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Saturday, October 29, 2011

Bruins @ Canadiens

HABS WIN THEIR 3RD STRAIGHT WITH A 4-2 WIN OVER THE BRUINS




















GOAL SCORERS

BOS:   M. Lucic (16:28 - 2nd) , T. Seguin (19:05 - 3rd)
MTL:   B. Gionta (PPG, 15:26 - 1st) , L. Eller (16:42 - 1st) , D. Desharnais (PPG, 12:24 - 2nd) , T. Plekanec (EN, 19:48 - 3rd)
GOALIES

BOS: T. Rask (L) , T. Thomas
 MTL: C. Price (W)





               Earlier tonight in Montreal, in the spirit of Halloween, the Canadiens ended their home and home series with the Bruins on a high note. As the Canadiens got their offense rolling early. Just 10 minutes in, Eric Cole came up the right wing and took a shot but it was stopped by Rask. 4 minutes later, Marchands shot beat Price blocker side, but it didn't beat the post. 30 seconds later, with the Habs on a powerplay, Plekanec's point shot was tipped in by Gionta to make it 1-0 Montreal. 1 minute later, Eller got the puck on the left and took a shot and scored glove side on Rask to make it 2-0 Habs lead. 6 minutes into the second, Kelly brought the puck up the left wing and took the puck to the net and it was stopped by Price.

           2 minutes later, Desharnais played the puck in front to Cole and he was robbed by the pad of Rask. 3 minutes after that, Desharnais played the puck down low to Cammalleri and he played it back to Desharnais in the slot and he shot the puck past Rask to make it 3-0 Montreal. Late in the second, Horton turned the puck over and played it to Lucic, Lucic took a slap shot from the right circle and he scored to cut the lead to 2 goals. A few minutes later, Pacioretty had a breakaway and Rask dove to knock the puck away. So the score was 3-1 Montreal going into the third. 3 minutes into the third, the Bruins were on a 5 on 3 powerplay. Chara took a point shot (from the left point) and it was stopped and the rebound went right to Lucic and Gorges dove to block the empty net shot.

           2 minutes later, Ellers shot from the slot was stopped by the glove of Rask as he flashes the leather after a great save. Then with a minute to go, the Bruins had pulled the goalie, and Seguin got the puck in the slot and fired it past Price to cut the lead to 3-2. After the goal, the Bruins coach removed Rask from the net and put Thomas in net to by time for his players to rest. But as soon as Thomas was pulled, Plekanec would add an empty net goal as the Habs win 4-2. In the win, Price made 26 saves on 28 shots."I think our guys are pretty confident again," Price said. "I think that's all it took was just a couple of wins. Now the guys are all excited to go to the rink again. When you're losing, it's not fun. Everything's gloom and doom so winning solves everything."

          In the loss, Rask made 23 saves on 26 shots as the Bruins Stanley cup Hangover continues. The Bruins are dead last in the East and are 29th in the NHL."I believe in this team. I know what we have," Chara said. "I know we are in a deep hole but if anybody can get out of it, it's this team." So the Bruins need to turn their season around. Speaking of a team turning their season around, how about the Habs. They were off to their worst start in Franchise history but have found a way to win 3 in a row.In the last 3 games, the reasons why the Habs won is that they finally began to use their speed. In the first 8 games for example, Eric Cole wasn't moving his feet. But in the past 3 games, Cole began to use his speed and rush the puck (which has resulted in 2 goals in his last 3 games).

If the Habs keep this up they will have success.

 Written By Andrew Di Pardo

HNIC - Coach's Corner - Oct 29th 2011 (HD)

Friday, October 28, 2011

NESN Game Preview: Bruins at Canadiens - 10/29/11

Canadiens @ Bruins

PLEKANEC & COLE LEAD THE HABS TO A WIN




















GOAL SCORERS

MTL:   E. Cole (10:27 - 2nd) , T. Plekanec (10:46 - 3rd)
BOS:   P. Bergeron (PPG, 14:05 - 1st)
GOALIES

MTL: C. Price (W)
 BOS: T. Thomas (L)








            Last night in Boston, the Habs took on the Bruins for the first time since Game 7 of the 2011 playoffs where the Bruins beat the Habs in overtime. With 7 minutes to go in the first, Marchands shot was stopped and Price denied Krejci on the rebound. 2 minutes later, Plekanec won the faceoff in the defensive zone ( to the right of Price), but he accidentally won it into his own net. Bergeron would get credit as the Bruins take a 1-0 lead. 8 minutes into the second, Cole sent the puck down the ice right to Cammalleri and he had a breakaway and he was stopped by Thomas with the right pad.

