STAAL BRINGS DOWN THE HATS IN THE 5-2 WIN OVER MONTREAL

Last night in Carolina, once again Montreal failed to clinch a playoff berth with a 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes. Last night the Hurricanes played well. But in my opinion, it was all Eric Staal as he had 3 goals (10th career hat-trick) and 2 assist in the victory."Any time you can score three goals in a game, it's pretty cool. And it's not easy," Staal said. "You've got to have the right things happen for you. You've got to have the right guys playing with you, making great plays. That was the case tonight." As for the way Montreal played, it was a pathetic site. As the Canadiens were playing almost as bad as the Leafs played the night before against the Rangers in the sense that they were out-shot through out the whole game, the gave up the puck numerous times and they weren't playing with urgency.

"We just didn't play a good team game," Canadiens coach Jacques Martin said. But don't worry if the Flyers (who are 1 point back of Montreal) win tonight in regulation against the Rangers the Habs and Flyers will clinch a playoff spot. If they don't win, Montreal will have to beat Toronto on Saturday. If they lose against Toronto they will have to hope that the Flyers win the next day (against New York).

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

HABS NEXT GAME:

April 10^th 2010 at 7:00pm E.t

GOOD NEWS: PAT BURNS RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL

I have some good news on Pat Burns. He's been released from hospital and has returned to Montreal. Pat Burns cousin talked to the media today about reports about Pat Burns."I heard a report he's at death's door. I don't think so. He's a tough Irishman. He's not ready to go yet,” Robin Burns said. According to reports Pat Burns is feeling better.In other news, there has been a lot of talk about Pat Burns being put in to the hockey hall of fame and people in Montreal have put up a site to try to put him in the hall of fame. The site is www.patburns.ca

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

PAT BURNS HOSPITALIZED

Today in Tampa Bay, the NHL announced that Pat Burns was sent to hospital last Sunday (his 58th birthday). Sources say it might have something to do with his Lung Cancer but nobody knows for sure except for his doctor. I hope he will be alright. The last public appearance was 2 weeks ago when Harper announced that Quebec named a arena after him.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

LEAFS DO NOT DO ANY FAVORS

Last night in New York, the Leafs did not want to clinch the Canadiens and the Flyers a playoff spot as they played terrible the score tells the story (Rangers 5-1 Leafs). The Leafs kept giving up the puck and they barley had chances to score but they were rewarded for their terrible play by blown out to the Rangers."It's disappointing that our team didn't come out ready to play," said Phaneuf(who scored in the loss). "It's unacceptable at this time of the year." If the Leafs were to win this game they would've gave the Habs and Flyers a free pass to the post season. But instead both Montreal and Philadelphia will have to do it on their own. The Habs can clinch with a win or a overtime loss tonight against the Hurricanes. As the Flyers can do it tomorrow with a win against guess who? The New York Rangers.

"We wanted to make the Philly games count -- and they do now," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "You don't have to look at the board anymore. It is in front of us now." In the win,Erik Christensen (had 2 goals),Vinny Prospal,Olli Jokinen and Aaron Voros all scored for New York and Lundqvist made 26 saves. The Leafs next game will be against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. As the Ranagers(as I said before) will play the Flyers on Friday.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

HABS DO NOT CLINCH A PLAYOFF SPOT WITH THE 4-3 SHOOTOUT LOSS

Last night in Long Island, the New York Islanders beat the Montreal Canadiens in a shootout by the final of 4-3. Due to the loss, the Montreal Canadiens do not clinch a playoff spot. But the Habs might be able to go into there next game clinched as long as the New York Rangers loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs."I was looking at the scoreboard in the third period.I saw the Rangers were down, but we were trying to focus on our game,"Tomas Plekanec said about the Rangers 5-2 loss to the Sabers.

"I thought the Islanders came out and played really hard," Canadiens coach Jacques Martin said. "We knew that they've been playing well lately. I thought we raised our level of intensity and we let the game slip away. They're a good young team and they work hard. We knew it wasn't going to be easy." Brian Gionta, Tomas Plekanec and Maxim Lappierre all had a goal and Jaroslave Halak made 39 saves in the loss. But Halak was unable to make a save in the shootout which lead Montreal to the loss. But I'm not blaming Halak. I never blame the goalies. The Habs lost because they collapsed defensively in the third period. If you look back at the last 5 minutes the Habs gave up at least 8 turnovers. They seemed to be off their game. But like I said the Leafs can get Montreal in with a win over New York which will be on TSN tonight at 7:00pm E.t

The Shootout
Matt Moulson	NYI	Goal
Maxim Lapierre	MTL	Save
Frans Nielsen	NYI	Goal
Michael Cammalleri	MTL	post

Scores to keep an eye on:

Flyers 2-0 Leafs Final

Sabres 5-2 Rangers Final


Written By Andrew Di Pardo

THE NHL ANNOUNCED THAT HALAK, KOIVU AND RASK ARE THE 3 STARS OF THE WEEK

1st Star HALAK:

Today in Montreal, the NHL announced that Jaroslave Halak of Montreal is the 1st star of the week. Halak was the first the goaltender in 4 years to post back to back shutouts and I think that's why he won.“I think everyone deserves credit for these two shutouts,” said Halak. “We just played two tough games and the guys didn’t give the Flyers or the Sabres any good scoring chances. They were constantly blocking shots; they didn’t give them anything.”


