Montreal Canadiens Vs Ottawa Senators Game - 01/30/2013

SENS END HABS WINNING STREAK WITH A 5-1 WIN

GOAL SCORERS

MTL:   T. Plekanec (PPG, 05:31 - 1st)

OTT:   J. O'Brien (07:53 - 1st) , D. Alfredsson (PPG, 07:27 - 2nd) , M. Zibanejad (PPG, 09:25 - 2nd) , C. Phillips (11:02 - 2nd) , C. Neil (14:46 - 3rd)

GOALIES

MTL: P. Budaj (L)

 OTT: C. Anderson (W)

           Last night in Ottawa, the Senators took on the Canadiens in a attempt to end the Habs win streak. 5 monutes in with the Habs on a powerplay, Markovs shot was stopped and Plekanec was there to put home the rebound to make it 1-0. 2 minutes later, Karlssons shot was stopped and O'Brien was there to put home the rebound to tie the game. 7 minutes into the second with the Sens on a powerplay, Turris won the faceoff in the offensive zone right to Wiercioch and his shot was stopped and Alfredsson would score on the rebound over the blocker of Budaj to give the Sens the lead. Shortly after that, Zibanejads shot from the right circle found its way in for his first NHL goal.

         Phillips would add a goal to make it 4-1. That was 3 goals in 3:35 as the Sens had a 4-1 lead going into the third. Neil would add another goal on a wrap around as the Senators beat the Habs 5-1. In the win, Anderson made 31 saves. In the loss, Budaj made 22 saves."Our special teams didn't work tonight," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "Our power play often broke our momentum and our penalty kill wasn't very good. Special teams are key if you want to win hockey games." When the game was tied at 1-1, Ryan White took a 2 minute roughing penalty, but he argued the call and was given a extra 2 minute penalty. That lead the Senators to score 2 powerplay goals to make it 3-1.

"He's a guy that works extremely hard for us and plays with passion," Gionta said of White. "He let it get to him a little bit."

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Jets @ Canadiens 01/29/13

CANADIENS COOL DOWN THE JETS ENGINES AS THEY WIN 4-3; SUBBAN GETS SIGNED

GOAL SCORERS

WPG:   B. Wheeler (PPG, 16:10 - 1st) , N. Antropov (03:32 - 2nd) , O. Jokinen (11:48 - 2nd)

MTL:   R. Bourque (PPG, 08:04 - 1st) , B. Gallagher (14:22 - 1st) , E. Cole (15:08 - 2nd) , T. Plekanec (PPG, 05:31 - 3rd)

GOALIES

WPG: O. Pavelec (L)

 MTL: C. Price (W)

            Last night in Montreal, both the Jets and Habs had a 3 game winning streak but only one team would leave the rink with a 4th straight win. Before the game Subban was signed to a 2 year 5.2 Million Dollar contract, but we will get to that later on. 8 minutes into the first with the Habs on a powerplay, Markov played the puck to Bourque and he one timed a shot past Pavelec to make it 1-0. A few minutes later, Gallagher skated in over the line and fired a shot into the back of the net to extend the lead. The Jets would answer on the powerplay with under 4 minutes to play in the first with a goal by Wheeler. 2-1 Montreal after 1.

               3 minutes into the second,  Littles shot from the left wing was blocked by Markov and it redirected right to Antropv and he scored to tie the game.  A few minutes later, Kane skated up the left wing and into the slot and dropped it back to Jokinen on the left wing and he took a shot and scored his first goal as a Jet to give the Jets the lead. Late in the second just as Montreals powerplay expires, Kaberles shot misses the net and bounces right back in front, Gallagher takes a wack at it and misses along with Galchenyuk before Eric Cole knocked it in the empty net for his first of the season and the game is tied at 3-3.

        5 minutes into the third with the Habs on a powerplay, Markov played the puck to Diaz at the right point and he played it to Plekanec who one timed a shot into the back of the net to make it 4-3 Montreal. That would be your final as the Habs win their 4th straight by the score of 4-3. In the win, Price made 19 saves. In the loss, Pavelec made 22 saves. Montreal scored 2 powerplay goals in this game and they have scored a powerplay goal every game so far thanks to Markov who currently leads the team in points (4 goals & 3 assists).

        "I remember back when we played with Kovy (Alex Kovalev) and Marky (Markov) and I think we were first in the league two years in a row," Plekanec said."I feel it's pretty much the same now.
"He has a huge impact on our team, not only on the power play." With the win, Montreal sits in 5th place in the East and are just 1 point back of the fourth place Senators and they will take them on tonight.

