Pittsburgh Penguins

Tomas Plekanec celebrates his first-minute, first-period goal against Pittsburgh.
Francois Lacasse, NHLI via Getty Images

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AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Mathieu Darche | Brian Gionta | Ryan White | Brock Trotter

• At a Glance: The Canadiens were missing two more key players thanks to injuries and played with a fourth line made up of three members of the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. But they found a way to defeat the defending Stanley Cup champions 5-3 at the Bell Centre, a third straight win for Montreal. With Benoit Pouliot and Marc-André Bergeron placed on the injured reserve list, David Desharnais, Brock Trotter and Ryan White were called up and played on a line together Saturday, arguably the best one on the ice for either team. Tomas Plekanec opened the scoring 29 seconds into the game when Marc-André Fleury was knocked down behind the net by Mathieu Darche, leaving the net wide open. Pascal Dupuis got that one back 33 seconds later on a rebound given up by Jaroslav Halak after a great save on Jordan Staal. Brian Gionta scored on a breakaway in the second and Scott Gomez made it 3-1 midway through the second with a power-play goal. Bill Guerin made it 3-2 before the period was over, but Darche scored seven minutes into the third with a slapshot from the faceoff circle, chasing Fleury. Gionta scored his second of the game with nine minutes to play on Brent Johnson, who took Fleury's place. Evgeni Malkin made it 5-3 with three minutes to play with a shorthanded goal seconds after he left the penalty box. It was the first time Montreal defeated the Penguins this season, who had outscored the Canadiens 12-4 in the previous three meetings.

• Key Moments: With the game tied 1-1, the Canadiens killed off three Pittsburgh power plays and Gionta scored 13 seconds after the end of the third penalty in the second period.

• What It Means: Montreal solidified its hold on sixth place in the Eastern Conferece with 62 points (28-25-6), three points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. That could change later Saturday as both teams are in action.

• What's Next: The Canadiens play the Bruins on Sunday in the second half of their weekend matinées. The red-hot Washington Capitals are in town on Wednesday and then the Canadiens play a home-and-home series against the Philadelphia Flyers Friday and Saturday before heading into the Olympic break.

Canadiens left-winger Sergei Kostitsyn can't get at the loose puck as Penguins goalie Marc-André Fleury smothers the puck during first period Thursday night. Dave Sidaway, The Gazette

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AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Mike Cammalleri | Jaro Spacek | Josh Gorges | Scott Gomez | Roman Hamrlik

• At a Glance: The Canadiens put in a good effort against one of the best teams in the NHL Thursday night, but they came up just short in a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canadiens thought they had tied the game late in the third period, but the goal was waved off by referee Chris Less who whistled the play dead before the puck crossed the line. Replays showed the puck was clearly loose and Lee was in a horrible position to see the puck. We can add that to the Chris Less guide of how to be an awful NHL referee. Sergei Gonchar opened the scoring for the Penguins, who also got goals from Matt Cooke and Pascal Dupuis. The Canadiens scorers were Matt D'Agostini and Roman Hamrlik. Carey Price faced 41 shots, stopping 38 of them. His counterpart, Marc-André Fleury was far less occupied, facing only 21 shots.

• Key Moments: After making 35 stops on 37 shots up to that point, Price allowed a fluke goal by Pascal Dupuis with less than seven minutes to play in the game.

• What It Means: The Penguins snapped a two-game losing streak with the win, which handed Montreal its first loss in four games.

• What's Next: The Canadiens visit Atlanta on Saturday night and the Buffalo Sabres are in town next Monday. Also next week, the Canadiens are in New Jersey on Wednesday, host the Minnesota Wild and Guillaume Latendresse on Thursday and visit Long Island to play the Islanders on Dec. 19.

You needn't be a meterologist to know that this Environment Canada satellite map of this morning doesn't suggest imminent sunshine over Montreal.

Montreal's first snowstorm of the season, pounding the city at this hour, has played havoc with the Pittsburgh Penguins' travel plans.

