Shocking photo of Cammalleri injury

Cammalleri grimaces in pain after leaving the dressing room in Dallas

A recent photograph sheds new light on the injury that caused Canadiens forward Michael Cammalleri to leave Tuesday night's game in Buffalo. 

It appears as though the crosscheck from behind that sent Cammalleri careening into the boards early in the first period my have not caused the injury that threatens to have the Montreal sniper out of the lineup through the All-Star break. It's believed that Cammalleri suffered trauma during the team's recent western road trip, specifically at a game in Dallas, and that the hit in Buffalo merely exacerbated the problem.

"Cammy's a gutsy guy," said teammate and captain Brian Gionta, upon viewing the photo. "It's not like him to talk up an injury, so it doesn't surprise me that he tried to play through it. To tell you the truth, we probably should have suspected that something was up. Since that trip into Dallas, he's been setting off the metal detector at all of the airports."

The Canadiens have since announced the placement of Cammalleri on injured reserve, and have called up Ryan White from their AHL-affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs to take his spot on the active roster.

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Time to stop the bleeding

Visual repesentation fo the Habs' recent road trip

Anybody got a tourniquet?

I don't remember much of what I had to learn to get my boy scout first aid badge, but I do remember that to stop the bleeding you've got to elevate the wound. Elevating their game would probably be the best thing that they could do to turn around their recent road trip. 

If the Habs can play the stingy kind of defense in front of Carey Price that gave them their early-season success, they could very well skate out of Tampa Bay with two points. On the season, the Canadiens are third overall in goals against (86), while the Lightning have had troubles keeping the puck out of their own net; they've allowed 120, good for 29th in the league.

The Habs will be down two defensemen for tonight's game with the usually-reliable Josh Gorges joining Andrei Markov on the sidelines as he gives some rest to a nagging injury. The Lighting have fared better in avoiding the injury bug, as 10 of their players have been able to suit up for every game this season; only five Habs (Gill, Spacek, Gionta, Halpern and Lapierre) have perfect attendance.

Oh, and the Canadiens have that pesky Steven Stamkos to worry about. He's already potted 29 goals. Brian Gionta and Mike Cammalleri lead the Habs with just 12 each.

Defenseman James Wisniewski, aquired a couple of days ago from the Islanders for a couple of contitional draft picks, makes his Hab debut tonight. Hopefully he brought his first-aid kit.

2010-2011 Regular Season, Game 38: Montreal at Tampa Bay

FIRST PERIOD:

• Lots of Hab fans in Tampa tonight, as usual. Ex-Hab goalie prospect Cedrick Desjardins gets his first NHL start tonight
• And lots for them to cheer about right off the bat. Pacioretty cuts in from the left side and centres a pass for Gionta that goes in off the defenseman's skate. Wisniewski, with the assist gets his first point with the team. 1-0 Habs!
• Wisniewski wearing #20
• On the powerplay, the new guy clangs one off the post from the point. Hopefully he'll give shooting lessons to Subban
• 10 minutes in, and the Habs have already taken two minor penalties. My dog has more discipline in front of the food dish
• Not a fan of watching games form this arena. The rink lighting sucks for TV
• Boo! They've taken the assist on the goal away from Wisniewski and have given it to Gomez

Well, whattaya know? A good first period from the Habs, which is great, considering that they've yet to win a game when trailing after either the first or second period. Aside from being up by 1 on the scoreboard, the Habs also lead in the faceoff circle 11-9 and on the shot clock 8-6. 

SECOND PERIOD:

• Is it wrong for me to hope that it rains in Pittsburgh on New Year's Day? It would serve the NHL right for shoving Crosby and the Penguins down our throats--again--in the Winter Classic game. The forecast? 11 Celsius with rain
• A too many men penalty isn't a great way to start the period
• And they take a SECOND too many men penalty to go down by 2 men. The Lightning don't take long to take advantage, Martin St. Louis sniping the goal from the right circle. Tied at 1
• After a decent first period, the Habs are playing some pretty jittery hockey
• Huh? A 4-on-1, and Lapierre decides to shoot from the goal line?
• Strange play... Spacek was going to be called for tripping, but the puck deflects off of the falling player to negate the delayed penalty. 2-1 Tampa.
• For my money, Pleks is the best player on the team not named Carey Price or Andrei Markov
• Looked to me like the Habs just got away with what could have been another too many men penalty

Some horrible indiscipline and a bit of bad luck conspired to take the Habs' one-goal lead into a one-goal deficit in the span of 20 minutes. They've yet to come back to win a game this season, so they'll have their hands full... but they've got no one but themselves to blame. Shots were 8-5 for Tampa that period; faceoffs are split down the middle at 15 apiece.