         A couple of minutes later, Spacek shot the puck from the left point and it was tipped in by Eric Cole to tie the game at 1-1. Then with 5:39 to go in the second, Peverley had a breakaway and he was stopped by the shoulder of Price. Just 2 minutes later, Subban and Marchand dropped the gloves and the fight would end in a tie with both players throwing decent punches. 1 minute later, the Bruins dumped the puck in and had an empty net was Bergeron and he was denied by a diving Diaz to keep the game tied going into the third. 10 minutes into the final frame, Plekanec came in on a 1 on 3 and he took a shot and it was blocked but he got his own rebound and scored to give the Habs a 2-1 lead and that would be the final.

        In the win, Price made 29 saves. In the loss, Thomas made 33 saves. After the game, there was talk about Subbans fight with Marchand."When you are frustrated -- and I know I was -- it doesn't take much," said Subban.It wasn't Marchand who frustrated me. There was no animosity between us. ... If I was in Montreal and saw him out to dinner, we'd probably hang out together." With the loss, the Bruins fins themselves in last place in the Eastern Conference."I'll probably get nightmares on how we are playing right now," coach Claude Julien said. "Our inability to focus for 60 minutes is obvious and apparent."

Game 2 of this home and home will be Saturday night at 7:00pm E.t in Montreal on CBC-M (HD).

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Thursday, October 27, 2011

THURSDAY (10/27) on NHL Network: Canadiens vs. Bruins 7PM ET

Flyers @ Canadiens

PRICE GRABS HIS 100TH CAREER WIN IN A 5-1 VICTORY


















GOAL SCORERS

PHI:   J. Jagr (10:43 - 1st)
MTL:   Y. Weber (PPG, 19:57 - 1st) , A. Kostitsyn (10:26 - 2nd) , M. Pacioretty (12:38 - 2nd) , M. Pacioretty (03:16 - 3rd) , M. Cammalleri (15:36 - 3rd)
GOALIES

PHI: I. Bryzgalov (L)
 MTL: C. Price (W)






          Last night in Montreal, the Habs were trying to snap out of their worst home losing streak in franchise history (0-3-2).  Just 4 minutes into the game, the Philadelphia Flyers went on a powerplay. On the powerplay, the Flyers point shot was stopped by Price and the rebound went right to Briere and he was robbed by the pad of Price. 6 minutes latter, Matt Carle had the puck at the point and he played it across to the right circle and Jagr one-timed a shot past Price to make it 1-0 Flyers lead. With under 10 seconds to play in the first, the Habs were on a powerplay. Cole played the puck to Desharnais at the right circle and he played it to the left point and Weber one-timed a shot past Bryzgalov with 2.6 secnds to go in the first to tie the game at 1-1.

            In the first, the Habs didn't play that well as they were outshot 8-5 and were lucky to get out of the first with a tie. But the Habs would pick up the slack in period 2. 8 minutes into the period, Goroux (on the left side)  played the puck to Simmons in front and he had an empty net but he hit the post. 2 minutes later, Spacek's shot was stopped but the rebound went off the skate of Kostitsyn and into the net as the Habs took a 2-1 lead. So far this season, the Habs have blown 5 leads (the most in the NHL) but they weren't planning on blowing this one. 2 minutes later, Subban's point shot (from the right) was off a leg and right to Pacioretty and he scored to give the Habs a 3-1 lead. With 5 minutes left in the second, Briere spun and took a shot but it was stopped by the glove of Price.

           So the score was 3-1 Habs after 2. Early in the third ( 30 seconds), van Reimesdyk had a breakaway and he took a shot and it was stopped by the elbow of Price. 4 minutes after that, Gorges point shot was stopped, and Plekanec was stopped on the rebound but Pacioretty would score on yet another rebound as the Habs take a 4-1 lead. Cammalleri would add a late goal as the Habs go onto win this game 5-1 is the final. In the win, Price made 21 saves on 22 shots in career win number 100 for him. But Price said after the game, that it was more important to get out of this losing streak than it was for him to get win 100. "We needed to get that one," Price said. "It was a tough stretch there, honestly. It was pretty tough mentally on everybody so we're just glad to have that over with and at least we have a chance to get right back into it Thursday night in Boston. Hopefully we can continue what we did tonight."

          In the loss, Bryzgalov made 23 saves on 28 shots."They have a lot of back pressure back through the middle," said Scott Hartnell. The Habs played a good 40 out of 60 minutes in this game. As they seemed nervous and disorganized in period 1, but picked up their game in periods 2 and 3 by out playing the Flyers with their speed."I like how we competed, how we went to the net," said Montreal's head coach Jacques Martin."The difference was special teams -- we got a key power play goal, last seconds of the first period and didn't give anything against tonight. We also got some key saves from our goalie."

