Five years.

Five years ago today, on Tuesday, March 13th, 2007, I walked into the Bell Centre wearing a Canadiens T-shirt. For the first time.

My friend Caroline offered me her extra ticket to a Habs-Islanders game. We sat in the Club Desjardins section, thanks to her dad's corporate season tickets. I bought my Koivu shirt that day. Koivu was awarded the Molson Cup for the previous month. The Habs won.

I still don't think I know everything about hockey, but I definitely know more than I did before that game. Back then, Czechtacular and I were just friends-in-law: our mutual friends joked to me that she could teach me everything I needed to know about the Habs before I went to the game. I took them seriously. My Facebook message to her was answered with a series of messages that, when printed out, took up three pages. She answered everything from "Does Guy Carbonneau hate Russians?" to "Are there midfielders in hockey?" to "I know some of the guys' jersey numbers but who are the rest of them?"

Yeah. I wasn't kidding with this Rookie thing.

Here are a few excerpts from the cheat sheet that Czechtacular wrote up for me five long years ago:

#8, Michael Komisarek [...] basically he just freaking ROCKS. 


#20, Mike Johnson, right wing.


#26, Josh Gorges, defense. We just got him at the trade deadline in exchange for Craig Rivet so I don't know too much about him. He's just "the new guy."


#30, David Aebischer, goalie. [...] He tends to flop all around his crease... (I had no idea what any of those words meant.)

#32, Mark Streit, defense/winger. He's come into his own this year.


#35, Tomas Plekanec, centre. Uhm this paragraph may be long because he's my favourite player. (She wasn't joking, either. It's a hell of a paragraph. I learned so much about Tomas Plekanec that day.)

I read and re-read those pages throughout the day, and took them with me to the game. A lot has change in the last five years: New guy Josh Gorges is now one of the most important players on the team. Captain and Molson Cup winner Saku Koivu just played his 1000th NHL game. I've learned more than a few things about hockey. The team, the fans who have so graciously taught me everything I know about the game, and I have grown and changed a lot in these five years.

In an interesting twist of fate, I get to walk into the Bell Centre again tonight. Thank you, Black Keys, for scheduling a concert on Tuesday, March 13th. It'll feel like coming home.

It's April 5th already?

I can't believe the season is so close to being over. I've been looking forward to this Blackhawks game since before the season started, and I can't believe that the day has arrived.

No idea why, back in September, I sprang for tickets to this Blackhawks game without a second thought. Why I chose a game that I'd have to pay for right away and wait seven months to see, I have no idea.

Maybe it was because I wanted to see the season finale, come hell or high water or any position in the standings.

Maybe it's because, as one of my friends reminded me last week, Canadiens-Blackhawks is one of those matchups that you can just never pass up.

Maybe it's because I have this weird life goal to see all of the Original Six teams in person, and after tonight I'll have five out of six. (I'm also 5/6 of the way to seeing all of the Canadian teams. I think I just figured out where all my money went.)

Maybe it's because Jonathan Toews is the Internet's favourite hockey player.

("The Circle of Hawks" was made by Kat, lead contributor to Runs On Duncan, which you should already be reading.)

Or maybe it's because I kind of like the Blackhawks. I know, I know, I wrote this post already about the Los Angeles Kings. Don't worry, I don't think I love the Hawks as much as I love the Kings, much less the Habs. There's just something about the Western Conference, and the Original Six, that I really like. I was very happy to see Jonathan Toews win a gold medal, a Conn Smythe trophy, and a Stanley Cup all in the same season. I'm still kind of surprised that he's such a great captain, and that he's been so composed since such a young age. (Pretty sure this has already been said: Jonathan Toews is my Sidney Crosby. Deal with it.) Joel Quenneville knows how to rock a mustache, and the Hawks have my favourite fan video series in "Joey The Junior Reporter."

And while I may not call the Hawks my first or second team, I wouldn't be opposed to receiving the same gift as the main character on Samantha Who?:

The very handsome Eddie Cibrian bought her a Hawks jersey personalized with "Smartass" on the back. I don't own one, but if I did I might have done the unthinkable and worn it to tonight's game. It's probably the only piece of enemy apparel I'd wear to the Bell Centre. Don't worry, I'll never become a real Hawks fan because I'm one of the few people who cannot stand "Chelsea Dagger."

