One ain't bad

But...it was the Thrashers. Kovalev, Tanguay and Koivu looked great together. Carey Price had flashes of brilliance. And Mathieu Dandenault was extremely strong on the backend as the Habs beat Atlanta 6-3. Two is a streak: we'll find out Thursday.

Tanguay Out

Source: Montreal Gazette

Thrashed

Despite a much improved performance from Carey Price, the rest of the Canadiens didn't seem to bother showing up in Atlanta last night and the result was an ugly 2-0 loss. This follows on the heels of a 5-1 drubbing in Buffalo on Wednesday night, and seems to mark a distinct lack of both effort and urgency from the team as a whole.

The return of Alex Tanguay to the lineup did not have the desired effect on team scoring, although with just under 14 minutes of ice time it's clear that he's still rounding back in to game-shape after missing an extended period with a shoulder injury. Perhaps more disturbing were the body of special teams play, with the Canadiens taking a number of undisciplined penalties and the powerplay going ice cold after a brief stretch of success. Although the outcome wasn't greatly affected by either of these factors last night, if the Canadiens were playing a team with aspirations for Stanley rather than Tavares it would have been a much worse result to be sure.

Now sitting only 2 points clear of 10th place in the East, the Canadiens need to pull things together quickly or they'll be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. We'll see if they manage to right the ship on Sunday in Dallas (a 6 PM EST start), or if the gradual wreckage of the once vaunted Centennial season continues.

A Few Thoughts

I like the choice to go with Halak tonight. While conventional wisdom might suggest that you go with the "franchise" in Price, at this point in the year you need to go with the guy that gives the team the best chance to win and solidify playoff position. Right now, that's Halak.

It's nice to see that Tanguay is nearing his return. He was a solid contributor before the injury, and the team could certainly use his playmaking abilities down the stretch.

A lot of talk (here and elsewhere) has focused on what the Habs will/won't do at the much vaunted trade deadline. I for one think that the acquisition of Schneider was all we'll see from Bob Gainey this year. With only about $350k in free cap space, there isn't much room to maneuver unless somebody like a Hamrlik or Kovalev is moved. Additionally, with players like Tanguay and Latendresse slated to return before the end of the season, the team will actually be improved over it's current state without having to make any moves outside of their own roster. That seems like the smartest route to follow, leading into a more productive offseason when cap room is cleared rather than tearing everything down for a deadline day "quick-fix" that would be doomed to failure.

The McDonalds commercials featuring J.C. Petit are awesome. That guy can play, although the new Russian might be some serious competition...

Van City Visits the Phone Booth

Vancouver comes into town tonight having won four straight, with free-agent mercenary Mats Sundin having scored the shootout winning goal Saturday night against Toronto. Sundin, or as I like to call him, Mats Sellout, has kicked into high gear lately and added a significant weapon to the Canucks once anemic offence. Also hot for the Canucks, Ryan Kesler appears to be the solid, two way centre Bobby Clarke insisted he was going to be.

Jaroslav Halak starts for the Habs after another solid effort against Ottawa on Saturday. The Canadiens seem to routinely give up 40-odd shots these days, but it doesn't seem to matter when Halak is in net. Carey Price watches from the bench yet again as Guy Carbonneau tries to inspire his once dominant starter by challenging his role in net with Halak.

Alex Kovalev is coming off a three point game for the Canadiens, which also featured the talents of Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn. Mathieu Schneider again scored for the Habs against Ottawa, and the powerplay is clicking at 60% since Schneider's acquisition from the Thrashers.

Alex Tanguay, expected to play versus Vancouver, will not be back tonight, he was not cleared by doctors and will aim for Thursday's game as his return. 

Rumours

• Jacques Martin told a Florida newspaper he is willing to deal Jay Bouwmeester.
• Tampa Bay GM Brian Lawton told a Tampa newspaper he will "never, ever, ever" deal Vincent Lecavalier.
• Even scarier than Kaberle: Pronger to the Bruins? http://blogues.cyberpresse.ca/lnh/?p=752

A Quiet Day

A nice change from the fodder of last week. Not much new, except that Tanguay practiced as a regular today on the second line, and Saku Koivu missed practice with what Carbonneau said was the flu. Big game at home against the Canucks tomorrow. 

Also of note, the Rangers fired head coach Tom Renney hours ago, and are said to be deep into negotiations with John Tortorella for the new job, according to the FAN 590 in Toronto. That would mean Tortorella leaves his analyst job at TSN.

No word yet on whether TSN is negotiating to hire Tom Renney.

UPDATE

The Tampa Bay Lightning have filed tampering charges against he New York Rangers - but not over the hiring of John Tortorella. Can anyone say Vinny L?

http://tsn.ca/blogs/bob_mckenzie/?id=268397&lid=sublink05&lpos=topRelated_main