Habs Kill Off 10 Penalties, Hang On For Win

What a mission for the penalty killers last night.

Montreal killed off 10 Minesota powerplays last night, including 2 very lengthy 5-0n-3 opportunities and one a litte shorter in length (9 seconds) en route to posting a 2-1 road victory over the Wild.

Worthy of noting, the Wild entered the contest with the 3rd highest powerplay ranking in the league. That stat took a major hit after the game, dropping from 27.3% to 18.8%.

Minnesota tied its franchise worst with the 10 blown opportunities and heard some rare boos from the usually adoring home crowd.

The Wild were also ranked #1 on the PK coming into the tilt, but the Habs dented that stat as well, scoring on a 5-on-3 courtesy Andrei Markov and going 1-for-5 on the night.

Carey Price was absolutely spectacular, ONCE AGAIN, in goal for the Habs. Price made 28 saves on the night, outdueling his young counterpart Josh Harding.

Markov's goal early in the 2nd was his first of the season and was also the game-winner.

The Habs, who trailed 1-0 on a goal by Brent Burns just over a minute and a half in, tied it at the 4:28 mark of the 1st, as Francis Bouillon released a shot through a screen that had eyes for the net and Harding never saw.

Saku Koivu went head-to-head with brother Mikko, which marked the 1st game since 1987 that two brothers served as captains vs each other in an NHL game. Saku had a great night, and the same can be said of Mikko. Neither brother recorded a point, but Saku did finish at +1 while Mikko finished at even.

The big stat difference was the ice time:

Saku: 15:47 Mikko: 23:30 - A main reason of the difference, all the PP time for Mikko. He logged 9:20 of PP time.

Montreal improved to 7-1-1 and head to Long Island to face Mark Streit and the Islanders Saturday.

Habs Open 4-Game Road Trip In Minnesota

The Habs visit the Wild tomorrow night in a matchup that will feature brother vs. brother, and captain vs. captain, as Habs captain Saku Koivu goes head-to-head with Wild captain Mikko Koivu.

It will be the first time brothers have faced each other as captains in an NHL game since 1987 when Brian and Darryl Sutter captained St. Louis and Chicago.

TUNE INTO THE TEAM 990 PREGAME SHOW TOMORROW NIGHT, AS I WILL PREP THE MATCH ALONGSIDE ROD FRANCIS! THE SHOW BEGINS AT 7 P.M., GAME-TIME IS 8 P.M., 990 ON THE AM RADIO DIAL!

Weathering The Storm (Barely...)

The Habs eeked out a 3-2 shootout victory vs. the Carolina Hurricanes last night, wrapping up a very successful home stand which saw them go 4-1.

The Habs were very fortunate to earn the full 2 points last night, as it can easily be agrued that the Hurricanes played a much better all-around game than the Habs. Montreal was outshot 33-25, and seemed to have a lot of trouble clicking as a team in passing.

The Habs seemed a little dazed and confused on the ice for the better part of the evening. Miscommunication was to blame, and at some times, failure to communicate at all.

The Habs will certainly need to put out a much better effort if they expect to beat an unbeaten Minnesota side (6-0-1) on the road on Thursday.

Montreal was able to ice a fully healthy lineup for the first time of the season. Apart from the apparent lack of chemistry displayed last night, it is possible that the lineup will have a hole once again. Roman Hamrlik blocked a shot with his knee, and hobbled off the ice, not to reutrn. Reports, however, suggest 'Hammer' could be ready for tomorrow night's tilt.

Montreal got two goals after Carolina opened the scoring. Alex Kovalev scored with 4:04 to play in the first, coming in on an angle from the right wing on Canes G Cam Ward and outwaiting him to go top shelf on a wrister. The Habs then profited on a 5-on-3 powerplay situation...just not as one would expect.

Canes D Dennis Seidenberg gloved the puck in the crease in a scramble to score, and the referee saw the incident and immediately awarded a penalty shot. Alex Tanguay stepped up and released a perfect wrister low-blocker side to beat Ward for the goal.

