't been my day
Nothin's comin' easily...
There's no way but up from here
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