Message to Bob Gainey: GET A GOON!

Following Saturday night's 7-4 massacre of the Boston Bruins on home ice, the Montreal Canadiens had plenty to be proud of, but their lack of a quality fighter to defend those star players is evident.

Games against the B's are always intense, leading to a few fights, notably Tom Kostopoulos dropping the mits twice, Andrei Kostitsyn learning a lesson a hard way to the hands of Mark Stuart, and Guillaume Latendresse taking a few swings at the monstrous Zdeno Chara.

Besides Kostitsyn's newfound fondness of dropping the gloves at an unexpected time (just kidding) and Kostopoulos getting slapped with a 1-game suspension for instigating a fight in the final minutes of the games, Latendresse showed Habs managment they need size and they need it now.

Taking on Chara is a big feat, someting your average player wouldn't dare image to attempt in his most twisted dreams, but when the antagonist attempts to concuss Alex Kovalev, who ducked out of the way near the end of the 3rd period along the right wing boads with Chara deliberately trying to make a sandwich out of his head and the glass, and you got a sophomore like Latendresse coming to his defence, it's sending a strong message to Mr Gainey up in his posh pressbox.

GET A GOON!

I'm not a big fan of what I call useless fighters, such as former duds like Aaron Downey and Garth Murray, but rather for the Habs picking up some muscle to defend their star players, in this case Kovalev.

Sure no one really wants to get a piece of Zdeno Chara, but in the end, when a guy like Jeremy Reich, who played a total of 4:10, is sent out onto the ice with a mission to knock down Carey Price, you need to have a goon there to show him who's boss.

GET A GOON!

Pick up Todd Fedoruk, who has just been waived by new co-GM's Brett Hull and Les Jackson in Dallas, to add some punch to the puzzle on what is poised (barring another December 23rd meltdown) to be a fine Canadiens campaign, and perhaps one for the ages.

On a side note, The "Big Bird", Larry Robinson, is getting his number retired tonight by the Habs en route to their centennial 2009 season...congratulations to him!

Until next time with your biased Montreal Canadiens post,

-BBeR

Bruins & Bad Boston Ice Bounce by Blueshirts as Slap Shots Strike Down Straka

BOSTON—Despite a much improved team effort, strong defensive play and another stellar performance by goaltender, Henrik Lundquist, the Rangers never got the bounce they needed (and deserved) while losing 1-0 in a shootout to the Boston Bruins.

Ordinarily the story of 1-0 shootout would be that neither goalie, Lundquist or Manny Fernandez, allowed a goal during regulation or overtime. Or perhaps it would be about the game-winning shootout goal scored by Bruins forward, Phil Kessel. However, this was no ordinary game—thanks to the maintenance crew at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Either the Garden maintenance crew never found out about the time change for today’s hockey game (from 7 pm to 4 pm) or they donated their services all day to the Boston Red Sox in preparation for night’s playoff game at Fenway Park.

Regardless of the reason, when the referee and players were ready for the drop of the puck at 4 pm, the Garden ice certainly was not. All game long (for both teams) the puck hopped, skipped, rolled and bounced over sticks, skates and everything else. In fact, during the waning seconds of regulation time, one bizarre ricochet off the boards went right through the Boston goal-mouth and nearly deflected off Fernandez into the net.

Icy gravel would have provided a better playing surface than that cold, chippy concoction of crap on which the Rangers and Bruins were forced to skate. The puck, which wouldn’t sit down or cooperate for anyone, acted like a stubborn, untrained dog who needed a good smack on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper.

To put this issue in its proper perspective, today’s ice in Boston was equal or worse than the most horrid ice conditions I’ve ever witnessed at Madison Square Garden. Given that I’ve been a Rangers fan since the early 1970’s, this is an indication of how outrageous and insulting it was to watch today’s game.

Adding injury to insult, Rangers forward, Martin Straka, received an unfortunate break after bravely blocking two blasts off the big stick of Bruins defenseman, Zdeno Chara. According to the Rangers team-owned (or NHL owned—depending on who wins the lawsuit) website, Straka broke a finger on his right hand.

