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
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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
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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.