        Montreal is happy to end what was their second worst start in Franchise history. As in the 1941-42 season the Habs started 1-10-1 and this season (before tonight) the Habs had 1 win in 8 games. But they now have their second win with a season record at 2-5-2. It may seem like a bad record, but back in the 2009-10 season the Habs started off 2-5-0 and ended up going to the conference final.So lets seen where this record will take them this season.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Breaking News: HABS FIRE ASSISTANT COACH PERRY PEARN















                 Just a few minutes ago in Montreal, Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier announced that he has fired assistant coach Perry Pearn. "I want to thank Perry Pearn for his contribution to the Canadiens’ organization over the past three years. He remains a very knowledgeable coach with a strong work ethic and is a true professional. I offered Perry to remain with the organization in a different role,” said Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier. Pearn was a assistant coach with the Winnipeg Jets in the 1995-96 season before becoming an assistant coach of the Habs back on July 6th 2009.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Panthers @ Canadiens

CANADIENS LOSE THEIR 6TH STRAIGHT WITH A 2-1 LOSS TO FLORIDA

















GOAL SCORERS

FLA:   T. Fleischmann (PPG, 15:59 - 1st) , S. Upshall (05:02 - 3rd)
MTL:   E. Cole (PPG, 03:08 - 1st)
GOALIES

FLA: J. Markstrom (W)
 MTL: P. Budaj (L)






                Last night in Montreal, the Canadiens were looking to turn their early struggles around by starting Peter Budaj in net for the first time this season. 3 minutes in, with the Habs on a powerplay, Diaz's point shot (from the right side) was tipped in by Eric Cole to make it 1-0 Montreal. Then with 7 minutes left in the first, Darche played the puck to Gionta (on the left side) and he chipped a pass over to Cammalleri (in the slot) and he batted the puck out of mid air, but it was stopped by Markstrom. Then with 4 minutes to play in the first, Versteegs shot was stopped, but Fleischmann was there to put home the rebound to tie the game.

          Early in the second, Subban danced his way into the Panthers zone and took a shot, that was topped and the rebound went right to Darche and he was stopped by Markstrom again. With 6 minutes left in the second, Weiss got a breakaway and he was stopped by Budaj with the pad. So the score was still tied going into the third. In the third, Diaz gave the puck away in the defensive zone right to Kopecky who played it to Kulikov at the point, and he shot it and tipped in by  Upshall  blocker side on Budaj to give the Panthers the lead. After that goal, the Panthers played the rest of the period with 5 men back as they would go onto win this game 2-1 and hand the Habs their 6th staright loss.

              "Nobody likes losing," said Erik Cole. "We're tired of it. We need to just find a way to get over the hump." A way to get back on the hump is to fire Jacques Martin. As I believe he is the problem. Ever since Mueller left the Habs, they have had no offense and that's because Mueller coached the offensive side of the team. Martin is a defense coach. He hasn't even been teaching defense right this season. So I believe he has to go. Until he's gone the Habs will continue to Struggle. Especially with games against the Bruins and Flyers coming up. They will lose those games if they don't get rid of Martin. It's as simple as that.

Written BY Andrew Di Pardo

Sunday, October 23, 2011

HABS MAKE A TRADE WITH THE COYOTES


















                   Today in Montreal, after the Canadiens closed door meeting, Pierre Gauthier traded Brock Trotter ad a 7th round pick in 2012 to the Phoenix Coyotes for Garrett Stafford and Petteri Nokelainen. In 5 games this season, Nokelainen registered 1 assist and is expected to add size to the Habs.  In 6 games in the AHL, Garrett Stafford registered 1 goal and 3 assists and will be a big key to the defense of the Habs. The Canadiens also sent down forwards Andreas Engqvist and Aaron Palushaj to the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL). The Habs also called up forward Michael Blunden.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

HNIC - Coach's Corner - Oct 22nd 2011 (HD)

Hal Gill 1,000th Game Ceremony

Leafs @ Canadiens

BAD DEFENSE & POOR REFFING LEAD TO ANOTHER HABS LOSS


















GOAL SCORERS

TOR:   D. Steckel (PPG, 07:07 - 1st) , P. Kessel (01:05 - 2nd) , D. Phaneuf (PPG, 04:19 - 2nd) , N. Kulemin (13:07 - 3rd) , M. Grabovski (01:23 - OT)
MTL:   T. Moen (SHG, 01:51 - 1st) , A. Kostitsyn (00:29 - 2nd) , M. Cammalleri (01:27 - 3rd) , T. Moen (09:28 - 3rd)
GOALIES

TOR: J. Reimer , J. Gustavsson (W)
 MTL: C. Price (L)





                  Last night in Montreal, the Canadiens took on the Leafs and the Habs were looking to go back to their winning ways. But before the game, Hal Gill was honored for playing 1000 games by receiving a hockey stick from Henry Richard and the Canadiens announced that Gomez will be out for 5-7 days with a lower-body injury.Onto the game now, under 2 minutes in, Gionta took a penalty for goaltending interference on Reimer as he checks Reimer in the head. Reimer would leave the game after the first period. So the Habs were shorthanded, but Eller got the puck and played it to Moen and he had a breakaway and scored blocker side on Reimer to give the Habs a 1-0 Lead. 6 minutes later, Gardners point shot was tipped in by Steckel to tie the game at 1-1.

