Friday, February 29, 2008

Habs Feast in the East!!!!


Tomas Plekanec scored his first career hat-trick, as the Canadiens beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-2 to take over the Northeast division Lead.

Plekanec score the game winner at 5:34 into the period, on his second of three goals.

Mark Streit had a goal and 2 assists, and Alex Kovalev had 4 assists. Carey Price made 31 saves, on a night where his former teammate, Cristobal Huet, had a shutout for the Washington capitals. It was also the second time this year the both Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn scored in the same game.

Predicting the Game: Habs @ Buffalo




From now on all four of our writers will be predicting the score of that night's game, along with a lucky coin being flipped (Heads: Home Team wins, Tails: Away Team wins.)


The Guru: 2-1 Habs
Mike L: 4-2 Habs
Russian Spy: 4-1 Habs
Habdul: 3-2 (OT) Habs
The Coin: Tails (Habs)



So it looks like we're all expecting the Habs to pull out the victory...let's hope they do it.

We're on Facebook Now!

The title is relatively self-explanatory, check it out...

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11174237391

The Second Season?

During the next 48 hours a lot can change for the Montreal Canadiens.

The last time the Habs faced the Sabres was Nov. 24. They came back from 2-0 but lost 4-2.
The time before that, The Canadiens were destroyed 3-0 at the Bell Centre and Jocelyn Thibault posted a shutout. Yes you read that correctly Jocelyn Thibault.

At their last visit to New Jersey on Jan.24, The Canadiens were down 1-3 going into the third period. They played one of their best third periods of the season, scoring three unanswered goals past Martin Brodeur to win 4-3.

The Devils coach took a personal offence to this and put the Devils through a harsh practice immediately after the game. Since then, New Jersey has been on fire and sits atop the Conference lead.

With 18 games remaining in the regular season, The Canadiens are 1 point back of the Ottawa Senators with a game in hand. The Habs can take over the division lead with a win on Friday night against the Sabres.

The Habs also have the chance to take the conference lead on Saturday night when the Habs host Mr. B and the Devils. The Habs would need to win both games combined with New Jersey loosing to the Capitals tonight and against the Habs on Saturday.

Check back later for more pre-game

Healthy Scratches:
Patrice Brisebois, Tom Kostopoulos, Mathieu Dandenault and Bryan Smolinski.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

From BelaRussia With Love



The Montreal Canadiens hold three of the greatest Belorussian prospects in the League. Andrei Kostitsyn, Mikhail Grabovski, and Sergei Kostitsyn. These three kids have shown their fans and the league that they are destined for greatness. All three of the 'Bells" are now playing in the lineup for the Habs; although neither one is playing along side the other on a line.

Each one is unique. Their potential is unlimited and the chemistry is mind boggling. They all play different positions, and have different styles. Andrei, the elder Kostitsyn, plays left wing while his brother Sergei plays right wing. Mikhail finishes off the Belorussian line as the centre. Guy Carbonneau knows what this line holds for the future, so he allows them to play 2-3 shifts a game together. When they do...Its lights out.




Stats (07-08)
AK46- 60 Games - 18 Goals - 22 Assists
SK74- 34 Games - 7 Goals - 10 Assists
MG54- (With Hamilton) 12 Games - 8 Goals - 12 Assists

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

What If?

What If?

1) Gainey has never publicaly spoken about his plans. Thus making it out of character for him to publicly state that he was going after an impact player before the trade deadline.

2) Gainey didn't end up getting the impact player despite his "supposed" best efforts as the asking price was too steep.
Was it "Actually" Gainey's intention to get an impact player in the first place. This team is being built for the long-run in mind. Was the only reason he said he was looking for a game breaker was to put the media and fans in a frenzy?
No.

He wanted to increase the asking price and making it steeper for his opponents who were gunning for Hossa, namely Ottawa, Pittsburgh and others. And sure enough the Penguins paid a steep price for a rental player.

Mission accomplished! In the next few years it will hurt the Penguins for making such a deal while Montreal continues to stack up draft picks and prospects as they near maturity.


