Lucky number 7: Habs 5, Islanders 1

Walk in the park, really. Once you crush the Islanders with a few goals they just look for ways to leave, either by penalty or turning invisible. Yann Danis was hoping to turn invisible, but he had to stay.

Chicken wings > fish sticks
- I sometimes wonder who is more boring, the Devils or the Islanders?
- Streit out with a groin injury. Dunno why Okposo wasn't playing either. Doesn't really matter, though. They're trying to out-lose the Avalanche for Tavares.
- According to Komisarek's dad on CJAD, there were about 6000 Islanders fans and 9000 Habs fans, and probably a 100 each from his group and Bobby Higgins' group. And yet despite bringing all that cash to the rink, the doorman confiscated their flags.
- Price had the flu, Jaro had to make an emergency take over. Apparently Price had the flu while playing the Blackhawks too. He seems to play his best games when ailing eh?
- After wandering around testing the waters, the Islanders fell into the powerplay trap. Koivu with a rediculous play in front of the net goes 5-hole while being tackled. Didn't realize he scored.
- Rechlicz wanted to fight Laraque and just stood there. Laraque with the "you gonna do something or not?" move. Wonder if that was mic'ed up...
- 11/13/27! WOOOOO!
- Schneider Play, so early?
- Islanders get power killed, lose all swagger, think about happy days in the summer...
- Schneider's eyebrows make him look like an elf. He's our magic Power Play Elf.
- Dandy on D tonight, but he's so crafty that he freaks out the opposing forwards by switching to forward on the same shift.
- Kovy feeds and feeds and feeds. I think he's up to 60 points now? That barely took a week eh? All you idiots calling for him to KovaLEAVE get the fuck out.
- Tanguay's goal made Brendan Witt a -32.
- Marc Denis drinking the water. Look at Marc Denis drinking the water.
- Heh, Kostopoulos' face when they gave him a penalty shot was priceless. He nearly pulled it off, though.
- Renaud Lavoie had his milk crate with him to talk to BGL. Last time he used it on Price, Price shrunk himself to be shorter.
- Stewie's our clown. I love that kid.
- Dough Weight got bored and decided to fight Metro. Metro didn't flinch, and Weight gave up mid-fight.
- Practiced 3rd period shut down lead protection.
- Two of the three New Yorkers scored. Komisaurus gives us free wings and makes his dad super happy.
- Since there was no harm in trying, Bob had everyone do something new. Even put Dandy on the powerplay.
- I voted for the Caps on RDS' "who do you want the Habs to play" poll. They came out 2nd to the Bruins. BORING!
- Easiest night of Jaro's life.
- Talk about moving the Islanders to Kansas City is sad and wrong. Why this franchise and NOT fucking Phoenix?! Fark you Bettyman. Build the fucking Lighthouse already.

Conclusion: SEVENTH PLACE, WOOOOO! And free wings. Who called it? Yo.

Spring smells
- Carolina helped us beat the Rangers into our old 8th spot. Meh or yay? Either way, Rangers D was HORRENDOUS and just allowed everyone to walk right in for a scoring chance on Stundqvist.
- Boston beat Ottawa. Whatevs.
- Red Wings totally driving Babcock nuts and lose to the Blues 5-4.
- I sniffle as Dallas loses to Calgary.

Night of the Alexes! Habs 6 T(h)rashers 3

It's been so long since we've had the free wings...

THIS is how you're supposed to play messy disorganized teams who haven't a care in the world. Yes, you're supposed to crush them with 3 powerplay goals in a row and make them pay for every sloppy penalty they take. Yes, you're supposed to throw pucks at a shakey goalie who's very breath is inconsistent. Yes, you're still supposed to watch Kovalchuk because he alone can burn you...Breezer. Oh well, it was the way it was supposed to go!

