Atlanta Thrashers

Canadiens' Andrei Kostitsyn and Michael Cammalleri celebrate Kostitsyn's goal in the second period. Scott Cunningham/NHLI via Getty Images

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AUDIO: Benoit Pouliot | Tomas Plekanec | Jaro Halak | Jacques Martin

• At a Glance: The Canadiens were dominated from start to finish by the Atlanta Thrashers on Monday night, but they can, once again, thank Jaroslav Halak and another defenceman, Marc-André Bergeron for a 4-3 overtime win. Halak was pelted with 50 shots by the Thrashers only two days after facing 40 against the New York Islanders. Ilya Kovalchuk scored once and Nik Antropov scored twice for the Thrashers, who beat the Canadiens 4-3 in overtime the last time the two teams met. The Canadiens made the most of their 23 shots, beating Johan Hedberg four times. Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn scored in the second period and Bergeron scored once in the third period and then the overtime winner. The Canadiens were 2-for-3 on the power play, while killing 5-of-6 Atlanta power plays. Plekanec added three assists for a four-point night. Plekanec now has 40 points, one more than all of last season, and sits eighth in the NHL scoring race, one pointe behind Alexander Ovechkin and three behind Sidney Crosby.

• Key Moments: At 18:15 of the third period, Bergeron's power-play goal forced overtime after the Canadiens were outplayed and outgunned the entire game.

• What It Means: The Canadiens are now 2-0 on their seven-game road trip and saw their record on the season drop to 17-18-3.

• What's Next: The Canadiens are in Carolina on Wednesday before a few days off for Christmas. They are back at it on Dec. 26 in Toronto.

Canadiens' Glen Metropolit scores his first-period goal on Atlanta goalie Johan Hedberg. The Thrashers battled back to win 4-3 in overtime.
Tami Chappell, Reuters

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• PREGAME AUDIO: Michael Cammalleri | Maxim Afinegenov | Ilya Kovalchuk
• No postgame audio (technical difficulties)

• At a Glance: The Canadiens blow a 2-0 lead and lose 4-3 in overtime – their first OT loss of the season. The penalty-kill is perfect on six shorthanded situations during regulation, running their streak to 33, but Ilya Kovalchuk cashes a rising 30-footer in OT.

• Key Moments: Carey Price's third-period leg save on Todd White salvaged a point as Atlanta had a 34-19 shot advantage. That's seven straight games in which the Habs have been outshot.

• What It Means: Canadiens take five of a possible eight points in a tough week. But Ottawa, Toronto and the Islanders all won tonight.

• What's Next: The Canadiens return home after the game and enjoy their annual Christmas party Sunday afternoon. They're back in action Monday night at the Bell Centre vs. Buffalo, then hit the road to play in New Jersey on Wednesday before coming home again to face Guillaume Latendresse's Minnesota Wild on Thursday. That will be the Habs' last home game until Jan. 3.

Thrashers' Rich Peverley scores his team's second goal of the game against Canadiens' Carey Price Tuesday night. Phil Carpenter, The Gazette

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AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Carey Price I, II and III | Mike Cammalleri | Brian Gionta | Jaroslav Spacek

• At a Glance: It was a see-saw game that saw the Atlanta Thrashers blow 3-1 and 4-3 leads before eventually defeating the Canadiens 5-4 Tuesday night. Ondrej Pavelec, who was coming off a 50-stop performance in Ottawa, allowed four goals on 38 shots, but was one better than Carey Price, who was making his first start at home since Oct. 17. Price allowed five goals on 30 shots, but could not be faulted on several of the Atlanta goals. Bryan Little, Rich Peverly, Mark Popovic, Pavel Kubina and Colby Armstrong scored for the Thrashers. Brian Gionta scored a pair of goals for the Canadiens, who also got goals from Michael Cammalleri and Tomas Plekanec.

• Key Moments: Twice Montreal tied the game in the third period, and both times, the Thrashers wasted little time replying, with Colby Armstrong scoring the game winner only 34 seconds after Tomas Plekanec had scored to make it 4-4.

• What It Means: The Canadiens lost for the first time in six games at home, dropping to 5-3 at the Bell Centre.

• What's Next: The Canadiens travel to Boston for a game Thursday against their division rival, the Bruins. They return to Montreal to finish the week with a game against Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Alex Tanguay and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Oh, and the Bolts also have Steven Stamkos.

Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak makes the save as Maxim Lapierre contains Thrashers' Nik Antropov Tuesday night. John Kenney, The Gazette

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AUDIO: Brian Gionta | Mike Cammalleri | Scott Gomez | Marc-André Bergeron | Jacques Martin

• At a Glance: Jaroslav Halak was solid in nets for the Canadiens on Tuesday night, but as has been the case often so far this season, the netminder at the other end of the ice was just a little better. Only this game had a happy ending for once as the Canadiens pulled out a 2-1 shootout win, with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta sealing the deal to snap a five-game losing streak. They were able to beat Ondrej Pavelec, who played his junior hockey in the QMJHL, in the shootout after the young goaltender was stellar for 65 minutes, stopping 34 of 35 shots. Halak stopped 22 shots in only his second start of the season for the Canadiens. Gionta opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season - only the third time this season the Canadiens have scored the first goal of the game. Colby Armstrong, wallpapered Marc-André Bergeron behind the Canadiens net in the second period, tied the game early in the third period.

