Boston Bruins

The Bruins' bench reels back after Canadiens' Travis Moen checked Boston defenceman Johnny Boychuk during the first period Saturday night. Dave Sidaway, The Gazette

Preview | Matchups | Saturday's NHL schedule | Boone's Game Blog and About last night ... | Stubbs on Twitter | Hickey's game story

AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Jaro Halak | Sergei Kostitsyn | Dominic Moore (talking at first about his alma mater, Harvard)

• At a Glance: For the first time this season, the Canadiens have won five straight games after defeating the Boston Bruins 3-2 Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Jaroslav Halak got the win, his 22nd of the season, making 21 saves on the night. The Canadiens got a pair of goals from Sergei Kostitsyn after Andrei Markov opened the scoring 6:02 into the first period with a power-play goal. Blake Wheeler scored early in the second period for the Bruins and Milan Lucic made it 3-2 with about eight minutes to play, making for a nail-biting finish.

• Key Moments: With a few minutes to play, Halak made an excellent save on Marco Sturm, robbing the Bruins forward of what look liked a sure goal and preserving the Montreal win.

• What It Means: Montreal improves to 35-29-6 for 76 points, still tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. The win also opens up a four-point gap between the Canadiens and Bruins, who hold down the eighth spot.

• What's Next: The Canadiens have a relatively light week coming up with a game Tuesday in New York against the Rangers and then to Toronto to take on the the Maple Leafs next Saturday.

The Canadiens return to practice in Brossard this morning following last night's too-close 5-4 shootout win over the lowly but very game Edmonton Oilers. The Habs are scheduled to hit the ice at 11:30 a.m. in a practice that, as usual, is open to the public.

The Boston Bruins, meanwhile, will hold a practice of their own at 1 p.m. at the downtown Bell Centre; that's not open to the public.

Locked in a playoff-berth battle, the Canadiens play host to the Bruins tomorrow night.

Questions surely to be asked of head coach Jacques Martin today: Who gets the start in goal (he surely won't answer that until tomorrow), and where does centreman Maxim Lapierre, returning tomorrow following a four-game suspension, fit into a lineup that has now won four straight games and seeks a season-high five against the Bruins?

As our spiritual leader Red Fisher might say: Stay tuned.

Canadiens goaltender Carey Price makes a save against Bruins' Blake Wheeler in the first period Tuesday night. Brian Snyder, Reuters

Gazette Preview | Matchups | Tuesday's NHL schedule | Boone's Game Blog and About last night ... | Stubbs on Twitter | Pat Hickey's game story

AUDIO: Carey Price | Glen Metropolit I and II | Mathieu Darche | Jacques Martin

• At a Glance: The Canadiens got back to the business of earning a playoff berth on Tuesday night and downed the Boston Bruins 4-1 with Carey Price in nets. Montreal trailed for most of this game after Marco Sturm scored on the power play 12:11 into the opening period. After a mediocre first period, the Candiens played a better second period before turning it on in the third period. Glen Metropolit tied the game 1-1 2:40 into the third period, beating Tuukka Rask with a slap shot. Maxim Lapierre made it 2-1 five minutes later. Mathieu Darche, who assisted on the Metropolit goal, but the game away with a goal on a rebound from Metropolit with 2:30 to play. Benoit Pouliot capped off the scoring into an empty net at the 18:33 mark. Carey Price made 23 saves in what was a solid game after that first period goal. Rask faced 32 Montreal shots and fell apart in the third.

• Key Moments: The Canadiens killed off three Boston power plays after allowing that opening goal, allowing them the chance to get back into the game for the win.

• What It Means: The Canadiens improve to 30-28-6 and now have 66 points, one more than the Bruins. The Canadiens now hold seventh spot in the Eastern Conference, but the Bruins have three games in hand.

• What's Next: The Canadiens fly to San Jose on Wednesday as the NHL trade deadline approaches at 3 p.m. Eastern. After that, the Canadiens play the Sharks on Thursday (10:30 p.m.), the Kings on Satirday (10 p.m.) and the Anaheim Ducks and Saku Koivu on Sunday (8 p.m.)