This is especially bad news for a struggling Rangers team that is already playing without injured forwards, Sean Avery and Marcel Hossa, and who have scored a league low 13 goals.

Despite Straka’s injury, the Rangers outplayed Boston for most of the game. After holding the Bruins at bay through three first period Boston power plays, the Blueshirts outshot the Bruins 22 to 10 the rest of the way.

This game was certainly close enough that under normal ice conditions, it is very possible the Rangers might have lost anyway. On the other hand, the Rangers might have prevailed and picked up both very-needed points. It’s a shame that a fair outcome hit a bad patch of Boston ice and hopped out of everyone’s collective reach.

With the talent-laden Pittsburgh Penguins up next for the Rangers, it will take bounces and breaks of another kind to prevent the Blueshirts from falling three games under NHL .500 this early in the season.

Courtesy of The Hockey Humorist - http://hockeyhumorist.blogspot.com/

Senators swap Schaefer for B's Donovan...

Our amigo Eklund is reporting this deal as an "e5", which means it's infallible and that the deal will be posted soon, and quite frankly, Sens fans should really shut their eyes and not read the innuendo that follows.

In one of those rare inter-division deals, Boston sends the 32-year old Shean Donovan to the Senators for winger Peter Schaefer.

Donovan had 7 goals and 11 assists in 76 contests for the Bruins last season for a total of 19 points, mainly as a 4th liner while his counterpart, Schaefer, more than doubled his point total, scoring 12 goals and adding 34 assists for 46 points in Ottawa.

Boston just fleeced Bryan Murray so badly, they dumped a declining checking line player, who seems to have lost that offensive spunk he showed with the Flames a few years ago, and got back a quality secondary scoring player, who can bring a consistent offensive game to the table.
Schaefer was long rumoured to be on Byran Murray's chopping block, but one couldn't imagine him giving up a decent scoring liner for a mediocre and borderline NHL player, even if it meant dumping an annual salary in the area of $2.3 million over the next few seasons.

But on the other hand, Murray had his reasons for doing this.

As Darren Dreger so gleefully pointed out last week, the Senators still don't have Jason Spezza and perhaps more importantly, 50-goal scorer Dany Heatley under contract for the 2008-2009 season, making them potential restricted and unrestricted free-agent in less than 365 days, respectively.
Heatley is expected to break the bank for whatever teams signs him, whether it's Ottawa or someone else while Spezza's current $5 million salary could take a serious hike should he elect to go to arbitration.
The enigmatic and ever-frustrating Wade Redden will also be able to hit the open market, and he would surely be an attractive defenceman to own for many GM's, even if his game isn't what is was 2 years ago.

So, in short, Murray got fleeced, but he gave up a good 2nd liner in hopes of retaining an elite 50-goal scorer, an all-star centre and...Wade Redden, not to mention the many restricted free-agents he has to deal with such as Antoine Vermette and Patrick Eaves.

The move clears up more than 1 million in cap space, still a small step, and don't be surprised if Murray makes any other eye-shocking deals to save his team's core (Spezza, Heatley, Redden) sometime this season.

--BBR

Wild deal Fernandez to Boston as Tkachuk signs pact with Blues

I'll get more up on this later, just wrote a huge post on Briere and Drury, so I'm kinda pooped, but here's the basic:

The Boston Bruins have finally got their no.1 goalie, and no, it's not Evgeni Nabokov like many fans might've hoped but the well-rested Manny Fernandez, who after a breakout 2005-2006 season in which he stole the starting role from now Oilers goalie, Dwayne Roloson, missed a huge chunk of 2006-2007 to multiple injuries and eventually lost his starting role to the emerged and fully loaded Niklas Backstrom.

This deal per the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Fernandez was expendable from the Wild's point of view, with their new no.1 man in Backstrom and Josh Harding itching to finally get playing time, there was no more room for him.
His $4 million salary is also a hefty addition to the Bruins' payroll, and should hinder them from targeting any major players on this summer's UFA market.

