Howdy.

I have kind of given up on doing blogs after each and every game, I just want to address something I found humorous.
About a month ago, the Habs were doing okay, but it was our rivals in hogtown that were on top of the hockey world. Around the blogosphere we were hearing it from every angle how the Leafs had finally made the step to become contenders, and that superstars like Tim Brent and Clarke MacArthur were going to have huge seasons. I didn't mind it at all, good for Toronto, they were excited about a hockey team that had gone through some very crappy times, and everyone is entitled to some happiness, but then I saw something that went a little farther. A blog had made an animation that in a bright and shiny font kept a live count of how many days, hours and seconds since Carey Price had last won at home. I thought it was funny, he had struggled, but I felt that I should be able to make a comment, I mean these guys had a good sense of humor, they should be able to take it if they can dish it out right?
Meh.
My comment "Guess what's a funnier stat line? It's been (Insert ridiculously longer time frame) since the Leafs have won a home game in the Playoffs???"
Instead of saying "Yeah, you're right, a quick start should not be indicative of any real success since this franchise has struggled since the lockout" I was assaulted with such intelligent rebuttals like "Well you're a troll and probably torched a car last spring!" or "Well we kicked your ass this season!" or "You shouldn't talk! You're the one who boo'ed Carey Price in the preseason!"
I don't expect the neanderthals blogging away on the shores of Lake Ontario to know my stance on the Price issue, but I don't think generalizing every Hab fan as a loud, drunk and hypocritical rioter is a very nice thing to do. I mean, I don't assume that every Leaf fan is a sweater vest wearing, luxury box owning yuppie who spends the entire game on his blackberry only to leave halfway through the third. That would constitute that the majority of Leaf fans are actually successful! I kid, I kid. To be honest, I don't mind fans of any team, good on you if you stick with a organization that has had that much frustration, but can I suggest something? Don't dish out cold hard insults to someone who watches a full season of Hockey when it's only September, because guess what, things change. You know that coach that everyone loved at the beginning of the year when you guys were 4-0-1? Well regardless of the fact that he's won of the winningest coaches in history and led team USA to the gold medal game in the Olympics, you are still calling for his head! You know that super sniper who you traded Tyler Seguin and another first rounder for? You know, that guy Mike Brophy was nominating for the Hart before he had played 20 games? Well he hasn't gotten a point in the last 7 games, and I know the comebacks that'll come my way, "Oh, he doesn't have a Center!!" or "Well Gionta and Gomez suck a lot worse, and they're getting paid more." Very true, but if they play well, we don't say "They have 7 goals??? Someone nominate them for the Ted Lindsay trophy!!!" Listen Leaf fans, don't be like the idiots in Montreal who pretend to be Hab fans only to boo our starting Goalie who happens to have FOUR! FOUR AH AH AH! wins at home. What's that you say? That's one more win at home than Jean-Sebastien Giguere? Well whaddya kow??? Listen, I'm not looking for a fight, it's very early in the season and the Canadiens have been known to go on awful losing streaks, but for all fans out there, don't count your chickens before they hatch, because you never know, one might be born with a hilarious birth defect...
That's all for now, Go Habs Go great win last night.
Peace,
E

Back at it.

So I am back writing for you fine people,and I have a lot to cover since we blanked the Sens 3-0.
SOOOOO
Canadiens beat the Coyotes 3-2, Andrei Kostitsyn is looking like a talented chippy Belarussian and not a smelly, fat and lazy Belarussian. Gionta and Gomez do not score.
Canadiens beat the Islanders 5-3, Kostitsyn is still great, so is Pleks. Gionta and Gomez do not score.
Canadiens beat the Islanders 3-1, Alex Auld plays his first game and is great, AK an TP are still sick, Gionta and Gomez do not score.
AAAND FINALLY Canadiens lose to the Panthers 3-1, Markov comes back, Powerplay still stinks, Price gets outplayed by Vokoun, and of course...
Gionta and Gomez do not score.
So what conclusions can we draw from these games?
A) There is cautious optimism, actually, regular optimism in Montreal as the Habs are starting to come together and it is always nice when you start the season 7-3-1 and are first in your division.
B) Andrei Kostitsyn is back, Tomas Plekanec never left, and PK Subban is quietly leading all Rookie Defenders in points. Yay
C) Our second line is not clicking, Gionta and Gomez are playing with such offensive dynamos like Mathieu Darche and Travis Moen, while an offensively talented player like Lars Eller waits on the fourth line playing only ten minutes a game with one point so far this season. Definitely not a yay.

