Blogging About The Montreal Canadiens and Canadiens Hockey

Not much is known at this time, but just minutes after the Montreal Canadiens traded Guillaume Latendresse to the Minnesota Wild for Benoit Pouliot, they recalled Sergei Kostitsyn from the Hamilton Bulldogs.

This could be mean a few things.

1) Sergei is being called up temporarily because Pouliot is injured but will return to the Bulldogs once he’s back.

2) Pouliot will be sent to Hamilton and Sergei is on the Canadiens on a more permanent basis.

3) Big trade in the works

Confirmed by RDS.

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Once again Carey “I’m Gonna Fucking Kill You” Price steals the show when most of the team is lagging behind, and this time it’s now who you think.

It took six rounds into the shootout in order for Maxim Lapierre to score the game winning goal that went roof on Manny Legace for this one to end. Carey Price stopped all six shots he faced in the shootout, and 30 out of 32 shots that he faced in the game giving him a .938 save percentage. This gives Price an average save percentage of .927 over his last five games which included a 53 save, record tying, performance against Nashville just 3 days ago. Not bad if you ask me.

Goals for the Canadiens came from Max Pacioretty early in the first period, and Andrei Kostitsyn with just minutes left in the third period which tied the game and sent it to overtime. Both of these players really needed to step it up and show that they deserve the second line minutes that they’ve been given.

Another surprise last night was Guillaume “Fatty” Latendresse who actually had a good game. He worked hard, fought for the puck and made some excellent body checks deep in the zone. He even out skated someone, can you believe that? Now if someone could just teach him to drive to the net with the puck we would be all set.

Plekanec had another stellar performance assisting on both of the Canadiens’ goals which landed him first star honors. Pleky has been the best center on this team yet he’s still centering the second line. Hopefully Martin will recognize this and allow him to center the first line with Gionta and Cammalleri. His 19 points to Gomez’s 11 sort of speak for themselves, don’t you think?

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I’m not about to sit here and pretend that everything is peachy with this team, but at least we’re not the Toronto Maple Leafs. But seriously, what can the Canadiens do to begin turning things around? What options do they have to improve on their 8-10 start and to get above .500 again?

It’s no secret that losing Markov was probably the biggest detriment to the Canadiens, mainly because they don’t really have anyone that can step up and fill Markov’s shoes as well as he can. We have plenty of defenseman but unfortunately not one of them has this shot, or his defensive prowess. We managed to bring on Gill, Mara, Spacek, and M.A. Bergeron but none of them is a defensive monster. In fact, Gill is whole other type of monster…

It’s hard to find someone to blame for this though, because the Canadiens organization are actually trying to improve defensively. Calling up Mathieu Carle was a good decision. He’s been playing quite good in the few games he’s been in since being called up and is actually a +1 in the three games he’s played in against Boston, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay. Jay Leach may also seem to be a good defensive acquisition, but it will still take some time for that to become more clear.

Offensively we have guys like Gionta, Cammalleri, and Metropolit who are making an impact, but guys like Latendresse, Gomez, and Lapierre who seem to be floundering. Andrei Kostitsyn has been attempting to pick it up lately but continues to look lackluster. So what can be done? Honestly, I think Latendresse is an underachiever and could have spend a few more years on the Bulldogs. He’s just not making any type of impact on the ice and needs to be replaced.

As much as I hate saying this, I think it may be time to call up Sergei and give him some third-line minutes. It can’t be any worse then allowing Latendresse to play the minutes that he is with absolutely nothing to show for it. For god sakes Gainey, resign Metropolit! He’s been the best player on the ice!

And finally, the goalie situation. This is a little more difficult because both Halak and Price are young goalies, and both have their own strengths and weaknesses. I don’t think trading is the best option here because both have a lot of potential.

So what are our options? We could continue to go with, ’start the hot hand’, approach which may just get us through the season. I don’t want to see either goalie traded. The problem is: What do you do with two young goalies to help them progress without pushing them too hard and possible ruining their futures? I’m actually somewhat at a loss with this one.

