Habs-Panthers: We interrupt this snow show

It happens to me once every season. Some type of crazy winter weather descends upon Montreal on the exact same day that I have Habs tickets. This time it was more snow than I've seen in weeks. Thanks, Snowpocalypse! At least our game didn't get cancelled on us, like those poor St. Louis Blues fans whose city appears to have shut down.

Streets were clear around the Bell Centre. It's just that Montreal turned into the Rockies.

In extreme weather situations, it's important to always have a plan. I had the tickets. Czechtacular had the Plekanec T-shirts. And Tomas Plekanec had to make us yell and cheer and scream until we were hoarse. Mission accomplished.

representing.

I don't need to tell you how long Czechtacular has been a Plekanec fan. (I have some choice quotes should you need proof, but you most definitely do not.) Yesterday somehow was the first time she had the chance to see him awarded with the Molson Cup. So, yeah, it was party time. And all the Czechs were invited.

A lot of people didn't really like last night's game, but I learned a lot while I was there. I got a better idea of the Florida Panthers' roster - no matter how hard I try, I always forget who plays for them. Now I understand that the Florida Panthers are to adult hockey players what the corner was to us when we were children: you go there when you've been bad. (Poor Steve Bernier. Poor Christopher Higgins, who inspired a lot of Habs almost-goals in the first period.) I learned that a little snow won't stop most people from going to a game at the Bell Centre. I found out who Andrei Markov had a crush on when he was 10 years old. I learned that if you ask enough questions about who Stephen Weiss is, he'll score a goal, so stop asking about Stephen Weiss. And I was reminded of something that we all probably knew: No matter what kind of day you've had, or how impossible it was to get to the Bell Centre, or who the Habs are playing or who's in net or who's injured, once the lights dim and the Canadiens hit the ice, nothing else matters.
And if you don't believe us, then you clearly didn't hear our voices after three periods' worth of screaming.

First star! Another Molson Cup in the making?

The year that was, the year that will be.

You're probably all missing Rookie right now, as I am not the most reliable of bloggers seeing as I have missed just about the last ...oh, five games in a row due to the holidays and really, just not being around. I even betrayed you all for a bit by entering the ACC at the same time the Habs were set to face off against Dallas. Note that missing this much hasn't happened in the last twelve years, which either says something about my poker-playing skills or bad train-scheduling abilities.

But the Habs haven't exactly made me feel terrible about missing their frustrating, heart-wrenching, goal-starved performances. My phone has almost been choked to death the number of times I refresh my GameCenter app, hoping it's lying to me. I get back in the car on the way home and callers always seem to be on the verge of becoming clone artists of Angry Sal. It's upsetting and certainly unsettling that this is what they're going through, but maybe sitting these games out is what allows me not to want to panic, and be almost alone in that boat.

Or maybe it's the experience. 1998 was not your bandwagon 2004 year by any means, and that's when I came on board. AKA slumps like these are not the worst I've seen.

This. This is probably the worst thing I've seen.

This year marked a lot of things for the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, which can (and should be) called upon to remember in times like these:

• Injuries, callups, demotions. Andrei Kostitsyn had knee surgery and Max Pacioretty ...he was just plain not ready. Despite all the flack he gets, Kostitsyn is still third in team scoring and leads with +9, whereas Pacioretty, after his excellent start in the AHL this season, was the lone guy to get on the board for the Habs last night.
• More injuries. The world seemed to end when Mike Cammalleri showed up in crutches to practice that day in February. Despite missing 17 games, he came back just in time for the playoffs and was instrumental in the Habs' run with 19 points in 19 games, 13 of them goals.

(But first we had to see him in That Suit. The one that did not look one bit like this one, unfortunately.)

• Pierre Gauthier named General Manager. In what can at best be called a bizarre move at a time no one expected anything from Bob Gainey, much less him stepping down, a new/old face stepped up to fill the void leaving Habs' fans more confused than before. He still gets questioned on a daily basis, but now it's "that Gauthier" instead of "that Gainey." More on what he HAS done later, though.
• Mid-February: P.K. Subban called up. His status then was God, with 39 points, a +29 and having all sorts of roles in record-breakers in Hamilton. His status now... not so much. I'm about to quote a girly movie, and I won't tell you which one, but we have to remember what used to be good, otherwise we won't recognize it if it hits us between the eyes.
• 24/7 has nothing on us. Possibly the best thing to happen to both the Penguins and the Capitals was facing the Habs in the playoffs this season. The two seven-game series were supposed to come out with different victors, but when does what's SUPPOSED to happen actually happen, anyway?
• Halaknophobia. Which is quite possibly the most amusing headline Canadiens.com has ever come up with, seeing as they're not Rookie. Who can forget the stop-signs and the walls and agent drama and goalie drama and putting that aside and just winning, for goodness' sake, and winning big. In the regular season, in the playoffs, bringing with it the hero status and The Trade. Oh no.
  