• Key Moments: The Canadiens failed to score on a power play for the final 2:35 of overtime, and went 0-for-5 with the man advantage. The good news is that the Canadiens shut down the Thrashers power play, the best in the NHL, on four tries.

• What It Means: The Canadiens finally won in front of their fans and improved to 3-5 on the season, with the new forwards playing a big role. If anything, it should take some pressure off the players and get things rolling in the right direction. However, the Canadiens have still not won a game in regulation time.

• What's Next: John Tavares and the New York Islanders are the next visitors to the Bell Centre, the fourth game of a six-game homestand for the Canadiens.

Canadiens' Alex Tanguay goes airborne after scoring the first of his two goals against Thrashers goaltender Kari Lehtonen Tuesday night. Allen McInnis, The Gazette 

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AUDIO:  Bob Gainey  Saku Koivu  Alex Tanguay  Carey Price

Before Tuesday night's game against the Atlanta Thrashers, GM/head coach Bob Gainey modified his lines again, reuniting three of his best players on the top line. And for one night at least, the changes paid off in a big as the Canadiens dropped the Thrashers 6-3.

Alex Tanguay and Alex Kovalev each scored two goals, while the third member of the top line, Saku Koivu, collected a goal and two assists as the Canadiens maintained their hold on eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with 83 points, two more than the Florida Panthers. In total, the line collected 11 points, including five goals.

The New York Rangers maintained their three-point cushion over the Canadiens in seventh spot as the won 2-1 against the Minnesota Wild. They now have 86 points, tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The victory also put an end to a five-game losing skid for the Canadiens, who have slipped from fifth spot to eighth since Gainey took over from Guy Carbonneau and have won only two games since the coaching change.

The power play was the big difference on this night, scoring three goals, all in the second period, as the Canadiens built a three-goal lead after Atlanta had tied the game 2-2 early in the second period.

AUDIO:  • Gainey  • Komisarek  • Higgins

Presumably because of the callup of Sergei Kostitsyn, the Canadiens today farmed Max Pacioretty back to the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs.

They could have kept him up, but clearly he'll get more ice time in Hamilton.

•  •  •

Lines at practice this morning:

Kovalev - Koivu - Tanguay
A. Kostitsyn - Plekanec - S. Kostitsyn
Latendresse - Lapierre - Kostopoulos
Higgins - Metropolit - Dandenault

Extras: Laraque, Stewart, D'Agostini

• No goaltending decision for Tuesday's game vs. Atlanta before tomorrow morning.

Thanks to digital imaging, everyone will be smiling in the Canadiens team photo to be taken at the Bell Centre Monday morning. But it might take some serious retouching.

Story continues here.

• Canadiens playing like they've already quit: Stubbs column
• Audio: Saturday's full postgame Koivu interview

Thrashers' Rich Peverley can't beat Canadiens goalie Carey Price Friday night in Atlanta. Scott Cunningham/NHLI
via Getty Images

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AUDIO:  Guy Carbonneau  Christopher Higgins  Tomas Plekanec  Alex Tanguay

Two nights after a poor outing in Buffalo, Canadiens goaltender came out with a solid performance against the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday night, but it still wasn't enough.

His teammates provided absolutely zero offence as the Thrashers beat the Canadiens 2-0. Price stopped all but one of the 27 shots he faced. Kari Lehtonen was one better, stopping all of the 25 shots he faced in the Thrashers net.

The only goal of the game against Price came during an Atlanta power play near the end of the first period. Bryan Little scored his 26th goal of the season with Ryan O'Byrne sitting in the penalty box, the Canadiens' fifth minor penaly of the first period. Rich Peverley scored into an empty net for the second goal.

Montreal has now lost two goals after winning four straight, and the Canadiens have now lost 18 goals on the road this season, which isn't good enough.

AUDIO:  • Carbo  • Koivu  • Higgins  • Halak I  • Halak II

The Canadiens had an optional workout at a rink in suburban Duluth but not before coach Guy Carbonneau skated the entire team for 28 minutes. He said the coaching staff wanted to send a message that they weren't happy with the team's effort in a 5-1 loss in Buffalo last night.

Georges Laraque, who suffered a back injury, didn't skate and his season appears over. 

Max Pacioretty took what was described as a therapy day. He said he was okay but he was limping as he went to the team bus. 

Alex Tanguay expects to resume playing against the Thrashers but goaltender Jaroslav Halakwill be a gametime decision. He said he's still tired after a weeklong battle with a virus which kept him out of the Buffalo game. 

Jaro Halak has rejoined his teammates in Atlanta.
John Mahoney, Gazette

Georges Laraque is out indefinitely with a lower back injury, the same ailment which kept him on the sidelines for six weeks after Christmas. Laraque left the game in Buffalo Wednesday after the second period. 

Goalie Jaro Halak, who missed last night's game in Buffalo with the flu, rejoined his team for the practice. Marc Denis was returned to Hamilton.

