The newly crowned Northeast Division Champion Montreal Canadiens play host to the need-a-miracle-to-make-the-playoffs Buffalo Sabres Thursday night.
Fresh off a 32-save performance that helped the Habs clinch the Division, Carey Price was named NHL Rookie of the Month for the month of March today, edging out other candidates Sam Gagner, Nicklas Backstrom, Patrick Kane and fellow 'tender Erik Ersberg of L.A.
Price will get the start tomorrow night and will go head to head with Ryan Miller. Miller has surrendered 17 goals in six games against Montreal this season, but 10 have come in the last two matchups - both losses.
Since becoming the Canadiens #1 goalie at the trading deadline with the sending of Cristobal Huet to Washington, Carey Price has dominated between the pipes. He has registered 10 wins in his 13 starts, losing only to top-tier teams San Jose, Anaheim and Ottawa. His goals-against-average in that span is 2.29; two of his 10 wins have come versus and in Buffalo.
The Habs (45-25-10) now trail Pittsburgh by 2 points, as the Penguins were able to topple the Flyers 4-2 tonight. Pittsburgh have 102 points through 81 games.
The Sabres (38-30-12) won the Presidents' Trophy last season by setting franchise records with 53 wins and 113 points, but sit in 10th place in the East this season with two games remaining for them.
Should the Sabres not take tomorrow's contest into overtime, their season will officially be over.
The Sabres reached the conference finals each of the last two seasons, losing to eventual Stanley Cup winner Carolina in 2006 and Ottawa last year. Now, Buffalo is trying to avoid joining the New York Rangers (1992-93) and Montreal (1969-70) as the only teams since 1967-68 to miss the postseason after leading the league in points the previous season.
A win for Buffalo tomorrow night would put them at 90 points, one point off 8th place Philadelphia.
Washington currently holds down the 9th spot, but plays host to Tampa Bay tomorrow. An overtime loss would be good enough for Washington to grab the 8 spot, as they would equal Philly in points while having one more win.
Who will be more desperate tomorrow night...a team gunning down 1st in the East, or a team playing for their postseason lives? If Tuesday's game was any hint, don't necessarily favor the Sabres.
Notes: The Canadiens recalled forwards Matt D'Agostini and Greg Stewart from the AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs today. No word yet on whether or not they will both play, but they will practice with the team Thursday morning.
Puck drop: 7:38
Showing posts with label canadiens sabres pregame. Show all posts
Showing posts with label canadiens sabres pregame. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
3-Game Trip Begins In Buffalo
The Canadiens get a chance to reclaim the top spot in the Eastern Conference on Friday night when they open a three-game road trip against the Buffalo Sabres.
Montreal (43-24-10), the top team in the Northeast by four points over Ottawa, is a point behind East-leading Pittsburgh, which beat the New York Islanders 3-1 on Wednesday.
However, the Canadiens have five games remaining, while the Atlantic Division-leading Penguins have four.
The Canadiens moved atop the conference with a 7-5 win over the Senators on Monday, as Andrei Kostitsyn scored two of the Habs' three first-period goals. That victory secured Montreal's second trip to the playoffs in three seasons.
"It gives us some time to get ready for the playoffs and obviously we have games still left and we want to finish first," Canadiens captain Saku Koivu said. "That's our goal now, but it's kind of a derivative from preparation when you know that you're going to be there than a lot of years before where we played to the last game and still didn't know if we were going to make it or not."
The Canadiens haven't won a division since taking the Adams Division title in 1991-92. Their last conference championship came when the East was known as the Wales Conference.
They hope to get closer to equaling those feats by matching their season-high, four-game winning streak.
Montreal's trip takes it to last-place Toronto on Saturday before visiting Ottawa Tuesday. The Canadiens, who lead the East with 50 road points, close the regular season at home against Buffalo (36-30-11) on April 3 and the Maple Leafs two nights later.
Alex Kovalev, who has two goals and three assists in the last three games, has been a big part of the Canadiens' success away from home. He has five goals and 11 assists in helping Montreal go 6-2-0 in its last eight road games.
Kovalev is also getting help from Tomas Plekanec, who has six goals and three assists in his last six games as the visitor.