              Gustavsson started in the second, as Reimer left the game. He didn't get off to a good start as just 29 seconds in, Kostitsyn got the puck (on the left side) and fired it past the Leafs goalie to give the Habs a 2-1 lead. 30 seconds later, Gorges gave the puck away right to Kessel in the slot and he scored to tie the game at 2-2. 3 minutes later, the Leafs went on the powerplay. Liles played the puck from the left to Phaneuf and he one-timed a shot past Price to give the Leafs the lead. Then with 5 minutes left to play in the second, Cammalleri took the puck to the front of the Leafs net and was stopped by Gustavsson.  So the leafs had a 3-2 lead after 2 periods of play.

          Just 1:27 into the third, Subban found Cammalleri on the left wing and Cammalleri took a slap shot and it beat Gustavsson to tie the game at 3-3. 6 minutes later, Lupuls one-timer hit the post. That was his fourth goal post that he hit in the game. Shortly after that, Phaneufs shot was stopped but Fratton was there and he was robbed by the stick of Carey Price (as shown in the video below). Then with 10 minutes to go, Gorges shot from the point was tipped in by Moen to give the Habs a 4-3 lead. 4 minutes later, the Leafs dump the puck in off the shoulder of Price and into the netting and out of play, but the puck lands back on the ice and the Leafs come around and get a tap in goal by Kulemin on an empty net to tie the game.

           So a missed call leads to a tie game. The Habs thought that the play was dead but the ref didn't see that the puck went out and the Leafs were able to capitalize on it. So it goals to overtime. In overtime, Grabovski gets the puck and brings it to the net and scores. Leafs win 5-4 in overtime.Price made 22 saves in the loss and once again does not get his 100th win. This time it was due to a missed call that costs the Canadiens the game."I like a lot of things about how we played," Cammalleri said. "I think that if we play a little bit better game Monday night than we did tonight then we'll probably end up successful."

          Nothing is going well right now for the Habs, they made a few mistakes on defense, like for example turning over the puck to the opposing team due to inexperience and they give up the tieing goal due to a missed call. But good news for the Habs is that, they are begging to score goals. The Habs next game will be Tuesday night against Florida in Montreal on RDS-HD.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Friday, October 21, 2011

Canadiens @ Penguins

CANADIENS FALL 3-1 IN PITTSBURGH


















GOAL SCORERS

MTL:   B. Gionta (18:24 - 3rd)
PIT:   J. Neal (08:55 - 1st) , J. Vitale (02:38 - 2nd) , A. Asham (05:20 - 3rd)
GOALIES

MTL: C. Price (L)
 PIT: M. Fleury (W)





               Last night in Pittsburgh, Hal Gill played his 1000th game in his career and it came against his former team the Penguins. During the game, the Fans in Pittsburgh gave Gill a Standing ovation for this accomplishment.5 minutes into the game, Darche got a shorthanded breakaway and he was stopped by Fleury. 4 minutes later, Neals shot from the left circle went off the post and past Price to make it 1-0 Penguins lead. Late in the first, with the Penguins on the powerplay, Kunitz shot was stopped by Price and the rebound went right to Sullivan and he shot it, but Price dove to keep it out with the glove. So the score was 1-0 after 1.

               Early in the second, Engellands point shot was tipped in by Vitale to make it 2-0 Pens lead. 5 minutes into the third, the puck went up into the air in front of Price and Asham knocked the puck in out of mid air to make it 3-0 Pittsburgh. With under 7 minutes to play, Michalec had a breakaway out of the penalty box and he was stopped by Price. Late in the third, Gionta would ruin the shutout bid as the Penguins win 3-1. Price made 29 saves on 32 shots and was denied of his 100th win for the fourth straight game."They were first on the pucks, and they're dictating the pace of the game and that's what we have to take back," Gill said.

          Bad news for the Habs, as Gomez left the game with a upper body injury and didn't return. But some good news is that, Mike Cammalleri played in his first game since suffering a cut on his knee against Winnipeg. As for the Penguins, Fleury made 27 saves in the victory."Things are going good, I'm feeling good, the team's rolling," Neal said. "You keep doing the right things, hopefully they'll keep coming." The Habs once again, were able to got shots but barley any goals. They are going to have to find a way  to score if they are going to win. They are also going to have to improve their sloppy defense. As the Habs gave up too many turnovers game in and game out and the defense just isn't clicking with the forwards.

