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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Habs vs Bruins: A survival guide

By Josh Thomas
In Montreal hockey is Religion. The Bell Centre is the Vatican, Carey Price is the pope and the people of Montreal the faithful followers.  

 There's something special about the Montreal Canadiens fan base. Fans can be found all over the world.

We love our Habs, we're passionate about our Habs and we are proud of our Habs (for the most part).

 

As for the Boston Bruins. They might as well be the anti Habs. We hate the Bruins with almost the same amount of passion.

 So when the Habs and Bruins clash in the playoffs, emotions run high. 

The last time the two original six teams met was 2011. It was a roller coaster. 

The Habs took a 2-0 series lead stealing both in Boston, only to watch it dissapear at home. The teams split the next two games. As if there wasn't enough drama in this overtime filled series, game 7 was as back and forth as it gets.

  Us fans will never forget that game. Our collective heart rates were up in the high 180's. We felt the absolute jubilation that came with P.K. Subban's rocket from the point to send the game into overtime, and the heartbreak that came with Nathan Horton's dagger. That was in round 1 of the 2011 playoffs.

 

Add all of the emotion and hate that comes with the Montreal-Boston rivalry, the freshness of their last playoff tilt, and this is now the second round. It will be an all out war and for fans, it's going to be hell on earth.

 

So I've decided to give a few tips on how to survive what we Habs fans are about to face 

 1. Try not to over think things. 
 It's hard not to but if you spend every waking moment worrying about what's going to happen in the next game, you'll drive your anxiety level way higher than you want it to be. Try and take your mind off of hockey until game time.  

 2. Accept that their will be ups and downs.

 

A first round sweep was awesome for the Habs and their fans but teams don't go 16-0 en route to a Stanley cup. Meaning, unfortunately we are probably going to have to watch our Habs lose sometime in the next two weeks. It sucks and it won't feel good but don't wig out. It's a seven game series between two original six teams don't be surprised if it goes the distance.  

 3. Have a pre-game ritual.

 It sounds silly but you know what? It might just help to relieve some stress and settle you down. I like to "habify" my living room and then right before game time I walk around the room and touch everything with a Habs logo on it. Weird ? Yes, but it helps calm me down before a game.(I never said hockey fans were normal.) 

 4. Have a good yell every now and then.

 

We all do it, so don't be afraid to let that referee have it. I can only imagine having the anger that will come from diving bruins, blown calls and speared testicles pent up inside can't be good for you. Go ahead and let it out. Your spouse might not like it but it's a necessary part of a Habs-Bruins series. Don't go overboard and put the chair down. Throwing it at your T.V won't help. 

 5. Drink.

 If you're under under the legal age you can't partake in this one so sorry about your luck. If you're over it, indulge In a Don Cherry drinking game or two, have a scotch on the rocks. Anything to get you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. It'll take the sting out of a loss and make a win feel so much better. Just don't over do it. drink responsibly.  
Warning: doing this might lead to more of 4.  

 6. For the love of god do not watch NBC or NESN.

 Jack Edwards, Doc Emerick and Pierre McGuire are awful. There is no other way to put it they are just plain awful. They're biased, they're annoying and they are the biggest homers in the league. Just don't do it. You probably already know all this but if you don't you're welcome I just made your life a lot easier. 

 7. Tweet.

 

If you don't have twitter already then... How the hell are you even reading this? Well either way if you don't have it, get it. Go follow @kidcanada9 and @habsdiehards1 look through their following list and follow all those people. There's never a dull moment on twitter during a Habs-bruins game.  