THIRD PERIOD:

• Hopefully they have their heads in the game for this period
• That was pretty weak to award a penalty shot. And Stamkos pulls a move that by the rulebook shouldn't be allowed, but it'll make it onto all of the highlight packages tonight anyway. 3-1 Lightning
• Spacek pins Price up against the post, allowing Stamkos to circle behind the net and dump it into the yawning cage. 4-1 Lightning. Ugly
• I've got to look up the penalty shot rules. I don't think that Stamkos' attempt should have been counted, and Price doesn't, either
• The poor little Hab fan behind the bench looks like he's had his Christmas stolen
• Price given the rest of the night off as Auld comes in
• That should do it. Hamrlik with another Hab penalty, their 7th, with under 2 minutes to play

Another horrible road game for the Habs, as Cedrick Desjardins earns his first victory in his first NHL start, though he didn't have to face many quality scoring chances. Final shots were 38-28 for the Habs. Hey, at least the Leafs lost, too.

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James Wisneiwski played 21:48 in his debut for the Habs

Where to start? The Canadiens' road trip from hell continues with another loss, this time by a 4-1 margin to the Lightning. Discipline--or rather, the lack of it--cost the Habs big time as the took another seven penalties, which Tampa Bay used to blow the game open.

A too many men penalty is the sign of a team whose heads aren't collectively into the game, and usually serves as a wakeup call to get their acts together. That wasn't the case tonight for the Habs, who while they were killing off that penalty apparently forgot that they were supposed to be playing shorthanded and got caught for ANOTHER too many men penalty. Down by two men, they gave up the first of four unanswered goals and after that point were never really in the game.

Florida tomorrow night. Will it be more of the same?
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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.

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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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Two months in; time to change the oil



Thanks goodness it's December

Tonight, questions will become answers. (tm)

And the biggest question of all: Was Carey Price's Mo-vember moustache the secret to his phenomenal goaltending performance for the month of November? 

Carey would be the first to tell you that he's not the least bit superstitious. Case in point: when the game puck is retrieved after a shut-out, Price promptly tosses it to an admiring fan instead of keeping it for his own pleasure. But when it comes to trimming hair when at the peak of your powers, well, you remember the story about Samson, right?

Coming into the season, Price's critics had him down as one big question mark. He answered with an excellent month of October, in which he won the Molson Cup. Then he started growing his Mo-vember 'stache.

In November, Price was otherworldly. In 12 starts, he was 8-4, with a minuscule 1.59 goals against average and a lofty .952 save percentage and three shut-outs. And when you take into consideration that in Price's four losses the Habs only scored a total of 4 goals... let's just hope that his mojo wasn't washed down the drain with the caterpillar.

The Oilers, meanwhile, are hoping to follow in the the footsteps of Pittsburgh, Washington, Los Angeles and Chicago as teams that have followed the formula of "sucking for success". Except that the Oilers haven't been quite as great those other teams have been at turning high draft picks into can't miss, franchise-level prospects. They've turned their picks into a decent crop of speedy forwards which works well on the fast ice of the Northlands Coliseum whatever their calling their arena nowadays. Next up: their defense and goaltending. Keep finishing low and bringing on those high draft picks!  

2010-2011 Regular Season, Game 25: Edmonton at Montreal

FIRST PERIOD:

• Geez... anyone else having problems with the RDS audio? Am I going to instead have to suffer through McGuire on TSN?
• Odd bounce off of the boards; were they watching the game last night in Toronto?
• Habs' game plan looks to be to get a lot of rubber on the Oiler net
• With the extra days off, they must think that their penalty kill is rusty. 8 minutes in, 2 penalties
• Bruins/Flyers. Is it possible for both teams to get 0 points tonight?
• On the powerplay, Gomez centres a pass for Darche, but it goes in off an Oiler standing in the slot. Hey, I'm sure that he'll take it. 1-0 Habs!
• Aaand the Oilers come right back on their third  powerplay of the period. Pouliot off for high sticking, Foster with a slap shot up under the crossbar from under the top of the left circle. Tied at 1. 