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Over the last 30 minutes rumors have been swirling between guys like @Eklund and @NHLSourcesSay on twitter that the Montreal Canadiens might be close to signing Alexander Frolov of the Los Angeles Kings, but nothing can be confirmed.

@NHLSourcesSay believes that two names mentioned in the possible trade would be Guillaume Latendresse and Kostitsyn, which Kostitsyn, however, is yet to be determined, but my best guess would be Sergei because he’s an RFA at the end of this season and we still have Andrei for another year until he goes UFA for the 2011-2012 season.

This trade is “feasible”, and I quote that because it could happen in respect to the current cap space available for both teams. It does somewhat scare me to lose these two guys for Frolov, but his numbers over the last four seasons kind of speak for themselves. Averaging 75 games played and 63 points per season.

Not a bad pickup if he continues that type of play, and can you imagine Cammalleri and Frolov playing together once again…scary.

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Jaroslav Halak will get the start in goal tomorrow night against the New Jersey Devils. It will be his first start since suffering from the flu. Halak has won his last 4 games in a row and five of his last 6.

What could be a historic night for Martin Brodeur, who with a win, will tie the record set by Patrick Roy for most career wins, is also a historic night for Patrice Brisebois. Tomorrow night’s game against the Devils will be his 1000th game played in the NHL. Brisebois played his first game with Canadiens in the 1990-1991 season and has spent the bulk of his 19 NHL seasons here , minus 2 seasons with Colorado and 1 season in the Swiss League during the lockout. He won the Stanley Cup with the Candiens in 1993. Congrats Patrice!

Guillaume Latendresse, who has been out of the lineup since February 1st with a shoulder injury has recieved medical clearance to play. We will know tomorrow whether he will be in the lineup.

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It didn’t take Bob Gainey, Interim Coach and General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens, long to begin making changes with his team. Gainey has changed all three defensive pairings and has put Alex Kovalev on left wing with Matt D’Agostini and Tomas Plekanec.

Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek are reunited as the #1 D-pairing, Ryan O’Byrne will play with Roman Hamrlik on the second D-pairing, and Mathieu Schneider will see slightly less ice-time playing on the third D-pairing with Josh Gorges.

The thing that really surprised me was that Max Pacioretty will be benched alongside Patrice Brisebois, and the injured Guillaume Latendresse.

I’m VERY happy to see the Tanguay-Koivu-A. Kostitsyn line stay together. That line absolutely dominated in the game against Dallas and had so many scoring chances.

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It was close, and at times I was scared, but we pulled it out and won our 10th out of 13 games by a score of 3-2. Really it should have been like 12-2 but we missed about 9 open net chances at the end of the game.

Goals came from Guillaume Latendresse, who opened the scoring, Andrei Markov, and Andrei Kostitsyn who is absolutely amazing when not playing with Alex Kovalev. The game was actually quite uneventful besides a fight between Steve Begin and Jordan Tootoo which, in my opinion, was stopped way too early, but Begin lost.

Nashville had a lot of chances and our Defense did a good job at clearing their chances, but Jaroslav Halak needs to pick his game up. I just don’t feel as comfortable with him in nets, it’s a crap shoot.

I think it’s safe to say that our Powerplay is back. Last night we went 1/2 giving us 50% for the game and about 40% for the last 5 games.

Related Links:
Canadiens prevail over Predators – CBC
Habs at half speed edge out a victory – All Habs
Latendresse Continues His Fine Play As He And His Team Bonk The Preds – Dennis-Kane
Habs win while fans snooze – Shifts and Sets
Habs Sleepwalk to Win over Preds – All Habs
About last night … – Habs Inside/Out
Andrei Kostitsyn scores in fourth straight game as Canadiens defeat Predators – NHL.com
NHL: Montreal 3, Nashville 2 – redOrbit
Canadiens prevail over Predators – news.AOL.com
Markov, Lang lead Habs past Predators – Associated Presss
Markov, Canadiens edge Predators – Faceoff.com
Canadiens Win As Kostitsyn Scores In Fourth Straight Game – TSN.ca
Markov, Lang lead Habs past Predators – Yahoo!
Andrei Kostitsyn scores in fourth straight game as Canadiens defeat Predators – The Hockey News

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What a game! If you were at this game, and you were a Montreal Canadiens fan, then you are one lucky son of a gun. This one was action packed with everything a good hockey game should have; Lots of goals for the home team, and fighting. The Canadiens and Leafs combined for a total of 140 minutes of penalties including 2 fights and god knows how many misconducts.

