Habs Down Flyers Twice In Two Nights

"Desperation is the word right now," Flyers center R.J. Umberger.

Alex Kovalev had a goal and two assists to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-3 win over Philadelphia on Sunday night, the reeling Flyers' seventh straight loss.

The Flyers, who lost to Montreal for the second straight night, have taken a stunning freefall from division leaders to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. Their season-high skid has left Philadelphia only one point ahead of Boston and Buffalo (64).

Coach John Stevens held a closed-door meeting with a team losing confidence as quickly as games.

"We've got to start doing everything in our power that's going to be in the best interest of our team winning hockey games," he said.

Francis Bouillon scored his first goal in 75 games, and Michael Ryder and Saku Koivu also scored for Montreal. Maxim Lapierre added an empty-net goal with 1:24 remaining.

The Canadiens beat the Flyers 1-0 on Saturday night in Montreal behind Carey Price's first NHL shutout and an Andrei Kostitsyn goal. Price followed with 34 saves on Sunday.

The Canadiens are tied with Ottawa for the most points in the Eastern Conference (73), but Ottawa has two more wins.

"Our goal was to make the playoffs and it's still our goal. Sometimes you're ahead a little bit of the curve and I think we are," Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau said.

Mike Richards, Braydon Coburn and Riley Cote scored goals for the Flyers. Cote scored his first NHL goal with 18.1 seconds left.

The Canadiens took advantage of a momentary mental lapse in the final seconds of the first period that left Bouillon open to skate nearly the length of the ice and finish the 2-on-1 break with his first goal since last season.

Forward Scottie Upshall drilled Kostitsyn in the corner near Montreal's net. Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges came to Kostitsyn's defense and goaded Flyers defenseman James Vandermeer into a faceoff, leaving Bouillon free to skate uncontested through center ice and score with 2 seconds left for a 2-1 lead.

Gorges smirked at Vandermeer as he skated away.

"I think if each guy is better and more aware every shift on the ice, that's the only way we're going to stop this thing," Vandermeer said. "If I'm a little more aware where the puck is, if I'm back, maybe it slows the play up a little bit."

A play like that seemed to sum up all that's gone wrong for the Flyers.

"Everyone stopped. They thought it was going to be a fight," Stevens said. "That's just a killer. You can't stop playing."

Carbonneau was surprised the Flyers would try and fight instead of defend.

"They completely forgot the play to try to engage in short fighting," he said "They play us enough to know that we're not trying to engage in anything. We're just trying to play the game."
Coburn, who returned after missing four games with a ruptured artery in his buttocks, scored his fifth goal only 34 seconds into the second that tied the score. It was the first even-strength goal the Flyers scored against Montreal this season.

The celebration was short lived.

Ryder punched in the puck off a rebound for his ninth goal only 1:41 later for a 3-2 lead. Then Montreal capitalized on a two-man advantage when Koivu hooked the puck around a sprawled Antero Niittymaki for his 11th goal.

Those were enough goals to send Montreal to its third straight win overall and a season sweep (4-0) off the Flyers.

There were plenty of Montreal fans in the crowd, so when Kovalev scored his 27th goal off a pass from Tomas Plekanec from behind the net, pockets of the upper deck broke into cheers and chants of "Go Habs Go!"

The Flyers tied the score at 1 midway though the first on Richards' 23rd goal. With the Flyers short-handed, Richards faked a pass from the circle, then put his stick down and slapped one past Price.

Notes: The Flyers played without RW Steve Downie (concussion), D Derian Hatcher (knee) and RW Joffrey Lupul (sprained ankle). ... The Flyers have lost six straight overall to Montreal. Their last win against the Canadiens came on Nov. 25, 2006.

Associated Press

Struck Late By Lightning

Huet was SPECTACULAR in this game...unfortunately, the Habs lost in regulation, extending the losing streak to 3 games as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens by a 3-2 score.

Vaclav Prospal had the tying and game-winning goals in this one. His game winner came with 8:09 remaining in the 3rd, and gave Tampa their first lead of the match.

Chris Higgins opened the scoring (and broke a slump in the process) just 50 seconds in, as he took a 2 line lob pass from Andrei Markov which sprung him on a clear cut breakaway. Using a wide outtie-innie fake to get Ramo sliding the wrong way, Higgins was able to easily bury the puck passed the red-line into the vacated net.

Shortly thereafter, Tomas Plekanec collected a loose puck and sprung himself on a shorthanded breakaway. He came in with speed, and as Ramo went down with a poke-check, Plekanec released a wrister but was denied by the pre-positionned right pad. As cliché as it's going to sound, it has to be said: This game may have been a different result had he scored there on the penalty kill.

Instead, Tampa were able to tie the game on a rebound goal potted by Rimouski, Quebec native Michel Ouellet.

The 3rd goal of this game came at the 9:48 mark of the 1st, as Mike Komisarek was able to earn his team a powerplay after CRUNCHING Nick Tarnasky into the boards and having Andre Roy step in to take an interference penalty.

On that powerplay, Mark Streit was able to lug the puck coast to coast, flip it in along the boards to get by Boyle, and center it out front to a streaking Plekanec for the one-timed wrister that beat Ramo.

With 40 seconds remaining in the 1st, Vaclav Prospal got his first of two as he took a feed from Lecavalier and let go a wrister that beat Huet 5-hole.

No goals to report in the 2nd period, but a whole LOT of nice saves from both goaltenders, but mainly from Cristobal Huet, as he came up with his most notable saves on Jan Hlavac (twice) and Craig MacDonald.

In the third, Prospal would notch the eventual game winner by converting a feed from Vinny Lecavalier, who really grinded for the assist. Pressuring Markov behind the Habs' net, Lecavalier came up with, lost, and came up with the puck once more, stealing it away from Markov using a savvy combination of slashes and sticklifts. Instinctively, he threw the puck out front, right on the tape of the unmarked Prospal, who outwaited Huet into a flinch and released a wrister that Huet had gotten a piece of, but not enough to keep it from trickling home.