The only major similarity between this game and the Kings game, both of which I chose to buy tickets for, is that the opposing goalie is a local boy. The Bell Centre was not very nice to Jonathan Bernier. Please, Montreal, do not boo Corey Crawford for no reason.

Even if I do have a reason, I won't boo. I'll be too busy cheering for my Habs in their last regular season game at home. I may or may not sound all hoarse on the radio tonight, but I'll have a good excuse.

Go Habs Go!! 

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?

What a game. (Plus/Minus in disguise.)

It's a Plus/Minus, a "happy new year," and a "what I did on vacation" all rolled into one. That's just how I do.
I'd like to thank Czechtacular again for writing Plus/Minus last week. You all didn't even have a chance to miss me!

PLUS

+ The Outback Bowl was my first live football game ever. Ever. What a game. I've never seen so much team merchandise in my life. There were literally three people in all of Raymond James Stadium who were not dressed for the occasion. Everyone else was decked out in team colours, a sea of navy-and-white and blue-and-orange split right down the middle. I've never seen such intense fan loyalty to a coach. I've never seen marching bands like that. I want every sport to have marching bands.

+ I had to play catch-up and watch the Winter Classic on DVR. What a game. Playing in primetime, under the lights, was amazing. It looked so dramatic. It proved that sports aren't about individual players, but rather teams. I can see a Penguins-Capitals rivalry stemming from this, rather than the team's captains having fought it out for a Rookie of the Year title five years ago. And Dan Bylsma's old-school fedora and stadium jacket will probably stand as my favourite coach outfit of the year... or maybe the decade. Go ahead, Jacques Martin, try to outdress him.

+ Cédrick Desjardins almost had a shutout in his second NHL game, and I got to witness it. He was great. What a game. My favourite part of it was booing the New York Rangers. (My second-favourite part was seeing how Guy Boucher coaches his team. Czechtacular can attest to what he did in the Q. We've all seen the results of his one season in the AHL. He's still got that fire as an NHL coach. The Bolts have incredible work ethic and discipline.)

+ I also went to my first-ever basketball game, and a great team effort buoyed the Orlando Magic to a win over the Golden State Warriors (yeah, I didn't know they existed either). What a game. I know Montreal will never be an NBA city, but I kind of wish it were. I like live sporting events in general, but I enjoyed live basketball so much more than I thought I would!

I made the same face at the exact same time

+ How about that eleventh-hour comeback against the Bruins on Saturday? I say it again: What a game. I can't remember the last time I screamed so loud. (Then the Jets won their playoff game, literally at the last second. It took so much out of me that I didn't even make it to the end of the LA Kings game or Saturday Night Live.)

+ Um, so it turns out that we really like James Wisniewski. I left for five days, and he was a superstar by the time my plane landed in Montreal. My confusion didn't last long: the guy's a great addition to the team, and he seems to love being a Canadien.
+ Jack Johnson is going to be a Los Angeles King forever! I don't usually play armchair GM but locking him down mid-season was a good idea.

MINUS

- Have I already mentioned that I'm too sad to talk about Josh Gorges?
- Steven Stamkos didn't score a goal for me on New Year's Day. And he hasn't scored since. He's goalless in 2011, which might actually be worse news than the fact that the entire city of Tampa is sold out of Stamkos T-shirts.
- Carrie Underwood says she'll never come back to Montreal after her car was broken into when she came here. So many things wrong with that: Cars get broken into everywhere. Her husband comes here sometimes for work, and it's the closest awesome metropolis that Ottawa has. Everyone was all whiny and said they didn't want her in Montreal anyway if she said something like that. Meanwhile, I can't help but wonder when was she in town and why didn't I know about this? Carrie Underwood kicks ass, you guys. I mean, uh, whatever, who cares, Taylor Swift is so much better.
- Mike Cammalleri might be sick. That's not cool, you guys. Here's hoping he comes back rarin' to go.

- Tom Kostopoulos, shouldn't you know better by now than to hit a dude out of nowhere? No? Okay, that's what I thought. We still love you, though. Don't ever change. (Except, like, try not to break a dude's jaw next time.)
- Thoughts and prayers to the family of NHL and AHL player Tom Cavanagh, whose death was tragic and unexpected.

