Plus/Minus: More treats than tricks?

So I saw a little kid dressed up as Wolverine for Halloween, and for the first time in two weeks I didn't think to myself that if superheroes were real, the Habs could really use one, maybe on the third line or something.
Because holy crap, the losing streak is over. Maybe our appetites can go back to normal.

PLUS

Feels so good to see a triple low five again!

+ 3 They won! Three games!
1/2 of a + The new sets that RDS built for l'Antichambre and for panelists during away games are great. It looks like RDS actually spent money on them, and we know RDS has money. (But I took away half of this Plus because that money probably came from putting ads on the glass.)
+ Raphael Diaz jumping in front of the net and blocking a shot? Brilliant.
+ To whoever decided to end the disastrous run of Carey's pink pads. I don't think I can take credit for this, but if you think the Canadiens listened to me, I won't stop you. Carey himself told Dave Stubbs that the choice to put the pink away "came from higher up." No one seems to know exactly who he means... but you can leave your theories in the comments!

MINUS
- The Bruins fan in Boston on Thursday who repurposed this sign:

and changed the Canucks logo to a Habs one, obviously. Do these people not know that there's an H inside that C, and that sCHared isn't a word?
- They fired Perry Pearn? I know you can't start a fire without a spark, but no one in this city actually believes that Pearn was the problem.
- So, Raffi Torres dressed up as Jay-Z for Halloween and there was a picture of it on the Internet and things hit the fan. It was ugly. Some people didn't think it mattered, or immediately came to his defense, some journalists got on their high horse as if they were the only person who knows blackface is wrong, and some people jumped to the immediate conclusion that Torres is an atrocious human being. And somehow, no one came to the conclusion that he's a person who did an offensive (and probably misguided, considering he should have thought about pictures of him maybe being on the Internet) thing. One Halloween costume might not actually mean that he's a racist, just like how a person who says one smart thing is not, by default, an intelligent person. Can we please look at this as an isolated incident in his personal life, learn from it, and move on?

On another note, today being October 31st means that tomorrow is November 1st, officially marking the start of Movember, when men will grow mustaches and raise money for prostate cancer research. And yes, just like last year, there will be hockey players taking part. (You may remember last year's NHL Movember post, which was so much fun to write. You may also remember Carey Price posting hourly shutouts every day last Movember, even when he was off the ice, because his mustache was that magic.) My All Habs teammate Bailey and I are collaborating on this Tumblr page about hockey mustaches. Check back throughout the month, and if you can, you should donate to the cause.

Plus/Minus: And there goes the preseason

The Habs' preseason ended on a high note, and now they can happily go off to their out-of-town team bonding sleepaway camp thing. Or, as I call it, "last chance to wear sweatpants in public."

BETTER THAN KNOWING THAT REAL HOCKEY IS AROUND THE CORNER

Welcome back, boys

+ What a great way for the Habs to end their preseason: with a solid win. Scott Gomez is playing like the player he needs to be. Seeing Josh Gorges and Max Pacioretty back on the ice, right before, nearly brought me to tears. Seeing Josh Gorges wear an A on his jersey nearly made me do a spit take, in the best of ways.

+ Last week, I forgot to comment on RDS' addition of Marc Denis between the benches. He replaces Joel Bouchard, who kind of had tunnel vision and needed to conduct most of his interviews in a language that he didn't speak as well as he thought he did. Marc Denis seems at ease in his new role, less nervous on camera than he usually is on RDS, and has very good English interview skills.
+ Josh Gorges is a superhero. I'm sure of it. 

+ I love you, Brian Gionta.

+ Robyn, aka LadyHabs, is even more jazzed about this than I am, but it has to be said: There seems to be a really good sense of team spirit right now. Players are sticking up for each other in the face of evils such as Ryan Malone.

TV + Casey Wilson is absolute perfection on Happy Endings.
+ New Girl picked up the first full-season renewal this fall, and it's a match made in heaven: 24 episodes of a show that's fun to watch and needs a little more time to reach its full potential. It might be too early in the season to say so, but so far I think Fox's Tuesday night lineup is my favourite night of TV. Why does hockey have to be on at the same time?

WORSE THAN KNOWING THE "IT'S ONLY PRESEASON" ARGUMENT WON'T WORK ON ANGRY PEOPLE ANYMORE

- That picture up there? That's a page from the special Canadiens section of an issue of the Metro newspaper this week in Montreal. (It's a free newspaper, handed out at metro stations all over the city.) It's basically a guide on where to go to see Habs players off the ice, compiled by a blogger who would know all about that since he's got papparazzi and restaurant connections all over the city. It's disrespectful. Yes, I know, I make the "last chance to wear sweatpants in public" joke every year, but that's based on my belief that you never know when you'll be at a restaurant or a pharmacy or wherever and run into a Habs player out of sheer luck. For someone who already does enough snooping and creeping online to use a mainstream media outlet (and a free one, at that) to further try and invade whatever privacy our boys have left is beyond presumptuous.

- Oh, Wayne Simmonds. You can't be the victim of intolerance one week and go throwing slurs at people the next. As I said in Thursday's post, we all need to change the way we interact. 

TV - So... The X Factor really is on, like, every day but Tuesday, isn't it? (love you, Fox Tuesday!)

- Can we talk about how New Lily on Modern Family can suddenly speak in full sentences? Did the show skip ahead further in time than I thought, or has Cameron been, like, giving her those Rise of the Planet of the Apes injections or something? I know that the ability to give Lily dialogue mines her comic potential a little deeper than previously possible, but it just doesn't make sense that she's suddenly verbose.

- Why is Pan Am about, like, ten different things, and why does it make me not want to live in the sixties anymore? 

Lately I've been having trouble sleeping through the night if I'm too excited for something. It's Sunday and hockey starts on Thursday. This is going to be a long week.

My twelve

Taking this challenge was supposed to be no sweat. After all, the rules can be summed up in twelve Habs' names, opening night, and your own opinion, so it's not as serious as it would be if it were cemented in stone, right?

Then the telling word. Explain. Oh. Uhhh.

If I were to totally go nuts with this my first line would look like Palushaj-Desharnais-Dumont but I'll spare you having to read any of that because JMart's spared ME the possibility of even imagining it (rude).

So, somewhat rational thinking ahead:

Kostitsyn-Plekanec-Cammalleri
Pleks is the main cog of this line and I just don't see the other two away from him. Kostitsyn, well, we've tried him with other guys and it just doesn't seem to have the same flavour. I do not see him anywhere near Gomez, that's for sure. Relegating him any lower than that is silly and will surely only backfire. Meanwhile, Cammy and Pleks seem to have Siamese-brain complex. One always finds the other no matter where they are on the ice. The result, if they don't overthink it, is usually the back of the net. No issues there.

