PLEKANEC WINS THE GAME FOR MONTREAL IN OVERTIME TO GET THE CANADIENS THERE FIFTH WIN IN 6 GAMES

Last night in Tampa Bay, the Canadiens got there 5th win in 6 games for a total of 10 points on this road trip with still 1 road game left. It was Plekanecs goal that game them a 2-1 O.t victory over the lightning."I'm trying to look at the guy who's coming with me, trying to look at him as long as I can," Plekanec said. "Then, just a no-look shot. That's why that shot is kind of a fluke, but sometimes it gets the goalie focused on the pass." Carey Price got the start in this game and he made 34 saves on 35 shots. This was Prices's first start in 5 games due to Martin giving Halak game time until that 4-2 loss against the Senators."It felt good to get back on the ice," Price said. "But sometimes it was like the ice was a little bit tilted at times for both teams.We just kept at it." Brian Gionta also scored(his 9th) in the win.

"Montreal came out and played their game and played a very strong game," Foster said. "We made a lot of mistakes at the wrong times. Smitty did a great job keeping us in the game." The Canadiens next game will be tonight against the Florida Panthers.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

HALAK MAKES 47 SAVES TO LEAD TO A 3-2 O.t VICTORY OVER THE LEAFS

Last night in Toronto, Jaroslav Halak made 47 saves on 49 shots to lead to a 3-2 o.t victory over the Maple Leafs."I think he's probably at his best so far this year," said coach Jacques Martin. "He seems to be in a zone and has made a lot of excellent saves." The Canadiens 3 goals in the victory were scored by Scott Gomez (5th), Thomas Plekanec (8th) and the game winning goal was scored 34 seconds in by Andrei Kostitsyn(12th). As for the Leafs, Ian White and Jason Blake scored in the loss."Halak has been playing well, we had a lot of shots on him and had good traffic in front of him," said Blake. "He's a good goaltender." Early on in the game the Canadiens had a 2 goal lead but weren't able to contain it as the Leafs scored a late second period goal and a early goal in the third to tie it. If it wasn't for Halak the Canadiens would not have won.

"I think we stopped skating," said Plekanec. "We didn't skate at all, we were just watching. We've got to be better. It's great we got two points, we found a way to win in the overtime, but we can't be satisfied with how we played in the second and third period." The Canadiens have to be better. They can't keep relying on Halak or Price every game to make 47 saves to get a victory. But regardless a win is a win. And thats what they did.They got there 4th straight win to put themselves back into a playoff spot at 7th place in the East.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

What you need to know about the Canadiens

1.They have the best powerplay in the NHL.
2. They Have the 6th best Penalty killing in the NHL.
3.Brian Gionta is expected back by the new year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ANDREW DI PARDO

Have a safe and Merry Christmas from Andrew Di Pardo

THE CANADIENS SCORE 3 POWERPLAY GOALS TO LEAD TO A 5-1 VICTORY OVER THE HURRICANES

Last night in Carolina, the Canadiens were 3 for 5 on the powerplay which lead to a 5-1 victory for there 3rd straight win. Glen Metropolit scored 2 of the powerplay goals (9th,10th) and Andrei Markov the only other powerplay goals (3rd) in the victory."We stuck to our game plan -- we got pucks in deep, our power play was key right away," Metropolit said. "A team like that, they've been playing hard, but you get them down a couple goals, and maybe they're pressing a little too much, and we took advantage of it."Andrei Kostitsyn(11th) and Sergei Kostitsyn(1st) also scored in the victory. This was the first time that the two brothers scored in the same game since a 4-1 win against the Bruins in the playoffs on April 10th.

As for the Hurricanes, they weren't quite happy with a 5-1 loss especially because they out-shot Montreal by the count of 47-25."We've got to start climbing the ladder. It's Christmas time and we dug ourselves a big hole," Legace said. "There's tons of hockey left. ... It's possible. The only problem is, we have to grab the same rope and pull at the same time." The Canadiens next game will be on Boxing Day against the Leafs.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

BERGERON LIFTS THE CANADIENS PAST THE THRASHERS IN OVERTIME

Last night in Atlanta, Jaroslav Halak once again played a big game with making 47 saves on 50 shots to help Montreal get a 4-3 win in Overtime. "It was one of those nights again," Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak said. "Many, many shots again. But we were able to win the game. That's all that matters."He wasn't the only player helping Montreal get the win. As Marc-Andrei Bergeron scored the tieing goal with over two Minutes to go on the Powerplay. Then he got the game-winning goal in O.t by going low back-hand glove side on Hedberg. The refs went up-stairs because the net came off. But the call on the ice stands, so its a goal."I tried to get my leg over there but I couldn't reach. He ran into me and got pushed into the post," Atlanta goaltender Johan Hedberg said. "I felt like it was a good goal."