Bruins' Blake Wheeler and Canadiens' Ryan O'Byrne exchange pleasantries during Sunday's first period.
Christinne Muschi, Reuters

Preview | Matchups | Sunday's NHL schedule | Boone's Game Blog and About last night ... | Stubbs on Twitter | Pat Hickey's game story

• AUDIO: Tomas Plekanec | Brian Gionta | Jaroslav Spacek

• At a Glance: A super Sunday but, alas, only for the Bruins, with a goaltender other than the Canadiens' Jaroslav Halak stealing the show. Riding a 10-game winless streak, one more loss from tying a franchise record for futility, Boston scored twice in the first period then held on for a 3-0 victory over the Habs at the Bell Centre. Adam McQuaid scored the first goal of his career to open the scoring at 17:32, that coming on a heavy-traffic slapper, then Marco Sturm beat Halak with less than four seconds on the clock, a deflected puck landing on Sturm's stick with Halak moving the other way. The second period was all Montreal's, the Habs outshooting their visitors 15-3, but Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, who made 36 saves to Halak's 24, was equal to them all. Sturm salted the game away midway through the third, his snap shot deflecting off defenceman Josh Gorges's stick past Halak.

• Key Moments: Sturm's goal in the last gasp of the first period. And Rask, who was dominant throughout, twice robbing Tomas Plekanec in the second, first with a glove grab, then later on a breakaway with a terrific right-pad stop.

• What It Means: With a win, Montreal could have pulled three points ahead of Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference standings. Even with the loss, however, the Habs remain in sixth place, their 62 points one ahead of the Lightning but with Tampa holding three games in hand.

• What's Next: The Canadiens return to action at home on Wednesday vs. the Washington Capitals of Alexander Ovechkin, who scored a hat trick and assisted Sunday in the Caps' 5-4 overtime win over Pittsburgh – Washington's 14th (!) straight win. Montreal then plays back-to-back Friday and Saturday against the Flyers, opening in Philadelphia then at the Bell Centre to send themselves into the Olympic break.

Canadiens' Brian Gionta scores the winning goal in the shootout Thursday night on Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask. Adam Hunger, Reuters

Preview | Matchups | Thursday's NHL schedule | Boone's Game Blog and About last night ... | Stubbs on Twitter | Pat Hickey's game story

AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Brian Gionta | Jaro Halak | Josh Gorges | Glen Metropolit | Roman Hamrlik

• At a Glance: For the second straight game, Jaroslav Halak faced more than 40 shots on goal and once again, he was the difference for the Canadiens as they stole two points in Boston with a 3-2 shootout win over the Bruins on Thursday night. Two nights after making 45 saves against the Vancouver Canucks, Halak stopped 45 Boston shots while his teammates could muster only 25 shots on Tuukka Rask. Mark Recchi scored his 11th of the season on the power play in the first period, during which the Bruins outshot Montreal 15-5. Blake Wheeler made it 2-0 early in the second period and it looked like they were on their way to an easy win. But the Canadiens scored two goals within 39 seconds near the end of the second period to tie things up. Glen Metropolit scored his 11th of the season on a power play, his first goal since December. Roman Hamrlik tied it 2-2 with a shot that Rask couldn't see thanks to Mathieu Darche being parked in the goaltender's crease. Brian Gionta scored the winning goal in the shootout with a great move and a backhand shot under the crossbar.

• Key Moments: The Canadiens were able to kill off a Boston power play in overtime, and limited the Bruins to only one goal in six man advantages. Montreal was 1-for-2 on the power play.

• What It Means: Montreal improves to 27-25-6 for 60 points, moving the Canadiens into sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal also puts some distance between themselves and the Bruins, who are at 56 points but have three games in hand. The Bruins have now lost nine straight games.

• What's Next: The Canadiens are back home for afternoon games this weekend with the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre on Saturday and the Bruins in Montreal on Super Bowl Sunday.

• AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Roman Hamrlik | Bruins coach Claude Julien | Patrice Bergeron | Steve Bégin

The Canadiens are in Boston to take on the Bruins tonight. A few words, then, from the dressing rooms after morning skate, culled by The Gazette's Pat Hickey.

(Retracting earlier claim... that wasn't Hick's lucky sweater, so I've unlinked the photo.)