So I trust Jacques Martin, he's been in the league a long time and has paid dividends already here in Montreal, but this second line fiasco is something I cannot understand. They don't want Eller to develop in Hamilton because they believe he has NHL talent, but then do not give him enough ice time in the big leagues to develop into a top six forward. There are already rumblings from journalists like Bob "Big Head" MacKenzie who stated that Eller is looking like he will never be more than a third liner, I'm sure his opinion would not be the same if Eller had been playing with talented guys like Gomez and Gionta, or G-Love and Gio as they are known to their friends... True story about the G-Love thing.
The Canadiens play Columbus on Tuesday, they are a beatable team, the Canadiens have been playing well to anyone who says that the Habs should not be considered contenders because of the ease of their schedule should then also dismiss the beloved Toronto Maple Leafs who are "a great team" led by Phil Kessel "Hart Trophy Nominee" according to the wildly insightful Mike Brophy.
To Canadiens fans, ignore the haters, keep supporting the squad, and this will be a good year.
Peace
E

Another double header.

Sorry for the laziness, history papers and being away from my computer will do that.
So let's recap what happened this week:
Habs lay an egg, play crappy, Price plays well. Canadiens lose 3-0
Habs play great, Andrei K pots two, Price plays well. Canadiens win 3-0
Can anyone guess what the stagnant force in these two games was? Not going to be an "I-TOLD-YOU-SO'ER" buuuuuuut...
Yeah.
Carey Price has answered the call and will be the major reason if the Canadiens have success this season, he has made the saves needed to win games, and has not been the cause of a loss, he has only kept the team in games. I'm not naive enough to think that he is going to win the Vezina, or the Hart, even though Jose Theodore did both in one year.. what was the league smoking that year...
The team is not blessed with explosive offensive juggernauts, but their first line has been dynamic and their second line finally broke through on the Powerplay with Benoit Pouliot doing what he did last year when he was on pace for a 30 goal year, being in front of the net and putting the puck in.
Next up is the Coyotes and though they should not be taken lightly, the Canadiens always have good success against them. Let's just hope Andrei Kostitsyn doesn't get annihilated like he did in 2008 when he lost all of his mojo. Be optimistic, as long as Price plays well, this team can contend.
Peace,
E

A double header weekend.

Saturday morning after the Canadiens squeaked out a had fought win against Buffalo, I went to Habsinsideout and was greeted by a link to a Leafs blog, where they had an animation celebrating the longevity of Carey Price not having a home win. I brought up the simple point that the Maple Leafs had not won a playoff game on home ice in almost 6 times as long a wait, but I was refuted with "Blah Blah YOU booed Carey Price so don't defend him blah blah YOU burned a car after the Canadiens won a series and YOU booed the national anthem blah blah no actual refutation of the fact the Leafs haven't made the Playoffs since before Hurricane Katrina" I can deal with that to an extent, but now that Carey beat the Senators last night I can sleep easy without even worrying about those clowns. I am not against all Leaf fans, any fan who sticks by their team through crappy times deserve to be happy about a winning streak, but to those who Troll for the sake of trolling, then defend their trolling by shifting the focus to something else without any actual intelligent reasoning for it should have to drink a cup of Preston Lacy's sweat. (Jackass 3D reference sorry for the Spoiler).
The Canadiens are winning games, and their goaltender is keeping them in the ones they aren't. Tomas Plekanec is not letting the money get to his head, Andrei Kostitsyn is actually playing well albeit it is a contract year for him and Lars Eller is showing that Pierre Gauthier wasn't actually stoned on Pain killers when he traded for him.
To the real fans, this team can play.
To the trollers of the Hockey world, stop huffing house paint and get a life.
Bring on the Devils.
Peace,
E