The Canes tied the game under a minute into the third, on a flukey goal scored by Matt Cullen with almost no room for error. Price may have been partly to blame, but he surely made up for it on many occasions, dazzling the crowd with some great saves.

Price, however, almost cost the Habs with 2:01 remaining in regulation by lobbing the puck over the glass and taking a delay of game penalty in the process. The Habs stepped up for their goaltender, killed off the penalty, and took it into OT.

In OT, the Habs had another great opportunity on a late powerplay, but Robert Lang was robbed by Ward on a rebound. Important to note: Lang missed a few GOLDEN opportunities throughout the night.

In the shootout, Saku Koivu sealed the win for Montreal, scoring the only goal of the shootout by opening up Ward on the backhand and sliding it through his legs, a la Andrei Markov.

Habs Conclude Home Stand vs. Carolina

Listen to Rod Francis and YOURS TRULY Sal Amato tonight from 7-730 for the pre-game show on Montreal's Sports Authority, the TEAM 990 (990 AM)!



After opening with three straight road games, Montreal is 3-1-0 on a homestand that concludes with this contest.

On Saturday, Alex Tanguay had two goals, while Saku Koivu added one and Robert Lang two assists for the Canadiens, who took 52 shots but allowed one more goal than they did in their previous three games combined on the homestand.

"When you do have 50 shots you have to bury a lot more of those," said Tanguay, who has a team-leading five goals in his first season with Montreal.

Andrei Markov recorded an assist Saturday and has at least one in each game this season for a team-leading 10.

"We did some good things but the mental focus wasn't there," said Koivu, who has a goal in four straight games and three in his last four contests versus Carolina. "We weren't as sharp as we were used to being in the last couple of games here."

Carey Price allowed two goals on 13 shots in replacing Jaroslav Halak on Saturday. Price is 3-1-1 with a 2.11 GAA this season and struggled in his only previous start versus Carolina, making 26 saves before being pulled in a 5-1 loss to the Hurricanes on Dec. 8.

Carolina, which went 2-1-1 versus the Canadiens last season, will be without defenseman Joni Pitkanen, who is sidelined for at least a month after tearing the meniscus in his knee against the Islanders. Rookie center Brandon Sutter is also likely out for this contest after sustaining a concussion Saturday.

Cam Ward is 6-2-1 with a 2.76 GAA versus against Montreal, but could be in for a challenge against the Canadiens (5-1-1), who are coming off their first regulation loss, 6-4 to Anaheim on Saturday.

Eric Staal has eight goals with eight assists in 16 career games versus Montreal and four goals in his last five contests against the Canadiens. Brind'Amour, meanwhile, has at least one point in his last seven games versus Montreal and nine during that span.

Ducks Hand Habs First Regulation Loss

MONTREAL (AP) -The Anaheim Ducks had their biggest offensive outburst of the season despite being widely outshot by the Montreal Canadiens.

Corey Perry had a goal and two assists and Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 47 shots as Anaheim won its third straight with a 6-4 victory over Montreal on Saturday night.

Ryan Getzlaf and Chris Kunitz each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks. Kent Huskins, Travis Moen and Teemu Selanne also scored for Anaheim, which has won four of five since an 0-4 start.

"Finally, we put some goals on the board and it's a great feeling all around," said Perry, who was credited with his second assist - at Getzlaf's expense - in a scoring change to Anaheim's sixth goal after the game.

Alex Tanguay had two goals, and Saku Koivu and Tom Kostopoulos also scored for the Canadiens, who ended a five-game winning streak despite holding a 51-25 margin in shots.

"When you do have 50 shots you have to bury a lot more of those," Tanguay said.

The Canadiens, who hosted their 2,900th NHL regular-season home game, failed to record a point for the first time in seven games (5-1-1).

"We did some good things but the mental focus wasn't there," Koivu said. "We weren't as sharp as we were used to being in the last couple of games here."

Huskins and Getzlaf scored 2:51 apart to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead early in the first period.