And if you have the puck, you score!
- Shots were finally kept at 25 against. Price goes YAY!
- Tanguay making up for lost time, two goals three assists. Imagine if Artyukhin hadn't squashed his shoulder how many points he would have had?
- Kovy!Kovy!Kovy!
- Ooooh Carey flashing the glove and throwing the mustard. Kovalchuk shots are not easy to catch, as seen on that second goal that had elbow grease on it. He's a rifle with a stick. But when Breezerpalooza strikes on an open Kovalchuk two feet from the net, or Komisaurus gets burned by the after burners of the speedy other Kovy, ZINGA! The babushka holds the borsch, right Sergei Puckzhin?
- Still old friends, Komisaurus tapped Hainsey at the blueline after the first period siren.
- Speaking of Komisaurs: BEST GAME OF THE YEAR FOR No.8! Though you might not want to tackle a guy hitting your goalie by throwing him ON your goalie, ok dear? Cupcakes for Komisaurus!
- Putting Higgins on a shutdown line was the best move anyone could have done for the guy.
- Metroooooo! Craziest goal of the year. Just flipped it point blank right over Lehtonen. What a mind game.
- They were rolling off numbers on the news afterwards and mentioned Metro's terrible faceoff percentage for tonight. But what the numbers didn't say was what was done after a lost faceoff, which was nice to see the guys go after the puck instead of run away. Like what Higgins did when he had to take a faceoff: he forgot the faceoff and ran over the guy to the puck in a non-interference way. The turnover numbers are a concern though... But I did see other players trying to make up and cover for the turnover, which was also not in the numbers.
- Dandy is better as a forward. He always beats those icing calls.
- Koivu's goal was pretty funny. Been a while since we saw one of our guys all alone with the entire net and goalie to himself and NOT miss.
- No one can tell if Gainey is happy or satisfied or something else. Would NOT want to play poker with that man...
- The refs were seriously against us with a few borderline weaksauce penalties. And I'm talking about Koivu's...
- Gorges blocking the shot and playing the rest of his shift in pain. Even the Thrashers' player noticed as they attempted to battle by the front of the net. Three cheers for Gorges as he hobbled to get the loose puck and help clear it and then hobbled to the bench.
- The brothers were trying to find each other all night. Well, more like Andrei trying to keep up with Sergei. Though I gotta say Andrei pulled the coolest move I've seen him do since that first Flyers game. With the Thrashers in our zone, he tosses the man over and takes the puck and then practically goes all the way around the rink with it. Would have been awesome if he had scored from that, but wow. Do that more please?
- Word to the wise, never knee Kovy. Angry Kovy alert! With the delayed penalty he just blasted the puck towards the goal and pinged the crossbar. Then on the powerplay he let it rip and I do believe Lehtonen felt it through all that gear. (Crotch shot).
- Nice to see the boys happy. Pileup in the crease!

Conclusion: Keep it going, boys! Everyone says it's only the Thrashers blah blah blah but these horribly low in the standings teams are beating everyone these days so take the win and the effort that came with it and put Breezer back in the trunk please.

Bulldogs report!
Well still no news whether or not Triston Grant will be suspended for that disgusting act he pulled on Ben Maxwell. To recap, the Bulldogs were down 3-2 after some weakass penalty call again and one of the Admirals players hit Weber after a whistle so Maxwell took offense to it and stood up for Weber. This player then grabbed off Maxwell's helmet and whacked him across the face with it, cutting him! This should have been a big powerplay for the Bulldogs, but instead they only give Grant 5 for fighting and nothing more. Naturally Ron Wilson went ballistic and was almost on the ice, because Maxwell also got a 5 and was now in the room getting stitches. So they give the Dogs an extra two for yelling at the ref. They did toss Grant as there was 5 minutes left anyway but they should have had the extra penalty for the gross misconduct he pulled. So instead of trying to get back the game on a powerplay, they had to defend. Chipper tried scoring shorthanded and Henry spent the rest of the time itching to punch someone. Dogs lost that game in the end and boy would I have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that hallway the Dogs and the ref had to share after the game...

But on to a happier note, Maxwell got a hat trick tonight! And newly sent down Pacioretty nabbed a goal and two assists! They beat down the bCoyotes (hey Garth Murray is there!) 6-1. Dogs gotta fix their shots against though... Denis faced 42 compared to their 28! (Though there were lots of penalties so I'm not surprised). Henry got to punch things twice tonight.

