Habs 3, Briere 1: And you thought WE had problems...?

Habs fans wondering what is wrong with the Flyers.

Habs are undefeated in the new century. And though the game looked like players were still running on the booze from the festivities Friday, and maybe the food from Saturday's charity banquet, when you score on your 3rd shot that happens to be in the 2nd period you know it's going to be a weird night. Price was having a weird night playing to puck too, including a perfect hole-in-one to the Reds. But hey, I hate working on Mondays too, so we can all relate.

Was Captain Leadership playing? Only time I noticed him was when he launched a shot from the blue line right into the protective mesh. Carter? I didn't notice him. Only Flyer busting his ass all night was Fucking Briererererere, who's knuckle-ball one-handed breakaway shot with Rhino taking a ride on his back gave them all they got.

Hammer blocked 10 shots, and mostly by catching them with his stick. I thought we were playing lacross by then.

Bottom line is the headlines reads, "Habs held to 13 shots, beat Flyers 3-1". Somewhere Pierre McGuire's head asploded.

This picture makes me so happy!

Mondays suck, even for millionaires
- Peter Laviolette just really doesn't strike me as a Flyers coach. Too much trap, not enough goon.
- Laraque was a goal short of a Gordie Howe Hat Trick. Happy birthday anyway.
- Call up the draft year all you want: Andrei Kostitsyn 1, Captain Leadership 0.
- Mostly I spent the whole game praying Pronger was kind enough not to elbow our dear young Pacioretty. Thank you.
- Speaking of Pacioretty, he was pretty much the only player able to cross the Flyers blue line and get a sniff of their zone for over 20 minutes. With Pronger in his face all game. Hal Gill registered the ONLY shot.
- Second time Boucher stepped into the Bell Center and gets the BOOOOOOOOUCHEEEEER treatment. Also gave up 3 goals last time too. Hmm...
- Ray Emery was wearing a ball cap while on the bench, didn't punch anyone.
- Funny moment when Price was apparently the only one willing to play pass-the-puck with the Flyers.
- Rejean Houle loves Metropolit, and not because they have the same number. Know what, Rejean? We love him too! And he just loves playing his former teams.
- Ian Laperierre is the only man who's nose is in profile even when he's looking right at you.
- Lapierre's toe-drag to Cammy? Last year he would have shot it. He's learning!
- Everyone blames Coburn.
- I think MAB's shot would have murdered Boucher if that had hit him.
- Price was smirking about the low amount of shots. He just doesn't feel comfy unless it's over 30!
- New record, new century: least amount of shots by both teams in a game since (heh) 1993!

Unfortunately we lost Mara with something "upper body". Thankfully Hal Gill is back, but sadly this puts MAB back on D. May God have mercy on us all.

Hey look, Kovy!

Exterminate! Annihilate! Destroy! Habs 6 Leafs 2

Fail. It's what you do best.

