Plus/Minus is not going to make a "Boxing Day" pun

Hope you all had a great Christmas, even if you don't celebrate it. Plus/Minus is a little short this week because sometimes I talk too much, so I'm giving my dear readers the gift of brevity.

PLUS

+ It's always nice when Team Canada wins their first game. This applies to both the World Juniors and the Spengler Cup, where former Hab Glen Metropolit is playing for Canada. (Bonus plus: I now kind of know what the Spengler Cup is!)
+ David Desharnais named AHL's First Star of the Week!
+ Andrei Kostitsyn scored a goal, to shut up all the haters. And Alexandre Picard has been making himself useful as well, which I guess should shut me up.

MINUS

- Lost to the New York Islanders. You know what hurts? Watching your Habs lose to the Islanders, then seeing the highlights three times on Sportscentre.
- Okay, I take it back. That probably didn't hurt as much as whatever mystery ailment is plaguing Josh Gorges. I've known for a while that things aren't going well for Josh, but now he isn't playing well, and Dave Stubbs reported that he left practice limping. I do not like any of this. At all.
- I almost forgot about that game against the Dallas Stars, but then I remembered. I wish I hadn't. (Aside: Conan was really funny that night, as I found out the next day.)
- I wasn't going to complain about anything I saw on 24/7, because I didn't want the show to hold back. But Matt Hendricks' bloody eye was a little tough to look at for extended periods of time. And Crosby's cup was the kind of thing that would have made me nauseous, if I hadn't known about it in advance and shielded my eyes.

What awesome Christmas gifts did you all get? Or give?
I went for a walk early last week in the cold (I just needed to move a bit and clear my mind), spent some time wandering around Centennial Plaza, and got the sniffles a few days later. The Montreal Canadiens are no good at Christmas presents.

I'm excited that the Habs got two points...

... but I'm even more shocked that Georges Laraque got one.

(I think they'll forgive me for stealing this picture, but right now there's little other pictorial evidence of it)

Do not adjust your TV sets. Georges Laraque really did just score his long-time-coming first goal as a Hab.

Yes, Pouliot, Gionta, and Cammalleri also scored, and magnificently at that. Jaroslav Spacek delivered the kind of hit I didn't think he was capable of, and the team banded together against celebrity lookalike Steve Ott when he tried to mess with our Pleks.

It was a deserved win, and a show of the talent that this team has. (Yes, even if we spend a season and a half wondering where it went.)

Hockey's bigger in Montreal: Game Preview 14-01-10

It's been a few days since we had a Habs game to watch, but they've done enough off the ice to stay in the news. And the rest of the NHL has had its share of game-related news, so there's been plenty to talk about. (We're secretly thanking Sedin brother #3 for that.)

So, a city where hockey is king plays host to a team that is not the Dallas Cowboys. What do you need to know? Better yet, what can I tell you about the Dallas Stars? Um... time for bullet points.

On the Habs side of things:

• A bunch of guys have been creeping up into Tomas Plekanec's point space, putting him in fifteenth place overall. He's apparently so distraught about it that he temporarily abandoned his signature goatee.
• Georges Laraque is back in the lineup, and for once he's probably grateful for his brief ice time since he doesn't seem to be in the right mindframe for play right now.
• Ryan O'Byrne will probably sit out this game, but as some very happy little patients can confirm, he's back in town.
• As you've heard, the Canadiens currently have the best power play in the league, but could be doing a bit better as far as playoff chances are concerned. It's January, though.

On the Stars side of things:

• I'd watch this game very carefully if those pesky transaction rumours are true.
• The Stars are coming to town with two wins in their last six games. All four losses have been on the road.
• As you know, Mike Ribeiro's out for a while (karma's rough sometimes), so today's former Hab is Stéphane Robidas, who is not on Team Canada. (I'm just stating a fact.)
• Brad Richards is one of the guys who has more points than Plekanec. (13 goals, 39 assists, to be exact, and no goatee either.)
• Celebrity lookalike news: Assistant captain and subject of many negative Facebook groups Steve Ott isn't a team scoring leader, but I must mention him due to a recent discovery. My fellow nerds might be interested to know that Ott looks a whole lot like actor Alan Tudyk, best known for his role on Firefly.

Joss Whedon fans rejoice!!