Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes (04.28.2025) | NHL Regular Season

The Montreal Canadiens travel to Raleigh to battle the Carolina Hurricanes

Footage & editing by Andrew Di Pardo

(March 28 2025)

Song featured: Finest Hour By Duran Duran

Les Canadiens de Montréal se rendent à Pittsburgh pour affronter les Hurricanes de Carolina

Images et montage par Andrew Di Pardo

(28 Mars 2025)

Chanson présentée : Finest Hour de Duran Duran

 

Related video/ Vidéo connexe :

https://youtu.be/Al0HZVr4dGk?si=BXTYRO-FhQyoAoof

 

Montreal Canadiens at Pittsburgh Penguins | 2024-2025 NHL Regular Season

 The Montreal Canadiens travel to Pittsburgh to battle Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

This features extended footage from the Pittsburgh segment of our NHL rinks video.

Footage & editing by Andrew Di Pardo

(November 2nd 2024)

Les Canadiens de Montréal se rendent à Pittsburgh pour affronter Sidney Crosby et les Penguins de Pittsburgh

Ceci présente des images étendues du segment de Pittsburgh de notre vidéo sur les patinoires de la LNH.

Images et montage par Andrew Di Pardo

(2 novembre 2024)

 

Related video/ Vidéo connexe :

https://youtu.be/Al0HZVr4dGk?si=BXTYRO-FhQyoAoof

Montreal Canadiens vs Boston Bruins & Vancouver Canucks | Bell Centre | NHL Throwback (2023)

 The Canadiens battle both the Bruins and the Canucks on Remembrance day/ Veterans Day weekend in 2023

This features extended footage from the segment of our NHL rinks video.

Footage & editing by Andrew & Alexandra Di Pardo 

(November 2023)

Music by Elton John & additional game footage from Sportsnet

Les Canadiens affronteront les Bruins et les Canucks lors du week-end du jour du Souvenir et des anciens combattants en 2023.

Ceci présente des images étendues du segment de Pittsburgh de notre vidéo sur les patinoires de la LNH.

Images et montage par Andrew et Alexandra Di Pardo

(novembre 2023)

 Musique d'Elton John et séquences de jeu supplémentaires de Sportsnet

Related video/ Vidéo connexe :

https://youtu.be/Al0HZVr4dGk?si=BXTYRO-FhQyoAoof

Montreal Canadiens: Across the Years (2007-2021)

 Showcasing rinks we have attended to watch the Canadiens from 2007 Regular Season games to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

Photos and videos by Angelo & Andrew Di Pardo

Rinks featured:

The Bell Centre (Montreal,QC)

Madison Square Garden (New York City, NY)

Keybank Center (Buffalo, NY)

Scotiabank Arena (Toronto, On)

Amalie Arena (Tampa Bay, FL)

Amerant Bank Arena (Sunrise, FL)

Teams Featured:

Montreal Canadiens

New York Rangers

Toronto Maple Leafs

Buffalo Sabres

Detroit Red Wings 

Tampa Bay Lightning

Florida Panthers

Canadiens captains throughout this time frame:

Saku Koivu 

Brian Gionta

Max Pacioretty

Shea Weber

Canadiens goalies throughout this time period:

Jaroslav Halak

Carey Price

Dustin Tokarski

Peter Budaj

Alex Auld

Charles Lingren

Montreal Canadiens vs New York Rangers | BELL CENTRE | Stanley Cup Playoffs Throwback (2014)

 With the Montreal Canadiens hosting their first playoff game since 2021, it is time to share a throwback to our experience in MTL from the 2014 Playoffs against the New York Rangers!

Videography by Angelo Di Pardo

Editing by Andrew Di Pardo

Alors que les Canadiens de Montréal accueillent leur premier match éliminatoire depuis 2021, il est temps de partager un retour sur notre expérience à Montréal lors des séries éliminatoires de 2014 contre les Rangers de New York !

Vidéo : Angelo Di Pardo

Montage : Andrew Di Pardo

BLOG RETURN?

 

With my regained access to this blog, the blog is making a small return for the first time in a decade. It wont be in the same fashion it was in the 2010s. 