Another rivalry made it’s appearance tonight between the likes of Mikhail Grabovski and Sergei Kostitsyn, two Belarussian youngsters. The final score in this game was 6-2 for the home team, Montreal Canadiens. Goals came from Sergei Kostitsyn, Andrei Kostitsyn, Maxim Lapierre, Guillaume Latendress, Alex Kovalev, and Max Pacioretty.

For a team with a rash of injuries and a Power play that is 27th out of 30 in the league, they played with desires, heart, and a ton of grit. Not to mention that the PP went 2 for 8, another solid performance, for a poorly performing PP unit.

It was milestone night for Patrice Brisebois as his three assists launched him into the 5th most scoring Defenseman in Montreal Canadiens history, just ahead of Tremblay.

Jaroslav Halak has played with vindication the last two games and made some excellent saves to keep Montreal ahead in this one. I think he’s starting to realize that this is his opportunity to show that he can start games and finish them. We need him to continue to play like this, unfortunately Price can’t play every single game.

This was Yannick Weber’s first NHL game, and considering that, he played fairly well. He was very nervous at first and ended up getting a slashing penalty after chopping a stick a little too hard. He was played mostly on the Power play, but saw time on the fourth line, and played Defense at the end of the game. Overall, I would say he’s not quite ready for the NHL as of yet, but can’t wait to see him.

This game had probably the most penalties that I have every seen. Rather than telling them to you, let me show you.

Related Links:
Canadiens trounce Leafs – Canoe.ca
Canadiens humble Maple Leafs – CBC
Game Highlights: Canadiens 6 Maples Leafs 2 – All Habs
Grabovski the street fighter – The Daily Hab-it
Habs Give Leafs And Grabovski The Boot – Dennis Kane
Ugly Game, Important Win – All Habs
Canadiens 6, Maple Leafs 2 – canadiens.nhl.com
About last night … – Habs Inside/Out
Rivalry between Leafs and Habs takes on new Belarussian twist – NHL.com
Montreal offense clicks again in 6-2 win over Toronto – NHL.com
Kostitsyn, Lapierre and Latendresse lead Habs over Leafs in chippy 6-2 rout – NHL.com
Hostilities resume in rivalry as Habs, Leafs head in opposite directions – Globe and Mail
Kostitsyn leads Habs past Leafs – Associated Press
Maple Leafs no match for Canadiens – National Post
Canadiens blow out Maple Leafs – The Sport Network
Rivalry between Leafs and Habs takes on new Belarussian twist – The Hockey News
Canadiens drub Leafs 6-2 in skirmish-filled battle between old rivals – The Hockey News
Canadiens Thump Maple Leafs in Nasty Affair –
Kostitsyn leads Habs past Leafs – Yahoo!
Canadiens ride early outburst, blast Maple Leafs – SBRForum

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For a team riddled with injury after injury to some big players, we seem to be getting a lot of hattricks, and tonight was no exception. Everyone seemed to step up including Jaroslav Halak making some nice saves, now if he could just play like this every time he started we’d have no problems.

The final score in this one was 6-3 for the Montreal Canadiens with goals coming from Robert Lang(3), Alex Kovalev, Guillaume Latendresse, and Andre Markov with a snipers wrist shot from the top of the right circle. Goals for New York came from Drury, Rozsival, and Callahan.

The Power play actually clicked tonight going 2 for 5 which is a 40%, not bad for a team who has only three teams worse than them on the PP.

Max Pacioretty scored his second point in the NHL when he assisted on Alex Kovalev’s game opening goal with an excellent pass out front for Kovalev to bury.