Especially this time of year...
- The pregame ode to the Mounties with some cop sneaking down from the rafters was ...stupid.
- I gotta say to the idiot reporter yesterday who brought up the thing about the email to hold the safety report on the boat where Gainey lost his daughter, you sir are a douchebag. Double douchie for pressing the matter after Bob said he knew about it already. Anyone got a hockey question?
- Oh. My. Kovalev. My brother: "How the hell did he find a hole there?!" He just does. That is The Kovalev. 1-0
- If the second line can't get anything done, there's always Fruit Punch's line! No one saw Gui walk right in to the net. He's kind of hard to miss! 2-0
- May picks his moments to be a bad ass when frankly he's just a jerk. Could have used another Laraque smackdown. Schneider with a mysterious upper-body injury. Ooooh wonderful...
- Loved seeing Stewie jump the third man to help out BGL though. Excellent game by Laraque tonight. It seems he flourished under the Gainey Regime.
- Gui! is now 2-1 on penalty shots. Too bad.
- 11/13/27 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
- Yea, Tango's got his Cash. Nice tip in. 3-0
- Gerber is such a baby. Not only was Pleky pushed into him first, the second was accidental as he made his way into position. Higgy finally scores, while Gerber throws a hissy. Never mind how many bumps Jaro took on the other side and didn't cry once. Take your .739 save percentage and maybe pay attention. 4-0
- Lucky tip. (According to my brother). I didn't see it 'cause I was in the WC. 4-1
- Kovy never leaves the ice when it's a powerplay. And why not throw in Gui! and Fruit Punch. Max sneaks in backdoor 5-1
- Excuse me while I have a heart attack but GORGES SCORED FOUR GOALS THIS YEAR NOW! 6-1
- Tango lost his mind. And hands. I was asking for a short handed goal, but I wanted the Habs to score it. 6-2
- Fuck you, Grabs. Second time he gets tossed. And Markov is pissed off on his way to the room for "repairs". He better not be hurt...
- After Markov got hurt, the Habs kind of got wonky. Until Kovy got annoyed, took the puck, went the whole length of the ice, got a shot on net, took the puck back and continued playing until he was forced off the ice for a line change.
- Kovy's night: 1 goal, 3 assists.

Conclusion: No more fucking Leafs til next year. CBC is annoying. First the Habs were killing time and playing lead protection. Second, they were keeping the Leafs to the outside and making sure they stayed there when they were in their zone. And third, go find a new team to cheer for, homers. Also Al Strachan, don't read the gossip papers from Quebec please. Roy never said he wanted to coach the team, he said maybe but not right now. And to cap it all off, Bob should stay coach. He's just amazing to see behind the bench. Muller too.

Bulldogs report!
Dogs put the smack down on the bRed Wings in back to back games. Friday was a 6-3 ass kick with Desharnais getting a hat trick and Brrrrrrrock Trotter scored 9 seconds into the game. And today was a 4-2 win with Trotter scoring the first goal again, and Yanick Lehoux finally scoring and breaking a 15 game goaless streak (though he has scored on shootouts!) as he was behind the net, on his knees and just shot the puck towards the net only to have it bounce in off Jimmy Howard. LOL. Yannick Weber scored in both games. Yay! He's making a new record for a Bulldogs defenseman, and now has 16 goals this year. Ryan Russell scored short handed.

Still in 7th. Yey.
- Fucking Whale, 3-2 OT. Pens get a point though, but the Whale must be stopped!
- Bruins beat the Rags 1-0. Yawn. And Avery is back to his usual self. I wonder how Torts will sounds after having to deal with the guy for an entire season...
- ZOMG Dallas beat the Blues 5-4 in OT. Turco is injured by the way, so ECHL goalie Matt Climie got the tap ahead of Stephan. He takes number 33~!
- Sens beat the Flyers in a shootout. Niittymaki was pissed off.
- Buffalo sees the end is near. Devils win 3-2. Question: How did Kevin Weekes get injured if he's never playing?

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.

Can't really complain: Habs 2, Sabres 3

Tonight I was out eating and drinking with friends at Les 3 Brasseurs to celebrate a birthday but it was hard not to glance over at the big flat screens showing the game. (Regardless of what's on a tv when they have them at restaurants, I can't help looking because it's just there, glaring at me). Can't really complain with the outcome, though. Habs and Sabres are two pretty even teams in terms of style. Much like the Pens games, it's all speedy firewagon hockey. Though some nights, you'll meet Ryan Miller on top of his game, and coming off a yawner of a shutout against Toronto, you could say Yomammaween was definitely in top shape. Even his own teammates took notice, considering the Canadiens flung a game's worth of shots at him by the second period.

As I sipped my blond beer mixed with whisky and maple syrup...
- PATCHES! What a kid! No way he sees Hamilton again this year...
- Kovy's penalties don't bug me considering the Habs have a tendency to make some good shorthanded chances. Fruit Punch tried but tripped. No biggy, just happy he didn't hurt himself.
- Koivu with a roughing penalty? The Captain has bite since he's gotten his legs going.
- More goals for Koivu is yummy. And on the powerplay, well, that's even better.
- Fruit Punch rocked the faceoffs.
- Hammer Time! Wish he'd do that more...
- Thankfully Dagger wears a visor, or that could have been worse...
- Cube, I love you, but why did you try to punch that guy?
- You'd think refs would know to stay clear of the boards when a team in on the PK? It's not rocket science. I'm so tired of seeing what would be a perfect clearing shot slowed down or deflected by a ref in the bloody way.
- Good to see Laraque out there. One thing I noticed, he was skating pretty smoothly.
- I ordered a chicken cesar salad, and they gave me it without the chicken... so the waitress brought me a side plate of the chicken pieces... it was rather lame and defeated the whole purpose.
- When the Canadiens score, someone rings a gong at Les 3 Brasseurs.
- I actually finished my beer for once.

Conclusion: Just one of those games where a hot goalie makes for a nearly impassable wall. Otherwise, it would have been rather one-sided considering all those chances he robbed. Still, it's one of those good games with the wrong outcome, but I enjoyed what I saw of it.

Bulldogs!
February hasn't been too kind to the Bulldogs either, but they finally got an interesting win. I say interesting because: it was a two-goal night for Yannick Weber who opened the scoring and got the winner in overtime AND has now become the first defenceman to score 12 goals in one season for the Dogs, it was against the bSens and Gerber Baby was in nets, defencemen were doing all the scoring (Weber and Carle).

A 4-1 Win but...Man Down! Sergei says "My gang will get you"

I wasn't very impressed by the Coyotes. And this was before the headshot to Andrei Kostitsyn.

Gretzky may have been the Great One in his days, but as a coach, his result is awful. In fact they look worse than Toronto. Sure Gretzky might say the right things to his group or to the press, but the way they play together just looks like no one is taking charge. They look lost most of the time, with only a few flashes on individual efforts or absolutely chaotic PK plays.

The Canadiens meanwhile, are a band of brothers. And I'm not just talking about Sergei and Andrei. It's a bonded team, where even those who just arrived look like they've been here together for years. Practice pictures that are posted for us to see are always full of players smiling, having fun, joking around, and generally just being happy, and it shows in their game. It was like that last year, even when facing elimination from the playoffs, they never looked any different. So whatever Carbo and the rest of the staff are doing, keep it up. A week of practice is on the planner after Monday's game, which gives the lines more time to gel. This is, after-all, only the 5th game of the season.

Trade helmets: Gorges and Price

Though it was a rather strange dirty goal assisted by Rhino's foot and Price's stick, what's up with Doan always able to score at least once on his cousin?

Hopefully Andrei will be back soon. Clean or not, it was a headshot and he landed face first on the ice after kissing the glass. Yotes just made enemies, not only with Sergei or the rest of the team, but the entire city.

Tonight was also my mother's first time at a live hockey game, taking my brother's place since he was studying. She really enjoyed it, though wasn't so sure about all the fighting but in the end just accepted it since she didn't really like the Coyotes either.

Meanwhile...
- When I came home my brother was watching HNIC and it was 2-0 Flames. Suddenly the Oilers beat them with 3 goals.
- Crosby finally uses the Leafs like we do, and gets himself his first goal of the year.
- Rangers finally LOSE, but it goes to a 5-4 score against the Red Wings?
- The Stars are looking kind of shitty recently... I'm kind of disappointed.
- Hmm as I write this, the score is tied between the Flyers and the Sharks at 4 a piece. I don't know what's worse, the Flyers getting 4 goals or that it take the Sharks more than 4 to try and beat them.
- Chicago fired Savard and still loses. Ya, methinks your coach was far from the problem, but whatever. Any monkey will do? Of course, I don't think you can expect an immediate solution, especially from somehow who just had a DUI trial.