Tomorrow night's Bell Centre visitor had an 11:30 am practice scheduled today in Montreal. But Penguins communications director Jennifer Bullano tells Inside/Out that their 8:30 charter flight out of Pittsburgh this morning, where it was just raining, was cancelled an hour before departure when the team was advised it would be unable to land in Montreal.

The Penguins instead practise today at home.

They hope to finally get into Montreal early this evening – good luck to them on that, the way the storm is raging now, backing up flights by the minute – and will take part in their game-day skate tomorrow morning at the Bell.

Canadiens' Travis Moen checks the Penguins' Martin Skoula off the puck Wednesday night. Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

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AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Paul Mara | Mike Cammalleri | Sergei Kostitsyn | David Desharnais

• At a Glance: You knew that eventually all the injuries were going to catch up to the Canadiens and they finally did Wednesday night in a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Andrei Kostitsyn was the latest injury, hurt blocking a shot on Tuesday night, and he was added to a list that includes Markov, Gionta, Gomez, Gill, D'Agostini and Spacek. With a lineup made up of too many AHL players and playing their second game in as many nights against tough opponents, the Canadiens stood little chance against the Penguins, who got goals from Sidney Crosby in the first, and Bille Guerin and Sergei Gonchar in the second. Max Pacioretty was the only Canadien to beat Marc-André Fleury for his third goal of the season.

• Key Moments: The Canadiens held their own in the first period, but they were outshot 16-7 in the second period when Pittsburgh scored twice and that was all they would need.

• What It Means: The loss drops the Canadiens record to 12-12-1 and is the first time in five games that the team has not earned at least a point.

• What's Next: The Canadiens wrap up the month of November against the Washington Capitals on Saturday night. After that comes a very tough month of December that sees the team play 17 games, including 11 on the road, with a seven-game road trip thrown in for good measure between Dec. 19 and Dec. 31.

Penguins' Sidney Crosby celebrates one of his goals with teammates while Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak looks away in the first period Wednesday night. David DeNoma, Reuters

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AUDIO: Jacques Martin | Brian Gionta | Paul Mara | Jaro Halak I and II

• At a Glance: Despite the strong start by the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, Sidney Crosby only had six goals on the season. He upped that total by three against the Canadiens on Wednesday night as his Penguins defeated the Habs 6-1. Mike Rupp also beat Jaroslav Halak, who was making his fifth straight start for the Canadiens, for one of four goals he allowed on 23 shots. Halak was replaced for the third period by Carey Price, who has not played since Ottawa came to town almost two weeks ago. At the other end of the ice, Marc-André Fleury was solid when he had to be, stopping 23 of 24 shots. Tomas Plekanec was the only Canadien to beat him during a 5-on-3 man advantage. Alex Goligoski and Chris Kunitz beat Price for the final two Pittsburgh goals during a pair of power plays in the third period. Price allowes two goals on 14 shots on net.

• Key Moments: The Canadiens were solid for most of the first period, but a turnover at the blue like allowed Crosby to score his first goal of the game on a nice pass from Bill Guerin. With the Canadiens unable to take advantage of their scoring chances in the opening frame, the Pens blew the game open with three goals in the second period.

• What It Means: The Canadiens' winning streak was halted at four by the Penguins, who improved their record to 10-2 on the season. Fleury has won nine of his 10 starts and could be challenging for a spot as one of the top two Canadian goaltenders at the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver.

• What's Next: The Canadiens travel to Chicago for Friday's game against the Blackhawks and former Hab Cristobal Huet. They return home immediately after that game to face the Maple Leafs on halloween.

PAT HICKEY
The Gazette

Carey Price kept the Canadiens in the game for 50 minutes Saturday night but the Pittsburgh Penguins scored two shorthanded goals in a 56-second span and beat Montreal 3-1.

The loss means the Canadiens finish eighth in the Eastern Conference standings and will open the playoff Thursday against the Bruins in Boston.