Time to stuff it. Candiens 3 Penguins 2

Can we all take a communal sigh of relief?
I know many of you turned off your TVs when the Canadiens were down 2-1 late in the third.
"0-2 start, should have never dealt Halak"
"Can't believe the Leafs are going to have 4 more poins than us"
"I didn't take my Cialis today, and that's why I'm unhappy"
All real reactions to the game, until the Canadiens decided to bite back.
Josh Gorges threw it on the net and it was tipped by the great Jewtalian, making his triumphant return from suspension and having a field day in Pittsburgh, where he tore up the Pens in the playoffs. Most of us would have been happy with us going into Overtime, but Scott Gomez or "G-Love" to his friends, snuck a puck through the wickets of Marc-Andre Fleury. You could see by MAF's reaction, it was a softie, but we will take it.
I know it is the second game in the season, but can the negativity end here?
Carey Price is a good goaltender, I cannot understand the people who argue that he shouldn't be starting. Have you SEEN the saves he made last night?
Be quiet, and thank Mr. Price for keeping us in the game last night.
Next up: The Canadiens open up their season at home against the Lightning, or should we say Montreal, Florida.
It will be interesting to see how former Habs like Dominic Moore, Guy Boucher and yes, even Dan Ellis do against us, along with Quebecois stars like Lecavalier, St. Louis and Gagne.
Oh, and they still have Stamkos.
Peace,
E

Series restored, and game #3 Preview RANT ALERT

Remember when I said don't panic? Well all I can say is it feels damn good to be right.
Last night was a covincing victory that seemed to really get under the skin of the Flyers. Oh, we're dicks because we put our top PP line on when we were already up 4-1? I'm sorry, I thought this was the stanley cup playoffs. It was a three goal load, not like we were embarassing you like you guys did in game one. If you guys want to jack a score up 6-0, don't start talking about bad karma when we repay the favor you cream cheese eating ingrates.
What else is on my mind? Oh yeah, tonight when asked about the chipiness of BOTH teams by Brent Wallace, Darren Dreger decided to instead go on a tagent talking 1) Gorges high sticking Claude Giroux but it being okay because he "apologized", 2) Scott Gomez tapping Dan Carcillo on the head after Carcillo cheapshotted him in order to get a retaliation penalty and 3) Mike Cammalleri pushing off a defender to score the first goal of the game, Dregs then HAD to add that "Many people think that shouldn't have been a goal".
You know what, I know that you and the rest of your Leaf groupies cannot wait for the Canadiens to be bounced so you could instead talk about Brian Burke's new five year plan that starts with the brilliant "trade Tyler Seguin/Taylor Hall and another first round pick" move, but we're still in this, and we're not going away so easy. We are the last Canadian team in the playoffs, I'm sure if the Canucks were in our place all the focus would be on the quetionable play of our opponents. We Montrealers who actually want to watch in English turn to TSN for it's intelligent insight from both sides, you really think you are going to lure viewers in when they have to watch their team get dissed for 3 minutes? Instead of ignoring the fact that FLYER Scott Hartnell instigated a fight in the last 5 minutes and how in the regular season that would be a suspension, why don't you actually focus on the fact that this is a chippy affair on both sides and stop portraying the Canadiens as a team that does not deserve to be at this point.
I think I needed to get that out of my system.
Anyways it should be a physical and emotional game tomorrow and let's hope the Habs show what they can do and expose Leighton early and often.
Peace true believers,
E

WE ARE HALFWAY THERE. MONTREAL CANADIENS ARE GOING TO THE EAST FINALS.

There are little words to describe the feeling of this victory. I'm going to let it soak in. Bring on the Broons or Flyers, the Canadiens are on the run of a lifetime. Rest in Peace Mellon Arena. Sid and company, you put up a hell of a fight.

I love this team.

Peace true believers,

E

Habs 4 Pens 3. It all comes down to one game.

I had to do it, just had to.

What a hockey game! In my 10 years of going to Canadiens games at the Bell Centre, I have never screamed louder than I did last night. The crowd erupted when Mike Cammalleri ripped his 10th of the post season past Marc Andre Fleury, cascaded in boos when the Officials embarked on a mission to screw the team with timely calls and non calls, and absolutely lit up like St. Jean Baptiste day when Cammy tied the score up and received a near 5 minute ovation from me and my fellow partisans. There was some mild irony that "Vertigo" was played when Jaro Spacek scored his first of the playoffs after returning from that said illness.

Then, Max Lapierre the quintessential "super pest" shows that he's so much more than a mouth. His end to end rush had the place bouncing like those giant balls from the South Park episode.

So. What are our chances tomorrow night? I like them. I think as this team gets healthier, they become more dangerous. I think that Mike Cammalleri is playing his best hockey. Ever. The Canadiens have won 7 playoff games this year. That is the most games won by the Habs since 1993. Gee, what happened that year?

It should not end here. It can not end here. Go Habs Go, let's shock the world yet again.
Peace true believers,

E

Against all odds. Habs 3 Penguins 2. Series tied 2-2

The title of my blog is also a very inspiring Phil Collins song.