Did I miss something? I probably did. The first ten days of 2011 have been pretty eventful.

Game Preview: Feels a little like '93

The last time the Canadiens encountered the Kings, they won. Quite easily, I may add. Will the Kings, coming off a rough last few games, turn the tide and beat their old Stanley Cup rivals on their home ice? Will I be able to cope with the average view from my seats tonight? Last season I sat in the 8th row of the Staples Center, next to the Canadiens defencemen. (And it wasn't that expensive!) This season, my tickets cost less, and it's the Bell Centre, so obviously I'll be a little closer to the ceiling than the ice.

Look at all the swag I got at Staples Center last year!

So I won't be paying a dollar for a program, or getting multiple team rosters for free, but at least I won't be surrounded by fans booing the Canadiens, still sore about Canada's gold-medal win in hockey. (They were passionate, just not in the right way.)

Both teams are having pretty impressive seasons so far, with almost identical records. The Kings have lost a few games recently but were still at the top of their division until Phoenix knocked them out of the top spot last night. They've only got one point less than the Canadiens. I have a feeling that this game will be less of a bust than Monday's outing against the Flyers.

Which players are worth keeping an eye on, regardless of where your seats are? I had a few guys that I thought were worth mentioning, but a great interview with The Fourth Period's Susan Crosby last night on Game Points gave me even more to talk about. (Big thanks to Susan, by the way, who was knowledgeable and enthusiastic.)
- Jeff Halpern will get to say hi to his old team. But we'll keep him in Montreal, thanks. He'll have Mathieu Darche with him again, hopefully to get some of that PhD magic going. (Yannick Weber is the odd man out here. I would've liked to see him against a team like the Kings, but these decisions aren't mine to make.)
- Drew Doughty, arguably the best defenceman in the West, is showing no signs of recurring concussion symptoms.
- Banner season for Justin Williams so far. Same goes for captain Dustin Brown (who's a pretty good follow on Twitter, by the way).
- We've all seen Quebec-born goalies bring their A-game when visiting the Bell Centre (except maybe Roberto Luongo a couple of weeks ago) and it's likely that rookie Jonathan Bernier will be no exception in front of his dozens of guests. Susan Crosby says he's not at the same level as Jonathan Quick yet, so at least the team's renaissance isn't hindered by a goalie controversy just yet.

 Have fun in Montreal, Los Angeles Kings. I know it's cold, but you guys welcomed me to the Staples Center with a torrential downpour, so... even.

Time for the rookies

A lovely sign pointing towards the opening of the season (more or less): fresh faces in the Canadiens' dressing room.

Jeff Halpern's arrival among others pretty much ensures we won't see a lot of these guys for awhile but it's still exciting to see where they've all reached in terms of their development (am I alone in this thought? Yes? No?). Here are the names of those invited to 2010 Montreal Canadiens' Rookie Camp (and I'm sad to say that our own Rookie is not among these):


In my lovely (not) graphic here I highlighted some of the QMJHL alumni that I might be able to tell you a bit more about if and when I get the opportunity to poke my head in to some of the scrimmages next week. And yes, these goalies have been around. Now see which team there is the most of and tell me why I'm so darn happy :D

I might also be happy because the lovely @amanada11 secured me tickets for Phoenix @ Montreal so that I can make a living embarrassment of myself in 6 weeks' time. My dear friend and partner in crime @smileinfectious and I are also going to see some kid from Kingston who's supposedly a big deal...while our mothers continue to commiserate about the loss of Sheldon Souray.

Anyway. Details for the camp, while there are few, are the following:

Who: The guys whose names you see up there

What: Are you paying attention at all?
When: Ah, here's some new information. September 13-16th

"Players will take part in on-ice practice sessions and tests as well as off-ice conditioning sessions. Scrimmages will also take place and open to the public on Monday, September 13 and Wednesday, September 15, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m." - canadiens.com

Where: Complexe Sportif Bell, Brossard
Why: Because the future is now.

Sue me for that last one, I've been up since 7.

