Game 64: Canadiens romp over Thrashers

posted by Dave Stubbs at 22h59 EST on Feb 26


0eyeonpuck.gif

Updated at 10:34 p.m. with all audio

Carey Price keeps a close eye on a flying puck.
Christinne Muschi, Reuters

Lineups | Preview | Game Summary | Event Summary | Boxscore | Boone | Post-Game Audio: Carbonneau | Player Audio (from RIS): Price, Lapierre, Koivu, Bégin, Higgins | Ryder

After spending the day holding their breath awaiting the blockbuster trade that never came, Canadiens fans are getting used to the look of the team that now will bear down on the stretch run to the playoffs.

And a 5-1 Bell Centre victory tonight over the Atlanta Thrashers was not a bad way at all to start.

First star Christopher Higgins scored two goals and added an assist and goaltender Carey Price, the second star of the night, made 26 saves to earn the win, the Canadiens exploding for four third-period goals to win going away.

It was fitting that tonight’s game against the Thrashers, supposedly the Canadiens’ trading-deadline dance partner, began the Habs’ 19-game sprint to the postseason.

With Price, Montreal’s newly anointed No. 1 goalie, in the Montreal net, and a new backup goaler and a flashy forward up this afternoon from Hamilton – respectively Jaroslav Halak and Mikhail Grabovski – the Canadiens had their way with the Thrashers to snap a two-game losing streak in wrapping up a four-game homestand.



Montreal outshot their visitors 33-27.

Canadiens forward Maxim Lapierre, rumoured to be part of a package that was offered to/demanded by Atlanta earlier in the day for their coveted star Marian Hossa, put Montreal on the scoreboard with his fifth of the season at 10:18 of the first period. Foiled first by Thrashers goalie Kari Lehtonen at the side of the net, Lapierre dug the puck out and scored on a nice second-effort backhand.

Price was very steady in goal, making 11 saves to the nine made by Lehtonen through the first 20 minutes.

Thrashers’ Ilya Kovalchuk tied the game at 1-1 on the power play at 2:04 of the second, for all intents and purposes a 5-on-3 with Andrei Markov in the penalty box and defender Steve Bégin having lost his stick. Kovalchuk whipped home his 41st of the season from just inside the faceoff circle, using Canadiens defenceman Mike Komisarek to partially screen Price.

The Thrashers outshot Montreal 10-8 in the second to hold a 21-18 lead through two.

The Canadiens jumped back into the lead on the power play at 2:10 of the third period, Higgins scoring his 20th of the season on a beautiful cross-crease pass from still-here Michael Ryder, who’d been set up by captain Saku Koivu. It was the 200th NHL point registered by Ryder, who’d been the centre of virtually every Habs trade rumour the past month.

Higgins added his 21st – Koivu did a nice bit of stickhandling, which led to an attempted shot by Markov that finally Higgins corralled and shovelled in from just in front of Lehtonen.

Higgins then engineered a perfect cross-ice pass to Markov, who pinched in for his 13th of the season at 8:17, once again on the power play.

Sergei Kostitsyn closed out the scoring when he bagged his seventh on a bullet wrist shot at 9:04, fed from the Canadiens zone by Guillaume Latendresse.

The Canadiens improved their season record to 34-21-9, while the Thrashers dropped to 29-31-4. It was the first of four games between the teams this year that didn’t go to a shootout, Atlanta having won two of those.

The Habs are in Buffalo on Friday to take on the Sabres before returning home Saturday to host the New Jersey Devils.