Just thought you should know.

Well once again the Canadiens seemed up against the ropes, up for dead and with no magic left. Then, they win.

Wait what?

This team is courageous, resilient and to borrow a term from the lovely Brian Burke, truculent!

Their third liners, or "pluggers" as the Montreal media have branded them, put in an inspired effort including 2 of our 3 goals.

What it all comes down to though, is leadership in the face of adversity. The players signed by Bob Gainey this summer, the Cammalleris, the Giontas and Gills of this world, know exactly what it takes to win, and are embracing their underdog roles.

Like James A. Baldwin once said, the most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose. Now, ask me who James A. Baldwin is. It doesn't matter, because the Canadiens are now dangerous, and men on a mission. If I were the Penguins right now, I would start to sweat a little.

Enjoy the weekend,

Peace true believers,

E

Making it a best of five series, Habs win 3-1 in Game #3

Well another series starts, another loss where we seemed totally mismatched, and another scrappy win the re-instill hope.

It's not even surprising anymore guys.

Well the Canadiens showed that they could once again roll with the big dogs with an 3-1 win led by the scoring brilliance of our favorite Jewtalian, Mike Cammalleri. Both his goals were brilliant, the first one a testament to his probably Italian natural soccer abilities, and the other a clutch snipe to put away the Pens. Jaroslav Halak's 38 saves were not in any way godly, but held the fort and was a great bounce back from his shaky Game 1. Andrei Kostitsyn only played a minute and a half, and Sergei was scratched. I think it is safe to say that these boys might have played themselves out of this city.

Hal Gill continues to be Hal Skill, and P.K. Subban is way too sick. The future is bright with the Subbinator in it.

On to Game 3, the Bell Centre will be rocking harder than Roman Polanski's trailer outside a middle school.
Low blow? I don't care this is a hockey blog.

Peace true believers,

E

One of the biggest games of the last ten years.

Wow.

I don't really know how else to start this post. I have never seen the Bell Centre more rocking, it must've been those darn towels. I have never seen the Habs come out with that fire throwing hit after hit at the Capitals. I have NEVER seen a Goaltender make 53 something saves look that easy. This was a game for the ages, it was a game that inspired the entire province and hopefully lights a fire under the tuchus of this Hockey Club. It might not have hit them yet, but they are 60 minutes away from beating the Washington Capitals. The big bad Washington Capitals who according to every poon-dit in the country, had won this series when it was still 3-1. Funny, I could have sworn this was a best of 7. I'm not celebrating, because Game 7 will be tougher than last night, the Capitals will have a sense of urgency and Alex Ovechkin will be a man on a mission. I can't tell you what our chances are on Wednesday night, but I will tell you this much; If Jaroslav Halak plays HALF as well as he did last night, if Gill and Gorges, the new Wonder Twins, continue to frustrate and bully Washington's sharp shooters AND if Mike Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec and YES even the young Pernell Karl Subban can generate some good scoring chances, we have a shot.

A shot is better than nothing.

Enjoy today, brace yourselves for tomorrow.

Peace True Believers,

E

Where the hell have I been???

Well I don't know how many people still read this, but for the sake of keeping appearances I'm going to make a triumphant return to the world of blogging!

So since I've gone, the Canadiens were almost cemented into a 6th or 7th spot in the playoffs, only to lose it in the majority of their final games and clinch the 8th spot by only one point. They then generated mad hope by beating the President's Trophy Washington Capitals in Game One, only to lose the next three and be given up on. They then won a hard fought battle last night, and everyone's back on the hope bandwagon.

So what happens now?

Although a series win may be a mere pipe dream, there is no reason to not have faith in this team. With the strong goaltending from Jaro Halak that we saw, as well as the Defensive presence of Hall Gill and company there is no reason why we can't stretch this series to a game seven. At this point we just need to stay optimistic and make sure the Bell Centre crowd is electric to inspire the team.

Oh, and to the flag kid, if Alex Ovechkin sprays you with snow, do Montreal a favor and whack him in his Russian nuts with the pole.

Peace true believers,

E

2 points is 2 points.

But yikes, was that ugly.

I guess this cements the hypothesis that the Canadiens' play to their opponents level. Even when that opponent has the worst record in the National Hockey League.

POSITIVES: The Pou-Gomez-Gio line is still producing, and Tom Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn got back to their scoring ways. The bottom lines continue to create energy and surprisingly timely offence, and the Habs now have won 4 straight and can breath a little easier in 7th place.