In the first period back after a long layoff, the Habs came out skating hard to a 15-9 shot advantage. They also led in the faceoff circle, 9-6. Unfortunately the also led in penalties taken, 3-1, and it caught up to them.

SECOND PERIOD:

• Good pace in the early going, with not a lot of whistles. Entertaining
• Yikes! Kostitsyn takes a slapshot from Subban off the inner thigh, ans Plekanec literally pushes him to the bench
• Another powerplay goal! Darche taps in a Cammalleri rebound from the lip of the crease. 2-1 Habs!
• How about Hamrlik! Pouliot with some incredible puck posession then a shot on net... and the Hammer is there to tap in an easy rebound. 3-1 Habs!
• I'll give this to the Oilers: they're fast!
• Phew! Kostitsyn's back, and doesn't look any worse for wear
• Does any team get more short-handed odd-man rushes than the Habs?

If there's one thing that Edmonton does worse than anything else, it's kill penalties. The Hab powerplay has struck twice on two powerplays to jump out to a 3-1 lead, thought the Oilers had the edge in shots, 13-11.

THIRD PERIOD:

• I'd be happy to not see the Habs in the penalty box this period
• Taylor Hall does everything that he can to sell phantom high stick, and Hamrlik sits for two... and teaches the kid some Czech swear words on his way off
• 9 minutes into the period, and shots are just 3-1 for Montreal
• Josh Gorges bowls over Price, taking him out of the play and leaving a wind open net for the Oilers. 3-2 Habs.
• No penalty call on a trip on Cammalleri, Subban pinches, gets caught and the Oilers score shorthaded on a 2-on-1. Tied at 3.

OVERTIME:

• Subban puts a pass into Cammalleri's skates, turning the puck over to Dustin Penner who breaks in alone to score the winner.

The Habs played sloppy in that period, with turnovers turning into the tying and winning goals for the Oilers. Final shots: 39 for Montreal, 32 for Edmonton.

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Dustin Penner scores on a breakaway in overtime to seal a 4-3 win over the Habs. Photo: Richard Wolowicz/Getty



Great. Now I'm too angry to sleep. It wasn't quite as bad as the Leafs' collapse against the Lightning the previous night, but it was close.

Was it the three days off that had them unfocused? Unlikely, since they played an excellent first 40 minutes. Unfortunately, they followed that up with mental mistakes and bad choices, which allowed the young but talented Oilers to take advantage and snatch victory form the jaws of defeat. 

More likely, it was a case of the old "we're up by 2 against a bottom-feeder" syndrome. In essence, the took the Oilers too lightly, and in the end it hurt them. Up by one on the powerplay late in the game? Why, you dive, making an ill-advised pinch while taking yourself out of the play, sending the Oilers away on a short-handed 2-on-1, of course. Yeah, I'm looking at you, Subban. Make a poor, hurried breakout pass up the middle into the skates of the intended recipient, causing a breakaway in overtime? Subban's got that one, too.

True, the kid's going to make mistakes; but if he's going to accept the responsibility of critical minutes, then he's got to be better. This isn't to hang this game on PK (there were quite a few Habs that had 'checked-out' after grabbing the two-goal lead), but at the same time it's not too hard to imagine Markov not making those kinds of mental errors. But what are you going to do? Keep this one on file, learn from the mistakes, and take it before every game to remind yourselves to play hard for the full 60(5) minutes. 

Hey, at least it's a point, right?

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How do I hate thee... let me count the ways

Who needs fists when you can punch with your face?

The Bruins may be bigger rivals, but there's no team that I hate more than the Maple Leafs.

