National Post Bashes Samsanov, Souray

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The National Post has published an article with the best and worst acquisitions of the offseason, naming ex-Canadiens Sergei Samsonov and Sheldon Souray as two of the worst acquisitions (number 1 and number 5 on the “worst” list respectively).

Ty Conklin took the number spot in the “best” list, and well-deserved.

Click here for the full article.

January 15 - New York Islanders

The Habs continue their four game road trip as they head to Long Island to face the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Montreal took a tough loss in Manhattan on Saturday, losing for the first time in regulation in seven games. The Islanders, on the other hand, are coming off of a big win over Ottawa on Sunday, beating the Sens 3-1. The Canadiens defeated the Islanders 4-1 the last time they met.

Paul DiPietro will be starting against Christobal Huet and Montreal will look to secure at least one point in eight of its last nine games.

Serge Savard’s Retirement

A full video of the events held at the Montreal Forum when Serge Savard’s jersey number 18 was retired.

Mike Komisarek Highlight Mashup

A very nice Mike Komisarek highlight mashup video found randomly on YouTube. He’s one of the best defencemen in the league and this video is a testament to that!

New York 4 - Montreal 1

Despite paying a hefty fee for the NHL Centre Ice package, Shaw Cable decided to show the game only on their Pay Per View channel today - I was not shelling out an extra $20!

To Shaw’s credit, it seems like they picked a good game to keep from me. The Habs were outshot 41-19 and outscored 4-1 by the New York Rangers, bringing to an end the seven game points streak for Montreal and the five game losing streak for the Rangers. The Canadiens were a lowly 1 for 8 on the powerplay, their only goal coming from Sergei Kostitsyn in the third period. Christobal Huet was pulled after the Rangers went into the second intermission with a 4-0 lead and Halak made 13 saves in the third period to keep New York to only four goals.

All in all not a good showing for the Habs. They’ve been looking great over the past month so I’m not going to worry too much about it - we’ll take avenge crosstown against the Islanders on Tuesday!

January 12 - New York Rangers

The Habs roll into Madison Square Garden in New York City to face the Rangers on the second game of this current four game road trip. The two teams met just before the New Year with the Rangers defeating Montreal in overtime 4-3.

The Rangers are in a hard spot at the moment, sporting a five game losing streak and not showing much improvement. The Canadiens, on the other hand, are flying high; 5-0-2 in their last seven games, on a two game winning streak and very hot on the road.

I’m predicting a 4-1 win for the Habs in this one.

Patrick Roy’s Retirement

A complete video of the presentation given in Colorado to retire Roy’s number 33. Highlights include highlight reels, a speech by Patrick himself and the raising of the ceremonial jersey banner. It may have all taken place in the past but the video can still bring a tear to my eye. Patrick was and will always remain the greatest goaltender to ever don a jersey in the National Hockey League.

Montreal 5 - Boston 2

The Canadiens came out strong in Boston tonight with Huet making a few big saves early and the Habs controlling the puck a great deal of the time. The effort paid off big time midway through the period when Thomas Plekanec and Maxim Lapierre scored 54 seconds apart to put Montreal up 2-0. The Bruins put up little fight for the remainder of the period and the score held going into the intermission.

The second period opened with the same Canadiens domination and Alex Kovalev fired the second Montreal powerplay goal of the night past Bruins goalie Tim Thomas to put the Habs up 3-0. Boston quickly turned things around though, and Kovalev’s goal was answered only a minute later by Boston’s Ward, cutting the lead to 3-1. The Bruins weren’t able to muster another goal in the second period but they did continue to control the play and the Canadiens were very much on their heels heading into the third.

Lucic put the Bruins within a goal by cutting the Habs’ lead to 3-2 only 2:01 into the third period and Boston took advantage of the change in momentum to continue the attack and earn a chance at a powerplay. Zdeno Chara came within inches of tying the game at 3 when he missed a wide open net during that powerplay and the game’s intensity increased even more. An already rough game turned rougher and a few cheap shots were thrown. Mattheiu Dandenault, who had been pointless in his last 13 games, put two quick goals in the net for the Habs towards the end of the third and they secured a 5-2 win over the Bruins to start this road trip.

GAME NOTES: Mike Komisarek played exceptionally well, blocking shots, taking shots, throwing hits and bring an all-around great defensemen. The Habs have beaten the Bruins in their last 8 meetings; the all time record between the clubs is 9.

January 10 - Boston Bruins

The Habs roll into Boston today to start off a 4 game road trip that will take them as far south as Atlanta before returning home to face off against Pittsburgh on January 19th. Montreal has beaten Boston in their last 7 games and the Habs will be looking to continue that streak as they battle for points in the very congested Eastern Conference.

The Habs are 4-0-2 in their last six games with a powerful offense suddenly taking shape; two games against Boston this season resulted in 6 and 7 goals for the Canadiens, including a 7-4 win in which they blasted Bruins goalie Tim Thomas with 52 shots.

With Carey Price playing in Hamilton for the moment Christobal Huet will be starting in net; he had a fairly strong game against Chicago in the Canadiens’ 4-3 overtime win on Tuesday.

I’m predicting a 5-3 win for Montreal ?

Montreal 4 - Chicago 3 (OT)

The Canadiens opened the scoring early with Saku Koivu scoring a beauty from the side of the net early in a first period largely controlled by Montreal. Chicago evened the score little more than a minute later, however, as Jack Skille netted his first career NHL goal for the Blackhawks. Fresh from an 11 game break due to injury, Patrice Brisebois put the Habs back on top with a powerplay goal from the point late in the period.

The Blackhawks stormed back quickly in the second period, scoring goals only 18 seconds apart on Christobal Huet to take a quick 3-2 lead; Robert Lang and Chris Versteeg took the credit. Midway through the period Canadiens All-Star starter Andrei Markov proved that he belonged on the All-Star starting lineup as he nabbed his 11th of the year on a Montreal powerplay from the point, tying the game at 3 going into the second intermission.

The third period saw a lot of grinding along the boards and some fantastic goaltending by both Patrick Lalime and Huet, and neither team was able to score a goal. The game went into overtime, a place the Habs rarely shine.

There were several big chances early in OT including a Blackhawks shot that got away from Huet and sat on an empty crease until Roman Hamrlik was able to deftly clear, saving a goal. Only seconds later Maxim Lapierre flew down the wing and placed a perfect pass onto the stick of a streaking Latendresse. The young Hab was able to tuck the puck past Lalime, giving Montreal only their eighth home win and putting them over .500 at the Bell Centre for the first time this season.

GAME NOTES: Brisebois looked great in his first game back, netting a goal and doing a great job on the blue line. He played well, but Andrei Kostitsyn saw his point streak end tonight; brother Sergei earned as assist on the Koivu goal.

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