The rest of the game was highlighted by some more miraculous saves. Huet came up with 3 more clutch saves to keep it a one goal game, including the stellar stop on a tic-tac-toe combination from the big line that ended up having St.Louis stopped on the doorstep on a cross-ice feed.

With time winding down, Lecavalier caught Kovalev with an elbow, and Kovy retaliated, throwing a punch towards Lecavalier. Both were sent off with roughing minors, and action went to 4-on-4. With the extra ice, and Huet already on the bench, the Habs nearly capitalized a couple of times, but Karri Ramo came up with the game-saver. With under 20 seconds to play, Andrei Kostitsyn went cross-ice down low and hit brother Sergei perfectly on the tape, but Sergei failed to get a lot of mustard on the chance, and Ramo was able to move laterally quickly enough to come up with the save - despite being unsure of where the puck lay. It would eventual be blown down as a frozen puck, and the Lightning would survive the late surge to hang on for the win.

Tampa outshot Montreal 36-21. The shots were 9-9 after one, but then Tampa turned it on, outshooting Montreal 10-4 and 17-8 over the course of the final two periods, respectively.

The Habs play again tomorrow night, as they visit the Panthers to finish off the road trip. Florida are fresh off a 5-3 loss Sunday in Buffalo which saw them lose Richard Zednik - who is expected to be out for the rest of the season - due to a freak skate-to-throat incident. That game is schedule for 7:30 pm.

Contrary to the pregame report, Mathieu Dandenault did dress for this game. The scratches were Kostopoulos and Begin, with Hamrlik missing his 4th consecutive game with the flu.

Healthy Sens Pound Habs To 6-1 Final

How happy are the Sens to have Alfie and Heatley back? Check that: How happy is Jason Spezza?

Spezza wrapped up the evening with a neat 3 goals and 3 assists, notching his first career hat-trick and passing his career high of 5 points in one game.

Alfie made his return felt as well, going on to tally 2 goals and 3 assists. Dany Heatley finished with 1 goal and 3 helpers, as the "Pizza" line combined for 15 points (refered to as the "Pizza" line because when Ottawa scores 6 or more goals in a game, the fans get a free slice of pizza from Pizza Pizza, and that line is more often than not responsible for the 6 goals in any given game.)

Spezza opened the scoring 22 seconds in on a nifty redirect off an Anton Volchenkov blast stemming from an offensive zone faceoff win. At 1:42 of the first (!:20 later), Spezza had his second of night, sweeping home a loose puck that Huet was unable to cover off a streaking Dany Heatley wrist shot. Huet was chased at the 4:45 mark, as Daniel Alfredsson officially capped his return with a goal, and, in doing so, introduced Carey Price to the ice. Price temporarily healed the wound, but in the second, Ottawa added goals from Heatley and Spezza.

Andrei Kostitsyn scored the Habs' lone goal of the game on a 5-on-3 man advantage with 25 seconds remaining in the 2nd, redirecting home a nice pass set up by brother Sergei to make it a 5-1 Sens lead. Price started that play off and was credited with the secondary assist, the first of his career.

But, to kill the buzz, Alfie earned the crowd their pizza, scoring 2:28 into the third on the powerplay, notching his 2nd of game and giving Spezza the personal-milestone 6th point on the night. Mercifully, the scoring would end there.

Huet allowed 3 goals on 4 shots. Price stopped 22 of 25 in relief. Montreal has now lost 4 of their last 6.

The Senators scored both of their powerplay goals on opportunities granted to them via Patrice Brisebois penalties (notice how much I like him?)

Montreal outshot Ottawa 34 -29, and Ray Emery had 33 saves in the win. Ottawa's lead in the standings has now increased to 5 points over Montreal.

The Habs are off until they kick off a south-Florida mini-trip, visiting the Lightning Tuesday before heading into Florida for a date with the Panthers Wednesday.

-- WHAT'S ON MY MIND? --

-I really hope Montreal finds a way to rebound from this loss as they continue their road-trip in So-Flo next Tuesday/Wednesday. They are now losing more than they are winning, something we are used to enduring in the past but not yet this season, and to keep the fans from panicing, a strong effort and a WIN is needed vs. the Lightning.

-Huet was to blame on 1 of the three goals he allowed. Spezza's redirect and Alfie's shot were practically unstoppable, but Spezza's rebound goal off Heatley was a gift left on the doorstep.

-Montreal really turned it on when down 3-0. They found plenty of ways to beat Ray Emery, but almost no way to solve the posts, as they dented the iron on 5 separate occasions! Emery owes his posts (and, on one occasion, his crossbar) dinner.

-The Habs REALLY need secondary scoring, as tonight demonstrated what the rest of the season could look like should the new big-line fail to produce, although it is rather unfair to judge a performance against a conference leader such as Ottawa.

-Good to see Sergei Kostitsyn not shying away from rough stuff, as he got into his second career fight. His opponent was much tougher this time around, as he upgraded from Chuck Kobasew to Wade Redden. Redden was able to knock him down with a swift uppercut, but, hey, at least he stepped up, which is more than what I could say about Maxim Lapierre, who likes to stir, but doesn't seem to like to shake (shake meaning fight).

Leafs Rebound For Win; Habs Fall 3 Back Of Sens

Kyle Wellwood goes top shelf while stumbling to his knees for the game-winner late in the 2nd period. Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson/ESPN.com

This Maple Leafs team didn't look like a last place Maple Leafs team who were fresh off an 8-0 drubbing on home ice courtesy of the Florida Panthers Tuesday night. Insetad, Toronto came out gunning in Montreal tonight, looking to rebound from a humilitaing loss in front of their own fans, and they rebounded in fine fashion, taking down one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now in our Montreal Canadiens.

The Habs were able to open the scoring, but Toronto responded with 3 unanswered goals, including the 3rd back-breaking goal from Kyle Wellwood on the PP with 24 seconds remaining in the 2nd period to hold on for a 4-2 win. Darcy Tucker added a couple of goals including the empty netter to seal the deal for the Leafs, who have won their first match against Montreal after dropping 3 straight to even the season series at 3 games a piece.