Some of the reasons, in no particular order:

• Their fans still whine about 1993 like a blown high-stick call was the only thing standing between them and a Stanley Cup parade
• "Honouring" numbers instead of retiring them. Because there's no better way to celebrate the great Teeder Kennedy's distinguished career and number 9 than by issuing it to Colby Armstrong
• For misleading their fanbase into believing that the Maple Leafs have won 13 Stanley Cups. The franchise has won 13, but the first two were won by the Toronto Blueshirts and the Toronto St. Patricks. The Maple Leafs have only won 11
• Darcy Tucker
• 20-some-odd games as a rental player is apparently good enough to qualify you for the captaincy of the team
• For years of worrying more about condo sales and padding teacher's pockets instead of putting a better product on the ice
• "Leaf Nation", "The Passion that Unites Us All", and the "Centre of the Hockey Universe". Can't like a team that blatantly lies. Next thing you know, they'll be trumpeting about having won 13 Stanley Cups. Oh, wait...
• Insanely high prices for traditionally crap product... and I'm not just talking about the watered-down draught beer at the ACC
• Pick a uniform design, and stick with it! And by the way, leaves are green, not white or blue
• The Habs have paraded the Stanley Cup around Toronto ice more times than the Leafs have. Wait, I should save that one for "Why I love the Habs, let me count the ways"
• Harold Ballard, and every nefarious thing that went on in the back rooms on Carlton Street

I could go on, but my internet service provider has a strict limit on bandwidth and I don't feel like paying a penalty... though that would give me yet another reason to hate the Leafs.

Also, they won the first game of the season, though the Habs were without their best defenseman and their number one sniper from last season's playoffs. This time around we'll again be without Markov, but hopefully Cammalleri will be able to make up for missed time and pop a couple tonight. The Leafs come into tonight's game on a 2-game winning streak, whereas the Habs played their most lackluster game of the season Thursday night in getting shut out by the Nashville Predators.

2010-11 Regular Season, Game 20: Toronto at Montreal

FIRST PERIOD:

• CBC, RDS, or surf between the two?
• Nice.... the late Pat Burns remembered with a video montage set to the Beatles' "In My Life", followed by a moment of silence
• Both goalies have had to make good saves early
• Setting up with three guys behind the goal line is generally not the best way to generate scoring chances
• Leafs with some good pressure; Habs passed up a couple of opportunities to clear the puck while looking for the perfect pass
• Gomez misses in all alone. Martin crosses his name off of the potential shootout list
• Give the Habs credit: they're doing what they can to improve The Monster's SV%
• Hammer off for 'hooking', and the Habs get two 2-on-1's wile shorthanded. Gustavvson's been sharp in the Leaf net
• AARUGH! Kostitsyn beats Gustavvson cleanly, but rings it square off the post

Lost of jump in an entertaining first period, thought he game remains scoreless. Habs had the edge in goos scoring chances, though their lack of finish and ability to hit the goalie in the chest could come back to haunt them. Aside from the scoreboard, the Habs lead in shots (17 to 10) and faceoffs won (10 to 5).

SECOND PERIOD:

• Habs blow a 3-on-2, not getting a shot away. Where have I seen this before?
• Picking up where the 1st period left off: shots, but square into Gustavvson's chest
• Yikes! Price has to come up massive on a couple of chances from in close
• Lapierre off for goalie interference, and Price has to rob an open Kessel in the slot
• Shorthanded! Halpern, alone in the slot, deflects a Spacek shot from the point. 1-0 Habs!
• I don't mind the "Leafs Suck" chant, but "Sixty-seven" sounds better on TV
• Habs are dominating on faceoffs, 22-12
• Lost of passing and dipsy-doodling in the Leaf zone, but no one going to the front of the net

Another back and forth period, with a few good chances at both ends in a goaltending duel. Halpern with the only goal of the game so far... shorthanded, no less. Habs have yet to have a powerplay, Leafs have had two. Shots were 13 for Toronto (23) and 12 for the Habs (29). The Canadiens have also been great in the faceoff circle, winning 24 and losing only 13.

THIRD PERIOD:

• I'd suggest that going up 2-0 would be very beneficial for their chances of coming away with 2 points
• HOW did they miss an open net with the puck in the crease?!
• I've never seen the Habs turn so many pucks in the slot onto non-scoring chances
• Hey... the Habs get a power play!
• Someone needs to tell Komisarek that his team is wearing white tonight. He fires a "pass" from the half-boards into the slot to find a wide-open Cammalleri for the one-timer. Powerplay goal... 2-0 Habs!
• Canadiens are finally using their speed to proper advantage to give the Leaf defense fits
• Leafs are coming close with some late charges. Where's Komisarek when you need him?
• Gionta off the post with the Leaf net empty, but it turns into an icing call
• Aaaand Price with the shutout!!!!