Among other things:
- Just as someone mentioned Osgood turning a page in the book of suck, he goes back to sucking... Red Wings lose 5-3 to Calgary yesterday. Conkblock's in nets now and they come from behind to beat the Oilers 3-2.
- Little Koivu is hurt! And the Wild lose 2-1 to the Rags...
- Stop winning Toronto, please...
- I facepalm at my poor Dallas... Begin appears to have been hurt?
- I finally got myself a Habs tuque. It's not the pompom one I was diligently seeking, but a nice red one that super comfy. I loves it! And it matches my red-and-white snowboarding suit so all the better.

"I'll go second" - Habs hero saves the East

A profile like no other.

If this will be Alex Kovalev's final season with the Tricolore--and I shudder to think of that possibility--then what a beautiful season AK27 has received by us fans. Diligent and unwaivering in our voting for him to be sent to the All-Star Game through much hoopla of auto-scripts, text messages, and the never-ending debate of whether or not he deserved to be there, here he is: named the Captain of the East and the game MVP with two goals, an assist, two posts, seven shots, a few jokes with Malkin while on the bench, a mini-check, some defensive play, on fire in overtime and out there for half of the time, a smile, a twinkle in his eye, and the game winning shootout goal of a rocket on a blinking Roberto Luongo that left Mr. Gillette stuned and awestruck. And in the usual Habs Backup Captain Kovalev fashion, the MVP truck will be sold and the money sent to his charity. (Though I think it'll be cool if he customizes it a bit before selling it with, say, an AK27 decal or something). I salut you Alex Kovalev. May you be signed here until you believe you can play no more.

And the rest of our brothers in the Bleu Blanc Rouge did not look out of place tonight either. Markov was the best defenseman out there, providing a goal and some excellent display of why he's so important to our team. A 4-on-1? No problem. And even showing his funny side when Serge Savard was welcomed to the lower bowl, Markov did the spin-o-rama right after for his own personal salut at the legendary defenseman. Komisarek got the first All-Star Game penalty in like 10 years and then tried to redeem himself with a few attempts. Had a very good opportunity that Luongo didn't think he would have shot. Price only allowed 2 goals on 11 shots at a time in the game when everyone was awkwardly skating around, wondering if they're supposed to blow up the score sheet or be kind and courteous. Almost had an assist with a beautiful outlet pass, schooling the other goalies on how to play the puck. Say what you will of Tim Thomas, but his method of flop-n-hope is not effective if players were smart enough to just aim high on him. Price has the most efficient style. Notice, Luongo is the same: also efficient. I'd rather have those two head for the Olympics even though I don't like seeing NHL players in Olympic games but that's another story.

And so the All-Star weekend comes to a close. The fun has been had, the people left happy, and the kids charities will benefit greatly. And once more, thank you Kovy. He was born to play in these games.

Gui gives us wings! Habs 5, Slowers 2

D'AGOSTINI! D'AGOSTINI! D'AGOSTINI!

Tomorrow is my last day of work/Christmas party and then I'm off for 2 weeks of painting and decorating. Habs have two more games before their own Christmas break. So how's about a good old skilled ass kicking of the Flyers? Oh how happy I was dragging my tired self to my car at Namur only to turn on the radio and here THREE-ONE CANADIENS as I drove to the gas station for some much-needed window washer fluid. It capped off my rather boring day on a high, that's for sure.