      Onto Subban now, the Habs signed him to a 2 year contract on Monday night. Subban will report to Head Coach Michel Therrien today in Ottawa to see if hes game ready. If not Subban may be sitting out for a few games until the coach feels hes ready. If i were the head coach, I wouldn't play Subban until Montreal losses because if your winning why would you change the line up?  Thats what I would do.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils - 01/27/2013

MARKOV SCORES OT WINNER! HABS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT!

GOAL SCORERS

NJD:   P. Elias (03:26 - 2nd) , D. Clarkson (PPG, 05:23 - 3rd) , D. Zubrus (13:02 - 3rd)

MTL:   R. White (02:25 - 1st) , B. Gallagher (13:35 - 1st) , B. Prust (02:00 - 3rd) , A. Markov (PPG, 04:22 - OT)

GOALIES

NJD: M. Brodeur (L)

 MTL: C. Price (W)

           Last night in Montreal, the Habs took on Martin Brodeur and the Devils in search of win number 3. 2 and a half minutes in, the tough guy line was out for Montreal and Moen took a shot that was stopped but White was there to put home the rebound to make it 1-0 Habs. 10 minutes later, Galchenyuk came speeding down the right wing and he centred the puck right to Gallagher and he scored to make it 2-0 after 1. 3 minutes into the second, Faynes point shot was tipped in by Elias to cut the lead to 1. Then 2 minutes into the third, Galchenyuk played the puck to Prust and he scored to make it 3-1.

            3 minutes later, Clarkson would score off a rebound to cut the lead to 1. Then with under 7 minutes to play,  Elias centred the puck to Zubrus and he scored to tie the game. So were off to overtime. With under a minute to play in overtime, the Habs were on a powerplay, Bourque one-timed a shot from the slot and it went wide, but it bounced right in front to Markov and he scored! His 4th of the season all scored on the powerplay and the Habs win their 3rd straight, 4-3 is your final. In the win, Price made 22 saves. In the loss, Brodeur made 28 saves.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals - 01/24/2013

CAPITALS FALL 4-1 TO THE HABS AND REMAIN WINLESS

GOAL SCORERS

MTL:   T. Plekanec (PPG, 03:47 - 2nd) , A. Markov (PPG, 04:44 - 2nd) , B. Gionta (08:39 - 2nd) , J. Gorges (18:21 - 2nd)

WSH:   J. Crabb (17:37 - 3rd)

GOALIES

MTL: C. Price (W)

 WSH: M. Neuvirth (L)

            Last night in Washington, the Capitals played host to the Montreal Canadiens and were looking for win number 1 of the season. There was no score in the first and the shots were 11-9 in favour of the Capitals. 4 minutes into the second with the Habs on a 5 on 3 powerplay, Diazs point shot was blocked by a Caps defenseman and it redirected right into the slot to Markov who played the puck down low to Plekanec who one timed a shot past Neuvirth to make it 1-0. That was the first time the Habs scored a powerplay goal against the Capitals since febuary 2011. 52 seconds later,  Paciorettys shot was stopped by Neuvirth and it was send right to the Markov who took a shot and scored to make it 2-0. 4 minutes later, Bourque came flying down the left wing with speed and he centred the puck to a wide open Gionta and he scored to extend the lead.

       Late in the second, Bouillon played the puck to Gorges and he wired a shot home for his 1st of the season to make it 4-0 after 2. The Capitals would break the shutout bid with under 3 minutes to go in the game with a goal by Crabb as the Habs beat the Capitals 4-1. This was the first time Montreal beat the Capitals in 6 games leading back to 2011."We took advantage of our power play, especially in the second period, and the power play gave us a chance to win this hockey game," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "We were pretty solid too, 5-on-5, and at the time where we needed the [penalty] kills, guys sacrificed themselves to kill those penalties, so it was a good team effort." In the win, Price made 30 saves. In the loss, Neuvirth made 18 saves.

      With this loss, the Capitals now have started the season with 3 consecutive losses, this is the first time it has happened since 1993."'Embarrassing' is almost the right term right now. 'Pathetic' is probably the better one," Capitals forward Troy Brouwer said. "I feel bad for the fans. I'd like to finish a game with at least 50 percent of the fans still in the stands. Their reaction is completely warranted, booing us."The Canadiens next game is Sunday night at 6:00pm E.t against the Devils on  RDS.