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Comments

steeler's picture
stanley cup here we come baby!!!!ok there is not a team in the nhl that can keep up to the habs ,to young to fast ,,and a smoking hot power play ,,,,

Does anybody in Bulldog country know why Matt D'Agostini wasn't in uniform tonight. Chicago's Marty Havlet was hurt once again and it's the shoulder again and sounds serious.

wd40's picture
oh my, the belly aching! On Hossa: Bob is good but it was unrealistic for us to think he could secure Hossa for Ryder and a bucket of pucks. Yeah sure, I was disappointed, but what an ugly hangover it would have been to wake up this morning if BG had succumbed to the temptation to sell our future for, as our friend Bill put it, a "scoring threat" who (as many of us seem to agree) will probably test the market July 1st. well thank goodness he didn't. as so many of you have pointed out, we've got great chemistry on this team, a good mixture of energetic, skilled youngsters and capable veterans, and i think we should all be very thankful BG chose to keep this group intact. bottom line on this one for me is this: clearly BG is capable of recognizing opportunities which are beneficial to this team and has demonstrated during his tenure that he possesses the judgment to seize them. and by golly this is a fun team to watch and you know, i think we have one or two "scoring threats". On Huet: fine, so let's call it a "weird" move. we can't be certain if this move was part of a greater plan (related to the above?), or as Bob said in the press conference, a stand-alone decision made earlier in the week based on the recent play of Huet and the desire to give Price (and Halak) the responsibility. premature? you could argue yes, but in the (my) final analysis, i don't see how Price/Halak is any worse than a Price/Huet tandem, and as i said earlier in the day, the upside is much bigger for the young duo. again, Huet was a gentleman, a good man, a mentor and a "big brother" (to Price), a good teammate, and finally, a good goaltender. the decision was certainly a tough one and i doubt many of us would have had the "gumption" to have pulled the trigger, but if the kids now in charge of the net actually DO come through in the fashion that BG clearly believes, i'm sure those of you who remain so critical of this single move will be cheering as loudly as the rest of us. In Bob We Trust. Go HABS Go.

Les-Habitants's picture
The amount that Hossa eventually went for blew my mind, and you have to believe that Gainey was offering a deal with 3 elements: roster player, prospect, 1sr round draft choice. The Pens were willing to part with two key roster players which is a huge loss to that organization, no matter what Hossa brings to the table. I have to agree with you, as Gainey himself admitted in his press conference, that he wasn't willing to pay that price. He did make a counter-offer, but the Pens ended up giving Atlanta exactly what they wanted. Can you say we upgraded in goal after the Huet trade? No, you can't. We gave up a quality starting goaltender in order to evaluate and give experience to two stellar goaltending prospects. Do I think this was the right move? Yes, without question. I do disagree with you in saying that we now have an equally good tandem. Huet was a no. 1 goaltender for a reason, made the all-stars and has continually had excellent stats. While his inconsistency was at times a problem, he proved a solid prescence in nets. Both Halak and Price have the raw talent to easily surpass Huet, and I think both eventually will. To think that both already have would be a mistake. Price has demonstrated he is currently maybe on par with Huet, while Halak has demonstrated his ability to be a dominant goaltender in the AHL and a better goalie then Abby last year. This was the right move because the franchise has made a decision to go with these goaltenders, dropping any doubt about the position. It was either sign Huet long term, or deal him. Price and Halak will be better for the experience, but to think they are better prior is, well, wishful thinking.

One more time: good, well thought out post.

Norm0770's picture
Great post! Considering they are 3rd in the league in scoring, but the top two scorer on the Habs are 15th and 50th, I'd say we have balanced scoring, that means everybody is a threat! I think it is also interesting that 5 of the top 10 goal scorers, including the top 2, are on non-playoff teams. What would you rather have, player winning the Richard trophy or the team making a run in the playoffs?

wd40 - Very good post.

The Dawgs beat Grand Rapids 5 to 3 as Yann Danis stopped 20 of 23 for the win. Daniel Corso had 2 while Degon,Locke and Chipchura had singles. 1st star - Corco 2nd star - Locke.

The guy just won the million dollars in Van.

I hope to God that the Habs finish first and the Leafs make it into the 8th spot. That way we can kick their Azzes & shut those Brain Dead Leaf Fans up one and for all. It would be too sweet.