The return will be more video oriented as I made some videos from game experiences I have had. These videos will be re-shared here as they were all originally posted on YouTube under  “Sharp Shooter Productions.” SSP is a company in which during my time in the film industry I made short films under.

These Montreal Canadiens videos I have mentioned include footage from the current series. 

Keep an eye out here as I will share these videos throughout the rest of today and tomorrow leading up to Game 5.

- Andrew Di Pardo 

Canadiens 2021 Stanley Cup Playoff Run

With the Canadiens back in the playoffs for the first time since 2021, re-live the excitement of their first run back  to the Stanley Cup Final (since 1993)!

ROUND 1 RECAP: Montreal Canadiens VS Ottawa Senators (MTL wins series 4-2)

GAME 1: Montreal wins 4-3

Habs get off to a bad start. Michalek throws the puck to the net and Price makes the save, but Markov taps it into his own net. 1-0 after one. The second period was jammed  packed with offense... First Mitchell scores to tie it. Followed by Plekanec giving the Habs the lead less than 20 seconds later. Ottawa doesn't quit. 2 minutes later, Turrus scores on the powerplay to tie it at 2-2.  A minute later Eller gets a breakway and scores 3-2. The Senators would tie it a minute later... But it would be Flynn for the Habs scoring late in period 2 to get the lead back to 4-3 and that would hold up as the winner. Carey Price made 30 saves in the victory as the Habs took game 1.

GAME 2:  Montreal wins in overtime to take a 2-0 series lead

For the second straight game, the Senators strike first with a goal from MacArthur. Ottawa leads after one. Habs on the poerplay in period two, Paciorettys wrist shot beats Hammond to tie it up. Shortly after that Subban rockets a shot from the point to give Montreal a 2-1 lead after two. With under 10 to go in period 3, the Ottawa Senators go on a powerplay where Wiercoioch would score to tie it. This game needed some overtime... Three and a half minutes in, Gallaghers shot was stopped and Galchenyuk would put home the rebound and the Habs took a 2-0 series edge. Price was solid making 29 saves in the victory.

GAME 3: New goaltender... Same story.

Ottawa made a decision to put Craig Anderson back in goal after Hammond lost Games 1 & 2. But it wouldn't make a difference... At least for this game. The Habs dominated play, but for the third straight game, gave up the first goal from MacArthur. They would continue to dominate, but Anderson had all the answers until the final 6 minutes of the third. Prusts shot from the right wing deflected right to Weiss and he scored to tie the game! We would need overtime again. 9 minutes in a hard slap-shot from the left wing by Dale Weiss beat the Senators goaltender and for the second straight season the Habs have a 3-0 series lead. In a losing effort, Anderson made 47 saves. In the win, Price made 33 saves.

GAME 4: Anderson shuts out the Habs

The Habs played a solid game against the Senators in Game 4, but failed to beat Anderson.. Hoffmans goal at the 9 minute mark of the third was the only goal of the game as Ottawa stayed alive. Anderson made 28 saves for the shutout and Price made 31 saves and was the main reason the score wasn't worse.

GAME 5: Can't close it out.

The Canadiens were back on home ice looking to close out the series... But they couldn't get it done, Price had an off night giving up 5 goals on 25 shots. Most of the Senators goals were scored due to failure from the Habs defense to clear the front of the net. If Price sees the puck he will stop it 10 out of 10 times, in this game he couldn't see anything and the 5-1 loss is proof of that. The winning goal from the Sens was scored by Wiercoich in the first period. In the win, Anderson made 45 saves and was sensational once more to bring the series to a game 6.

GAME 6: Price saves the day as the Habs win the series!

Game 6, do or die once again for Ottawa, this time back on home ice. Can they make history and tie the series after being down 3-0? They played well enough in the series to win it... But the X factor in Game 6 was Carey Price. Lets go back to period 1... 13 minutes in, Plekanecs shot is blocked. The puck is in the air in the slot, it goes from Gallaghers glove down to his stick in mid air and he bats it in on the back hand to give Montreal the 1-0 lead. In the second, Price makes a save and Zibanejab sees the puck behind him and knocks it in... But hold on. The whistle went... NO GOAL! Habs lead after 2. In the dying minutes of the third, Price looked like a cross between, Drydan and Hasek, diving everywhere to make saves and keep the puck out. At the end of the night he did what he had to and made 43 saves and Pacioretty scored an empty net goal with 0.2 on the clock as the Montreal Canadiens win 2-0 and advanced to round 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