 So there you have it the 7 steps to surviving a 7 game Habs-Bruins all out war. Lets hope it's not as stressful as I'm expecting. Go Habs Go.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Habs Game Day: May 1st @ Bruins

Canadiens @ Bruins
7:30pm EST
TD Garden
CBC, RDS, NBCSN, TSN 690
Series Tied 0-0

• Due to the conclusion of the AHL regular season and the fact that Bulldogs are not in the playoffs, the Habs have called up Dustin Tokarski, Nathan Beaulieu, Mike Blunden, Devan Dubnyk, Davis Drewiskie, Greg Pateryn, Gabriel Dumont, Louis Leblanc, Christian Thomas, Sven Andrighetto. 
Alex Galchenyuk will not play in the second round of the playoffs, he also missed the first round. 
• The Habs swept the Lightning last Tuesday night, as Max Pacioretty scored on the Power Play in the final minute of regulation to break a 3-3 tie and beat the Lightning in 4 straight.
• The Bruins beat the Red Wings in 5 games. Detroit took Game 1 with a 1-0 win but the Bruins stormed back and won 4 straight, finishing it off Saturday night in Boston with a 4-2 win.
• Carey Price will start, Peter Budaj will back up.
• Michel Therrien will look to add some size, grit and veteran experience into the lineup against a very physical Bruins team by inserting Travis Moen instead of Michael Bournival.
• Douglas Murray and Jarred Tinordi could be healthy scratches after both were for the entirety of round 1.
• Bruins will start Vezina front-runner Tuukka Rask. Justin Florek filled in for Chris Kelly on third line as Kelly dealt with a back injury, he is questionable. Daniel Paille is also questionable.
• The Canadiens and Bruins last played in the playoffs in 2011 when the Bruins beat the Habs in Game 7 on an OT goal by Nathan Horton (now with the Blue Jackets).
• RDS reports Game 2 in Boston will be Saturday at 12:30pm EST (CBC, RDS, NBC, TSN-690).

Habs Projected Lineup:
Pacioretty-Desharnias-Vanek
Prust-Plekanec-Gallagher
Bourque-Eller-Gionta
Moen-Brière-Weise

Gorges-Subban
Markov-Emelin
Bouillon-Weaver

Price
Budaj

Healthy scratches: Bournival,Tinordi, Murray, Parros, White, Beaulieu, Pateryn, Dubnyk, Tokarski, Andrighetto, Dumont, Blunden, Drewiskie, Leblanc, Thomas

Injured: Galchenyuk


Written by Dante Aralihalli

Follow Dante on twitter:
@habs329

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Saturday, April 26, 2014

Carey Price Gets Robbed

By Josh Thomas

Yes you read that correctly.

 

Carey price is used to being the one doing the robbing. Not this time. This time it was the NHL.

 

The NHL revealed their Vezina cantidates Friday morning. Tuukka Rask, Semyon Varlamov, and Ben Bishop. These are all worthy candidates, but there is one small problem. There is no way Carey Price should have been left off that list.

First things first before I get called biased. As much as I hate the Bruins (believe me I hate the Bruins) Tuukka Rask is going to win the Vezina. He deserves it, and whether or not Price was nominated wouldn't make a difference in the winner. That's not my issue.  

 My issue is that Price deserves some respect, and since I'm saying he deserves to be on that list, someone has to come off.  

 Ben Bishop is a good goaltender. This season bishop posted 37 wins, five shutouts, a save percentage of .924 and a GAA of 2.23. It should also be noted the lightning allowed on average 29 shots per game. Those numbers are very respectable. 

Now let's have a look at prices numbers. 

Price racked up 34 wins, had a save percentage of .927, a GAA of 2.32, 6 shutouts, and one more thing we'll get into later. The Habs allowed 31 shots per game. 

The numbers are almost identical. 

I could be wrong but so far that seems to me like a tie. Maybe Bishop gets the nod because he has 3 more wins and a better GAA by .09.  

 If that is the case then maybe the NHL should look at who the Vezina is supposed to be given to "the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position," 

Funny, I didn't see anything saying he's the best at his position during the NHL season.  

 Now we get to that other thing I was talking about. If you are Canadian and reading this you already know what I'm talking about. Price went to Russia, took the Canadian starting job and ran with it. He recorded 5 wins 0 losses, a save percentage of .971, 2 shutouts and a GAA of 0.59. En route to a gold medal. That. Is. Ridiculous. That is something out of a video game. 