The Montreal Canadiens next game will be Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Sabres @ Canadiens

MILLER MAKES 40 SAVES TO LEAD TO A 3-1 SABRES WIN AGAINST MONTREAL




















GOAL SCORERS

BUF:   J. Leopold (12:11 - 2nd) , T. Vanek (19:57 - 2nd) , C. Ehrhoff (EN, 19:31 - 3rd)
MTL:   R. Diaz (02:08 - 2nd)
GOALIES

BUF: R. Miller (W)
 MTL: C. Price (L)


         
                  Last night in Montreal, the Habs took on the Sabres in search of their second win of this young NHL season. Just 9 seconds in the Habs got a quick start, Myers gave the puck away right to Pacioretty behind the Sabres net and Pacioretty took the puck to the net and he was stopped twice by Miller. Then late in the first, with the Habs on a powerplay, Gomez was stopped at the side of the net but he played the puck to Subban (on the Right) and his shot was stopped by Miller. The shots were 14-3 in favor of the Canadiens after the first in a 0-0 tie. 2 minutes into the second, Diaz got the puck in the Sabres zone (on the right) and he took the puck to the net and went from backhand to forehand and he scored to give the Habs a 1-0 lead with his first NHL goal.

                 10 minutes later, Staffords shot was stopped by Price but Leopold put home the rebound to tie the game at 1-1. Then with 10 seconds to go, the faceoff was to the right in the Habs zone. The Sabres won the faceoff and a wide open Vanek got the puck on the left. Vanek took a slap shot and scored with 2.8 seconds to go to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead. There was no defensive coverage on Vanek on that play that left him right in the open. Price came right onto the white ice which gave Vanek the whole net and he delivered with a goal. So the Sabres had a 2-1 lead after 2 even though the shots were 16-12 Montreal in the second.

             So with the score 2-1, late in the third, Ehroff would add and empty net goal to make it 3-1. That would be your final as Miller would make 11 saves in the third and 40 overall to steal one for the Sabres. In the loss, Carey Price fell short of his 100th win once more as he made 20 saves on 22 shots."Ryan basically stole us this one," said Sabres captain Jason Pominville. "He played great.He's been playing great for a while now and you get to know what to expect out of him. He comes in to battle. He never gives up on any shot. He made a couple of big saves to keep us in there. Our penalty killing was pretty good. And we were fortunate to score when we needed to."

       "To me, we played the way we need to play," Martin said. "We got the puck behind the defence, we forechecked, we got good chances. But sometimes you don't get the result.I like how we played. We've played four excellent periods in a row and we have to keep it going." The Habs need to start wining and fast as in the first 5 games their record is 1-3-1. It's a bad record mostly due to minor type defense. As the Habs are missing 3 key defenders in, Campoli (out for 3-4 months), Spacek ( out for 2-3 weeks) and Markov (Expected to be back in December). So the Habs are going to have to make a trade or call up another minor league player if the Habs are going to contend for a playoff spot. The one thing the Habs don't want is to go into the new year with a losing record. So they will need to improve on defense if they are going to avoid that.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Penguins @ Jets

JETS BEAT THE PENGUINS 2-1 FOR THEIR FIRST WIN IN TEAMS HISTORY



















GOAL SCORERS

PIT:   Z. Michalek (18:22 - 2nd)
WPG:   K. Wellwood (00:08 - 1st) , T. Glass (18:27 - 1st)
GOALIES

PIT: M. Fleury (L)
 WPG: O. Pavelec (W)





              Last night in Winnipeg, the Jets were in search of their first win in Franchise history (Since the old Jets are in Phoenix, the new Jets don't own their old history). Right off the opening faceoff, Michalek blows a tie to lead to a 3 on 1 for the Jets, Antropov (in the slot) played the puck to Burmistrov (on the left) and he played it cross crease to Wellwood who would score to give the Jets a 1-0 lead just 8 seconds into the game. That ties the old Jets (Now Phoenix) franchise record for quickest goal which was scored by Doug Smail on Dec. 20, 1981 against the St.Louis Blues. Then with 1:33 to play in the first, Glass took a shot from the point and he scored to give the Jets a 2-0 lead.

           Late in the second, the Pens came in on a 2 on 1 and Park (on left) played the puck cross crease to Sullivan and he was stopped by Pavelec with the right pad. Just a minute later, Dupuis had a breakaway and he went to the backhand and he was stopped by Pavelec.  Shortly after that, Michalec`s point shot beat Pavelec to cut the lead to 2-1. But on that play the refs missed a call as Matt Cooke ran over the goaltender before the puck was shot. So the score was 2-1 going into the third. That`s as close as the Penguins would get as the Jets get their first win in Team history. In the win, Pavelec made 28 saves.

          "It was a big game for us tonight against a great team," Pavelec said.They missed two of their best guys, but they still were a danger and they have a lot of guys who can score the goals. I'm happy we showed tonight we can beat those teams. That's very important, but now we go on the road. It's only one game so don't be too excited."

