Press review

Okay, deep breath... On calling up Bulldogs to save the day: First off, we can't bring up a kid (or at least keep him up after Komi returns) without sending either SK74 or Price to Hamilton, and neither will happen; SK is better both offensively and defensively than TK, Dandy, Begin or Lapierre, and Price is our #1 goalie. We can't send anyone else down without losing them on waivers, and even if we could, the idea that D'Agostini, Pacioretty or Weber will instantly go from a solid role in the AHL to a saviour role in the NHL seems a lot less likely than the notion that our proven snipers will break out of their slumps. (It's not like these guys led the league in goals last year or anything. Oh wait...) On blaming Carbo, Europeans, Quebecois players, etc.: The blame game is fun! Let's blame refs, bad ice, smaller goalie pads, media scrutiny and Carbo's auctioned-off tie while we're at it. Or we could give it a rest already,and admit once and for all that while the game plan needs tweaking, no game plan works when then guys don't show up, and lately that goes for nearly every Hab regardless of the country they happened to be born in. And as for our "soft" Europeans, AK46, SK74, Markov and Hamrlik are hardly soft... On calls to bench Gui!, AK46, SK74, Kovy, etc. instead of Laps, Begin, TK, Laracque... Not sure what we have to gain by benching our firepower -- how does sitting in the pressbox make the team better? The only message this would send is that Carbo's pissed that we're not scoring, and that one's been sent already. The reason Lapierre and Begin occasionally sit is that they don't score goals, never have and never will, and are only fairly solid defensively. Much as I love Begin and respect what Lapierre brings, these guys are a lot less valuable than the Kostitsyns. If you're still not convinced, even a slumping, concussed AK46 has 6 pts and is a +6 in 15 games, while Laps has 1 point and is -3 in 15 games. The "slow-starting" SK74 we're all complaining about has 7 pts in 17 games and is +0 -- awith just a few dozen NHL games under his belt, mind you -- while Begin has 1 point and is -3 over 8 games. And I know not everyone here is a fan of Gui!, but he's got 8 points in 17 games, he's a +3, and he's second on the team in hits with 45. If you want to ice the best team you can, you play the Gui! Kovy and the brothers every night. That they need to play better is not in dispute, but they're not fourth-liners or bench-warmers. On the knee-jerk, reactionary, sell-the-franchise silliness that worms and wriggles its out of the woodwork every time our boys play a few lousy games in a row It sucks. It doesn't help. It makes things worse. Take a pill or a long walk, or go and get a nice hot stone massage. Come on, you don't sell all your stocks just because the markets are having a few rough months, and you don't replace half your team with minor-leaguers after a few rough games. You also don't make kneejerk trades based several excellent weeks of hockey followed by two lousy ones. Gainey knows this. Carbo knows this. And thank god they do, or we'd be in Ottawa's position, getting tantalizingly close to building that Cup-contending team and then overhauling the roster because of a few bad games. 1. www.flickeringpictures.com - not a hockey site, but still kinda neat 2. Josh Gorges on Montreal's attack: "They're comin', they're comin' and they keep comin'. Just line after line, wave after wave..."

well im not sure where to post these videos that i have found for the canadiens. you guys probably already seen them but this just makes my heart smile. in the first video you see generations of habs fans in the 100 years and than in the 2nd video you see the players of now compared to the players of the future well heres the links enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H5u5KGlmMw (video 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgkB3YOOBkQ(video 2)

The NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition) : Penner Still Mad at MacTavish, Vinny not Mad at Stracchen and Lundqvist Situation is Clarified .. by Richard Pollock/IllegalCouve.com ..... http://www.illegalcurve.com/2008/11/20/nhl-morning-papers-thursday-editi... ............................. The Empty Netters : Cap's Mike Green Suffered Shoulder Injury, How Serious?, Time Will Tell and Cory Stillman is Still Dealing with Concussion .. by Seth Rorabaugh ..... http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/emptynetters/archive/2008/11/20/...

I don't believe the habs will improve until players are called up from Hamilton. the call ups will provide infusion, energy and hunger to play for the big team. Do it Gainey or suffer the consequences!