The Canadiens played some pretty sound defensive hockey that period to preserve the win and the shutout for Carey Price, his 4th on the season, limiting the Leafs to 7 shots, and maybe only a couple of decent scoring chances. The final numbers: Habs with 38 shots to the Leafs' 30, and the Habs were 35-18 on faceoffs.

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Price makes one of his 30 saves against Nikolai Kulemin Photo: Richard Wolowicz



The Maple Leafs played a pretty good game tonight, but the Habs played that much better. Their domination of the faceoff circle coupled with Leaf turnovers allowed the Habs to use their speed advantage to slowly take over the game as time wore on. It prevented the Leafs from pulling their goalie as early as they would have liked, and prevented them from getting clear shots at Carey Price with the man advantage.

Speaking of Carey Price: 12-6-1, GAA 2.00, SV% .932, 4 shutouts, and leading the league in minutes played. Yeah, they should have traded him. The REALLY scary thing about Price is that in his six regulation losses, the Habs have scored a total of five goals. With some timely goal scoring, Price could have been 15-3-1... or better.

Price has been phenomenal, but the work of his defensive corps can't be ignored. They played another great game tonight, especially Hal Gill who used is exceptional reach to single-handely break-up a number of potentially threatening Leaf attacks.

Congrats to Tom Pyatt, who registered his first point of the season (an assist) and is now tied with Carey Price in the Canadiens' scoring race. 

And I can't believe that I'm going to say something nice about a Leaf, but goalie Jonas Gustavsson had an outstanding game; the Habs could have easily potted a couple more of not for his fine work. If the Leafs can keep from screwing him him, they're set in goal. Oh, and Mike Komisarek deserves props, too. His setup and pass to Cammalleri on the second goal was beyond reproach.

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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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Bears and bowel movements



Your mama always warned you...

Ahhh... the big, bad Bruins.

A team whose fans will urinate on you in the stands, or gang-jump you outside of the arena and kick you in the head and leave you lying bleeding and unconscious in the gutter if you're not wearing black and gold.

A team whose 37-year Stanley Cup drought includes some of the biggest, most spectacular meltdowns in playoff history, including the biggest one of all last spring against the Flyers. It's saying something for the choking ability of your team when you're able to out-do that infamous "too many men" game from 1979.

A team that waited until its best-ever player, Milt Schmidt, turned 92 before giving him the honour that he so rightly deserved the moment that he took off his skates for the last time: having his number retired. And then they made the poor guy do the dirty work and haul it up to the rafters. Poor Milt looked like his arms were about to fall off. Maybe they had him haul a few kegs up to the concessions once he was finished.

But in spite of it all, the Bruins head into tonight's game against the Habs playing some really good hockey. Tim Thomas has been off to an other-worldly start, though he got lit up for four goals last night by the Penguins. But his teammates came to his aid has scored 5 in the third period--on just 12 shots--to get not-so-tiny-Tim the victory.

Boston currently sits two points behind the Habs, with three games in hand. The Habs are coming off of an excellent home effort in shutting out the Canucks 2-0. With Thomas having played last night, look for Tuukka Rask to get the start tonight against Carey Price.

And in case you missed it, this morning the Habs traded defenseman Ryan O'Byrne to the Colorado Avalanche, where first indications are that he'll drop the "Rhino" nickname in favour of "Bigfoot". In return the Habs get prospect Michael Bournival, who's currently got 10 goals and 14 assists in 17 games for Shawinigan in the QMJHL.

Honestly, even a blind man could have seen this move coming. The Habs could use the cap space, and O'Byrne had been a healthy scratch since forever; even Ryan must have known that something was afoot when the photographer at the team photo shoot a couple of days ago kept telling him, "Number 20, please step back... back up... Ok, a little more..." 

Overheard in the photo lab this morning: "What? Traded?! Is anybody here good at Photoshop?"