The Wild received top prosepct Peter Kalus, who had an awesome end-of-season stint with the Bruins last year and impressed many many people.
I guess Minnesota fans can consider Kalus a replacement for Patrick O'Sullivan, another top prospect, who was dealt to the LA Kings at last year's draft for Pavol Demitra.
They got O'Sullivan back, but now his name's Kalus.

The Blues have also signed forward Keith Tkachuk to a 2-year deal worth $4 million per season.
Tkachuk's a valuable asset to any lineup and his return to St. Louis is heroic and I hope they seriously turn it around next year, they have the tools, all they gotta do is bring in a big name tomorrow.

--BBR

The "New NHL" uniform and logo concept...

The NHL is rapidly changing, and RBK Hockey is leading the way in the appearance department.

After shockingly overtaking hockey God manufacturers, CCM and Koho 3 years ago and revolutionizing the way hockey equipment looks and feels, they're at it again.

But this time, it's in a delicate category named "jersey", and if their presentation at the ASG is any indication, then the hockey world will be the first professional sports league to don such an advanced piece of fabric technology.

But just how revolutionnary will the new NHL jersey be?

If you missed their little promo at the ASG, here is RBK's concept of that advanced piece of fabric technology.

The Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals are the first to reveal their "new" jerseys for the upcoming season.

Techincally, the Bruins have a new logo, and their jersey will essentially be the same in terms of colours and design.

The Capitals, however, have gotten out of that dark and ugly jersey they have worn for so many years.

Oh and it was dark...play-by-play men and commentators have trouble reading the player's name and number behind the jersey.

Presenting your 2007-2008 Washington Capitals jersey
(If you have Adobe Flash Player installed, go to Washington's website and check out "the way it should be" for yourself)

From left to right: Ben Clymer, Brian Pothier, Chris Clark and Jeff Schultz.

And I guess we can read the numbers now too:

An excerpt of the "Bruins new jersey" article per the Boston Globe.com

Today, the Boston Bruins will unveil the new Reebok uniform, the first NHL team to show off the sleek look with tighter-fitting jerseys and advanced moisture technology. The Bruins also are one of six teams that are using the introduction of the uniform to change their logo and striping, bringing back a vintage look reminiscent of the Bobby Orr era and showing that the redesign is about profit as well as performance.

Alright, I'll get to the point already, here's what the Bruins' 2007-2008 logos will look like, and if you're curious, here's how the B's logo has evolved over the years (for some reason, the link to bruins.com doesn't work anymore)

There isn't much of a difference at all.

The "B" on the primary logo is a bit wider and more rectangular, while the "BOSTON" on the vintage crest is bolder and black rather than .

Anyway, to sign off, I love these new concept designs, and I can't wait to see them in action next October!

--BBR

Julien gets another shot?

Coaching changes and GM changes seem to be in style when it comes to the new NHL.
A report out of the Fourth Period.com, quoted by Greg Wyshinski in his column over at AOL Fanhouse, suggests that the Bruins have hired former Devils and Canadiens head coach Claude Julien to replace the failure that was Dave Lewis.

Julien, if you remember correctly, was shockingly fired on the eve of the Devils playoff debut by Lou Lamoriello, who obviously saw something he didn't like.

Julien had a terrific season behind the bench and it's time this guy got settled down somwhere, he's too good of a coach and too classy of a guy to be flimsing in and out of motel rooms accross the country, dragging his poor wife with him in the process.

If the report is true, then Claude Julien will have a challenge and a goal to fulfill in Boston, that is, make the playoffs and turn the franchise's misery around.

It's not that Dave Lewis was a bad coach, it's just that he was a sour-head who obviously doesn't fit in anywhere except the Wings, and it's not as if it's that difficult to coach a talented team like Ken Holland's, is it now?

Oh, the Datsyuks, the Zetterberg, the Haseks, the Lidstroms, the Chelioses, the Schneider, the Fillpullas, the Bertuzzis, the Kronwalls and the Clearys are a terrible bunch with limited or no talent.

You make the call, and I'll make mine: anyone can coach the Detroit Red Wings, they're just that kind of team, just like anyone can manage the New York Yankees.