Big Bird's picture
It would be nice but you know something Dean - they always bring their 'A' game when they play us. I'd rather see them golfing to be honest with you. For me it's enough that JFJ is on a trade panel on TSN and Gainey is building a championship team for the long haul. And if that doesn't shut them up, the numbers 24 and 1967 usually do.

showey47's picture
Agreed, the last thing i want is to have the last game of the season against the laffs to have any meaning.

How's it going Sulemaan? I would really like to take those Laffs 4 straight. We would have bragging rights until the end of eternity. It's my dream there Sule. Don't rain on my dream..LOL..

Big Bird's picture
Won't rain on your parade my friend. :-) It's going well. We need to get together with some other Habs I/O posters for the next Bulldogs game @ Ricoh Centre. I already got two tickets for $30 for the March 15th game. Are you going to it? Took my 4 year old to the last one and she loved it.

I was at the last one. The Dogs won 3-1. It was Tomas Kaberle bobble head night. We got three of them. My wife and daughter are Leaf fans. Go figure eh ???? I got a huge rash when I took it from the ticket person. It was embarassing as a Habs fan to take that thing in my hand. Oh well I did it for my wife. It told everyone that I would use it to scare the rats away. I can go..... What section are you in? It must be the ends right. I am going to Hamilton tomorrow, Friday. It is Carey Price Bobble Head night. I will get three of them so I can put one on my rec. shelf (the one that I specially built for Carey) and one on my desk at work. See, I work for the Provincial Govt. here in TO. I try to piss off all the Leafs fans when ever I get the chance there Sulemann.

Big Bird's picture
Here's a thought: (1) Gainey almost never says anything about we he's planning to do. So it was really out of character for him to publicly state he was going after a premium player before the trade deadline. (2) Gainey didn't end up getting a premium player despite his supposed best efforts as the asking price was too steep. So maybe it was never Gainey's intention to get a premium player in the first place. This team is being built for the long-run in mind. The only reason he said he was looking for a game breaker was to put the media and fans in a frenzy? No. He wanted to increase the asking price and making it steeper for his opponents who were gunning for Hossa, namely Ottawa, Pittsburgh and others. And sure enough the Penguins paid a steep price for a rental player. Mission accomplished! So in the next few years it will hurt the Penguins for making such a deal while Montreal continues to stack up draft picks and prospects as they near maturity. (Yes, I know I'm dreaming in technicolor but thought I'd throw that out there...)

i agree and it was mentioned last week by someone on here. i was actually thinking they would move huet to get a solid 3rd of 4th D man. gainey said it a week ago - the problem when we lose is often givin gup too many goals. i wish huet the best of luck and i'm pulling for the caps to make the playoff. someone above said it best - price/halak is hte same as price/huet. GO HABS GO i'm trying to get "reasonably" priced tix to fridays game in buffalo - if anyone has some to let go. . . . . .

Norm0770's picture
I'm not quite sure why Bob felt they needed an impact player. The team has been scoring lots lately, except against Columbus, and any time you score 4 goals or more you shouldn't lose. They are 3rd in the league in scoring, and if they had played a little better defense lately they would be ahead of Ottawa.

Nice conspiracy theory, man :) There might have been a message to the players as well, something like: "Look, I've tried to get you an impact players (even though secretly I wasn't planning to) and it didn't work out, so now you need to suck it up and win it with what you've got." But I thought the same thing as you - it was out of character of him to go and blubber that he is looking for this and that.

Björn's picture
@showey47: Good Post ! People also forget that Gill won´t be an UFA at the end of the season like Huet. In my point of view, he is a bad d-man but if the Pens really like him... @LizardKing1967: Right and these six games only include two wins as we all know. Some people seem to think that Huet has played way more becauce of his age...

originalsix's picture
Gill sucks. Serj Tankian is aweeeeesome!

Shiloh's picture
What happened to Plek-Andrew? I don't see his posts anymore.

LizardKing1967's picture
BTW, I am sure some of you watched TSN trade coverage yesterday. Wasn't it hilarious how JFJr. was lamenting how good Hal Gill is. How good Wade Belak is. How good Chad Kilger is. Along with the rest of the Leafs. I think someone forgot to tell him that they are crap along wioth the Leafs BECAUSE OF HIM. I just love The Toronto Sports Netwok. We can now also call it The Sundin Network. I wish T.O. would get a life. Jim-out. I BELIEVE!

