The Comeback. Habs at Blues.

I was actually looking forward to this game because it would be an awesome foray back into blogging by bringing up that after almost a full season of hockey, the "fans" who booed Carey Price in the pre-season would finally have to face the oh so sweet music called "Surprise! You're a bunch of friggin' tards!" Maybe when they saw that Carey Price is top ten in every major statistical category (including first in wins and second in shutouts) they would finally shut up about trading away Jaroslav Halak who ranks an impressive 22nd in wins and 33rd in save percentage. Perhaps they would also shut up about Lars Eller being useless and a bust, since his heroics were a huge part of our victory against Boston and he has recorded 5 points in as many games. I'm not a dick, but I really wanted to "I told you so" the shit out of some hapless trolls. Yes that's a Charlie Sheen reference, the Habs are "WINNING!" aren't they?
Unfortunately the ineptitude of the National Hockey League to address the safety of it's young players following the events of March 9th has left a big fart cloud over the city. Everything you could think of has been said concerning the matter and I think it's just time to wish Max Pacioretty a speedy recovery and get on to playing. The Blues are a non playoff team so therefore of course they will be a serious challenge to the Canadiens. Let's just forget about Zdeno Chara, Air Canada and however you spell "Turn-buckle" and get two big points tonight. The game is in St. Louis so there will be no assholes who will boo Halak even thought they probably bought one of those stupid stop sign T-Shirts over the summer. Enjoy the game, go Habs, and if any of you fine young ladies practice the art of erotic dance, why don't you stop by the Montreal General Hospital tonight to pay a certain young Canadien a visit. I'm sure his fiancee won't mind. It's for the good of the team.
Peace true believers,
E

THE SKY IS NOT FALLING.

Okay, so right now seems like a perfectly good time to panic, in the words of Rex from Toy Story.

Jaroslav Halak, our "franchise savior" who singlehandedly took down powerhouses like Washington and Pittsburgh and got the Canadiens to within 3 wins of the Stanley Cup Finals, has been dealt to the St. Louis Blues for Danish Blue Chip Prospect Lars Eller and Ian Schultz, who is just plain chippy for the Calgary Hitmen.

WE'RE DONE, GAME OVER MAN, GAME OVER. HALAK WAS OUR MOON AND OUR SUN, WITHOUT HIM WE'RE DONE.

So, you guys can continue to run round like decapitated chickens, I am going talk to the rational people here.

Jaroslav Halak put in an show stopping performance this year in the playoffs, he wanted to prove he was our starting goalie, but what now? Halak's play has given him something for his negotiating cause, he was at liberty to demand over 4 M a year when the Canadiens brass would approach him to re-sign him. What then? How would we re-sign Tomas Plekanec, our most consistent forward this year? And although Carey Price now looks like a cold commodity, would you really be ready to part ways with our 5th overall pick from 2005? A guy who had been hung out to dry more this year than a pair of Granny Panties, a player who when given reins all by himself, like he did in 2008 after Cristobal Huet had been traded, went 12-4 down the homestretch en route to 1st place in the East. The NHL is a goal tending carousel, Dwayne Roloson led the Oilers to the finals in 2006, only to be the backup on the Islanders, do you honestly think that Michael Leighton or Anti Niemi are going to have long distinguished NHL careers? Jaroslav Halak showed his worth, but can you really say that he would be in our plans for the future?

Lars Eller is a top notch prospect, he was an AHL all star last year, and was the 13th overall pick in 2007. He could come in and challenge for a spot on the top 6 next year. He is 21 years old. Before you state that all is lost, give this deal time, because in 3 years I have a feeling Lars Eller will be a big part of this team. Jaro, I wish you luck and want to thank you for the superhuman feats you performed for this team. I hope you get the starting job you deserve.

Peace,

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

One step away. Habs Isles preview.

Hopefully we will won't talk like Sylvester Stallone when this is all done.

Well after a year of injuries, goaltending controversies, trades and GM changes, the Canadiens can actually lock up a playoff spot tonight with a win against the New York Islanders and a New York Rangers loss. Coincidence that we need two New York teams to be defeated. Where's King Kong when you need him? All bets point to Jaro Halak being in net for the Habs tonight and all bets point to the Isles being a lose dangerous team with nothing to lose. The Canadiens will need to stop relying on Halak's sheer brilliance of late and create scoring chances from their top two lines, as fun as it was to see Ryan O'Byrne actually score goal. I am very excited for what this next month will bring if the Canadiens can clinch a spot, so of course fat has it that I will be out of the Contient for the next two weeks. Let's just say this, the Novotel Warsaw hotel better have a friggin' business center.