Montreal answered with three straight goals, beginning with Tanguay's fourth of the season on a power play midway through the first.

Koivu scored his fourth goal just as Todd Marchant's tripping penalty expired with 3:37 left in the first, and Kostopoulos put the Canadiens up 3-2 with his first goal of the season 1:34 into the second.

Anaheim came back with three straight goals before the end of the middle period.
"Even though they scored the two goals to tie the hockey game and then they went up 3-2, we didn't really stray away from what we were trying to do," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We were fortunate enough that our goaltender made enough stops at critical times and our power play delivered for us."

Perry scored his first of the season on a power play at 2:40 to even it at 3, and Kunitz restored the Ducks' lead with his first at 4:40, chasing Jaroslav Halak, who allowed four goals on 12 shots.
Moen scored a short-handed goal with 3:21 left in the second period when he put a backhand past Carey Price on a breakaway.

Perry was awarded a penalty shot with 1:56 remaining in the second but lost control of the puck when he went to his backhand on Price.

Selanne increased the Ducks' lead to 6-3 on a power play 5:40 into the third.

Tanguay scored his second goal of the game with 6:15 left.

Montreal's Andrei Markov played his 500th regular season game, extending his assists and points streaks to seven games with an assist on Tanguay's first goal.

Notes: New Ducks D Bret Hedican, signed as a free agent Thursday, was not in uniform. LW Brad May also was a healthy scratch. ... Canadiens LW Chris Higgins made his season debut after missing the first six games because of a groin injury. ... It was Halak's first career appearance against Anaheim. ... Koivu's points streak reached six games. He has four goals and six assists over that span.

Associated Press

Habs Get Back To Business; Host Ducks

Winning the first three games of their road trip would mean a lot to the Anaheim Ducks as they try to rebound from a tough start to their season.

For Jean-Sebastien Giguere, winning in Montreal might mean even more.

Giguere will make his fourth appearance in his hometown on Saturday night, as the Ducks look to hand the Canadiens their first regulation loss of 2008-09.

While Anaheim's fans may have panicked after an 0-4-0 start, the Ducks (3-5-0) have won three of their last four, including wins at Toronto and Ottawa to start a four-game trip.

After they were outshot 13-0 in the third period of a 3-2 shootout win over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday, the Ducks again stumbled late in Friday night's 4-3 win over the Senators. They nearly blew a 4-0 lead by allowing three goals in the final period, but held on for the victory, with Ryan Getzlaf's first goal of the season - also the first for Anaheim's top line - serving as the game-winner.

"We tried hard - we worked hard," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We stayed with our structure. We got a little bit sloppy into the neutral ice as the game wore on, a little too much stuff on our backhand, but I thought we pretty much stayed with the course and we got it out in the end."

With 27 saves, backup goalie Jonas Hiller got the win for Anaheim, as Carlyle adjusted his rotation to give Giguere the chance to play in his hometown.

In three previous starts in Montreal, Giguere has a win, a loss and a tie. He dropped his first game there despite making 32 saves in a 4-3 loss while with Calgary on Nov. 19, 1998, but won his most recent visit, stopping 21 shots in a 5-3 Anaheim win on Dec. 10, 2005. He has a 2.92 goals-against average at the Bell Centre.

This time, he'll face a red-hot Canadiens club that has won five straight since losing its season opener in a shootout. Montreal (5-0-1) has outscored opponents 21-9 over its current run, also winning its first three home games of the season.

The Canadiens will enter Saturday's tilt with plenty of rest after beating Florida 3-1 in their last game on Monday. Defenseman Francis Bouillon, who scored two goals in 74 games last season, tallied the game-winner in his season debut, while backup goalie Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves and earned the praise of Montreal captain Saku Koivu, who has goals in three straight games.

"I think we got outplayed by the opponent tonight, there's no doubt about that, and without his performance, without his great game, it would have been a really long night for us," Koivu said.