That span includes Plekanec's first career hat trick and a four-assist performance from Kovalev in a 6-2 win at Buffalo on Feb. 29, as the Canadiens tied the season series at three wins apiece.
The Sabres are 10th in the East, five points behind idle Boston for the eighth and final playoff spot. Two of their final five games are against the Bruins, including the regular-season finale on April 5.
They kept pace with Boston on Thursday when Paul Gaustad scored with 1:26 left in regulation before Derek Roy netted the decisive shootout goal, giving Buffalo a 4-3 win over Ottawa shortly after Boston beat Toronto 4-2. The Sabres' victory salvaged a split of a home-and-home set after they fell 6-3 at home to the Senators on Tuesday.
"I thought we deserved to win it from start to finish," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We didn't give up a lot, we did a pretty good job against their top line, and I think when you work that hard and put the work in - we got rewarded."
Thomas Vanek has been solid of late, getting four goals and an assist in the last three games. He has three goals and four assists in the six matchups against Montreal, with five of those points coming at home.
Associated Press
Montreal (43-24-10), the top team in the Northeast by four points over Ottawa, is a point behind East-leading Pittsburgh, which beat the New York Islanders 3-1 on Wednesday.
However, the Canadiens have five games remaining, while the Atlantic Division-leading Penguins have four.
The Canadiens moved atop the conference with a 7-5 win over the Senators on Monday, as Andrei Kostitsyn scored two of the Habs' three first-period goals. That victory secured Montreal's second trip to the playoffs in three seasons.
"It gives us some time to get ready for the playoffs and obviously we have games still left and we want to finish first," Canadiens captain Saku Koivu said. "That's our goal now, but it's kind of a derivative from preparation when you know that you're going to be there than a lot of years before where we played to the last game and still didn't know if we were going to make it or not."
The Canadiens haven't won a division since taking the Adams Division title in 1991-92. Their last conference championship came when the East was known as the Wales Conference.
They hope to get closer to equaling those feats by matching their season-high, four-game winning streak.
Montreal's trip takes it to last-place Toronto on Saturday before visiting Ottawa Tuesday. The Canadiens, who lead the East with 50 road points, close the regular season at home against Buffalo (36-30-11) on April 3 and the Maple Leafs two nights later.
Alex Kovalev, who has two goals and three assists in the last three games, has been a big part of the Canadiens' success away from home. He has five goals and 11 assists in helping Montreal go 6-2-0 in its last eight road games.
Kovalev is also getting help from Tomas Plekanec, who has six goals and three assists in his last six games as the visitor.
That span includes Plekanec's first career hat trick and a four-assist performance from Kovalev in a 6-2 win at Buffalo on Feb. 29, as the Canadiens tied the season series at three wins apiece.
The Sabres are 10th in the East, five points behind idle Boston for the eighth and final playoff spot. Two of their final five games are against the Bruins, including the regular-season finale on April 5.
They kept pace with Boston on Thursday when Paul Gaustad scored with 1:26 left in regulation before Derek Roy netted the decisive shootout goal, giving Buffalo a 4-3 win over Ottawa shortly after Boston beat Toronto 4-2. The Sabres' victory salvaged a split of a home-and-home set after they fell 6-3 at home to the Senators on Tuesday.
"I thought we deserved to win it from start to finish," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We didn't give up a lot, we did a pretty good job against their top line, and I think when you work that hard and put the work in - we got rewarded."
Thomas Vanek has been solid of late, getting four goals and an assist in the last three games. He has three goals and four assists in the six matchups against Montreal, with five of those points coming at home.
Associated Press
Friday, February 29, 2008
Habs Visit Bernier, Sabres @ HSBC
The Montreal Canadiens will look to halt a red-hot Sabres offence tonight as they visit Buffalo at HSBC Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:38.
The Canadiens defeated the Thrashers on deadline day, putting a halt to a mini two-game losing skid. With the win, however, the Habs improved themselves to 34-21-9, and have won 5 of their last 7.
Chris Higgins, whose name was running rampid throughout deadline week, responded to not being traded on Tuesday night by cashing in on 2 goals and adding a helper to lead Montreal to the 5-1 rout. The Habs scored 4 third period goals in the effort, and newly appointed #1 goaltender Carey Price was stellar manning the pipes, stopping 26 of 27 shots thrown his way.