Enjoy the game, let's lock it up tonight.

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

Why does this always happen? Canadiens 3 Canucks 2

Watching the game last night, I should have been elated at the Habs big win that catapulted them to 7th in the East. I should have. There was something strangely unsettling about the Canadiens, minus our two top goal scorers, beating a team that we should not have beaten through an incredible effort by Jaroslav Halak. Why, you ask? Well for a couple reasons. BIG FRIGGIN REASON #1: If we can beat the Vancouver Canucks, one of the hottest teams in the league, why can we not get points out of easy games in Florida and Tampa after beating them the week before. Why can we not keep a level of consistency against these teams. If we were able to sneak out a win tonight, when our roster was depleted, why were we man handled the first time we met, when Andrei Markov was our lone casualty? Why did we collapse against the Rangers last month, only to beat them silly 6-0 a week later? BIG FRIGGIN REASON #2: After Toronna and Calgary pulled the trigger on HUGE deals that shipped off their underachieving "Players of the future" like Dion Phaneuf and Matt Stajan, at what point does the usually gun-shy Bob Gainey decide to do the same with Carey Price? I am the first one to say that we should keep our two #1 caliber guys, but after a win like last night, the so called "Hockey Intelligentsia" of Montreal won't be seeing it the same way I do. I know that every young goalie in this league struggled in his initial years, and that if teams like Pittsburgh were as impulsive as the "experts" in the Antichambre, they would be minus Marc-Andre Fleury, and minus a Stanley Cup banner.

We should be thrilled that we got two points, but maybe we should be disappointed that we missed so many great opportunities beforehand.

Peace True Believers,

E

How the hell did we win that one? Habs 3 Leafs 2 OT

I am in a room full of Maple Leaf fans to start Overtime, the tension is as thick as (insert fat person joke here). My fellow viewers are in good spirit, their team has almost 50 shots and just missed the net with less than ten seconds to go. The overtime started and the Canadiens got the puck into the Leafs zone. "Well at least they're actually going to get a shot on net..." And then boom, a lame duck shot by Andrei Kostitsyn, and game over. The entire room in shock. The Maple Leaf supporters stunned that their team put in such a strong effort only to come away with it with one measly point, and the Canadiens fans in the room, well, we did not know how we even got a point in the first place.

As Raymond Babbitt would say, "Definitely, D-D-Definitely a shitty game". I could just end it there by saying "Well a win is a win" but this one deserves a little more rant.

A lot of idiot Canadiens fans think that we should trade Jaro Halak, one of them going as far as saying that we could "Get Jeff Carter". Straight up. No, I was not polling the Shot put Bronze Medalist at the Special Olympics. At least that guy would have a concept of the way sports work. My point is that at this point, with Jaroslav being the only thing that keeps us in games, we should pray he does not get dealt.

Well we are back in a playoff spot, with three games in the next week, it should be either a great way to gain momentum or a terrible way to lose it.

Props to Tommy Pleks and Andrei Markov once again for top notch performances, and of course Jaroslav Halak, who will PROOOOOBABLY be between the pipes Monday night versus the Senators.

Finally to round out my report, I was kind of bored watching Team Canada physically and mentally raping Team Latvia 16-0. And since there are no Canadiens prospects playing for Canada, I am just looking for Patrice Cormier to kill a poor swiss-man tomorrow given his recent history of dirty hits.

Peace True Believers,

E

Halak being shipped???

Rumors continue to swirl about the future of our back-up Goaltender, and today it was announced that Bob Gainey had been trying to send Jaro to Philadelphia. I know you don't really care about my input, but here it is anyway.

Jaro Halak is a good goaltender, is he a #1 Tender? I am not really sure, he has shown flashes of brilliance over the past three years, and is always consistent, but really has never hit the level of #1 Goaltender. Knowing that, I am not sure we should send him to a team if all we are getting back is a 2nd round pick, a generous return for a back-up but not going to help our team after we lose a reliable guy who will always give us a chance for a win.

If we can possibly package him to get a top six forward then that would be stupendous. I have confidence that Curtis Sanford could step in to play decently as an actual back-up and not as a 1B goalie like Halak, and with another top six forward to play on a line with possibly Gomez and Gionta, we could really compete for a spot in the Post-Season.

The only question is, who do we offer in a package?

It would be detrimental to trade another young top round player like P.K. Subban, so all signs lead to shipping away Sergei Kostitsyn, a head case who could use a change of scenery, but with his brother Andrei finally heating up, trading away his younger brother might not be the best option.

This situation is too over analyzed anyway, because there is a big chance Jaro might not be traded at all this year, so maybe we should just chill and let things play out.