Pacioretty-Gomez-Gionta

In which I am laughed out of the blogosphere. Probably. Okay. Injuries and whatnot have indeed gotten in the way of Pac's development and I've read a lot of arguments in favour of giving him more time to blossom in Hamilton--I am not fully against this. However, this is still just opening night. It's not for nothing that he's still around, and he should be given a few games to get his bearings and at the very least, enjoy the company of two bona fide veterans like Gomez and Gionta and work hard like we know he can (and has lately) to stay there with them. If it doesn't work out, fine. There is a taxi squad for that. And here again, I see him benefiting from more ice time, not less.

Moen-Eller-Lapierre
Grit is the usual term associated with this line and they have it. While Eller is probably more technical than shutdown, he has enough savvy to be both. The energy that the other two bring should be nicely complemented by his vision and they can support (and defend) him if needed.

Pyatt-Boyd-White
Kid line? Energy line? They don't have a name but come to think of it, they probably don't need one. All three are battlers in their own right, with varying levels of experience but just looking for the right chemistry that they just haven't found yet.

Extras: Halpern, Pouliot
Having followed Pou's camps in Minnesota to some varying degrees of success, nothing ever really stuck out for me, as I am sad to report is the case again this year. He'll have chances to work at it for sure, I'm just not entirely certain he warrants a curtain call right now. And Halpern probably fits in at 4th line, I just saw Boyd fitting in better. As for the Darches and Maxwells of the world, try as I might to rearrange their names up in the 12+ they just didn't stick anywhere I placed them. I need better tape. Or rosters just need to be longer.

Cut from his own mold

Partly because I haven’t written anything in forever, partly because I am face-deep in training camp fever from working on one of my own, partly because I was challenged by George Prax to do so, I would like you all to get acquainted with Gabriel Dumont.

Despite the prelude to Bieber-hair in this particular roster shot, this kid is serious business, so take the time to read carefully.

The Montreal Canadiens’ 5th round selection of 2009 had a fair share of hype coming out of Midget AAA, a league he led in scoring as he joined Drummondville Voltigeurs for their 25th season. Scoring 72 points in 39 games with Rivière-du-Loup, he was widely regarded as the next Voltigeurs’ phenomenon on the heels of Columbus’ Derick Brassard. Another stat from that stellar AAA season…127 penalty minutes. That was the side that the lucky followers of the Q got to see out of him as a rookie, though he only played in eight games that first year.

During that short time, Dumont and fellow rookie (now captain of the Voltigeurs, invited by Tampa Bay—not by fluke—to their training camp) Marc-Olivier Vachon formed one of the more difficult lines to play against in their division, along with veteran Gaby Roch. Both new kids on the block had defense as one of their added specialties as players. Meanwhile, Roch himself had 203 penalty minutes that year, tops in the league. One would think that a linemate like him would be THE ideal protection from guys who at that point were surely twice the height of the rookies in question. But when plays got chippy, Roch wasn’t always the first one to make it to the scrums.

Instead, right there in the line of fire was Dumont. And he was happy—thrilled, even, to be there.

In 2007-08, it was a role he relished even more in his first “real” season, one that was cut short by injury. On a team categorized by a word his coach, Guy Boucher, would come to hate—rebuilding—Dumont dug in his heels as a gritty, hard-nosed player often compared to the likes of Max Talbot (though I myself try never to use that example by reason of sheer bias). On a team essentially composed of first-year players, with veterans jumping ship or being traded away midseason, he emerged as an early leader along with Vachon and another eventual Habs’ prospect: Philippe Lefebvre. The scoring machine from the previous year had taken on a different role that suited him nicely, yet hadn’t even made it to its peak yet.

The season that came after that miserable 14-win hellhole (to put it nicely. Let’s just say that at that point, watching games on Telus’ site was free, and for Voltigeurs’ fans, justifiably so.) was one that the people who know me best dread hearing about even today. Yes, it was that epic.

Dumont’s role significantly increased before 2008-09 even started. He was one of few familiar faces on the hodgepodge assembled over the summer by GM Dominic Ricard. Think what happened last year with Bob Gainey: handpicking names you knew were good once but had no idea if they could bring you to the same degree of success they’d enjoyed all on their own. More rookies, a couple of NHL-drafted guys, a whole new set of 20 year olds…zero certainty.

Luckily, Yannick Riendeau and Dany Massé did what was least expected of them and ripped through the whole league, combining for 236 points. Mike Hoffman and Christopher DiDomenico also had a helping hand in rising GAAs all over Quebec and the Maritimes, while Dumont became even tougher to play against. His point-getting self was back on track (28 G, 21 A in 51 GP), and he finished fourth on the team in shots (while heading the so-called checking line).

It was only in the ensuing Memorial Cup tournament that people started to take notice, however. Despite his lack of being able to actually pronounciate it without making me cringe, Peter Loubardias has Dumont’s name tattooed to his brain from calling those games. With 18 shots on goal, one of those having turned into the all-important overtime winner against Rimouski, “Mr. Clutch” isn’t even enough of a worthy description of how much Dumont’s hard work and relentless everything categorized how far Drummondville went in that tournament. Fine, you say, he scored twice in four games. So what? Well. Here’s where it’s time to pull out the medical file:

• Shoulder hanging on “by two ligaments”,
• Knee injury,
• Mangled thumb,
• Broken toe,
• Two (that's 2!) charley horses.

Not to reduce the role of the other MVPs, mainly the aforementioned four plus Marco Cousineau, but Dumont’s Memorial Cup performance was enough to call fifth round in the NHL Draft a steal.

And then there was last season.

The former Rivière-du-Loup captain showed his goal-scoring colours. With the majority of the big names from the previous year out of the way, here was his time to shine. Finishing with the most goals in the league (51) and third place in the scoring race (93), he again played through injury in the Voltigeurs’ near-finals appearance, still managing to put up 11 goals and 10 assists in 14 games—with a broken hand.

Big numbers for a small guy. One who was not remiss in the defensive category either, for it was he who won the Guy Carbonneau Trophy aka the Q’s version of the Selke.

His coach Mario Duhamel had this to say about his 2009-10 season: “When I coached against him last season, his role was different. He was an intense player with an incredible work ethic who tried to get under your skin. What I had to do was to make sure that my players kept their cool and not get him going physically because he is so tough. This season, coaching him, I gave him a role on the top line with Sean Couturier hoping he could help make room for him and knowing he could get his share of goals but I didn't expect quite so much. The thing is, at first, you are happy that he is having such a hot streak but, at this point, it has been going on long enough that it's no longer a streak and we realize that we have a scorer who can do all the things he did last season and a lot more.”