Montreal opened the scoring on Plekanec's 20th goal of the season, matching his career high set last year. Andrei Kostitsyn got the phantom assist, as he did most of the work but did not figure on the scoresheet. AK 46 got his forecheck going, collected the loose puck on a brilliant dump in from Markov, circled the net, held off his challenge, and got the puck back to Markov, who then threw it towards goal. Kovalev redirected it into Kubina's skates, and as the puck rebounded to Kovalev, he put a pass under Kubina's stick and a little ahead of a wide open and awaiting Plekanec, who had to control the puck skate-to-stick before sliding it five-hole past Vesa Toskala.

Kovalev was able to get a goal tonight as well, as the Leafs failed to convert on a powerplay opportunity. Kovalev realized that he was beaten and out of position on the play, so he decided to bolt up ice and hope for a miracle. That miracle happened, as Carey Price came up with a key stop and Plekanec was able to seize a loose puck and launch it up ice to the awaiting Kovalev, who found himself on a clear cut breakaway (and that's an understatement!) Kovalev kept it simple, yet fancy (as is customary of him), going forehand-to-backhand and shelfing the puck past Toskala to make it a one-goal game early in the third. However, Toskala would hold his ground long enough for Tucker to pot the empty netter and seal the win.

Vesa Toskala registered 34 saves in the win, while counterpart Carey Price had 24. Cristobal Huet will be back between the pipes Saturday in Ottawa as the Habs visit the Sens.

The Senators got the 'W' tonight vs. the Panthers, restoring their 3 point lead over Montreal. They welcomed back (with VERY open arms) Dany Heatley tonight, who had 2 goals and added a helper.

Huet's string of consecutive starts ended tonight at 13. Crisotbal went 9-3-1 in that span.

-- WHAT'S ON MY MIND?... --

And now, to kick off my new feature at the end of all future post-game reports that I like to call "WHAT'S ON MY MIND?", which will be a quick summary of any random event that I have on my mind...

-The game seemed to be lacking in one area specifically tonight: REFEREE-ING! The Habs should have been awarded with many more powerplay chances than they were tonight, and I say this in an impartial stance. To Toronto's credit, some calls went un-noticed their way as well, but certainly not as many as what they got away with tonight. Howver, credit must go where it's due, and as much as I hate to praise the team I despise so greatly, the Leafs simply got the job done with a severely under-manned roster tonight.

-What was Koivu thinking in the last 30 seconds?! Markov sent a pass in his direction as the Habs tagged up on the delayed offside, but Koivu's attention seemed to be on Toronto's bench in front of him for an inexplicable reason. His lack of readiness allowed Tucker to come away with the puck and pot the empty netter. Carbo was then seen shaking his head in disgust...I sense some tension between the two. With the goalie pulled and under a minute to go, Koivu's attention has to be on the puck and not on anything else.

-Mark Streit must hit the net on 1 out of every 7 or 8 blue-line one-timers. His lack of accuracy could cost us in the longrun, and I find it extremely aggitating to endure. He does get the odd slapper to go for goals on some nights, but he should REALLY work on his long range one-timers in practice, for his own and the team's benefit.

-Would Kovalev have looked smart had the Leafs scored on their chance while he bolted up ice? I believe that he would have been back in the media's evil eye had the Leafs gone up 4-1 at that exact moment...

-Patrice Brisebois needs to go. That's it.

Feel free to COMMENT on any of the points I mentionned above, or anything at all! I am really enjoying the feedback being left by all of you, so THANK YOU and please keep it coming!

9 Points For Plekanec's Line; Habs Down Sens 4-3

Plekanec's line continues its dominance, as each member of the line would register 3 point nights hosting the Senators Tuesday night. AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson/ESPN.com

Come pre-season, many doubted the possibility of the Habs even qualifying for the post-season. Now, February 5th, the Canadiens have the 2nd most points in the East and the 4th most in the NHL.

That's right: The Montreal Canadiens are now one point away from top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Habs improved their record to 29-16-9 thanks to a 4-3 win tonight on home ice vs. the Eastern Conference leading (currently injury riddled) Ottawa Senators.

Chris Kelly opened the scoring 2:42 into the game with help from Antoine Vermette, but that goal led to a series of 4 unanswered goals for Montreal.

Getting it started was Andrei Kostitsyn, or as I like to call him, AK 46. Andrei was able to notch a powerplay marker by planting himself at the tip of the crease and being the beneficiary of a beautiful display of puck-control and passing courtesy of linemates Alex Kovalev and Tomas Plekanec. Kovalev stickhandled the Ottawa defensemen out of position before laying it off to Plekanec, who dished a perfect cross crease pass to Kostitsyn, who battled for the tip-in goal with Andrej Meszaros on his back.

Up next was Tomas Plekanec, scoring what was certainly considered the goal of the game and a definite possibility for Habs goal of the year. Kovalev was able to catch a long cross ice pass from blueline to blueline, gain the zone, go cross ice through a few Sens players to Andrei Kostitsyn, who then went cross crease again through a couple of Sens to find Tomas Plekanec streaking hard to the net, and Plekanec was able to beat the visibly confused Martin Gerber with the re-directed wrister. Tic, Tac, Toe with a dash of beauty.

The Habs' next two goals came 1:46 apart, midway through the second period. Mark Streit padded the lead to 3-1 after accepting a breakout transition pass from AK 46, gaining the zone, and unloading a slapper that redirected off Joe Corvo's outstretched stick to wind up lasering its way home top corner. Plekanec then scored his 2nd of the game on the powerplay after taking a feed from Kovalev and quickly throwing it towards Gerber from the goal line, bouncing it in off his catching glove arm for a goal that Gerber certainly wishes he could have back.

That goal would in fact come back to haunt Gerber, as it would stand as the eventual game-winner. The Sens would rally for two third period goals courtesy Jason Spezza and Antoine Vermette, the latter scoring shorthanded, but all for naught as the Sens fall by a goal.

Cristobal Huet was sensational in this outing. Despite giving the puck away to Kelly for the game's opening goal, he made the saves he made when he really had to, making at least 5 saves on what could be considered as golden opportunities for the Senators, including two saves on Chris Kelly in the dying moments of the game to preserve the victory. He had 26 saves in the win, and made a strong case to coach Carbonneau who now has to decide who to start for Thursday's outing vs. the Maple Leafs.

The line of AK 27, AK 46, and Tomas Plekanec (TP 14 just doesn't have that ring to it...) each tallied 3 points on the evening en route to leading the Habs to their first win against Ottawa of the season. Montreal hadn't beaten Ottawa since a 3-1 win on Jan. 29, 2007.

The Habs first half of the game was excellent, but there were questionnable moments in the second half of the game which certainly went noticed by the coaching staff.

Saku Koivu was benched for most of the third period after taking an absolutely useless hooking penalty immediately after the Sens reduced the Habs' lead to 4-3. Carbonneau's patience with Koivu's lack of discipline in key moments has finally ran out, and the captain found himself in Carbo's doghouse for the thrid period.

RDS and TheScore television reported that both Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley might return to action Saturday, conveniently in time to face Montreal in the two clubs' 5th meeting of the season.

Resillience Key To Rangers' Victory...+ New Habs Trade Rumours

Chris Drury had the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, and the Rangers scored five unanswered goals in a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens were the hotter team in the early going. Montreal dominated and dictated play throughout the first in a period that saw them go up 2-0 on powerplay goals from Markov and Kovalev.

Things got really interesting in the second period. Sergei Kostitsyn was hooked from behind on a breakaway, the ref raised him arm, and when the Rangers got control of the puck, he pointed to centre ice indicating a penalty shot for the young Kostitsyn. Sergei moved in on Lundqvist, dead center, and decided to release a perfectly placed wrister from 10-15 feet out that beat Lundqvist over the glove for a water-bottle rocking tally.

That's when the Rangers woke up.

Just about 3 minutes later, Michael Rozsival was able to sneak one past Huet on a point blast that had eyes for the twine. 24 seconds later, it was Brandon Dubinsky's turn, as he was able to beat Huet for an unassisted marker, making it a 1-goal game.

A little later, Alex Kovalev threw an elbow into Ryan Hollweg's mouth on a forecheck. The hit (which was late) was definitely penalty-worthy, but went un-noticed by the referees. The CBC (where I watched today's game) was then focussing on Hollweg who was on the bench as they went to commercial, and it showed a view of Hollweg that indicated that he had revenge on his mind, as his eyebrows were lowered and his mouth formed a frown.

Before Hollweg got back on the ice for a shift, Scott Gomez was able to score on a beaten Huet from in close. Gomez was wide open because Markov had lost his stick on the shift and would have had a perfect opportunity to clear the zone. Instead, Gomez collected the puck and buried it for the easy tying goal.

Next shift, Hollweg was on the ice. The puck came around the boards to Sergei Kostitsyn, who had his back to the play. Hollweg charged in, and in disgusting fashion, laid out the prone and unsuspecting Sergei from behind into the boards. Sergei collapsed in a heap to the ice, and Hollweg, fully aware of what he had done, showed no remorce, and simply prepared himself to be rushed by a Hab player on the ice. Josh Gorges was that player, as he was closest to the play. Francis Bouillon and Colton Orr dropped the gloves in a tilt of their own, and when all was said and done, Hollweg was ejected from the game on top of receiving a 5 minute boarding major, and Gorges was dealt a 2-minute roughing minor, sending the Habs on a 3 minute powerplay, that they eventually would fail to cash in on. Sergei Kostitsyn would stay in the game after shaking off the cobwebs.

Midway through the third, Chris Drury converted a perfect pass from Nigel Dawes as he beat Huet backdoor for what would be the eventual game-winner. Marty Straka added one with 1:30 remaining, and with Huet still in the net.

No penalties were taken in the third period. Andrei Markov pushed his points streak to 6 games with the unassisted PPG. The Rangers outshot Montreal 30-28. Expect Ryan Hollweg to be suspended in the next 24 hours, likely for over 5 games. There is also a possibility of a Kovalev suspension for his elbow to Hollweg, though it would likely be for a maximum of one game.

The Habs next face Ottawa at home Tuesday, Toronto at home Thursday, and visit Ottawa Saturday for a Northeast Division-focused week. Montreal sit 3 points back of Ottawa and both teams have played 53 games.

Other notes:
-The Canadiens have demoted Jaroslav Halak to Hamilton. They have not yet recalled another goaltender, but an educated guess would have Carey Price being recalled over Yann Danis, as Price has had tremendous success vs. the Maple Leafs this season. Halak did not appear in a single game since being called up. Carey Price is fresh off his first career AHL regular season shutout game, as he blanked all shots fired his way against the Manitoba Moose in a 2-0 Bulldogs win.

-Michael Ryder was scratched for Sunday's game, and new rumours are surfacing about possible deals. With the Habs reportedly interested in Jokinen, Fedorov and Hossa, you can now add the Nashville Predators as possible trade partners. Rumours suggest that the Habs are interested in defensive-minded defense prospect Kevin Klein, and a possible three way deal could be in the works between Mtl-Nashville-and Carolina. The predators are reportedly interested in Erik Cole, and with an overstock of young prospectual defensemen, Nashville are definitely looking to upgrade on offense. We'll keep an eye on this situation as it develops.

Habs Continue Dominance over Isles

MONTREAL (AP) - Alex Kovalev knew the Canadiens would have a good afternoon if they made it hard for Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro to follow the puck.

That strategy worked in the second period Saturday, when Kovalev had a goal and an assist and Montreal scored three times in a 4-1 win over New York.

"We know how good he is when he sees a shot," Kovalev said. "It's harder for the goalie when there's traffic in front of the net. That's what we tried to do against him."

Mark Streit scored a power-play goal 7:32 into the middle period to give Montreal a 2-1 lead. Kovalev, who assisted on Tomas Plekanec's short-handed goal 37 seconds into the second, gave the Canadiens their third goal of the period with his team-leading 23rd on a screened shot past DiPietro at 12:35.

Cristobal Huet stopped 29 shots in his 11th straight start for Montreal, which has won six of eight (6-1-1).

"I think we try to stay with our game plan, play smart and outwork the other team," Huet said.
Streit got his second point of the game with an assist on a late goal by Mathieu Dandenault, who was a healthy scratch for the Canadiens' last four games.

Blake Comeau scored his third goal 5:01 into the second for New York, which lost its fourth in a row.

DiPietro made 28 saves after missing Thursday's 3-1 loss to Los Angeles because of the flu.
Streit finished off a passing play with Christopher Higgins and Saku Koivu by putting Koivu's cross-ice pass beyond DiPietro into the left side for his eighth goal.

Kovalev made it a two-goal margin when he put a low wrist shot from the right side past defenseman Andy Sutton and between DiPietro's pads.

Plekanec scored his short-handed goal as Montreal was killing the last of three straight minor penalties.

Kovalev intercepted Islanders captain Bill Guerin's pass along the blue line and raced down the ice to the Islanders' zone, where he left a drop pass for Plekanec. Kovalev held off Islanders defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron while Plekanec swung left to put a shot past DiPietro for his 17th goal.

"They're a great transition team and they feed on mistakes," DiPietro said. "I don't think you can try to run-and-gun with a team like the Canadiens. They're a quick, fast team and that's the kind of game they like to play."

Successive infractions by Michael Ryder, Plekanec and Mike Komisarek late in the first left the on-ice officials unable to keep track of the game clock in the final minutes of the opening period.
Ryder was given a roughing penalty at 16:40 when he jumped on Comeau in the left corner after the Islanders forward checked Higgins from behind headfirst into the boards. Comeau got a boarding minor on the play.

After Plekanec was sent off for tripping at 17:37 to give New York a 4-on-3 advantage, Islanders head coach Ted Nolan used his timeout after Komisarek was sent off for hooking at 18:44.
When play resumed, the scoreboard clock showed 1:05 remaining in the period - instead of 1:16.
The lost time was added on before the second period and the teams faced off at center ice to play the final 11.1 seconds of the first before switching ends.

"It was weird," Guerin said. "I've seen it happen where it was a second or two. It happens. If we were looking for excuses I'd have to find a better one than that."

Notes: Koivu played his 700th regular-season game. ... Canadiens D Andrei Markov set up Kovalev's goal to extend his assists streak to five games. Markov was struck in the face by a puck backhanded along the boards by Ryder in the third period. He received a cheer from the sellout crowd of 21,273 when he got up and went to the bench before returning to collect his second assist of the game on Dandenault's goal with 2:39 remaining.

Associated Press

Huet, Habs Blank Capitals 4-0

*Big '8's collide as Mike Komisarek checks Alex Ovechkin into the boards. AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz/ESPN.com.

The Habs extended their winning streak to 3 games as they defeated the Washington Capitals at the Bell Centre Tuesday night by a 4-0 scoreline. Cristobal Huet notched his second shutout of the season, making 35 saves in the contest.

The Habs kept Washington goalie Brent Johnson busy as well, as the high-shooting tilt saw Johnson turn aside 36 of 40 shots fired his way. It was a visibly disappointing game for Alex Ovechkin, as he only got 4 shots away, not many of them quality. He was checked very well most of the night by Mike Komisarek, and even when things looked good for him, they didn't end up so well, as he had pucks roll off his stick on shots, and shots deflected into the crowd by Habs' defensemen. He also took a few solid checks from big Mike, but dished out some of his own as well.

The Habs got goals in all 3 major situations in the 1st period. First off, Mark Streit one-timed home the eventual game-winning first goal of the game on the powerplay, set up by Andrei Markov and Michael Ryder. The Habs then scored shorthanded, as Alex Kovalev did a great job killing off a 5-on-3 powerplay for the Caps, which eventually led to Tomas Plekakec intercepting a pass in his own zone and blowing by the rest of the Capitals squad. Fresh out of the box, Sergei Kostitsyn was able to join the rush onside to create the 2-on-0 against Johnson, and Plekanec slid him a perfect pass which Sergei then fired home passed the beaten Caps' netminder. Before the period's end, Steve Begin hounded down a loose puck behind the Caps net, and as Johnson hesitated to play the puck in fear of playing it outside the trapezoid, Begin threw it back out front to a streaking Koivu, who released a quick wrister that beat Johnson glove-high.

The 2nd period saw no scoring, but did have some great saves and missed opportunities at both ends, and also featured some absoultely mind-boggling moves put on by the show that we know as ALEX KOVALEV. This guy has SO much talent, doesn't he?

The final goal came in the last minute of the game, as Alex Kovalev was able to bang a loose puck through Johnson on the powerplay for a much deserved 1st point of the evening. Assisting on the goal were Plekanec and Streit, giving them 2 point nights.

Kovalev was rewarded with a goal after blocking a slapshot from Tom Poti earlier in the game. He was icing his thumb throughout the rest of the match, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Kovalev going for x-rays tomorrow. He played the rest of the game without missing a shift, so there is little reason to worry.

Josh Gorges has a standout game on defense, blocking 5 shots. Komisarek also blocked 5 on the night, and played a key role in the victory once again. Guillaume Latendresse was limited to just 10:53 of ice time in 13 shifts.

The 2 clubs meet again on Thursday at the Verizon Center in Washington.

Nash & Nabokov Shine Despite 8-7 Loss

*Rick Nash pulls off four moves to fool 2nd period Eastern netminder Tomas Vokoun for his second of three goals in the All-Star game. AP Photo/John Bazemore/ESPN.com.

The Eastern Conference won the game, Eric Staal (East) was named All-Star MVP, and Rick Nash (West) dazzled the crowd with a beautiful trio of goals.

Oh, and Andrei Markov had a a great All-Star game debut, tallying a goal and an assist for the East.

The East got off to a commanding 5-1 lead, but thankfully that lead was cut down and eventually equalled by the West. The East then took a 6-5 lead before allowing the West to go up 7-6. The East would rally for two goals in the third period, including former Thrasher Marc Savard (East)'s game-winner with just over 20 seconds remaining.

Rick Nash was the talk of the game, even though he was snubbed as MVP. His first goal (his least beautiful, wristing the puck passed DiPietro on a Markov giveaway) came 12 seconds into the game, breaking the record for fastest opening goal in the A-S game set by Ted Lindsay in 1950.

Nash then scored in the 2nd period, taking a breakaway feed from Pavel Datsyuk and going forehand, backhand, forehand and backhand to completely fool Tomas Vokoun and slide the puck by Vokoun's left skate (as seen in the above photo.)

Nash's 3rd goal came in the third period (that's right, 1 goal per period for Rick). Nash took a pass from Iginla at his own blue line, then without warning turned on the turbo boosters, creating himself another breakaway, this time eyeing down Tim Thomas. Nash came in, converted himself to a backward-skating position, dragged the puck on his backhand, and lifted it over the shoulder of the lunging goalie, capping the fan-pleasing hat-trick.

Nash had a chance for 4 (which would have won him a car), but was stoned in the 3rd by Thomas.

Ryan Getzlaf (West) scored a real beauty as well, sneaking in through two Eastern defenders and sniping a shot from in tight, practically at the left side of the crease, putting it top shelf passed the surprised Thomas...a real beauty of a shot that left the crowd wondering "How did that go in?"

Only Evgeni Nabokov (West) was able to shut-out the opposition, denying all 8 shots he faced in the 2nd period. Nabby absolutely robbed Ilya Kovalchuk, as the latter took a feed from behind the net and wasted no time at all releasing the one-timer, but was robbed by the flashing leather of Nabby. That's what I like to call 'SNAGGLEPUSS!' Nabby then robbed Kovalchuk again, this time on a breakaway, stacking the pads to deny the hometown hero of a goal. Kovalchuk threw his stick in frustration, which was great to see as it indicated his intensity and willingness to score for the home fans. Marian Hossa (East) did wind up with a goal, though, to get the crowd cheering.

The West lost the game despite outshooting the East 51-33. No penalties were taken in the contest. Chris Osgood (West) allowed the most goals of all 6 goaltenders, letting 5 get passed him on 16 shots. Phaneuf, Lidstrom, Kopitar, Ribeiro (West) and Kovalchuk (East) registered -3 ratings on the night, all game-lows. Niedermayer (West), Chara and Savard (East) were game-high +3's. Rick Nash took a game-high 7 shots on goal to add to his game-high 3 goals.

Least Used West Player: Jason Arnott, 12:26 TOI.
Most Used West Player: Dion Phaneuf, 22:28 TOI.

Least Used East Player: Scott Gomez, 13:26 TOI.

Most Used East Player: Brian Campbell, 23:19 TOI.

I needlessly remind you that next year's All-Star Weekend will take place right here in Montreal, to celebrate the Habs' centennial.

NHL regular season action resumes Tuesday, with the trading deadline under 1 month away.

Bruins Awaken Habs' Offense...Again...

*Maxim Lapierre, right, celebrates his goal with 3 seconds left in the first period against the Boston Bruins with teammate Mike Komisarek. AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson, courtesy ESPN.com.

When times get tough for the Montreal Canadiens, there is just nothing like a date with the division rival Boston Bruins to cure any offensive ailments.

The Habs rattled Boston for 8 goals in an 8-2 victory, the third time this season that the Habs offense has ignited for over 7 goals. 2 of those times, the Habs played host to the Boston Bruins. They were polite in the process on Tuesday, leaving Alex Auld and Tim Thomas to share the honours of allowing 4 goals a piece. Montreal was also interested in sharing something else: The goalscoring. Only Andrei Kostitsyn scored twice, one for each goaltender, and each line was able to figure in on the scoring in the FIRST PERIOD alone!

Tom Kostopoulos scored so early in the first period, tempting me to use the phrase "if you blinked, you missed it". It took 14 seconds for T.K. to score on a Steve Begin deflected shot. Tom reached for the puck, spun around, and fired into the gaping cage, as Auld was off position by a mile by having committed to a Begin shot. Ryder then tipped home a Koivu wrist shot just 2:58 later to double the Habs advantage to 2 goals. After Boston halved the deficit on a Marco Sturm rebound goal, the Habs shifted into top gear again, answering the Boston tally with goals by Andrei Kostitsyn and Maxim Lapierre. All of this went down in period #1.

The second period allowed for 2 more Canadiens goals. First, Steve Begin played a pass from behind the net onto the stick of Bryan Smolinski, who made no mistake one-timing a wrister from atop the crease into the top corner, passed relief goaltender Tim Thomas. Tom Kostpoulos got an assist on that goal as well, which should be remembered for a little later...

Mike Komisarek then made it 6-1, finishing off a beautiful passing play.

A.K. 46 fed Komisarek at the point, who threw one down low along the boards to the awaiting Tomas Plekanec. Plekanec drew two Bruins players' attention to him, then returned the feed to the pinching Komisarek, who coralled the puck and released a wrister that beat Thomas 5-hole. Thomas was visibly upset with the coverage (or lack-there-of) on Plekanec, flailing his arms wildly and staring to the heavens.

Tempers flared after this point. Sergei Kostitsyn caught David Kreijci with an open ice hip-check, which in turn led Zdeno Chara to cross-check Sergei down to the ice from behind. Sergei had enough time to get back to his skates before Chuck Kobasew came out of nowhere, dropping the gloves and going after the young Kostitsyn. Sergei held his own pretty well in the tilt, and had to face a fighter in Kobasew who did not remove his helmet with visor.

Kovalev then added to the scoring on the powerplay, taking a beautiful cross-ice pass from Mark Streit, and sending a partially fanned butterfly slapshot towards the goalie. The puck went off of Aaron Ward's knee, and re-directed into the net, giving the Habs the 7-1 lead.

Now, back to Kostopoulos...

Steve Begin was playing a puck in his own zone with his back to his blue line, when Shane Hnidy activated from defense and laid an absolutely class-less hit from behind into Begin, who had to leave his first game back from a shoulder injury with what seems to be a re-aggravation of the same left shoulder. As the play ensued, linemate Tom Kostopoulos came with a full head of steam at Hnidy, dropping the gloves and standing up for his teammate.

In case it has slipped by you........ Tom Kostopoulos recorded a goal, an assist, and a fight. That's right, a Gordie Howe Hat-Trick for T.K.!

Nokelainen and Kostitsyn exchanged goals before the end of the game, as the Habs wrapped up their 9th straight victory over the Bruins, and improved their perfect record versus the Bruins this season to 6-0-0.

Tom Kostopoulos was apparently surprised with his 1st star nomination, as he came onto the ice in shorts and skates after having been sent to the locker room for his 10 minute misconduct penalty for his fight with Hnidy, which occured with 8:44 remaining in regulation. In a nice display of fan appreciation, the fan-favorite gave away two hockey sticks to two lucky members of the crowd during his 1st star salute.

The game wasn't without it's controversy though. Mathieu Dandeneault sounded off prior to the game, indicating his unhappiness with being sat out for yet another game. He made clear that he was not requesting a trade, but said he would be upset even further should he be scratched again this season. With the way the Habs played tonight, all signs point to Carbonneau sticking with his current lineup, which will certainly create a buzz over the next couple of days. The Habs travel to New Jersey to face a red-hot Devils team on Thursday. The Devils were on the winning end of a 7-3 rout on Tuesday night as well, this one coming against their own division rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers.

It is reported that Begin's injury isn't as serious as initially feared, as a quick analysis suggests that it is only a pinched nerve. Details should be made clearer tomorrow as Begin will receive a scan to detect for any damage.

What did you think about the game? Would you make any changes to the lineup for Thursday's road game? Comment below!

Sabourin Blanks Canadiens; Pens 1-0 Without Sid

Dany Sabourin stopped all 31 shots he faced in his first start since December 21st, a 12-game layoff. PHOTO > AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz, courtesy ESPN.com.

Dany Sabourin made 31 saves for his second shutout, Jeff Taffe scored in the first period, and Pittsburgh beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-0 Saturday night.

Sabourin, who got his first career shutout in a 5-0 win in New Jersey on Nov. 5, made his first appearance since Dec. 21 one night after Ty Conklin took his first regulation loss in his 11th straight start.

Pittsburgh's 3-0 loss Friday to Tampa Bay was particularly costly because Crosby sustained a high ankle sprain that will almost certainly sideline him for next weekend's All-Star game in Atlanta and may keep him out of action for several weeks.

Crosby didn't travel with the team and had his sprained and swollen right ankle re-examined Saturday by the team's medical staff. No prognosis for the defending NHL scoring champion's return will be made until the swelling subsides.

The Penguins were 0-2-2 in the four previous games Crosby had missed since he began his NHL career at the start of the 2005-06 season.

Taffe scored his second goal of the season 6:14 in when he beat Cristobal Huet on a setup by Penguins enforcer Georges Laraque. Laraque was treated like Wayne Gretzky by Canadiens defenders as he was left untouched while he held the puck behind the net. He carried it out the right side and passed to Taffe, who beat Huet for what stood up as the winning goal.

Evgeni Malkin put a backhand into an empty net with 12 seconds remaining. Montreal, which returned from a 3-1 road trip, fell to 8-8-5 at home. Huet had 25 saves in the loss.

Montreal next plays as host to the Boston Bruins, a team in which they have registered 5 wins in 5 attempts this season. Boston is red hot, having swept their home-and-home weekend matinee series with the Rangers.

*This report is based heavily on that of the Associated Press, courtesy NHL.com.

Plekanec Scores 2, Cracks 40; Habs Win 3-1

Plekanec (center) has a two-goal outing at Nassau Coliseum. Photo from The Canadian Press, courtesy Tsn.ca.

Where Chris Higgins failed to continue his success against his hometown team, Plekanec filled in in fine form.

Tomas Plekanec got it done for the Habs tonight, registering his 39th and 40th points of the season with goals, opening the scoring at even strength and then adding to it with a shorthanded tally as the Habs cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Islanders on Long Island.

Plaky's first goal came shortly passed midway through the 1st period, when Isles forward Andy Hilbert failed to collect an outlet pass from Bruno Gervais. Plekanec picked up the loose puck, faked-and-then-released a slapshot to beat DiPietro glove-high. Plekanec then added his 16th of the year, shorthanded. After Huet robbed Miroslav Satan on the doorstep, Kovalev beat Mike Comrie to the loose puck, eliminated Comrie with a bodycheck, and flipped the puck forward, managing to get it passed Chris Campoli to create a 2-on-1 for Plekanec with Markov. Plaky held and released a wrister, beating DiPietro low-glove this time around to notch his 40th point of the season, 7 shy of his career high of 47 posted just last season.

The Isles heated up midway through the second, generating a solid 5 minutes of attacking hockey. The save of the game occured in this span, as Mike Comrie picked up a loose puck at the Habs' blue line, and, due to a poorly timed line-change, Mike had himself a clean-cut breakaway. Streaking in from the right wing, Comrie cut inside and through the crease in an attempt to go wide on Huet, but Cristobal read the play perfectly and followed through with Comrie, eventually stopping the shot with his right pad.

But the Isles would not be shut-out on this night. Midway through the 3rd, Cristobal Huet played a dump-in from behind his net which was then intercepted along the boards by captain Bill Guerin. Guerin wasted little to no time at all getting that puck on goal, forcing Huet to get down to try and freeze it. Unfortunately, the puck was jarred loose, and a crease-crashing Richard Park was able to chop at it and get it to float in. The Habs were able to hold off all remaining attacks, and with under a minute left and goaltender Rick DiPietro on the bench in favor of an extra attacker, Chris Campoli turned the puck over to Alex Kovalev in Montreal's zone. Kovalev had a streaking Plekanec up ice, near New York's blueline, waiting for a pass to earn the chance to pot the empty-netter for the hat-trick, but Kovalev decided he would take the puck zone-to-zone, and he easily skated around a desperately-diving Campoli to bury his 20th of the season.

Huet had 17 saves in the win. The Habs outshot the Islanders 21-18 in a low-shooting, low-scoring affair. Montreal went 0-for-2 on the PP, but did have the short-handed Plekanec marker.

The Canadiens improve to 2-1 on this 4 game road-swing, with the final stop coming Thursday in Atlanta.

The Thrashers cashed in on a Marian Hossa hat-trick tonight to land a rare & decisive 5-1 win in Detroit.

They might as well have not shown up...

Henrik Lundqvist came up big on 18 of 19 shots Saturday night. *Above photo taken from (AP Photo/ Frank Franklin II) courtesy espn.com.

For a team who pointed in 7 straight games, the Canadiens sure looked like a team in the basement of the Eastern conference.

And for a team who dropped 5 in a row, the Rangers completely blew away the competition.

The Habs came out and started the game flat footed immediately. Unfortunately, that effort didn't change throughout the game. They were outshot each period, with the breakdown going like this: 13-6, 15-8, and 13-5. That is flat-out disappointing, even though you're in MSG, where the Rangers are statistically sound on defence.

However, it is fair to note that as poorly as the Habs played last night, the Rangers played in the exact opposite of fashion.

The Rangers were all over the Habs, physically dominating, creating beautiful plays, and finishing off chances. Despite handing the Habs 2 separate 5-on-3 situations, the Habs couldn't capitalize. They were actually having loads of trouble even GAINING THE ZONE on parts of their 5-on-3 rushes.

Andrei Markov's turnover led to the first goal, as Hossa and Drury combined on give and go passing, allowing Drury to skate in and manoeuvre brilliantly in front of Huet, beating him easily and sliding the puck home along the ice at 3:17 of the first.

Later in the first, the Habs players on the ice were just as useful as New York's Statue of Liberty, as all 5 skaters stood around watching Jagr stickhandle between them and then dish off to Straka who one-timed a wrist shot passed Huet.

Petr Prucha converted an absolutely gorgeous set up provided to him by Nigel Dawes. Dawes was heading back towards the blueline when he decided to spin around and whip a beautiful cross ice pass directly onto Prucha's stick, who was standing atop the crease for the easy tip-in (which he unnecessarily put TOP CORNER for added thrill/beauty) passed Huet.

Finally, New York's 4th consecutive goal came with :22 to go in the 2nd, as Dawes skated in from the side-boards on a poor scoring angle and fooled Huet 5-hole. Sure, that one shouldn't have gone in, but in my opinion, one bad goal allowed by a goalie is fine, whereas 4 bad goals allowed by a lazy group of forwards & defsnsemen is a huge cause for concern.

Halak started the 3rd, and paved the way for a minor comeback, as the Kostitsyn's combined on the powerplay to get the Habs on the board. Andrei, standing near the boards, waited for Sergei to streak in back door, and sent a beautiful tape to tape pass directly onto Sergei's stick for the tip-in.

Bryan Smolinski was visible to me last night in many ways, all of them bad. He was the centerpiece of Straka's goal, in which Jagr froze 5 Habs, particularly Smolinski. He was used for 1:42 on the powerplay (1:42 I consider to be wasted) as he failed to set up anyone, shoot a decent shot, or hold the zone properly. He won 4 faceoffs, while losing 7, going 36%. And, he was a -1, which on a night like last night wound up being one of his better stats.

The team is off until Tuesday, where they will head to Long Island for a date with the Islanders. I expect Jaroslav Halak to see a start in goal Tuesday, as he was able to stop all 13 shots he faced in relief of Huet. I will also GUARANTEE Tom Kostopolous to be back in the lineup to face the Isles. I would expect Smolinski to be the healthy scratch.

Habs Get Physical Against Bruins, Win 5-2

No matter how much I say about Mike Komisarek in the following article, it still won't be enough to rightly credit him.

Mike was a MONSTER tonight, just as Pierre McGuire labeled him in his 'Monster of the Game' bit. He was all over the ice, throwing hit after hit after hit, taking the pain for a blocked shot off his ankle, and not allowing anyone to push his goaltender around. Mike was everything we expected him to be tonight when the Canadiens made him their 7th overall choice in 2001. Komisarek was going at it all game long with towering teenaged winger Milan Lucic (don't be fooled by the name, he's a Canadian boy), and he handled himself perfectly in every situation...even the times that Lucic tried to wipe out Komisarek, Lucic was the one falling to the ice.

To be fair, however, EVERYONE was hitting tonight, and the Bruins looked confused by it.

You would be confused too if young, tiny Sergei Kostitsyn is laying out open-ice hits that are highlight-reel material.

And what about Josh Gorges??? Is anyone recognizing his vast improvement???

This kid is making me proud lately...he's sticking up for his teammates, and more importantly he's holding his ground perfectly against forwards on one-on-one situations, something we aren't used to seeing from the Craig Rivet trade returnee. Also, Gorges is learning to relax with the puck in high pressure situations...he is more and more comfortable with his role, and if he continues the way he's going now, he can really develop into a real steal from my beloved Sharks (that's right, after Montreal, I'm a Sharks fan, for those who don't know). Added bonus: Gorges had an assist on Dandeneault's 1st of 2.

Since I'm on the Sharks for a second: Congratulations to Evgeni Nabokov for his 2nd All-Star game appearance! This goalie has always stood out to me since winning the Calder back in 2001...and let's not forget, he's a 9th round choice, 219th overall (1994).

The Habs continue to roll on offense. They have scored 4 or more goals in each of their 4 January games thus far, and have scored 4 or more goals in 6 of their last 7, going 5-0-2 in that span. That is nothing short of spectacular from a team who does not have a bona-fide superstar forward.

Alex Kovalev was drawing loads of respect from the Bruins players while on the powerplay, as the were visibly staying away from him, which, ironically, allowed him even more time and space to set up. Kovalev had 1 goal and 1 assist, both points on the powerplay. Kovalev leads the league with 25 points on the man-advantage.

Next up: Montreal travels into Madison Square Garden to play guest to the New York Rangers. The 'Blueshirts' were routed tonight, 6-2 by the Philadelphia Flyers, who welcomed Simon Gagne back after missing 25 games due to post-concussion syndrome.