LizardKing1967's picture
Sorry guys, that's my rany for the week. I promise not to bash T.O. anymore Jim-out. I BELIEVE!

The M's picture
bashing TO is perfectly fine, in fact, i encourage it

LizardKing1967's picture
You know, I am hearing alot on here, on the news, and elsewhere, how montreal will have a tough time with two goalies that have NO playoff experience. Last time I looked, Huet has a total of SIX (6) playoff games to his name. SO WHAT IS ALL THE BS ABOUT??? Jim-out. I BELIEVE!

Good point! To tell you the truth that hadn't even occurred to me. GO HABS.

tony d's picture
no surprise about Paddock huh? the writing was on the wall... have to admit, he gave me the creeps...every-time the camera would cut to him in a game, I felt like I was staring at my old principal or something....felt like you were in trouble every time you looked at him... he's got a look that makes you crap your pants.... now they're back to their ol boss, who knows, this change might be good..... doesn't solve the goaltending though

tony d's picture
actually I hear Customs Canada is hiring...he'd be great at the border huh?

CHsam's picture
LOL try lying to that SOB at the border.

TradeRyder's picture
LAST POST!!!!!!!!!!! I'm closing this name-account now as I said I would. It's been fun. I'll come back with another name when I can think of one. How about for-frig-sakes-stop-those-stupid-emails or trade-pokey-reddick? lol I want to point out that I was right (in Oct.) that Ryder was at a high in what we would have gotten for him and was going to struggle with this fast play-making team. Today however, he seems to have become more adapted and he fits in better than many of the veterans.... but we'll see if he continues to get his game back. But at this point I'm glad Ryder is still a part of our team. In this year I think he's become a more complete player and may have put it all together. I hope so! Go Ryder!! So long and thanks for all the fish! _____________________________________________________________

A. Berke's picture
Earlier in the season, I have been of the same opinion (re Ryder) as you were and like you, I'm also now glad that he seems to be getting his game back and starting to fit the team better. BTW, don't make your sabbatical very long because exciting hockey days/nights and hopefully the playoffs are ahead of us, i.e. good opportunities for lots of arguments. Cheers, Ali B.

Ed's picture
Amen. Au revoir. It's sounds like your last will and testament. You did have a good run though, and caused a lot of discussion on both sides.

imafogdevil's picture
Hey Buddy, I am glad that we both get to talk about the Habs and give different perspectives on our favorite team. I believe that everything will work out this year. I hope!! I guess I have to change my name too. I'll have to think about what that will be. Now, did I win, or did we both win anyway? I think we both win. ___________________________________________ It can only get better!! Go Ryder, Go Habs!

TradeRyder's picture
Hey, we've got a good team, we're on the right track to put together a winner. Ryder's picked up his game - you're right, we both won. Cheers! See you next time. But if I come back as sit_slowinski, just tell me you won't be play_smolinski!! _____________________________________________________________ On Tuesday I will change my name. Any Suggestions? - SitSlowinski? - 4thRoundorBust?

imafogdevil's picture
Now that won't happen. On that we agree from the start. ___________________________________________ It can only get better!! Go Ryder, Go Habs!

Habs_008's picture
bye TradeRyder, its been a blast, make sure u dont change it for facts sake or Planet Habs. haha. try JFJ

tony d's picture
don't worry I'm sure over the next couple of weeks you'll think of something ...just remind us it's you so we can keep giving you a hard time (lol)

showey47's picture
Just listening to eklund on xm radio 204 and he said that the pens wanted higgins and that hossa is going to test the ufa market july 1st. It is eklund so take it for what its worth but bob probably dodged a bullet.