--BBR

Thursday NHL Morning Roundup...

NHL Scores Wrapup for Wednesday March 21st, 2007
Washington 2 at Buffalo 5
Philadelphia 0 at NY Rangers 5
San Jose 4 at Chicago 1
Colorado 5 at Edmonton 1
Nashville 0 at Vancouver 2
Dallas 4 at Los Angeles 2

Eastern Conference Standings

-Wow, this looks like it'll go down to the wire! A week ago, I thought the Islanders were all but out, but lookie now, they're sitting in 11th place! Ryan Smyth isn't the force he was in Edmonton and Alexei Yashin's now the line 4 centre...Ted Nolan better get his team's act together, this is not time for a team to go into a slump.

-There are some easy matchups for some East teams tonight...the Habs are in Boston to play the sulking Bruins, the 'Canes are playing the Caps, who lost to the Sabres on TSN yesterday and the Sens are facing the Panthers, although Jacques Martin's squad just refuses to lose!

-Some not in favour are the Isles-Penguins matchup, hopefully the Pens will beat them so the Habs can move up...the Penguins are really a true comeback story, I could only laugh when I heard their name be mentioned a few months ago, but not anymore, they are now legitimate contenders, and in the same position my Habs were 2 and a half months ago...the Thrashers are on the verge of clinching their first ever playoff berth and they have a tough task in front of them as they face the always tough Sharks...

-The Leafs are idle tonight and they still have a game in hand over the Habs, but all I can say is "good luck" as they face the East-leading Sabres tomorrow...

-The Avalanche are red-hot right now, but that doesn't come into account for this game as they still beat the now turned pityful Oilers 5-1...the Oilers have dropped 12 in a row and it looks like Ryan Smyth really had a huge impact on this club, more than I thought...Edmonton sets a franchise record for consecutive losses, beating out the 1993 Oilers who lost 11 in a row...the Avs still sit 4 points behind the Flames, who beat the always powerful Red Wings 2-1 a few days ago...

-Denis Savard is a good coach, but he can't stop the Blackhawks from floundering...this teams needs a major shake-up and a wake up call: "Hello! You are an NHL TEAM! Get into the playoffs already!

Leafs fans showing no love for Raycroft...

When the Leafs acquired Andrew Raycroft on 2006 Draft Day for young but highly touted goaltending prospect Tuuka Rask, they thought they were getting the goalie that would carry them into the playoffs and finally bring the team out of its mediocrity.

That was something Eddie Belfour, J.S. Aubin, Mikael Tellqvist and Trevor Kidd did not do during their recent Leafs tenure.

Andrew Raycroft has done that, he's given his team a chance to win games season with his flashy style. He has, however, suffered from occasional brain-cramps and common soft goals that have brought down his reputation in Toronto.

After a rocky first half which saw the American-born netminder amass 20 wins and 16 losses with 4 overtime losses to go with memories of the goaltenders named above with a 3.10 GAA and a save-percentage at only .892.

Raycroft was heavily criticized for his inconsistent play and fans began to regret trading away a top goalie prospect for a washed-up goaltender, who had lost his starting job the previous season with Boston.

Many even suggested the Bruins won out on this trade and you can be sure Boston fans were happy to see the Leafs did not get the better of the deal.

At least, that's what they thought.

Raycroft likely realized that his career needs to get back on track after winning the Calder trophy back in 2003-2004, narrowly beating out Canadiens forward Michael Ryder.

He started off the second half with a bang, posting a GAA around 2.00 and a save percentage near .920 for the first few weeks as the Leafs gained ground in their attempt to hold down a playoff spot just a season after missing them.

His stats have not remained that high however, he now sports a cool 13-6-4 record since the All-Star break with a respectable 2.64 GAA and a decent .902 save percentage. But what has surprised me most is his durability, he has appeared in 63 of the team's 73 games this season.

He is also on a current 30+ games started consecutively streak and is approaching a franchise record for wins. That wasn't too unexpected since he has started nearly all of Toronto's games this season, it was obvious he'd pick up nearly all their wins too.