2nd Star S.KOIVU:

This week former Montreal captain Saku Koivu has been named the second star of the week since he has been keeping the Ducks in the hunt for a playoff spot. He had four goals, four assists and a shootout winning goal this past week."We just need the points," Koivu said. " After a win we need to forget it as quick as possible and wait and be ready for the next one." SAKU KOIVU
has 49 points (19 goals, 30 assists) and he leads the team with 6 game winning goals.


3rd Star RASK:

T. Rask was named the NHL's 3rd star of the week due to great play that has kept the Bruins just 2 points back of Montreal for that 6th spot in the east."We're fighting for our lives right now," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "It's pretty obvious that those points are huge. That first point gave us something and we really had to work hard to get that second. Look around the league tonight. Teams that are chasing us also won. Every game has to be about desperation." Rask has just gave up 2 goals in 3 games this last week.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

THE POWER OF HALAK

After Jaroslave Halak gave the Habs back to back shutouts, the question about which goaltenders the number 1 goalie it was obviously Halak since on a constant bases Halak has been able to get Montreal wins.Just look back at their 6 game win streak. But with Halak getting back to back shutouts, he says every players deserves credit.“I think everyone deserves credit for these two shutouts,” said Halak. “We just played two tough games and the guys didn’t give the Flyers or the Sabres any good scoring chances. They were constantly blocking shots; they didn’t give them anything.”

"Having your goalie play the way Jaro is right now is big for all of us but especially for a defenseman,” explained Ryan O’Byrne.“Knowing how strong he’s been back there allows us to just make plays and not worry about him making saves. His confidence has seeped into all of our games I think.At this time of year strong goaltending can transform a team.A team with struggling goalies can’t help but walk on egg shells out there and seeing your goalie give up weak goals is a total momentum killer. All I know is we’ve got a brick wall back there right now and we’re all feeding off of that. ” Jaroslave Halak will get the start tomorrow night against the Islanders.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

P.s:Quotes from the Canadiens official website.

PLAYOFF RACE UPDATE: FLYERS BEAT WINGS TO JUMP INTO A TIE FOR 7TH

This afternoon in Philadelphia, the Flyers beat the Red Wings by the score of 4-3 and are now in a tie with the Boston Bruins for 7th and they are now 2 points back of Montreal for 6th place in the East."We all know what's at stake now," Carcillo (who had a goal in the victory)said. "We need to win out to get in. We knew it was a huge game."Claude Giroux,Arron Asham and Kimmo Timonen also scored for the Flyers and Boucher made 21 saves in the 4-3 win. As for the Red Wings, Dan Cleary, Darren Helm and Pavel Datsyuk scored in the loss."We didn't win the game, but for me it was a step in the right direction in getting ready for the playoffs," said Osgood.

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

MONTREAL GETS HALAK BACK TO BACK SHUTOUTS

Last night in Montreal, the Habs battled the Sabers (which could be their first round opponent in the 2010 playoffs) and they got a 3-0 victory. Halak made 29 saves in his second straight shutout (5th of the season). The Canadiens started by getting a early goal in the first period from Ryan O'Byrne his first of the season and his first goal in 2 seasons (not counting his own goal from last season). The second goal came in the second period was scored by Tom Pyatt (2nd) off a rebound from Lapierre's shot. With the 2-0 lead going into the third, Halak was making several saves to keep the lead.

So what did Montreal do for Halak they got him another goal (by Sergei Kostitsyn) to take some pressure off of him with a 3-0 lead. That's how it would end as Montreal got Halak back to back shutouts for the first time since the 06-07 season."Last night we kind of slowed down, we gave them more chances, but tonight we kept playing and we kept our forecheck and our third man high, and I think that was the key," Halak said. With the victory, I think the goalie debate will end as I think Halak has proved that he is the number 1 goaltender.