After going to the Cup final against Anaheim in 2007, it now appears that Ottawa may be in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in over a dozen years. The window of opportunity for winning the Cup has surely closed. The Sens are still a one line hockey team with sub par goaltending. The main roster has thinned out after many short-term, deadline deals and the list of prospects is limited. This is a franchise that is facing the slippery slope. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to break the team down and start over. Totally rebuild from scratch - right now. Trade away older players for picks and youthful assets. Implode the mindset of a team that for years has always been close but never able to fully realize it’s potential. A team that always seems to choke when everything is on the line. Bring in new team management and player leadership that will lay the foundation for a fresh beginning. There never is a right time to restructure a franchise, but it’s certainly better to do it early rather than later. Teams like LA, Toronto, and Phoenix can attest to just how painful that process can be if it’s left too late. I wouldn’t see any untouchables, although if you felt the need to keep some young players then I would look at retaining Fisher, Vermette, and Volchenkov, as well as the young prospects such as Foligno, Lee, and Karlsson. It would also be time to start playing Glass and Elliot in net, instead of signing other team’s castoffs. Everybody else is expendable, including Murray. The fate of Hartsburg would be left up to the new GM. Dump salary and head to the bottom of the cap ceiling. There are a lot of inflated egos in Ottawa, from the ownership and management team right down to some of the youngest stars. It would take a lot of courage for Melnyk to swallow his pride and except the inevitable, not to mention the courage to face the fan base. He would have to start by firing Murray. But from where I’m sitting, I really don’t see any other choice. The writing is on the wall - let the fire sale begin. As for tonight's game it's really quite simple - if we can't beat a slumping team like Ottawa that also has Fisher and Neil out of the lineup, then it will surely be a sign that our freefall is far from over. If there ever was a time for our PP to redeem itself, it must certainly be tonight against the defensively challenged Sens and Auld/Gerber. Going For The Brass Ring - 25 Cups In 100 Years

Hope He's Right (Tanguay), at Least his Attitude is Good: "We have to find ways to play better as a team, move better, be more aggressive, more of a five-man unit. But we'll get out of it. We have too much talent, too much experience." Carob is Confused: Carbonneau said the lack of production from his top line was puzzling, How about this: you have the three guys on the team who like to control the puck and the play the most trying to play as a unit. Hmmm... confusing? I don't see why. It's Okay, Because We're Not Alone: You look at (Ottawa). You look at Carolina. You look at all the teams we play against. Things aren't better on the other side. (Eric) Staal is struggling this year and Ottawa has some guys struggling," Carbonneau said. Okay! Now I feel MUCH better. It's a Little Complicated, but Let's Be Objective: "We have guys struggling, but we need good support from the other guys. That's why we were successful last year. We had good play from our veterans and then we had kids who came in to push them, I don't see that now." I think I understand... too bad no-one is in the position to do something about any of that, maybe bring up some young kids to push. Too bad. An Infinite Number of Monkeys with Typewriters... while Carbonneau didn't show any line changes when the Canadiens practised at the Sens-plex yesterday, he said he was willing to continue juggling "until we get it right. Maybe Carbo should join the circus, I hear they need jugglers. It's as though Carbo knows nothing about motivation or inspiration. He juggles players or he sits players. Outside of that he throws up his hands. I'm starting to think that he is a fool. ____________________________________________________________ Why don't we have a defensive coach? Insanity? Or arrogance?

Was I the only one who was getting very annoyed at Benoit Brunet last game? His relentless Kostitsyn bashing would have driven me to TSN, but they we're showing the game. Brunet, for me, just gets worse and worse the more comfortable he gets. In my opinion, he's the only bad thing about RDS' telecast. Sure, Kostitsyn isn't playing great, but he got demolished and concussed by a hit fairly recently. What's the rest of the team's excuse?