After the season ended in Drummondville he had another pit-stop to make: Hamilton. Upon signing his entry-level contract and rejoining head coach Guy Boucher he immediately resumed his Memorial Cup tournament ways, picking up his first professional goal in only a few games with limited ice time and of course, the probably-not-quite-healed hand. His teammates also took an immediate liking to him and his less-than-friendly approach with adversaries, and it helped that there were enough injuries to allow him more of an experience than he would have had otherwise. Even with no Guy Boucher this year, he will definitely look to pick things up where he left them off last season.

And there’s room for surprises, too.

“Players in the Gabriel Dumont mold, there aren’t many, whether it be with the Canadiens or any other organization,” Dominic Ricard said when his protégé was drafted. “He’s a special player, really in a class of his own.”

“Of course, players his size usually have a longer road to the professional ranks, for example, they could come back to play junior at 20 years old, but with the right amount of perseverance, they end up making room for themselves.”

Interesting.

Stay tuned.

- Quotes : McKeen's Hockey (link) and L'Express (link)

When pucks get a mind of their own...

Something really crappy happened yesterday.



photo cred: E. Bolté, 24heures. don't worry, we're cool. I give him lineup sheets all the time.
Five overtimes (five periods, actually, but it felt like five overtimes) and no dice. The Montreal Junior lost three consecutive games after being up 3-1 in the series. Gatineau took the series in 7.

And I really do mean TOOK the series. They grabbed it by the horns and never let go. Thankfully I have no problems in hoping Saint John (team #3 in my Q radar if you're counting) puts them in their place. Being the little opportunists that they are, though, the Olympiques should be right on task to give the Sea Dogs more of a pestulent attitude about being the lowest seed in Round 2 than, say, PEI did in Round 1.

As for the Junior, well, I want to discuss one little thing. The goal that got away.

It was a shot from the red line that bounced off the back glass as Jean-François Bérubé was backing up. Somehow the puck got between his right pad and, with the obvious movement pattern, the wrong side of the red line. Poor guy was absolutely furious. I was about ten rows up from the incident and couldn't stop staring at the puck as he kept slamming his stick against the ice. I couldn't believe that that was it. The goal that ended a season.

It fit the situation, but not the game. Both teams fought for almost 82 minutes of play and the Junior players' adrenaline was practically seeping out of their eyes as they threw everything they had at Olympiques 'tender Maxime Clermont. The first overtime should have been it. They were right there. But somehow, Clermont found the puck, even lay on it once and didn't move a centimetre for fear of his life.

As for JF, as angry as he is right now, it'll be a huge building block in his character. No one blames him (or should) for a freak accident like that, and as someone who tends to be irrational in his case, neither do I. If his former teammate Jake Allen found his way out of the events last January to wind up with the best GAA in the CHL (and I have a feeling it won't stop there), I have no doubts that Bérubé will be able to come out in a big way next year.

What I really want to say is that this doesn't just apply to the Q. Bad goals happen, "are part of the game," and really sure do suck a lot, but finger-pointing isn't the way to deal with it. Just a few words to keep in mind for a certain NHL team we happen to love a lot and that's fighting for its life right now.

A higher, faster, stronger Plus/Minus

Last week I actually wondered how I'd review a week with no Canadiens. Turns out it was much easier than expected, especially since last night the team I cheered for got beat by Ryan Miller and his ugly helmet, and I woke up to find out that other fans were whining about goalies. ("Luongo" was a Twitter trending topic the day after Brodeur started. My days of no goalie conflicts were good while they lasted.)

PLUS

+ for the superfans: the Vancouver Green Men who've been having their fun at the Olympics, and to the "He Shoots He Scores" gentleman who never misses a chance to cheer on Canadian hockey at an international level. (King blogger Dennis Kane mentioned him earlier this week, before I got the chance to, and I'm glad to know I'm not the only fan.) Does anyone know anything about this man? Should we give him a nickname? I'm thinking Mr. Canada, unless you think Hayley Wickenheiser wouldn't mind sharing the title of Captain Canada.
+ Our Hamilton Bulldogs for their 5-0 win on home ice at the Bell Centre. Yes, I said home ice.
+ for our medallists, for their hard work and their sheer glee at making it to the podium, and to the athletes who didn't win medals but gave it their all and just happened to be outdone by stronger/luckier contenders.
+ to the silver and bronze medallists in women's snowboard cross, who instead of being disappointed that they couldn't catch up to Maelle Ricker, acted like they were too happy to share the podium with her and share a happy moment with Canadians. It was a fantastic display of sportsmanship.
+ James Duthie has won me over during these Games. He's been relaxed and affable and he holds nothing back, from his burns on Michael Landsberg to his WTF face at the atrocity that is MuchMusic's ski cabin.
+ An enemy plus goes to Shaun White, who's ridiculously good and so fun to watch on the halfpipe. He makes me want to try snowboarding, even though I know it's not as easy as he makes it look.

MINUS

- Can anyone else believe the horrible taste that the Globe and Mail and Chartered Accountants displayed by running this ad mere days after the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili?
- to all the people who can't make up their mind about these Olympic Games. They say that our women's hockey team is too arrogant by finishing games with such high scores, and that the Own the Podium program is un-Canadian, and yet the very same media outlets will bitch and moan when a medal hopeful doesn't pick up any hardware. You can't complain about having one of the best teams in the world in one sport, and then picking on other Canadian athletes and calling them "disappointing"or saying they "choked" when they place fifth. How can anyone possibly be disappointed that their country raised and trained one of the best athletes in the world, even if they're not the number-one best? The shame shouldn't lie on the drooping shoulders of an exhausted, medal-less athlete, but on every un-patriotic countryman stupid enough to criticize them from the comfort of a couch or an office chair.
- to the genius who wrote to the Gazette this week and said that un-firing Georges Laraque would solve all of the Canadiens' problems (which he listed, by the way). Sure, having a little extra muscle might help during a time when all pucks seem to be directed at Habs' heads, but it's quite clear that Laraque was let go because things just weren't working out with him. I don't see how his return would change everything for this team, especially since the same end could be met by different means: finding another fighter before the trade deadline, begging Tom Kostopoulos to come back, reversing Greg Stewart's waiver situation, calling up Eric Neilson, or giving Travis Moen and Maxim Lapierre a slap in the face and a whole lot of Red Bull to get them good and angry. But I doubt that a fight here or there is what's keeping this team from the Cup finals. (I know I just played armchair GM after criticizing someone else for doing just that, and I'm sorry.)
- on a more serious note, our condolences go out to figure skater Joannie Rochette, who as of this writing has chosen to compete on Tuesday despite her mother's passing. It's not the kind of emotional situation that anyone should have to go through.

Well, it's been another week of ups and downs (mostly downs if you're anyone but me) but there's hope for our Olympians yet. And once the Olympics are over, there will be hockey.

