Just what the doctor ordered...

... for everyone but Cammy. (Poor Mike Cammalleri. First that disgusting injury, then random, out-of-nowhere slander in La Presse. That's an FML moment if there's ever been one.)

Let's face it: the Habs don't have the best record, and they've got guys who are injured, guys who are sick, and guys who aren't playing as well as they always do. I was really hoping for a great game against the Canucks, win or lose. (Don't get me wrong - I wanted a win, but Halak and Luongo are my fantasy hockey goalies, so in this particular instance I'd get points either way.) Whoever spent $125 on scalped seats in the blues got their money's worth, for once. No, seriously, this morning I asked a scalper how much tickets were going for, and that's what he told me.

This is the kind of hockey that I'd love to watch every day... Two teams fighting for the puck, literally and figuratively, penalties going back and forth, and just enough goals to keep things going.

If I hadn't decided it already, I have to say that Joel Bouchard is completely useless. I appreciate his intentions in interviewing Kirk Muller, but he might just have the worst grammar of any English speaker on RDS. He was also wearing a shirt the colour of a Dora the Explorer lunchbox, and when asked what happened when Sergei Kostitsyn left the ice late in the 3rd and walked RIGHT PAST HIM, had little more to contribute than a Kanye shrug.
I know I do an inordinate amount of complaining about RDS, but this next thing isn't really their fault: Sami Salo's name doesn't translate to French very nicely.

If I had to guess which Habs were going to nab two penalties in this game, Roman Hamrlik might have been on the list. Yannick Weber would definitely not have been on the list. Then again, you can never predict when someone's going to get Ryan Kesler where it hurts.
I also wouldn't have guessed that a mini-rivalry is blooming between Ryan O'Byrne and Mason Raymond, but they took advantage of their shared ice time to get in a few hits. They're both my homies, so it was quite entertaining. In case you missed it, I was outed as a Raymond fan today, but it's really not Habs-threatening at all.

Me, I'm sorry, bro

When you're facing a goalie like Roberto Luongo (who's been 19-5-2 in the last two months, holy crap), you've got to step up your game. And our forwards did - those were some wicked goals. Luongo looked mighty angry after Plekanec's game-winning goal... but he knows better for the Olympics, right?

This wasn't necessarily the easiest win this team has had, but if our Habs can manage to play like this every game, it'll be a very good thing.

*Pictures cropped from Canadiens.com

In case the sign wasn't enough

After the final buzzer tonight--or the final verdict, that is (and thanks, MAB, guess I'm really going to have to be nice to you now),

this guy

has only one less point than

this guy.

Taking notes, Bob?

Actual game buzz now: there is absolutely no way that our team can generate 23 shots on net compared to FIFTY and win every night. I'd call it a pure stroke of luck but I'd be insulting the man between the pipes with a number 41 on his back. If this were Thanksgiving I'd put Jaroslav Halak on my thank-list ahead of my own brother. (And contrary to typical sibling rivalries, that is actually a big deal.)

The Game That Wasted A Perfectly Good Sign

Picture quality nonwithstanding.

Tonight's game, much like the last five, have given me no reason to wish for anything but starting the entire team from scratch and/or hiring hitmen to discreetly take out as many opposing players as possible to make a team forfeit because they're wondering "how did we suddenly lose so many players?" Actually, one hint may be this weather, but according to all reports (at least 21, 271 of them--yes, the two seats next to me were actually empty) no members of the Minnesota Wild perished from frostbite. Shame.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have at last erupted from my academic coma. It is not to announce great things, however. The Habs have lost their last five in a row and tonight was just one of those examples where everything went wrong, and no one was good enough no matter how desperately they pushed at the net (or from it). The recluse of the penalty box was not as prominent an option to avoid the pinball-puck waiting for every man wearing a CH this time around, but boy was it noticeable that Hamrlik wasn't there. So few powerplays leave the frightening reality that goes by the name of Marc-Andre Bergeron. Not that I can pin the blame entirely on him (as much as I'd enjoy that). The Habs never typically do well around this time of year, and as much as this year would love to be different, it hasn't. (And all I can hope for in my temporary long distance from my mini-calendar is that we don't have the fateful December 23rd game this year. Please tell me we don't. Please. I can see the RDS montages now.)

The only thing that warranted any laughs were the Annie Villeneuve-chants. He's no Sidney Crosby or Mike Komisarek to the Bell Centre crowd, but there's definitely no shortage of ways to pick on LaTender.


Either the best or worst thing happens now. A ridiculously long roadtrip. The maybe not-so-good thing is the "inferior" (for now) teams the Habs will face along the way. They tend to save their best for Ovechkin, or centennial games that I miss because I'm at a game of my own, or something. But here's hoping the CHristmas cheer will extend far enough to break out of this slump. Spike the eggnog, ring the bells, tear the wrapping paper, find some W's, and climb those standings, boys! It's my new CHristmas wish. One I'd like to share with all Habs' fans.

Face the music, Frankie B: Game Preview 11-14-09

Who will save MaxPac from the evil Predators?

This may or may not become a regular instalment, depending on that lurking evil otherwise known as finals. In the meantime: that Phoenix game was pretty bouncy to say the least. Good bounces, bad bounces, Czechs bouncing, three assists! I woke up to about eleven thousand tweets praising dear Tomas, which is a wonderful start to any day especially after The Year That Was (and could this potentially lead to The Year(s) That Will Be, Bob? ...Or perhaps I could stop pushing self-interests in this blog and maybe get back on track).

Montreal and Nashville's records are eerily almost the same, except Nasvhille is exactly at .500 and the Habs are missing a W in order to get there. Ways they could do that tonight: get on the puck first, not depend on special teams and most importantly, don't play the Cardiac Kids card and depend on OT. That may be a habit they've used more than regularly this season, but it's also one that will turn around to bite them if they use it too often.

Elvis impersonators (Nashvillians to watch out for)

Pekka Rinne. The youngster doesn't get a lot of fame, being where he is (ie. not in the East), but there's a reason he was here in Montreal with the rest of the All-Stars last year. I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled a Pavelec tonight.

J-P Dumont. Because he leads his team on the scoresheet, sure, but the ex-Foreur also accounts for 23 points in 30 career games played against the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge.

Steve Sullivan. Probably the only guy who wore Leafs colours that I ever secretly liked back in the day without previous team history to validate myself with, his speed and smarts and determination (he won the comeback player of the year award last season) make him dangerous. He may not be all over the scoresheet this season, but that doesn't mean he's unable to turn things around when needed.

Shea Weber. It's not for nothing that Stevie Y has his eye on this young defenseman. He does what's required of him on both sides of the ice; his offensive side in particular is good for third on the team in points.

Francis Bouillon. Because last game I only mentioned Robert Lang as a sidenote, and he scored on us. So Frankie needs his own bullet point and here it is.