With this win the Montreal Canadiens are now 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. You better watch out Bruins, we’re comin’ for ya!

Three Stars: 3. Jaroslav Halak 2. Andre Markov 1. Robert Lang

Related Links:
Canadiens double-up Rangers – Canoe.ca
Lang’s hat trick lifts Habs over Rangers – CBC.ca
Lang Scores 3; Reminds Fans ‘Who Needs Sundin? – All Habs
Halak And Mates Punch The Clock And Put In A Good Shift – Dennis Kane
Whenever you think they’re down.. – The Daily Hab-it
Canadiens 6, Rangers 3 – Canadiens.NHL.com
About last night … – Habs Inside/Out
Lang’s 3 goals lead Habs over Rangers 6-3 – NHL.com
Lang’s second career hat trick leads Canadiens past Rangers 6-3 – NHL.com
Lang lifts Canadiens – Freep
Rangers falter in third, lose to Habs, 6-3 – Newsday
Canadiens-Rangers: Lang’s Hat Trick Leads Habs – Kevin van Steendelaar, Bleacher Report
Robert Lang Hat Trick Sinks Rangers – The Epoch Times
Lang hat-trick powers Canadiens past Rangers – guardian.co.uk
Canadiens’ Lang puts on a show in New York – The Financial Post
Lang’s trick helps Habs double up Rangers – The Sports Network
Lang’s hat trick leads Canadiens past Rangers – Associated Press
Lang’s hat trick leads Canadiens past Rangers – Yahoo!
Lang’s Second Career Hat Trick Leads Canadiens Past Rangers – TSN.ca
Lang’s second career hat trick leads Canadiens past Rangers 6-3 – The Hockey News

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It was a close one that had to be decided in a Shootout but the Canadiens pulled a miracle shootout victory with goals from Alex Kovalev and Maxim Lapierre. Jussi Jokinen scored on Carey Price, but Lecavalier and Prospal were denied. Afterwards we saw a bit of superman posing from Price. [video below]

Regulation goals for the Canadiens came from Guillaume Latendresse and Vinny Prospal for the Lightning which saw regulation time and OT finish in a 1-1 tie before Montreal took it in the shootout.

Andrei Kostitsyn just about won the game in regulation when he took a wrist shot from the left circle beating Mike Smith but rang off the iron with 6 seconds left in the period. Posts seemed to be the name of the game tonight as Alex Kovalev and Matt D’Agostini also hit the iron.

I have said this a million times, but it just feels right; Maxim Lapierre is such a hard worker and the last two games have been absolutely phenomenal for him; Three goals in last nights game against Florida, assists on Latendresse’s goal, and finally the shootout winner.

Note: If anyone has a picture of Price’s pose, send it to me: justin@yourhabs.com

Is it just me or did Vinny Prospal win the Stanley Cup out there? I mean, who gets down on their knees and practically cries after scoring just his seventh goal of the season. I was shocked. I bet he went to the dressing room and cried after Price stoned him in the shootout, and I can only imagine what he would have done if he had scored.

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Related Links:
Lapierre wins shootout for Montreal over Lightning – Yahoo!
Maxim Lapierre scores shootout winner for Montreal over Lightning – The Hockey News
Lapierre scores shootout winnder as Habs edge Lightning – TSN.ca
Lapierre wins shootout for Montreal over Lightning – Associated Press
Canadiens get past Bolts in shootout – Herald Tribune
Maxim Lapierre scores shootout winner for Montreal over Lightning – NHL.com
Canadiens 2, Lightning 1, SO – Canadiens.NHL.com
Max Does It Again! This Time In The Shootout – Dennis-Kane
Price Stops Bolts to Give Habs Shootout Win – AllHabs
Lapierre scores shootout winner as Habs take another – CBC.ca
Habs down Lightning in shootout – Canoe.ca
Montreal completes Sunshine sweep – Globe and Mail
Game 36: Lapierre lifts Habs to shootout win – Habs Inside/Out

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