Plus/Minus switches its CH for a Team Canada jersey

Earlier this week Tom Pyatt said "There's lots of action going on here in Montreal." That was pretty accurate - the last week or so has definitely given us a lot to talk about. Now that changes for a couple of weeks. No Habs games means I have more time to watch Lost. It also means less Roman, less Carey, less Metro... but it also means more Kim St-Pierre. 

Plus

+ to #14 for ending Washington's 14-game winning streak.
+ Our Hamilton callups were a huge part of the team this week, both literally and figuratively. They were fantastic - all thirty-five of them.
+ Scott Gomez was great this week. Two goals, plus he didn't back away from Chris Pronger after Friday's game.
+ to one of our favourite bloggers, JT from The H Does Not Stand For Habs, whose comments section became a minor firestorm of francophone backlash this week after she commented on this city's need for a French-speaking GM. Some people apparently weren't very happy with her, and it was ridiculous criticism for one of the most level-headed and knowledgeable amateur journalists this team has. I'm not going to go into it any further because talking about the language issue as it relates to the Canadiens is like hitting on a gay guy: I can say whatever I want but it's not going to change anything.

+ She looked a little disappointed that she didn't win gold, but I'm still proud of Jennifer Heil's silver in moguls, and of all our Olympians so far, including skier Alexandre Bilodeau who just made history by becoming the first Canadian athlete to win a gold medal in Canada.
+ Team Canada!!! Watching Olympic hockey is part of what got me back into watching hockey, so I'm looking forward to the next two weeks. Hayley Wickenheiser is so awesome.

The biggest + of the week A plus and a big thank you go out to all the readers who made comments this week and increased my donations to the Canadian Cancer Society, to those of you who will comment after I type this, and to everyone who's helped spread the word and to everyone who's going to match our total donation. So far that's only one person, but it still makes $4 for every comment! This plus is also for NHL Arena boards poster bMac for designing the "Comments = Donations" graphic mere hours after I asked for it.

He's from Ontario and he's not even a Habs fan but he helped the cause regardless of his allegiances, so a Hal Gill-sized thanks goes out to him.
I had originally said that the charity drive would end with this Plus/Minus, but you've got until midnight on February 15th instead so say anything you want until then!


Minus

- Geez, what's with the head injuries? It's bad enough that we've already got a variety of injuries on this team.  Two Habs were carted off the ice this one week bleeding from the head... I have my suspicions as to why the injury fairy's been going crazy on us lately, which I might share when the time is right. But Gorges and Spacek get a plus within this minus for picking themselves up and not missing the next game, just because they're badass like that.

- I don't like giving minuses to players, but it kind of hurt to see our goaltenders not playing as well as we know they can against the Flyers. This isn't necessarily a minus to them (there's enough hate directed our goalies as it is) but rather to the way that Saturday's game turned out.

- I already expressed my anger about Michael Leighton taking up with P.K. Subban after Friday's game. Stupid, unsportsmanlike, and completely useless to mess with a guy after his first NHL game, because there's no way Leighton could have any beef with him.

I'm not used to seeing the Habs calendar only half-full, but it is. So, go Canada, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the world brings to the table.

On beating the Capitals

Every now and then, a team will play a game that says a lot about them as a team, and as a franchise.

Last night's 6-5 OT win against the Washington Capitals was that kind of game.

The Canadiens proved that there's a lot to be proud of. Our prospect development might be seeing a turnaround, as Tom Pyatt and David Desharnais recorded their first NHL points. Our small forwards (that ever-popular joke material) played big. Even Scott Gomez got in on the game. You know it's a special night when Gomez scores a goal. The team proved that when they really get things going, they can overcome pretty much any challenge.

It was also the proof, once and for all, that some idiots will never be happy with this team. They didn't seem to notice that the Canadiens ended the Capitals' 14-game winning streak, a feat that not even the reigning Stanley Cup champions were able to accomplish. I'm not even sure these people even know the Habs won. Hell, some of them (I won't name names, but they're people who should know better) couldn't even stop player-hating long enough to acknowledge that their home team won. Two points, hello? Isn't that a good thing? They couldn't even set aside the so-called "goalie controversy" long enough to realize that Jaroslav Halak might need some rest, and that it's maybe not a good idea to have him start every game before our Philadelphia aller-retour, tire himself out, then jump on a plane to Vancouver, be Slovakia's go-to guy for the Olympics, and come back and play some more. Even if this was the case, there'd be more bellyaching no matter where the Canadiens wind up in the standings come season's end.

People like this are exactly the reason why we haven't won the Stanley Cup in over a decade. There, I said it. You know what else I'm going to say? Congratulations, Habs, on an exciting win despite a slew of injuries and a really tough opponent.

This drama's for yo mama.

Surprise surprise, another story about a locker room split!

Montreal Forum host Tony Marinaro reports that there was an altercation in the locker-room following the 4-3 overtime loss to St. Louis last Wednesday. The reported altercation took place between defensemen Andrei Markov and goalie Carey Price. Marinaro reports Markov approached Price and said “If you are not going to play with heart, stay home. We don’t need you here.” Several players came to the defense of Price, while others sided with Markov.

For those keeping tabs, the latest practice altercation featuring Cammalleri and Lapierre came the morning after this alleged event.

Seriously,

Come on now.

For the rest of us who would much rather prefer to focus on the on-ice product (which yesterday only allowed Randy Tieman to put together 47 seconds of decent highlight footage, so there you have it, no need for my own commentary), here are some sure-fire ways to avoid feelings of rage while watching a Habs game:

- Baking. Yes, baking. It gives you something to do, the intermissions are less dull, positive aromas make for a positive mood, and if by some miracle the lead actually manages to be held you can feast happily later on. If you feel you'll burn the house down, however, maybe making popcorn will suffice. Props if you do that the old-fashioned way that doesn't take two to three minutes, and don't manage to involve the fire department.

- Muting the TV and putting the radio on to classical music as you watch. I tried this with a friend during the last Stanley Cup Finals and it was surprisingly effective.

- Or, if you're not into classical music, muting the TV and making your own play by play. Inspiration for this goes to the fellow at Peel Pub this Saturday who took advantage of the RDS sound blackout to make his own personal debut. It may have consisted of "and now he passes to the other guy, now back to the other guy, to his friend here the other guy!" but it was still highly entertaining, especially when the Habs scored immediately afterwards.

- Last but not least, if the game is on TSN, there's always the Pierre McGuire Drinking Game:
Hint: It doesn't necessarily limit itself to use during the World Juniors.
(thanks to thecheckingline.com.)


Now Habs. Let's bust that Lightning win streak. No preview post, because y'all should be looking for recipes right about now.

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?