 I understand this is an NHL award but it is supposed to go to the best goaltender. While 5 nearly flawless games against the best players in the world isn't enough to pass Tuukka Rask's 36 wins, .936 save percentage, 2.04 GAA and 7 shutouts. It is certainly enough to surpass the .09 differential in GAA and 3 wins that separate Bishop (who didn't make his Olympic team) and Price. 

 It would have been nice to see the two tenders square off in the playoffs but unfortunately bishop hurt his elbow. 

 All Carey Price has done his whole career is win and get better, he deserves some recognition. It's nothing against bishop. Price just deserved it more. 

Follow Josh Thomas on twitter:
@kidcanada9

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@HABSDIEHARDS1

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Habs Use Depth to Sweep Lightning

By Josh Thomas




Coming into the playoffs there weren't very many fans realistically predicting a sweep for Montreal. 
Every time the Habs and Lightning met in the regular season it was a close game, all but one were decided by a single goal. Couple this with the fact that the Canadiens first line was the only one scoring consistently down the stretch and it seemed like the Habs were in for a 7 game war. 

So what happened? How were the Canadiens able to make it to the second round just seven days after the playoffs opened? Depth. 

The fourth line provided the overtime winner in game one, the third line dominated game two thanks in large part to the resurgence of Rene Bourque. In game three it was the second line's turn to step up. Finally in game 4 with a chance to close out the series the Habs got scoring from every one of their 4 lines. 
Here's how it broke down over four games:
Max Pacioretty (1)
David Desharnais (1)
Thomas Vanek (1) 
Total:3 
Brandon Prust (0)
Tomas Plekanec (2)
Brendan Gallagher (3) Total:5
Rene Bourque (3)
Lars Eller (2)
Brian Gionta (1) 
Total:6
Dale Weise (1)
Danny Briere (1)
Michael Bournival (0)
Total:2
This is a balance the Habs have lacked at times during the season. This is a balance that is refreshing to Habs fans. To Michel Therrien's credit, he has done well throughout the series maintaining that balance by rolling all four lines consistently.

While the Habs don't yet know who their second round opponent is, they can be sure that whether it be Boston or Detroit they'll need to keep the entire team firing on all cylinders. 

Boston thrives on depth scoring. They run four lines every game and try to pound you into the ground. To survive a series against them, four lines have to perform or else they will wear out the Habs' top line. The Bruins had five 20 goal scorers during the regular season: Bergeron, Iginla, Lucic, Marchand, Smith. David Krejci was close with 19.

As for Detroit they boast a plethora of skill up and down their bench and are one of the best coached teams in the NHL, with a system that every player can thrive under. Their downfall is they are still dealing with injuries such as captain Henrik Zetterberg (Update: Zetterberg returned to the lineup in Game 4 of their first round series) and it is questionable whether start centre Pavel Datsyuk is 100% healthy. The Red Wings also have a ton of rookies and young players with limited playoff experience.

The key to their sweep of the Lightning was their offensive depth and they will need to continue to get production from everybody in the lineup if they want to be successful against strong teams like Boston or Detroit. If third liners Rene Borque and Lars Eller can keep playing the way they have been and the fourth line led by Mr. Playoffs (Daniel Briere) can keep contributing then the Habs might be a bigger threat to the east than many expected and could potentially challenge for the Stanley Cup.


Edited by: Dante Aralihalli

WATCH: We Will Rock You- Habs finish off Lightning

Follow Josh Thomas on twitter:
@kidcanada9
Follow Dante Aralihalli on twitter:
@habs329
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Clear skies in Montreal as Lightning fail to strike

By Josh Thomas

The Montreal Canadiens went into Tuesday night with a 3-0 series lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning and a chance to complete the sweep.

The Habs once again used the electric Bell Centre crowd to propel them to an excellent first period. Dale Weise and Daniel Briere connected early in the first period to give the Habs a 1-0 lead. Lars Eller added one with 4:39 left in the period to extend the lead to two.