Ticket sales and a trip back in time

What you're about to read is vintage Hab It Her Way, written before HIHW was even a thing. I posted it as a note on Facebook one year ago, before individual game tickets went on sale. This year, I'm preparing those of you who'll try for ticket packages. A few of the references are now a little outdated, but I've decided to keep the original note as is. You probably won't be surprised by how strange it is. Enjoy.


So, tickets for all this season's Canadiens games go on sale this Saturday. Lunatics everywhere (myself included) will be stuck at their computers trying to buy tickets, spending their hard-earned money to be a part of history, or to boo the Leafs, or to see superstars in action (although chances of another Alexander Ovechkin ass goal might be a tad slim.)

Thanks to ticket sales, the Canadiens get big money!
(oh, boo yourself)

Why am I writing a note about this, do you ask? Because it's an insane ordeal. It used to be complicated and then it became a nightmare. You have to access an "online waiting room" before tickets go on sale to even get a chance at buying them, then hope that you randomly get selected to buy tickets early so that you don't have to wait forever, and even at that, hope that the game you want isn't sold out, that you get the seats you want, and you have to choose quickly before the powers that be get angry, and of course, you can only get up to four tickets for one game on one credit card. It's barbaric. And on top of that, your aforementioned wish for a short wait probably won't be granted, and you're stuck at that computer for hours at a time, staring at a screen that doesn't ever change, watching as the most anticipated games sell out to those more fortunate than you, hoping it'll be your turn soon, begging the universe for reprieve, and generally hating your life.
(But they promise it'll be better this year. Fingers crossed.)

Even cute puppies get angry when they wait too long for hockey tickets

After trying for a ten-game package last year, then getting stuck in last year's "technical difficulties" fiasco, I've learned to be ready in case the process takes all day. (Because it might)

So if you're gearing up for an epic day of um, sitting, here are some ideas to get you through the day.

SNACKS.

You're going to get hungry, especially since you have to be in the waiting room by noon (thanks for basically ruining lunch, HOCKEY. You really don't seem like a sport that would support brunch but whatevs, I won't whine).
Get your favourite snacks. And stuff that's easy to assemble and/or eat. I'm going to try and regulate my Nutella consumption.

Have something to drink handy, so that your throat doesn't get too dry while you stare at your computer screen and say "COME ON! WHY IS IT NOT MY TURN!" A bottle of water. Some caffeine to keep you going. A can of Molson, if you want to go meta and tip your hat to the Molson brothers. It's also a good choice if you're in the habit of drinking alone at home, in front of your computer, in the middle of the day. (... ?)

Maybe a sandwich or a bagel if you don't mind assembling it while THE BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE hang in the balance!
Don't eat anything too hot or messy (that's what she said).

PASSING THE TIME

I hope you have DVD-Rom (do people still not have DVD-Rom? I don't know) because obviously watching something will pass the time. Or Youtube. But what, you ask?
If you're going for a DVD, first of all, maybe don't watch it fullscreen so you can see your waiting room status whenever you want to. Also, you might want to make it something you've seen before. (Then again, I don't know what moron would be like "Hey, let's bust open this Mulholland Drive DVD just to help pass the time! I hope the movie's good")
I watched some Arrested Development on Saturday trying to get a ten-game package (I've been rewatching the whole series just because), and I definitely recommend it. Something you've seen before, that makes you happy, half an hour at a time? Nothing wrong with that, at all.

There'll be two episodes of Glee on the Global TV website by Saturday. Glee is delightful. Watch it. (Unless for some reason, you watch hockey but can't stand to hear "Don't Stop Believing," which would be messed up.)

Youtube is awesome for times like this: you only commit a few minutes to each video, and you can pause it, and ... Okay, I know you're familiar with the concept of Youtube so I'll shut up.
If stand-up comedy's your thing, stick to shorter clips in case the comedian's really funny. Half an hour of Carlin will zoom by, but if your punishment in the waiting room ends and you get through to buy tickets but somehow miss your shot, you've got no one to blame but yourself. (No, you cannot blame George Carlin. Doing so makes you a humongous douche.)
There's Jeff Dunham, comedian/puppetmaster (yes, that is his shtick, he makes funny and then brings out the Muppets on crack, and he's who everyone's husband got for Christmas if my days as a video store employee told me anything) who's funny enough to keep you entertained but he also won't Carlin you out of a Centennial jersey game.