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Andre Markov helps P.K. Subban celebrate his first NHL regular season goal

Ok, at first I was bummed by having to sit in traffic, figuring that I wouldn't get home for the start of tonight's game. Then my wife called, asking me to get take-out, which meant that I definitely wouldn't get home in time for tonight's game. Thankfully, the Habs decided to reward my patience with a well-fought 3-1 road win against the Bruins.

The Habs did a lot of things right tonight, including using their speed to wear down a Bruin team that played last night in Pittsburgh. Their hard skating really started to pay dividends in the third period, when Boston couldn't find the energy to keep up with the Montreal forecheck.

More good:

• Two power-play goals tonight, the first time since February that they've scored more than one power-play goal in a game.
• PK Subban scored his first regular season NHL goal, a power-play one-timer from the top of the left circle. There'll be many more of those before the kid hangs 'em up.
• Brian Gionta scored on a neat tap-in (the second PP goal) off a nice flip pass cross-ice feed from Mike Cammalleri, who had two assists on the night.
• And for insurance, Scott Gomez rounded out the scoring with his first goal in his last 14 games. In a great second effort, Gomez made a nifty pass to set up a scoring chance, then headed to the net to pounce on the rebound and flip it high on Tuukka Rask, who bobbled the puck as it dropped over the goal line.
• At the other end of the ice, Price was fantastic. He stopped all but one Boston shot, a Zdeno Chara seeing-eye wrist shot into the top-left corner past a hard-charging Price who came well out into the circle trying to cut down the angle.   

All in all, a terrific road game which was pretty much an extension of the effort that the Habs put up against the Canucks. After owning the Bruins last season with 5 wins in 6 games (Price going 3-for-3) they take the first of this season's series against a very hot Boston team to remain atop of the Northeast division, and remain third in the Eastern conference.

If the Habs can continue to roll out efforts like tonight's game, they'll do a LOT of damage.

Oh, and one more thing: Carey Price is looking pretty bad-ass with that Mo-vember facial hair.

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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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New training aid at Brossard

Modifications have been made to the ice surface at the Habs Brossard practice facility.

In the wake of the Habs 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, in which they again went 0-for-the night on the powerplay, coach Jacques Martin instructed maintenance staff at Brossard to paint a big freakin' white arrow on the ice in hopes that it would help Canadiens shooters, specifically P.K. Subban, zero in on the opposition's net.

The arrow, approximately twenty feet long, cuts a swath through the slot and between the faceoff circles, pointing directly at the blue paint of the crease. To further impress on players the role of the arrow, Martin also had the words "This Way, Subban" stenciled at the base.

"It's been no secret that through the first 11 games of the season our powerplay has sucked the balls of a donkey. Much of that has to do with the inability of our point shooters to hit the net with their shots, or at the very least get them through traffic to set up a tip or deflection."

The Hab powerplay is near the bottom of the league in efficiency at under 8%, and has been held off the scoreboard for 8 of the team's first 11 games.

The new big honkin' arrow at Brossard

"Even though it's P.K.'s name on the ice, it's my hope that other players will use the training aid to their benefit", added the coach.

When pressed about who the "other players" were that Martin alluded to, he responded, "Cammy's been missing the net by wide margins lately, too. It's been, what... nine games since that little prick scored the goal. Believe me, I wanted to include his name along with that of Subban, but the painters couldn't remember how many L's were in Cammalleri, so I told them to forget it. It's two, correct?"

According to the NHL, the Canadiens have made an application to have the big freakin' arrow painted on the Bell Centre ice for regular season games, but that move has been rejected, the NHL saying that the only markings allowed the ice during and NHL game are those as described in the NHL rules.

"If we make an exception for the Canadiens, then we'll have to make an exception for everybody," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. "Pretty soon every team would want their own big freakin' arrow(s). I'm already having a hard enough time explaining to redneck Americans what the other lines on the ice are for. You'd think that the term 'icing' would be self-explanatory.'" 

Regardless of the view of the league, if the massive new training aid at Brossard leads to an increase in shooting percentage in game action Martin says that plans are in place to paint another big freakin' arrow at the other end of the rink in hopes of doubling the ininitiative's efficiency. 

"Maybe for the next one, we break into the swear jar and splurge and make it yellow," said Martin. "THAT would be lots of awesomeness."

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