Canadiens goalie Carey Price makes a great save on Bruins' Marco Sturm during the first period on Friday night. Allen McInnis, The Gazette

NHL Preview | Matchups | Friday's NHL schedule | Boone's Game Blog and About last night ... | Stubbs on Twitter | Hickey's game story

• POSTGAME AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Mike Cammalleri | Carey Price | Hal Gill | Josh Gorges | Ryan O'Byrne | Max Pacioretty

• PREGAME AUDIO (special thanks to Andie Bennett of Team 990, who supplies this): Jacques Martin | Max Pacioretty | Hal Gill | Josh Gorges | Ryan White | Bruins coach Claude Julien | Michael Ryder | Steve Bégin

• At a Glance: After a ceremony that onty the Canadiens could pull off, one that brought together the greats of the past for one last skate around the rink, the 2009-10 edition of the Canadiens got down to work against the Boston Bruins. And after two straight poor efforts, they could ill afford another one and, thankfully, they came out flying in a 5-1 win over the Bruins. Jaroslav Spacek opened the scoring in the first period with a blast that beat Tim Thomas. The Canadiens exploded for four goals in the second period, with Michael Cammalleri scoring a hat trick and Glen Metropolit tapping in a Hal Gill pass for his sixth goal of the year. Vladimir Sobotka scored the only Boston goal against Carey Price, who was excellent in the Montreal net with 37 saves. Cammalleri has 15 goals on the season, including two hat tricks, and is among the NHL goal-scoring leaders.

• Key Moments: The Canadiens killed off a two-man disadvantage that lasted a full two minutes early in the second period and Cammalleri potted the first of his goals less than a minute later, opening the floodgates for Montreal.

• What It Means: The Canadiens snapped a four-game losing streak and improved their record to 13-14-2 on the season. Montreal is 2-0 against the Bruins this season.

• What's Next: A rare Saturday off for the Canadiens before they welcome the Philadelphia Flyers to the Bell Centre on Monday. Next week, the Habs also play the Senators in Ottawa, face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Montreal and travel to Atlanta to play the Thrashers on Saturday.

• AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Andrei Kostitsyn | Scott Gomez | Carey Price | Hal Gill

The Canadiens practised today in Brossard then headed to Buffalo, where they'll meet the Sabres Thursday. It's immediately back to Montreal after that, for the much-trumpeted 100th anniversary game vs. the Boston Bruins on Friday at the Bell Centre.

Andrei Kostitsyn expects to be back in the lineup, his foot injury healed, while Hal Gill, recovering from a hairline foot fracture, should be ready to go vs. Buffalo or Boston, coach's choice.

Canadiens' Glen Metropolit scores on Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas Thursday night. Brian Snyde, Reuters

Gazette Preview | Thursday's NHL Schedule | Matchups | Mike Boone's Game Blog and About last night ... | Pat Hickey's game story

• At a Glance: The Canadiens defeated the Bruins for the first time in 10 games Thursday night, and Carey Price won for the first time since Oct. 3 against the Buffalo Sabres, but it took longer than they would have liked. The Canadiens grabbed a 1-0 lead on a Glen Metropolit goal near the end of the first period and held on until the games final minute. That is when Patrice Bergeron beat Price, the only time he would be beaten in the 2-1 shootout win. Price stopped 42 of 43 shots and all three shooters in the shootout, while Mike Cammalleri beat Tim Thomas to give Montreal the win. It was a 50th career win for Price.

• Key Moments: The Bruins had a goal disallowed near the end of the second period when the puck crossed the goal line after slidding under the side of the net, which had been lifted off the ice by players battling in front of the net.

• What It Means: The Habs won for the first time on the road since Oct. 3 in Buffalo.

• What's Next: The Canadiens return home to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

For the Canadiens game against the Bruins tonight, we are implementing a new feature at Habsinsideout that we will use during certain games this season. Powered by coveritlive, the chat will allow readers to comment and discuss the game with each other.

Of course, Mike Boone will still be doing his game blog, and this is not meant to replace that, nor could it.

Keep in mind that the comments on the coveritlve chat will be monitored and approved by me, so keep it clean.

The chat will go live at 7 p.m.

Bruins goalie Gilles Gilbert can still see Guy Lafleur winding up.
Steve Babineau, NHLI vis Getty Images

Today's fan recalls the Habs' 6-5 comeback victory over the New York Rangers on Feb. 19, 2008 as the greatest in team history. Purely from a deficit point of view, it was that.

But our friend Robert Lefebvre offers his usually exhaustive look back to a comeback that truly was meaningful, the Canadiens' victory over the Boston Bruins on April 8, 1971, during the first round of the playoffs.