If you want to keep it really short, probably the best 15 second clip I've found on Youtube is this. As if you haven't seen a Walken impression before, but still, funny.

Or, if you're going to spend an afternoon memorizing any song, make it "We Like Sportz." Because la ville est hockey. 

Get some music, obviously. Last year I tried out like a dozen radio stations on iTunes and busted out a Beastie Boys cassette. Yes, a cassette. 

If you're going to waste half a day for three minutes of ticket-buying, you need something to sing along to.

Greatest hits of mullet rock, anyone?

Make some playlists. How about those Canadiens.com "my playlist"s? You can choose one and just go with it (I won't tell you which player had the most songs on his playlist that were already on my iPod), or you can make some sort of huge massive combination of all of them. So do it.  Henri Richard's is the most recent one so you should find links to all the others. Beware of the Milli Vanilli on Laraque's playlist, which is proof that truth is stranger than fiction.

No, seriously.

Think of a new life for those player name and number T-shirts that you might not wear anymore this season because they're chillin' with Selanne, or you don't want to waste your patches and glitter paint covering up that "Higgins" with "Gionta."
Don't bother with anything but the first page of this article.
Make a headscarf, and then if you know any Rangers fans offer to make one out of their old Scott Gomez shirt and then you can have gang wars.
Or frame your shirt (I've already suggested this to some people, *cough*MY SISTER*cough*): 
There are also instructions online to turn your shirt into undiepants but that seems a bit odd. Or maybe not. I don't know.

Do you have a laptop? Do you have a treadmill or a stationary bike? Stick the laptop on a table in front of your treadmill and walk while you watch the Centennial anniversary game sell out.

Clean your keyboard.

Paint your toenails.

Look at pictures of Chris Pine. (What? Who said that?)

Dance!

Call up a friend, maybe someone you haven't talked to in a while, or maybe someone else feeling the sting of waiting more time to buy tickets than you'll probably spend watching a game (post-game stuff and CH Express notwithstanding), and sing them a really bad song. Like, just terrible. Try to get it stuck in their head. It's a terrible thing for one human being to do to another, but maybe it'll help pass the time.

In case you're not sure what I meant by "really bad"

Magazines. You can get out some Canadiens magazines and re-read them, or - even better - go buy a couple of ridiculous celebrity gossip rags and have yourself a laugh. Or just pick up a Saturday newspaper, I guess, but there'll be less crosswords with clues about Speidi and Dancing With The Stars, so that's your call to make.



HOCKEY GAMES

Sure, you can just make witty Photoshops with pictures of players, but if that's not your kind of thing there are tons of other ways to pass the time while remembering why you're spending a lovely afternoon indoors.

Mike Cammalleri. That is all.

You can do the hockey Youtube thing: watch Jeremy Roenick cry at his retirement press conference, watch highlight reels, rate stuff on Hockeyfights.com, watch fan videos (Mike Boone can tell you what all the good ones are... they pay him for that, because obviously the universe SUCKS), watch players get pied in the face... whatever you like, T.I.

Make lists. Who grows a good mustache? Who can breakaway like nobody's business? Who would you draft to be your ultimate NHL Rock Band musicians? Who'd be on your All-Star teams?

Make a card for Tom Kostopoulos to say how much you're going to miss him.

Look up anagrams to Habs players' names. There might be something funny, like how David Letterman rearranged spells Nerd Amid Late TV. Or Justin Timberlake makes I'm A Jerk But Listen. (Yes, this idea sucks, but they can't all be winners, can they?)

Go to shop.nhl.com and do not stop until you find the absolute ugliest, most ridiculous, most unbuyable item on the entire site. If this were football it'd be easy. Dog shirt with Michael Vick's name and number on it? Done. But maybe it'll take a little longer in the NHL shop.

Maybe it looks something like Chara's FACE.
(I apologize for making you look at it)

Whatever you do, I'm hoping you don't have to wait too long and you get awesome tickets to games that turn out to be really great. I hope we win like crazy and kick some ass and make the highlights every night, and all that other stuff that hockey fans say.

