Solid: Habs 3, Canuckleheads NOTHING!

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, Alex Kovalev...Happy birthday to you~!

Punch! That! Shit!
- Thank god Halak was sharp tonight. Got 34 saves and plenty of help from his posts/side of the net/and Breezer for a well deserved first shutout of the year for him.
- While he didn't get any hat tricks, Kovy got a birthday assist, two penalties (though that 2nd one was uh....), drove Luongo absolutely crazy, and gave Jaro a big hug at the end.
- SuperPleky! Right outta the box and in the net. Boom! 1-0
- If you were upset the Habs looked like they were hanging back, they didn't have much choice considering the penalty-fest. (Though Canucks had more). But special teams kicked the flying V in the rear.
- Regardless of how open their teammates are, the Sedin twins will always play between each other.
- Markov pinch on the PP, BOOM! 2-0 He so sneaky.
- Been a looooooooooong time since I saw the boys supportive of their goalie, careful not to interfere, and willing to stand up for one another.
- Someone hooked Koivu on his line change and Stewart attacked! I love that kid.
- HOLY PATCHES he's a keeper.
- Koivu playing with the flu? You couldn't tell. Well deserved 3rd star and finally he lead the charge and the team followed.
- Not the homecoming Burrows was expecting I guess, but he did crosscheck Breezer in the mouth.
- Loved seeing Chipper break up the Sedin Cycle (tm).
- HOLY SHIT the Habs won 31 faceoffs and the Nucks only won 18! And even when they lost a few they still jumped to get the puck. Now...keep doing that.
- No Schneider Play (tm) tonight but still went 1-7. He did say if you can at least get one a game that it's all good. Luongo was more the difference on those.
- The building was LOUD! I was flipping to the Sens game during breaks, and even though they were winning their game...it was rather quiet. Sundin got booed and taunted, the Halak Chant went all out, the Ole song sung proudly.
- Pulled Luongo for the extra man even though they were on the PK, Fruit Punch gets the pass from Higgy. Boom! 3-0
- And with that one Halak put his hands together, looked up to the rafters, and said "thank god for that".
- First win against the Canuckleheads since uh...2000.

Conclusion: They may give us heart attacks but at least they put a solid 60 minutes. It was like the Detroit book and the game of patiences. Even shorthanded they were just waiting for the right time to pounce up on the offense. I like it when they play like this. Now do it more consistently and you won't be depressing or burning out your goalies.

And nothing like a little homestand to bring you out of your funk. The crowd! They love you! This is the team I saw play before the new year. Thank you for coming back.

Oh and before the game, Lang visited them and asked them to please make a deep run in the playoffs because he really wants to play.

Safe for now...
- Boston put the 6-1 beat down on Florida. Might have been different if Vokoun wasn't sick and Anderson wasn't staring at ice girls all day. Ryder was back from his broken face and got a goal and an assist. Nothing special.
- It's going to be a long season in Buffalo now that Miller is hurt with that high-ankle sprain... Giggy got the better of them 3-2.
- Ottawa did what I asked them to and beat Carolina 4-2. THANK YOU GOD!
- Philly made Theo look silly, 4-2.

Pass the point please

Halfway point, check.

Team is 25-10-6, missing an entire line that no one knows what to do with when they return except wonder if Carbo can roll 5 lines, starting to score on powerplays, continuing to score on even strength, able to score shorthanded, and generally kick much ass. They're a band of brothers with mutual respect for each other and their coaches. Saku and Price will be back soon. Carbo is happy. Bob is happy. The fans are happy. And the boys have shown us their character when faced with adversity, their strength, and a will to win. Plus the kids are more than alright.

The Bulldogs are doing rather well considering we've picked them clean. That guy they got from the bPens, TJ Kemp, has meshed nicely so far. His point shot helps them. Steve Gainey, son of Bob, has managed to score some timely goals. Desharnais is on a 9-game point streak. The studly little forward now has 12 goals and 18 assists with 30 points in 39 games. Loic Lacasse filled in excellently for Cedrick Desjardins and Marc Denis, but Ced's back from his injury now.

I refuse to talk about fucking trade speculations because as you can see from the tone of my text they generally piss me off. A month ago it was McDonagh as the star prospect to trade. Now it's Subban. Thank you World Juniors for uncovering our sweet secret weapon... So, FUCK OFF TSN!