Written by Andrew Di Pardo

Highlights: Montreal Canadiens vs. Florida Panthers - 01/22/2013

MARKOV, PLEKANEC & GALCHENYUK LEAD THE HABS TO A 4-1 WIN

GOAL SCORERS

FLO:   Tomas Kopecky (PPG, 04:33 - 2nd)

MTL:   Tomas Plekanec (3:26 - 1st), Andrei Markov (13:26 - PPG - 1st), Andrei Markov (8:31 - PPG - 2nd),Alex Galchenyuk  (14:25 - 2nd)

GOALIES

FLO: S. Clemmensen(L)

 MTL: C. Price (W)

        Last night in Montreal, the Canadiens took on the Florida Panthers, a team that won all 4 games against them last season. PK Subban would not be taking part in this game as well, as he is still yet to be signed by Marc Bergevin. 3 minutes into the first,  Gionta centred the puck to Plekanec and he scored five hole on Clemmensen to make it 1-0. 10 minutes later with the Habs on a powerplay, Pacioretty played the puck to Markov at the point and he took a slap shot and scored to make it 2-0. 5 minutes into the second with the Panthers on the powerplay, Fleischemen played the puck to Kopecky at the right circle and he one timed a shot pas Price to cut the lead to 1.

          4 minutes later with the Habs on another powerplay, Diaz played the puck to Markov and he one timed a shot into the back of the net to make it 3-1. With under 6 to play in the second, Prust took a shot from the right wing and it was deflected into the back of the net by rookie Alex Galchenyuk. Thats his first career NHL goal! That would make it 4-1. 2 minutes later, Fleischemen hit Gorges from behind and that lead Ryan White to drop the gloves and take a run at him. He gave Fleischemen 3 sucker punches and was kicked out of the game and given a 5 minute major penalty.That was a gutless move by White. You don't go around sucker punching star players, its one thing if hes a tough guy and another if hes a star player.

     Montreal would go onto win 4-1 and now have a record of 1-1-0 with 46 games to go. "To have a crowd like that was just phenomenal," said Galchenyuk about his 1st career goal. "Every single guy (on the bench) congratulated me, but it was only the second period and I had to stay focused.It was nice to get the first one out of the way." In the win, Price made 27 saves. In the loss, Clemmensen made 29 saves. Montreal doesn't look like they need Subban if Markov stays healthy. Markov is a great defenseman who is rarley caught out of position and he has a hell of a shot as we saw last night with his 2 goals.

    "Every goal and win is special," said Markov. "I'm happy to be back and happy to be healthy and I'm just enjoying playing, especially here in front of our fans."Subban on the other hand is a player who is often caught out of position due to his ability to rush the puck. So at this point in time I don't see any reason why Montreal would be in a rush to sign him. For now Diaz will take his place.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

HNIC - Coach's Corner - Jan 19th 2013 (HD)

Mike Brown vs Brandon Prust - Jan 19th 2013 (HD)

Leafs @ Canadiens (1/19/13)

HABS FALL 2-1 IN HOME OPENER AGAINST THE LEAFS

GOAL SCORERS

TOR:   N. Kadri (PPG, 04:51 - 1st) , T. Bozak (PPG, 08:12 - 2nd)

MTL:   B. Gionta (PPG, 13:51 - 3rd)

GOALIES

TOR: B. Scrivens (W)

 MTL: C. Price (L)

        Last night in Montreal, the NHL made its return with a 48 game shortened season and what better way to start the season than a game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. Before the game it was announced that Habs GM Marc Bergivan still couldn't come to a agreement on a contract with Subban, so PK sat this one out and his future in Montreal is questionable.  40 seconds into the game, Armstrong came up the right wing and fired a shot that was stopped, White crashed into the net and Prust put home the rebound, but the goal was waved off. 4 minutes later with the Leafs on a powerplay, Kessel centred the puck to Kadri and he fired a shot home to make it 1-0 Toronto.

     8 minutes into the second with the Leafs on their 4th powerplay of the game, Kessels shot from the left wing was stopped but Bozak was there to put home the rebound to make it 2-0. That would be the score after 2 periods. Montreal never really had any offense going until the mid way point of the third. with 7 minutes to go and the Habs on the powerplay, Diaz's shot from the point was stopped, but Gionta was there to put home the rebound to cut the lead to 1. But thats as close as they would get as the Habs drop the season opener by the score of 2-1.

    In the loss, Carey Price made 24 saves. In the win, Scrivins made 21 saves."Our execution was not there," said Montreal coach Michel Therrien. "We were missing our passes.I liked the reaction (in the third period). We never quit. But any time you lose the special teams battle it's tough to win. Tonight we lost that battle. We have to keep working on that." Montreal played a bad game all the way up until the third, they were losing foot races, they could handle passes and they couldn't get the puck to the net. But what I didn't like the most about the Habs in this game was that they had a line that I call "the tough guy line," with Prust, White and Armstrong. You can't expect to get any goals from a line like that, Therrien should ballance out his lines more instead of making a lineup that will put players in the box.