(and I hope I get to see Jarome Iginla again but I hope the Habs win)

Dethroned: A game review

Pictures to be posted soon!
So, tonight was my first away game, and I think I know how to pick 'em.

(By the way, I really thought I had hit "publish post" on a game preview I wrote this morning, but alas I did not. Smartphones with data plans accepted so that these horrible oversights never occur again.)

How could I go to Los Angeles and be in town the same weekend as the Habs and NOT get tickets to watch them at Staples Center? I would have probably wanted to see a hockey game anyway, but somehow I was slightly less compelled to watch the Kings or the Ducks take on the Colorado Avalanche. Sure, I don't really get to see much of the Avs, and maybe Matt Duchene's rookie season will be something to talk about for a few years to come, but I couldn't settle for Colorado when Nos Glorieux were coming to town. (Sorry, Avs-loving friends.)

I was especially looking forward to seeing the Kings' gold medallist Drew Doughty and star player Anze Kopitar, who is beloved by one of my friends (who also loves Ovechkin and Avery, so I'm never too sure about trusting him). They didn't disappoint. I'd be happy to have them as Habs... which is not to say that I'm unhappy with our current roster, because obviously there was a lot to be happy about tonight.

Brian Gionta's surprise goal 22 seconds into the game brought Habs fans to their feet. (There were quite a few of us.) I'm guessing that he was what caused most of the Staples Center to be eerily silent for most of the first period. It was the quietest hockey game I'd ever been to, with the exception of this one douchebag who booed the Habs but didn't cheer the Kings at all. Benoit Pouliot deserved to be first star of the game.

This is what the game's three stars look like in Los Angeles... if I had access to Photoshop I'd have put a little puck or something in place of the film camera.

Jaro Halak played a smart game, knowing exactly what he had to do and where he had to be. Scott Gomez was extremely visible during his significant ice time (which pleased the adorable little girl I saw with "Go Habs" rubbed off one cheek but a very clear "#91" still painted on her other cheek). Travis Moen was the Canadien with the most shots on goal. I'd especially like to single out Ryan O'Byrne, who played a great game. Maybe I said too much about him at the beginning of the season, when he was still being criticized for his less-than-stellar turn last year, and maybe I noticed more than other people did tonight since I was on his side of the ice for the first and third periods (EIGHTH ROW, right behind the press photographers, oh yes that's right) but he was fantastic. He used his size and played aggressively. He delivered some really big hits.

As for what it's like to be a Habs fan outside the Bell Centre... um... let's just say I appreciate my fellow fans a little bit more than I used to. Because the Habs fans around me were pretty great, and some of the Kings fans... weren't so great. I already mentioned the douchebag a few rows behind me whose support of the Kings consisted of wearing an LA jersey and booing the Habs. Some of the Americans were also sore losers, apparently dissatisfied with Team USA making it to the gold-medal game. They booed their own defenceman because he played for Team Canada. I might hate it when Habs fans boo a former Canadien, or a self-goal, but booing Doughty was ridiculous. The contests didn't really get the audience involved - I guess I'd take the Kiss Cam or the Make Some Noise contest over seeing someone be handed a prize on the Jumbotron or watching the ice girls. If I wasn't before, I'm now most definitely certain that there's no place for ice girls in this sport.

There are more LA Kings fans than I expected, but as usual, like any unhappy fans, they left two minutes before the game ended because their team lost. I guess it's not as big of a deal if your 100-level tickets cost one-third of what they'd cost at the Bell Centre. As for the Habs fans? The post-win hoopla was a little more subdued on the ice and in the arena, so maybe it's not quite as fun as cheering on a winning home team, but there was just enough chanting and celebrating outside the game to make a Habs fan feel at home in the City of Angels, without making the Kings fans too sore.

All in all, it was a great game to be at. It's just a shame that everything goes by that much more quickly when you're close to the action, and I don't know when I'll get to see the NHL from the eighth row again. Even if I don't, I'm good for a while.

City Of Angels...

... was apparently a terrible movie, but I only sorta liked Wings of Desire so I'll pass on the modestly reviewed remake. That was kind of a clumsy way to start a post about Los Angeles.