The Habs continued their strong play in the second until Ondrej Palat was able to bang one past Carey Price shorthanded 4:32 into the period. Tampa's goal wasn't without controversy as it appeared that the referee blew the whistle prior to the puck entering the net, but the referee, after initially calling it no goal, decided that it was in fact a goal and video review could not support the Canadiens' claim that the ref blew the whistle prior to the puck being jammed in.

 Montreal showed no quit as Brendan Gallagher was able to place a snap shot inside the post just one minute later. This marked the end of Lightning goalie Anders Lindback's night.

Despite a very strong first 40 minutes by the Habs, the lightning were able to battle back in the third with goals by Victor Hedman and Tyler Johnson three minutes apart.

With overtime seeming imminent Cedric Paquette tripped Michael Bournival sending the Canadiens powerplay to work. 

There was no better time for the Canadiens dormant powerplay to explode. Excellent control on the wall by Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec led to an open point for PK Subban and he dished it over to Thomas Vanek who shot the puck on net. Pacioretty was able to clean up the rebound with just 43 seconds left in the game sending the crowd into frenzy mode.


The Habs now await the winner of the Detroit-Boston series and will have at least a week off before they open the second round.

Follow Josh Thomas on twitter:
@kidcanada9

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@HABSDIEHARDS1

Monday, April 21, 2014

Referees Steal Spotlight as Canadiens Take 3-0 Series Lead

By Josh Thomas



Let me give you an idea of what it feels like at a playoff game in Montreal. 
The video picks up about four minutes in. As someone that has been to the Bell Centre, take my word for it when that torch lights up the ice you can’t even here yourself think.
It is electric, it is loud, it is an unbelievable atmosphere and if you are an opposing player, it is downright scary.
Now add a 2-0 series lead for the bleu blanc et rouge and you have a building that is ready to explode.
The Tampa Bay Lightning were in that exact situation last night. It was clear the pressure got to them right off the opening draw as the Lightning D let recently surging Rene Borque in alone on Anders Lindback. Borque made no mistake and opened the scoring 11 seconds into the game. The Canadiens kept the pressure on for the entire first period playing off the ecstatic crowd but were unable to score again.
The Lightning came on strong in the second and thanks to A, somewhat soft, call on Daniel Briere, were able to tie the game. Then came the controversy. With 4:22 left in the second period the Lightning had a goal called back because one of their players “impeded the goalies ability to be in a position to stop the puck”
Here is the rule straight from the NHL rule book:
RULE 69.1 Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal; or (2) an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, inside or outside of his goal crease. Incidental contact with a goalkeeper will be permitted, and resulting goals allowed, when such contact is initiated outside of the goal crease, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact. The rule will be enforced exclusively in accordance with the on-ice judgment of the Referee(s), and not by means of video replay or review.”  
The rule also states:
 The overriding rationale of this rule is that a goalkeeper should have the ability to move freely within his goal crease without being hindered by the actions of an attacking player. If an attacking player enters the goal crease and, by his actions, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.
Here is the disallowed goal from last night.
  
I'll let you decide if that is the right call or not. Either way it the game remained tied much to the dismay of Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. Cooper didn't love what happened next either. Just seconds after the disallowed goal, lightning captain Steven Stamkos took a knee to the back of the headStamkos laid motionless on the ice for a few seconds, he then attempted to stand up but clearly was not in a good place. He left the ice immediately and did not return until the third period. Many (including myself) wonder how he was allowed to return at all.
Once the dust of all this had settled, Montreal’s P.K. Subban got the fans on their feet by skating the puck around the entire offensive zone before spinning and putting a perfect pass on Brendan Gallagher's stick for the go ahead goal.
Tomas Plekanec added a goal from a sharp angle in the 3rd period to put Montreal up 3-1.
Tampa was able to get a goal back and make it interesting down the stretch when Matthew Carle scored from the point. Carey Price shut the door from then on.
After the dust settled on a crazy night at the Bell Centre, the Montreal Canadiens walked away with a 3-0 series lead.
Game 4 goes Tuesday from Montreal (CBC, RDS, NHLN-US, TSN 690) as the Canadiens have the opportunity to complete the sweep.

