Vincent Lecavalier (left) and Martin St. Louis celebrate the latter's second-period shorthanded goal against the Canadiens.
John Kenney, Gazette

AUDIO: Guy Carbonneau  Jaroslav Halak  Maxim Lapierre Tom Kostopoulos 

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The NHL's cellar-dwelling Tampa Bay Lightning came to Montreal tonight riding a nine-game losing streak. They left having won one in a row, beating the Canadiens 3-1, and had the red faces of the Canadiens to see them on their way.

Montreal captain Saku Koivu suffered a lower-body injury in the second period and tried unsuccessfully to return to action. No word yet on his condition, beyond coach Guy Carbonneau saying further examination tomorrow should reveal more.

How to begin analyzing this one? The Lightning played Wednesday in Buffalo, lost 4-2 to see their record slide to 6-14-8. The Canadiens (16-7-5) enjoyed the night off Wednesday. And, it seems, tonight.

The Lightning overcame a 1-0 deficit with captain Vincent Lecavalier's goal the meat in the sandwich of two by Martin St. Louis, the two Quebecers' output more than enough to down the disorganized Canadiens on this night.

Yesterday, we asked if you thought Mike Komisarek could score on Jaroslav Halak in a picture taken during
practice on Wednesday. That photo and the one posted today were taken by The Gazette's Dave
Sidaway.

Here's the answer: Halak gets the pad out and stops Komisarek.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in an opinion.

Maybe a little something was lost in the phrasing, but New York Islanders' Mark Streit tells The Hockey News that he believed he was "the joker a little bit" in Montreal, shuttled from defence to forward.

Meanwhile, a similarly versatile player, Mathieu Dandenault, was the talk of the Canadiens yesterday for his having finished a shift Tuesday with a broken arm. Dandenault underwent surgery on his left arm yesterday.

Roman Hamrlik takes his nephew, Matyas, for a fun skate before today's practice in Brossard.
Dave Sidaway, Gazette

AUDIO    • Carbo English   • Carbo French   • Jaro Halak

Update from Canadiens practice, an optional workout at Brossard following Tuesday's 4-1 win over Calgary.

• Defenceman Mathieu Dandenault had surgery this morning to repair his broken arm. He's obviously out indefinitely.

• Forward Christopher Higgins was going for an MRI on a shoulder injury suffered Tuesday. RDS colleague Renaud Lavoie, a reliable source almost always, believes Higgins might be out for awhile. Coach Guy Carbonneau said only that Higgins definitely was out tomorrow vs. Tampa Bay.

• Carbo is undecided about who plays goal Thursday vs. Tampa Bay. Carey Price is fighting a cold, and Jaroslav Halak was superb against Calgary.

• The coach says he'll have all 21 healthy bodies skating tomorrow morning, and while Ryan O'Byrne is in on defence, Carbo was not fully committed to the insertion of Guillaume Latendresse up front. "Probably Guillaume," he said. "But we still have Georges (Laraque) who's healthy, too."

• In other Latendresse news, Olivier has been promoted from ECHL Cincinnati to Hamilton. Gui!'s 22-year-old brother leads the Cyclones with 18 goals and 15 assists in 23 games.

• Today's Darwin Award winner: Joe Sakic. Already sidelined by back problems, the Colorado captain broke three fingers in a snowblower accident and will be out at least three months. The mishap occurred at Sakic's home Tuesday afternoon.

Since we had a good response last time, we're doing this again.

This time, it's Mike Komisarek trying to undress Jaroslav Halak during practice on Wednesday, with all the action caught by The Gazette's Dave Sidaway.

So, have your say on the play.

Does Halak stone Big Mike, or can the injured defenceman roof one on his young goaltender?

The answer will be posted here on Thursday before the start of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Mathieu Dandenault finishes a second-period shift with a broken arm against the Calgary Flames.
John Kenney, Gazette

Head coach Guy Carbonneau has just announced that defenceman Mathieu Dandenault is out with a broken arm suffered tonight in the second period when checked into the boards.

Dandenault finished the shift in great distress before he finally left the ice.

Expect D Ryan O'Byrne back in the lineup Thursday. No word yet on any callups.

Forward Christopher Higgins is headed to the doctor tomorrow for an MRI on what was reported to be an upper-body injury.

Carbo says he has no way of telling whether he's out for a day or six weeks.

A happy, seated Robert Lang celebrates his first goal of the evening with Alex Tanguay and Alex Kovalev.
John Kenney, Gazette

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Audio: Guy Carbonneau  Robert Lang I and II
Jaroslav Halak  Matt D'Agostini 
Alex Tanguay (en français)  Andrei Markov

Centreman Robert Lang scored two goals and added an assist in a sparkling effort on a snowy night in Montreal, lifting the Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Calgary Flames at the Bell Centre.

Rookie Matt D'Agostini and defenceman Andrei Markov also scored for the Habs, who are 4-0-1 through five games of a seven-game homestand.

It was a costly game for the Canadiens, who lost defenceman Mathieu Dandenault with a broken arm and Christopher Higgins with an upper-body injury. Dandenault is gone for a long stretch; no word until at least tomorrow on Higgins.

Jaroslav Halak was excellent in the Canadiens net tonight, making 32 saves in just his seventh game of the season behind No. 1 netminder Carey Price.

C'mon, admit it. Haven't you always wondered how the Canadiens have done against teams whose nicknames are elements of or things found in nature? Sure you did.