Cams Habs's picture
I doubt Pittsburgh signs him anyways... Malkin is due in for a BIG contract, and they won't be letting him go. More than likely he goes to UFA market. Ek probably has it right here, but I assume he's just guessing anyways.

wd40's picture
Malkin has got 1 more year on his current contract (1M + 2.85M Bonus). that being said, the Pens have 12 UFAs (including Hossa) come July 1st.

You know I have been reading most of the posts on here.. I always thought that For Facts Sake had some stupid comments..After reading a few today he was not that bad..Some of these people have their pic beside the word stupid in the dic..A bunch of JFJs

wd40's picture
i'll take FFS over planet habs any day.

This decision by Gainey, to trade Huet, is getting a lot of play in TO today and not just in the star. Bob McGowan, on the fan590, was critizing Murray for letting the goaltender situation lead to a mess in Ottawa and still, after a year of problems, no clear number one netminder. McGowan said that Montreal,even with no internal problems in their dressing room, made a decision. Whether you agree with Gaineys' decision or not, at least he made a decision, stated McGowan. Damien Cox wrote a great column regarding Gainey in todays' star. It seems some of these Gainey bashers should look at this from the other side of the fence. GO HABS.

Bill's picture
That's a great article in The Star, although all that stuff about Gainey leaving "traces of undeniable hockey greatness" everywhere he goes is a little over the top. Great article or no, I think this was a weird move. No good reason to trade Huet. See Red Fisher in the Gazette or Michael Farber in SI today for a better article on that subject than Damien Cox's (links on my blog) that make the point very well. http://yearofthehab.blogspot.com

Cams Habs's picture
Good post. I have a hard time listening to people moan about how Bob has just sunk the team when Huet has clearly shown he can't be a consistent #1 for a season, let alone for a deep playoff run. I'm unsure what those people's plans were: Resigning Huet long term or letting him go for squat? Ironically enough, had we kept Huet for a run and failed, the same people who were whining about not shopping Souray last year would rear their ugly head again with Huet. I'm sure glad we got rid of him. He is good, but I don't want him long term and I don't want him walking.

showey47's picture
I know and posters complaing about how we only got a second round pick for him, while buffalo got alot more for campbell and toronto gettin more for gill. These trades can't even be compared, everybody wants a guy like campbell so his value is going to be high. Depth defencmen like gill is also gonna bring back a good return. There is no market for goaltenders, especially starting ufa goaltenders. Nobody who is out of the playoffs is gonna trade for him, so this only leaves teams that are currently in the playoffs and teams that are close. These teams essentially have established goaltending so other than washington who would be a trade partner? Maybe nashville, Ottawa does but we won't trade him there. Can't get market value when there is no market. Ask brian burke, bryzgalov is alot better than huet and couldn't get squat for him.

Chorske's picture
We knew the market for goalies was crap pretty much from the get-go. There is a glut of quality guys, and a crew of young hands ready to graduate to the NHL (hello, Halak). I just wish we'd gotten a better pick than Washington (Anaheim)'s second. Whatever. We need to stop thinking in terms of REBUILDING and simply in terms of constant improvement- of just BUILDING. And this move fits in with that attitude.

Habs_008's picture
I was actually listening to that on the way home from work today. Bob was right on. What he was saying was Huet and Price are the same calaber goalie. Why not trade Huet and get something back. Play Price, get him experince, the habs are not a Stanley Cup contender this year but will be soon.

the_larry's picture
I love how Ferguson thinks the Habs were the biggest losers yesterday. He must know alot about evaluating trades and talent, thats why he's an NHL GM right? Oops

CHsam's picture
I laughed so hard when I heard that one. I think all the guys in the room were looking at him and thinking "yeah if only you had a tenth of Gainey's smarts" LOL

i see that jfj is going to appear on the game show the biggest loser and are you smarter than a fifth grader!!lol!

showey47's picture
I know, having ferguson and milbury on the same set was hilarious to watch. These 2 could easily fall in the category of the top 10 worst g.m.'s in the history of professional team sports in north america.

Habs_008's picture
lol, so true! haha it was funny that JFJ tried to make Gainey look bad, he only made himself look worse.

