New York 4 - Montreal 3 (OT)

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Coming off of two straight big wins isn’t something the Canadiens get to do often and there was much speculation that the Habs would lose their momentum going into New York tonight simply because 3 wins in a row was too much to ask for. Well, while the Canadiens did walk away with a 4-3 loss in overtime, it certainly wasn’t due to lack of effort. After going down 1-0 on a Rangers goal by Daniel Girardi, Andrei Kostitsyn tied things up with a powerplay goal. Jaromir Jagr sent the Rangers up 2-1 before the end of the first.

The second period was all Canadiens with Kostitsyn scoring his second powerplay goal of the game early and Thomas Plekanec firing another in on a delayed Ranger penalty. The Habs proceeded to shut things down, playing a neutral zone trap that kept New York to only one shot in the second.

Things proceeded much the same going into the third with Montreal keeping the Rangers at bay until about 7 minutes left; a bad angle shot that traveled over Huet’s shoulder and hit the crossbar and post was believed to be in only to be called off by the goal judges as the puck never actually went into the net. While the goal didn’t count it did get the Rangers fired up and they scored on a scramble in front of the Montreal net only 2 minutes later to tie things up. The game went to overtime where Brendon Shanahan was able to lift a wrist shot over Huet on a breakaway 66 seconds in.

GAME NOTES: Corey Locke, called up from Hamilton, was caught in traffic and unable to make it to his first career NHL game. Ryder, while not coming up with a point, did look much improved both offensively and defensively. Andrei Kostitsyn scored two goals on the powerplay and added an assist; Thomas Plekanec scored one goal and assisted on two others. Alex Kovalev assisted on both Kostitsyn goals.

Montreal 5 - Florida 1

Playing two games in as many days is not usually something to look forward to and Montreal hasn’t had the best luck against the Panthers as of late. Winning streaks aren’t the norm for the Habs and even two in a row is too much to ask for some of the time. Despite these odds the Canadiens proved the strength that lies beneath their sometimes lackluster play, scoring three goals in the first 5:03 of the first period. First Latendresse tapped a pass from behind the net in; Saku Koivu, suffering from the flu, offered that pass up. Michael Ryder, in a 15 game scoring slump and the current shame of the Montreal media, scored 4:50 in with a beautiful give-and-go with Chris Higgins to end his statistical slump and put his team up 2-0. Only 13 seconds later Higgins flew down the wing to launch a wrist shot over the shoulder of Voukon to make the score 3-0 after only 5 minutes. The Canadiens continued to control play for the most part throughout the first period without scoring another goal on Voukon’s replacement, Craig Anderson.

The second period saw the Panthers come out with a renewed fury, peppering Christobal Huet with shot after shot. Huet came up big in the net, holding Florida off long enough to see Tom Kostopolous slide a backhander through the legs of Voukon, who had returned for the beginning of the second period. That period ended with the Habs up 4-0.

Florida continued to test Huet in the third, adding some over-aggressive play into the mix. In between fights Ollie Jokinen beat Huet late in the third, ruining the well-deserved shutout, but Mark Streit got that one back on the powerplay shortly after. The game ended at 5-1; the Canadiens now have 44 points and sit at second in their division and fourth in the Eastern Conference.

GAME NOTES: Chris Higgins finished with 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists). Michael Ryder ended his scoring slump with a first period goal. Francis Boullion left in the second period after blocking a shot with his upper chest. Huet finished the game with a very impressive 40 saves on 41 shots.

Montreal 5 - Tampa Bay 2

The Canadiens came out looking like the team they did in October, shrugging off their last game loss to Dallas and storming over the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on the road tonight. Montreal opened the scoring with a 2-on-1 goal from Lapierre followed by a goal following a strong rush from Latendresse; both first period goals were at even strength. Christobal Huet wasn’t challenged often in the first but he held the game scoreless when the Lightning opened the game by virtually controlling the first six minutes.

Alex Kovalev scored a goal only ten seconds into the second period to put the Habs up 3-0 and Tampa coach John Tortorella immediately pulled Johan Holmqvist from the Lightning net and replaced him with Finnish up-and-comer Karri Ramo; the pull was Holmquist’s fourth in his last five starts. Ramo looked good as he guided the Lightning out of the second period, making several key saves to keep the score 3-0.

The Canadiens continued their offensive rampage in the third with Andrei Markov netting a powerplay goal from the blue line with Andrei Kostitsyn following up with another 2-on-1 goal only 24 seconds later to put Montreal up 5-0. Vinny Prospal ruined Huet’s shutout bid about halfway through the third and Jan Hlavac netted another with one minute remaining the further cut the lead but Montreal walked out of the building with a seemingly easy win.

GAME NOTES: While he wasn’t tested often Huet looked strong throughout the game, continuing the raise the question of who the number one goalie in Montreal really is. Lapierre’s goal tonight was his first of the season. With losses for many mid-range Eastern Conference contenders over the past couple of days Montreal has moved up to the 4th spot.