The LA Kings site coined "Hockeywood," which is cute

Last season I had this crazy theory that whenever I was out of town during a Habs game, the team lost.
- The season started well enough until the Anaheim Ducks came to town while I was up north for the weekend, and my friends and I heard bits of the game on the radio, and found out that our team ultimately lost.
- Everyone remembers the unfortunate post-All Star skid. I listened to a slightly dejected Carey Price being interviewed on the way to the airport a week after the All Star Game, managed to see a few scores on ESPN during a week in the sun (or the coldest February that Cuba has ever seen), then came home to find out that the Habs hadn't won a single game the entire time I was away, and that a few players had been felled by injuries.
- I went to Ontario for a long weekend a few weeks after that, and found out via Czechtacular that the Canadiens lost their Thursday night game in OT. That Saturday's game was Martin Brodeur's famous "I kick you, Patrick Roy" record-breaker win, so obviously the Habs lost. Ironically, I was at a Hamilton Bulldogs game while that happened, and they beat Manitoba in a thrilling 5-1 win, with the Moose's only goal scored by '93 Cup winner Mike Keane.

By that point I was starting to be thankful that I didn't have the kind of job that required any sort of business travel.
It also took a while but I realized that last season wasn't indicative of the best the Canadiens have ever played, so it's more than possible that these were just unfortunate coincidences.

Still, it's for this reason that I was slightly worried about planning a trip to Los Angeles that would end after the Olympic break was over (it's a bit disheartening to come home and find out your team lost five minutes out of baggage claim). So far, though, les boys have been doing alright. Just to be sure, though, I made sure to stay in California this weekend. It's the Habs and the Oscars, after all. I'll be at Staples Center tomorrow to try and reverse the curse. I mean, if I'm not in Montreal but I'm close to the Canadiens, it's good juju, right? It has to be.

The Staples Center only allows posters and signs smaller than 11x17", which sort of ruins my plan for bringing a huge poster to my first away game in hopes of getting some RDS face time. They don't allow any signs on sticks either, so taking a page out of the Team Canada fanbook and printing up a giant Andrei Markov head is a no-go.
Still, poster suggestions are welcome if I can get my hands on cardboard and markers.

Columbus Day ends on a high note

Habs 5 Blue Jackets 3

That must feel pretty good considering that Columbus smacked us the last time they were at the Bell Centre, and they're more successful now than they were then. (I'm not able to do this game justice, I'm telling you that now.)

What a game. And what a game to be at, and see Rick Nash look like a serious threat to Montreal early in the game and then continue to bring it as his team was losing. (To be perfectly honest, guys like Nash are the reason why guys like Guillaume Latendresse get traded.)

We saw a lot of our Habs playing their best tonight, proving that even with a million teammates out on injury, they've got what it takes to win games in regulation time. Glen Metropolit's goal, the third of the night, proved that. I reluctantly admit that Marc-André Bergeron scored two brilliant goals - his timing is excellent too, because the media needs a new golden boy. Mike Cammalleri, as usual, was awesome. Max Pacioretty continues to find himself this season. Paul Mara played a good game, and gets a plus from me for batting a puck away with his gloved hand. Ryan White got another assist... I'm still waiting for a goal; he's got it in him and I know that. (I loved last night's Hamilton Bulldogs line, despite a serious lack of ice time.)
Tomas Plekanec continues to be the man this season, even when he doesn't score, and Carey Price made some really impressive saves - sorry, ~czechtacular, I guess you've got competition for November's Molson Cup.

Who is that right in front of the bench? Why, I think it's another one of my favourite Hamilton Bulldogs, James Wyman, who was called up Tuesday at some point after I shut down my laptop. You'd think after the Latendresse trade I would learn my lesson and do my Internet stuff in the afternoon. But instead I got a pretty nice surprise.

Still looking for news on Tom Pyatt, who appeared to have been injured at the end of the game.

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:

Plus Minus: Tricks and treats

Another week of taking the good with the bad, of getting chased after by Scary New Komo but beating his team in the end, of being terrified that Jacques Martin knows so much foul language but knowing that he uses it for our own good.

(homemade screencap by my co-blogger, whose name explains why she made it)

PLUS

+ Roman Hamrlik had a heck of a week, and we like it when he has good weeks. Being credited with that goal against the Leafs and then reacting like he just won a million dollars on Christmas would have been enough for a plus. And then I remembered his game-winning goal from Monday (what? it was a long time ago) and yeah, we should pretty much buy him a cake or something.