Halak was playing while starter Carey Price continues to recover from a bout with the flu. Price is likely to again miss Saturday's game, but he said he's been feeling better and could return next week.

"I spent three days in bed, it was pretty boring," Price told the Canadiens' official Web site. "But I'm feeling much better now and with another night's sleep, I'll be ready to go."

Halak has never faced Anaheim. The Canadiens have just one win in their last five games against the Ducks, who last lost in Montreal on Oct. 9, 2001.

HUGE HIT: Lucic Sends Van Ryn Through Glass

Holy moly, what a hit!

A couple of fans were cut (one reportedly pretty bad along the forehead). Was the hit legal? Lucic can be seen leaving his feet - albeit briefly - which causes me to wonder if this hit was fair to begin with.

Van Ryn seems to be doing fine. What a HIT.

Montreal Earns 5th Win After Toppling Panthers

Does Montreal have a bonafide starting goaltender? If you believe it's Carey Price, someone is begging to differ. His name? Jaroslav Halak.

Halak was sensational in goal as the Habs went on to defeat the Panthers by a score of 3-1. He made 35 saves including some highlight reel desperation grabs and kick saves to limit the Panthers surging offense to just a goal.

The Habs goaltending tandem has been simply STELLAR to open the season, and the stats don't lie.

Halak improved his save percentage to .967 on the season while allowing a single goal in both his starts. He's been a perfect compliment to Price, who has a .939 save percentage and a 3-0-1 record thus far.

''It was one of his best games (with the Canadiens), and it's not easy for him because it had been several days since he played,'' Habs coach Guy Carbonneau said of Halak. ''It's fun for a coach to have two guys like that who you can send in there against anybody.''

Francis Bouillon made his first start of the season, and wound up scoring the game's winning goal. The goal was scored by Bouillon on a slap shot through a screen from the point. But the point is not where Bouillon started this game. He was slotted in at wing on the fourth line to begin the contest, eventually moving back to his natural position at defense.

''That's a little weird, it's really tough doing both,'' Bouillon said. ''As you could see, I'm not too comfortable playing forward.''

Saku Koivu scored in his third straight game and Tomas Plekanec scored into an empty net for the Canadiens while Andrei Markov extended his points streak to six games with an assist on Koivu's goal.

Montreal took the lead at 2:07 of the second period when Markov found himself behind the Panthers defence and whiffed on a shot attempt but then blindly dropped a pass to Koivu, who tucked it inside the far post for his third of the season.

''Half the players in this league couldn't even imagine making the plays he makes,'' Koivu said of Markov, who has nine assists in six games. ''It makes the forwards jobs so much easier playing with him. Like on my goal tonight, there's only a handful of players who can miss a shot and recover in time to find a guy and get him the puck.''

Florida tied it up on a Keith Ballard goal that came off a Cory Stillman rebound. It was Ballard's first as Panther. Ballard was traded along with Nick Boynton from Phoenix for then-captain Olli Jokinen.

Plekanec added a short-handed empty netter with 22 seconds remaining. Maxim Lapierre was in the box serving a 2-minute minor for holding-the-stick, taken with 2:17 remaining in a one-goal game.

Ryan O'Byrne had a particularly disappointing outing. He logged just under 9 minutes of ice-time, and had 3 giveaways. Alex Kovalev didn't have too many negative stats, as he finished with an assist and a +1 rating, but he looked out of place on the ice and seemed to be fighting the puck. To his credit, Florida had a steady presence of defensemen all over Kovy throughout the game, proof that teams have taken notice to Kovalev's standout season last year.

Montreal was 0-for-5 on the powerplay, and killed off both of Florida's man-advantages.

Lineup Changes For Panthers/Habs Tilt

The lineup will look a little different from the winning lineup iced thus far.

Forwards Chris Higgins - who still hasn't played this season -, Andrei Kostitsyn - who suffered a concussion vs. Phoenix -, and Georges Laraque - who once again tweaked his groin -, will not be in the lineup tonight.