- Andrew Di Pardo

MOORE SCORES WINNER! RANGERS KNOCK OUT THE CANADIENS; NEXT STOP IS THE STANLEY CUP FINAL

            Earlier tonight in New York, the Rangers had a second crack at advancing to their first cup final since winning it all back in 1994. Meanwhile the Habs were trying to keep their magical cup run alive by forcing a Game 7 back home in Montreal. 2 minutes into the game, the Rangers were pressing, Zuccarello came up the left wing and fired a shot and Tokarski made a great save, falling down and kept the five hole shut. The Rangers dominated the first period, outshooting the Canadiens 11-5.  Early in the second, Haglin came into the offensive zone shorthanded and went for the rap-around and he was stopped. At the 5 minute mark of the period, Rangers powerplay and Derek Stephan wired a shot off the post. 5 minutes left in the second, Vanek came up the right wing and fired a backhand shot, it deflected off a Ranger stick and Lundquist robbed him with the blocker. Shortly after, Canadiens can't clear the puck and Boyle centred the puck to former Hab, Dominic  Moore and he scored! 1-0 Rangers.

      The shots were 8-8 in the second. In the third, Canadiens facing elmination and the Ranger played a 1-2-2 strategy to force the Habs to dump the puck in where the Rangers would easily get the puck and clear it. Tokarski made several amazing saves in the third, but the Montreal Canadiens offensive could not get by the Rangers D and because of that they lost 1-0 and their season has come to an end. The Habs only had 5 shots in the third and that was not good enough. Lundquist made 18 saves to lead the Rangers to their first final since 1994. In the loss Tokarski made 31 saves in the Canadiens longest cup run since 1993. This was the closets the Canadiens got to returning to the finals since losing in 2010 in the conference finals to the Philedelphia Flyers in 5 games.  They were 3 wins away that year and this season they got a little closer as they were just 2 wins away. But it wasn't meant to be. Best of luck to the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup final and good luck to the Montreal Canadiens for next season. The more experience these players get, the farther they will go in the future.

- Andrew Di Pardo

BOURQUE GRABS A HAT-TRICK! CANADIENS EXTEND SERIES VS NYR WITH A 7-4 VICTORY!

           Earlier tonight in Montreal, it was win or go home for the Canadiens as they were facing elimination for the third time in the Playoffs (Habs won Game 6 & 7 Vs Bruins to advance to the current round). Less than a minute in, Kreider tripped Subban and the Habs went on their first powerplay of the night.  Markov played the puck to Subban and his one-timer was deflected past Lundquist by Alex Galchenyuk to make it 1-0 MTL at the 1:48 mark of the first. A few minutes later, the Rangers came in on a 2 on 1 and Haglin received the puck at the side of the net and was robbed by the knob of Tokarski's stick. At the 10 minute mark of the period, Stephan's point shot was deflected off the stick of Beaulieu and in to tie the game. On the next shift, Galchenyuk played the puck to Gionta in the neutral zone and he tipped the puck to Plekanec and he skated into the offensive zone and fired a shot under the glove of Lundquist to make it 2-1 Montreal. The shots were 12-10 Montreal in the first.

              3 minutes into the second, Gallagher played the puck to Pacioretty on the right wing and he fired a shot into the back of the net to extend the Habs lead. 3 minutes later, Eller centred the puck to Bourque and he scored! 4-1!  Lundquist gave up 4 goals on 19 shots and that was it for him as in came Talbot.Past the halfway point of the second, Nash threw the puck to the net and it deflected off the stick of Gorges and in to cut the lead to 2. That was the Rangers first shot of the second. Stephan cut the lead to one, shortly after. Than at the 13 minute mark of the period, Plekanec took a diving penalty. On the Rangers powerplay, McDonaugh played the puck to Kreider in front and he had an empty net and scored. Tie game! 1 minute later, Bourque had the puck in the slot and he ripped a shot past Talbot to give the Canadiens the 5-4 lead! The Habs dominated the second for the most part, allowing just 3 scoring chances and unfortunately for them, the Rangers scored on all three chances. But the good news is, they had a 5-4 lead after 2. The shots were 12-6 Montreal in the second.