"We did exactly what we wanted to do the whole game. It was just one of those games," Atlanta coach John Anderson said. "The hockey gods weren't with us." The Canadiens will look to get 3 wins in a row, with a win over the Hurricanes on Wednesday.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CANADIENS WIN WITH HELP FROM MARKOV AND HALAK

Last night in Long Island, Markov made his return and really helped out the Canadiens by getting 2 goals on the powerplay(1st,2nd) in a 3-0 shutout win for Halak(5th of his career) over the Islanders.Markov helped the Canadiens powerplay move up from 14th to 12th in the league."He's an all-star defenceman that has great vision and moves the puck well," Martin said. "It's nice to get a top player back. Those guys are hard to replace. His execution was really outstanding."Marc-Andrei bergeron said one of there keys to getting the win was there powerplay. "Our power play has been one of our strengths, just like our penalty killing," Bergeron said.

"Two more games before going home for Christmas, it's already a key time in the year. We put ourselves in a hole so we can't lay off,"Bergeron added.Jaroslave Halak was a big for Montreal last night by stopping all 40 shots that he faced."Each win is a big win because after losing five in a row, we needed to win a hockey game," Halak said. Glen Metropolit also scored(8th) for the Canadiens in the win. The Canadiens have 6 more games left on this road trip and will be looking to grab Manny points on the board by the end of it.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

GUESS WHOS BACK?

Today in Montreal, Canadiens coach Jacques Martin announced that Andrei Markov will make his return to help Montreal get out of this 5 game skid. What a day it is for Markov to return because its his 31st birthday. " I feel very good. I'm Happy to be back and I'll do my best," Markov said. Martin was asked if he would play and Martins answer was: "Ob-course. As you all know hes been skating for a wile and the doctors said hes ready to play. So he'll play." Markov will help the Canadiens out a lot defensibly in the game against the Islanders tomorrow at 7:00pm E.t on CBC-M and RDS.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CANADIENS DROP FIFTH STRAIGHT LOSS, DUE TO 30 SAVES BY BACKSTROM

Last night in Montreal, Wild goaltender Nickolas Backstrom was on his game stopping 30 of 31 shots to lead to a 3-1 wild win in Latendress's return to Montreal. "Moral victories suck in this business, I'm not going to sugar coat it," said Habs winger Mike Cammalleri. "It's a results-driven business, all our fans and all the people who care so much about this team want to see it win and so do we. When you talk about the process and working towards a goal, they're things that we can look at. But they don't really hold much weight as far as I'm concerned." Andrei Kostitsyn scored the loan goal for the Canadiens in the loss. As for the Wild,Mikko Koivu, Robbie Earl and Cal Clutterbuck all scored in the 3-1 win.

"We were pretty good defensively and our goalie made the saves when he had to, and that was the key tonight," Koivu said. "Over the last two periods, he was great for us and that made the difference." Canadiens coach Jacques Martin was happy with the way Montreal played last night. "I'm encouraged with how we played, and also that Mara was able to play," Martin said. "We have other players who should be coming back soon, and that should help."

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CANADIENS LOSE 2-1 TO THE DEVILS

Last night in New Jersey,Brodeur tied Patrick Roy's NHL record for most regular-season games by a goalie against Montreal. In Brodeurs millstone night he lead the Devils to a 2-1 win. With save after save."It's durability," Brodeur said. "That's what playing a lot of games is. It's being durable, and it's being successful, because if you're not, the coach doesn't put you in there." In the loss, Travis Moen scored (7th) a shorthanded goal and Carey Price made 25 saves. As for the Devils, they got the tieing goal from Ilkka Pikkarainen who shot the puck high and Carey Price reached for it and droped it right into the post, then it went off his skate and in for Ilkka Pikkarainen first NHL goal. Then in the 3rd, Patrik Elias got the game winner(shown in Picture below).

"It was kind of boring, but it was a big win," Brodeur said. "We were playing a team (that's) not doing really well right now so they are trying to keep it simple. They really didn't do much out there and they didn't give us many opportunities."The Canadiens next game will be tonight against the Wild.



Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CANADIENS WILLING TO TRADE HALAK TO THE FLYERS

Today in Montreal, Jaroslav Halak said he wants more playing time and Canadiens GM Bob Gainey announced that he is willing to trade Halak to the Flyers for a a top 6 forward.''Let's be realistic,'' Gainey said. "I received a second round pick from the Washington Capitals for Cristobal Huet and the Flyers gave up a second round pick from Buffalo for Martin Biron.''Gainey also said more teams were intrested. But he wouldn't say who. But according to sources, they were talking with Detroit.''I took this step because it is Jaroslav's wish to have his chance to play,'' Gainey said. ''He feels ready to play a more important part.'' In my opinion, the Canadiens will trade Halak soon. But I don't think they should.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CANADIENS TAKE LATE PENALTIES WHICH LEAD TO A 4-3 LOSS

Last night in Montreal, The Canadiens battled hard but lose 4-3.The Canadiens played good but just like last game they took a costly late penalty which lead to the game-winning goal."They have good players on that team and they took advantage of it," said Habs defenceman Hal Gill, who played nearly six minutes on the penalty kill. "We have to kill those penalties, but on the other hand it's easier to kill them when you're not taking them." Andrei Kostitsyn had 2 goals on the powerplay (7th and 8th) and Mike Cammalleri had a goal (18th) in the loss. As for the Sabres,Andrej Sekera, Patrick Kaleta,Clarke MacArthur and Tim Kennedy scored.

"It's very, very upsetting that we did it again tonight," said Habs winger Mike Cammalleri about the late penalty by O'Brien. "It's obviously not the refs when you do it six or eight games in a row. We can't have it."The Canadiens will look to back to there winning ways on Wednesday against the Devils.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CANADIENS FALL TO THRASHERS IN OVERTIME

Last night in Atlanta, the Canadiens battled hard to kill penalties but the slipped up on 1 penalty kill in overtime which lead to Kovalchuk ripping a hard shot right upstairs glove side on Carey Price for the winner in a 4-3 Atlanta O.t Victory."When Kovalchuk gets a chance like that, chances are he's going to score," said Montreal's Glen Metropolit (who got the penalty that lead to the goal). "He's a great player."On a positive side for the Canadiens, they got a point and are still in a playoff spot. You can't argue that the Canadiens got a point from killing off 8 of 9 penalties."That was the key," Martin said. "We had a good start and took the lead. The penalties hurt us." In this game, the Thrashers lead in shots (35-19) because of all of there powerplays. If it wasn't for the ref calling so many penalties the Habs could have won this game.

Andrei Kostitsyn had 2 goals (5th and 6th of the season), and Glen Metropolit had a goal (his 7th) in the 4-3 overtime loss to the Atlanta Thrashers. Carey Price was also a big part in getting the point with several highlight Rios in the game. "Carey was great," said Montreal left winger Mike Cammalleri, . "He made many saves that otherwise could have or should have been in."


Written By Andrew Di Pardo
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LEGEND ›

Rank Team GP W L OT PTS GF GA Home Away Last 10 Streak 1 Washington 33 20 7 6 46 118 94 10-2-3 10-5-3 7-2-1 Lost1 2 New Jersey 31 22 8 1 45 91 68 11-6-0 11-2-1 8-2-0 Won1 3 Buffalo 30 19 9 2 40 81 65 11-5-2 8-4-0 7-3-0 Won3 4 Pittsburgh 33 22 10 1 45 105 87 11-5-1 11-5-0 7-2-1 Won2 5 Boston 31 16 9 6 38 83 77 10-5-3 6-4-3 7-1-2 Lost1 6 Ottawa 31 16 11 4 36 90 93 11-4-3 5-7-1 4-5-1 Won2 7 Atlanta 30 16 11 3 35 96 88 7-6-2 9-5-1 6-4-0 Won1 8 Montreal 33 15 15 3 33 85 95 9-7-2 6-8-1 4-4-2 Lost1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 Tampa Bay 31 11 11 9 31 77 90 7-4-4 4-7-5 2-6-2 Lost1 10 NY Islanders 32 12 13 7 31 83 100 7-3-2 5-10-5 4-6-0 Won1 11 Florida 33 12 14 7 31 88 111 4-6-5 8-8-2 2-5-3 Lost1 12 NY Rangers 31 14 15 2 30 86 93 7-8-0 7-7-2 3-6-1 Lost1 13 Philadelphia 30 14 15 1 29 87 87 9-7-1 5-8-0 2-8-0 Lost2 14 Toronto 32 11 14 7 29 94 114 5-7-3 6-7-4 7-3-0 Won1 15 Carolina 32 7 19 6 20 77 117 6-7-2 1-12-4 2-7-1 Lost1

CANADIENS FALL TO THE PENGUINS OFF OF COSTLY CALLS

Last night in Montreal, the Canadiens took 8 penalties and were able to kill off all of them but it seemed to me like it took a lot of energy out of them. The Canadiens only had 1 powerplay in the game and they scored on it. The referees didn't look like they knew what they were doing out there. They cost the Canadiens the game as the Penguins beat them 3-2. It started in the first period. When just 20 seconds after a penalty Gonchar scored to put the Pens up by 1-0. The Canadiens would answer with Goals from D'Agostini and Hamirlik to take the lead. The Penguins weren't ready to give up as Cooke tied the game going into the third.