So did Daniel Smajovits of the Canadiens communication department. You'll not be surprised to learn the Habs have a winning record. Now, about those Hurricanes and Avalanche... See below.

Because some of you have asked:

The Bell Sports Complex, the Canadiens' new practice facility in South Shore Brossard, is a public building; the Habs have a stake in a large part of it. So fans will be able to freely enter and watch practices, if not seated in the stands (that access is up to the Canadiens), then from behind the glass wall.

This is excerpted from today's Gazette story:

While not committed to seating fans for every practice, the Canadiens invite all to watch them at least from behind floor-to-ceiling glass.

"We want to be accessible, closer to our fans," said Julien BriseBois, Canadiens vice-president, hockey operations. "(Sunday), Mike Komisarek skated on one sheet of ice, there was a minor hockey game on the other, three soccer games were being played and moms and dads were everywhere. We felt like we were part of the family. We expect we'll just become part of the community here."

Don't miss this excellent gallery by Canadiens photographer Bob Fisher.

The three pools – hot tub, cold plunge and SwimEx current/treadmill pool – just off the medical clinic in the Canadiens' stunning new training complex in Brossard.
Marie-France Coallier, Gazette

MORE OF MARIE-FRANCE'S PHOTOS

AUDIO:

• Julien BriseBois   • Carbo   • Graham Rynbend  
• Scott Livingston  • Pierre Gervais   • Koivu 1  
• Koivu 2   • Price 1   • Price 2
• Kostopoulos 1   • Kostopoulos 2   • Laraque  
• D'Agostini

Mere words fail to describe the Canadiens' new practice facility in suburban Brossard, across the St. Lawrence River in suburban Brossard. It will not hurt GM Bob Gainey when he's squiring potential free-agent signings through Montreal next summer.

The dressing room is probably 50 per cent larger than what the team has at the Bell Centre, and the training and medical areas are so cutting edge that you'd swear half the stuff they have hasn't been invented yet.

Canadiens VP hockey operations Julien BriseBois can take a bow, having quarterbacked the complex for the Habs. The broadest smiles today might have been those of head athletic therapist Graham Rynbend, strength and conditioning co-ordinator Scott Livingston, and equipment manager Pierre Gervais. These guys have died and gone to hockey heaven...

And because this is a public facility, the Canadiens a prime tenant in it, fans can drop in to watch practices, even if they might not always have access to the stands and would in that case be required to watch from behind floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

With a five-hole so big it's probably a ten-hole, defenceman Josh Gorges takes a turn in Carey Price's net yesterday during the Canadiens' public practice at the Bell Centre.
Peter McCabe, Gazette

On a day that Tina Turner (70!) takes over the Bell Centre with her boundless energy, and a day after a Bell Centre public practice charged up a lot of small fry (see our photo gallery here), the Canadiens today officially move into the Bell Sports Complex, their new practice facility in South-Shore Brossard

The state-of-the-art complex has been eagerly anticipated, a place the Habs call home from today onward.

More to come early this afternoon with details, comments from players and coach Guy Carbonneau and photos as the Canadiens prepare for home games against Calgary, Tampa Bay and Washington on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price would like this goal by the Devils back as the puck squeaked through his pads. (THE GAZETTE/Dave Sidaway)

Preview | Rosters | Tale of the Tape | Play-by-Play | Faceoffs | Game Summary | Event Summary | Hickey's Game Story | Boone

Audio:  Guy Carbonneau  Saku Koivu  Carey Price

Even without Martin Brodeur in nets, the Canadiens couldn't find a way to beat the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.

Zach Parise scored in overtime with Alex Kovalev in the penalty box to give the Devils a 2-1 win and snap the Canadiens' three-game winning streak and dropped their record to 3-0-1 on their seven-game homestand.

And they can thank Carey Price for the point the earned for the OT loss. He stopped 29 of 31 shots he faced, including all 11 he faced during the third period as the Canadiens were outshot 11-4.

Price's only blemish on this night was the goal he allowed to Jamie Langenbrunner in the second period, a slapshot from the faceoff circle that found its way through Price's legs, dribbling into the net behind him.

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After struggling through most of November, the Canadiens have rattled off three straight wins, all at home, including Thursday night’s 6-2 win over the New York Rangers. The day was also highlighted by the inauguration of Centennial Plaza, where the team has honours its legends and given fans a chance to be a part of it through the purchase of bricks that make up the plaza. The Habs play four more games at home on their current homestand and will look to keep on rolling against the Devils, Flames, Lightning and the Capitals.

PuckCasters Pat Hickey, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio look at the start of the team's homestand and review the play of Matt D'Agostin, give their thoughs on Centennial Plaza, the rumours that the team is for sale and Guy Carbonneau's frustrations with the media.

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The Canadiens yesterday unveiled Centennial Plaza at the Bell Centre, an outdoor museum of sorts celebrating icons Howie Morenz, Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur, the 15 players whose numbers have been retired, 24 Stanley Cup champions, 100 memorable moments in team history, and the good wishes of thousands of fans, expressed in the form of engraved bricks.

More here in Stubbs's feature, and in Gazette photographer John Kenney's gallery.

Canadiens owner George N. Gillett Jr., at the Bell Centre for today's unveiling of the club's Centennial Plaza, spoke at length off the record with a small group of reporters about stories pertaining to his financial situation.

Finally, he went on the record to state categorically that, contrary to various  reports, the Canadiens are not for sale. Gillett added finally that "I'm angry that I need to keep denying (that the club is for sale)."

Here are those remarks in Gillett's own measured words.

Gazette story with more background below.