You Know...

...it's beginning to look as though Guy Carbonneau may not have been the main problem plaguing the Canadiens after all...

After getting a win in his first game behind the bench, the Habs have dropped their next 4 under the supervision of Bob Gainey and still look like a team destined to miss the postseason unless something drastic changes in the very near future. Carey Price was shaky in allowing 4 goals on just 15 shots last night, and was replaced early in the second period by Jaroslav Halak (who played yet another solid game in relief). Price was notably upset in post game interviews, and you have to wonder how many more mediocre outings his confidence can stand. I know he's Gainey's guy and all, but it's looking like he may not be quite ready to lead this team into the playoffs just yet. He is only 21 years old after all, and the lack of a veteran presence to support him at times like these seems like a bit of an oversight.

It's not fair to put all of the blame on Price though, since the entire team (excepting the phenomenal Kostopoulos/Lapierre/Latendresse line) didn't look ready to play a critical game last night. The lack of focus and motivation is quickly becoming the norm for Montreal (regardless of who's behind the bench), and you have to wonder if there's any way to fix it in time. The Habs return home on Saturday night to face the Leafs, and can probably expect to receive a hostile "welcome" from their home fans given their recent performances. This is likely their last chance to stop the bleeding, so they better make the most of it if they want to be taken seriously as any sort of playoff contender.

A frustrating loss, and a coach past

The Habs lost another last night, in a shootout, to the Rangers. Doesn't matter how they lost - it was a loss. Great game by Carey Price - until they lost. The Habs head to Ottawa this evening, where hopefully they win. Otherwise, they'll be losers of four in five since Bob Gainey took over as coach from that other guy.

"It's the first time I have been fired."

Speaking of Guy Carbonneau, he addressed the media today, his 49th birthday. He said he had "no idea" he was going to be fired, and that it caught him by surprise. He also said, not surprisingly, that he is not happy he was fired. He said he is still cheering for the team and hopes they make the playoffs and go far.

Wow. What a 100th season. Whoo. Hoo. 

Changes

With the sudden firing of Guy Carbonneau yesterday afternoon, the Canadiens will presumably finish their Centennial Season with Bob Gainey behind the bench. This isn't the first time that this has happened, with Gainey taking over from Claude Julien and amassing a record of 23-15-3 in 41 games during the 2005/06 season and leading the team into the postseason. He evidently hopes to repeat things this year, citing eight weeks of underachievement as the driving force behind the move.

While it isn't uncommon for the coach to become the scapegoat for an underachieving team, I was a bit surprised to see Carbonneu take the fall during the year. I had him finishing the season with the team before being moved out over the summer, so this certainly comes as a surprise to most parties involved. Conversely, we've seen Lou Lamoriello fire coaches with 3 games left in a season where the Devils set a regular season record for wins (again the unfortunate Claude Julien was the victim), so this sort of sudden move isn't exactly uncommon. What remains to be seen is how the Canadiens as a team react to the change. We won't have to wait too long to find out, as they're home to face the Oilers tonight (7:30 EST start).

Kovalev Back Friday: RDS

RDS is reporting that Alex Kovalev will rejoin the Canadiens tomorrow, after he and Bob Gainey had a lengthy discussion today. Kovalev is expected back in the lineup Saturday versus Ottawa, but that decision will be left up to coach Guy Carbonneau.

http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/269527.html

S Kost to Hamilton...

Gregory Stewart back up to the big club. Clearly, Carbonneau was not happy with Kostitsyn Jr.'s play, and Stewart's 170 penalty minutes bring a new element of toughness to the Habs.

The Canadiens shuffle continues. 

The Beat Goes On

Another day, another disappointing loss. The Habs return from their Western swing with a dismal 1-3-0 record after losing 4-2 in Vancouver last night, and the questions surrounding the team will only continue to intensify.

How can they build some consistency (both offensively and defensively), and can Bob Gainey make a move that would in some way salvage a season that is quickly spiraling out of control? Also, what does the future hold for Guy Carbonneau, who seems to have lost control of the room quite some time ago? For good or bad, coaches tend to be the first domino to fall in trying to change the fortunes of a struggling team (see Tampa Bay, Ottawa and Pittsburgh so far this year), so it may only be a matter of time before we see a move being made behind the bench in Montreal.

With these issues in mind it's going to be a long couple of days between games for the entire management staff, and with a visit to Washington next on the schedule, things could certainly get worse on the ice before they have a chance to get any better off of it.

You know things aren't going great when...

...a major media outlet in Montreal is calling for Les Canadiens to sign Yanic "No Panic" Perreault. Now, I loved Perreault, and maybe he could help, but the guy hasn't been in the NHL for a year, and it would take him a while to get going (see Sundin, Mats). 

http://www.corussports.com/hockey/pourquoi_pas_yanic_perreault-c-20090214-1416043.html

Other rumours today: Habs are hot-to-trot for Olli Jokinen and Derek Morris (TSN), Frantisek Kaberle is going on re-entry waivers and could be the key to a team luring Tomas Kaberle into waiving his no trade clause (CBC), and apparently the Avalanche have made big winger Ian Laperriere available (CBC). Wow, would he look good on a line with Begin and Laraque. That would be one mean combination.

And Halak is officially pegged as the starter tomorrow by Guy Carbonneau. When asked what he thought of his performance against Colorado, Guy was quoted as saying "Halak it like that." Ok, he didn't really say that, but I had to write it.