A Plus/Minus in a week that almost wasn't

This was almost a week without minuses. No, really, somehow I was so optimistic that this week I found myself minus any minuses. But thanks to you guys, I waited until the most depressing day of the year to post this.
This was also the week where Montreal took advantage of a few days off to take care of business: long-awaited hospital visits, well-deserved rest for both the players and the player haters (thanks again, Burrows-Auger scandal), and the grand opening of our very own Hall of Fame.

PLUS

+ 3: one to the NHL for its donation of $100,000 to Haitian relief efforts, one for the Canadiens' charity initiative this week, and one to the other NHL teams who are reaching out to Haitian quake victims.

+ the Habs made a bunch of little kids and their familiies happy this week by opening a new rink in Mtl-North and by visiting the childrens' hospitals.

+ 2 Georges Laraque. Scored. A goal. And the rest of the team also played very, very well against the Stars.

+ Dave Stubbs for asking fans for help in identifying a song (and getting help from another favourite of mine, the hilarious Manny Almela), for another great human-interest piece (this one about Glen Met and Trevor Daley growing up in the projects), and because last week I forgot to give him a plus for his sweet, sweet bowtie.

+ The Canadiens Hall of Fame, which I haven't visited yet but will soon. If anyone's been already, send pictures!!

+ Say what you will about his recent performance (lots of people have, but I'm nice), Max Pacioretty could teach a master class in drawing penalties for the opposite team. Thanks for the power plays, little Max!

MINUS

- I'm not starting another Ryan Miller-type feud or anything, but what is it about Mike Brodeur that makes him invincible at the Bell Centre?

- I'm giving myself a minus for jinxing last night's game, when the only thing I've ever wanted to give Sean Avery is a black eye.
- The only thing worse than losing two games in two days is hearing everyone bitch and moan about it. I'm really sick of hearing others complain these days, so you'll probably hear some whining on my part as well.

- And this hockey blog's biggest minus of the week goes to a guy who doesn't play hockey.

I would like to thank Jay Leno for proving that his nightly ten o'clock show isn't, as I had previously believed, the thing that killed television. No, instead he decided to kill TV by getting his old timeslot back and taking away our Conan O'Brien in the process. It's basically the TV equivalent of all this Carey vs. Jaro quibbling, only neither of them will come out on top. They've been replaced by some old, fat starter who could apparently stop a puck back in the nineties, but never takes a risk or plays with passion. But the GM likes him and the sponsors like him. Even though he SUCKS.
Yes, Hab It Her Way is with CoCo.

A bit of extra plus for the most depressing day of the year
To end things on a more positive note, today is a special day:
#21 turns 31 today, and wretched network NBC gave him a shoutout by putting former Superman Brandon Routh on tonight's Chuck. Have a Giontastic birthday!

On this day in 1958, before Martin Luther King Jr. day was declared a holiday, Willie O'Ree broke the colour barrier and became the first black man to play in an NHL game when he suited up for the Bruins right here in Montreal.
(Yes, I'm still sharing all the little bits of history that I come across.)

Things I learned during tonight's game

Apparently Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier were NOT announced as part of the Team Canada roster today. Did you know? I would have had no idea if it weren't for Jacques Demers telling me every two seconds. Because Joel Bouchard didn't mention it, and neither did any of the other guys on RDS, and there was no mention of it on Info Sports. And it surely won't be in any French newspapers tomorrow.
It's a snub so disappointing that not even Tampa Bay's ice girls were able to dance with conviction, acting as if they were useless, overstyled human Barbie dolls with the most pointless job in the universe.

He's clearly an excellent dresser! His knit cardigan skills would be much more useful in international sports competition than Joe Thornton's lousy goal-scoring.

Vinny's exclusion from Team Canada was clearly a bigger story than the unfortunate exclusion of Montreal Canadien Mike Cammalleri, and obviously more important than the fact that this season's star Tomas Plekanec will be helping out Team Czech in a big way.

(He also helped the Habs a bit tonight, but his OT game-winner will be overlooked quickly as soon as someone thinks of another French guy who's not going to the Olympics.)

No love from RDS for the guys who actually play in this province, but I feel for Cammy and Hamrlik and Spacek, who probably would have made great additions to their national teams but them's the breaks I guess. They'll get two weeks off to train on their own, with less risk of injury. It's not much of a reward, I know.

As for the game itself, because yes, there was a game today, which St. Louis and Lecavalier apparently played in between tirades by angry journalists:
I'm very, very happy to have Brian Gionta back, and Matt D'Agostini's efforts merit a mention. He's been getting a lot of grief lately for not producing since his return from injury but he had some good shots on goal tonight, as did Benoit Pouliot.

Kryptonite...

Okay, the bad news first:

Our good karma hasn't come back and we've lost Superman. It turns out that Brian Gionta's lower-body injury is a broken bone in his foot and he's out indefinitely. (There are rumours that "indefinitely" is code for "about five weeks," which is sounding a whole lot better than "never ever" right about now.) Apparently he played until he just couldn't anymore, so I don't know how long this has been plaguing him, but his tenacity proves that he might just be Superman.

Still, this news comes mere days before we visit the Capitals, and I feel like Washington is one of those cities where you don't want to be without one of your top goal-scorers.

I don't remember hearing any updates on Matt D'Agostini's health yet, and as much as I want to know what's going on, I also hope that he's getting the rest and therapy he needs before he even thinks about getting back on the ice.

In other sports news, Impact captain Mauro Biello is set to announce his retirement. But he can't retire because I'm going to miss him!

Okay, let's move on from the Italian boys (sorry, Daddy, but there's other news to report) and get to some good news:

DID YOU SEE THAT SHOOTOUT.
Here's hoping that a killer shot on net will be a catalyst for Maxim Lapierre's much-needed turnaround. I don't know why he hasn't been as awesome this season as he was last, but after that shootout you can't give up on him.

Speaking of players other people were ready to give up on, I wonder if certain fans and people in the media feel dizzy after pulling such a quick 180 on Carey Price. Now, I think that after basically embarrassing a few Hurricanes, he deserves to hear some kind words... I'm just confused that some of those words are coming from the same people who were ready to see him go a mere two weeks ago. But I guess if there was no "scandal" in goaltending, some of those people would be unemployed.
All this to say that Price was fantastic during last night's shootout. Good enough, anyway, to take attention away from whoever may not have performed so well in yesterday's game. I'm glad to see people giving credit where it's due.

Bulldogs hit the Bell Centre...

... they didn't win, but I'll survive.
(I most certainly did not boo them, as some people did, but it goes without saying that some sports fans have severe issues.)