Different time, different team. But with the Habs in Boston tonight, the timing is ideal to remember this.

And here's a walk down memory lane with former Bruins goalie Gilles Gilbert, who was in goal on May 10, 1979, the night of the famous/infamous too-many-men game in which the Habs stormed back late to stave off elimination, then went on to win their 22nd Stanley Cup.

Guy Lafleur at the Montreal Forum as a Quebec Nordique (photo chosen in honour of Habs visit tonight to the provincial capital).
Denis Brodeur, NHLI via Getty Images

So, tonight you can tune in to the Canadiens vs. the Boston Bruins at 7 pm ET on RDS for the cost of your cable subscription.

Or a half-hour later, if you can tune in Indigo, you can check out a French-language pay-per-view celebration of the 58th birthday of Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur.

The hockey game you know about, the Canadiens hoping to end their one-game preseason losing streak.

Here's a little more about the Lafleur thing, which will set you back 10 bucks in standard definition, $12 in HD:

Lafleur's 58 years will be feted live by 800 guests from Mel's Studio in Montreal, people the press release says are from all walks of life.

Four teams will test their knowledge of Lafleur in this love-in – Jean Béliveau will captain the Canadiens squad, with Gilbert Dionne, Raymond Bourque and Marcel Dionne respectively leading the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings.

The rivalry the Canadiens have with the Bruins is something very special, of course. Can't wait to see how Steve Bégin looks in the black and gold.

Comes word from the Boston Globe, news of this spotted on the always excellent kuklaskorner.com, that the Bruins have a new advertising agency for the coming season, and we'll be seeing more of its aggressive marketing bear. Where Youppi! will kill you with kindness, the big bruin will hurt you with a slap upside the head.

You'll never get tired of this commercial, which aired last season:

Bruins goalie Gerry Cheevers clears the puck during a 1970s Forum game, his nemesis, John Ferguson, in hot pursuit in the background.
Denis Brodeur, NHLI via Getty Images

Bruins Hall of Famer Gerry Cheevers is pulling for Boston netminder Tim Thomas as the B's head into Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinal tomorrow night against the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Banknorth Garden.

And why wouldn't he be? The two goalies share jersey numbers, a goaltending style that wouldn't win a beauty contest and physiques that would scare the judges of the swimsuit competition.

Cheevers earned two of his eight career playoff shutouts against the Canadiens, enjoying good success against Yvan Cournoyer but loathing John Ferguson.

He's not even displeased that he yielded the only overtime goal scored by Jean Béliveau.

A visit with Cheesie, one of the Bruins greats who has many memorable links to the Canadiens.

Michael Ryder was a shadow of his talented self two seasons ago under Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau in Montreal. This season? Wow.
Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

From a dismal year in Montreal two seasons ago, having fallen out of favour with Canadiens management and demoted to the pressbox, to a rebirth this year in Boston, scoring 27 goals and adding 26 assists. And a staggering plus-28.

Now former Canadien Michael Ryder has five goals and four assists in five playoff games in 2008-09, including four goals in a four-game sweep of the overmatched Habs.

Last night, Ryder scored a beauty against Carolina goalie Cam Ward, a bullet under the crossbar that prompted TSN analyst Pierre McGuire to comment on his natural goal-scoring ability and wonder aloud whether the Canadiens simply didn't know how to manage this gifted player.

Flashing back to summertime and autumn visits with Ryder, who's one of the great stories of the season under Bruins coach Claude Julien:

• Have Bruins found their new sniper?: Boston Globe's Dupont
• As exhibition season opens, Ryder still wonders what went wrong with Habs: Stubbs

And after last night's romp over the Hurricanes, in which the Bruins showed no signs of rust after their hasty dispatch of the Canadiens:

• Ryder puts game in high gear (with video): Boston Globe's Michael Whitmer

Bruins' David Krejci celebrates the second goal against Canadiens goalie Carey Price  as Ryan O'Byrne drags the puck
from the net Wednesday night.
Allen McInnis, The Gazette

Preview | Rosters | Tale of the Tape | Play-by-Play | Faceoffs | Game Summary | Event Summary | Boone

MORNING-SKATE AUDIO: See post below.
POSTGAME AUDIO:  Saku Koivu  Glen Metropolit  Mike Komisarek  Christopher Higgins  Georges Laraque  Alex Tanguay  Alex Kovalev