Then in the third Dupuis scored on a hard slap shot that was going to sail over the net but Carey Price reached for it and it went off of his glove and in the net. The Canadiens answered back with a goal right away on a rebounded shot by Lapierre that went right to Scott Gomez and he put it in the wide open cage which should have been the game tieing goal. But it wasn't as the referee said no goal because 1 of the refs couldn't see the puck but all the other refs saw but they said no goal. With no review at all. The refs blew the game for Montreal last night.

"Maybe he blew it a little quick, but you don't want to be in that situation. I'm not going to say anything bad about the refs. They've got a job to do and they do it well. Call it mistake or what, but these things happen," Scott Gomez said."I think the puck was loose, but the decision was taken during the play and we can't change it now, it's too late," Canadiens forward Maxim Lapierre said. "But I think the team gave a good effort. Carey played unbelievable again for us, and we still have to build on the last four games we've played."The Canadiens next game will be on Saturday against the Thrashers.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

HALAK MAKES 45 SAVES WHICH LEADS TO THE HABS 3RD STRAIGHT WIN

Last night in Ottawa, the Canadiens took 7 penalty's which lead to Jaroslav Halak making several big saves which would lead to a 4-1 victory over the Senators for the Habs 3rd straight win. If it wasn't for Halak making 45 saves on 46 shots the Canadiens probably would have lost."He was the reason we won the game tonight, for sure," Cammalleri said of Halak. "The best penalty-killer is the goaltender, and he was." In the win, Cammalleri (17th), .Bergoron(7th),A.Kostitsyn(4th) and Gomez(4th) all scored for Montreal."Plecks is playing really well. He's creating a lot and we're getting a lot of production as a result," Cammalleri said (who has 5 goals in 3 games).

This is the first time this season that Montreal has given up 46 shots and 7 penalties. "The specialty teams were really the difference in the game tonight," said Montreal coach Jacques Martin after his team went 2-for-3 with the man advantage.Jaro came in and gave us a strong game. Everyone that played on the specialty teams did an outstanding job because we had a lot of penalties to kill."The Canadiens next game will be on Thursday against the Penguins.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CAMMALLERI GETS THE WINNER IN MONTREALS SECOND STRAIGHT WIN

Last night in Montreal, the Montreal Canadiens took on the Philadelphia Flyers looking to get there second straight win. And they did that alright with Mike Cammalleri's game winner in a 3-1 win."It felt a little bit weird out there," Cammalleri said. "I don't know what it looked like watching but it felt a little weird, like both teams were playing possum a little bit. Hey, we won the game.""Both teams played a tight battle so it was hard to really generate much offense," Price said. "Both teams were doing a great job of trapping it up. Our team blocked everything - I don't know about their guys but our guys blocked a lot of shots tonight."

Andrei Kostitsyn and Mar-Andrei Bergoron also scored for Montreal and Carey Price Made 14 saves on 15 shots (Montreal's least shots given up this season)."I think our last two games we've played our best defensive hockey of the year," Price said. As for the Flyers, Daniel Briere got the lone goal and Boucher made 10 saves on 13 shots in the loss."We played two decent periods of getting the puck in deep, grinding on their defense, grinding on their forwards, and created some decent scoring opportunities through that," Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger said. "But the few turnovers we made cost us one goal and then our inability to get the puck in deep in the third period didn't allow us to get any cycles and any of that grind game going." The Canadiens next game will be tonight against the Senators in Ottawa.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CANADIENS BEAT THE BRUINS ON THERE CENTENNIAL NIGHT

Last night in Montreal, it was the Canadiens 100th anniversary and they were looking to celebrate it with a win. Which they did by the score of 5-1 over the Bruins. With plenty of help from Mike Cammalleri due to a hat-trick (all goals in second). One of his goals was the game-winner. "Hopefully it had an inspiring effect," added Cammalleri, whose team was coming off two consecutive weak efforts including a 6-2 loss in Buffalo on Thursday night. "We played two games we weren't happy with and I'd hope we would have played like that anyway, but for sure, it hit an emotional chord."

