Habs 4, Whalercanes 1: Let's break some bread

Dig in, my friends.


Whalercanes tried real hard to bore the game in their favour
- Not bloody likely.
- Happy 300th for Price!
- PK gets the Molson Cup and NHL's 2nd star of the month. One step towards the Norris ya?
- First goal was thanks to Emelin knocking Price into his net... Yea they didn't score first for a change.
- But that's ok. Markov got one on their rare powerplay opportunity soon after.
- Markov and PK are 1 and 2 in powerplay points in the League!
- Bouwmeester! Regehr! Handzus! Zolnierczyk! Trade deadline shows everywhere just flipped their collective tables. Ready for a Wednesday of conditional pick swaps?
- Really. Flyers trading Zolnierczyk for Jay Rosehill... I'm thinking they did it just to troll everyone into writing Zolnierczyk, because Jay Rosehill?
- Habs automatically win the Sabres-Kings Regehr trade by not trading for Regehr.
- Price haters still back in their caves, chewing their fingers.
- Been some time since Gorges swooped in and blocked shots that way too.
- Gord Dwyer releated to Patrick Dwyer? (Actually, it was the other douche Marc Joannette that deserved some chin music, hockey style)..
- Seriously, find me where it says "holding the legs of a player trying to get back up and then tackling him back down to the ice" is allowed? Even my dog vomited over your putridity.
- In your face because the Whalercanes went 0-for-all-your-attempts-at-giving-them-a-chance.
- About time Patches went to the net to bang one in. You make your own luck.
- Though the monkey seems to have jumped now from Patches to Desharnais. How you wiff on a perfect wide open toe drag................?
- If anyone deserved a goal, it was Jeff Halpern. Waivers anyone?
- First point for Booleeoo on the assist. (Is it that hard to pronounce Beaulieu? Boh-le-yuh. Repeat it). He's actually playing better than I thought he would. And hasn't given up a shortie yet.
- Sucks for Armstrong but...yea, might want to look where you're going guys...
- The crowd wanted Price to go for the empty net. Some fucking Whalercane got in the way. Guess they couldn't handle the thought of TWO goalies scoring on them in one year (even though Brodeur's was really them putting it in their own net).
- But that's ok. After the 80th try, Patches finally put it in.

AND HALPERN DESERVES THAT FIRST STAR! I don't give a shit what anyone says. Fan voting just proves the fans care more about this team's players and appreciates the hard workers more than the mediots. And Bobby Dollas.

Hey Switzerland...

...I AM VERY JEALOUS OF YOU! :( :( :(

Can I go spend the lockout in Switzerland?

Habs 4, Leafs 1: It's all over

I'd say this photo basically sums up my reaction to the Habs season.

We have 1 rule.

No matter how the season went. No matter how much it has generally sucked. No matter if your team is playing a meaningless game. No matter if a loss will help push the draft lottery slightly in your favour. The one rule is just beat the Leafs.

And oh how the delusionally mighty have fallen. This is why you don't plan parades in October, Leafs.

Remember when they said Erik Cole would be the worst free agent signing, and that Tim Connolly would be the godsend center the Leafs were looking for? Yea. Cole's got 35 goals and still dropped down to block a shot in a nothing game with 6 minutes left while up 3-1.

Not only are the Leafs bad, but they gave up a 5-on-3 shorthanded goal. By the way, that 5-on-3 was being killed by Pleky, Campoli, and St-Denis.

They pulled Scrivens with 3 minutes left and Brad Staubitz bowled it home 200ft. He only scores probably a goal a year, but it always seems to be the LAST game of the year. And he was mauled by the bench.

Once the game was done, the staff, team, and injured players went to center ice. The amount of players in suits was quite astonishing...and a big reason why this team ended up where it did. Some will say injuries are a lame excuse. Frankly, when that many key players are down? Why is it only OK for the Islanders to use that excuse? But Carey Price with his cowboy hat on was a wonderful sight.

There's not much else to say, really. I miss the Habs already...

Is it October yet?

Habs 5, Wild 4 (SO): GONGSHOW

Description: Shenanigans. Seriously. I have no idea what I just witnessed.

Well, actually I do. Someone PLEASE end the Kaberle-Campoli pairing. We call it KA-CA for a reason! Shit happens whenever they're out there, literally. Shit like blowing leads in the 3rd period. Shit like refusing to change who they're facing despite having last change. Shit like getting trapped forever in their own zone until someone either scores, shoots it out of play, or flubs the blueline themselves. GOOD THINGS NEVER HAPPEN WHEN THEY'RE OUT THERE!

And then there was the fighting. Ryan White and Stephane Veilleux were ready for 3 rounds but only made it 2. Though you can't really call it rounds since the first one had Veilleux flopping around White and hanging off his back, leaving our wild-hair boy standing there with a "wtf?!" motion at the thing clinging to his rear. The other one was revenge for Veilleux's hack on Price but ended more of a clobbering. Shit happened after every whistle to the point I thought the game would end at 11:30 if we were lucky. Clutterbuck giving hugs to Eller. Hell even Weber got into it.

The LOLs didn't stop there! The hit of the night was from Emelin, of course. Unfortunately it was him missing his target and sending Erik Cole cartwheeling. He made up for it soon after with a real hit on a Wild player later.

Wee~!

Refs ended the gongshow with their own stamps. Did they feel bad because the Wild took a gamut of early penalties they had no choice but to call? I thought they made up for that by calling a gamut of shit on the Habs, including a wonderful dive by Cal Clutterbuck... The coup de grace: A big wide beautiful empty net for Patches. He's hooked and hooked and hooked some more with no call and finally falls over. Refs ignore it. According to the rules, if a player is interfered with on a clear empty netter attempt such as this one it's an automatic goal, or the ref just calls a regular penalty. Unless they got rid of this rule the same way the mysteriously got rid of the "player penalized near the end of OT may not participate in the shootout" rule. EITHER WAY IT WAS A PENALTY. So of course the puck gets trapped down behind the Habs' net. Price sees Pleky at the blue line and swings it to him (because he was probably sick of watching his teammates fuck up the clears). I guess he was hoping Pleky would tip it out or whatever. Though if Pleky didn't hit the puck, the Wild either go offside or the puck is cleanly cleared out of the zone. Instead SHIT HAPPENS and these fuckers get lost in their zone. Boom, overtime. Still wouldn't have happened if the refs did their fucking job on that empty net!

But. BUT! Refs couldn't fuck up the shootout! And no way Kraperle or Crapoli could fuck it up either without being on the list. Desharnais continues his awesome ways and scores the only goal in the shootout by evading the pokecheck for a beautiful backhander.

Then this happened.

Ooops.

Thank you Devon Setoguchi for being all kinds of fail.

Of course if the Habs play shit like this in their own zone on Saturday it's not going to end well. WAKE UP BOYS. And stop fucking around with Price's numbers. Every defenceman other than PK, Gorges, Emelin...SUCKS ASS. I want Hal Gill back. Fred St. Denis is a better option than Ka-Ca!

Now we have to find out if both Gomez and Palushaj had their eyes gouged out by sticks tonight or not.

Habs 1, Devils 3: They just want to be close to you

Like real close. Must suck to be a claustrophobic hockey player when playing the Devils. They're also real touchy feely.

So anyway, lovely tribute to Gary Carter. The team wore #8 jerseys in warmup and #8 stickers on their helmets. And if you felt nothing when Youppi came out in his Expos shirt, then you're heartless! Also an actual moment of silence. It was so quiet you could hear the air conditioning.

Sadly not such a great game for the Habs. After that first shift, they shrunk back to the perimeter. Don't even ask how their own zone was. Actually do! Because it was shit! You know, you got Yannick Weber trying to clear the crease...or Campoli on the ice with a few seconds left while Bourque lazily stretches some half-assed attempt to clear the puck. Stuff like that. Two tipped in shots, one off Clarkson's knee, and a screened shot. Habs have zero idea how to tip the puck in themselves, other than into their own net accidentally.

Also Erik Cole has been playing injured for a while now. He kept coming and going. We thought for sure he was done in the 3rd when he tossed his sticks and gloves down the tunnel. But he came back. He couldn't even sit on the bench though... Definitely deserved Hal Gill's A, but I'm worried February is going to kill him.

TERRIBLE game for Pleky's line. A key factor in the 3rd Devils' goal by completely failing a few times to clear the zone. Also that lost faceoff assisted on the first. Seriously, if you want to be a key defensive specialist, WIN A FUCKING D-ZONE FACEOFF! Time to change up this "line", drop Darche back down to the fourth line, and give Eller some fucking ice time. Every little chance he got something, as slight as it was, happened in the OTHER end. I mean for most of the game you could hear Brodeur snoring...

Probably the only "victory" is they scored a powerplay goal. Shocking I know! It was Patches! His 25th of the year. Oh and they actually did look semi-convincing with the empty netter, though firing blanks until Eller finally got out there and actually got a shot on net. Probably the most frightening thing was seeing Kaberle...play goal.

And they weren't shut out by Brodeur. I guess we can be semi-cool with this considering his dad just went in for brain surgery. Hope he has a speedy recovery.

I still say a block of wood could play goal for the Devils.

NOTHING MAKES PEOPLE HAPPIER THAN A PACK OF CORGIS!

Habs 4, Sabres 3 (SO): What? Shootout win?

LOL Buffalo

I'm going to miss Hal Gill very very much. Especially with that CaKa pairing appearing more often than not. Thankfully the penalty kill looks OK! We saw what PK learned from big Hal while breaking up a 3-on-1 and blocking shots on the penalty kill.

Againt it didn't start out right. You can't even say the Sabres played yesterday because they were barely playing that game in Philly (hence the 7-2 smack down). Outshot horribly throught the game? Hey no problem. Price made saves even with his head (and broke his mask...had to bring out the backup). How did the Sabres scores? Simple. CaKa sucks. Also no one covered the point on the first goal. And why Ennis was just left so fucking wide open at the hash marks I'll never know...

But check this:
- Kaberle scored a backdoor goal after the first unit spent the entire 2 minutes controlling the zone on the powerplay. Insane.
- Gomez scored on the powerplay! With Andrei parked in front.
- Campoli scored after Ryan White did his job wonderfully and Ryan Miller forgot how to play goal. Hopefully this raises Campoli's value from a 7th round pick to maybe a 6th?
- Price was a rock.
- Derek Roy almost carried the puck in his hand all the way back to the blueline and they ignored it...
- Pacioretty scored in the shootout.
- Desharnais finished it.
- Poor Andrei...he was next in the shootout. But it still wouldn't count for his 100th goal.