Atlanta 3 - Montreal 2 (SO)

The Habs actually came out looking like they wanted to win for once, badly outshooting Atlanta most of the game and notching a couple of key goals. The Thrashers lost a 1-0 lead in the first and a 2-1 lead in the third with Sergei Kostitsyn and Alex Kovalev notching the Canadiens goals.

The game went to a scoreless overtime followed by the Habs attempting to steal the extra point with Huet in nets during a shootout. While he looked mostly solid throughout the game Huet expectedly looked very bad during the shootout, letting in both of the first two shots and dropping the game 3-2 to Atlanta.

Obviously Huet isn’t to take 100% of the blame for the loss but I’ll say this: I’m confident that we would have walked away from that game with 2 points if Carey Price had have started. Here’s hoping he gets the start in Dallas tomorrow.

Montreal 5 - Washington 2

The Habs got off to their typical slow start in Washington tonight, being outshot badly through the first few minutes of the game. On only their third shot and with only a few minutes remaining in the first, Saku Koivu put a perfect pass onto the blade of Latendresse from behind the net of Olie Kolzig to put the Canadiens up 1-0 going into the first intermission.

The second period didn’t look much better from Montreal’s bench with the Capitals continuing to dominate time on the attack and shots on goal, but Huet stood very strong in his injury return, maintaining the Montreal lead throughout the first half of the period. An odd-man rush lead by Alex Kovalev at about the 10 minutes mark saw him put a crisp pass to Plekanec who was left with a wide open net. Despite the state of the net, Plekanec missed the net entirely and had a prayer answered when goaltender Olie Kolzig turned to have the badly aimed shot redirect into the net and the Habs had a 2-0 lead. Youngster Nicholas Sundstrom put a puck over Huet during a Washington powerplay only a couple of minutes later to cut the lead to 2-1. Latendresse put a beautifully aimed wrist shot past Kolzig with only 2 minutes left in the second, grabbing his second goal of the game and giving the Habs a 3-1 lead with the third period looming.

Despite the scoring of the previous two periods, the Habs looked much more lively in the third. They took a 4-1 lead on the powerplay about midway through when Sergei Kostsitsyn tapped in his first ever NHL goal off of another great Kovalev pass. Washington responded only 34 seconds later when Alexander Semin ripped a wrist shot high over Huet’s shoulder but Mark Streit gave the Habs a three goal lead once again when he finished a Kyle Chipchura shot to put Montreal all up 5-2 and helping the Canadiens to their third win in four games.

GAME NOTES: The Habs were great on the powerplay and even scored a couple of goals at even-strength but they were still badly outshot, 37-21 in this case. Huet played wonderfully in his first game back since suffering a back pull and made several key saves throughout the game. Segei Kostsitsyn notched his first NHL goal and brother Andrei earned an assist on Plekanec’s goal.

Toronto 4 - Atlanta 0

The surprises continue out of Toronto as the Maple Leafs won a commanding shutout victory over the Atlanta Thrashers in Georgia tonight. The Leafs peppered the Atlanta net with 35 shots and Toronto goaltender Vesa Toskala made numerous key saves, earning a well deserved 2 points for his time and shutout for himself.

The Maples Leafs head into Montreal tomorrow night with a rare two game winning streak on the go.

Calgary 4 - Carolina 3

The Flames and ‘Canes traded goals back and forth before Calgary was able to nab the game winning goal as Phaneuf scored at even strength at 11:48 in the third period. Phaneuf grabbed an assist and Jerome Iginla scored his 21st goal of the season.

Buffalo 5 - Washington 3

Oleg Kolzig and the Caps put up a valient effort but the Buffalo Sabres were able to score with five minutes remaining in the third to take a 4-3 lead over Washington before adding an empty netter to seal the deal.

The Sabres have won their last two and are 6-4-0 in their last 10 while the Capitals are 5-4-1.

Man Crashes Montreal Practice

Canadiens goalie Jose Theodore got a shock Monday when a stranger in full hockey equipment jumped on the ice during a Montreal practice and shot a puck at him.

The 28-year-old man from Montreal, who would only say his name was Raphael, went onto the Verdun Auditorium ice when most of the players were at the far end of the rink.

Wearing skates, full gear and a plain white hockey jersey, the man skated in on the star goalie with a stick and a puck. He was poke-checked on his first attempt and Theodore then stopped a weak wrist shot to the high glove side.

The practice crasher was chased to the side boards by coach Claude Julien but wouldn’t get off the ice until he was pulled away by an arena worker.

Police later released the man.

“I didn’t really know what was going on until the guy came on,” a grinning Theodore said later. “He came at me with his head down so I just wanted to say `Welcome to the big boys.’

“I poke-checked him to say `You have to keep your head up.’ When he came back, I though about going out of the net and not playing into his game, but then I thought he had the (courage) to go on the ice, so I let him have a free shot at me.