Despite all this, Raycroft still has issues with his fans, an interesting article from the Canadian Press claims this:

The chants of "Cujo, Cujo," and "Eddie, Eddie," haven't yet been followed by "Razor, Razor."

Raycroft: Hopefully we get into the playoffs and win more games and they'll warm up a little bit more. But I do understand it to a point as well, there were two Hall of Famers before me. Everyone's been pretty spoiled the last 10 years.

Raycroft is currently 33-22-8 with a 2.92 GAA and a .896 SPCT%, respectable numbers, but still not enough for Raycroft to merit any serious praise...

Crucial Week for Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens play three games against two teams below them in the standings. This kind of situation portrays the illusion that winning is going to be easy, but as most realize, the opposite proves true more times as not.

The Habs will play a home-and-home with the Boston Bruins starting Tuesday night at the Bell Centre and then Thursday night in Boston. The Canadiens then close out the week with a home game versus the Washington Capitals.

The Bruins hold a 3-2-0 edge over the Habs in five games this season, while Montreal has out-gunned the Caps on route to a 2-1-0 record. However, the Canadiens will need to do better than the combined 4-4-0 record against the two teams this week. In order to guarantee that they remain competitive for a playoff spot, the Habs will surely need to take at least five of six points this week.

While Washington is solely looking to pull off some upsets in attempt to hamper any opponents chances of a playoff spot, the Boston Bruins are still mathematically able to reach the post season and will surely see this week's two games against Montreal as a chance to bring themselves even.

One thing on the Bruins' side is that they have played fewer games than most of the teams they are trying to catch. If Boston were to win the two games they have in hand of the eighth place Carolina Hurricanes, they would only be three points back from the 'Canes with nine games remaining.

The Washington Capitals turned some heads Sunday afternoon when they smoked the playoff bound Tampa Bay Lightning 7-1. The Caps got a great showing from 23-year-old Alexander Semin and 22-year-old Tomas Fleischmann. Semin scored a natural hat-trick for his 35th, 36th, and 37th goals while Fleischmann picked up two goals and two assists. Meanwhile, goaltender Olaf Kolzig started his third straight after missing 13 games with a knee injury. The win was the 36-year-old's 21st of the season.

Boston, on the other hand, faced a similar fate to that of the Lightning when they dropped a 7-0 match to the Rangers in New York. It was a great watch for Rangers' fans, but Bruin's Coach Dave Lewis was absolutely applaud by what he witnessed. The fact that Boston is coming off such a lop-sided loss makes them a dangerous team to play right now since they'll surely be looking to redeem themselves against the Habs.

Montreal will have a familiar face back in the line-up this week. Center Radek Bonk makes his return after missing three games with the flu, the same bug that has been plaguing the Habs since Christmas. It is doubtful that Bonk will be 100 percent, but simply having his big-body presence back on the ice will surely be welcomed.

Rookie netminder is scheduled to make his ninth NHL start, and if Coach Guy Carbonneau's words are any indication, Halak will be the go-to goalie unless he fumbles the opportunity. David Aebischer will unhappily ride the pine for the time being as the Swiss goaltender hasn't played consistent hockey for most of the season.

If you're wondering when Cristobal Huet may make his return to the Habs' net, simply read Bleu, Blanc et Rouge's post below. Huet has been practicing with the team for about a week now and rumor has it that the France native could be back as early as next week.

They key for Montreal is to take it one game at a time. They should keep it in their minds that there are few games left to make up ground on the final playoff spots, but they have to respect each game as equally important as the next. The Habs can't afford to take a minute off or it could very well cost them important points.

Thus, The Canadiens need to approach each game, each period, and each minute as sudden death overtime. If they can do that, there will be no stopping them.

Enjoy the playoffs folks; they've been on for Montreal for quite some time now.

While Paul Stastny flourishes with the Avalanche, brother Yan can only watch.

After Paul Stastny extended his franchise record 17-game point streak with 2 assists en route to a 3-2 victory over the devious Buffalo Sabres, father Peter must've been proud and brother Yan must've been jealous.