What can I tell you about the game?
When I saw the Bulldogs play in Hamilton last year, I got to Copps Coliseum right before the game started and was able to get 6 seats together in the twelfth row, and I had 2-for-1 coupons so the tickets cost something like $14. Last night there were scalpers selling tickets outside the Bell Centre. It wasn't filled to capacity, so I don't understand it either.
At the time, it had only been a couple of weeks after the Kostitsyn brothers were plagued by scandal and Sergei was sent to the Dogs. Seeing an NHL player that I'd previously only seen from the Molson Ex Zone, now from the twelfth row, was completely unreal. Last night, I got to sit in the fifth row. I've never been that close to the action for anything and I'll probably never get the chance to sit there again, but it was amazing. I don't want to go back to the blues! I can barely even tell you what happened because the excitement of seeing the players better with my own eyes than on the jumbotron was a little too overwhelming. I can tell you for sure that it's completely unbelievable to see the puck hit the back of the net with your own two eyes, and while seeing a few more goals would have been amazing, fan favourite P.K. Subban worked out a pretty nice one. (So far I haven't heard any truth to the rumours that he'd be playing with the big boys sometime this week, probably because now the Habs have Jay Leach... and hey, the last guy we got from Jersey has worked out pretty well.)

Here are a few pictures, because most of mine turned out blurry:

Little girl, no more.

So I had started thinking that this game post was going to resemble a protest against what is likely to result in a hemorrage of printed nonsense about "goaltending controversies" and how we may now have one on our hands because apparently, it is probably the worst thing ever to actually be in possession of two solid goaltenders, but there is a much more important issue to address.

Tomas Plekanec.

Well, lookit you, Mr. Badass.

Before going further I must underline and applaud the play of Travis Moen tonight. First star honours were very well deserved in this Méchant Lundi special event (otherwise known as "what, we play tonight? Really?") as well as Hammer for continuing his reign on the offensive masters of the Habs' blueline (outscoring Sheldon Souray by 3 goals. Concussion or not, betcha didn't think THAT was ever going to happen). I've also been a little rough on Jaroslav Spacek lately, and that goal made me eat my words.

So, Pleks. This may well be my area of expertise, granted, he has been my favourite player for awhile (and in my sights since his first-ever training camp in 2001). There have been ups. There have been downs. There have been turtleneck jokes and little girl references (and of course, the accompanying creative uses of Photoshop). There is, currently, a one-year contract, $2.75M.

So far, the man we "overpaid" this summer is looking like the bargain he has been since 2001.

This and he hasn't kept the same wingers for more than two games all season. The silent but wily craftsman is back to being one of the highest on the Habs' leaderboard. Eight of his points are assists, but none of those were cheaply made. Roll back footage of Cammy's second goal on Saturday. He is back and he is strong, he is making use of whatever chances he gets despite the instability on either side of him. He has the odd average game, but the Plekanec definition of "average" still means busting his butt every shift. It's been said before, but doesn't always reach into the thick skulls of some Habs' fans (who tend to favour former wearers of jersey #27, coincidence?) who are off in Trade Rumour La-La Land, pointing at his "rising value" and "the need to capitalize on it" as soon as possible rather than acknowledging and even celebrating the fact that this team we couldn't recognize October 1st actually has a familiar face pulling a lot of its strings. He's even added to the formula a little--this season he's slowly adding the extra spice to his game by attempting the human bulldozer on pretty much every opponent, 5'9'' or 6'7''. Doesn't always win, sometimes ends up flat on his butt, but oh, those fearful little Euro forwards, afraid to get in the corners...not so much.

And tonight. End-to-end setup for Hammer's goal. Those playmaking abilities at their very best, that keen vision of the ice, the confidence he so dearly missed last season, it was all there. One thing hasn't changed with his mindset, though. He passed the puck. I'll always remember being present at the Penguins-Canadiens' game a few years ago, again in overtime, where he could have recorded his first NHL hat trick but saw another #44, Souray, in what he felt was a much better position so he passed the puck to him. Souray scored, the entire Bell Centre and beyond went into a fit of deliriousness, ole'ing deep into the metro (I had to hum along, I had no voice left). Pleks? He stuck by his decision like he probably will again tonight. And then there'll be the next game.

But will there be next year? That's not up to me. But you know what would happen if it was.

Rookie's take on last night's home opener

I guess this wasn't the most epic home opener of all time. Which sucks for me, since it was my first real "home opener" experience. Okay, fine, I wasn't AT the game, but a home opener is a once-a-season event that needs to be watched from start to finish. 

Two seasons ago, I maybe half-watched it - to be honest, I don't really remember because that was back when hockey was just something that was on. (In hindsight, I should totally have watched it and paid attention considering how that season unfolded.) Then last year, I missed it for academic reasons. In the spring, my reasoning for a Wednesday evening class made perfect sense - the class sounded interesting, Lost wasn't on until midseason and hockey games on Wednesdays were relatively rare. I made a bad call on that one. The class was useless and dull (and yes, everyone's friend Czechtacular had warned me about the awful professor, but for some reason I didn't listen). I had tickets to a preseason game on a Wednesday - stupid, I know - so I had already missed one class for hockey (kids, do as I say, not as I did) and couldn't fall behind just to watch a game on TV. Obviously, I had NHL.com and Mike Boone's live blog open in separate windows as I took notes, and compulsively hit refresh about every three seconds, but neither source would make any mention of the pre-game ceremony and all the legends in attendance, so a good while after the game was set to start all I knew was that the puck had dropped. So this was the first real home opening game I got to see.

I was very excited for this home opener... so excited that I delayed my viewing of the 30 Rock season premiere, which was a pretty tough call to make. (To put things into perspective, the 30 Rock premiere is like the TV equivalent of the home opener when your team is coming off a wicked last season and a Stanley Cup win, but not in a bucktoothed Sidney Crosby kind of way. I love Tina Fey more than Carey Price loves Garth Brooks. I speak more highly of Tina Fey than Jacques Demers does of Guillaume Latendresse. I've been quoting old episodes nonstop in anticipation.)

I had had the chance to see Calgary's home opener last season, with every player called to the ice like a hero. (I unfortunately was called away for the five seconds that Jarome Iginla was called up but turned back to the TV just in time to see the guy after him, a certain Michael Cammalleri). I figured I knew what I'd be in for and I was hoping for some big to-do since we're almost at the tail end of these centennial festivities. 

And what did we get at the beginning of this game? The same video we'll be seeing for the rest of the season, and a lineup of "Je suis" introductions. Hardly the pomp and circumstance of last year's opener, although I guess it's useful if you're still confused by the dozens of new guys who materialized over the summer.

Props to Andrei Kostitsyn for being a rebel and skipping the "Je suis." Everyone knows that that's who he is, anyway. And I don't care if he follows the script or not, because he gets paid to play. I'm a little disappointed, though, that his was the only deviation from what the players were probably told to say. No one decided to maybe stick a middle name in there, or a "Hi Mom," or maybe pull a switcheroo and say some other guy's name, or introduce himself as James Bond or something. Les boys were all business.