Paddock fired in Ottawa


After losing six of their last eight and going the last 120 minutes without scoring a goal, the Senators have fired their coach John Paddock, with only 18 games left in the season.
Former coach and current GM, Brian Murray, will take over behind the bench.

The Sens started the season 16-3 in their first 19 games, but have gone 20-19-6 since their great start, including two seven game losing streaks.

The Montreal Canadiens currently sit 1 point behind Ottawa for the division lead and have 3 most contests against the Sens this season.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

What Goes on in the Mind of a Genuis?

Gainey drafted Carey Price 5th overall in the year that Theodore was having a career year.
We criticized him.
It turned out to be great.

Gainey traded Theodore to Colorado.
We criticized him.
It turned out to be great.


Gainey traded Huet to Washington.
We criticized him.
It WILL turn out great.


Management sat down today and discussed the team. They decided that Huet was not the team’s goalie for the future and that they were not confidant with him in net. Price is the future and needs experience and the confidence that he will be the number 1 guy.

Huet ? Hossa? How About Higgins feat. The Belarussians!!! With Price

Canadiens 5 - Thrashers 1

The Montreal Canadiens showed its fans and Bob Gainey that they are better left untouched. Christopher Higgins, the first star of the night, scored 2 goals and 1 assist while Carey Price showed us why he was given confidence to become the #1 goalie. Price, the second star, made 26 saves in his first win of the post Huet Era.

More to come....

No Hossa for Habs


The Pittsburgh Penguins have aquired Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a first round pick.


The Habs were simply outbid by the pens, who aquired one of the most coveted forwards on deadline day.


Bob Gainey stated how Atlanta wanted 4 elements in the trade for Marian Hossa. By looking at the deal made by Pittsburgh, it would seem as if the Habs would give up Higgins, Ryder, Grabovski and a 1st round pick.

Pittsburgh may have been able to give up as much as they did, seeing the depth that they have in talented players, while the same deal could have cost the Habs both this year and in the long run.

Huet a Cap!!!!!


Tsn reports that the Habs have traded Huet to the Washington Capitals for a second round pick in 2009.

More to come...
------------------------------------------------------


Huet said that he was sad to leave but understood the trade. Huet left a note for the team in the locker room saying “Had an awesome time with you, off and on the ice. Best of luck.”

Huet, 32, has a 21-12-6 record and 2.56 goals-against average this season with a .916 save percentage. (TSN)

Call Ups

The habs have recalled center Mikhail Grabovski, and he could be available for the game versus the thrashers
----------------------------------------------
Update: 11:45 Am

The Habs have called up Halak

Trade Deadline List

This will be a Trade List of all the trades completed during the Deadline. Stay tuned for Updates.

Update 1:36
Van
Matt Petinger
Was
Matt Cooke

Update 1:29

NYI
Rob Davison
SJ
7th round pick

Update 1:11
Was
Sergei Fedorov
Clb
Ted Ruth

Update 1:01
Col
D - Adam Foote
Clb
First round pick

Update: 12:36:
OTT
F - Martin Lapointe
CHI
2008 6th Round Pick

UPDATE 12:20
Car
F-Tuomo Ruutu
Chi
F- Andrew Ladd


UPDATE 12:17
Flo
F- Strastich and 3rd round pick
Col
Ruslan Salei


UPDATE 11:45
Mtl
2nd round pick
WAS
G- Cristobal Huet


UPDATE 11:42:DAL
F - Brad Richards, G Johan Holmqvist
TB
G - Mike Smith, F - Jussi Jokinen, F - Jeff Halpern


UPDATE 11:27:SJ
D - Brian Campbell
BUF
F - Steve Bernier, 2008 1st Round Pick


UPDATE 11:15:FLA
D - Wade Belak
TOR
2008 5th Round Pick


UPDATE 10:34:NJ
D - Bryce Salvador
STL
F - Cam Janssen


UPDATE Feb 25:PHI
F - Vaclav Prospal
TB
D - Alex Picard, 2009 conditional pick (2nd or 3rd)

TSN




Update: 1:07 AM

According to my source, The Dallas Stars have recieved Brad Richards from the Tampa Bay Lighting for Jeff halpern, Jussi Jokinen and Goalie Mike Smith. More as it becomes official later in the morning.

also according to my source
Hossa is a Hab. Congrats BG

Next Up >>>>>> Kovalchuk and The Thrashers



Although they are in comfortable position in the Eastern Conference standings, the Montreal Canadiens have been suffering through some inconsistent play in goal recently.



The Canadiens look to get back on track Tuesday when they host the struggling Atlanta Thrashers
Montreal (33-21-9) has dropped consecutive games at home after winning four straight, following a 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday with a 3-0 defeat Saturday to the Columbus Blue Jackets.



Montreal was 0-for-6 on the power play on Saturday en route to its first shutout loss since Jan. 19, and fourth this season, frustrating coach Guy Carbonneau.



"I could accept losing and goals against when teams are working for them, but when you give them away, it's a different thing," Carbonneau said. "I've never seen a team shut down with no shots during a game, shots happen."



Despite the recent losses, the Canadiens enter the finale of their four-game homestand just three points behind Northeast Division leader Ottawa, and four points back of New Jersey for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. However, they are just 5-6-0 in their last 11 games while allowing 38 goals.



Cristobal Huet has been in goal for six of those games, starting five, going 2-4-0 with a 4.31 goals-against average in that span. Carey Pricehas fared a bit better, going 3-2-0 with a 2.60 GAA in seven games - six starts.
Huet is 4-2-2 with a 2.05 GAA in his career against Atlanta (29-30-4).


The rookie Price (whogets the call tonight) has faced the Thrashers only once, stopping 31 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss at home on Oct. 30.



All three games between Montreal and Atlanta this season have been decided in shootouts. The Thrashers won the first two, but lost 3-2 at home on Jan. 17.


NHL.com

Monday, February 25, 2008

NEW "CORRECT" RUMOUR!!!


Ovechkin, Malkin, Crosby, Phaneuf, and Luongo
headline the new-look Habs.


BREAKING NEWS STORY:

The flurry of deals all hopeful Habs fans were awaiting has finally arrived. In a number of deals, the Canadiens have acquired forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Gonchar, Brian Rafalski, and Dion Phaneuf, and goaltenders Robert Luongo and Martin Brodeur. They have also received the rights to the retired Eric Lindros.

The explosion of unprecedented deals came just two days after the Jersey retirement of Habs GM/former player Bob Gainey. Gainey returned the favour by creeping into the pockets of George Gillette and breaking a number of rules to land a team that could take the Canadiens to their first Stanley Cup since 1993.

The new deals have brought the Habs payroll number this year from an average $47.3 million to an asastronomical $114 million (without bonuses, for the 2008-2009 season). This unfortunately leaves the Habs an astounding $64 million over the cap. The price of "Leafs Suck" jerseys will be raised to $67 to help cover the costs.

Still retained from the Habs previous 23-man roster are: Chris Higgins, Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, Guy Latendresse, Maxime Lapierre, Michael Ryder, Michael Komisarek, Roman Hamrlik, Andrei Markov, Ryan O’Byrne, and Patrice Brisebois.

Though parts of this trade may elate some Habs fans, what is truly puzzling about the deal is that the Canadiens gave up young goaltender Carey Price and the Kostitsyn brothers, while refusing to give up soon-to-be UFAs Michael Ryder and Patrice Brisebois.

The deal should be announced officially tomorrow.

One can only wonder what the Habs plan to do with Eric Lindros.


(The above article was 100% false in every way.)



Vinny Prospal a Flyer

Vinny Prospal will be returning to the team that drafted him.

The Lightning have shipped forward Vaclav Prospal to the Philadelphia Flyers for defensemen Alexandre Picard and a second or third round draft pick in 2009.

"Alexander Picard is a young prospect with good size and excellent hockey sense who has played in the NHL," said Feaster. "We believe he has a significant amount of upside in his future. In moving Vaclav Prospal we wanted to add to our organizational depth, and by acquiring both a young defenseman and a future draft pick we were able to achieve that goal."


TSN

One Mans Opinion

Let me clarify this. This article was not written by any of the writters from this site. This was written by someone who would like to remain anonymous due to his beliefs. This author will be referred to as "Big Poppa". Please keep in mind that at Habs Express we respect everyone's opinion. The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of the authors at Habs Express.

Please keep in mind, It is just his opinion.

You might want to take a seat before reading this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let it be known now. I’m getting it out there in the clear. I’m coming out of the proverbial ‘closet’ as it were. So the public can see, I’m going to state the following: I don’t like the Montreal Canadians.

There I said it. It’s done. Wasn’t so painful, was it?

Now before you go ranting and raving about how stupid and unpatriotic I am and how wrong I am for not rooting for “Us”, let me explain to you why exactly it is I hate the Canadians.

First and foremost, it’s probably the fans. The sycophantic, hallucinating, heads stuck so far up their asses they can’t see who’s really in first place fans. You know who I’m talking about. If you’re reading this, you’re probably one of ‘them’. If you do or believe one of the following, you’re definitely one of them:-Refer to the team as we or us
-Think they can actually win the cup
-Believe that the 5 goal come back was actually an indicator of something positive
-Saku really is a first line centre! I swear!
-Brad Richards wouldn’t be good for ‘us’
-Think EITHER Kostitsyn can be better then Forsberg


I’m sick and tired of driving to school in the morning and listening to the guys on the radio bitch and moan about how great the Habs are and how their not playing to their full potential. For a team devoid of any LEGITIMATE All Stars (first timer Markov doesn’t count. He’s faded after the All Star break) you Habs fans should be counting your lucky stars their even as high up in the standings as they are. And all this talk about the ‘drive for twenty five’? Please. Get your heads out of your asses. ESPECIALLY after that win against the Rangers. The following day at school, all you heard about was how great the Habs are, how sick their chances are for a 25th cup, so on and so forth. A “great” team never would have gone 5 goals down in the 1st place! They got lucky! They barely made it past a mediocre team, and it took a once in a lifetime effort (or once in a season if you’re Michael Ryder). If they go into the playoffs putting on performances like that and relying on their ability to make ‘miraculous’ comebacks, their out in four games. Five max. This is a team that needs some serious restructuring, especially on the blue line. They’ve given up sixteen goals in their last four games? Absurd. You’ll never win the cup with defense/goaltending like that, not to mention their streaky goal scoring. Subtract the fluke goals they got out of Ryder/Streit, and that Rangers come back isn’t shit. Habs fans should not be using this as their springboard for cup talks. It’s not much to be proud of, or something you should be putting much faith into, because it really doesn’t mean anything. Especially come playoff time. It’s more a testament to a Rangers meltdown then anything. The Habs have had their fair share of 3 goal leads vanish this season as well. Did the teams that beat them immediately get whipped into a cup frenzy? Doubtful. Only in the city of Montreal would that happen. Because as passionate as the fans are, their also blind and jaded. Only a miraculous trade deadline can help the Habs make a serious push for the cup. If you believe otherwise, you’re delusional.

Post Script: I don’t think the Habs are a bad team. Just overrated.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Editors note:

-Kill him!!! (just kidding)

New Writer Joins Habs Express

Hey guys,

So even though my fellow bloggers have absolutely no previous journalistic experience (save for Habdul), and apparently no Patriotic pride (rumour has a "u",) they know their stuff.

Hope you continue coming back and checking up on us often, because Habs Express is your source for all things Habs.

Stay tuned for all the "correct" rumours your heart desires. And hey we might throw in some completely untrue ones. But don't worry. You'll know.

PS: By "might" I mean "will exclusively."

Foppa to the Rescue!

"The Colorado Avalanche have won the Peter Forsberg sweepstakes', signing the center to a one-year deal to return to the team for the rest of the season."

Forsberg will earn the equivalent of 5 million dollars for the season meaning 1 million which is left.

He spent most of this season recovering from his foot and ankle injuries. He said last week that it was very uncertain that he would return to the NHL.

The six-foot 205-pound center has played in 697 regular-season games over his 12-year career, recording 248 goals and 871 points.

TSN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


- Check back for an update.

Another one out

Alex Tanguay has officially stated that he will not wave his no trade clause.

This also could mean that the Calgary Flames will not be making trades on deadline day as they do not have the cap space, and will probably not want to give up any other members of their current team.

Price to start against the Thrashers

The Canadiens announced that Carey Price will start on Tuesday night against Atlanta.
This is weird because he didn't play great vs Columbus on Saturday.

Does this mean Huet will not wear the bleu-blanc-rouge ever again?

Stay tuned!

It's Time to Play Defence

Alexei Kovalev says that the Canadiens must tighten up defensively and stop giving up so many goals.

This is an article from the Montreal Gazette

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/sports/story.html?id=9140c120-1fac-4502-ac02-da27e0e6321e&k=16414

Sunday, February 24, 2008

One of the front runners

TSN reports that Don Waddel was spotted at the Hamilton Bulldogs game on Sunday afternoon, and it looks like Montreal and Ottawa are the front runners in the Hossa sweepstakes.

On the same note, Mats Sundin has refused to wave his no-trade clause, Making Marian Hossa, Ollie Jokinen, Alex Tanguay, Brad Richards and Patrick Marleau the biggest targets on the market before Tuesday.

Other notable rumored names to be moved are Bobby Holik, Sergei Fedorov, Michael Ryder, Rob Blake, Brian Campbell, Dan Boyle and maybe Vincent Lecavalier (exhale, it is unlikely).

Thank G-D!!! Sundin NOT waiving his NTC

Tsn reports that Mats Sundin will NOT waive his no trade clause and therefore stay a Maple Leaf...for now.

After weeks of specualtion, he finally decided that Toronto is too important for him in his life. He said "I cannot leave my teammates and join another NHL club at this time. I have never believed in the concept of a rental player...I hope everyone will understand and respect my decision".

Its nice to see they still have their captain and therefore never progress. They have horrible prospects and not enough picks and quite frankly ....I couldn't be happier. :)

What Happened Last Night?

Canadiens 0 - Columbus 3

On the night that possibly the best defensive forward was honored, one team mimicked his style perfectly. Unfortunately it was the wrong team. The Blue Jackets played hard hitting, defensive hockey. They only managed to get off 22 shots but that was all that was needed to win. The Blue jackets scored 3 goals on a shaky Carey Price.

Pascal Leclaire made 31 saves as he got his ninth shutout of the year. (How was he not an Allstar?) The thing about Pascal is, he leaves his net to challenge a shooter when their on a breakaway. He will always take away the angles and force the shooter to get impatient and take a bad angled shoot.

Of course in this game he was barely tested though. The Habs adopted the “Sergei Samsonov” style and circled the perimeter taking bad shots with NOBODY in front of the net.

The Blue Jackets basically just wrote the newest best selling book on the way to shutdown the Kovalev line. They pressured Plekanec and basically forced him to make quick plays and errors.

The score was 2-0 10 minutes in and then the Blue played the trap and just killed the clock. They made it 3-0 after a horrendous Lapierre give away.

The Canadiens powerplay went 0-6, while also having a 5-3 for 1:10.

Overall it was a pathetic game on the Habs part.

The Habs now hold the fifth spot in the East Standings.

Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? And Will?
Who will Bob Gainey trade for?
What do we do with Cristobal Huet?
When will Latendresse be sent to Hamilton?
Where will the Habs finish in the Standings?
Why does Lapierre play?
How many trades will happen on Trade Deadline Day?
Will our lineup be different come Tuesday night?

A Need for Change

The trade deadline is only a few days a way and things are starting to take a turn for the worst.

Thought the Habs still remain in 5th place will a comfortable lead over the 6th place team, things are starting to look a little bleak.

The Habs have had to play Catch-up by at least 2 goal in their last 3 games.
And though things have been going well, it is obvious that there is a need for an impact player in the Habs roster.

If something does not happe by the trade deadline, the chances of Les Canadiens making a nice playoff run may be stopped short of what it could have been. (especially if we play Martin Brodeur or Sid the Kid feat. Malkin

Go Habs Go!!!!!

Bring on Hossa

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Charges dropped against Kostopoulos

RDS is reporting that the charges laid against Tom Kostopoulos after an altercation with Tampa police have been dropped.

Kostopoulos wrote a letter of apology to the officers involved in the incident, which happened when Kostopoulos came to the defence of Ryan O'Byrne outside a bar.

O'Byrne's case is still pending a decision by the Tampa prosecutor's office.

Next Up ---> Nash and the Blue Jackets

After winning for the first time in one of the NHL's three eastern Canadian cities, the Columbus Blue Jackets look for another in the one where they've had the most success.

The Blue Jackets will try to secure a winning road trip when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night for the first time since 2003.

Columbus (28-26-9) avoided a third-straight loss with a 3-2 shootout victory at Ottawa on Thursday night to improve to 2-2-0 on its five-game road trip. The win - just the Blue Jackets' third in their last 12 games - was the club's first victory in four tries at Scotiabank Place.

The Blue Jackets seek to stay on their feet tonight when they travel to Montreal for the first time since 2003.

On Saturday, the Blue Jackets, who are 12th in the Western Conference, will try for their third win in five trips to Montreal's Bell Centre. Columbus is 0-3-0 with a tie at Toronto after losing 3-1 to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Though Columbus lost 3-2 at home to Montreal on Feb. 18, 2007 in the teams' most recent meeting, the Blue Jackets haven't visited Montreal since a 1-1 tie on Nov. 11, 2003.
"I'm looking forward to that new schedule that they're talking about playing a home-and-home with everybody," said Columbus' Rick Nash, who scored his team-leading 32nd goal and also had the winner in the shootout on Thursday. "I think that's important for all the fans and for all the teams to see each other once (at home).
"For Canadian kids, it's always fun coming to cities like these."

Nash, a native of Brampton, Ontario, has three goals in his last four contests and scored his only goal in three games against the Canadiens in the teams' most recent meeting in Montreal.

Pascal Leclaire made 27 saves to avoid a third straight loss after allowing eight goals in his previous two starts. Leclaire made 25 saves in the Blue Jackets' most recent loss to Montreal.
Columbus, which is 12-17-3 on the road, hasn't won consecutive games away from home since recording a victory at Dallas on Jan. 22 and at Chicago on two days later.

While Columbus is fighting for a playoff spot in the crowded Western Conference, Montreal (33-20-9) is fifth in the East and just one point behind first-place Ottawa in the Northeast Division.

The Canadiens, though, look to bounce back after having their four-game winning streak snapped in a 5-4 home loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Despite rallying from two goals down to take a 4-3 lead in the third period, Montreal allowed two goals in 36 minutes to drop its first game since coming from five goals down for a 6-5 shootout win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday.
"The team wasn't focused enough to get the two points," said Montreal's Saku Koivu, who had a goal and an assist. "At this point of the season you're going to see more individual battles and matchups. The bottom line is we didn't get the job done I think it was more the mental part of the game, not the physical."
Koivu, who has two goals and two assists in his last three games, had a goal and an assist in last season's meeting with Columbus.

Associated Press

Friday, February 22, 2008

What Happened Last Night?

Canadiens 4- Penguins 5

The Habs tried to come back from behind for a second straight game in 3 nights. This time they came back to early and therefore left enough time for Pittsburgh to spoil it. In a crucial twist of events, after Malkin was assessed a penalty, Komisarek made a bad pass and Malkin comes out of the box to tie the game and take away all the Canadiens momentum. You know what happened after that.

Some notes about the game...

  • Defense let in more than 3 goals for the 3rd straight game.
  • Markov and Komy were -2 and played 23:00and 19:03 minutes respectively.
  • For the first time of the year, Higgins, Koivu and Ryder all scored in a game. Why couldn't this have happened earlier?
  • Michael Ryder is back...4 goals and an assist in 3 games. Why was he benched 9 times this season?
  • Sergei played a great game and is improving every game. I cant wait for him to finally get that line going for us.
  • Cristobal was shaky, looked weak throughout the night. 5 goals on 30 shots
  • Lapierre played one of his better games, but Begin would've played that position a lot better.
  • Streit is inconsistent and flutters very often. He rushes the power play and therefore its harder for us to gain momentum.
  • Kovalev line wasn't as exciting as usual but they'll bounce back tomorrow night.
  • Dandenault should never play for this team again. Trade him Bob
Who?What?Where?When? and Why? and also Will?

Who
will start in net?
What will be the lines?
Where will the Canadiens be in standings after tomorrow night?
When will we win the Cup?
Why does Dandenault play in favor of Kosto and Begin?
Will Bob make a trade before or after tomorrow's game?

And so, we welcome Columbus to the Bell, for a nice retirement night of Bob Gainey.
Will the questions be answered? Stay tuned!

Mal-kin it Easy!!

Evgeni Malkin showed why he is the best player in the league right now.
The Canadiens defense did not have an answer for this high talented Russian.


I cant write anymore or else im going to cry.

See you tomorrow for a What Happened Last Night segment.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Hossa UPDATE!

Lapresse is reporting that Montreal has ordered equipment for Atlanta forward Marian Hossa. Stay tuned for updates.

UPDATE!
Names rumored to be going the other way are Michael Ryder + Mark Streit + Prospect or Picks

UPDATE: 10:16 AM By RP
Sens very interested in Hossa. Now that Foppa took his name out of the running, the Sens are still looking for another impact player to add to the list in Ottawa. Hossa played for the Sens in the past and would regain his strength with them. Watch out as Ottawa tries to grab the spotlight.

If anything does happen expect it to be over the weekend as Atlanta GM Don Waddell tries one last time to resign Hossa. He is not picking up his phone today because he is in coaching mode as the Thrashers play vs the Canes.

UPDATE: 1:03 PM By Habdul
Hossa and Recchi to Montreal

The Team 990 has reported that Montreal will acquire Marian Hossa and Mark Recchi for Alexei Yemelin, Ryan McDonagh, and a 2nd and 3rd round pick

Apparently the announcement will be made after Bob Gainey's speech on Saturday.

Next Up ---> Malkin and the Pens


Coming off their biggest comeback in franchise history, the Montreal Canadiens look to get their first 5 game winning streak of the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins (34-21-5). Montreal (33-19-9) is tied for first place in the Eastern Conference with the Ottawa Senators. Although Ottawa has a game in hand, a Montreal win combined with an Ottawa loss in regulation or overtime will catapult them out of fourth and into first.

This will be no easy task; the Penguins seem to be playing their best hockey as of late without their All-Star Sidney "CryBaby" Crosby who was sidelined with a high ankle sprain against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan 18. The Pens needed a boost in order to keep their playoff hopes alive and they got it from the Russian Phenom Evgeni "I'm So Good" Malkin. In 14 games without CryBaby, Malkin has scored 27 points, and has overtaken the NHL scoring lead with 79 points.

Even though the Penguins are only 2 points behind, no team in all of sports is on a bigger high than the Montreal Canadiens. The team showed great character to comeback after being killed in the first period and half of the second in their own building. Alexei "Look at my hair" Kovalev, who scored his team-leading 28th and 29th goals of the season on Tuesday night, spoke about how the fans kept the game alive. "What else can you say about these fans?" said the Russian. "Hearing all that cheering energizes me and it makes me want to give even more back to the fans."

Tomorrow nights affair will no doubt be interesting. The 21,273 Bell Centre "Fans" will be all over the Penguins and their Star. Each game right now is as important as the next, and the Habs know it. The Habs will hopefully skate past the furry little creatures and into first place tomorrow night. Projected score -----Habs 4-2.

TEAM COMPARISON

2007-2008 Team Stats
73 Points: 75
34 Wins: 33
6 Shutouts: 3
4 Power Play Rank: 1
23 Penalty Kill Rank: 20
.765 Win % When Leading After 1: .808
.893 Win % When Leading After 2: .821
.429 Win % When Trailing After 1: .235
.273 Win % When Trailing After 2: .130
TEAM LEADERS


GOALS: E. Malkin 34
A. Kovalev 29
ASSISTS: E. Malkin 45
A. Markov 35
POINTS: E. Malkin 79
A. Kovalev 61
+/-: S. Crosby 15
A. Kovalev 12
OT GOALS: S. Gonchar 1
A. Kovalev 1

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Wild and Crazy Theories 1: The First of Many














With all the trade rumors circling around the Habs locker room, one must begin to think wtf is gonna happen come the 26th.

Many of us know Bob Gainey as a quiet guy who does not like to take many risks, and likes to develop the team from within. But, over the past few weeks, one begins to think that he has something up his sleeve.

An impact player?

WHAT ABOUT TWO?

The two biggest trade rumors for Montreal over the past couple of weeks have involved Marian Hossa, and Alex Tanguay. Is it really impossible to get both? The answer is no!

If the rumors are true (none of the following deals straight up but only the main points), it means that Atlanta would not want Michael Ryder involved in a trade for Hossa, and instead would want someone like Chris Higgins. This may cause some problems due to the fact that Hossa is a RW and Higgins is a LW, which may cause some problems for the potentially great 1st line.
Now the second rumor is Ryder for Tanguay. If in fact we do acquire this may work out perfectly, and give us the ultimate first line of TANGUAY-KOIVU-HOSSA.

If we can in fact get Ryder for Hossa, we should leave things as is (with Hossa of course) and leave Higgins to improve his game. If not, bring on the ultimate first line, and along with our already great "2nd" line, the drive for 25 will be more alive than ever.

And if we need more round picks, send Dandy to Carolina, and Halak to TB.

Go Habs Go!!!
Let the craziness begin

Trade Rumors

With the trade deadline less than 7 days away, The GM’s were in Naples, Florida discussing possible trades. After Bob Gainey admitted that he would like to add “An A-level player” numerous trade rumors began to formulate.

The habs have been linked to numerous players such as Havlat, Tanguay, Hossa, Jokinen and yes even Mats Sundin. But personally, I would recommend that you don’t get your hopes up. I don’t see Gainey risking our future for rental players. Unless we can sign them to long term deals before I wouldn’t bet on us getting them. Other names that have sprung up are Jared Stoll, Chris Gratton, Trent Hunter, Sergei Fedorov and Vaclav Prospal. With the chemistry that the team has right now,

I wouldn’t be surprised if Gainey made no trade at all, or just a minor one. The most probable targets would be a third or fourth line shutdown player. When dealing with Gainey (BG), the most assumed trade never happens. BG always pulls a trade out of nowhere that turns out to be drastically better in the long run. (Rivet for Gorges and a 1st rounder anyone?)
If we could trade anyone on the Habs right now, who would you pick? And for what?

Welcome Habs Fans

Welcome to Habs Express.

I am Mike L and my co-worker Russian Spy will be covering anything and everything you could
possibly be interested in concerning your Montreal Canadiens.

We will be analyzing games,
discussing trade rumors, and letting you, the readers, know whats going on in the hockey world.

This site is going to be an interactive website that will allow you to ask questions, inform others,
discuss scenarios or even just rant because you want your opinions to be heard.

So welcome to this incredible place and I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Welcome All Habs Fans

Welcome Habs Fans,
I will be reporting all the latest news about the Canadiens,
and also some news around the NHL.

Some sites don't report the correct information and create
speculation in order for people to be entertained.
I will do my best to only post correct rumors while also
bringing in my point of view on the rumors.

I will provide notes after each game, and answer all questions that you ask.

Enjoy!