It looks like Paul Stastny has inherited his hockey magic from his father Peter Stastny, whose career with the Quebec Nordiques left many in awe.


A second round draft choice in 2005, Paul has 22 goals and 43 assists this season for a total of 65 points.

He trails early season Calder favourite Evgeni Malkin, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, by only 4 points and don't be surprised to see him win rookie of the year after his recent success.
Malkin hasn't inspired me much this season, I can see he's a developping young player, but I don't think he's as great as everyone thought he was going to be. I also don't believe he's lived up to the hype that's come with him from Russia.

Stastny is on a current 17-game point streak and who knows how much longer that'll last.
He could be making a late push to win the Calder trophy, despite the Avs' stumble this season in the standings.

Meanwhile, down in a town name Peoria, brother Yan can only watch in jealousy as his brother's NHL career unfolds successfully.

Yan Stastny was an 8th round pick by the Boston Bruins, and in those rounds it's a guessing game. Looks like they guessed wrong, Yan Stastny was traded to the Oilers before he even laced them up in Beantown.

In 2005-2006, with the Oilers, he never got accustomed to his surroundings, dressed for 3 games, was pointless and -1.

He was then traded back to the team that had dumped him, the Boston Bruins, along with checking center Marty Reasoner in exchange for Sergei Samsonov.
Stastny had his chance now, the Bruins were willing to offer him a checking line role, and again, he busted.
In 17 games, he only scored once and added 3 assists for a measly total of 5 points and was -2.

People then started to realize that he's not what his father was, but the Bruins were still willing to give him a shot.

You guessed it...he disappointed mightily, with only 2 assists in 21 games and a -3 rating, the Bruins had enough of this Stastny for a lifetime, shipping him to the surging St. Louis Blues for a mid-round pick.

Right now, Yan Stastny is in Peoria, the Blues' farm team, and you have to figure if he can't even win a job in St. Louis, that he won't win one anywhere.

The closest he'll probably ever get to the NHL again, unless some team is really desperate, is through his television screen.

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

Isn't it wonderful how Brandon Bochenski suddenly became a star?

Aren't these fairy tale stories wonderful?

Last season, Canadiens goaltender Cristobal Huet was the clear winner, this season, Brandon Bochensk is raising some eyebrows in Boston.
Let's learn a little 'bout Brandon Bochenski. For starters, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline last season after a remarkable stint with the Senators, in exchange for forward Tyler Arnason and a 1st round pick.
Bochenski had 14 points in 20 games with Ottawa but managed just 2 goals in 10 games with Chicago this season.
The deal proved to be a bust for both teams, especially Ottawa, since Arnason did not make an impact as expected, putting up a zero in the goals column and adding just 4 assists in 19 games.

Things didn't go well for Bochenski either, he was floundering miserably in Chicago, posting just 4 points in 20 games along with a horrendous -9 rating.
This all after a sensational stint alongside Jason Spezza for Bochenski...
The Blackhawks lost patience with the young forward and he was bounced between the minors and Chicago quite often.

It looked as if Bochenski's magical tenure with the Senators was a flash in the pan, and that it was doubtful he'd ever come close to that kind of production again.
Well, that was half-right, as Bochenski proved to be a bust again for the Blackhawks, who gave him a chance to prove himself once again.

On his second chance with Chicago, Bochenski had just 2 goals in 20 games and was heavily criticized by new head coach Denis Savard.

Finally, he was traded to Boston in early February for minor-league forward Kris Verteeg and a conditional draft choice. After failing to extract any production out of Stanislav Chistov, Peter Chiarelli figured he can try to resurrect a lost cause in Bochenski.

"Wow" is all you can say about Bochenski in Beantown.

He has put up consistent numbers, bringing back memories from his...shall we say, "glory"days in Ottawa? With 14 points in 14 games with Boston and a nice +7 rating, he's been tearing it up and maybe, just maybe, give Bruins fans a flick of playoff hope.