Follow Josh Thomas on twitter: @kidcanada9

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Habs Game Day: April 22nd vs Tampa Bay

Lightning @ Canadiens
7pm EST
Bell Centre
CBC, RDS, NHLN-US, TSN 690
Canadiens lead Series 3-0

• Due to the conclusion of the AHL regular season and the fact that Bulldogs are not in the playoffs, the Habs have called up Dustin Tokarski, Nathan Beaulieu, Mike Blunden, Devan Dubnyk, Davis Drewiskie, Greg Pateryn, Gabriel Dumont, Louis Leblanc, Christian Thomas, Sven Andrighetto. 
Alex Galchenyuk will not play in the first round of the playoffs.
• Habs took a 3-0 series lead with a 3-2 win over Tampa, Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, Rene Bourque scored for Montreal, while P.K. Subban had 2 highlight reel assists and Carey Price made 28 saves.
• Carey Price will start, Peter Budaj will back up.
• Douglas Murray and Jarred Tinordi could be healthy scratches after both were for the previous 3 games of the series.
• Lightning's starting goalie Ben Bishop will not play due to inury. Anders Lindback could start. Sami Salo missed Game 3 with an upper-body injury and could be out for Game 4. Both JT Brown and Steven Stamkos were injured in Game 3, but both returned to the game.
• If the Canadiens win on Tuesday, they will precede to the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and will play the winner of the Detroit-Boston series. If Tampa Bay wins, the two teams will reconvene at Tampa Bay Times Forum on Thursday.

Habs Projected Lineup:
Pacioretty-Desharnias-Vanek
Prust-Plekanec-Gallagher
Bourque-Eller-Gionta
Bournival-Brière-Weise

Gorges-Subban
Markov-Emelin
Bouillon-Weaver

Price
Budaj

Healthy scratches: Tinordi, Murray, Parros, White, Beaulieu, Pateryn, Dubnyk, Tokarski, Andrighetto, Dumont, Blunden, Drewiskie, Leblanc, Thomas

Injured: Moen, Galchenyuk


Written by Dante Aralihalli

Follow Dante on twitter:
@habs329

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Sunday, April 20, 2014

Habs Game Day: April 20th vs Tampa Bay

Lightning @ Canadiens
7pm EST
Bell Centre
CBC, RDS, NBCSN, TSN 690
Canadiens lead Series 2-0

Update: Due to the conclusion of the AHL regular season and the fact that Bulldogs are not in the playoffs, the Habs have called up Dustin Tokarski, Nathan Beaulieu, Mike Blunden, Devan Dubnyk, Davis Drewiskie, Greg Pateryn, Gabriel Dumont, Louis Leblanc, Christian Thomas, Sven Andrighetto. 
Alex Galchenyuk will not play in the first round of the playoffs.
• Habs took a 2-0 series lead with a 4-1 win over Tampa on Friday, Rene Bourque scored twice and Carey Price made 26 saves.
• Carey Price will start, Peter Budaj will back up.
• Douglas Murray and Jarred Tinordi could be healthy scratches after both were for the previous 2 games of the series.
• Lightning's starting goalie Ben Bishop will not play due to inury. Anders Lindback could start, but he was pulled Friday night. Ondrej Palat did not play Game 2 after leaving Game 1 due to an apparent leg injury. He is a game time decision.
• The two teams will face off for Game 4 at the Bell Centre on Tuesday.

Habs Projected Lineup:
Pacioretty-Desharnias-Vanek
Prust-Plekanec-Gallagher
Bourque-Eller-Gionta
Bournival-Brière-Weise

Gorges-Subban
Markov-Emelin
Bouillon-Weaver

Price
Budaj

Healthy scratches: Tinordi, Murray, Parros, White, Beaulieu, Pateryn, Dubnyk, Tokarski, Andrighetto, Dumont, Blunden, Drewiskie, Leblanc, Thomas

Injured: Moen, Galchenyuk

Written by: Dante Aralihalli