Montreal Canadiens

[ericdaoust]

Game Notes:

-Before getting into the game itself, it is worth noting that both Tomas Plekanec and Jeff Halpern left the game with lower body injuries. Given the current casualty count with the Canadiens, losing these two could have severe consequences.

-Carey Price had a rough start to the game. The first goal was a classing weird bounce off the glass while Price was out trying to play the puck. Even though he can't really control the bounce he is responsible for what happens when he leaves the crease, so that one falls on him. After that was another soft goal that was actually called back because of "intent to blow the whistle". Awful call as the puck was clearly in and was never frozen by the goalie. After that he was simply outstanding, including a stretch in the second period where the Capitals were firing pucks at the same rate as last spring's playoff series.

-The team played a brutal game. The final shot total was 41-26 in favor of the Caps. But the overall effort was awful, they just sat back and barely attacked. When they did attack the Caps' zone they were able to create quality chances.

-The Eller/Kostitsyn duo continues to shine as they combined on a great wrist shot by AK over Holtby's glove.

-David Desharnais was the main benefactor for Plekanec's absence as his ice time went up from the usual 10 minutes to 16. He was pointless but looked very good.

-Travis Moen has been productive (relatively speaking) next to Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta. Another goal tonight.

-I'm worried about Yannick Weber. Reinforcements were traded for prior to the deadline and he's been the one getting shafted by the occasional seats in the press box. He was finally breaking out and now he's playing with no confidence because one mistake and it could mean no ice time next game. He made several bad giveaways tonight. I don't think management has faith in him.

-Roman Hamrlik again looked slow and beat up tonight. His ice time has been up lately and I suspect the two are related.

[ericdaoust]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=358202

Max Pacioretty visited teammates and said his recovery is ahead of schedule. No concussion symptoms and the neck is healing. Remember, this is the guy that looked dead after taking a puck to the ribs, didn't miss any games and went on the best scoring streak of his career right after. Tough SOB.

[ericdaoust]

Plekanec and Halpern are both day-to-day with LBIs. Aaron Palushaj and Nigel Dawes were recalled. Both are wingers with good offensive upside and could catch on if they can strike early they could earn ice time as Halpern and Moen are far from fixtures on the scoring lines.

[ddp]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=358395

Great news! Parade!

[MoreCanadianTeams]

Hey Eric,

I just heard on Team 1040 out here that Max Pac may be back for or during the playoffs according to coach Martin. Any word to confirm this over there?

Obviously this is incredible news and I hope it's true.

Edit, just caught ddp's post after submitting mine. Thanks ddp. Amazing story!

[ericdaoust]

This is indeed great news. He should be ready for contact drills in practice in 3-5 weeks from today. From there we don't know, but right now it looks optimistic. Most importantly I hope he passes all the concussion tests before getting too carried away.

[donions]

Im just happy he's gonna be able to play again. I was worried it'd be a 1-2 year recovery and that can really break a players spirit.

Great news. Hopefully another long playoff run is in store.

[ericdaoust]

Im just happy he's gonna be able to play again. I was worried it'd be a 1-2 year recovery and that can really break a players spirit.

Great news. Hopefully another long playoff run is in store.

It's a very good story and hopefully it'll be a happy ending. It would be appropriate to see him participate in playoff games given how important he has been to the team this season. I hesitate to call him a true keeper given that he has a broken neck and concussion on his resume but his courage is what teams can be built around. At the very least, the "career ending" scare is over with.

[LeTrefle]

Plekanec, Halpern and Gill are all out for tonight game vs TB.
Look at tonight's Habs roster... or should I say Montreal Bulldogs...
At least we have Price!

[ericdaoust]

Game Notes:

-Overall this was a very good game for both teams. Everyone was totally into it save for a few minutes here and there. For the Habs I like the effort overall and it was nice to pick up the win with all the injuries.

-Current list of injured players: Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, Jaroslav Spacek, Hal Gill, Brent Sopel, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Jeff Halpern, Mathieu Darche. That's almost half a lineup missing.

-Carey Price was excellent again. It was not as flashy as we usually see but he made all the important saves. Tonight his save percentage was .946 (37 shots).

-I have to give props to Dwayne Roloson. That was an outstanding pick-up for the Bolts and I see no reason why he would not re-sign there this summer. That was an amazing save in the first period where he batted a puck out of the air at the goal line.

-Andrei Kostitsyn scored his 18th goal of the season. As much as he is inconsistent, his overall total cannot be ignored. He is definitely an underachiever but not completely useless if you have enough patience to sit through his droughts.

-David Desharnais made a nifty pass to set up Kostitsyn's goal. His ice time was up to 18 minutes and he looked great out there. He definitely has the "it" factor, which to me is a combination of good hockey sense and great work ethic. Which brings me to my next point...

-Benoit Pouliot DOES NOT have the "it" factor. He is classified as highly talented with no brain. With improved focus and work ethic he could be a top-line player on most teams but his long list of dumb plays holds him back. He can do it all with the puck... except turn his scoring chances into shots on net. And he's one of the worst players in the league when it comes to the offensive-zone hooking penalties. He did it again by tonight and followed it up with a late hit on Dominic Moore which gave the Lightning a four-minute power play. His only ice time following that incident was skating back to the bench from the box after the Bolts tied the game 2-2.

-Lars Eller is becoming more and more effective down the stretch. He is showing a lot of defensive awareness and he too was up to 18 minutes tonight.

-Hats off to Roman Hamrlik who blocked seven shots in just under 30 minutes of action.

-Nigel Dawes and Aaron Palushaj were in the lineup and both looked good. Dawes even scored in the shootout.

-If anyone can figure out what Teddy Purcell was trying to do on that last shootout attempt I'll give you some rep.

[mister_mcgoo]

yeah, nice win for the Habs, its a testament to their depth that they've managed to continue to play well with all the injuries...the Habs have drafted and traded well i think, not a lot of flash to be sure but some solid players

[ddp]

I'm VERY excited about Dawes...I think he can be a difference maker. He's gritty...speedy...and a fantastic shot. I hope he's the 10th guy to play on the top line this year. I couldn't agree more Eric about Pouliot. He's so clumsy too I find....tripping,slipping etc...(coincidentally I'm playing a game tomorrow in his hometown rink in St. Isidore!)

GOmez...sigh...I can't believe 29 games 1 goal. And after that blaster he put into Rolly's collerbone.

[mister_mcgoo]

I'm VERY excited about Dawes...I think he can be a difference maker. He's gritty...speedy...and a fantastic shot. I hope he's the 10th guy to play on the top line this year. I couldn't agree more Eric about Pouliot. He's so clumsy too I find....tripping,slipping etc...(coincidentally I'm playing a game tomorrow in his hometown rink in St. Isidore!)

GOmez...sigh...I can't believe 29 games 1 goal. And after that blaster he put into Rolly's collerbone.

Dawes has had a couple peeks at the bigs and hasn't stuck but it never seemed to be due to lack of effort...I wonder if its that he couldn't cut it or more that he was just wrong place at the wrong time?

[ross10019]

Dawes has had a couple peeks at the bigs and hasn't stuck but it never seemed to be due to lack of effort...I wonder if its that he couldn't cut it or more that he was just wrong place at the wrong time?

Dawes was a real bright spot for the Rangers when he first played for them, considered on a par with guys like Callahan, but the following season he just regressed as I recall. Since then he's just bounced around, never sticking.

[MoreCanadianTeams]

Dawes also had a nice little run with Calgary a few years ago I recall.

Is Carey starting tonight or is Auld providing a break?