He is now playing alongside Marc Savard...and no wonder he's putting up huge numbers, just like in Ottawa when he played with Spezza.
Let's just hope (even though it's obvious) he's not one of those players that depends on superstars next to him...yeah, Jason Spezza and Marc Savard sound like those kinda players.
I wonder why he didn't play well in Chicago, hmm, I forgot, no Savard or Spezza there.

OK, that was a a little harsh, congrats Brandon! I hope for your sake and the Bruins' playoff hopes you keep it up!

And to close off, here are a few comments from Denis Savard on Bochenski's current situation in Boston:

"Good for him," Hawks coach Denis Savard said. "He’s had a few goals the last few games, but he didn’t show that when he was up here. He didn’t have the enthusiasm or the jam to be up here, let’s face it. Maybe he has the skill and the talent, but at a young age if you don’t have the will, you can’t have him around.

"Maybe he’s starting to figure it out because it’s his third team in six months. Good for him if he does well."

Cheers,

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge

Final Nail in the Coffin

December 23rd 2006.

To most, this date carries little meaning. Perhaps you were rushing to get your Christmas shopping done, or enjoying the lack of snow outside. Students were completing their last exams of the semester. Most of us were getting ready to enjoy the coming holidays.

Yes, December 23rd 2006 was simply but another day in all our busy lives.

Some of you may remember a certain Montreal-Boston matchup that night. At the time, The Habs were riding high. An excellent start the season had pundits all over the city thinking that maybe, just maybe, this team could be for real. They’d dare not admit it, or say it out loud. But they were thinking.

Montreal ended a 5 game winning streak that night. A lackluster performance at best, but hopes for this season never faded.

December 23rd 2006 was just another day for most people. Just another game, for most fans. A minor setback. A write off.

For the Montreal Canadiens, however, it marked the beginning of the end. The loss to Boston that night started what was possibly the biggest slide suffered by any team in the league this season. The team, from that point on, was never the same again.

There have been flashes of brilliance here and there, since that fateful night. For the most part however, it has been nothing short of a death spiral.

Tonight, the Boston Bruins finished the job. They wounded the team in December. Tonight, they lay the finishing blow. It seems almost poetic in a way, after the years of domination the Bruins suffered at the hands of the mighty Canadiens.

Tonight, Boston exposed every weakness this team has. From defense, to offense, to coaching. What we saw out there, dear fans, is a team running scared. This team has lost its killer instinct. Fighting for a playoff spot against an inferior team, and they could not get the job done.

This is no longer a slump. It is no longer a bump in the road.

This is an utter collapse of the foundation of the team. This is the team giving up.

Who is to blame? Does it even matter? The problem can no longer be corrected via simple touch-ups.

The fan in this blogger still holds out hope that Montreal will turn it around and make it to the post-season. With only 14 games remaining, nothing short of a miracle can produce this outcome.

Will they do it? Can they do it?

Only 23 individuals know that answer.

Referees are no longer human...but robots.

With the Canadiens on the powerplay versus the Bruins tonight, in the first period, the Bruins dump the puck and it ends up a few feet in front of Canadiens' rookie goaltender Jaroslav Halak, in the high slot, with speedy but always dangerous Patrice Bergeron heading towards him at full flight, Halak picks up the puck with his catching glove instinctivly, he knows that he cannot freeze that far out of his crease however, Patrice Bergeron is applying pressure on Halak and he has no choice and freezes the puck right in front of the blue ice.

Immediately I'm thinking, even though I didn't think it was going to happen: "That's kinda close, too close, delay of game?"
I was dead right, Gord Dwyer picks up his arm and calls a delay of game penalty on Jaroslav Halak. A fuming Guy Carbonneau can be seen standing on the bench with rage as he yelled on, Sheldon Souray discussed incessibly aggresively with Dwyer to no avail while I scream towards my television screen "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"; the young netminder had just recorded his first two penalty minutes of his NHL career.
And this idea of delay of game came from a random thought of mine during the game.

But in a situation like this, Halak has no choice and he is probably allowed to freeze the puck, after all, he was only a few feet from his crease under pressure by Patrice Bergeron who even made contact with the Slovak netminder by slashing his glove.

Incredible, just incredible.