Scores to keep an Eye on:

Bruins 2-1 Leafs Final O.t

Panthers 1-4 Rangers Final

Thrashers 3-4 Penguins Final O.t


Written by Andrew Di Pardo

HALAK MAKES 35 GREAT SAVES FOR HIS 4TH SHUTOUT OF THE SEASON

Last night in Philadelphia, Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves for his 4th shutout of the season and more importantly, it puts Montreal into 6th place (2 points ahead of Bruins and Flyers and 4 points ahead of the Thrashers and Rangers).The game started with the Montreal Canadiens playing well early on by getting a 1-0 lead with a goal by Tomas Plekanec(his 24th). But they slipped in the third as they were out-shot 14 -3. Halak kept them in with save after save."He definitely made some key saves," Montreal coach Jacques Martin said. "He kept us in the game."But if it wasn't for the Flyers disallowed goal due to a high stick with under 5 minutes to go Montreal would have gave the Flyers a point.

"If we get into the playoffs, it's a huge win. But if not, it's just a regular win," Halak said after he got his 4th shutout of the season. "We'll see how important a win it was in about a week from now."

Scores to keep an eye on:

Rangers 3-0 Lightning Final

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

SCORES TO KEEP AN EYE ON

Game #1 Boston Bruins 0-1 Florida Panthers:

Last night in Boston,Scott Clemmensen made 36 saves to give the Panthers a 1-0 shutout win against the Boston Bruins.As of late the Bruins have not been able to put the puck in the net. If you look at their last 3 games the Bruins have just had 3 goals."There's only five games left, so there are 10 points out there," Bruins forward Michael Ryder(former Hab) said after Boston lost 1-0 loss."It's hard to find wins right now. You do feel that the team that puts it together first is going to be there."

Game # 2 Philadelphia Flyers 4-6 New York Islanders:

Last night in Long island New York, the Islanders snapped their 15 game losing streak vs Flyers with a 6-4 win. "I didn't know about that stat until the last time we played them," Comeau said. "I don't think anybody thinks about it. It's a different game every time we play them." The Flyers weren't playing well until they went down 4-0. Which will be a problem because they have been doing that recently."We didn't have time to be overconfident the way the game started," Flyers forward Danny Briere said. "We're battling for our lives here and the Islanders are trying to play spoiler."We have to keep our heads high. We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves." With the loss the Flyers remain tied with Montreal and Boston for that 6th spot.

Game #3 Washington Capitals 2-1 Atlanta Thrashers:

Last night in Washington, the Capitals (who have won the Eastern Conference) were looking to play spoilers to the Thrashers who were 2 points out of a playoff spot behind Montreal, Philadelphia and Boston. And they did just that with a 2-1 victory. This victory was the Capitals 50th win of the season. "It just means they've given us another chance," Atlanta coach John Anderson said. "We've got to find ways to win and get points. If everything stays the same, we're out of the playoffs. We've got to make some hay here."

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

Montreal's next game: Tonight : Canadiens at Flyers 7:00pm E.t/4:00pm P.t

THE RACE IS ON

With under 6 games to go in the regular season, the Montreal Canadiens know the importance of every game. The Canadiens have 5 games left."We all understand the urgency," said Canadiens goalie Carey Price (who had 25 save in the 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes). "There's five games left now. Our next game against Philadelphia is obviously a very big game. We just have to forget this one and get ready for that next game, individually and as a team we have to put all our energy and focus into that game."The Canadiens are currently tied for 6th with the Bruins and the Flyers. So,in my opinion the Habs will need to get at least 7 or 8 points if they want to make the playoffs.“We can’t forget that this is what makes hockey so great at this time of year,” Price said. “This is what we play for all year. But this will all be even more fun if the final outcome we want is there. But all I can do is play well.”

Written By Andrew Di Pardo

CAM WARD SHUTS DOWN MONTREAL WITH SAVE AFTER SAVE TO GET THE CANES A 2-1 WIN

Last night in Montreal, the Canadiens took on the Hurricanes and controlled the game for the most part but Cam Ward shuts the door on 32 of Montreal's 33 shots."It was a nice win," Staal (who scored the game winning goal)said. "We didn't play very well in the first period. But when you have an all-star goalie like Cam Ward he'll give you a chance, and he provided that for us." With the win the Hurricane's are now 11-0-2 in their last 13 games in Montreal (including the playoffs). The win was also big because now the Hurricanes are 5 points out of a playoff spot with 5 games left to play. So they still have a chance.

As for Montreal, But even though they lost they still are tied for 6th and they have a big game ahead of them. As they take on the Flyers( who are tied with Montreal and Boston) on Friday.They need to start getting points on the board like they did in their 6 game win streak. If they don't they won't make the playoffs, it's as simple as that."We all understand the urgency," said Canadiens goalie Carey Price (who had 25 save in the loss). "There's five games left now. Our next game against Philadelphia is obviously a very big game. We just have to forget this one and get ready for that next game, individually and as a team we have to put all our energy and focus into that game."

Written By Andrew Di Pardo