Sometimes I wonder who fixes games...
- Apparently tis a Centennial celebration tradition to have the Forum video taped anthem play every Thursday. I love it!
- D'Agostini, showing that you can start playing hockey at around 16, get drafted by the Habs in the 6th round, and make it to the NHL and score score score. Either that or he'd much rather be here than in steeltown.
- The Komisaurus returneth! And get's a point, throws the hits, cleans up the trash in front of Jaro. That hip check on Sbisa was classic.
- Oh my rebounds, Jaro! He was really fighting that puck tonight. I'm sure he has a horseshoe hidding in the back of his helmet.
- Gui!Gui!Gui!
- Speaking of Gui! he probably played his best game of the year. It was building since he came back from the pressbox, and showed in the Whalicanes game. If he can continue like this, at least for a bit more, I'd say he has finally found his game. Project completed? It's definitely getting there.
- Officials need to get out of the fucking way faster.
- Gaff of the night: Bouillon swatting a puck that was going high and wide anyway right into his own net.
- Asham broke the glass. Literally.
- CBC sucks. Who the hell gave Milbury a spot to do colour commentary on a Habs game?! Calling temporary captain Kovy a lazy bum who doesn't buy into the team plan? Fuck you! Right after he scored off a nice feed from Begin. Calling Habs lucky the Flyers didn't show up instead of mentioning how slow they skate and how easy it was for the offense to walk through them? Not mentioning how many times the Flyers shot high and wide? Should have put him on the 8-5 Bruins smackdown on the Leafs. In fact, I'd rather CBC just stay away from Habs games. Nice that it gives them national coverage, but if it's just an open forum to bash a team way better than anything these guys played on, then I'd rather they stay away. TSN could have taken it, instead of football.
- PJ Stock also stinks. Kovy won't use the words "me" or "I" when talking about a role he's playing with his linemates for his team.
- Thankfully RDS has Coach Demers, even if he is really really loud.
- KOVY! WINS! FACEOFFS! He had 2 for 2. What CAN'T he do?!
- TWO! TWO POWERPLAY GOALS. So, I'm guessing that's our quota for December. Sergei with his bullet, and Gui!
- Poor Pleky. Shoot the puck down the rink to the empty net and misses by an inch. As it went, fromt he other camera angle you can see the guys raising their arms to cheer for it to go in. Alas poor Pleky, he cannot buy a goal today.
- FARK injury addition: Andrei Kostitsyn in the leg after being sandwiched. Maybe that was why Sergei was getting snappy. Honestly, I wouldn't want to piss off Sergei. He seems like he's itching to punch someone in the face.
- Almost got too punch Hartnell, but I think it was just a roughing tango.
- At times it seemed like the Canadiens had to slow down to keep pace with the Flyers in order to cover them better. When that happened I felt like I was watching the game in bullet-time. Slow!
- Apparently every normal hit resulted in a gang up from the guys in orange. Even when you slip and collide with someone. Sorry, but frankly the Habs were way too focused to even care to wonder about it.
- Fruit Punch has developped forchecking.
- Hmm... Breezer was limping off the ice and down the hallway after the game. Could he be injured!? Maybe we can get more callups! Or bring Maxwell back. Plays better defense than our resident veteran.
- As traditions go, the Flyers seem to have a mantra for who can win more while playing the dirtiest. If the Habs had so many penalties against the Divers on Tuesday, what was going on with the uncalled mass of blatant penalties from the Flyers. Yes our powerplay sucks despite getting two goals tonight, and the Flyers are exceptionally good with potting shorties, but if you don't call these they'll just keep doing it. Put your foot down, be a man! The worst was the player that decided to glomp Pleky. Was it possible for a quadruple minor for too many men on the ice/holding/interference/hooking? Or did it baffle the minds of the officials so much that they just didn't know what to call it. I mean, it took Timonen to shove a stick into Tanguay's skate to force a call and even then it looked like they were hesitating. Sometimes it makes you wonder if there isn't anything shady going on... like, illegal betting maybe?

Other stuff:
- Why's Burke getting all huffy? Bruins paste two Leafs goalies 8-5. I'm guessing Burke will be shopping for some puckstoppers or maybe they'll see Pogge next year, but what do you expect when you got a career backup as your number 1 and an old dude behind him? Actually the Bears also pulled their goalie for blowing that 5 goal lead they had. So...Fernandez closes the door? This is the Twilight Zone!
- Dallas seems to be doing better without Avery, until they went to Columbus. Won it in a shootout 6-5 though, and guh Mickey Ribs scored the shootout winner...
- Heh, watching the ref send Crosby to the box for attempted roughing who in turn was arguing about it was kind of funny. But 6-3 Penguinos over the Thrashers. Yawn.
- Detroit 6! San Jose ZIP! Um... well I guess it's time for Nabby's yearly slump month.
- I don't give a damn about Sundin.