A robot would call it a penalty, such as EA Sports' NHL franchise or SEGA's 2K series where penalties are called once you press the "hook" button or check someone violently against the boards. A computer is reffing the game, however, referees are acting like robots by calling the penalty not for the infraction, and to quote Stephen Walkam "for the intention".
I'm sure Jaroslav Halak had the intention of giving the puck away with Bergeron in front of him and by doing so he delayed the game.

You know what, to be frank, it's a load of crap.

At least Halak got the better part of the period, stoning the Bruins 16 times notably on a breakaway late in the period against Shean Donovan, in which he made a spectacular eagle save and earlier on a slapper from the high slot by newly-acquired Dennis Wideman.

"Whatever" is all I can say when someone asks me what I think of a ref.

And here's the justification (may be wrong quote...)

Rule 31, i of the NHL Rule Book
If a goalkeeper participates in the play in any manner when he is beyond
the center red line, a minor penalty shall be imposed upon him.

Last time I checked, the slot, is not the "center red line".

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

Fallout: Martin Gerber nearly a Bruin?

According to the Ottawa Citizen, the Ottawa Senators nearly acquired enigmatic goaltender Tim Thomas from the Boston Bruins in exchange for soft defenceman/forward Christoph Schubert and goaltender Ray Emery.

This would be a bogus move on all levels.

a) Martin Gerber's salary is currently $3.7 million, Tim Thomas's salary is $1.2 million.
See something wrong there? Yeah, maybe...that means $2.5 million more salary going to Boston.
b) Christoph Schubert's making about 525 K this season.
Conclusion: Ottawa dumps about $4 million, while they receive a quarter of that.

Not only does Boston suck up a huge amount of cap space for relatively mediocre players (despite Gerber's strong performance since the New Year), but they help out a division rival.

Oh, and I don't see John Muckler trading Martin Gerber, who's improved hugely since his early-season struggles.

I don't know who the Citizen's source is...but, to put it politely, this is a bit far-fetched...
Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

Boston Bruins demote Stuart and Toivonen...

Just in...the Bruins have demoted defenceman Mark Stuart and struggling goaltender Hannu Toivonen to Providence of the AHL.

This move is very odd as defenceman Andrew Alberts is already injured and sending down Stuart is pointless...unless a trade is in the works?

Given the Bruins recent success, they have fallen back into playoff contention and sit 6 points behind the Islanders and Canadiens.

They may want to bolster their blue line; and with the tradings of Brad Stuart and Milan Jurcina, their blue line is as thin as ever. A scoring blue-liner is the most likely scenario here, unless Peter Chiarelli decides Tim Thomas isn't up to the job of carrying this team into the playoffs.

With Toivonen down, the Bruins are a goalie short and they don't have much in Providence besides minor-league scrubs Brian Finley, Phillipe Sauve and recently-acquired Joey MacDonald off waivers from Detroit.

Stay tuned...

8 scouts last night at Kings-Avs game...

Over at the Denver Post, Terry Frei just reported 8 teams (rumoured to be Chicago, Vancouver, St. Louis, NY Rangers, Dallas, Boston, Columbus and Tampa Bay) were in attendance for last night's Kings-Avalanche game).

The possible shoppings from both teams are believed to be:

Brent Sopel: Los Angeles is rumoured not to want a mountain of players for him, most likely a mid-round draft pick. Sopel can be an affordable option for teams wanting to bolster their blue line. He is also more affordable than Sheldon Souray.

Aaron Miller: Might attract some attention for teams in need of depth...

Ossi Vaananen: With the injury to defenceman Jordan Leopold, Vaananen's chances of being dealt have likely diminished, unless the Avs make a same position swap and trade Vaananen for another defenceman.

Ken Klee: Klee is aging quickly and he has not been as effective this season as he was with Toronto and New Jersey last season. If he is dealt, he will be for at best a mid-late round pick for teams seeking depth.
Don't look for teams to sacrifice much or trade any young players such as New Jersey did (Aleksander Suglobov)last season.

Ian Laperriere: Slight drop-off from last season, Laperriere is a checking centre with a light offensive side.