Standing Ovation in Montreal

Not for the reason you might think though. The Habs played another abysmal game in losing to the Devils 3-1, and were soundly booed throughout much of the third period and as they left the ice. The standing ovation was instead reserved for Martin Brodeur, who tied Patrick Roy atop the all-time wins list with career victory 551 last night. Forced to make only 22 saves it wasn't even much of a challenge for him, and were it not for a goal by Tomas Plekanec (who continues to impress) midway through the first period, he would have added another shutout to that impressive total on top of the historic win.

With the loss, the second Bob Gainey era now sits at a mark of 1-1-1. More disconcerting than just the record is the complete lack of defensive effort (to go along with a sputtering offence), allowing a staggering 48 shots on goal last night. For anybody still thinking that this is a legitimate playoff team, you have to question just who they'd be able to beat in a first round match up with the effort we've seen in the last week or so...

The 8th-place Rangers will be the next opponents to visit Montreal (Tuesday night), and with playoff positioning slipping away this will likely be a must-win situation. Whether the team will be up to that type of challenge remains to be seen

Streaking Habs Meet Surging Sharks

Big game tonight in Montreal, as the Canadiens (winners of their last 3) face off against San Jose (victories in 5 of their last 6) in what many people thought might be a Stanley Cup preview back at the start of the year. While the Sharks have managed to live up to those lofty expectations so far this season (not that regular season success is anything new to them), the Canadiens have taken a slightly rougher road through their first 62 games. After a prolonged Western slump the Habs seem to have things back in order though, and look to keep it going tonight against one of the top teams in the league.

Key to the recent success has been the resurgence of the once vaunted powerplay with the acquisition of Mathieu Schneider, who tallied two points on the PP last night including the game winner in OT. Jaroslav Halak has also become a stabilizing presence in goal, and Tomas Plekanec has been absolutely on fire with 9 points (6 goals) in the 5 games played since returning from his 2-game suspension. Alex
"L'Artiste" Kovalev has been equally hot of late, totaling 7 points in the three games back after his team-imposed exile.

With the deadline looming it will be interesting to see how management decides to go about tinkering with the roster, since the quality of play lately has been very solid. With Alex Tanguay and Guillaume Latendresse due to return before too much longer there will also be improvements available from within the team itself, although that hasn't stopped people from talking about the availability of Keith Tkachuk and Olli Jokinen to fill some needs up front. Needless to say it should be an eventful few days leading up to the March 4 deadline, and we'll do our best to keep you completely up to date on all of the important news.

Enjoy the game tonight everybody!

Better Effort, Same Result

The Canadiens' road woes continued last night, falling 4-3 to the Caps in a shootout. Unlike other recent defeats though, the team actually looked motivated and controlled the play for large portions of the game against a solid Washington squad. Unfortunately, a late goal by David Steckel forced extra time, where Tomas Plekanec had an amazing chance to beat Jose Theodore but was robbed by the inside of the post. Things were equally bad in the shootout, with goals by Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom sealing the victory and ruining what was otherwise a solid team effort from the Habs.

On the bright side, the powerplay found new life and scored 3 times (with goals by the beleaguered trio of Higgins, Plekanec and Kostitsyn Sr.), and Carey Price showed signs that he may be back to the form that we remember from earlier in the year. Mathieu Schnedier also looked to be at home back in the "bleu, blanc et rouge," playing a solid game and recording an assist in just over 27 minutes of ice time.

Montreal travels to Pittsburgh tonight, where they'll face a reeling Penguins team. If the work effort from last night carries over, expect this one to be an equally well-contested affair.

Another Day, Another Loss...

The Montreal Canadiens, for the most part, held Alexander Ovechkin in check - but it was not to be. Washington threw 35 shots Carey Price's way, but despite his valiant efforts the Capitals defeated the Habs 4-3 in a shootout on goals from Niklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin. Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Markov were unable to score on behalf of the Canadiens.

The outcome could have been very different, however, as Price played spectacularly the entire game. Tomas Plekanec rang a shot off the inside of the post with 30 seconds left in overtime, and clearly had Jose Theodore beat. Another inch and the Canadiens win. Thems the breaks, as they say.

A good game for Price, Plekanec, Koivu, Higgins, Pacioretty Kostitsyn Sr. and Lapierre. A great debut for Mathieu Schneider. He looked solid, logged significant minutes, and contributed an assist on the power player. Also a great game for Alex Ovechkin. He is a hockey behemoth. How he scored his goal on Carey Price, with Kyle Chipchura essentially getting a piggy back as Ovechkin fell on his side, I will never understand. But that's what great players do, they score when they're not supposed to.

Now, would the outcome have been different had Alex Kovalev been there to go in the shoot-out? We'll never know. 

Montreal is in Pittsburgh tomorrow night.