They also managed to get out of fucking Buffalo without an injury!

Habs 3, Bruins 4 (SO): A point well earned

Despite some masochistic idea to pair Kraperle (sic) with Crampoli (sic) and thus making Benoit Pouliot look like fucking Mario Lemieux, to get a point in this game was a wonderful feat for this team. Down 3-1 and clawed back to a shootout. Yea, that's right. CHEER FOR THIS LOSER POINT YOU DROOGS. Why? Because holy crap... Tim Thomas would be a 3rd string back up behind this team.

Also Bruins have no idea how to hit anyone cleanly, take a hit, nor react to a hit without a scissor clamp on the hitter's legs or looking at the ref. Pretty sure Emelin exposed Thornton for the whiny bitch that he is. Also head snap? Didn't you call out the Canucks for doing that? All he was missing was the fainting hanky.

Enjoy your 10 game suspension, Marchand you clipping rat. (Assuming Jacobs hasn't paid off Shanaban fully, yet).

You know who's awesome? Ryan White. Welcome home. (Question: is it not automatic to get a misconduct if your jersey flies off during a fight? No clue why McQuaid didn't get one. Oh wait, he's a Bruin. Never mind).

I swear the two refs doing tonight's game had no clue how to handle the pressure.

So Patches scored. An angry Erik Cole scored. And Darche scored shorthanded while Habs were killing an accidental 4 minute high stick by Eller on a fanned shot. Apparently it was the first shorthanded goal they gave up this year. There's a lot to like about how the team played and hit and competed. Ending it in a shootout where no one could score, however, was a little aggravating. Pretty sure everyone will be salivating over Timmeh Thomas' BIG SAVE on PK's last shot of OT that was flubbled and going wide anyway.

Honestly I don't care about the fans cheering when Chara got hit in the face with the puck. It's not exactly without history... I mean can you really blame them? We're not exactly talking how the Bruins fans got up and cheered the clipping on Salo, or the hit on Miller... They still remember what happened, and how he got away with it, and how the fans of the Bruins acted and still act, and how the League basically ridiculed a kid nearly being paralyzed on the ice. Patches has moved on, and that's nice, he has to play and is a fantastic hockey player. However fans don't forget. And frankly a little more anger from Patches would do him a world of good on this team against them. But hey, a visor would have also prevented the puck from hitting Chara that high in the face... I call it Karma giving Chara a wink. Probably the best part of it all is Brad Marchand talking about classlessness. Cool story, bro.

Anyway, I liked the way Andrei and Gomez responded to the incidents at practice. Sure Andrei turned over the puck weakly. But he corrected himself, played hard, threw his body around well. And he nearly scored when his shot dribbled through Thomas only to get cleared by an alert defenceman. Not sure why Eller was benched for most of the game though. Match ups? Feeling? His penalty? He also threw a killer hit on Thornton.

Bonus: Don't have to see the fugly Bruins faces 'til next year. Small victories.

This rat is cute. Brad Marchand is not.

Habs 5, Leafs 0: Delicious

It's tough trying to get a replay when the Habs beat the Leafs on CBC. It's like they do everything possible to break the video.

Well the party I went to was rather meh and awkward but I had to say goodbye to a friend who's going jet setting around the world. I was pleased to learn from the lone other person I knew there that the boys were destroying the Leafs. Figured I'll catch the online replay to enjoy it later, only to find out the fucking play-by-play turned off for the whole game. Some would say that's a good thing, but when the ACC is a morgue, you need the ridiculous calls by Cole and Galley and yes even Healy if anything so as not to pass out. And to laugh at their stupidity.

Also that was a lame ceremony for Mats... Hey remember when the loving fanbase/media were angry at him because the team he was loyal to got annoyed he didn't want to waive his no trade clause in his final year with them? Yea no mention of that. It's all kumbaya here.

Habs are pros at spoiling parties.
- There are more Habs than Leafs who played with Mats Sundin.
- And it was Pierre Gauthier who drafted Mats Sundin for the Nordiques because he said the big Swede was the best available player. Hey for all his faults, he does have somewhat a good eye for players. Sometimes. He was also big on Lars Eller which is turning out lovely thanks.
- Before the game Ron MacLean told Don Cherry that Boyce and Phaneuf would score. Carey Price LOLed.
- Price's week: 4-0-0, 2 SO, 0.98 GAA, .967 save percentage.
- 20 goals for Colé!
- And Patches keeps rolling.
- No one misses Mike Cammalleri. And Bourque probably fits in better because he's not exactly vying for a letter on his jersey either.
- Highlight of the night: Lars Eller!

Suck it Phaneuf! WOO!

- You can stop bitching about Darche's ice time. If he were getting those minutes while sucking, then yes.  But considering he's playing a simple shutdown role with Pleky, it's just what the doctor ordered. Add in Bourque or Moen, and Pleky finally has some gritty linemates who'll make space for him and themselves.

- Also that was a nice goal.

- Sit down and shut the fuck up, Mike Brown. And shave that ridiculous moustache. If you think you're Sabretooth with those chops, think again.

- Also if you think PK was going to slew foot Kessel, you're fucking blind. He was going for a hit and turned because the puck had left and went into the corner. NO ONE SKATES WITH THEIR FEET GLUED TOGETHER, ESPECIALLY WHEN TURNING. He wasn't even looking at the guy once the puck left.

- Also considering how uber sensitive the refs are when it comes to the Leafs, if the ref didn't call it then it's nothing.

- Emelin had NINE hits.

- Gotta love the guys playing hard to preserve Price's shutout. They were upset they messed it up for him in Long Island.

Price had more points than the Leafs tonight, assisting on Darche's goal.

No matter where you are in the standings, the Habs mantra should always be: JUST BEAT THE LEAFS!

Habs 4, Islanders 2: Dear God

Dear God,
This is Scott Gomez speaking. I know I make way too much money, but I give back most of it to various charities and my own hockey program back home for underprivileged children. I think the most I've used of it was for a new fishing rod. Anyway, the Archdiocese of Montreal has asked fans to pray that we make that lucrative 8th spot. I would seriously gladly give up every bit of scoring touch if that were to happen, but I realize the boys need some help with goals. I'm really not up to trying the Olli Jokinen Big Mac special... These guys have been through a lot this year. And most of the fans are really cool with you. So what do you say, God?

Thanks. You're awesome.

- Max Pacioretty is kind of tied with Ovechkin in goals and points. I am not shitting you.
- And a 00.0 hat trick!
- Oddly enough the first career hat trick for Patches is fighting for a headline...
- Carey Price got 20 wins behind this team finally. That deserves an award considering.
- Dude, like every angle RDS showed us was a high stick on that Moulson goal but I'm guessing considering the speed they went through the review, and the fact they didn't even want to review it, tells me the refs wanted out of that shitty building as soon as possible.
- Yea, they gave Streit the 2nd star of the game. OK there...considering the game was basically the Islanders vs Price and he doesn't even get recognized for that?
- Andrei Kostitsyn didn't believe Gomez scored. Gomez replied with a "LOLfuckyou".
- I have a costume to make for a party Saturday night. It's not going well...

You can take this down now.

Other than spending way too much time in their own zone and basically forgetting there's another end of the ice to play in, Habs should play like this more often. Of course praise be Price in nullifying almost everything possible.

If Pacioretty doesn't win the Masterton trophy this year, I will seriously lose whatever thinly veiled faith in the League I had left since you-know-what happened...

Habs 3, Jets 0: Reverse

In an interview with Elliotte Friedman, Price was asked to describe the Habs season in one word. Without hesitation, he quickly wondered if he could use "roller coaster" as one word. I'd have asked to use "Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde"... You just never know what you'll get with this team. I mean, there are trends. They perform better against certain teams, and just don't show up at all against others. Even then, you still don't know what you'll get.

Ultimate tease. One thing though when they have a good game, it's a damn good game.

However they didn't start this game so great. In the back-to-back early starts after a disappointing shutout loss yesterday, they looked extremely sloppy. If not for Price holding the fort, calming them down, we'd be signing a different tune after 60 minutes. Basically, to me, the result of this game felt like a big FUCK YOU to the asswipes on the radio, both callers and mediots, who suggest to trade Price or that he's one of the problems this year. (Quote of the day was from Rookie, "Habs have 99 problems. Carey Price ain't one"). For instance, did you know the Habs are pretty much the only team in the League who didn't yank either of their goalies mid-game all season? A goalie who does his job is one who gives you that chance to win every night, and he's done that. The only puck that got by him was long after the ref blew the whistle 5 times because the Jets fucked up their change on a delayed penalty. (Though why it wasn't too many men, I'll never know).

On today's menu:
- A 23-save shutout with some spectacular moves by Price. His 15th career.
- Patches' 19th goal of the year.
- Palushaj's first assist!
- Emelin's second goal of the year, shorthanded off Pleky's patented Czech Sausage.
- Emelin's first interview after a real game.
- Pleky got booed when it was announced to be his goal instead of Gomez. WE REALLY JUST WANT GOMEZ TO SCORE A GOAL!!!
- PK had a hell of a game and scored an ippon on Wheeler who was upset his breakaway was foiled. Frankly he should have thanked PK who was ready to send him first class into the reds but let up.
- Emelin had 5 hits. Quintuple BOOM!
- Adorable kids line is born: Palushaj-Eller-Leblanc (who switch between playing center every now and then).
- Darche missed 5 wide open nets.
- Pleky hit the post twice on the empty netter (blind shot and then was tripped on the second try).
- No really, how many Habs does it take to hit an empty net?
- Someone surely could take Campoli for a draft pick...
- Habs shots on goal 11-11-1. Still ended up equal with the Jets overall (23).
- Claude Noel probably not answering to reporters any more enthusiastically than the last Jets game.

Only shame, with the empty netter available, Gomez didn't get on the ice. I know you want to keep your game plan set, and they were on the penalty kill, but c'mon...give the man a break! Of course, knowing Gomez, he'd probably give the puck to Price to get HIM a goal. That's just how he is.

How do you say "BOOM!" in Russian?

Habs 1, Sabres 3: Go back to your All-Star break

So Price spent a weekend charming the world, getting scored on for fun, and partying in Hull (and maybe in Ottawa before 1am), returns to Montreal, has a day off Monday while his teammates have a full 2pm practice, comes to the Bell Centre tonight...and stands on his head like he never spent 4 days partying.

What a terrible waste of an All-Star performance by his teammates. His only reward was first star honors to flip signed pucks to the fans.

And of course in a one-goal game, they pull him for the extra man, and give up the empty net to that fuckwit troll Kaleta of all people.

I think Miller's crease needs to be mopped up from all that drool as he took a 60 minute nap.

Meanwhile, Paul Gaustad is a prick. After the final siren, he asked Patches (who scored his 18th goal) where Chara was. Gorges and Darche were about ready to jump on him but the refs got in the way. And we gave Gaustad a 3rd star too for his lucky goal (his 5th)... Guessing that was non-fan voted as an automatic by the veto man behind the scenes. Asswipe. In a game you just won 3-1, tied in the bottom of the barrel with the Habs? And you do that? Big strong man--the same man who did nothing while his goalie got run--hiding safely behind the fact the game was over and the refs were holding Gorges back?

Hey Gaustad, where's Lucic?

I'm not posting a cute animal picture tonight. Instead I'm posting the video of Emelin's latest BOOM victim. Only because it was Pominville.

DESTROYED!

Habs 7, Red Wings 2: Absolute Satisfaction

As a Habs fan first and Blackhawks fan second, that was the most satisfying win this year since the Habs trolled the Bruins early on in the season. Also because for the past two days TSN990 has been kissing thr Red Wings ass non-stop. At least now we go on a break with these guys confused and squirming behind their microphones, confused and shocked on what happened tonight.

By the way, I was wishing for the game to turn out this way. Not solely because I can't stand the Red Wings, mostly because I was sick to death of the fuckwit mediots.

We now have about a week of free wings. Thanks!
- Rene Bourque bounced a Gomez pass off his leg while doing what we got him for: crashing the net.
- My boy Emelin! His first NHL goal (finally) against the top team of the League? Yes please, thank you sir, I would like some more. So happy for the Gremelin. Crowd gave him a great reception. He had two more great chances as well.
- Little Big DD, so crafty. Dirty little squeaker on his first goal, wonderful smile on his second. (A powerplay goal to boot). Almost had a hat trick. Actually, almost had four goals!
- Red Wings fans bitch more than Habs fans about penalties, but seriously? You guys have nothing to bitch about... Interference is called "defence" for them.
- SuperPleky's 10th!
- Before Conk could test the ice, Patches scored on him.
- Lost in all the goals, Price was just incredible tonight. Right off the bat he made a big glove save off a laser from the point. Stopped plenty with Holmstrom's fat ass in his face, none very easy. And if he doesn't make that partial breakaway toe-save off his old buddy Darren Helm, I think this game ends completely differently...
- We know it's stupid superstitions, but would it kill you to shut the fuck up about shutouts Gord?
- And SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT PK! Shocking, I know. Coach is coaching. What a fucking concept!
- Lars Eller's job tonight was to help shut down Pavel Datsyuk. How did he do? Datsyuk had zeros across the board and a -1.
- Habs penalty kill is currently #1 in the League.
- Might be up 6-2 but that doesn't stop Erik Cole from crashing the net. One more and he's got 20.
- SOMEONE THREW AN OCTOPUS ON THE ICE! I don't know what's more disturbing: putting a squishy smelly octopus in a bag and successfully sneaking it into the Bell Centre, or sitting there with a squishy smelly octopus until about 10 seconds were left in the game.

Of course the results of tonight's effort didn't stop TSN from pissing on the Habs all game. I mean the Wings had a built in excuse what with Lidstrom suddenly pulling out from the lineup due to the flu. Because you know, we have no idea what that's like. I'd say regardless of the score, neither team stopped playing. If it was too much trouble for you, Bob, you could have just gone to play Solitaire on your iPad somewhere else.

Actually, scratch that. Keep disrespecting the Habs, everyone. You know they'll love to prove you wrong.

Feels good going on the break on a high. Now Price and Diaz (!!!!) get to go to the All-Star Game and party with Jimmy Howard. Awkward much?

Habs 4, Pens 5 (SO): In dire times...

...we look at the bright side.

They scored 4 goals.

Unfortunately, "One More Beer" Budaj was in nets scaring the shit out of me every time the puck went near him. There's only so much dumb luck one can bank on.

They scored a powerplay goal.

Unfortunately, a complete full team brain fart had them give up a shorthanded goal to Dustin Jeffrey of all people. Blame PK all you want, what the fuck were the rest of the guys doing on the one side of the rink?

Wait, I was supposed to look at the bright side!

Uh...they got a point. McGuire said getting at least a loser point was important. For whatever that's worth.

Adorable and fluffy, but big assholes on the ice.

Habs 2, Sens 3 (SO): "Losers" get loser point

Tough to watch a group of guys with a thin veil of confidence work so hard and come up short. I've seen enough Sens games this year to know when the Habs actually (rarely) scored with Price pulled for the extra man to tie it up what the outcome would be in overtime. Usually it's Spezza. He actually missed. Alfredsson is 4-for-4 in shootouts.

For what it's worth, Bourque is apparently pretty good in shootouts.