But that's no fun, is it?

Peace

E

Half n' Half Review & Preview.

So since there is another Canadiens game tonight, I am going to tee up that game as well as talk about yesterday's nail biter in the nation's capital. The Canadiens played scrappy last night, and played maybe 45 minutes of good hockey but the Capitals then took complete control and led an all out offensive where they were able to get one goal on a Brendan Morrison rebound. Kudos is due to Jaroslav Spacek and Roman Hamrlik who have stepped up incredibly since Andrei Markov's crippling injury. Carey Price continues to show all the haters why they should not be talking about Hockey with his inspired play and Tomas "Transamerica" Plekanec has shown that even someone who just underwent a sex change can be a man.

The Habs take on the Red Wings tonight, who just suffered a 2-1 Overtime loss versus the Florida Panthers last night. They will be out for blood and I beg of you Canadiens. DO NOT take this Detroit team lightly. They still have the all-world talent of Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Lidstrom out for them. They still are the reigning Western Conference Champions and 2008 Stanley Cup Champions, they can still come out and beat a team 5-0. I assume Jaroslav Halak will be starting tonight, so he has to get out to a good start and not let his long break come back to hurt him.

Get ready boys n' gals, the Habbies are playing well. But they have to take the next step.

Peace True Believers,

E

Game Preview #11 Islanders vs. Canadiens

Groundhog day for Montreal, that of course is a reference to the Bill Murray film where he relives the same day over and over again. Seems a little odd that the Habs entertain the Islanders at the Bell Centre for the second time in a week? But this is the same league that moved a Saturday game in Vancouver to 4 P.M. local time against the worst team in the league, so go figure.

These are not the Canadiens of two weeks ago, they seem determined and the first line has turned into one of the most exciting Canadiens trios in recent memory. Who remembers the Special K Line in the 2004 playoffs? (Zednik-Koivu-Kovalev). Why did they call it the Special K line? Maybe it was because it had two players whose names started with K and then a retarded Slovakian who never kept two hands on his stick...

But hey, Zednik is putting up respectable numbers, 6 points in 10 games this year. With Yarsolavl Lokomotiv...

Some game notes:

• Fresh off their hard working game against the Rangers, Matt D'Agostini and Guillaume Latendresse will play on the second line with Tomas Plekanec.
• This of course means that Andrei Kostisyn will be demoted. To the fourth line. Personally I have not seen any indication of talent from him this year and believe it is time to ship him and his no-show of a brother out of town. But I mean hey, I guess he makes some nice dekes, and he doesn't get injured, because he runs away when people try to hit him... So I guess he's alright.
• Jaro Halak will get his fourth straight start tonight, I have no problems with that, my only concern is that Carey Price does not get rusty sitting on the bench, as one slow start will only fuel the flames to the already out of hand "Goalie Controversy" the Blood Thirsty Jackals have fabricated.

That's it for now, there are some other games of note tonight, as the Leafs look for their first win of the season yet again, this time visiting the Ducks in South Cali. The Hawks and Wild hook up tonight as Marty Havlat plays his former team for the first time, and the surprisingly hot Phoenix Coyotes take on the Rangers who are fresh from their lesson on goalscoring from the Great Jewtalian, Mike Cammalleri.

Enjoy your Monday evening,

E

Game Preview #10 Rangers vs. Canadiens

Some little game notes before puck drop.

Game is only on CBC Montreal and RDS. Those baby eating individuals in Toronto decided to actually make Canuck fans go see a game a 4 PM Pacific Time, just so it will be on at 7 in Ontario so the entire country could watch the winless Maple Leafs yet again.

Well... at least we still have Bob Cole, who USED to do National games before he started losing control of his bowels...

Anyway. The Canadiens look for their third straight win, to get back to .500 and try to get back in the Eastern Conference fold. Look for Jaro Halak to start tonight, but in no way does this mean that he is our new #1, but he is damn hot, and Bob Gainey would be have to be smoking some pretty hard core hydro not to start him tonight.

Enjoy the game, and don't boo Chirs Higgins tonight, it is not his fault he only has two points and no goals so far this year, well, maybe it is...

Peace True Believers,

E

Update.

The Canadiens have signed PP specialist Marc-Andre Bergeron to a deal worth $750,000. Bergeron has a rocket of a shot but will start out his Canadiens career in Hamilton. He will try to bloster the blueline after the losses of O'Byrne and Markov.

Jaro Halak will be starting in goal tonight, making my points of "Price playing well" totally invalid. Carey will now have the chance to play in Vancouver, his home region, for the first time as a pro.

That's all for now.
Peace
E