Montreal 6 - Tampa Bay 3

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I have to open this recap with the fact that Michael Ryder scored two goals and added an assist to make it a three point night! After such a terrible streak and the loss of confidence that followed, it’s good to see my favorite Newfoundland born Hab get back on track.

The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead midway through the first on a powerplay goal by Chris Higgins and made it 2-0 before the end of the period on yet another powerplay goal by Alex Kovalev. Tampa looked strong however, and Kari Ramo made several key saves to keep the lead at only 2 goals.

The second period opened with Vincent Lecavilier coming in on a breakaway and Huet turning to stone as Vinny put the biscuit between his legs. To his credit Huet looked very sharp for the remainder of the game but this lack of confidence on breakaways and shootouts needs to change! Michael Ryder came in on a wing and put a nice wrist shot into the net to put the Habs up 3-1 before Martin St. Louis put a powerplay goal home minutes later to cut the lead back to a single goal. Only two minutes after that Vincent Prospel put another one in the net for Tampa to tie the game 3-3 going into the third.

After playing nearly eight minutes with very little on-the-net action in the third Andrei Kostitsyn flew down the left wing on Kari Ramo and rocketed a slapshot into his shoulder and into the net to put Montreal up by a goal. This time, rather than blow the lead for the third time, Kyle Chipchura put the puck in an empty net after Tomas Plekanec fired a crisp pass onto his stick across the crease. Ryder sealed the deal with just under 3 minutes on another beautiful feed from Chris Higgins, scoring his second and putting the Habs up 6-3 to end the game.

GAME NOTES: Ryder again! 4 points in the last two games including three goals after going 15 games without a goal and 13 without a point. Huet, beyond the sloppy breakaway goal, was sharp throughout, making 30 saves.

What Would You Do For Vinny?

Let me start off by saying that this post is full of speculation and wishful thinking! While the Montreal media went through a frenzy when the rumour that Vincent Lecavalier would like to play for the Habs late in 2007, things never went any further and no official talk came from the Habs and the Lightning. Before I commit to calling the dream of Vinny in Montreal wishful thinking, let’s break down the potential specifics.

Would Tampa Bay part with him? Given that Lecavalier is the leading points scorer in the NHL at the moment, one would assume that the Lightning would either be unwilling to trade or would want such a high price tag that we simply wouldn’t bite. But, being that Tampa is floating in last place in the Eastern Conference at the moment, maybe there is a chance that they would trade in order to fix their goaltending woes.

What would we have to trade? Given the goaltending situation in Tampa, Huet would be a good starter. Throw in an all-star forward (Koivu, anyone?) and we may just have a deal. The questions from the Montreal end of things:

- Is Carey Price ready to take over as a true number one? Sometimes he looks like it, other times not so much. Halak has the potential to be a star backup and that is important to remember.

- While we all love Saku, he just hasn’t been living up to expectations lately (save for the past few games). He is a star centre and a great playmaker, but he isn’t the high scoring front man that we need.

The real question for the readers is, assuming Tampa were open to negotiations, who would you trade for Vinny?

January 3 - Tampa Bay Lightning

With the six-game road trip that the Canadiens just finished, they haven’t played at home since December 18th; that was a 3-2 loss to Florida. The Habs are 1-5-2 in their last 8 games at home and, while we remain strong on the road, the Bell Centre streak doesn’t seem to be improving.

Montreal faces Tampa Bay at home on Thursday night. The Lightning have lost 8 of their past 9 games and the Habs are 1-0-1 against them this season. After obtaining 8 of 12 possible points on the road trip, Montreal is flying on a high note right now.

Huet looks to be getting the start (I expect Price will go up against Washington on Saturday night – rumour has it that they will be starting their second line goalie as well) and, while he hasn’t exactly been on fire, he has been solid for the most part in the past few games.

I personally predict a 4-2 Canadiens win

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.