That is all. The rest of the season should be fun. Hello, Boston. Do you have any tea?

Fear the power of Van Moustache: Habs 5 Caps 4

Muller tries to frame Van Massenhoven's moustache

If that Toronto game was more your stuff then you don't know good hockey. The Capitals, in a way, are a similar breed of firewagon hockey as the Tricolore. Only difference is we don't have a crazy high paid Russian. (Markov and Kovy together equal Ovechkin's salary). We've got Belarusians though! (Two Belorussians equal the salary of Semin). Cap numbers are funny. Our three goalies don't even match Theo's salary. Bob's a genius.

Van Moustache's power usually screws up for one goal for or against
- I'm usually the first to cringe and throw Breezer in the trunk of a car, but let's be fair guys. Not only did Van Moustache's power obstruct the man as he made his way from the crowd with the puck, but Semin slashed Breezer prior to stealing said puck to put behind Halak. But as the Van Moustache was too busy getting out of the way, the penalty wasn't seen and the Breezer looked like a fool. But he's a nice guy so no one can really stay angry at him.
- Ovechkin's crazy. But he's a nice kid. Gave Halak a pat on his back after falling over him into the back of his net.
- He is a nice kid, but I was a little shocked to see him trip his own linemate to get the puck...
- Halak was very impressive in the first period, though got a bit shakey in parts. But I noticed he was being more aggressive and coming out of his net more than staying too deep like he usually does. They did say Rollie was doing something with him.
- May Pacioretty never see Hamilton again. I mean, who else can play on that KovyPleks line? NO ONE. Why? Because the brothers Kostitsyn must not be separated from each other or Lang.
- Heh. Komisaurus driveby check kocked Ovechkin and Backstrom into each other. A mighty wind!
- Woah, wait: TWO MORE POWERPLAY GOALS?! Though seriously, if you give Lang that much time to stare you down there's no way he could miss bouncing a puck off your defenseman like Higgins does. If the net was empty, maybe.
- SuperPleky is back with his 3rd shorthanded goal of the season. The man could make a living off those.
- How epic a finish was it to see Sergei shoot da puck and score da goal while being thrown across the ice with only 30 or so odd seconds left?
- And how cute was it to see him mauled by Lang and his brother, and then whoever else was out there, as he lay flat on the ice in victory with that boyish beaming smile of his?

Conclusion: Caps fans may not like it, but this is how the Habs play. You take the lead and they'll do everything to take it back. But even if the Habs had lost I would have called this an absolute blast of a game. A loss would not have disappointed me, save for missing the two points of course. This win also sends Carbo to the ASG. Its interesting because he was never at the ASG as a player despite the awards he received and the very recognized creator of the term "defensive forward". (He was basically Plekanec). Of course, players like him very rarely get tickets to the ASG no matter how many important goals they score or how much they shut down the flashy forwards. It's also interesting, or maybe awkward, as he will be playing the assistant coach to Claude Julien, the man who was fired prior to Carbo taking the helm. Carbo says he's got no problem with that. But I love hearing his boys being thrilled for giving him this honor. This team is tight as a band of brothers.

The Bolt Pose! Habs 2, Bolts 1 (SO)

I feel tired and sweaty from just watching that game, though maybe I'm hot because I've been sitting here in my sweater with my heater on, but you get the point. Crazy roller coaster of a game. For what looked like 60 minutes of speed skating around the rink, the BOLTS got one tip in goal from a crowd and the Habs got one on a first minute of the 3rd rush by Gui! and his buddies working the zone. And what better way to end an obvious goalie duel than with a shootout? Habs scored two in a row, Jussi Jokinen was the only one to beat Price. (Though what was with the fist pump? A bit much for a shootout goal. Then again, I'm so used to the guys not really reacting to it unless it's the game winner. Dude, you were the FIRST shooter. And the goal wasn't really anything special either).