  
• And Pierre Gauthier's move eventually makes some bit of sense. The re-signing of Tomas Plekanec to a six year deal, keeping the guy who's currently leading the Canadiens in scoring where he should be and where he always pictured himself being despite the temptations of free-agency. It's a move that validates itself every day.
• Marc-Andre Bergeron: not re-signed. And thank your lucky stars. Could you imagine the state of the current D when he's what you have to rely on? Not that the suggestion won't be brought up again in these times of so-called peril #JustSayNo
• Guy Boucher named AHL Coach of the Year...only to wind up in Tampa Bay. And that's the last reference to last night's game that I think I'm going to safely be able to use in this post. But you have to admit it has enough bite to act as a motivator. Right? Right?
• Dan Ellis and Dustin Boyd to Montreal for S. Kostitsyn. Harsh critiques and Twitter-wars of massive proportions ensued in what would ordinarily be considered the least blockbuster-esque move in pre-July 1st history. Now, slowly but surely, Kostitsyn has found his niche in Nashville, which at least some of us wished for him (and even those that didn't can take solace in the fact that he's so far from this division it doesn't even matter), whereas Carey Price didn't even need Ellis, and Dustin Boyd, after a tumultuous heart-breaking series of waiver-trips, has exploded for ten goals in the AHL's longest goal-streak this season.
• Finally, a Captain. Brian Gionta was given the 'C', becoming the 28th player to wear it in the Habs' history. He now leads the team in goals (tied with Cammalleri) with 12 and shots with 150 (where he's also eighth in the whole league).
• Markov out again. Emphasis on again, because that word implies that it's happened before. It's starting to be felt only as of late, even if people might forget it happened back in November. That in itself is how far this team has come. Josh Gorges joins him now, and that's going to hurt more, but with injuries to the D comes the reminder of the LAST line of defense, which leads to...
• The resurgence of Carey Price. First stars and Molson Cups aplenty for the guy most had given up on last season, including him in trade rumours of the worst kind that are hopefully documented in many places where we can laugh at them. Who's that guy that didn't even make it to the All Star Ballot and is only behind--who is it? Marc-Andre Fleury in the goalie slot? Hmm.

I'm set to miss a sixth game in a row, unless Santa brought my grandfather RDS and didn't tell him about it. I'm going to go with no. And tonight the opponents are the Florida Panthers. Despite it being the second half of a back-to-back, call it just a little hunch that this team isn't about to surrender a 2010-ending W that easily.

New layout, Panthers mini-preview

In celebration of our one year anniversary, I decided to spruce things up a bit here at HIHW. It was definitely time for it!

Meanwhile, the version of the Habs affectionately known as Team B won again tonight at the Bell Centre, a 4-3 win at the expense of the Minnesota Wild and a familiar face we all know to love, hate, and can't help but want to feed (now that he's gone, anyway). The line of Dustin Boyd, Ryan White and (inner celebration) Max Pacioretty was the best for the Canadiens as Andreas Engqvist and Brendon Nash were two others who got on the board.

Tomorrow the action FINALLY returns to proper television. My crush on Felix Seguin is well-documented but this "on the fly" business over at RIS has been more painful than useful in terms of keeping up with our boys.

Opponent: Florida Panthers
Just in time for the game, panthers.nhl.com has a reader on Chris Higgins. The ex-Hab did not play in yesterday's game against the Bruins.

The Panthers, meanwhile, have recorded wins in all three preseason contests disputed thus far. Youngsters Erik Gudbranson (drafted third overall this year) and Keaton Ellerby have played important roles and will be featured in their fourth straight game tomorrow, and Florida is also expected to play Tomas Vokoun along with notables Stephen Weiss, Radek Dvorak, David Booth, Dennis Wideman, Bryan McCabe and Bryan Allen. (source)

And hopefully Dmitry Kulikov. Just sayin'.

A variation of Team A that, according to Renaud Lavoie, doesn't include Louis Leblanc or Jarred Tinordi (gasp!) will be on hand for the Habs. It all gets underway at 7:30. Cue the remotes (finally!)