Robert L's picture
To Peter Young, if you're reading still, you had this question earlier. On his Eyes on the Prize blog, Robert L. writes: "the Canadiens balked at the offer of Mikhail Grabovski, Matt D' Agnostini, Mark Streit, and Ryan O'Byrne." Does anyone know where this comes from? Is he right? Here's the source. http://www2.canoe.com/sports/nouvelles/archives/2008/02/20080227-062904....

That's certainly more than I would want to give up. Let's not forget that Streit has 44 points. That's only 12 fewer that Marian Hossa. Now I'm not going to try and say that Streit has the same skill as Hossa, but he's still pretty darned good.

I did a bit of digging and noticed that the following guys were 2nd round picks for the habs over the last 10-15 years. If you scout and draft well, a 2nd round pick can definitely become an impact player: Mickey Ribs, Jose Theodore, Mathieu Garon, Guillaume Latendresse, PK Subban, Matt Carle, Ben Maxwell, Duncan Milroy to name a few. Now granted the verdict is still out on guys like Carle, Milroy, Maxwell and Subban, but there is a lot of potential there. There was no market for goalies...none. In fact I would call it a coup that Bob was able to land a 2nd rounder.

That's true. I'm in fact surprised that Washington wanted Huet. Kolzig has been their man for a long time

Robert L's picture
Is there a link to the Toronto Star article?


Bob Barker's picture
It's great to see how many young offensively gifted players the habs have drafted in recent years. Grabovski is explosive. Sergei is a slick passer and has a deceptive shot. Andrei can dangle at full speed and is a running highlight reel. This team is becoming more and more exciting to watch. It's such a contrast from the late 90s and early 2000s. The future is definitely bright.

CHsam's picture
check out TSN.ca 's video clip of Draft deadlin winners and losers. Bob Mackenzie sticks one right to JFJ concerning the Laffs as losers. Also read in the Toronto Star today a column about how they wish they had Gainey as GM.

Here's the link tot he article i think you were talking about. http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/307354

I mentioned this earlier today. JFJ called Montreal[ basically he meant Gainey] a loser for the Huet deal. But not before MacKenzie calls laffs management losers because Fletcher couldn't swing any trades. Of course Fletcher couldn't make any trades because of the biggest loser going into the deadline: JFJ. Hilarious. P.S. jfj is such a poor evaluator of talent it probably bodes well for Gainey's decision. GO HABS.

coutNY's picture
It was all because JFJ handing out rediculus contracts and NTC's to like it was candy... I think if Sundin would have gone there would have been a mass excidous... Big house of cards.

moser17's picture
James Duthie mentioned this on the air yesterday, right after Fletcher's news conference: he basically *had* to mention it, since Fletcher all but named JFJ as the reason his hands were tied in making trades, and Duthie asked JFJ point blank what he thought about it. I can't quite remember, but I think Mike Milbury jumped in and said "Fletcher was wrong to put John Ferguson under the roller like that", or something, and said that Fletcher would wish he could take a few things back later on. The camera, meanwhile, switched to Ferguson who was looking down at the desk with a look on his face that partly said "aw shucks, thanks for coming to my defense guys", and partly said, "well, we're on the air and I'm a guest analyst, what else are you going to say?", and partly said ,"JFJ is a jackarse."

Good on Bob for not giving into the asking price for Hossa. Sure it would be nice to have a player like him but not at that cost. Even to try and sign him as a free agent would be crazy if he is looking for 8 million a year. As for Huet he would have been gone at the end of the year anyways so at least we got somthing for him. Price and Halak will be an amazing duo for many years to come. GO HABS GO.

Paddock's gone. Here's to hoping Murray takes Ottawa no farther than round one. Maybe Melnyk will turn around and stab Murray in the back. Then the back-stabber will become the stabbed. GO HABS.

wd40's picture
In Bob We Trust. GO HABS GO.

I just listened to Ryders audio there and they mentioned something about a note from Huey? Anybody got any other info on that?