Here Are YOUR Northeast CHAMPIONS!

Carey Price collected his 3rd shutout; this one very meaningful as it clinched a Northeast crown for the Canadiens.

The Canadiens were able to come out of Ottawa with 3-0 win led by a 32-save effort from rookie netminder Carey Price.

The Habs may now celebrate the feat of earning the Northeast Division crown, a feat they hadn't accomplished since the 1991-92 season - that's a 16 year span folks...for the MOST STORIED franchise in NHL history.

In fact, the last time the Habs won the Division title, the Division was called the Adams Division, and the Habs needed just 93 points in 80 games.

It's about time, boys!

Montreal came into the contest having won 5 of their last 7, while Ottawa had LOST 5 of their last 7.

And the streaks continue...

Alex Kovalev opened the scoring on the PP midway through the first, backhanding home a Michael Ryder centering pass from along the goal-line past Martin Gerber and top shelf for his 35th of the season.

5:28 into the second, Mathieu Dandenault picked up a Guillaume Latendresse rebound and created a lane for himself to either dish the puck or go for the shot. Luckily, Dandenault chose the latter, and released a perfect wrister to beat Gerber high and top corner once again.

Midway through the third, the Habs would send this game out of reach on an Andrei Kostitsyn marker on the PP, his 26th of the campaign, as his wrist shot beat Gerber under the arm and over the pad.

Ottawa's loss now puts them in serious danger of actually missing the post-season, something that hasn't occured in 12 years. The Sens sit with 92 points through 80 games, good enough for 6th out East, but only one point ahead of both 7th Boston and 8th Philadelphia, both of whom have only played 79 of 82 games. 9th place Washington won tonight hosting Carolina, which moves them up to 90 points in 80 games, 2 away from the catching the Senators.

The Habs win vaults them to 100 points with 2 games remaining, and guarantees them a finish in the Conference no less than 2nd. The Pittsburgh Penguins also have 100 points through 80 games, but remain first as they have 45 wins, one more than Montreal's 44.

The Canadiens have not reached 100 points since doing so in 1992-93, when they finished 3rd in their Division with 103 before going on to shock many people and win the Stanley Cup, their 24th overall and 23rd as an official member of the National Hockey League. It is the 16th time in their history that they've broken the 100 point barrier.

Alex Kovalev became the first 35-goal scorer for Montreal since 1995-96, when both Pierre Turgeon and Vincent Damphousse tallied 38.

Montreal have played all their road games this season, and have two home games remaining: Thursday vs. Buffalo, and Saturday vs. Toronto. Montreal finishes with a 25-12-4 road record.

Habs Score 7 In Win; Clinch Playoff Berth

Martin Gerber (above) and Ray Emery fought the puck all night long, allowing a combined 7 goals to Montreal, including this one to Chris Higgins in the 1st period.

The Montreal Canadiens survived a 4-goal rally in the 3rd period by the Ottawa Senators to hold on for the 7-5 win vs. the Senators, clinching a playoff berth and extending their lead over Ottawa to 7 points in the process.

The floodgates opened up early for Montreal, and eventually opened up for Ottawa as well.

Andrei Kostitsyn scored twice in the first period (including once on the powerplay), and Chris Higgins added one in between those two to spring the Habs ahead by 3 vs. their kryptonic rivals.

Ottawa would start the 2nd period with a change in personnel, as Martin Gerber got the hook from coach Murray and Ray Emery strapped up for relief action.

The Sens would get one back midway through the 2nd courtesy Antoine Vermette on a Carey Price giveaway, but that goal seemed to furth spark the Habs' offensive machine, as Montreal would add 4 more before the second period's end to lead the game 7-1. The goals came from Bouillon, Markov (PPG), Grabovski and Kostopoulos (SHG).

Clearly, the match seemed out of hand for Ottawa, and the scoring appeared to be destined for double digits on the Habs' half of the scoreboard, no matter who was manning the pipes for the Sens.

But disaster would strike... well, nearly.

The Sens would get goals early and often in the 1st half of the 3rd period, scoring 3 times to reduce the differential in goals to 3. Dany Heatley got it started, Martin Lapointe followed up, and Heatley contributed again before the 10 minute mark hit.

It was nearly time to push the panic button, but Carey Price (despite the onslaught) did his job even with the defensive breakdown in effect, making key saves on Dany Heatley and Antoine Vermette in tight.

The Sens would add one more with slightly under 2 minutes remaining, as Jason Spezza redirected a Cory Stillman slapper on the powerplay to get the Sens in goalie-pulling territory, but the Senators ran out of time to complete the impressive comeback, losing 7-5.

The refereeing seemed to be a little lenient towards Ottawa and a little harsh towards the Canadiens, but all in all, Montreal were able to hold on for the regulation win, which can go a long way from now to the end of the regular season in determining who will win the Northeast Division (and possibly the Eastern Conference) championships.

The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped a 4-1 decision on Long Island to allow the Habs to earn a 3 point separation on them for 1st in the East.