Mathieu Schneider, who was traded from Atlanta to Montreal three weeks ago, was excused from practice so that he could attend to some personal business while Max Pacioretty had what the team described as a therapy day. 

It's a good day to take off because coach Guy Carbonneau, who wasn't happy with the team's performance in the 5-1 loss in Buffalo, is running a practice that's long on skating and short on pucks. 

Pat Hickey sends this north from Duluth, Ga., where the Canadiens are practising today for tomorrow's game vs. the Atlanta Thrashers:

• Thrashers coach John Anderson
• Ron Hainsey
• Keri Lehtonen

Canadiens to come following their practice.

Canadiens goaltender Carey Price replaced Jaorslav Halak in the second period Tuesday night in Atlanta. REUTERS/Tami Chappell

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Audio:  Guy Carbonneau  Alex Kovalev  Jaroslav Halak  Carey Price

Jaroslav Halak, making his ninth straight start for the Canadiens, did not look good early on Tuesday night as he allowed two weak goals before the game was seven minutes old in Atlanta.

Erik Christensen opened the scoring at 5:02 with a wrist shot that found its way between Halak's arm and body.

Less than 90 seconds later, Chris Thorburn went through Halak's five-hole for a 2-0 Thrashers lead.

Rich Peverly mae it 3-0 for the Thrashers 3:48 into the second period and that was the end of Halak's night. He was replaced by Carey Price, who was scheduled to make his first start in 10 games on Wednesday night in New Jersey.

Goaltender Carey Price, captain Saku Koivu and forward Christopher Higgins all are with the Canadiens on their road trip for back-to-back games in Atlanta and New Jersey tomorrow and Wednesday.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that any of the three will see action.

Head coach Guy Carbonneau said after practice today that, based on the way his team has been playing, he's in no hurry to rush anyone back into the lineup. Not with another few days off on the horizon in the form of the all-star break.

It seems likely that Price will start one of the two games. It also seems likely he'll get the green light to play in the all-star game, though Carbo hopes he'll stick to his 20 minutes and not take part in the skills competition. Koivu and Higgins skated full practices today and both looked good.

Georges Laraque skated before the full session but will not travel. Nor will Alex Tanguay (not on the ice) and Mathieu Dandenault (who skated just a few minutes of the practice).

The Canadiens returned goaltender Marc Denis to the Hamilton Bulldogs yesterday.

The move clears the way for the return of Carey Price this week, Price expected to be in uniform tomorrow night in Atlanta. Captain Saku Koivu and forward Christopher Higgins should be back soon.

More to come from the team's late morning practice in Brossard.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price gets in front of an Atlanta Thrashers shot.
Dave Sandford, NHLI via Getty Images

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AUDIO:   Carbo   Saku Koivu   Tomas Plekanec  
Matt D'Agostini   Andrei Kostitsyn 

Home, sweet home. For two periods. And then...

The Canadiens blew a 3-0 lead, pulled ahead 5-3 then hung on desperately to defeat the visiting Atlanta Thrashers 5-4 in a game that was much more exciting than it had reason to be.

Matt D'Agostini's first NHL goal, a screaming slap shot by Tomas Plekanec and an opportunistic power-play rebound cashed by Andrei Markov off a shot by point-man Robert Lang (!) had given the Canadiens a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes.

The Habs seemed to be fully in control over the bottom-feeding Thrashers. And then...

With goalie Carey Price not quite 14 minutes from his second shutout of the season, former Habs defenceman Ron Hainsey blasted in a shot from a couple strides inside the blue line at 6:28 of the third period. The Habs were a man short on the ice, caught in a sloppy line change. And then...

Neil Young reacts upon hearing that the Maple Leafs had scored last night in Los Angeles. Just kidding. He's in full flight during his Bell Centre concert.
Marie-France Coallier, Gazette

A shuffle in the Canadiens lineup at the Bell Centre announced this morning, as the strains of last night's marvellous Neil Young concert still rung through the rafters of the arena:

Forwards Sergei Kostitsyn and Guillaume Latendresse are in the press box tonight for the game against the Atlanta Thrashers. Alex Tanguay (neck) and Georges Laraque (groin) are back in, having missed a respective two and four games, while defenceman Ryan O'Byrne sits for his second straight, keeping Mathieu Dandenault on the blue line.

Head coach Guy Carbonneau would much, much rather talk about the guys who are in than those who are out. You'll hear that in his words and in his tone of voice.

Little chance we'd be talking to either Kostitsyn or Latendresse; the dressing room was closed to the media before they appeared after the morning skate.

Lines for tonight, with injured defenceman Mike Komisarek a game-time decision re: his return behind the bench as an assistant coach:

Andrei Kostitsyn-Saku Koivu-Matt D'Agostini
Christopher Higgins-Robert Lang-Alex Kovalev
Alex Tanguay-Tomas Plekanec-Tom Kostopoulos
Steve Bégin-Maxim Lapierre-Georges Laraque

Here's some pregame audio following the Canadiens' morning skate:

• Carbo English   • Carbo French   • Koivu   • D'Agostini