In the victory, Carey Price stopped 37 of 38 shots."We all played inspired hockey," said Price. "There were a lot of faces here I grew up watching.We really wanted to win this one. We were pumped up watching the guys out there and chatting with vets who won championships. We wanted to win for them as well. We're all pretty proud to be Canadiens tonight." Jaroslav Spacek and Glen Metropolit also scored for Montreal in the win. This is the way Montreal should have been playing every night. They finally decided to shoot instead of passing that's why they got 5 goals and that's why they won.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CANADIENS CELEBRATED THERE 100th BIRTHDAY TONIGHT

Tonight in Montreal, the Canadiens celebrated there 100th birthday with style by letting Canadiens legends hit the ice for the last time."This is an organization from top to bottom," Cournoyer said. "You need the players, but you need the coach and you need the general manager and the owners. Everywhere you go, the Montreal Canadiens are respected and that's why — it's a good organization."I went to the Forum to play my first game with the junior Canadiens when I was 17 years old and played my last game when I was 35. This is like my second home. These other guys are like my brothers, my family."They also retired numbers 3(Elmer Lach) and 16( Emile Bouchard)for the oldest Canadiens players around today.

The Canadiens organization was found on December 4th 1904 but they didn't play in aleague until January 5th 1910. Ever since 1910 the Canadiens had won 24 Stanley cups. There Last cup was 16 years ago in 1993."What has made this such a special evening is to see the collection of players here," Moore said. "I don't care which team, which year, we're all family. To have so many of these guys back together is what makes the organization so great." This was a great night for Montreal. It was there 100th anniversary. But as Ken Dryden Said the Canadiens have to leave the past behind them and decide if they want to win. I can't agree more. The past is the past and if the Canadiens ever want to win there 25th stanley cup anytime soon they will need to work for it.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CANADIENS CELEBRATE 100TH ANNIVERSARY TONIGHT AGAINST THE BRUINS

Tonight in Montreal, its the Montreal Canadiens 100th anniversary and they will be celebrating it against an original 6 rival the Boston Bruins. But its not all about the celebrations. Last night the Canadiens lost 6-2 to the Sabers. Ob course the Canadiens and the fans want to remember this night but the one thing they don't want to see is a loss. So how are the Canadiens going to get out of this losing streak? There's only one thing they can do and that's win. ''It's the 100-year anniversary, we'll try not to let our fans down,'' center Maxim Lapierre said. ''We have to win that game and give our best performance.'' The players who will be out of the line-up for Montreal tonight due to injury are defensemen Andrei Markov (ankle), Hal Gill (foot), and forwards Brian Gionta (foot) and Benoit Pouliot (wrist).

As for the Bruins, they are coming off a 4-1 victory over the lightning."That's one of the focuses we had [Wednesday], is to get the first goal and keep the lead," Savard said who scored his 200th goal in the win. "After the first, we emphasized getting the second, and it worked out perfectly." In order to get there 3rd straight win they will have to spoil the party in Montreal. But the Canadiens will not give them an easy time tonight. Especially because it's there 100th birthday.

	StatsS
27	GP	28
14	W	12
8	L	14
5	OT	2
33	P	26
0.611	P%	0.464
2.33	G/G	2.29
2.26	GA/G	2.96
17.0	PP%	16.9
85.4	PK%	80.0
30.8	S/G	28.0
29.3	SA/G	31.1
53.9	FO%	49.8

DATE	VIS/HOME	FINAL
Nov 5, 2009	MTL@BOS	MTL, 2 - 1

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CANADIENS GET SHUTOUT AGAINST THE LEAFS

Last night in Montreal, the Canadiens opened up there 100th anniversary week but the Leafs spoiled the party with a 3-0 shutout win. The win came with a price of losing Jonas Gustavsson after the first period due to a heart condition. "Not to make light of it, but my heart was racing too when they got that power play with all the chances," said Wilson said. "He had that same sensation he had in training camp when his heart started to race. It came down on its own in the room, but we wanted to be cautious. Obviously, any situation with your heart could turn out to be serious." In the game the shots were 31-26 for the Maple Leafs."Tonight was the closest we've come to playing a complete game," said Toronto defenceman Mike Komisarek(a former Hab who was booed all night when he touched the puck).

Throught the game the Canadiens had chance after chance to score but the puck never went in."It was a difficult night," Montreal head coach Jacques Martin said. "Sometimes you have a few guys who aren't playing to their potential. But tonight, we had trouble finding one guy who was playing to his potential. Without a doubt, tonight was definitely our worst home game of the season." The Canadiens 100th birthday will be this Friday against the Bruins at home but the night before they will be playing against the Sabers in Buffalo.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo