The Anti-visor Advisor

Crosby and Full-face Protection

The Pittsburgh Penguins were looking stronger than ever this week after obtaining Jarome Iginla from the Calgary Flames.  That is, they looked stronger until Crosby took a puck in the face at 1:28 into the first game that Iginla played with the Penguins.  For now, Crosby is out indefinitely with a broken jaw.  It seems like the poor Canadian can never stay healthy, having suffered a few bad concussions the last couple seasons.

I was watching the Lang and O'Leary exchange today on TV.  Kevin O'Leary is that annoying Canadian Economist.  Did I mention he's annoying?  Anyways, they were weighing in on the Crosby injury and O'Leary says "Injuries of this sort are inevitable, they should keep researching better equipment to prevent this type of injury."  HELLO!  The type of cage that any amateur has on their helmet could have prevented the face injury that Crosby suffered.  I don't understand why NHL players aren't allowed wearing full-face protection.  It doesn't make sense.  Crosby's injury could have been prevented had he worn the same style of helmet WITH A FACEMASK that every amateur grows up wearing.

Tonight, in the Habs game versus Carolina, Bouillon took a stick in the face.  Bouillon was also wearing a visor (which only covers half the face).  He was okay afterwards, but it's just another example of the risks that professional hockey players are taking for no reason.  Implement the full-face cage!  Make it mandatory.

The Habs Make Carolina look like an AHL team

Another victory for the Habs tonight.  The win helps to secure their hold of second position in the Eastern conference.  Pittsburgh is in first place and is in the middle of a 15 game winning streak.  Carolina on the other hand is out of a playoff spot with 34 points in 35 games.

Carolina scored the first goal of the game five minutes into the contest.  Other than that brief lead, they were smothered by the Habs who outscored them 4-1 and outshot them 29-19.  Carolina only managed two shots on five powerplay opportunities!

Habs first goal was scored by Markov on the powerplay in the first period.  He took a powerful shot from the point which hit a defender and went top corner.  Subban assisted on the play, making him the league leading defenseman in points-scoring.

Halpern scored his first goal of the year.  His goal would be the game winner bringing the Habs up 2-1.  Beaulieu, Habs rookie defenseman, assisted on the play.  It was his first NHL point in his second game.

Pacioretty scored the next two goals including an empty netter.  Pacioretty's first goal of the night was a true beauty that showed his level of confidence, patience and skill.


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Armstrong Rips his First Goal with the Habs!

Armstrong scores his first tonight with the Habs versus the New Jersey Devils.  It was an important goal, bring the Habs up 1-0.  They went on to win the game 2-1.

Montreal is the Best in the East - Get Used to it!

The Habs are sitting on top of the Eastern Conference again, and this far into a 48 game season, many of the doubters are converting into believers.  The Habs have been at or near the top of the Eastern Conference all season and many non-believers have said that Montreal is not truly a first-place team and that things would get worse.  After 27 games, the Habs have managed to prove that they have more than a little luck on their side, they actually have a very deep and talented roster.

One of the keys to Montreal's success is that everyone is producing.  The Canadiens are not relying on a single line for scoring chances - everyone is contributing.  Paciorety is looking like the NHL player of the week, which he earned at the beginning of March, week-after-week.  He is playing with so much confidence it is ludicrous.  It also works.  Players like Galchenuk and Gallagher can no longer be called Montreal's rookies - though they are.  They've both proven that they can produce and are in the big league to stay.  Eller too, another youngster keeps proving that he is an NHL caliber center.  He scored twice tonight including the game-winning goal in the shootout.

At first when the Habs traded for Ryder I was very excited.  Then, I saw him play a few games and was turned off.  However, the success of the Habs seems to be wearing off on Ryder as he has really stepped it up recently.  He still only plays decently most nights, but that's at least as decent as Erik Cole, who we traded for Ryder.

Montreal's defense is also playing extremely well.  Subban, Markov and Emelin are all showing that they are amongst the league's top defensemen.  It's certainly great to be able to say that about three of our denfensemen.

In tonight's matchup against the Senators, Eller, Gallagher and Subban scored in regulation.  In overtime, Therrien trusted Galchenyuk, Desharnais and Eller to get the job done.  Galchenyuk and Eller both scored to give the Habs the win.

It's great to be able to turn on the Habs game expecting a win.  I have trouble remembering the last time I felt that way with such certainty.

Canadiens play in New Jersey on Saturday at 7PM (ET).

Good Riddance Cole

The Montreal Canadiens traded Erik Cole for Michael Ryder on Tuesday.