The Habs are off until they visit Buffalo Friday at the HSBC Center.

The Ball Is Back In Ottawa's Court

Jaroslav Halak improved his career home-ice record to 8-0, stopping all 30 shots he faced vs. the Islanders Saturday night for his 3rd career shutout.

The Montreal Canadiens were able to complete the season-series sweep of the Islanders for the first time in 11 years Saturday night by defeating New York 3-0. The win now places Montreal ahead of Ottawa by 2 points, putting the ball in Ottawa's court to try and go for the 2-pointer today in Carolina. The Sens are currently trailing Carolina 2-1 early in the 2nd period.

Jaroslav Halak got his 2nd start of the season since last starting 7 nights ago, earning a win in a 5-2 tilt with the L.A. Kings. Halak came up with 30 stops last night but was only truly tested on 4 or 5 occasions. It was Halak's first start at home in over a calendar year, and he was able to earn his 3rd NHL shutout. Halak has yet to lose at the Bell Centre, as he is now 8-0, having gone 7-0 as a rookie last year.

The Habs opened the scoring in the 2nd period as they were finally able to score on the powerplay, a feat they hadn't been able to accomplish lately, having gone 0-for-10 in their 4 previous games combined. Hamrlik pinched in and snapped home a rebound off a Chris Higgins shot that had been turned aside by the right pad of DiPietro.

In the third period, Alex Kovalev gave the Canadiens some insurance, converting on a 2-on-1 with Tomas Plekanec that all started off a scramble in Halak's crease. Bill Guerin threw a pass towards the crease from below Montreal's goal line and Halak got a stick to it, but wasn't able to freeze it despite his attempts to. Luckily so, in fact, because Andrei Kostitsyn would come up with the loose puck and would spring Plekanec on a 2-on-1 with Kovalev with a quick pass. Plekanec stickhandled in, drew as much attention as he could from DiPietro, then sent a saucer pass over to Kovalev right on the tape, and Kovalev - who took an extra second to make sure DiPietro wouldn't slide across and pull off a miracle save - potted the puck in the far top corner.

With just over 2 minutes remaining, Saku Koivu sent a beautiful pass off the boards that rebounded perfectly to reach Guillaume Latendresse, who would snap one low-blocker side on DiPietro, beating him on the angled partial breakaway.

Habs Run Into The "Classic" Sens In Loss

Jason Spezza had 2 powerplay goals in a 3-0 win over Montreal Thursday night, helping vault his team back into 1st in the Northeast Division.

The Jekyll/Hyde team of the NHL were in town to face the Montreal Canadiens last night, and they had their game faces on.

The Senators notched their 40th win by defeating Montreal 3-0, playing a positionally sound game and capitalizing on nearly all of their chances, all the while surpassing Montreal in the standings thanks to their regulation win.

The ruckus crowd at the Bell Centre was emotionally involved at the get go, but the emotions slowly (and eventually completely) dissipated as the Canadiens forgot to bring ENERGY to the contest, both in the early going and throughout the game.

The crowd was completely out of it by the time Spezza scored the Sens (and his own) 2nd powerplay goal of the game, by batting a rebound in off the back of Carey Price's leg from an Andrej Meszaros shot that hit the end boards. That offensively savvy play really put a stranglehold on the fans, as it became crystal clear shortly after that the Senators were switching into defensive mode, proceding to dump and chase the puck into Montreal's zone, all the while providing a very effective forecheck and eating as much clock as humanly possible.

Spezza scored his first powerplay goal and first goal of the game in the 1st period by deflecting a Cory Stillman point shot perfectly passed the beaten Carey Price, who to his credit did everything he could of, both on the play and in the entire game.

Antoine Vermette made it 3-0 with 1:59 remaining in the second, slamming home a rebound off of a Chris Kelly slapshot past a recovering Carey Price. Vermette quietly porduces when the Senators face Montreal, with the focus constantly on the "Pizza Line" of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley.

Alfredsson was a surprising dress for the game, as many believed he would be a healthy scratch come game time. Carbonneau stated that he was certain Alfredsson would play however, after seeing him take a 45 minute morning skate earlier in the day.

The Habs have 2 games remaining with Ottawa, and are going to need huge efforts if they intend to steal away the Northeast crown from the defending Northeast champs. The Sens currently lead the season series 5-1.

Martin Gerber shutout the Habs for his 2nd shuout of the season and ninth of his career, despite an early heckling from the energetic crowd. Carey Price had 21 saves in the loss.

The best Habs player on the ice last night was - get ready for it - Guillaume Latendresse.

Lats effectively used his body on the majority of his shifts, and layed some punishing checks with his monstrous frame on the Sens defensive corps. His energy was about the only plus in a Habs effort that featured lazy forechecking, absymal passing and an overall flat energy level.

Montreal next faces the NY Islanders Saturday night at 7 p.m. If you are attending the game, go early, as they are going to be giving away free car flags to the first 10,000 fans arriving at the Bell Centre.