Hell of a way to kick off 2009!
- Who knew Fruit Punch was such a sniper? After Kovy scores his trademark Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am shootout goal, Lapierre follows suit with nearly the same shot! And he almost had a few goals tonight. Good on the kid! He's got the taste for goals and looks like he wants more.
- Scare of the evening was when that truck of a Russian, Evgeny Artyukhin checked Tanguay into the glass and popped the glass pane off. Tanguay went off the ice and down the hall. JUST WHAT WE NEED! Another fucking shoulder injury... Maybe 13 wasn't so good for Tanguay after all.
- As Begin was sporting a nasty blackeye from yesterday, Kostopoulos took it on himself to take on the giant Russian that hurt Tanguay. Though the big man wouldn't take off his visor, so TK had nothing to punch at. Still, give the little guy props for trying.
- Power play was obviously not going to work with dump ins when you've got the two best young puck moving goalies on the ice. Mike Smith tossing those pucks right at Price, who tossed them back to his teammates. Repeat.
- Oh Vince, when did you become such a wanker... Whining at Komisaurus when he checked you. Whining at Komisaurus when you crosschecked him behind the play and as they dragged you to the penalty box...
- Heh, someone tried to fight Breezer for slidding into Smith while he was playing the puck. Not his fault Breezer just sucks. Come on, don't hit the old man!
- I was watching the Lightning feed off my computer and their announcers had the hots for Price. But I gotta say for the Sunshine State, they sure did impress me with their textbook dissection of a few good plays. Especially enjoyed the "how awesome are the Habs defensively on these odd man rushes" ones. If you get them together with RDS' Joel Bouchard, you could teach everyone hockey from the comfort of their homes.
- Kovy got a post. Hit it LOUD.
- D'Agostini almost scored but a bounce off Smith and then the post out was all it did. Danger Man!
- Maxwell gave some BOLTS stars fits with his shadowing.
- I noticed the BOLTS play like the Flyers now. Guess that's Tocchet's game. Wonder how long they'll last playing like that, though.
- Andrei Kostitsyn nearly ended the game with 3 seconds left. He's always leaving the best for last. But again, bounced off Smith's glove and then the crossbar out.
- Probably the greatest part of the game was the finish. Lecav VS Price, if he scored then Habs would have to hope Gui! scores to end it. Price stones Lecav, and does the Usain Bolt Pose right in Vince's face. Vince sulks off the ice, Habs rejoice.
- Carbo looked like he just won the playoffs. Wow was he a happy man! And good choices for the shootout. I bet Gui! would have scored too.

In conclusion: Habs rock. And the winner of the goalie duel: Price. Though Smith should be on the All Star list. Not his fault he's got a team of crap in front of him for most of the season. (Just give Denis a call, kid. He'll tell you ALL about it).

Train...say your prayers...take vitamins and believe in yourself

Bulldogs report!
Bulldogs have also ended 2008 with two game in the win. There was a come from behind shootout victory against the Rochester Americans. In that one, the BabyPanthers scored 3 in the first period and then it was all Bulldogs. Marc Denis got his confidence back as the game went on. Desharnais, Pacioretty, and Weber scored in regulation while Lehoux, Glumac, and Desharnais again took the shootout. Denis only allowed one goal in the shootout and was having fun the whole way. (AHL has a best of 5 thing for their shootout). Mike Brodeur (no relation) was phenomenal though. He had 40 saves on 43 shots! Panthers may like him one day...

And while the Habs were kicking the BOLTS in a Floridian shootout, the Dogs shutout the Baby Leafs 4-0! Pacioretty scored again! Chipper opened the scoring all by himself! Carle on the power play and Russell took the other goals. Jancevski assisted on every goal with an assist! (Too bad he's Dalla property, I like that guy). This was Denis' third shutout of the season.

News you may care about
- Boo! Leafs win. Actually Cujo's first win of the season. Against Atlanta. Ho hum. They took it 4-3 in regular overtime.
- SHOCK! Sens beat the Oilers 3-2. Though last time I saw the Oilers they looked like they had no idea how to skate. (Yet somehow won that game I saw with a shutout over the Canucks). So...make with that what you will.
- Boston pwns the Penguinos 5-2. Ya, keep voting Fleury guys so we can see his All Star coverage of angles and short-stopped laterals. Also noticed Therrien is losing more hair as the season progresses.
- Detroit warmed up for the Winter Classic (weather permitted) by a 4-0 smackdown on the Hawks.
- Meh, Flyers beat the Canuckleheads 3-2. They haven't lost to them in 20 years (not saying how many times they FACED each other in 20 years but whatever). Canucks had two backup goalies playing. Gagne got injured again...
- GAS WAS 69 CENTS! Now those fuckers raised it to 78. Bastiches!
- I'm almost done painting my new appartment. I'm so sick of painting...