• At a Glance: For the second straight game, the Canadiens scored first and just like Monday night, the Bruins stormed back to defeat the Canadiens 4-1 Wednesday night to eliminate Montreal 4-0 in the first round of the NHL playoffs. Andrei Kostitsyn scored a quick goal for the Canadiens only 39 seconds into the game. But the Bruins scored four unanswered goals on Carey Price, who at one point raised his arms to the fans after they cheered a routine save after the fourth goal. Former Canadien Michael Ryder did it to his old team again, scored his third and fourth goal of the series, as well as collecting an assist on David Krejci's goal with 35 seconds left in the first period, only two minutes after Ryder tied the score 1-1. Phil Kessel also scored his fourth goal of the series as he was sent in alone as he came out of the penalty box 11:58 into the second period. Ryder then scored his second of the game 45 seconds later.

• Key Moments: The Bruins scored two quick goals in the final three minutes of the first period and never looked back.

• What It Means: The Bruins advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs, while the Canadiens will head home for the summer.

• What's Next: A summer full of questions and searching for answers as to what went wrong during the centennial season. The Canadiens have a long list of unrestricted free agents and the 2009-10 edition of the team could look vastly different.

AUDIO (count the clichés!):  • Gainey  • Julien (French, then English)  • Gorges 1  • Gorges 2  • Latendresse  • Ryder  • Wheeler (begins speaking about Calder Trophy consideration)

Canadiens defenceman Mathieu Schneider took part in today's morning skate, but coach Bob Gainey says he's not ready to return to action. Forward Alex Tanguay did not skate, but Gainey said his participation tonight is a game-time decision. Carey Price is in goal.

Gainey said he'll have no "win one for the Gipper" speech à la Knute Rockne tonight, but the job at hand is simple: win or the Canadiens are out.

Lucky Habs shirt. Second lucky Habs shirt on top of the other lucky Habs shirt. Lucky socks. Lucky underwear.
Anyone else? Go Habs Go!

The Boston Bruins can put an inglorious end to the Canadiens' 100th season tonight with a victory over the Canadiens in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Updates coming in a few hours from both team's game-day skates at the Bell Centre. To put you in the mood, or not:

• Everything is possible, Koivu says: Hickey
• Voltaire? How about Otter from Animal House?: Stubbs
• Booing U.S. anthem is classless: Hickey
• Bruins glad for Wheeler's turnaround: Zurkowsky
• Boston Globe's Bruins site
• Boston Herald's Bruins site
• Bish's Blog at bostonbruins.com

Former Canadien Michael Ryder's goal, the ultimate winner, rolls back out of Carey Price's net last night.
Allen McInnis, Gazette

Cold, windy rain sweeps Montreal this morning, perfectly capturing the mood of the Canadiens fans who soon will have their Formula One Grand Prix to look forward too. Oh wait, that's been swept out of town, too.

Hickey will cover today's Canadiens practice, while Stubbs and Zurkowsky head to the Bruins skate (they need one?). 

But in the meantime: to help you digest last night's 4-2 Boston Bruins victory, the Canadiens now on the brink of summer:

• Habs need 100th playoff win over Boston to survive: Stubbs
• Canadiens pushed to the brink: Hickey
• Learning experience for Habs: Fisher
• Ryder was made for Bruins: Zurkowsky
• Suspended Lucic disappointed with himself: Zurkowsky
• Boston Globe Bruins' section
• Boston Herald Bruins section

Canadiens' Christopher Higgins checks Bruins defenceman Dennis Wideman during first peiod of Game 3 Monday night.
John Mahoney, The Gazette

Preview | Rosters | Tale of the Tape | Play-by-Play | Faceoffs | Game Summary | Event Summary | Boone

POSTGAME AUDIO:  Bob Gainey  Christopher Higgins  Saku Koivu  Yannick Weber  Claude Julien

• At a Glance:  The Canadiens came out flying for Game 3 Monday night before their fans at the Bell Centre and managed to score the first goal, but not even that was enough to prevent Montreal from falling behind 3-0 to the Boston Bruins in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Christopher Higgins, with his second of the series, opened the scoring before Phil Kessel scored near the end of the first period on a deflection after a bad giveaway by Mike Komisarek in the defensive zone. Shawn Thornton for the Bruins and Yannick Webber for the Canadiens each scored their first career postseason goals for a 2-2 game before Michael Ryder pounced on a rebound with less than three minutes to play in the second to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead, one they would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Canadiens had their chances on the power play, but came up empty in three opportunities, while the Bruins went 0-for-1. Trailing by a goal, the Canadiens managed only five third-period shots on Tim Thomas, who looked shaky on the two goals he allowed. Chuck Kobasek capped the scoring into an empty net.