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Up Close with Michael Cammalleri

Avalanche @ Canadiens

CANADIENS BATTLE HARD BUT FALL IN A SHOOTOUT


















GOAL SCORERS

COL:   C. Kobasew (04:51 - 1st) , D. Jones (PPG, 11:37 - 2nd) , P. Stastny (12:31 - 2nd) , D. Jones (18:42 - 2nd) , K. Quincey (PPG, 15:57 - 3rd) , M. Hejduk (00:00 - SO)
MTL:   M. Pacioretty (10:31 - 1st) , T. Plekanec (PPG, 01:35 - 2nd) , T. Moen (15:51 - 2nd) , B. Gionta (12:57 - 3rd) , D. Desharnais (13:17 - 3rd)
GOALIES

COL: S. Varlamov (W)
 MTL: C. Price (L)






               Last night in Montreal, the Canadiens took on the Avalanche in search of their 2nd win of the season and Carey Prices 100th win in his career. Just 2 minutes in, Hejduk had a breakaway and he was stopped by the right pad of Carey Price. 2 minutes later, Kobasews shot from the left circle beat Carey Price glove side to make it 1-0 Colorado.  Shortly after that, Diaz took a shot from the point and it was stopped by Varlamov and Pacioretty had a whack at the puck in front but it was stopped but Pacioretty would knock it in on his 2nd attempt to tie the game at 1-1. Then in the second, with the Habs on a 5 on 3 powerplay, Plekanec got the puck at the point and slapped a shot past Varlamov to give the Habs a 2-1 lead.

             2 minutes later, Jones came in on the right and took a shot and it went past the glove of Price to tie the game. 1 minute later, Subban gave up the puck to Stastny and he had a breakaway and he scored to give the Avalanche a 3-2 lead. With 4 minutes to go in the second, Gionta played the puck to Moen on the left and he came into the Colorado zone and fired a shot past Varlamov to tie the game at 3-3. Jones would score again to give Colorado at 4-3 lead going into the third. Early in the third, the Habs went on a powerplay. The Habs were inside the Colorado zone for the full 2 minutes but were unable to put a shot past Varlamov.

          With 7 minutes left, Gorges through the puck to the net from the left and it was stopped but Gionta was there to put home the rebound to tie the game at 4-4. 15 seconds later, Kostitsyn (on the right) played the puck through his legs to Pacioretty in the slot, Pacioretty played the puck to Desharnais on the right and he tipped the puck home past Varlamov to give the Habs a 5-4 lead. Quincey would tie the game with a powerplay goal. So this game would go to overtime. Ot would solve nothing so the game went to a shootout. Plekanec was firtst up and he hit the post. Hejduk was up for Colorado and he scored blocker side to give the Avalanche the lead. Pacioretty would miss. Duchene had a chance to win it and he did.

          So Colorado would take this game 6-5 is the final. Price fell short of win 100 and he did so by making 25 saves on 30 shots. In the win however, Varlamov made 38 saves."We're a pretty skilled team," said center Paul Stastny."Four-on-four we're pretty confident. We've always had good goaltending at breakaways and we can always count on at least one goal out of three. In a game like this I think sometimes that's just what you want to take it into and go from there. It's kind of a coin toss, but we're confident enough to think that we'll be favored if we go into a shootout."

Shootout
Tomas Plekanec MTL Save
Milan Hejduk COL Goal
Max Pacioretty MTL Miss
Matt Duchene COL Goal

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

HNIC - Coach's Corner - Oct 15th 2011 (HD)

Friday, October 14, 2011

Flames @ Canadiens

HABS FALL TO THE FLAMES 4-1 ON THEIR HOME OPENER






















GOAL SCORERS

CGY:   R. Bourque (PPG, 07:15 - 1st) , N. Hagman (PPG, 11:38 - 1st) , D. Moss (14:54 - 1st) , R. Bourque (13:23 - 2nd)
MTL:   A. Kostitsyn (01:47 - 1st)
GOALIES

CGY: M. Kiprusoff (W)
 MTL: C. Price (L)




             Last night in Montreal, the Canadiens returned home for their first game at the Bell Centre this season to take on the Calgary Flames. Just 1:23 into the game Pacioretty took the puck up the ice on the left side on a 2 on 1 with Kostitsyn. Pacioretty took a shot and it went wide off the rear end boards and right to Kostitsyn who would tap it in the empty net to make it 1-0 Montreal. 2 minutes later, with the Canadiens on a powerplay,  Plekanec played the puck to Subban at the point and he shot it and it was stopped by Kiprusoft.

             Then a few minutes later, the Flames had a powerplay, Tanguay played the puck to Bourque at the top of the right circle and he fired a shot past Price to tie the game. 8 minutes to go now, Hagman got the puck in the slot and he wristed a shot past Price to give the Flames a 2-1 lead. 2 minutes later, Tanguay came in on the left side on a 2 on 1 and he played the puck to Moss and he scored to make it 3-1 Flames.  Just a few seconds later, Tanguay played the puck to Moss and he was robber of a goal by Carey Price. 3-1 in favor of the Flames would be the score after 1. The shots in the first were 13-10 in favor of the Flames.