Kyle Chipchura was recalled today and will play tonight as the Habs host the Panthers at 7:30.

Making his first start of the season will be D Francis Bouillon.

Sergei Kostitsyn will replace brother Andrei on his line alongside Tomas Plekanec and Alex Kovalev.

Finally, Jaroslav Halak gets the call in goal.

Tune into the TEAM 990 (990am) at 7 p.m. for the pre-game show with YOURS TRULY, Sal Amato and Rod Francis.

Habs Down Coyotes, Lose Kostitsyn In Process

By all accounts, the matchup between the Canadiens and Coyotes was one to remember; however, maybe not so much for Andrei Kostitsyn.

The Habs defeated the Coyotes 4-1 in a game filled with great passes, dazzling moves, supers shots, and aggressive behavior.

Carey Price was calm and solid as usual, stopping 28 of 29 shots fired his way.

The Habs' new big-line of Tanguay-Koivu-Latendresse was the line of the night once again. They were on the ice for the first three goals of the game, with Tanguay potting two and Koivu scoring the other on a sublime slap-pass from Andrei Markov. Despite not having a goal yet, Markov is doing exceptionally well in the assists department, adding two and pushing his total to eight.

Guillaume Latendresse had an assist on the first Tanguay goal, and he continued to impress all night long. Gui has really taken a liking to being a part of what is now the Habs top line.

The Plekanec line continues to struggle, as the other teams have taken notice to last season's breakout and are using their top defensemen against them. To make matters worse, Andrei Kostitsyn may miss some time (he's out for the Florida match for sure).

AK46 was levelled on a suspect hit from 'Yotes d-man Kurt Sauer. The hit sent AK into the boards and caused him to land face first onto the ice. The head shot caused Andrei to lay motionless on the ice for a while; concussion is a plausible scenario. Andrei evetnaully got up with the help of trainers and the cameras focussed in on his face, showing how immediate the swelling occured around his left eye. He looked pretty bad...

That set the tone for some serious action throughout the remainder of the game, which still had just under two full periods of play ahead of it. Immediately after, Sergei Kostitsyn laid a late hit on a Coyotes defensemen, and Sergei took a roughing penalty, much to the CONTENT of the crowd who recognized the brotherly act.

Georges Laraque searched for a dance partner, but couldn't find one (at least not quite yet...).

Instead, Sauer squared off with Tom Kostopoulos, and despite not doing too well in the tilt, TK got a nice ovation from the crowd.

Laraque would get his dance late in the second period, going toe to toe with Coyotes tough guy Todd 'the Fridge' Fedoruk, a black belt in martial arts. Laraque won that fight, outmuscling and outpunching his opponent with ease.

The Habs added a fourth straight goal on a Robert Lang powerplay goal before Shane Doan would break Carey's goose-egg exactly midway through the third period.

Montreal finished with 33 shots on goal and went 1-for-3 on the powerplay, all the while shutting down Phoenix on both of their powerplay opportunities.

No updates just yet on Andrei Kostitsyn's condition. Check back tomorrow.

Like A Broken Record

The Habs have defeated the Boston Bruins.

The Habs have defeated the Boston Bruins.

The Habs have defeated the Boston Bruins.

This is not a typo...it really IS beginning to sound like a broken record.

Montreal pushed it's winning streak vs. Boston in the regular season to 12 games by defeating the Bruins 4-3 via shootout. Alex Kovalev, Saku Koivu and Maxim Lapierre all scored for Montreal in the first period, just 3:19 apart to put Montreal up 3-0.

Boston played catch-up the rest of the way, eventually tying the game on Marc Savard's right-place-right-time second goal of the night with 48 seconds remaining in regulation.

Overtime solved nothing, and in the shootout, Alex Tanguay played the hero, scoring the only goal to secure the extra point for Montreal.

Other newcomer Georges Laraque made his Habs debut Wednesday night, and wouldn't you know it, he dropped the gloves almost immediately on his first shift, going toe-to-toe with Bruins pest Shawn Thornton. Thornton was a marked man after mouthing off towards coach Guy Carbonneau in pre-game media interview.