Ben Maxwell potted his 7th of the season last night for Hamilton, Greg Stewart had 15 mins in penalties, and even Chipper got into a scrap. I'm thinking that if things don't look good after the Boston game (Patrick Roy night), Carbo will call up some players for the game against the lowly Islanders. If some players have to pass through waivers (e.g., Dandy), so be it. D'Ag, B-Max, Stewart up front deserve consideration; on the backline, Weber and Belle deserve a look also.

Just a few random Kovalev stats for perspective: 2008/2009 Season: 0.29 goals/game = on pace for 24 goals 0.47 assists/game = on pace for 39 assists 0.76 points/game = on pace for 63 points +1 Last 5 years: 0.33 goals/game = average of 27 goals/82 game season 0.50 assists/game = average of 41 assists/82 game season 0.84 points/game = average of 68 points/82 game season -9 Career: 0.34 goals/game = average of 28 goals/82 game season 0.47 assists/game = average of 39 assists/82 game season 0.82 points/game = average of 67 points/82 game season -9 63 points would give him his 7th best point total in 15 years. 24 goals would give him his 7th best goal total in 15 years. 39 assists would give him his 7th best assist total in 15 years.

NM, 2 re Canes game; IMHO, were it not for Price in the first, this would have ended in a blowout like the Boston game. In a way, I wish it would have happened to really make the boys understand the situation. The D-crew and Carey were left to save the day once more while our forwards simply did not provide any support when needed; either that or the Canes forecheck is tops. Re tonight; D'Ag should have been called up for this game. Just sit SK74 (short message for him) and let D'Ag have a shot. He is doing great in Steeltown and is only a short flight away from Ottawa.

I want the in-game chat room back. Provide it within 24 hours or I will force Gainey to trade for Niiniima again. _____________________________________________________ Mad Pax...Beyond Powerdome

Notes On The Caps Game Last Night: *The power play scored multiple goals for only the third time this season, and notched three in the same game for the first time. Alex Ovechkin and Tomas Fleischmann said the difference tonight was simple: They stopped overhanding the puck and started shooting it. Fleischmann deflected a Green bomb from the point for the first goal, and Green fired a long shot through traffic for the second one. "We just tried to play simple," Ovechkin said. "This is our key. We sometimes try to be too fancy. Tonight, we just shoot the puck, control the puck and get some traffic to the net. You see the result." Fleischmann added: "It was good. We didn't pass too much. We shot the puck. We went to the net and looked for some rebounds. It worked." Id like to see the habs say this and try to simplifiy it by SHOOTING THE PUCK!!! too much fancy passing, no wonder the power play isnt clicking and its not like none of these guys can shoot from the point, there god dam pro hockey players, it shouldnt be that hard to just shoot at the net... "We get nose jobs all the time in the NHL, and we don't even have to go to the hospital." ~Brad Park.

Dawg Pound : Azevedo has three assists as Manchester downs Bulldogs .. C.P./Hamilton Spectator ..... http://www.thespec.com/Wire/Sports_Wire/NHL_Hockey_Wire/article/469260 .................. Game Summary : http://stats.theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1004997 ................ Game Sheet : http://stats.theahl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=1004997

Look.. The Montreal Canadiens this year do not have the fire... It is pure and simple. Last year we wanted to prove everyone wrong about being in the cellar. Now this year everyone put the team in 1st with a cup ring... This I qualify as the Higgins syndrome... Don't get me wrong I love the guy.. But when he hits a slump, he hit a slump and it gets in his head. Now if you look at the team right now, they are reacting the same way.. Now when Carbo says that he wants a leader... I nominate Koivu.. He has shown up every game this season ans shows passion and grit.. Now I have noticed that Carbo has increased koivu's ice time. It showed the last couple of games. He has to play no more than 15 minutes to be effective... Look at the first 11 games... As for Kovy... He just seems non-chalant on the ice.. Just wondering making bad decisions and seems to have a f*** it attitude... I don't know what is up with him but he should play like a vet should... ------------------------------------------------------------------- Koivu for Prime Minister...

I have just watched the Canes game for a 2nd time and we actually didn't play that bad and their were a few good signs but the Canes played an excellent game and executed very well. It's time to give credit where credit is due. It wasn't the same Canes team that played the Caps last week, for sure.