• Key Moments: Michael Ryder’s goal late in the second period – the second of the series against his former team – was the difference as the Canadiens generated little in the way of scoring chances in the third period.

• What It Means: The Canadiens are one loss away from seeing their centennial season end in disappointment after high hopes heading into the year following their first-place finish in the Eastern Conference last season.

• What's Next: Games 4 goes Wednesday night in Montreal and should the Canadiens manage to win, Game 5 would be Saturday night in Boston. If not, it’s to the golf course until next season.

• More on the Bruins, including audio, courtesy of our friend John Bishop at bostonbruins.com

From The Gazette's Herb Zurkowsky:

A repentant Milan Lucic said he has no choice but to respect the one-game suspension he received Sunday from the National Hockey League after being ejected from last Saturday's game against the Canadiens.

Lucic, the big and tough Boston winger, received a minor and match penalty late in the third period for cross-checking Montreal centre Maxim Lapierre. Lucic was expected to be replaced on the roster by rookie Byron Bitz when the teams play the third game of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series, tonight at the Bell Centre. The Bruins have won the opening two games in the best-of-seven series.

Continue reading "Repentant Lucic abides by suspension" »

This is just thinking aloud, nothing more:

Carey Price was on Bell Centre morning-skate ice fve minutes before Jaro Halak. Price has taken the net at the end the Canadiens will defend for two periods, which more often than not is where the night's starting goaltender warms up.

All of which might be one more way the Canadiens will attempt to throw journalists, and the spying Bruins, off for just a while longer.

Confirmation expected to come from Bob Gainey by noon.

In other roster news, former trainer Eddy Palchak is behind the Canadiens bench, so look for a shakeup there. (Eddy's there, but just kidding on the other part.)

Bob Gainey... "What, me worry?"
Marie-France Coallier, Gazette

Bob Gainey called it "pivotal." If the Canadiens coach had consulted thesaurus.com, he also could have called it "all-important,  basic, binding, bottom-line,  cardinal, chief, compelling, compulsory, crucial, de rigueur, decisive, elementary, exigent, expedient, fundamental, imperative, incumbent  on,  indispensable, mandatory, momentous, name of game, needed, needful, obligatory, paramount, prerequisite, pressing, prime, principal, quintessential, required, requisite, significant, specified, unavoidable, urgent, vital, wanted."

To cut to the chase: the Canadiens need to win tonight's Game 3 if they hope to have any kind of even reasonable chance of rallying past the Boston Bruins in the teams' Eastern Conference quarterfinal.

We'll be at both clubs' morning skates at the Bell Centre this morning. Watch this space for updates.

Some reading until then:

• Listen to the coach, Gainey pleads: Zurkowsky
• Discipline is the key to Habs chances: Stubbs
• Bruins puzzled by Lucic suspension: Hickey
• Boston marathon of different kind for Habs: Globe and Mail's MacGregor
• Boston Globe Bruins section
• Boston Herald Bruins section

The first two playoff games down in Boston have been humbling affairs for our Montreal Canadiens. They were soundly out-muscled and clearly out-played. The Bruins played well in Game 1 and they played damn well in Game 2. The Habs played decently in Game 1 and piss-poor on Saturday. Game 3 will truly show what these 2008-2009 Montreal Canadiens are made of.
We’re down 2-0. We were given a good spanking on Saturday. And now, at home, we can prove that we deserve to still be competing.
We need to redeem ourselves. We need to claw back into this series. We need to take advantage of a Lucic-less Boston team.
Continue reading "From Milan to Montreal" »

AUDIO:  • Gainey  • Hamrlik 1  • Hamrlik 2  • Gorges 1  • Gorges 2 (begins speaking about Price being replaced by Halak for Saturday's third period)

No words yet on who plays goal tomorrow. Decision likely coming after Monday's morning skate.