Price has become the go-to guy in Montreal after the Canadiens traded away G Cristobal Huet to Washington for Anaheim's 2nd round pick in 2009. Huet will be getting his first career start as a Capital tonight as the Caps visit New Jersey, a team which Huet has had very little success against in his career, going 1-6-0 in 7 career games vs. NJ.
The Sabres (31-24-9) have won three straight against Montreal, outscoring the Canadiens 11-3. Montreal had won the first two regular season meetings, but have since dropped 3 straight to trail the season-series by 1 game.
Steve Bernier is coming off an absolutely spectacular debut with Buffalo on Wednesday night. Bernier played his first game with his new team on Wednesday, scoring on his first two shots and adding an assist in an 8-4 home win over Nashville. Bernier was acquired by the Sabres from the Sharks along with a 1st round draft pick in exchange for two-time All-Star defensemen Brian Campbell and a 7th round draft pick. Campbell debuted with the Sharks Wednesday as well, tallying an assist.
Bernier's fifth career multi-goal game ended a career-worst 12-game goal-scoring drought. Bernier's impressive debut gives him 15 goals in 2007-08, matching the career high he set last season with the Sharks.
Buffalo find themselves tied with Philadelphia with 71 points through 64 games, but the Flyers own the 8th and final playoff as of now with 32 wins, one more than Buffalo.
The Canadiens are 5th in the East with 77 points, and trail division-leading Ottawa by a single point. The Devils lead the East with 80 points. Montreal and New Jersey play tonight, while Ottawa sits idle.
On a side note: Marian Hossa (a name we are all too familiar with these days) made his Pittsburgh Penguins debut last night and suffered an MCL injury. The team stated that he is expected to miss at least one week. Brad Richards, meanwhile, made his Stars debut last night as well, and figured in with 5 assists in a 7-4 win vs. Chicago.
The Canadiens defeated the Thrashers on deadline day, putting a halt to a mini two-game losing skid. With the win, however, the Habs improved themselves to 34-21-9, and have won 5 of their last 7.
Chris Higgins, whose name was running rampid throughout deadline week, responded to not being traded on Tuesday night by cashing in on 2 goals and adding a helper to lead Montreal to the 5-1 rout. The Habs scored 4 third period goals in the effort, and newly appointed #1 goaltender Carey Price was stellar manning the pipes, stopping 26 of 27 shots thrown his way.
Price has become the go-to guy in Montreal after the Canadiens traded away G Cristobal Huet to Washington for Anaheim's 2nd round pick in 2009. Huet will be getting his first career start as a Capital tonight as the Caps visit New Jersey, a team which Huet has had very little success against in his career, going 1-6-0 in 7 career games vs. NJ.
The Sabres (31-24-9) have won three straight against Montreal, outscoring the Canadiens 11-3. Montreal had won the first two regular season meetings, but have since dropped 3 straight to trail the season-series by 1 game.
Steve Bernier is coming off an absolutely spectacular debut with Buffalo on Wednesday night. Bernier played his first game with his new team on Wednesday, scoring on his first two shots and adding an assist in an 8-4 home win over Nashville. Bernier was acquired by the Sabres from the Sharks along with a 1st round draft pick in exchange for two-time All-Star defensemen Brian Campbell and a 7th round draft pick. Campbell debuted with the Sharks Wednesday as well, tallying an assist.
Bernier's fifth career multi-goal game ended a career-worst 12-game goal-scoring drought. Bernier's impressive debut gives him 15 goals in 2007-08, matching the career high he set last season with the Sharks.
Buffalo find themselves tied with Philadelphia with 71 points through 64 games, but the Flyers own the 8th and final playoff as of now with 32 wins, one more than Buffalo.
The Canadiens are 5th in the East with 77 points, and trail division-leading Ottawa by a single point. The Devils lead the East with 80 points. Montreal and New Jersey play tonight, while Ottawa sits idle.
On a side note: Marian Hossa (a name we are all too familiar with these days) made his Pittsburgh Penguins debut last night and suffered an MCL injury. The team stated that he is expected to miss at least one week. Brad Richards, meanwhile, made his Stars debut last night as well, and figured in with 5 assists in a 7-4 win vs. Chicago.
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