Montreal was 1-for-4 on the powerplay; Boston went 1-for-6.

Carey Price outdueled Tim Thomas to pick up the win between the pipes. Price improves to 6-0-0 vs. Boston in regular season play.

Montreal was outshot by Boston 34-28.

Michael Ryder's dump-in late in the third took a weird bounce off the glass, causing the puck to bounce into the crease with Carey Price out of the net. That's how Marc Savard was able to score and send the game into OT. Ryder finished with the single assist.

Habs Open Season At Home Tonight vs. Bruins

The Montreal Canadiens open up their centennial season at home tonight after garnering 5 of 6 possible points on the road in Buffalo (2-1 OTL), Toronto(6-1 W) and Philadelphia (5-3 W).

The only roster change for the night will see Steve Begin sitting out and new addition Georges Laraque suiting up for his very first game in a Habs uniform.

After being declared unfit to play yesterday, "Big Georges" apparently made great progress overnight and today, and coach Carbonneau felt safe enough inserting him into the lineup.

Carey Price will start in goal for Montreal.

The game can be seen live tonight on TSN and RDS, both in HD.

Montreal has not dropped a game vs. Boston in 12 regular season outings - a span of over 19 months!

Montreal did however escape by the skin of their teeth vs. Boston in round one of postseason action last year, edging out the Bruins in 7 games.

Price has never lost to Boston in the regular season, going 5-0-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average.

All eyes will be on Michael Ryder tonight. Ryder will be playing his first game in Montreal as an opponent after spending his first four NHL seasons with the Canadiens, scoring 207 points.

Investigation To Follow On Cherepanov Death

click the title of this to link to TSN.ca's story from the Canadian Press.

Alexei Cherepanov Dies After Heart Stoppage

New York Rangers prospect and top pick of 2007 (17th overall) Alexei Cherepanov collapsed and died on the bench of his Avangard Omsk team in the Russian KHL.

Prior to being drafted, many had Cherepanov as going in the top 5. He slipped to 17, where the Rangers couldn't believe the steal they were allowed to pull.

Cherepanov, playing alongside Jaromir Jagr in Omsk, had 8 goals and 12 assists in the season through 15 games. He was in his third season with the club. He had scored that night.

"We are extremely saddened by the tragic passing of Alexei," said Rangers General Manager Glen Sather. "On behalf of the New York Rangers organization, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to his family. Alexei was an intelligent, energetic young man, with tremendous talent and an extremely bright future."

Cherepanov was the top-ranked European skater heading into his draft year, and backed up his credentials with 29 points in 47 games with Omsk when it played in the Russian Super League. He had more points than Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin as an RSL rookie, and his 18 goals in 2006-07 broke Pavel Bure's RSL rookie scoring record of 17.

Cherepanov represented Russia at numerous international tournaments. He was named the best forward at the 2007 World Junior Championships after he finished with a tournament-high 5 goals, and his 8 points led the Russian team in scoring and to the silver medal. He had 3 goals and 6 points in six games at the 2008 WJC as Russia won the bronze.

with files from NHL.com's Adam Kimelman.

Habs Score Six En Route To First Win

Alex Tanguay and co. delivered last night in Toronto. <photo courtesy sportsnet.ca>

What a difference 24 hours makes.

The Montreal Canadiens rebounded from a tough 2-1 shootout loss in Buffalo just 24 hours prior, destroying the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 6-1.

Newcomer Alex Tanguay attributed his "average" performance in Buffalo to nerves, but he was able to shake away the butterflies last night, tallying a power-play goal and three assists (two on the power-play).

The game really exploded in the second period.

Montreal took a 2 goal lead into the second frame, and then added 3 more - all on the powerplay - in just 5:28. Young Sergei Kostitsyn had his best game in Habs colors, scoring twice on the PP and adding an assist on the other scored by Tanguay.