Think Of Me

I meant to blog earlier, but your day kind of gets messed up when you go to pick up the morning paper, eyes still half-closed, and are greeted with a front-page picture of Travis Moen's busted-up face.

Okay, yes, I know it must probably suck more to be Moen and almost lose an eye and require three layers of stitches, but still, think of the children. And me.

Can someone try to fashion him some kind of Phantom of the Opera thing to wear, at least off ice? I'm sure it's good for misdirection during game time, but other than that...

I think it would work. (Better than my Photoshop skills, at least.) I promise not to sing "Music of the Night" anymore!

Oh, and about that game: funny how a face injury can make a player even more intense than he previously was. Brian Gionta reminded us why he's maybe the awesomest dude ever. RDS' almost mocking comments of Tomas Vokoun were proven right, so I bet his self-esteem is off the charts right now. Oh, and imagine I'm ~czechtacular expressing glee at Tomas Plekanec's 100th career goal (empty net or no).

All in all, I think our team is ready for the playoffs. (Against a team other than Buffalo, I hope.) And yes, I think they're also ready for June and July to roll around so they can get some rest and avoid errant pucks and skate blades.

No more purring: Game preview 26-03-2010

If you've seen Away We Go (completely forgotten come awards season, wtf, and people were bellyaching about 500 Days of Summer getting snubbed) you might remember the scene where the main characters watch their friends' children go to bed after watching the "Goodnight" song from The Sound of Music. They think that's where the movie ends because their parents always turn off the TV after that, saving them from watching all the evil Nazi stuff.

I kind of wish someone could have done that for me about 55 minutes into last night's game, which was looking a whole lot like a bizarro version of the last Sens game until, depending on who you ask:
a) rope-a-dope time was over
b) Ryan Miller's teammates suddenly realized that they, too, play hockey.

Seriously, if I was a Buffalo Sabre I'd be buying Miller more presents than Tiger Woods' wife has probably been receiving since December.

In any case, the team's going to leave the past behind them to face the Panthers at home tonight. Jaroslav Halak is back in nets and Travis Moen's eye situation seems to be fixed, bringing his grand total of sick days this season to 1.

He probably looks like this though

No word yet on who will sit out now that #32's back in the lineup.

~czechtacular ETA: thank you Mr. Stubbs: "Moen and Lapierre play tonight. Darche, Metropolit and Maxwell healthy scratches."

Rookie ETA: and I was a little, erm, positive in my assessment of Moen's face, as the words "black eye" have never been truer. There goes my Locke joke.

Roar.

"Jordan Leopold" sounds like a turn-of-the-century poet's name. That kind of guy would never want to crush Mike Cammalleri. Thus, Jordan Leopold, you fail. (photo yoinked from Habs Inside Out)

Okay, so I'm not scared that our team is out of the playoffs just yet. Honestly, since when did so much negativity get anyone anywhere? (Right. It's how a fraction of sports journalists make their money. If I was willing to write "WTF? No more playoffs, ever" in this blog every day I'd probably be driving an Escalade everywhere instead of taking the metro.)

Tonight's loss against the Panthers was a stupid unlucky one; the kind of loss that hurts mostly because the other team didn't deserve to win. (Sorry, Shawn Matthias. You had a good game and all, but even you admitted that you scored a "garbage goal.")
It was an uncharacteristically inconsistent game for Andrei Markov, which hurts to admit, but we saw a great goal by Plekanec and a decent shot on goal by O'Byrne. So no, I haven't given up on this team just yet after a one-game losing streak.

More Habs tomorrow, this time against the Lightning, so get ready for a Lecavalier lovefest. (And maybe, just maybe a St. Louis lovefest if there's time. Steven Stamkos must love RDS because they don't hound him as much as anglo Canadians do.)

By the way, did anyone watching the game on RDS notice that Pierre Houde and Benoit Brunet wore matching outfits?

First win in 2010!

What's better: winning or Paul Mara's beard?

Good job, Jaro, for shutting out the Florida Panthers. Good job, team, for doing what needed to be done so very badly... and also taking the advice of the analysts between periods. (Maybe now they'll shut up.)

A fine goal by Benoit Pouliot in the closing seconds of the first (from now on, that kind of thing is dubbed the "Reverse Steve Begin") and a cute little empty-netter by Brian Gionta made sure that the Panthers did not have the puck where they wanted it to be. The Habs also avoided penalties (for the most part), so I guess we should be applauding their good behaviour.