“He couldn’t beat me. That’s the main thing.”

While waiting for the police to arrive, Raphael told reporters that while Theodore is a “great goalie,” he didn’t score because “I didn’t have time.”

Although most of what the recreational hockey player said was incoherent, he said he had planned crashing the practice to show the Canadiens what he could do on the ice.

“For many years I wanted to play high-calibre hockey,” he said. “I had nothing to lose.”

Police spokesman Olivier Lapointe said that although two officers spoke to the man, it was “not really a police matter” and he was not arrested.

A security guard was on duty at the rink during the practice.

“Obviously, the situation turned out to be harmless,” NHL deputy commissioner Bil Daly told The Canadian Press, “but hopefully it will serve as a reminder to all of us of the importance and need for ensuring adequate security to safeguard the health and safety of our players.”

With Julien ordering the man off the ice, defenceman Craig Rivet stood close by in case there was trouble, but he went off peacefully.

“It’s funny now that everything is OK, but it’s a little scary,” said Rivet. “You don’t know what intentions people have.

“You don’t know if he was stable. It was a bit amusing, I guess, but hopefully it won’t happen again.”

The Habs practise at the suburban arena, where fans are allowed to watch the session, when the Bell Centre is unavailable — because of a Rolling Stones concert this time.

About 15 to 20 fans, mostly schoolkids, were on hand Monday at the practice arena.

The man had spent most of the practice sitting up in the seats in his hockey gear. Winger Alex Kovalev wondered if he was a player waiting to go on after the Canadiens practice until he moved down next to the boards, tightened his skate laces and jumped on the ice.

“He’s one of those people, like whoever her name was (Morgana) who used to go out on the baseball field to kiss the players,” Kovalev said. “He’s probably one of those.

“And maybe he was wondering if we need a right-handed shot and tried to prove he can play on our team. You need one of those things to give us a laugh.”

Montreal 4 - Philadelphia 1

The Habs looked a little weak starting out in the first period but a few nice saves by Carey Price and an early Philadelphia penalty seemed to give them the boost they needed early. Chris Higgins put the Canadiens up 1-0 on a beautiful pass from Andrei Markov on the powerplay, throwing the puck into an open net. Montreal continued to dominate the Flyers throughout the period, generating several good scoring chances and keeping Philly on the defensive. Another powerplay to close the period saw Markov put a shot from the point off of the post but no goal materialized.

First Period Notes: Carey Price looked even more confident then usual and his puck handling in particular showed a 100% improvement over the clumsy and sometimes dangerous puck plays that he has been making.

Montreal opened the second period with a bang, scoring only 21 seconds in. Thomas Plekanec lead a quick 2-man rush and put an accurate pass onto the stick of Andrei Kostitsyn, who was able to quickly tap the puck into the Flyers net. A couple of Habs’ powerplays followed and Mark Streit was able to capitalize on a pass from Kovalev during the second period to put the Canadiens up 3-0 with a goal that looked very similar to the two that came before it. Only five minutes later Mark Streit put his second goal in the net on another pass to the crease, this time from KOSTOPOLOUS – the Habs found themselves with a four goal lead, a potential shutout and a probable win for the first time in 6 games.

Second Period Notes: Until the double minor late in the period, the Habs were able to keep the Flyers from drawing a penalty. This careful play still allowed them to be aggressive – obviously a preferred style.

The Canadiens luck turned shortly after as the Flyers capitalized on their first powerplay of the game to cut the Habs’ lead to 4-1. An accidental high stick was committed shortly after and a cut on the victim’s nose sent Kyle Chipchurra to the box for 4 minutes with only 3 left in the period. The Habs’ defense and Carey Price (and a goal post) did a good job of killing the penalty for the first two minutes before Roman Hamrlik shoved a Flyer down AFTER a whistle. The referee called the offense immediately and the Flyers had a two-man advantage for the last minute of the second period and nearly another full minute in the third.

A solid presence in the net and some great clearing efforts by Saku Koivu helped the Habs kill off the two-man advantage only to have O’Birn penalized for holding moments after. Price held his ground in net to kill that penalty as well, maintaining the Canadiens’ three goal lead. Philadelphia controlled the majority of the period, keeping the Canadiens on the defensive. The Habs’ looked great on the backcheck though and they held the Flyers at bay with a few solid saves from Price, ending the game with a 4-1 win.

My Thoughts

This is what we know we can play like in Montreal. Carey Price was able to shine with some help in front and huge efforts from Markov, Streit and Kovalev made all the difference for offense. If the Habs played this well every night they would not lose often. Price sets a nice tone after suffering some shaky goals during the Canadiens recent run and with Huet on his way back, there is obviously an expectation in Montreal that both goaltenders perform to the absolute best of their abilities. There are trade rumors in Montreal that mention names like Koivu and Huet himself so expect Christobal to be strong in the net if he starts against Toronto on Saturday.

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