Defenceman Andrei Markov and centreman Robert Lang skated today. Bob Gainey says neither is ready to return. No word on defenceman Francis Bouillon, but he seems a longshot at best for Game 3.

No practice today; the team worked out in the gym.

Bruins forward Milan Lucic has been suspended for tomorrow night's game for his blow to the head of Maxim Lapierre in the waning moments of Saturday's Game 2 in Boston.

Saturday night, here's what Bruins coach Claude Julien said, as reported by the Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa:

"(Lucic) might have lost his composure a little bit in that area. But you have to remember that he got elbowed in the head, then high-sticked by (Mathieu) Schneider. Then Lapierre comes in – Lapierre who's been an instigator throughout the whole series, and even during the regular season – and what Looch did was react at him coming at him. It wasn't premeditated. In reviewing it, he hit him with his glove. He had his stick in his hands, but his glove hit his helmet. Had his stick hit him in the head, I think Lapierre would have been down. But Lapierre stayed up and kept going at Looch. If there's one thing, I know it certainly wasn't premeditated."

It might take more than a shuffling of the deck chairs on this Titanic to make a difference. But strange things do happen in the playoffs, right?

The Canadiens will gather at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard this afternoon, a practice to be determined, after last night's 5-1 pasting at the hands of the Boston Bruins.

The Habs might be thumbing through the record book to remember that, in 2004, they fell behind the Bruins 2-0 and 3-1 in their quarterfinal series and still rallied to win in seven games. (They were then swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning, the eventual Stanley Cup champion, in four semifinal games, but that's beside the point.)

Inside/Out will head to Brossard this afternoon and check in with details later. Pat Hickey will report from the Bruins camp as well.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price watches the third period, having been pulled after surrendering five goals.
Brian Snider, Reuters

Preview | Rosters | Tale of the Tape | Play-by-Play | Faceoffs | Game Summary | Event Summary | Boone

POSTGAME AUDIO: 
• Gainey  • Higgins  • Lapierre  • Schneider

• At a Glance: One goaltender made the saves when he had to, the other did not and that was the difference in a 5-1 Bruins win over the Canadiens on Saturday night. At one end, Bruins' Tim Thomas made some key saves when he had to, while Carey Price was beaten five times - several of them the weak variety - before being replaced by Jaroslav Halak for the third period. The Bruins scored three power-play goals on five opportunities. Marc Savard scored twice and added a pair of assists, while Chuck Kobasew, Michael Ryder and Shane Hnidy also scored for the Bruins, Hnidy was added to the lineup after Matt Hunwick was rushed to hospital Saturday morning and underwent surgery to remove his spleen. Later in the day, his teammate used surgical precision to deliver what could be a fatal blow to the Canadiens playoff run. If there was one bright spot for the Habs, it was Halak, who stopped all five shots he faced in the third. Alex Kovalev was the only Montreal player to slip one past Thomas with a perfect shot only 46 seconds into the second period. After that, it was all downhill for Montreal. Near the end of the game, Milan Lucic cross-checked Maxim Lapierre in the head during a scrum in front of the Montreal net. Lucic was given seven minutes in penalties and could well have a meeting with NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell, further punishment possible.

• Key Moments: After seeing the Canadiens close the gap to 2-1, the Bruins exploded for three goals in the second period and put the game - and quite possibly the series - to rest.

• What It Means: The Canadiens have lost their last six games, regular season included, and would have to win four of the next five games to upset the Bruins, who lead the series 2-0 and have dominated the Canadiens.

• What's Next: Games 3 and 4 of the series goes Monday and Wednesday nights. Game 5, if necessary, would be on Saturday, April 25 back in Boston.

Good thing Bob Gainey cancelled today’s game-day skate. The Habs will need every ounce of available energy for tonight’s game. The Canadiens definitely played a solid game on Thursday, but the physical play took its toll by the third period.
But then, if you’re going to war with the Big Bad Bruins and in your trenches you’ve got 3 defensemen over the age of 35 (Hamrlik – 35; Brisebois – 38; Schneider – 39) a 34 year-old under-sized number 1 center (who is, by the way, a cancer survivor) and an impact forward who is 36, you got to be expecting some huffing and puffing.
If the Habs want to steal one in Beantown, they’re gonna need to load up on the RedBull in between periods. Continue reading "Tonight’s Game Sponsored by RedBull" »