The Habs next game will be Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers in Montreal.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Brandon Prust funny shootout goal in habs Scrimmage. Jan 17th 2013

PRODICTIONS: 2013 EASTERN Conference Standings

2013 Eastern Conference:

1. Washington Capitals
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Boston Bruins
4. New York Rangers
5. New Jersey Devils
6. Buffalo Sabres
7. Philadelphia Flyers
8. Montreal Canadiens
------------------------------------------------------------
9. Carolina Hurricanes
10. Ottawa Senators
11. Tampa Bay Lightning
12. Winnipeg Jets
13. Florida Panthers
14. Toronto Maple Leafs
15. New York Islanders

The Challenger Short FILM - (Ft. Duran Duran Soundtrack)

I know this isn't related to Hockey...

 But if you like Clint Eastwoods Dirty Harry, James Bond, Batman, Reese (from Person of interest) and even Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher, than this is the short film for you.

 Check it out today.

The film features Music by Duran Duran.

SCOTT GOMEZ IS DONE; SUBBAN UPDATE

            Today in Brossard, Quebec, Habs Gm Marc Bergevin told forward Scott Gomez that he will no longer be needed and that he will be bought out in the summer. Gomez played 38 games last season with the Canadiens and had 2 goals and 9 assists and that is not good for the highest payed player on the Habs ( $7.2 Million per season). So with Gomez being out of the picture that gives room to sign PK Subban. By the time the season starts on Saturday I believe that Subban will be locked into a 3 year contract in Montreal.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

MONTREAL CANADIENS 2013 Regular Season Schedule

January 2013
Date	Visitor	Home	Time (ET)	TV Network/Results
Sat, 19 Jan 2013	Maple Leafs	Canadiens	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS	Tickets
Tue, 22 Jan 2013	Panthers	Canadiens	7:30 PM	RDS	Tickets
Thu, 24 Jan 2013	Canadiens	Capitals	7:00 PM	RDS
Sun, 27 Jan 2013	Devils	Canadiens	6:00 PM	RDS	Tickets
Tue, 29 Jan 2013	Jets	Canadiens	7:30 PM	RDS	Tickets
Wed, 30 Jan 2013	Canadiens	Senators	7:00 PM	RDS, TSN
February 2013
Date	Visitor	Home	Time (ET)	TV Network/Results
Sat, 2 Feb 2013	Sabres	Canadiens	2:00 PM	CBC, RDS	Tickets
Sun, 3 Feb 2013	Senators	Canadiens	2:00 PM	CBC, RDS	Tickets
Wed, 6 Feb 2013	Bruins	Canadiens	7:00 PM	RDS, TSN, NBCSN	Tickets
Thu, 7 Feb 2013	Canadiens	Sabres	7:00 PM	RDS
Sat, 9 Feb 2013	Maple Leafs	Canadiens	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS, NHLN-US	Tickets
Tue, 12 Feb 2013	Canadiens	Lightning	7:30 PM	RDS, TSN
Thu, 14 Feb 2013	Canadiens	Panthers	7:30 PM	RDS
Sat, 16 Feb 2013	Flyers	Canadiens	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS, NHLN-US	Tickets
Mon, 18 Feb 2013	Hurricanes	Canadiens	7:30 PM	RDS, NHLN-US	Tickets
Tue, 19 Feb 2013	Canadiens	Rangers	7:00 PM	RDS
Thu, 21 Feb 2013	Islanders	Canadiens	7:30 PM	RDS	Tickets
Sat, 23 Feb 2013	Rangers	Canadiens	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS	Tickets
Mon, 25 Feb 2013	Canadiens	Senators	7:30 PM	RDS
Wed, 27 Feb 2013	Canadiens	Maple Leafs	7:30 PM	RDS, TSN
March 2013
Date	Visitor	Home	Time (ET)	TV Network/Results
Sat, 2 Mar 2013	Penguins	Canadiens	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS, NHLN-US	Tickets
Sun, 3 Mar 2013	Canadiens	Bruins	7:30 PM	RDS, NBCSN
Tue, 5 Mar 2013	Canadiens	Islanders	7:00 PM	RDS
Thu, 7 Mar 2013	Canadiens	Hurricanes	7:00 PM	RDS
Sat, 9 Mar 2013	Canadiens	Lightning	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS
Sun, 10 Mar 2013	Canadiens	Panthers	6:00 PM	RDS
Wed, 13 Mar 2013	Senators	Canadiens	7:00 PM	RDS, TSN	Tickets
Sat, 16 Mar 2013	Canadiens	Devils	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS
Tue, 19 Mar 2013	Sabres	Canadiens	7:30 PM	RDS, TSN	Tickets
Thu, 21 Mar 2013	Canadiens	Islanders	7:00 PM	RDS
Sat, 23 Mar 2013	Sabres	Canadiens	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS	Tickets
Tue, 26 Mar 2013	Canadiens	Penguins	7:00 PM	RDS
Wed, 27 Mar 2013	Canadiens	Bruins	7:00 PM	RDS, TSN, NBCSN
Sat, 30 Mar 2013	Rangers	Canadiens	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS, NHLN-US	Tickets
April 2013
Date	Visitor	Home	Time (ET)	TV Network/Results
Mon, 1 Apr 2013	Hurricanes	Canadiens	7:30 PM	RDS	Tickets
Wed, 3 Apr 2013	Canadiens	Flyers	7:30 PM	RDS, TSN
Thu, 4 Apr 2013	Jets	Canadiens	7:30 PM	RDS	Tickets
Sat, 6 Apr 2013	Bruins	Canadiens	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS	Tickets
Tue, 9 Apr 2013	Capitals	Canadiens	7:30 PM	RDS	Tickets
Thu, 11 Apr 2013	Canadiens	Sabres	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS
Sat, 13 Apr 2013	Canadiens	Maple Leafs	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS, NHLN-US
Mon, 15 Apr 2013	Flyers	Canadiens	7:30 PM	RDS	Tickets
Wed, 17 Apr 2013	Canadiens	Penguins	7:00 PM	RDS, TSN
Thu, 18 Apr 2013	Lightning	Canadiens	7:30 PM	RDS	Tickets
Sat, 20 Apr 2013	Capitals	Canadiens	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS	Tickets
Tue, 23 Apr 2013	Canadiens	Devils	7:00 PM	RDS
Thu, 25 Apr 2013	Canadiens	Jets	8:00 PM	RDS
Sat, 27 Apr 2013	Canadiens	Maple Leafs	7:00 PM	CBC, RDS