After the game Price said he believed they deserved better (which is true) but is tired of using that excuse. Right now he's not really sure what to say anymore. And what do you want him to say? We're out of excuses, and out of ideas. Just gotta keep chipping away.

Budaj gets the call tomorrow against the Rangers.

I will now post a really cute animal after every loss. Today's loss brings us a Red Panda!

Habs 3, Bots 1: Victoire!

To the separatists outside the Bell Centre and their little protest: language laws do not apply in the hiring of a hockey coach. And the only bilingual coach I would want for this team is the guy the Habs beat tonight.

You can see it on the ice, on the faces of the players, and the results. It has taken some time for Cunney to change his shell shocked men who have been programmed to score a goal and sit back to wait for a counter-attack chance. The playbook on the Habs will need to be thrown out for the 3rd period now. The message is clear: the other team might score, they might get a lucky bounce, or a tough break, but we will not back down.

It's basically what happened tonight. Similarly to what happened last game against the Jets.

Dominic Moore, despite being accosted by Erik Cole by the left boards, tossed the puck to the net where my old nemesis Vince knocked into Emelin and Price allowing the puck to bounce in. Didn't really like the contact with Price but it looked like the puck hit his stick blade before he ran into them.

A lucky shot. A lucky bounce. Tough break. C'est la vie.

Moments later Price makes a sick toe save on St. Louis, saving them from going down 2-0. Deep breath, it's ok guys. You're playing a team that has Marc-Andre Bergeron in for nearly 20 minutes.

Pressure. Lars Eller gets the crowd to their feet every time he touches the puck now. You can see the confidence oozing out of him. AK46 razzle-dazzles, creates chances, hits hard, unfortunately the tic-tac-toe play hits the post. Emelin destroys a few guys. We had some face-cage on face-cage violence as he turned Martin St. Louis into a new board ad and found a fly swatting his windshield named Ryan Malone. Chip away. Frustrate them. Take away their speed.

Stamkos had 1 shot on net the whole game. It wasn't for lack of effort, rather it was because Lars Eller and his line kept them in check and Josh Gorges was there to back them up.

Two goals in 93 seconds. Fourth line with a solid shift, Blunden flips a dirtly little backhand over Garon. After Price makes a game saving save, PK flips the puck into the next time zone onto Patches' stick who breaks in and scores. Guy Boucher calls a timeout. Moments later, Lars Eller kicks the puck into their net because Bergeron--in fits of desperation--hooks him away. No call on the hook, no goal, Bolts still look for answers. The closest they get is after the buzzer to end the 2nd.

“There was a lot of communication on the bench between the players and the coaches in the third because of all the leads we’ve been giving up lately. That communication from the coaches was huge and because of that we knew we weren’t going to let things slip away,” continued Pacioretty on the Canadiens bench bosses. “Tonight I think you have to credit the biggest part of our victory to the coaches. If you had a camera on them you’d see how vocal they were. They tweaked a lot of things in the third and it helped us a lot.”

Truer words were never spoken. The camera caught a few of those chats between the players and the staff. Lightning tried. There was a shift that had them set up to start something when Gionta ran off the bench, stole the puck at the blueline and just flew down the ice. Too bad he hit the side of the net but that was super. Same from Eller after snuffing out any attempts by the Lightning, he took it to their net 2-on-1 with Kostitsyn. They were at the end of their shift and basically running on fumes but they still pressed hard. And with the empty net available, Patches forced Bergeron to take a penalty resulting in some Desharnais magic to give Erik Cole his 17th goal, on the powerplay, basically ending the game.

Habs bounce over the Bolts in the standings, who have now lost 3 in a row. Baby steps. We don't know where they'll go or end up but hey, at least it's not boring any more!

Protestors handed these out to fans waiting in line, asking them to wave them as the team took to the ice.

I saw about 5 during the Canadian anthem. Price thought they were for the Nordiques.

These were found in a Bell Centre poubelle.

Please keep politics away from hockey, thanks.

2012 has been kind to the Bulldogs as well. Though they lost Nathan Lawson to a head hit in yesterday's win over the Crunch and had to sign some dude in a local men's league to back up Mayer, the Dogs beat the Marlies 4-1 after smashing the Crunch 5-2.

And Brendan Gallagher returns from his bronze medal win, ready to terrorize the WHL again. Ho hum, a hat trick and four assists in a 8-4 win over the Portland Winterhawks in front of Guy Lafleur who visited the Giants for a Legends night.

Habs 2, Devils 1: Miracle?

That was no miracle. That was Carey Price.

This team would be beyond hopeless without him. And to think there are still haters out there! People who think he gives up when he's scored on. People who mistake his calmness for being nonchalant. There are people who do not understand his loyalty to his team, nor do they understand his will to win. Considering he's been standing on his head for this team and still gets the loss most nights is enough to depress anyone. But when he stops Parise on a bullshit penalty shot in a one-goal game and gets so excited over it that he practically does a little dance in celebration, to these idiots I say GET A CLUE.

Welcome to the Habs, Kaberle. He matched Spacek's debut with the Canes (2 assists) and the powerplay did look significantly better with him on it. All this without any practice or knowing how your teammates play. Pretty good I'd say. Pacioretty's finish on his dish to Cole was a powerplay goal. His complimentary play after Desharnais intelligently worked the puck out of the corner came as a powerplay was expiring. Sure, he's Kaberle, which means he's defensively soft. But they put him with Emelin, which was another experiment all together 'cause it threw Emelin on the wrong side. Nevertheless Emelin adapted pretty quickly to the change and the NHL rookie did pretty good to cover up for his soft partner. And yes, I know they were on the ice for the lone Devils' goal that came off a terrible partial block.

I'm willing to give the man a chance. And it's not like his contract is untradeable... If the need should arise, there is always a playoff team looking to add someone like him to give them a little bit more whether for a powerplay or just general depth on D, especially if they're confident enough they can pair him with someone who can cover up the bad side of his game.

Habs 1, Oilers 3: Take a flight

I don't even know the appropriate recap to this....

They looked disinterested for 40 minutes, looked like SHIT on the powerplay which the Oilers kept giving them, slept through a bad pass to Ryan Jones who's shorthanded softhands got the Oilers on the board with another shorthanded breakaway that they replied by immediately giving another one to Ryan Smyth right after.

And my god what the hell is wrong with Plekanec. I'm not talking about him playing out of position on the point of a powerplay. But his half-assed perimeter play and turn overs, quite pedestrian on both Oilers goals.

Cammy got a star for hitting the post. Wow. At least Patches scored a fucking goal people!

I guess you can sum it all up to Erik Cole heading down on a two-on-one, decides to pass to the well covered by two Oilers trailer in David Desharnais. Honestly. SHOOT THE FUCKING PUCK.

I also have issue with Lars Eller getting table scraps now that he lost his Kostitsyn to injury while little DD gets the snipers. Don't get me started with giving up another empty netter...

Of course, Jacques Martin insults our intelligence by blaming the youth for the powerplay's sucking. Thanks Jacques! Maybe you should watch LAST YEAR'S tapes.

Habs head West. Hopefully the flight will extract their heads from their asses so they can aim when they shoot.

Habs 3, Rags 5: Hey refs, you suck

Question: Instigator penalty? Considering they jumped Blunden for a clean hit? Nothing.

Question: Nokie/Sauer tossed? Still looking for an answer. Tossed for hugging each other on the boards? Is Tim Peel making a statement?

Question: Snow shower penalty? Blame the Red Wings for bitching about it in the playoffs last season. I mean Price gets a snow shower pretty much every game and just shakes it off like whatever. Refs prefer players run goalies?

You can call us paranoid, but when a TSN producer goes on Twitter to basically echo our sentiments I figure we know what we're talking about.

At the very least they didn't give up. Patches scored at "home" once the stupidity settled. Well, no it didn't because another penalty was called right after. Andrei Kostitsyn on the powerplay and guess what guys? HE SCORED A GOAL. Late in the 3rd, Gionta scored from the blueline. I mean they had other chances, like Erik Cole with a ridiculous move hits the fucking post...and Price with a ridiculous pass to Cammy who hits the fucking post. Our snipers need to work on their aim. You know, like Brad Richards does while using a retreating defenceman for a screen.

Other than the stupidity from Tim Peel, only other thing that pissed me off was how they forgot the empty net was there. No idea what PK was doing.

Would have been a tall order to win 5 in a row, but would have been great to get at least a point. They came close. But close only works in brownie points.

Regroup. It's the start of a busy month. Will we maybe see Gremlin play? RDS is already rolling their eyes and chuckling "KHL" when they talk about him. Asshats.

Habs 5, Avs 6 (SO): El tipico

Habs, you've got some 'splainin to do!
Ai-yai-yai-yai-yai!
Habs, what do you have to say for yourself?
And as I recall, it was till death do us part. That event is about to take place right now!!
Mira lo que este equipo ha hecho...
Mira lo que este equipo loco ha hecho...
Ai que barbaridad...

PK! Son! You have got to stop trying to do everything yourself. If there weren't so many injuries, you'd probably be up in the pressbox right now. This team needs you. This team can't play Gorges or Gill for 60 minutes. You're the most veteran young defenceman on the team right now. But mostly that horrendous want to go coast-to-coast while your team is changing and you're the last man out there, going through 4 guys, giving Stastny the opportunity to go on a breakaway... That stuff just can't happen right now. Neither can you seriously float through the defensive zone, ignoring the guy behind you. Especially if you claim to be #AlwaysOn.

PK unit! Guys! With Diaz dinged for a bullshit call (seriously, if you call that trip and don't call the one in OT on Eller, you got no business calling that a trip) you've got to get the puck out and away. It was a crucial kill, yet y'all acted like there was still 3 periods to play instead of 3 minutes. Lose the faceoff? Jump on the player/puck like Halpern did in his "kill time" faceoffs. Get down and dirty! There was just waaaay too much scrambling, waaaay too much running around, and no one covering the point shots. And yes, once again, everyone facing the wrong way.

Pricey...

"It was a roller coaster," Price said. "I thought the guys played well and deserved better. It was a tough one for me tonight, obviously, with five goals. I wish I would have played better but at least we got a point out of it. We can move forward with that, I guess."

Not really worried about him. He's basically got a lot to take care off with the defense being the way it is. People making Luongo jokes need to get a clue. He's not sprawled helpless on the ground every fucking time like LOLongo, who's playing behind a much better more experience team and HAS to be better than what he's shown not just this year but previous years. If Luongo played for the Habs, they wouldn't have any wins this season so far. Actually he'd probably have had a nervous breakdown years ago and would have been traded elsewhere for his own sanity.

As for the shootout? Well, frankly, do what you gotta do in OT. Going to a shootout with Colorado is like praying for 6 numbers that count. Especially when JMart puts Pleky out first while Gio/Gomez are sitting there, watching. Especially when Colorado is full of shootout specialists.

Take the point and run. Though they did play better than what they showed against Calgary, it wasn't by much. Nevertheless, loved little DD jumping into Patches' arms after he scored that goal. Peanut butter and Nutella. That's what those two are, assisting on each others' goals. Also the powerplay looked a lot better. Ironic that Pleky, now removed from the point, scored from there with a wicked slapshot. Another great gritty goal for Moen. And Gionta's backhand goal was sick. Captain owes us some goals with all those he missed...

Good news! Apparently the live organ music has returned.

#OctoberProblems:
- John Tavares has the same amount of goals as the entire Rangers squad.
- He also has the same amount of goals as Winnipeg, who are still looking for their first win (0-3-0).
- MAB has more points/goals than Stamkos, St Louis, Lecavalier. RDS is pissed.
- RNH probably isn't going to play for Team Canada at the World Juniors.
- No one in Chicago can elevate the puck on Timmeh Thomas, causing Jack Edwards to explode on every routine save he makes.
- Don't let my dad watch hockey. Please. He's scaring the dog.
- Columbus is 0-4-1 and it ain't pretty.
- Toronto's planning the parade.

Habs 5, Jets 1: Spoilers!

They were partying since Wednesday for this. Naturally we come in to spoil your fun. Taking care of business, so to say.

The Gazette playing it safe claimed the Habs should graciously loose this one. Sorry but there's no room to be nice. Habs have been the nice guys for far too long and all they get is shit on by the League.

The panic button has been un-pushed for now.
- Your loud arena doesn't scare us. It's just a mini Bell Centre, only the fans aren't bitter. Yet.
- OK they're even cheering for Ron Hainsey. Give 'em time...
- And it shall be known that the return of the Jets was met by a shitty dead-cat version of our anthem courtesy of off-key Jim Cuddy and Chantal Kreviaczuk wearing a crow.
- Nice tribute to Rypien. Even has a clip of him punching it out with Greg Stewart.
- RDS makes it difficult to watch games without a scoreboard graphic. I have no idea what time it is.
- Cammy victimizes Oduya for the first Habs goal of the year and it's gorgeous. He has atoned! And became an answer in a trivia question.
- Then Cammy gets cut by a skate. Gone for 2 weeks. FUCK IT!
- Desharnais doesn't give a damn how tall you are.
- Emelin played AWESOME. And no worries about communication. Pleky speaks Russian too.
- Plekanec's first goal of the year is a highlight reel goal. Czech on Czech.
- Also should be noted he was very upset with the game in Toronto. Excellent response.
- Carey Price was rocking to the music when not joking around with the ref.
- First Jets goal is bullshit. Typical. And I think they still have the same goal horn as the Moose.
- Price should play sick more often.
- Everyone shits on Engqvist. Hello? He's not going to wow you. His job is penalty kill and take faceoffs, of which he was excellent in doing today. Even against Little, who usually KILLS us.
- With Spacek out, it pays to have a Swiss Mister on the 4th line. First powerplay goal against in the returned-Jets rink.
- What? We're losing?! GOON IT UP, BOYS! You're such an awesome coach, Claude.
- Your refs for the day were 3 guys from Winnipeg, plus some other guy. Doesn't matter, they ended up losing their shit anyway.
- Sorry Winnipeg. Just because you're new doesn't make you exempt from hockey rules. Beside, you had a zillion powerplays to do something.
- Moen undressed 2 defencemen and Pavelectric while Allan Walsh bitched about Pierre-Marc Bouchard's suspension.
- Diaz did not fear nor give up on Big Buff, and stole the puck away.
- Gio's so smart: He was pissed at the non-call on the holding of his stick behind the Jets' net right in front of the ref. Rammed into Buff to draw interference.
- Memo to Winnipeg: Your attempts to bug Price are ineffective.
- Memo to the Jets: You pissed off Price, you did not score another goal.
- Patches rockets one in. Fuck you Chara!
- Diaz took that penalty on purpose just to take his helmet off. *swoon*
- Still think the Habs are small? Andrew Ladd hates our small forwards.
- Our 31 is better than your 31.
- He also stole the puck.

He just wants to give you hugs, Pleky.

Tweet of the Game: @AndrewBerkshire Winnipeg wanted the Jets back, and to be fair.... they got the Jets.

Habs may be "small" but they have guts. And yes they'll have more games like that lame one in Toronto...but they'll also have energetic ones like today. It's just how it goes in an 82-game season.

So we're told it's 2 weeks for Cammy. Also Blair Betts is returned-to-sender because the fucking Flyers tried waiving a guy that can't play due to injury. (And fucks up the Flyers salary cap problem, not to mention they now have 50 contracts. Suckers). Hey, fuck you Hockey Gods. There, I said it.