A year to be proud of.

Well it's over.

Funny, we were THIS close to calling this edition of the Canadiens a team of destiny. So close, but you will not see me in mourning.

This team defied the odds and made heroes out of some, and pariahs out of others. This team refused to say die, losing their best defense man FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR with a 6 month injury, and going through yet another goalie contreversey where by the end of it, despite the inspired performance of Jaroslav Halak, is no where near to being answered.

Last year, when the Canadiens were trounced in the first round, I decided to blame the season's failures on one man, or one White Russian Pansy Transvestite to be exact. Mikhail Garbovski, who took out Andrei Markov and Mathieu Schneider and sent the Canadiens on an absolutely horrid tailspin. This year, I will again place the blame on an unusual source.

THE BOSTON BRUINS.

You guys effed it all up. I wasn't mad that you lost the first three games after being up 3-0, but it would have been all too perfect if you had just closed it out Game Seven. You would have been fragile, unsure, and missing David Krejci and Marco Sturm, two of your top six forwards! I can guarantee that the Canadiens would have put the wood to the Broons, and we would be looking at a showdown with the Hawks. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Even with a 3-0 lead in Game 7 you have to unceremoniously poop the bed.

For shame.

All kidding aside, I want to give some salutes to the players who showed their worth on this unforgettable run, and some of the players who weren't so lucky.

Mike Cammalleri: I salute you for being an upgrade to Alex Kovalev, you actually play well in the Playoffs AND the regular season.

Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta: I salute you for being on the only people trying during this Flyers series.

Hal Gill: I salute you for still being Hall Skill, even with one leg hacked into.

Josh Gorges: I salute you for being the last kid picked all your life, and still showing that you are Captain Material.

And now, the others....

Tomas Plekanec: Sorry that with your style of play and performance (or lack thereof...) in the playoffs makes you just a little too pricey for our team moving forward.

Marc Andre Bergeron: Sorry that while blessed with a rocket shot, you have Hockey aspergers.

Andrei Kostitsyn and Sergei Kostitsyn: Sorry for... just the get hell out of this town.

AAAAAND to Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak: Although you both can play, sorry that only one of you will be left in Montreal when next season starts.

Thats the obit for this year, thank you Bob Gainey for giving us a fun cast of characters to stand behind and give Montreal something to actually cheer about come the springtime.

Go Blackhawks. Hee hee

Peace, tonight you are all true believers,

E

Game 5 Don't give up just yet...

Well, I guess things aren't going exactly to plan.

After two stunning series victories the Canadiens have looked, well, like they did midseason when nothing was going right.

Really, 1 shot in the second period? Poop is kinda hitting the fan. Well it's not the time to give up just yet, the Habs have come back game after game after game, each time their backs were against the wall. This city just has to keep believing. They can still kick some ass, even if they are the big bad Flyers.

In other news, the Blackhawks advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1992 and seem to be a team on a mission, their deep group of talent is certainly impressive, with Olympic MVP Jonathan Toews, Calder Trophy winner Patrick Kane, Slovakian superstar Marian Hossa and Norris Trophy candidate Duncan Keith.. Whoever comes out of the East will have their hands full with that All Star line up.

Have faith boys n girls. The show ain't over yet.

Peace true believers,

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

Well, take a deep breath.

Okay, so we're down 2-0, have been outscored 9-0, out shot the Flyers, and do not really have a presence in this series at this point.

TIME TO PANIC????

Maybe.

Maybe it's time to pretend that we didn't just win two stunning playoff rounds, and that the entire city wasn't captivated by their great run full of inspiring performances.

Or, maybe we support this team and cheer for them no matter what, because we proved that we could do it, and proved that this team can skate with the best of them, suck it Leaf fans, many of you guys are waiting to write an obituary saying that the Habs suck, but it sounds mighty insecure coming from a team that along with the Panthers, are the only two clubs in the league who have not made the playoffs.

So, shut your pie holes.

Cheer on this team, they can still pull this off.

Peace True Believers,

E