            Early in the second, Moss had a shorthanded breakaway and Gionta dove to knock the puck off his stick to keep the score where it was. Bourque would score again to make it 4-1 Flames after 2 periods. The Habs were better in the second as they outshot the Flames 14-7. 4 minutes into the third, Eller came in the Flames zone and did a nice toe drag to get by the Flames defenseman and then he shot the puck but he was denied by Kiprusoft. That's as close as they get as the Flames take this game 4-1. The Cnadiens out-shot the Flames 12-1 in the third, and 36-21 overall but were unable to score. As the Habs sloppy defense in the first lead to a Flames win.

            “We got some shots to the net on the power play, but we have to get more of a net presence and that’s where I could have done a better job,” Max Pacioretty said. “It was very frustrating to lose this game after winning in Winnipeg.” In the loss, Price made 17 saves. In the win, Kiprusoft made 35 saves to pass Vernon for his franchise-record 263rd win."I really honestly didn't know that Kip was close to that record today but it doesn't surprise me with how good of a goalie he is and how good this team has been since he's been here," Bourque said. "He's played great and he's the reason why we're a good team most nights."

          The Canadiens next game will be Saturday night against Colorado on CBC-M and RDS-HD at 7:00 pm E.t and they will look for a better defensive effort if they are going to win.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

PETER BUDAJ UNMASKED

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Canadiens @ Jets

THE JETS FALL TO THE HABS 5-1 IN THEIR FIRST GAME IN WINNIPEG














GOAL SCORERS

MTL:   M. Cammalleri (03:05 - 1st) , T. Plekanec (14:17 - 2nd) , Y. Weber (PPG, 04:51 - 3rd) , T. Moen (10:31 - 3rd) , M. Pacioretty (12:32 - 3rd)
WPG:   N. Antropov (02:27 - 3rd)
GOALIES


MTL: C. Price (W)

 WPG: O. Pavelec (L)



           




                Congratulations Winnipeg, the Jets are back! They played their first game in the NHL today since April 26th 1996 against the Detroit Red Wings. The Jets lost that game 4-1 and that's close to how they took off today against the Montreal Canadiens. 3 minutes into the first, Oduya gave the puck away right to Cammalleri and he scored top shelf over the glove of Pavelec to make it 1-0 Habs lead. 3 minutes later, Eric Cole got the puck on a turn over and fired a shot and it was stopped and Gomez was denied again by Pavelec. With 6 minutes to go in the first, Plekanec came in with Gionta ona 2 on 1 and Plekanec played it to Gionta (on the right wing) and his shot was stopped by Pavelec.


              Late in the first, with the Jets on a powerplay, Antropov had a breakaway and he was stopped by the glove of Carey Price. So the score was 1-0 after 1. But after the first, both Cammalleri and Spacek left the game with injuries. Cammalleri had a cut on the top of his knee, and Spacek had injured his rib cadge. Cammalleri will be out from 1-2 weeks and no word yet on Spacek. 5 minutes into the second, Kane (on the left) shot the puck from the faceoff dot and it was stopped by Price with the glove. It was something you had to see to believe. What a save. Then late in the second, Plekanec deked his way past Oduya and came in on a breakaway and went from backhand to forehand and scored to make it 2-0 Montreal after 2 periods.

          2:27 into the third, Stuart`s point shot was stopped, but Antropov put home the rebound for the Jets first goal of the season. 3 minutes later, the Habs went on a 4-on-3 powerplay. Plekanec played the puck to Weber and he one-timed a shot past Pavelec to make it 3-1 Montreal. 2 minutes later, Moen had a breakaway and he scored to make it 4-1. Pacioretty would add another goal as the Habs spoil the Jets party with a 5-1 win. In the win, Price made 30 saves. In the loss, Pavelec made 17 saves on 22 shots."It was a pretty unique situation," Jets captain Andrew Ladd said. "It's still not an excuse and we have to come up with a way better performance than that. But definitely a different situation and something that you know you're not going to have the chance to do this again. It's pretty disappointing with the outcome."

            As the clock ran down in the third, the Jets were given a standing ovation for their return to Winnipeg. "That's pretty incredible," said forward Mark Scheifele, who played his first NHL game. "In Barrie, when we'd lose, people would be leaving halfway through the second period. Definitely to hear that, to get a standing ovation when we lose, it just shows that we're going to have fans behind us regardless." This game was an even game until the third, where the Habs (who had 3 goals in that period) were out shot 14-6. But overall the Jets played well but couldn`t score and the Habs were able to. Thats why the Habs won."We gave up some free pizzas in the middle of the ice," Jets Coach Noel said. "The first one ... that's exactly what good players do. Turnovers result in goals. One chance, and it's in the back of your net."