Cole has shown terrible sportsmanship this year and I think it's a very positive thing that he's on his way out.  He had a strong season last year, but is playing terrible so far this season and has a reputation for being inconsistent.

Micheal Ryder, brings a lot of scoring potential to the Habs lineup.  He had 35 goals last season and is capable of making things happen.  He provides some depth to our powerplay too as he is known for being a great sniper.

To Cole's credit he also had 35 goals last season.  However, this year Ryder's 14 point (6 goals and 8 assists) is a much stronger start than Erik Cole's 6 points (3 goals and 3 assists).

Habs Show Up the Leafs 5-2

In their third meeting with the Leafs this season the Habs win 5-2.  It was a needed win for the Habs after losing the previous two meetings with Toronto.  The Leafs outscored Montreal 8-1 those games. 

See the video highlights here:  http://video.canadiens.nhl.com/videocenter/console?hlg=20122013,2,284&event=TOR45&lang=en&navid=DL|MTL|home

Allergic to the Leafs

It's the Second visit from the Maple Leafs to the Bell Center, and the second game the Habs want to forget.

Like its home opener against the Leafs, the Habs had a pitiful start to the game Saturday night.

At least, the first time it had been a close game until the end. This time, it was a blowout, 6-0, which pleased all the Leafs fans who occupied the building.

James Reimer, Toronto's goalie, made 37 saves, earning the seventh shutout of his career and his second against the Canadiens.

“Every time a goalie gets a shutout, it is a matter of team work", pointed out the Leafs' masked man. "This evening [Saturday night], I saw 90% of the shots easily.”

Michel Therrien's gang has now lost five games out of seven against Division rivals, of which one was a shootout. Not very good for the standings.

Speaking about Saturday’s game Therrien said, “We got lots of shots, especially in second period, but very few good scoring chances”.

Toronto was Much Better

This victory, the third straight for the Leafs, pushed the Leafs ahead on Montreal in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Habs can only be encouraged by knowing that they're not the only one to have troubles when the Maple Leafs visit. The Leafs have now won six of the seven matches they played on the road.

"If I knew the recipe, I would use it everywhere. Our fans in Toronto deserve more victories. They are the best fans in the world”, declared Randy Carlyle, whose team obtained only one win in five home games at the Air Canada Centre.

Stuck in their own territory during the start of the game, the Habs had multiple blunders.

“It was our worst match since the beginning of the season. We started flat, and lost all our one-on-one battles. However, I felt that we were ready before the game”, said Francis Bouillon.

During the first minute of play, Leo Kamarov benefitted from a lack of communication between Alexei Emelin and Andrei Markov to score his first goal in the NHL.

Next, Tyler Bozak, forgotten by Erik Cole in front of the net, did not have any difficulty to double Toronto's lead, 2-0.

Cole on the bench

It was a terrible shift for Cole who, a few seconds before letting Bozak score, lost the face-off to the left of Carey Price.

Overall, it was not a great match for the 34 year old veteran. Therrien quickly realised and relegated Cole to the fourth line towards the end of the first period.

After Brandon Prust and Travis Moen were given a chance, Brendan Gallagher was selected to complete the Habs second line with David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty.

The rookie took advantage of the opportunity, not missing his chance to show his presence while being on the attack and refusing to let himself be bullied after the whistle blew. He even started a fight against Michael Kostka.

An Attempted Comeback

The Canadiens had their best moments during the second period. At this time, James van Riemsdyk had already put Toronto ahead 3 to 0. Cole, who ended up showing signs of life, and Brian Gionta obtained the best scoring chances for the Habs.

Phil Kessel, Korbinian Holser and Dion Phaneuf finished off the 6-0 massacre for Toronto, Kessel and Phaneuf scored on the powerplay.

The Canadian play their next two games in Florida.  First, they play Tampa on Tuesday and then the Panthers on Thursday.  Both games are at 7:30 PM (ET).

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• Yannick Weber, for the 10^th time in 11 matches, and Thomas Kaberle, for the fourth game in a row, were left on the side. In the stands, the two defenders were joined, with little surprise to anyone, by Ryan White whose double minor penalties against Buffalo on Thursday did very little to help his team win.

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A Heartbreaking Loss

The Habs were up 4-2 tonight.  But, they lost the game.  They deserved a better finish. 

In a postgame interview, coach Therrien summed it up, "Everything was under control.  We were up 4-2.  Then someone's lack of discipline cost us the game."  His harsh words were directed towards Ryan White who got a double minor for roughing at 7:32 in the 3rd period.  The Buffalo Sabres capitalized on the man-advantage, bringing the score to 4-3 in favor of Montreal.