Kostitsyn tried beating Curtis Joseph on a breakaway in the third for the hat trick, but was denied the five-hole. Joseph started the third in relief of Vesa Toskala, who allowed all six goals on 23 shots.

Guillaume Latendresse rebounded from a lacklustre performance in Buffalo, scoring a goal on an absoultely sublime feed from captain Saku Koivu to cap the scoring. He also had two assists, one on the powerplay. Roman Hamrlik was rewarded with his hard work in Buffalo, scoring the game's opening goal midway through the first.

Montreal finished 3-for-7 on the powerplay, adding the other three at even strength.

Jaroslav Halak had a very good game in goal, turning aside all but one of the 25 shots fired his way.

Alex Kovalev had the other goal not mentionned above - it was the game winner. He coralled a great setup from Plekanec in 'Gretzky's office' to score just above the crease and with Leafs on his back.

Habs drop opener to Sabres in shootout

The Canadiens opened their season last night in Buffalo, and despite outchancing the Sabres, the Habs wound up losing the contest 2-1 via the shootout.

Ryan Miller had a great game in goal, allowing an early tally to get by him courtesy newcomer Robert Lang, but shutting the door on every other opportunity.

Carey Price, though tested less, was solid as well in defeat. Carey was beaten on both shootout attempts, while Montreal failed to convert on any, ending the game early.

All the Canadiens players had decent outings, but if I had to pick on any, it would have to be Patrice Brisebois and Guillaume Latendresse. Brisebois took a retaliatory penalty in the first period, and gave the puck away one more than the one occasion that appears on the official game summary. Latendresse, who was thrust into the spotlight when it became known that Chris Higgins would miss the match amongst others, failed to impress once again.

On a good note, Roman Hamrlik had a whale of a game for the Habs, taking 7 shots on goal and blocking another 6. Andrei Markov logged more time than any other skater of either team with just under 29 minutes; 5 mins more than the closest skater, Derek Roy.

Montreal now heads to Toronto for their second game of the season, led in goal by Jaroslav Halak. Toronto upset Detroit on Thursday at the Joe Louis Arena, defeating the defending champs 3-2.

My HHT Yahoo! Pool PREDICTIONS

It's controversy time!!!

I've decided to post a prediction list of who will finish where at season's end in our pool. The list is as follows:

18. Rattlesnakes (Anthony C)
17. Northern Expsosure (Anthony P)
16. Chiazz Balls (David C)
15. CrazyFarmers (Nick)
14. Salmon (Jonathan)
13. A.C. (Adamo)
12. Frosty (Joey)
11. The Communists (Karl)
10. Mike Ricci (Paolo)
9. Crispy's Creampies (Kevin)
8. Sarno's Team (Anthony S.)
7. YoungTories (Rod)
6. Rug Rats (Pat)
5. Blackwater Bandits (David D)
4. Six Drive's Badasses (?friend of a friend)
3. CARBO21 (Marcello)
2. Shorty (Angelo)

CHAMPION: BANGO'S MEAN MACHINE (Yours truly, Sal)

I like my team A LOT so let me hear it fellas! If you think I am wrong, leave a comment below! And don't take offense to your ranking if it's bad, I skimmed through all the rosters and this was my initial reaction!

Good luck again gentlemen!

Habs Close Out Preseason; Prep For Season Opener

The Montreal Canadiens capped their pre-season in forgettable fashion, getting shut-out 3-0 on home ice to the Minnesota Wild.

They finish their pre-season at 6-3-0, including 3 shootout wins.

The Habs now shift their focus to their season opener in Buffalo on Friday, October 10th.

Still uncertain to play is big Georges Laraque. Despite having said himself that he would be ready for Friday's contest, Laraque was simply unable to skate today in practice. Coach Carbonneau confirmed the uncertainty of his status as well.

The Habs follow up on Friday's opener with another road game Saturday night as they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs. They then roll into Philadelphia on Monday to round out the road-trip before heading home to host Michael Ryder and the Boston Bruins Wednesday in their first game of a 5-game homestand.