Is four in the cards?

Three in a row is great, four in a row is impressive. Can they do it?

For your enjoyment, Mathieu Schneider after scoring the winner in overtime last night. 

Three's a Streak

What a game. Halak looks fantastic. Koivu comes through with faceoff magic late. And L'Artiste with three points again. The Habs are back ladies and gentlemen.

Mathieu Schneider, again, looked great anchoring the power play. His booming shot has added a dimension the Canadiens were sorely missing. Mike Komisarek also had a very strong game, playing physical against a very tough Philadelphia team.

And lastly, new Hab Glen Metropolit looked great against his old team. Wearing #15, he played very strong on a line with Tom Kostopolous. Looks like another strong move by Gainey.

In Bob We Trust.

RUMOURS

From the Buffalo News, Tim Connolly to Columbus for Rostislav Klesla.

Also of note, Jacques Martin was scouting tonight's Canadiens-Flyers game.

Game Day - Philadelphia

Big game in the middle of the Eastern Conference standings, with the Canadiens coming in 4 points behind the Flyers for fourth place and having played 2 more games overall. Things have been rolling along fairly well of late for the Habs with wins in their last two, so they look to keep it going tonight.

In an interesting aside, the Canadiens acquired Glen Metropolit earlier this afternoon and had him in the starting lineup tonight to take the opening faceoff against his old team (possibly angering the other 4th line players already on the roster who've been fighting/demanding trades for ice time, but that's an argument for another time). I suppose that there's something to be said for making the new guy feel at home and all, but you'd think that you'd at least try and get him one practice and a jersey with a permanent nameplate before throwing him out there to see what happens. Through one period it's been a bit up and down, but thankfully it looks like things are settling into place and the team is adjusting to the new lineup (a usual exercise in Montreal anyway).

Rumours today, game tonight

Halak starts tonight against the Flyers in Philadelphia. Time will tell if the reincarnation of Ken Dryden will again turn away dozens of shots, or if the Canadiens defence will break down. 7 pm EST start, on TSN in Canada. Should be a great game.

UPDATE: Habs grab Glen Metropolit off waivers. Ossi Vaananen grabbed by Vancouver.

Rumours today:

• Bob Gainey has told Mathieu Dandenault he will attempt to accomodate his trade request
• Boston is moving hard towards acquiring Chris Pronger: The Four Period and NESN
• Pittsburgh and Toronto are discussing a Tomas Kaberle trade
• Sean Avery will be on re-entry waivers come Monday: Sportsnet
• Niklas Backstrom "must be signed by Minnesota or he'll be dealt" - Pierre McGuire, TEAM 990
• "Canadiens should be after Keith Tkachuk" - Pierre McGuire

Trade Requests

With the movement of Steve Begin earlier today, and the general unrest of Mathieu Dandenault and Georges Laraque implying that they too would like to be traded, there seems to be an alarming trend of Canadiens depth players wanting to get out (the fact that they're predominantly French-Canadian will likely also get some press). While this is clearly (and somewhat understandably) the result of there not being enough ice time to go around with a large number of young players working into similar roles in the lineup this season, the public way in which these claims have been coming out kills any potential trade values these players would have (Begin was traded for somebody who has to clear waivers; a possible swap that could net the Canadiens nothing in return).

While I'm all for guys like Begin and Dandenault getting the chance to play somewhere else given that their talents were squandered in Montreal on account of depth, it's still a bit painful to see them hanging the team out to dry in terms of a potential return. Almost everybody who leaves Montreal (with Samsonov and Grabovski being notable recent exceptions) talks about how much they enjoyed their time with the Canadiens, so it's too bad that they wind up hurting that same team (and consequently limiting the quality of teams they themselves could be moved to) by publicly demanding trades so close to the deadline.

In other news, with so much 4th line grit and character wanting to leave the team, look for a move to acquire Ian Laperriere to be become a much more reasonable possibility. Also, with salary continuing to come off of the cap, other, bigger-name talent might also work its way into the Habs' deadline day discussions. As always, we'll keep you posted on any developments in this regard as soon as we have the information.

Mathieu Dandenault Requests a Trade

Theme for the week?

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=268811&lid=sublink01&lpos=headlines_main

Update: Gainey has said he will comply with Dandenault's request. 

• Apparently, Boston is the front runner for Chris Pronger, and a trade would involve coveted forward Phil Kessel. Any situation where Pronger ends up on Boston is unacceptable, and must be stopped! Wow would they be good...

Source: NESN,http://community.nesn.com/blogs/nhl_lowdown/archive/2009/02/26/3707726.aspx

CJAD Montreal: Steve Begin Traded to Dallas

More to come...

Update: For Doug Janik: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/2639

http://habsinsideout.com/main/16208

The First Big Trade of The Season...

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=268759&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_main

To Pittsburgh: Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi

To Anaheim: Ryan Whitney

Hmm Anaheim adds a defenceman, is Pronger on the move soon? 

Update

• Martin Gerber on re-entry waivers (as per AM 640, Toronto).
• Philadelphia defenceman Ossi Vaananen is also on waivers. 
• Laraque hints at retirement:http://www.hockeyfights.com/quickhits/qh/entry/laraque-i-dont-want-to-be-traded/