          6 minutes into the third, Weiss played the puck to Bourque in the slot and he fired a shot into the back of the net to make it 6-4! That was Bourques third goal of the night. Bourque becomes the first Habs player to score a hat-trick in the conference finals since Guy Lafleur back in 1975 against the Bruins. He is also the first Canadien to get a playoff hat-trick since Andrei Kostitsyn in Round 1 against the Washington Capitals back in 2010. Desharnais would add an empty net goal as the Habs stay alive and win 7-4. In the win, Tokarski made 23 saves."We had a big power-play goal early and a few others throughout the night," Bourque said. "That was the difference for us tonight." In relief, Talbot made 6 saves on 8 shots. "That was a lot of fun," Pacioretty said. "We came out strong. That's a group effort. Everyone contributed tonight and that's makes it more special."

       Towards the end of the third, John Moore hit Dale Weiss on what looked to be a blindside hit to the head. Moore was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct and he will most likely get suspended for at minimum 2 games."The league will do what it has to do. I think he was penalized on the ice," Vigneault said. "John is definitely not the type of player to try to hurt someone, but it was a late hit and it was the right call on the ice." If the Habs play like this next game we will see a Game 7 back in Montreal on Saturday night. Game 6 for the Rangers is a 'must win,' if they lose Game 6 the Canadiens will win the series. So the pressure has shifted from the Montreal Canadiens to the New York Rangers. game 6 is Thursday at 8:08pm E.t.

Andrew Di Pardo

ST.LOUIS SCORES OT WINNER; RANGERS LEAD SERIES 3-1

         Earlier tonight in New York, the Rangers had a chance to take a 3-1 series lead and the Montreal Canadiens were looking to tie the series. 7 minutes in, the Habs were on the powerplay, Subban gave the puck away at the side of the net and Boyle sent Haglin up the middle and he scored on a breakaway and the Rangers lead 1-0. The shots were 11-9, Montreal in the first. 8 minutes into the second, Bouillon came up in the rush and was on a 2 on 1 and he fired a shot past Lundquist to tie the game. In the final minute of the period, Girardi sent a pass up the middle to Brassard and he had a breakaway and he took a slap shot and it beat Tokarski to give the Rangers the lead. 2 minutes into the third, the Habs were on their 6th powerplay of the game and Subban blasted a shot past Lundquist to tie the game. Late in the period (under 3 to play) and Bourque fired a shot from the slot and it hit the crossbar. So were off to overtime, score tied at 2-2. The shots were 8-6 Habs in the third. 6 minutes into overtime, Haglin played the puck to Martin St.Louis at the side of the net and he scored! Rangers win 3-2 and take a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Habs had many many chances in this game on the powerplay.

        In fact they had 8 powerplays and only scored 1 goal on it and its because of their PP system. They have two guys who can blast pucks on goal from the point, Subban and Markov. But Subban is the only man at the point and everyone on the Rangers know that 99% of the time the pass goes to him and they are set and ready to block his shots. This is why the Habs lost, when you have so many PP chances you simply have to score, especially when you have it in overtime. But they didn't and they lost. I'm taking away from the  27 save performance by Lundquist, he was a big reason the Rangers won, but when you have the same PP system each time out, you become predictable.  As for Tokarski, he played really well again. He made 26 saves and several of them were highlight reel ones, including breakaway stops on Haglin and St.Louis. But unfortunetly for him, the Habs couldn't clear the zone on a play in overtime and they lost.

         My prediction for Game 5 is that the Habs will come out and play their best game of the Playoffs and win a game on home ice. If the Habs lose game 5, not only are they eliminated, but they would have had their worst home ice playoff performance since 2006. In round 1 of 2006 against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Habs won two games on the road to take a 2-0 series lead, they ended up losing 4 in a row to lose the series.  3 of the 4 losses came on home ice and if they lose Game 5 against the Rangers it means that for a second time in 8 years, they have lost all 3 games on home ice and thats not good for a team thats known as "The Vatican of the National Hockey League (MTL has the most Stanley cups with 24)." But I do believe that they will 100% win Game 5.