NEGATIVES: Other than the fact that we almost lost to the Oilers, Jaro Halak did not play a very good game, but let's be fair, even though many of you are ready to jump off the Jaroslavwagon because of this shaky game, Halak has been stealing games at times when our team did not show up. No one's perfect, and hey, we got two points. I was actually happy to see Edmonton play well, because lord knows their fans have been waiting to see them play some competitive hockey. I just hope they do not start playing TOO well, to make sure that Toronto does not finish last in the league. Do we really want to face Boston next year having to worry about an Offensive dynamo like Taylor Hall?

Let's be happy, times are good, Spring is right around the corner, and Les Boys are making a run for the Playoffs.

Peace True Believers,

E

Zapping the Bolts.

Another brilliant pun by yours truly.

Well that 5-3 was sweet, especially since yours truly was right there in row DD to see it happen. This win couple with the Thrashers loss gives us just a bit of breathing room in this tight Eastern playoff race, but to solidify a spot they need to keep up their winning ways. This means we need Scott Gomez to play as well as he did last night, he has been a monster since the Olympic Break and lately has been earning every cent of his lucrative contract. His line of him, Gio and Benny Pou have been tearing it up, and when Mike Cammalleri returns to the line up, we should have two lethal lines. As for the D, it was also up to snub, unless you count Hal Gill's tape to tape passing, right to the stick of Steven Stamkos...

Matt Darche played a strong game, so did Glen Metropolit.

Great game all around, let's keep it up and make a strong push for the playoffs.

Peace,

E

Hollywood Double Header

The Canadiens embarked on a West Coast expedition this week and came away with 4 out of a possible six points. Now this doesn't give any of you idiots any reason to celebrate. A great showing by a scrappy team, and goaltending that keeps us in the game, even though Carey Price kind of shat the bed last night.

Now I'm not going to lie, I was switching back and forth between the game, which we were losing, and the Academy Awards.

Penelope Cruz....

Or 3-1 Ducks?

I switched back in time to see the Habs equalize the score, while people were dancing interpretively to some of the Best Picture nominees.

I then saw Tommy Pleks score the winner and the Canadiens take another step to clinching a playoff spot.

I still have hope for this team, they just need to come together at the right time.

Let's pray that Mike Cammalleri gets out of the 'Hurt Locker' quick.

Hee hee.

Topical funny.

Peace True Believers,

E

Olympic Hangover, and goodbye O Happy D'Agger

Well I think I speak for many of you, who did not realize the Canadiens restarted their season until about 6:30 last night. I'm sure even a larger group of you were confused when our fourth line combined for 3 goals. It was definitely not Olympic caliber, hell, it wasn't even a good game for NHL standards, but it was great to see the Habs open the homestretch with two points. Then, this morning I check out the unusually dormant Trade Deadline page on TSN, and see that the Canadiens have shipped yet another young underachiever. Yes Matt D'Agostini was dealt to the St. Louis Blues for prospect Aaron Plushaj, and it was not a major trade by any means. But I do like it, Plushaj was a College Star in Michigan, and was nominated for the Hobey Baker award for the best player in the country. He was a 2nd round pick who is having a very good year for the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL and will be a contributing factor on the Bulldogs until he is ready to make the step to the pros.

All for now, I will update you on any other trades that show up, if you want some entertainment throughout this over-hyped day, read Jay Onraits blog on TSN, there is a funny dude right there.

Peace for now,

E

A Canadian Legend is born. Sidney Crosby fulfills his destiny.

4 Hours after one of the greatest Hockey games the world has ever seen, I am still in awe of young Canadian who captivated the country. No it's not Montreal's own Nikki Yanofsky, although "I Believe" is catchy. Sidney Crosby is only 23 years old and he has conquered the Hockey World. A Memorial Cup appearance with the Rimouski Oceanic, World Junior Hockey Gold in 2005, a Hart and Art Ross Trophy in 2007, and Captaining his team to a Stanley Cup in 2009. His goal today, in Overtime, cemented his status as a Canadian legend. To all of his critics who call him "too soft" who doesn't have the "flair of Ovechkin" or the "power of Parise", he is a winner, a determined leader and proud Canadian. I'll take Sidney any day of the week. This has been one of the proudest day for our nation, and as the Cauldron extinguishes and these 17 remarkable days of athleticism come to a close I can only say, thank you Vancouver for an amazing experience, and Hab Fans, welcome back to the jungle that is the Montreal Hockey scene, where we have no superstars, are not playing for a Gold Medal game any time soon, and our GM is not a hall of famer, quite the contrary actually.