White's penalty was absolutely deserved.  He was checked into the boards coming into the Sabres zone and decided to drop the gloves against a cowering Sabres defensemen.  The referee broke it up immediately.  And, White had to sit four minutes in the box.

Despite allowing the goal on the Sabres powerplay, the Habs seemed to have everything under control, holding a 4-3 lead for the rest of the third, until the dying seconds.  With two seconds left on the clock the Sabres Tomas Vanek bangs in his second of the night, and league leading 10th goal on the season.

The 5 minute overtime was exciting with both teams getting good scoring chances, but no one was able to score, meaning that the game would be decided in a shutout.

The Sabres first shooter was Tomas Vanek.  Who, obviously scores the way he's been on fire.  He does a fake shot, then rips it top corner.

Galchenyuk answers for the Habs, tying things up 1-1 on the shootout.

Finally, the Sabres third shooter Pominville scores.  Gionta gets a final chance to tie things up.  He pulled a nice move but it wasn't enough to beat Ryan Miller, who came through with the save.

Plekanec scored twice tonight, making him the Habs lead goal-scorer with 6 goals on the season.  Subban and Gallagher each had a goal.  It was Subban's second of the year and Gallagher's fourth.

The Habs next game is Saturday against the Leafs in Montreal.  The Leafs won the last time the two teams met in the season opener, finishing 2-1.

Habs First Big Test: Failed

The Habs failed at what many were calling their biggest test of the season to date. That's because they were playing the Boston Bruins who have been sitting at the top of the Eastern conference this season. The Habs could have moved into a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference with Pittsburgh had they won tonight. But they lost. So, they are instead sitting in 6th place in what is still a very close Eastern Conference race.  Boston moves back into first place.

The Habs started off the first period dominating. They had many good scoring chances including a partial breakaway by Plekanec.  He put on a wonderful move and nearly found the back of the net, but soon after Bourque got a bad penalty crashing into Boston's goalie.

Before Bourque's penalty was complete, Prust was able to draw a penalty against Boston's Tyler Seguin.  Prust got a breakaway during the penalty kill, put on a rather unglamorous move and then got smashed into Boston's netminder by Seguin. In fact, Prust was at least a little lucky that he didn't end up with the penalty to give Boston a 5 on 3 powerplay. The referee could have also easily penalized both players, giving them offsetting minor penalties.

Boston had another powerplay in the first after PK Subban got two minutes for hooking. At the end of the first, the game was scoreless.

To start the second period Boston gets a penalty, but Montreal cannot capitalize. Next, the Habs get a penalty. Plekanec was on a breakaway, which affected Montreal's line change, and there were 6 men on the ice.  In the end Plekanec didn't even get a shot away on his breakaway. Not because of the penalty, that came after, he just seemed to forget the puck. Focus Plekanec!

Plekanec goes on a breakaway but loses control of the puck. Photo: Richard Wolowicz.  Source: habseyesontheprize.com 

Luckily, Boston did not capitalize on the penalty. Soon after it was the Habs chance on the man advantage after Lucic gets called for hi-sticking. This time they pulled through with a bullet from the point. PK Subban's monster shot bounced off a Boston stick and made its way into the net. One to zero for the Habs.

Lucic gets another penalty, for slashing this time. Apparently, he did not learn his lesson after Subban's goal on the last powerplay. The Habs couldn't score on the man advantage and go into the 2nd intermission up 1-0.

Less than 10 seconds in to third period, Seguin ties the game up, 1-1. Then, two minutes later Krejci scores a rebound goal, 2-1 for Boston. And, that's how the night ended for the Habs.

There were a few good chances at the end of the game, but it was too little, and too late.

Okay, my title saying that the Habs failed is a little harsh. They actually played very well and could have won the game tonight. In particular, they really dominated the first period outshooting Boston 11-4. But, they didn't keep up the heat as the final shot count was 23-21 in favor of Boston.

The Habs really needed better discipline from PK Subban. He spent 4 minutes in the penalty box tonight, including the last two minutes of the game, ruining any chance of a comeback.

Pacioretty, who underwent surgery just over a week ago, was playing in his second since the procedure. In a pregame interview, Paciorety said, "I didn't want Boston to be my first game. It's nice going into tonight with a game under my belt." He played 16 minutes on Sunday against the Senators and 18 minutes tonight. He looks like he has recovered very well and rather quickly. We should consider giving him the nickname Wolverine.

In the pre-game ceremony Galchenyuk was awarded the Molson Cup for January. Good for the young forward and bad for Carey Price who almost always wins it.

Montreal visits the Sabres Thursday at 7 PM (ET) and they host the Leafs Saturday February 9, at 7 PM (ET).