Also, I was under the impression that our city had the most legendary hockey team in the NHL, or something. Is it just me or was standing around passing a mic just a little bit low-fi? I may watch hockey to see the games, but the guys barely even had time for a wave or a nod of the head. Couldn't there have been more lights, or a sparkler or two, maybe more little kids?

Is it because they thought tripping was contagious? Because that little goalie kid did a heck of a job, even wearing all his padding, only tripping once. Scott Gomez fell like a dozen times during the game, and he's a full-grown man. A short man, perhaps, but still an adult-sized one who skates for a living, so I'm giving a huge 

thumbs up to the little goalie kid for picking himself up and keeping on. (Or herself? Was it a little Kim St-Pierre in training?)

The players didn't even skate around that much when they came out, but I guess that that made for an even playing field with the injured players. Obvious statement of the year:

 I miss my Andrei Markov.

Did I miss something? Was all of the awesomeness offscreen?

On to the game:

So the first period went off pretty well. We scored the first goal, because Roman Hamrlik was totally on fire and deserves credit for seeing a really good opportunity and taking the shot.

The first period also called a penalty for something that isn't an officia

l crime of hockey but should be: Checking A Guy After You Knocked His Helmet Off. Thanks, Colorado, for trying to fell another one of our players. We're already down by three at our home opener and I'm pretty sure that Max Pacioretty hasn't done anything to deserve attempted brain damage.

In the second period, Colorado apparently tied the game 1-1 but come on. Who are we kidding. That was a goal of complete fluke and stupidity. It wasn't actually scored by anyone.

Colorado scored a second goal during a moment of Carey Price weakness (opinions may vary on his play last night, and I'm more or less in the middle. We've seen him play better, we've seen him have worse games, but there were some brilliant saves and don't you deny it.)

There were some decent shots on goal but unfortunately we didn't score a second until Tomas Plekanec rocked it out in the 3rd period. Czechtacular will have more on this for you, since both goals were scored by her guys.

Overall, I think this game, if anything, proved that fans (you know which ones I'm talking about) can't just rely on the new players we were so jazzed about this summer. I didn't lose faith in our returning players and I'm feeling pretty good about that right now. I'd probably feel even better if I didn't need to make this argument and everyone played this well all the time and no one had to be an apologist for their favourite player, but Mick Jagger told me that I can't always get what I want.

The game ended 3-2 but there was a strong effort at the end of the game to score a third goal, and that first Colorado goal barely even counts, so I'll be in denial and say it was a tie game. Last night's game was a reminder that NHL hockey isn't easy, and there's work to do this season. I'm up for it, and it appears that the team is up for it, and hopefully for the long run.

And in case you're wondering, yes, 30 Rock was great.

Les boys are back in town

It couldn't come soon enough. After three consecutive losses, a homecoming must feel pretty good for our Habs right about now. (Ssshhhh, I'm imagining a Montreal without player haters, which is pretty tough these days...)

Welcome home, boys, we missed you. I did, at least. If I was still working retail I'd be on my toes hoping for a tall athletic customer to brighten my day between fielding complaints over the phone and answering endless questions from the creepy old men.

And a special welcome to Shawn Belle (the defenceman, not to be confused with soap opera characters), who's been assigned the spot vacated by the now-in-Hamilton Yannick Weber, who I'm hoping to see again soon at some point (but I'm also hoping to make a quick Ontario trip sometime soon).

The brightest news of the week is that there's a game on Thursday. Less than 48 hours!

Plus/Minus for the first week of the season

Welcome to the inaugural (and hopefully not last) +/- post, where, like a player's plus-minus ranking, we're going to keep track of what happens, spotlight the good, and sulk at the bad. Since this first week (technically, nine days, but that's procrastination) was as insane as we've come to expect during the hockey season (especially for Montreal), we've got a lot to get this going:

+ Winning the first game of the season. Take that, Toronto! Not even the big bad defenceman that we molded (who then jilted us) can hold us down.

+ Josh Gorges starting his season with a game-winning goal.

+ Beating the Sabres.

+ Brian Gionta saving our asses on a regular basis.

+ Andrei Kostitsyn and Tomas Plekanec de-zombifying from their former selves and producing goals in both road losses, one of which was a wicked backhander that had an eye for the net

+ The return of Kyle Chipchura and the unleashing of his badassery on Eric Nystrom (the newly-born Habs' killer). While we know he's no Laraque (and...thank goodness for that, actually), we need to see Chip bringing that physical edge to his game and hopefully he'll find other ways to keep his spot, for good this time.

+ Travis Moen unleashing his angry self. We've seen his bad side, and it's scary stuff

+ New additions to Centennial Plaza. The central monument has a clean, classy design. It's also nice to see de la Gauchetiere renamed. It wasn't necessary, but it's a nice way to recognize the epicenter of hockey in the city. I mean, the Hippodrome is on rue des Jockeys, the Labatt brewery is on Labatt street, and there are streets named after recording artists, so why shouldn't a legendary hockey franchise get the same treatment? And who wouldn't want a miniature Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montreal street sign as part of their hockey-themed home accessories? (I'd take it over a wooden sign anyday.)

+ The Hamilton Bulldogs starting off their season with a 3-0 win against the Ice Hogs, which is just an unfortunate name for anything.

-3 for injuries to Andrei Markov, Ryan O'Byrne, and Glen Metropolit happening way too early in the season. And for happening at all. If we subtracted a point for all of their jersey numbers, it'd be -97. And I have half a mind to do it because my favourite Canadien is out for four months, but I'll try to hold back.

-2 for two losses on the road, especially getting flattened in Vancouver (but I think it's a general consensus that no one wanted that game to end that way... except for maybe the Canucks.)

- This letter to Stu Cowan, Gazette sports editor, that was actually published in the newspaper. The letter-writer may simply have intended to express appreciation for the numerous Quebecois hockey heroes of yesteryear, but all I saw when reading this letter was a whiny, xenophobic rant about the supposed evils of money and the ethnic vote and I honestly thought we'd be past that as a society.

 

AND OUTSIDE OF HOCKEY

a PLUS to Robin Scherbatsky from How I Met Your Mother. She's a total HerWay girl: smart, funny, knows her hockey and wouldn't be caught dead in a pink jersey (we assume). We should be mad at her since her Canucks beat our Habs, but her mini-speech about the 2004 Canucks in this week's episode was made of awesome. We'd still totally be her friend if she was a real person.

a MINUS to public transit, since over the last week or so, both of your friendly neighbourhood bloggers were basically left stranded on their way home thanks to malfunctions of some sort or another. It's just not normal for a 35-minute commute to take over two hours.

Sleeping with the enemy?

Roman Hamrlik with then-teammate Dion Phaneuf. This D-Unit no longer exists, and if they had to get used to that, so do I.

