Plus/Minus skipped the St. Patrick's Day Parade

...I already did some day-drinking on Trade Deadline Day. It wasn't as fun as I'd hoped. So, no parade for me. This week was eventful enough as it is.
This is my first Plus/Minus post since my promise to cut down on my own anger and negativity. Let's see how I manage.

PLUS

So young!! (yoinked from thirdstringgoalie.blogspot.com)

+ That last round of the shootout against Tampa Bay was punctuated by a wicked save by Carey Price, who caught the puck so easily you'd think someone had tossed it to him from two feet away.
+ MaxPac's biggest concern, at least for now, appears to be his vertebra. He hasn't shown major concussion symptoms (nausea, vomiting, etc) so it appears he might only have one major ailment to deal with. Which is awesome. (And while it may seem like great news that he'd be back during the playoffs, I'm hoping he decides to sit it out.)
+ Congrats to Roman Hamrlik for 1300 NHL games! And to another Czechtacular favourite, Phoenix Coyotes defenceman Adrian Aucoin, for playing in his 1000th game today.
+ The first period of Friday's game against the Rangers was brutal. Still, the team could've easily stopped trying and didn't. They kept pushing along and even though they didn't win, by the end of the game the loss didn't hurt so much.
+ Superpopular Habs prospect Danny Kristo wasted no time in his return to hockey after that nasty frostbite scare. He scored a goal in his first shift in his first game back, and picked up another two points the following game.

+ Congratulations to Jennifer Heil, closing out her skiing career with a silver medal in the last competition of the season. I'll miss watching her at the Olympics but I hope to see her again in another capacity. Maybe she'll join the man in her life and start coaching, or maybe CBC or CTV will be smart enough to hire her when they need someone in the broadcast booth.
+ This, part of the newest crop of NHL playoff commercials. So simple. I can't believe the playoffs start in three weeks.


MINUS

There's no context for this picture. I just like Halpern's disappointy angry face.

- Our friend Steve found an article in the Metro newspaper where some wiseguys decided it would be funny to draw comparisons between Muammar Gaddafi and the Canadiens' strategy for the rest of the season. Poor taste.
- Curtis Sanford underwent a successful surgery. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs will still be without him for the rest of the season.
- What do you mean, there are more injured Habs?
- I don't understand how anyone can simply assume a professional athlete would "fake" a concussion. Does anyone know if someone's written a very basic medical guide to the most common NHL injuries? It's the kind of thing I think we'd all benefit from reading.
- I'm giving myself a Minus, for forgetting to write Ryan White an awesome Happy Birthday post. Now we know for next year: Ryan White's birthday is March 17. (White born on St. Patrick's Day, Pyatt born on Valentine's... is there an NHL team with more holiday babies than the Habs?)
- MORE cut funding for women's hockey, this time at St. Mary's University in Halifax. Some of the country's elite female hockey players are upset about this. Last year I blogged about the importance of funding for young girls' hockey teams, and now it turns out that our universities are doing the same thing. Unfortunately, I don't know much about what went into making this decision, and I know that university budgets can be tricky, but cutting women's hockey, their third-most-popular sports program, doesn't seem like the best solution.

And, finally, everyone's had their say about the upcoming GQ article that lists "the worst fans in America." It's just a push to sell more magazines, and it's causing bad blood between sports fans. Don't give GQ the publicity it's so desperately asking for.

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.