PRODICTIONS: 2013 Western Conference Standings

2013 Western Conference:

1. LA Kings (Stanley Cup Champs)
2. Vancouver Canucks
3. St. Louis Blues
4. Nashville Predators
5. Chicago Blackhawks
6. Phoenix Coyotes
7. Detroit Red Wings
8. Minnesota Wild
--------------------------------------------
9.  San Jose Sharks
10. Calgary Flames
11. Dallas Stars
12. Anaheim Ducks
13. Edmonton Oilers
14. Colorado Avalanche
15. Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL IS BACK!

             Yesterday morning the NHL and NHLPA reached an agreement that ended the lockout. It is a 10 year deal with the highlights of the deal being: The new $60 Million Salary cap with the max spendings of $70 Million and the Max 8 year contract per player. The NHL season will begin on either January 15th with a 50 game seaon or on January 17th with a 48 game season.

With the NHL being back I will no longer be writting about the AHL.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

As part of the deal (From http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0106/NHL-players-reach-10-year-deal-save-season):

—Players will receive $300 million in transition payments over three years to account for existing contracts, pushing their revenue share over 50 percent at the start of the deal.

—Players gained a defined benefit pension plan for the first time.

—The salary cap for this season will be $70.2 million before prorating to adjust for the shortened season, and the cap will drop to $64.3 million in 2013-14 — the same amount as 2011-12. There will be a salary floor of $44 million in those years.

—Free agents will be limited to contracts of seven years (eight for those re-signed with their former club).

—Salaries within a contract may not vary by more than 35 percent year to year, and the lowest year must be at least 50 percent of the highest year.

—There were no changes to eligibility for free agency and salary arbitration.

—The threshold for teams to release players in salary arbitration will increase from $1.75 million to $3 million.

—Each team may use two buyouts to terminate contracts before the 2013-14 or 2014-15 seasons for two-thirds of the remaining guaranteed income. The buyout will be included in the players' revenue share but not the salary cap.

—The minimum salary will remain at $525,000 this season and will rise to $750,000 by 2021-12.

—Either side may terminate the deal after the 2019-20 season.

—Revenue sharing will increase to $200 million annually and rise with revenue.

—An industry growth fund of $60 million will be funded by the sides over three years and replenished as needed.

—Participation of NHL and its players in the 2014 Sochi Olympics will be determined later in discussions also involving the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation.