Jacques Martin’s team managed to do something that they haven’t been doing a whole lot of this season… outshoot their opponents. However, the final shot count was as close as you can get. The Habs edged the Panthers 39-38 in shots.

Jaroslav Halak was the game’s first star as he stopped all 38 of Florida’s shots facing off against former Habs pick Tomas Vokoun who was named the game’s 2nd star.

I certainly wasn’t on the edge of my seat watching the game and to be honest I’m surprised at the high shot totals. Maybe it was just me… but I didn’t find it was a spectacular game.

Certainly a bright spot for me has been Benoit Pouliot. His first couple of games I was sure exactly what he would have to bring or how he would fit in with his current linemates Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez. But he’s been picking it up. He scored the winning goal last night, his first on home ice in Montreal.

Something that I’ve noticed is that Pouliot does go to the net. And he’s been doing it enough that I have actually noticed it. Latendresse, whom Pouliot was traded for often spoke about playing in front of the net but more often than not I’d notice he wouldn’t play there!

Pouliot was drafted high because he’s a highly skilled player. He’s got speed and great hands.

In Minnesota the Wild seem to be getting some good hockey out of Latendresse so this trade will hopefully be one of those that gives new life to both guys.

Here are the game highlights from the Montreal Canadiens vs the Florida Panthers played on January 7th 2010.

You can also find the game stats here:

Game Summary

Event Summary

Facoffs Report

Full play by play

TOI Panthers

TOI Canadiens

Roster Report

Shot Report

Alot is being said about the goaltenders in Montreal in the media. Will one get traded? When? For who/what? Which one?….etc.

This morning I read this great article on The Hockey News site titled “Top Shelf: Re-packaging the 1-2 goalie punch“.

The author (Ryan Dixon) mentions that there is another team doing a very similar thing that is going on with the Habs as of late. That is, each goaltender has played a substantial number of games.

You see, the Nashville Predators have been playing both Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis a fair bit. Rinne has played 28 games and Ellis 20. Their stats are also quite similar:

Nashville Predators
Pekka Rinne – 28 games – 2.74 GAA – .906 S%
Dan Ellis –  20 games – 2.75 GAA – .910 S%

It’s quite similar to what’s going on in Montreal between Price and Halak statistically:

Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price – 29 games – 2.67 GAA – .915 S%
Jaroslav Halak – 18 games – 2.64 GAA – .922 S%

Just like the article mentions, if we go back to the days of Patrick Roy he played with Brian Hayward alot. In fact in Roy’s first 4 full seasons in Montreal (85-86 to 88-89) he never played more then 48 games.

Alot has changed since those days of course. I’m not sure if all the money might have influenced more of the battle to be a “number 1″ on a team. I mean, I know athletes are competitive but when you lay the chips down hockey is a team sport and if I put my “fan-gm” hat on for a minute…. it’s much better for a team and for an organization to have 2 strong goaltenders instead of having a “number 1″ and a “backup”.

Food for thought this morning.

Here are the game highlights from the Montreal Canadiens vs the Washington Capitals played on January 5th 2010.

Washington won this game 4-2. The Canadiens managed to make it close towards the end by making it 3-2… but in all honesty the only thing that kept them in the game was their goaltender. On this night it was Carey Price.

An all to common theme. Outshot 43-26 by Washington it looked as though the Canadiens were just out-worked all night long. In many of the games battles for the puck the Capitals would just come out on top.

Frustrating to see this scenario play out again and again. We have the luxury of having 2 great young goaltenders at the moment. Both Price and Halak have played great, but you can’t expect the Habs to win too many if they continue to be so badly outshot. Team defense is a biggie.

You can also find the game stats here:

Game Summary

Event Summary

Facoffs Report

Full play by play

TOI Capitals

TOI Canadiens

Roster Report

Shot Report

I wrote a little piece on PK Subban being named to the AHL all-star squad and how much confidence that might give him moving into the second half of the season… well, one of his team mates has also been playing some amazing hockey in Hamilton.

Cedrick Desjardins has been lights out this year.

In 21 games this year he’s got a Goal’s against average of 1.66 and a save percentage of .932. In the month of december Desjardins went 8-0-0 (8 wins, no losses!), he had a goals against average of 1.16 and a save percentage of .949.

Just a few years back we saw Halak playing some strong hockey in Hamilton with the Bulldogs and now Canadiens fans should be happy that there’s another prospect making a strong show.

His strong play in Hamilton might be another factor in making it a little bit easier to move a goaltender in Montreal. He would be a possibility as backup.

Here are the game highlights from the Montreal Canadiens vs the Buffalo Sabres played on January 3rd 2010.

Ryan Miller started the year at the expense of the Canadiens by shutting them out. Buffalo won the game 1-0.

You can also find the game stats here:

Game Summary

Event Summary

Facoffs Report

Full play by play

TOI Sabres

TOI Canadiens

Roster Report

Shot Report

At the start of the year, coming out of camp we saw a few young guys leave an impression. One of those guys is young defenseman PK Subban.

Many voiced their desire to see Subban play in Montreal. Especially after all the early season injuries to both Andrei Markov and Ryan O’Byrne. I could certainly relate with the enthusiasm around PK and the desire to see him play in Montreal. A really strong skater with a good hard shot and a player who seems to examplify the very word enthusiasm, he would have certainly looked good in the eyes of many as a call up.

I was certainly tempted by the possibilities myself.

One of the debates around the prospects was to give them time in the minors so they can play at the pro level and not throw them in the fire that it can be in Montreal.

So PK has played half a season in Hamilton and by all accounts he’s really playing well.

PK Subban was recently named to the AHL all-star game.

This is probably the best case scenario if you’re Bob Gainey… and many Habs fans.

Subban has gone down, worked hard under a great coach in Guy Boucher and is performing at a high level. He currently leads the Hamilton Bulldogs defensemen with 20 points.

And what a confidence booster for him this will be going into the second half of the Bulldogs season!

PK is one of the AHL’s stars and this experience will certainly be in his favor as he continues to play this season in Hamilton and then comes into next year’s camp.

Congrats PK!

Here are the game highlights from the Montreal Canadiens vs the Ottawa Senators played on December 28th 2009.

The Senators won this game by a score of 4 – 2.

You can also find the game stats here:

Game Summary

Event Summary

Facoffs Report

Full play by play

TOI Senators

TOI Canadiens

Roster Report

Shot Report

Jaroslav Halak had been totally on fire coming in to last night’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Facing 48.7 shots per game over a 4 game span (and winning each) he showed once again that he can play… and wants to play.

The road to the NHL hasn’t been handed to Jaroslav. He had to play in the AHL with Hamilton and while he had been called up as a young goaltender in Montreal, he was sent back to do time in Hamilton.

Halak always showed up and played.

The young goaltender certainly is making the case for being given a shot as the number 1 goaltender in Montreal. Or if not in Montreal, somewhere else.

This puts Montreal’s management in an interesting position. Having 2 great young goaltenders.

He has earned all the respect he’s getting… NHL 1st star and named to the Slovakian Olympic team!

Here are the game highlights from the Montreal Canadiens vs the Toronto Maple Leafs played on December 26th 2009.

The Canadiens won the game by a score of 3-2.

You can also find the game stats here:

Game Summary

Event Summary

Facoffs Report

Full play by play

TOI Maple Leafs

TOI Canadiens

Roster Report

Shot Report