Nice to be back,

Peace,

E

In awe of Ovie. Habs 6 Caps 5 OT

I know we won the game, I know it was an important two points that got us into sixth place, but I cannot believe how good Alexander Ovechkin is. Let's ignore that he ONLY had 2 assists, a light night for him, but he scored (ok, maybe it wasn't a goal) probably the coolest, most awesome, bad ass goal I have ever seen. Hitting a 6'7 pillar into his own net for a goal is crazy. More than crazy, it's a story that people will tell for years to come when talking about Great 8 "All out desire to win". It was a big win. Not going to take that away from the Canadiens, Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec have been coming up huge since the loss of our three big wingers. I am overjoyed that Josh Gorges is doing fine, after a shot to the head that looked all out horrific. Even though he has played every game for the Habs this year, and many people do not want him to break the streak, I just hope he is ready to go for one of the games against the Flyers, probably our biggest two games of the season. A concern we might need to adress is our absolute futility on the PP of late, maybe due to the long term injury to Queen MAB. Maybe it's due to the fact that our second unit is comprised of 4th liners and AHLers. There is really no way to address these issues other than waiting for wounds to heal. A problem we can address, is how this team seems to play to their opponents level. When we take on Washington, Pittsburgh and New Jersey, we seem to always skate with them, hit with them and compete with them. However, when we take on middle of the pack teams like Boston, Tampa and Atlanta we play a boring and impotent brand of hockey that results in 3-1, 4-2 and 2-0 losses most of the time. How do we remedy this? I don't have an answer, other than just saying, KEEP FRIGGIN SKATING.

Sorry, I'm no Pierre McGuire.

Peace True Believers,

E

Attack of the Dawgs! Plus today's game preview.

If you told me that the top line in Montreal's WIN against the defending Cup Champions would be three Hamilton Bulldogs who were only called up yesterday, I would have assumed that you were starting to party for the Super Bowl a couple days early. Yes the trio of Ryan White, Brock Trotter and David Desharnais certainly stepped it up in the absence of Andrei Kostitsyn, Mike Cammalleri and Benoit Pouliot and will have to keep the energy going if we want to top the Bruins today at 3, who will be absolutely desperate for a win. Pleks, Gio and Scotty Gomez Adams all had huge games yesterday and will need to produce points consistently until the Olympic break There will be some sort of cruel sweetness if this win against the Bruins will push Pete Chiarelli to give Claude Julien the can, even though I do not think the B's struggles are his fault. I personally hope Claude can keep his job, as he is a very good coach and a good guy. I do hope that the Canadiens keep winning this key games while teams behind us like New York, Tampa and the Bruins continue to slide. There is an article out that theorizes that the Canadiens only need to go 12-10-1 in our remaining games to clinch a playoff spot. I think thats do-able. So enjoy the game, enjoy the football and enjoy those damn funny commericals. Let's hope we see some more Danica Patrick in compromising positions.

Peace true believers,

E

Halak saves our sorry asses. Again... Habs 3 Bruins 2

Thank you to the Texas Titan for the title of today's blog.

Watching the game down 2-0, there was not much to be positive about. The team came out flat, we were not getting shots and it looked like all the momentum we got from our hard fought 3-2 Vancouver win was gone. Then came the two quick goals. I guess the one positive thing about our bevy of goals from bizarre sources is that it is scoring by committee, something we need in light of Mike Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn's prolonged injuries. The one thing that has kept me optimistic of late is that Jaroslav Halak is putting in a MVP like performance each game we go into. I have been, and always will be a Carey Price fan, I think his potential could dwarf all of the criticism he has been thrown, but until he finds his center I will support Jaro Halak and his calmness and coolness throughout. To me, Jaro Halak is what every goalie should be, someone who comes to the NHL with th sole objective to play Hockey. No distractions, only Hockey. He did his time in the AHL, had to wait behind player after player, and has been winning big games for three years. If I had told you after Jaro went 4-0 for us in 2007 during the playoff push that he would not be our starter by now, you would think two thing. 1) You are freaking crazy. 2) Cristobal Huet must've won a couple Vezinas. Well you'd be very wrong on both counts. Even though I hope that Carey Price becomes the future #1 in Montreal, I am sure that Jaorslav Halak will be one the NHL's finest tenders, if not for the Habs then definitely somewhere else.

Peace,

E