My mother would disapprove of the inspiration behind this post, as it has to do with a concept she disagrees with: mistress teams. Well, blame the calendar. The Montreal Canadiens hit the Saddledome this fine Tuesday and I happen to count the Calgary Flames as part of my beloved "side-dishes." I'm sure I'm not the only one that has this as a potential conflict one or two (or six, if you're harbouring some secret Bruins love or Sens sympathy) times a year. A guide to dealing with the outbursts that come as a result of such matchups can be found below.

Determine best-case scenario. Unless it's a game in late March and the Flames (or other team) are on the edge of either falling out of the playoffs or grabbing first spot in the Northwest whereas the Habs are comfortably sitting way up in the East (such a scenario hasn't happened to me as a fan, I don't know about you), don't be wishy-washy about who has to win. Habs. Always. (I was born in '86 and not '89 for a reason.) Whether you want a 2-1 shootout win or a 6-5 goals' festival is something else.

Gather a support team. Watch the game with friends, live or online where your numerous keysmashes (or verbal keysmashes) will be understood. You can be fed popcorn to shut you up from garbling about faceoffs, or cheered up with hilarious emoticons when Kipper is sitting there in the crease looking like someone stole his blanket. The support team is primarily counted on to remind you of Guide Rule #1, no matter how many games Iggy hasn't had a goal (and can you believe some people in Calgary are already concerned about this? It's two games in, for Pete's sake).

Calculate fight possibilities, even the alien-sounding ones. Even if the teams don't face off often during the year, rivalries tend to build up pretty quickly. You laugh about them afterwards (Rookie and I were witness to Plekanec being this close to dropping the gloves with Cammalleri last season, and all of a sudden they're linemates.) but if you're a fan of certain pugilists you might want to think about who they'll be sharing the highlight reel with so that your face doesn't drop off when it happens in real-time.

Have fun with it. Make predictions for scorers and/or the eventuality of shootout candidates. Mute the tv and do your own play-by-play (recommended for some games that don't even have such a conflict, but are only featured on a certain channel with annoying announcers). Create a drinking game*.

Allow for a little grudge period. Robyn Regehr isn't very well-liked by Habs' fans, even if Aaron Downey and Matt D'Agostini are alive and well. However, he is a solid defenseman and generally awesome the other 364 days of the year. You don't have to like what happens during the game, and you can frown a little afterwards, but then again, when the next Flames' game is against the Oilers and certain pesky opponents actually need to be crunched mercilessly against the boards, the spilt milk dries up pretty quickly.

*a guide for a Habs' drinking game, started last season, will be up sometime this year when all the amendments are made. Given that one of the rules was "if Kovalev's helmet falls off, take a shot," you can guess that there will be a number of subtractions, as well as a number of additions.

Preseason jitters (yes, it's a long post)

Quite a few things are happening with our Habs in these final days leading up to the regular season, and it feels like fans need to train and psych themselves up just as much as the players. (That’s in part because we know winter’s coming. Get out your throwback jerseys and your snow tires, ladies and gents, the season’s changing.)

So here's a little overview of a few hot topics that have been peppering fans' and journalists' discussion of the team as the clock winds down to our season opener.

THE NEW GUYS. We’ve done a pretty good job of welcoming our newcomers so far, just as they’ve done more than their share of singing the city’s praises. (Seriously, Scott Gomez, any more singing and you’d be joining the cast of Glee.) It’s a good thing that Montrealers follow their hockey so intensely... can you imagine being a casual Habs fan and seeing a picture like this: 

We’re basically going into a season of Who’s Dis Guy?*

This season is going to prove whether or not we were all right: Should Bob Gainey have cleaned house as obsessive-compulsively as he did? Are guys like Gomez and Gionta a little too eager to play in front of the most intense city in the league, before they’ve even seen our dark side? Were we, the fans, right to turn our backs on the Habs who disappointed us? Everyone’s been jumping the gun and answering these questions lately, but personally I think we need to wait it out until we know for sure.

THE LINEUP. Today five more players were cut from Montreal and sent to play for the Bulldogs. Definitely a gain for Hamilton, and maybe not a huge shock to us. It was pretty obvious that a player like Curtis Sanford was signed to back up and support young up-and-coming players who could use an experienced, big-brother figure.

Cutting Sergei Kostitsyn was a bit of a shock to me, since I had assumed (or, at least, hoped) that he’d be back this season and rarin’ to go. That wasn’t entirely the case. Still, the cut was Jacques Martin’s call to make, and as fans all we can hope for is that the coach’s decisions are in the team’s best interests. Which reminds me...

THE COACH AND THE CAPTAIN. We’ve got an experienced coach, a man carefully chosen by team management out of a vast ocean of, um, available francophone coaches. I’ll be honest and admit that I didn’t exactly know much about Martin before he was hired, so I’m going into this season a little blind.

I don’t doubt that he knows what’s right for the team, and I tend to lean toward trusting coaches and team management more than the average armchair coach (if only because I’m aware that they’re standing behind the bench and I’m sitting on my couch with my cat). However, I’ve got to comment on this decision to appoint a team captain. Last time I checked, this was Canada and 2009. How about a little democracy? If you want a guy to lead this team, this half-new team recovering from a season of fail, why not ask the guys who are in that team? To me, an election seems like the most logical process, although I’m hoping that whatever method Martin is employing to make his decision will make sense.

As for the identity of this as-yet-unnamed captain? I’m not too sure about who I think it SHOULD be (maybe because, as I mentioned, the lineup changed too drastically, and we could maybe wait until the regular season starts), but as for who it WILL be, if I were a betting woman I’d put money on Scott Gomez. I don’t quite know why - chalk it up to female intuition, I guess.

In any case, we’ll find out by the time les boys are done with their retreat. Which reminds me...

THE PRESEASON RETREAT. None of the players seem to be pulling a diva fit or criticizing Teen Ranch in Ontario, so why is everyone else so scandalized? Some local anglo sports reporters in particular can't seem to say enough about it.

I don’t care where the retreat takes place, as long as the guys get to practice and rest and bond. Isn't that what matters? The only thing I’m worried about was a joke by canadiens.com writer Manny Almela implying that guys like Ryan O’Byrne might look like this if they sleep on bunk beds:

And I’m only worried about that for two reasons:

I know the importance of a good night’s sleep, and I hope O’Byrne, Gill and their teammates of all sizes have been getting their share of shut-eye

It’s a hilarious sight gag that I kind of wish I could see for myself

So, in these final hours, I hope that the team’s preseason enthusiasm doesn’t fade as fast as their idealism probably will.

*If you were wondering, ”Who’s Dis Guy” is a running joke between your bloggers, usually alluding to a player whose face you cannot recognize.

Photos used in this post are not our property. They belong to habsinsideout.com and Warner Brothers.