Are we still friends going into Game 5?

Wow. It should come as no surprise that both teams really, really want to win this series.

Phoenix threw a couple more punches (some into Dwight King's face, others not) and then clawed their way back into LA's net, and thus into the series. These dogs weren't just going to roll over and let the Kings win. They're in this for the win. Or, more specifically, their captain is.

Shane Doan is scoring goals like it's going out of style. Maybe his teammates think it is. But if anyone can set a trend, it's Shane Doan - the kind of captain that Dustin Brown is going to be someday.

So, the question remains... Is Czechtacular still answering my texts? Does every save by Mike Smith make me want to find a new hockey sensei?

In the words of Czechtacular: "Doan stop believing."

Are we still friends after Game 2?

The Kings now lead the Western Conference Final having won both of the first two games of the series.
The Coyotes retaliated by playing a more physical game than they usually do.

It was certainly the kind of game that could test a friendship.

I wasn't pleased that the Coyotes decided to get all hit-y and injure Dustin Brown. Neither was Czechtacular.
She doesn't seem pleased that Jeff Carter scored a hat trick. To be honest, Jeff Carter is not my favourite King. So maybe I'm not over the moon about it either.

We remain friends going into Game 3.

But apparently I need to stop asking her every day if we're still friends.

It's Playoff Bracket time!

Playoffs start soon, so it's time for us to introduce the third annual Hab It Her Way NHL Playoff Bracket. Yay!

I try to find a theme for the random pictures I use for every matchup. This year, I tried to find common ground between the teams playing each other in the first round. We're not that different, after all.

In the West:

The Canucks and Blackhawks meet early in the playoffs this year. I always love this series, but it'll be particularly tough to root for one team since both Roberto Luongo and Corey Crawford are local-boy goalies.

The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are both from California. That's all I got.

Detroit and Phoenix are lucky enough to have wonderful, gentlemanly captains with quite a few seasons' worth of wisdom. That's MISTER Nick Lidstrom and Shane Doan to you!

Anaheim-Nashville might just be the battle of Young Guys That Nobody Wanted As Habs Except Me. Sorry, Kyle Chipchura and Sergei Kostitsyn. (Is there a way to sneak Matt D'Agostini or Greg Stewart into this too?)

In the East:

The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers introduced some spiffy new throwback jerseys this year. That's something I know a little bit about.

Why not choose at least one series and focus on the players I don't like? Congratulations, Philly captain Mike Richards and Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller (if you're not still injured). You know what you did.

What do the Canadiens and Bruins have in common? Well, in case you didn't know, they hate each other.

Two teams. Two bloggers. Two beloved coaches. It's my Dan Bylsma against Czechtacular's Guy Boucher.

Click on the picture above to see the bracket full-size and you should be able to print it out quite easily! I keep track of the scores of each game, higher-seeded team on top, lower-seeded on the bottom. (I cleared that up in the MTL-BOS and LA-SJ series.)

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.

Awards season starts

The nominees for this season's Vézina Trophy (that's best goaltender... I'll memorize all these Trophy names, I promise!) came out today.

Wow, the NHL really stretches this out. Usually awards nominations are just one big press conference, so I guess in my head the announcement would have been one event and that's it, not one category per day, to keep you waiting. If this were Hollywood, it would just be a podium, a couple of LCD screens, a short but boring welcome speech by Bettman, then on to two personalities (one hockey-related, like a Jeremy Roenick, and someone there for a little star power, like a Joshua Jackson, or since this is sports it would probably be just some random pretty girl) to make the announcement and maybe crack a joke or two.

Okay, the nominees:
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils. No real surprise there. Some people have been saying his age is going to start showing but... come on. He's the Meryl Streep of goalies.
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres. I'd shake my fist at him, because that's what I usually do, but that's exactly why he's nominated here. No surprise he's in the top three, as he's had a dynamite season.
Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes. This is the only surprise here for me, since I didn't think he's as much of a heavyweight as his contemporaries, but he's part of the reason why Phoenix is in the playoffs (and doing quite well) instead of being left to the side like some team nobody wanted.

Oh, and more good news? Glen Metropolit is back, so his eight-week recovery period really only lasted three weeks. The guy is magic or something, I'm convinced. He'll be taking Sergei Kostitsyn's spot on the ice - yes, one day after I gave coach a plus for not scratching Sergei.

Game Won

(You'll have to pardon my publishing this a day after the fact, but in the immortal words of Liz Lemon, "My internet is weird.")

It's too bad they don't also make shirts that say "Tomas Jagr"

I think Habs fans from the Verizon Center to Montreal, all the way across the country and the ocean, are echoing Tomas Plekanec's two-handed fist pump.

This is not last year's team. They know they're in eighth place and it'll be a long way to the top if they wanna rock and roll, but clearly they're up for the challenge. Plekanec's overblown comments about José Theodore are proof of that, in a way. Our Habs were confident. Our coach was confident. (Words I wasn't expecting to type so soon after the end of season we just saw.) It's exactly that, confidence, that's going to get us through this series. The Capitals have the satisfaction of knowing they're the best team in the league. Alexander Ovechkin is generally fearless. Throughout the season we've seen him score goals and deliver hits (and just generally be Ovechkin) without thinking twice about it.

I think the team did what it had to do. Game 1 = won.

By the way, I think the nickname "Mean Mike Green" might stick around. He's become a pesky sort of defenceman. But at least he didn't bust anyone's head open tonight.

As for the rest of the playoffs:
Ottawa was really hungry in the first game of Pens v Sens, so an upset win wasn't entirely surprising. Or maybe Mike Fisher's teammates really want him to have the Stanley Cup at his wedding this summer. They can put the cupcakes in it! ("Stanley Cupcakes." You saw it here first. Unless you googled it like I just did.)
Colorado beat San Jose? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaa? I fell asleep halfway through a then-scoreless game 1, and will probably miss all of tonight's West Coast action because of crazy early work tomorrow.
The Flyers beat the Devils... and they *are* playing against Brodeur. Whoa.
On Wednesday, Concordia hosted a free screening of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Plus, that night's Scrubs rerun featured Dr. Cox's love of the Red Wings. I figured the Coyotes just wouldn't have the juju to win a game on that particular night, but they did. Phoenix rising!
Much ado about punching when the Bruins played the Sabres... is anyone surprised?
Thanks to the Green Men, Vancouver beat Los Angeles. Go Green Men!