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

                

BETTS SENT BACK TO FLYERS DUE TO INJURY
















            Today in Montreal, the Canadiens announced that their waver claim of Blair Betts has been reversed due to Betts being "unfit to play." So what did Betts have to say?"The shoulder's just fine," Betts told The Gazzette. "I have a lower body injury and the club decided that they wanted to check things out. If it was my decision, I'd be playing but I respect what they're doing." So for now, Betts will remain a Flyer until he his cleared to play.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Friday, October 7, 2011

Cherry stands by comments

Nilan responds to Cherry's Comments

Flyers @ Bruins



For More on this historical game visit:  http://stanleycupfinal.blogspot.com/

FLYERS SPOIL THE BRUINS CUP CELEBRATIONS WITH A 2-1 WIN



















GOAL SCORERS

PHI:   C. Giroux (PPG, 19:10 - 1st) , J. Voracek (19:57 - 1st)
BOS:   B. Marchand (PPG, 09:42 - 1st)
GOALIES

PHI: I. Bryzgalov (W)
 BOS: T. Thomas (L)





            Last night in Boston, the Bruins took on the Flyers in their Stanley Cup Champion celebration night. Could the Flyers spoil this historical night? Early in the first, Van Reimsdyk's shot (from the left side) was stopped by Thomas. Then 5 minutes later, with the Bruins on the powerplay, Marchand had a breakaway and he scored on his backhand to make it 1-0 Bruins. Then with 50 seconds to go in the first, Giroux deked his way through 4 Bruins and then scored to tie the game at 1-1. With under 10 seconds left, Mezaros took a shot and it was stopped but Voracek put home the rebound to make it 2-1 Flyers.


         Bryzgalov (who made 22 saves) would shut down the Bruins from there on end, as the Flyers spoil the party with a 2-1 win. In the loss, Thomas made 27 saves."We played the Stanley Cup champions. It's not easy," said Jagr. "They're probably the best team in the NHL and we've got totally a new team. A lot of young guys. A lot of rookies. You've got to give us time." This was the first time the Flyers faced the Bruins since being sweeped by them in the 2011 Playoffs."It was a big night for Boston, but we came here with a business," Bryzgalov said. "We did not came here to celebrate with them."

 Written By Andrew Di Pardo
      
For More on this historical game visit:  http://stanleycupfinal.blogspot.com/

HNIC - Coach's Corner - Oct 6th 2011 (HD)

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Canadiens @ Leafs

REIMER SHUTS DOWN THE HABS WITH A 32 SAVE SHUTOUT PERFORMANCE




















GOAL SCORERS

TOR:   M. Lombardi (SHG, 00:33 - 2nd) , D. Phaneuf (04:42 - 3rd)
GOALIES

MTL: C. Price (L)
 TOR: J. Reimer (W)




              Earlier this evening, the Habs opened up the 2011-12 season in Toronto against the Leafs. Before the game, when they were introducing Ron Wilson (Leafs Coach) to the fans, the fans booed him due to the fact that he isn't fired yet. So as the Fans booed, Wilson looked over to the assistant coach beside him and said: "Told you, they would." But the fans wouldn't be booing by the end of this game. With over 3 minutes to play in the first, the Habs were on the powerplay. Cammalleri had the puck on the right side and played it to Subban (at the left point) and he one-timed it and it was stopped, but Kostitsyn picked up the rebound and fired it off the post. So there was no score after 1 period of play.

            33 seconds into the second period, Brown came in on a 2 on 1 with Lombardi, Brown shot the puck and it was stopped but Lombardi was there to put home the rebound to make it 1-0 Leafs lead. That was a shorthanded goal. On the next play, Grabovski got the puck in the slot and fired a shot off the crossbar.  7 minutes later, Pacioretty brought the puck into the Leafs zone (on the left side) and dropped it back for Gomez and his one-timer was stopped by Reimer. Early in the third, Phaneuf brought the puck over the Habs blue line (on the right side) and played it to Lupul in front and he shot it and was robbed by Price.

              3 minutes later, Kessel brought the puck into the Habs end (on the left side) and he dropped it back to Phaneuf and he one-timed a shot bar-down and over the glove of Price to make it 2-0. Then 2 minutes later, with the Habs on a powerplay, Plekanec shot the puck from the blue line and was tipped right on by Cammalleri and was stopped by Reimer. Then with 3 minutes to play,  the Habs won the faceoff and Weber one-timed a shot off the glove off Reimer and off the Crossbar. That's the closets they'll get to getting a goal as Reimer and the Leafs shutout the Habs by the score of 2-0.

         In the loss, Price made 16 saves on 18 shots. In the win, Reimer made 32 saves and was the difference in this game. I have to say, the Leafs played well defensively and took advantage of their offensive chances and that's how they came out with a win. If you look back to the 2010 Playoffs, the Habs did the same thing, they played great defense and scored on their chances. As for this game, the Habs did everything right except put the puck in the net. The Habs next game will be Sunday against the Jets on CBC-HD and RDS-HD.


Written By Andrew Di Pardo