+ Cammalleri, Gomez, and Halak saving the Leafs game in a shootout.

+ Dave Stubbs, for including multiple Jay-Z references in an article this weekend. I could have only hoped to write something as creative (if only because my Halloween puns got awfully tired, but don't worry, that time of year is over).

+ Our friend Ava wrote a great blog post on the language issue and how the francophone community is relating it to the NHL - it's funny, passionate, and level-headed, unlike many people arguing in this debate. (You'll have to scroll down a little for "La langue francaise & le CH") Oh, and she also designed the wicked title graphic you see before you, so yeah, we owe her a lot.

MINUS

- Thanks, Sidney Crosby. (That was sarcasm, by the way.)

- 2 for injuries to Matt D'Agostini and apparently as of today Hal Gill (say what you want about that one, but I for one am not happy about losing another player, especially on D). Also Georges Laraque's back is acting up again, and if those vertebrae were a person I'd yell at them.

- I may have just mentioned the D'Agostini injury, but Andrew Ladd still sucks for hitting him and I'm giving him a minus in lieu of a verbal thrashing, and he only gets a hypothetical verbal thrashing because he's bigger than me and I can't throw a good punch.

I'm not a girly girl, but a fashion plus/minus is in order:

+ to the guy in Chicago who went to the game in his Naslund sweater, clearly a cherished childhood item that he squeezed into out of love for the game... and maybe its too-short sleeves.

- to Alain Crete for the tan suede jacket which looks alright, I guess, on L'Antichambre, but which czechtacular and I decided is just a bit too heinous for any kind of serious sports journalism.

And in closing, here's hoping that tomorrow's game against the Thrashers is another nailbiter (even though it's up against the premiere of V, which sci-fi fans have only been talking about for eons) because my sister gets to go to the game... no, she's not bringing me, but that's okay. (She's getting her revenge because I didn't let her come to last year's Habs-Flames shoutfest with my friends she doesn't regularly speak to.)

Breaking news...

Just in case our liveblog turned out to be like the last one (ie. frustrating, undesired result), I saved this news for a potential pick-me-up. Brian Gionta's existence means we need no such mood-lifter, but to hold us over a little while extra I have the following awesomeness.

That's right, your bloggettes (and a friend, poor friend) are headed to a Habs' game and we don't have to go to Ottawa to do it. The proof arrived (rather quickly, I must say) in my mailbox this afternoon, this after I pulled out all the stops in my classroom (!) to get a seat in that waiting room last Thursday, which is what Rookie alluded to in her latest Plus/Minus post. That blasted system usually never works for me, which is what makes this most recent acquisition all the more miraculous. That said, the other 21 270 people had probably best be prepared....

Thoughts on Atlanta-Montreal now....It would be nice if we could win in 60 minutes, not 65, but I'm not spitting on the W. I'm actually convinced that Brian Gionta is Superman. If no one is going to sew that C on his jersey I'm going to find one and put it on myself. With masking tape. If I must. Honourable mentions to Scott Gomez for not tolerating Kozlov's assault on him near the end of regulation, and Max Lapierre for going Extreme Makeover, Rage Edition on Colby Armstrong. And all the more reason to love this game: the Kladno contingent being represented in the other net. Ondrej Pavelec quickly became one of my favourite goaltenders in the Q when my Cape Breton friend pointed him out in several of her game posts four years ago. Despite leading the Chicago Wolves to a Calder Cup he's had a rough go of an NHL career, often playing third fiddle in a goaltending duo that had its own share of ups and downs with the play (or lack thereof) of the supporting cast around them. However, tonight proved how well he's filling in for injured starter Kari Lehtonen. From what I had seen up til now, though, he hadn't had a game quite like this one to really put his coaching staff in a means to really start to think about the future. It's bittersweet to see him pull off what he did in front of the Habs, but I'm glad for him that he did. It'll be interesting now to see what happens in a few weeks when Lehtonen's scheduled to make his return.

In the meantime, wahoo, Habs-Flames tickets! Aaaand goodnight.