- Andrew Di Pardo

HABS WIN 3-2! GALCHENYUK SCORES O.T. WINNER! TOKARSKI MAKES 35 SAVES!

           Earlier tonight in New York, the Rangers battled the Montreal Canadiens with a chance to take a 3-0 series lead with a win on home ice.  The big story for the Habs was the new 4th line of Vanek - Bourque - Briere.  The Rangers dominated the first, but Dustin Tokarski made several highlight reel saves. But with under 5 to play in the first, Rangers came in on a 2 on 1, Gorges went down to block the pass and he went into Tokarski and St. Louis fired a shot, Gorges made a save with his glove before Haglin batted the puck in to make it 1-0. The shots were 14-4 Rangers in the first. 3 minutes into the second, Pacioretty played the puck to Markov on the right wing and he wristed a shot past Lundquist to tie the game. That was Markovs first goal of the 2014 playoffs. Late in the second, St. Louis had a one timer at the side of the net and he was stopped by Tokarski. The shots were 13-9 Rangers. Both Lundquist and Tokarski were solid early in the third.

           But with 5 minutes to go, McDonaha gave the puck away to Weiss in the slot and he was stopped by Lundquist. 2 minutes later, Bourques shot was stopped, Vanek got the rebound and fired it wide and it went to Briere in behind the net and he threw it in front and it went off former Hab draft pick, McDonaha and in to give Montreal the lead at 2-1. With under a minute to play, St. Louis's one-timer from the side of the net was stopped. Another highlight reel save by Tokarski. 30 seconds later, Girardi's shot deflected off of Kreider and off of the skate of Emelin and in to tie the game. The shots were 9-9 in the third. 3 minutes into the overtime, Plekanec's shot was stopped and it went off the chest of Galchenyuk and in to win the game! 3-2 is the final. Tokarski is the number 1 star with a Ken Dryden like performance making 35 saves on 37 shots.

       The Habs were sloppy at times, but Tokarski was there to bail them out. The series is now 2-1 in favour of New York and there is a guarentee of at least one more game in Montreal. But before that, the Habs have one more game in the big apple on Sunday at 8:08pm.

- Andrew Di Pardo

LUNDQVIST MADE 40 SAVES. RANGERS WIN 3-1 & TAKE A 2-0 SERIES LEAD

            Earlier tonight in Montreal, Game 2 between the Habs and the New York Rangers. Dustin Tokarski got the start with Carey Price being out for the remainder of this round. Peter Budaj remained on the bench as a cheerleader for this game. 6 minutes in, Pacioretty fired a shot from the slot and it deflected off a Ranger player and in. 1-0 Montreal. 17 seconds later, McDonagh's shot from the point went off Gorges and in to make it 1-1. Later in the period, the Rangers came in on a 3 on 1 and Kreider (the man who injured Price) played the puck to Nash and he scored. 2-1. The shots were 14-9 Montreal in the first. 8 minutes into the second, the Rangers were on the powerplay on one of the worst tripping penalties I've ever seen. Stephan played the puck to St. Louis and he scored from the slot. 3-1. Throughout the second, Kreider and Puliout both went hard to the net and bumped into Tokarski several times. But nothing was called. 11-8 Rangers were the shots in period 2. No scoring in the third as Lundqvist made several amazing saves to win the game for the Rangers, 3-1 is the final. In the win, King Henrick made 40 saves. In the loss, Tokarski made 29 saves.

       " I chose to Start Tokarski because he's a winner," Therrien said. " I told Budaj this morning and he. Uh. Handled it like a pro."The Montreal Canadiens are in a tough spot now, down 0-2 in the series going back to New York. The main question for MTL is in the net... Who do they start? Peter Budaj or Dustin Tokarski? I think because Tokarski started this game, he has to start the next game. As for Budaj, this is a sign that his career in Montreal will be over come the summer time. This decision to start a rookie instead of a vet is a slap in the face for Budaj and he will no longer be a part of this great organization because of it.  The Canadiens will have to win Game 3 and 4 if they are going to have a shot at winning this series and they are well aware of that. Game 3 is Thursday at 8:08 pm E.t.

- Andrew Di Pardo