Defenceman Roman Hamrlik's blue-line shot caroms past Penguins goalie Marc-André Fleury off the arm of Pittsburgh rearguard Hal Gill. Habs' Maxim Lapierre crowds the crease.
Christinne Muschi, Reuters

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• AUDIO:  Bob Gainey   Carey Price I and II  Glen Metropolit  Georges Laraque

• AT A GLANCE: Goaltender Carey Price gave the Canadiens at least a chance to earn the Eastern Conference's No. 7 seeding for the playoffs and a date against the Washington Capitals. But two stunning shorthanded goals by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third period lifted the Bell Centre visitors to a 3-1 victory tonight, leaving the Habs riding a four-game losing streak and in eighth place in the East, drawn against their archrival, the Boston Bruins. Evgeni Malkin gave the Pens a 1-0 lead, Roman Hamrlik tied it for Montreal, then Maxime Talbot and Kris Letang popped two just 55 seconds apart in the third on the penalty kill.

• WHAT IT MEANS: The Canadiens will play the Bruins in an Eastern quarterfinal playoff series, opening Wednesday or Thursday at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. The full playoff schedule will be announced by the NHL on Monday.

• KEY MOMENTS: Two otherworldly second-period glove saves by Habs goalie Carey Price gave Montreal hope. But two shorthanded Penguins goals during a third-period Brooks Orpik penalty – clearly called by the roar of the home crowd – sent Pittsburgh on its way to a well-deserved victory.

• WHO'S NEXT: The Bruins. For four, five, six or seven games.

Our friends at RDS report that Bob Gainey will give Alex Tanguay the night off vs. the Penguins tonight. They also say Gainey will put these combinations on the ice. We'll see...

Higgins - Metropolit - Kovalev
Latendresse - Lapierre - Kostopoulos
A. Kostitsyn - Plekanec - D'Agostini
Stewart - Koivu - Laraque

Gorges - Dandenault
Weber - Schneider
Hamrlik - Komisarek

And to think these guys were all-star teammates eight nights ago: Canadiens' Mike Komisarek powders Penguins' Evgeni Malkin on the boards.
Allen McInnis, Gazette

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AUDIO:  Guy Carbonneau  Christopher Higgins  Roman Hamrlik  Maxim Lapierre  Max Pacioretty

Just what the doctor ordered?

Losers of five of their past six games, the Canadiens reared up tonight and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 at the Bell Centre, spotting their visitors an early 1-0 lead before roaring back to earn two very valuable points.

Coach Guy Carbonneau cobbled together lines out of necessity – Robert Lang, Guillaume Latendresse, Alex Tanguay, Georges Laraque and Patrice Brisebois are nursing injuries of short and long term.

After falling behind 1-0 just 2:30 into the game, the Habs got goals from defenceman Roman Hamrlik and forwards Christopher Higgins (on a shorthanded breakaway) and Maxim Lapierre before Evgeni Malkin replied on a third-period power play for the Penguins.

Andrei Kostitsyn gave the Canadiens some breathing room at 15:45 of the third period.

A lower-body injury will keep Patrice Brisebois out of action for the Canadiens tonight. He did not participate in the morning skate today.

And from Pat Hickey, this audio of Sidney Crosby following the Penguins optional skate this morning.

Guillaume Latendresse is expected to be out "weeks," according to Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau, though the shoulder-injured winger's status will be made more clear tonight after he visits team doctor David Mulder.

Alex Kovalev and Carbo had their heart-to-heart, a positive meeting according to Kovalev, and tonight AK27 will find himself with Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn in a bid to rekindle their chemistry and production of last season.

Kovalev spoke with longtime friend Robert Lang after Lang returned home last night following Achilles tendon surgery. Kovy said that Lang got little sleep Sunday after the operation, constantly signing autographs for hospital staff.

Carey Price is in goal tonight.

Enlightening audio followed this morning's skate, preceding the Habs' game tonight vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins:

• Carbo English  • Carbo French  • Alex Kovalev  • Christopher Higgins  • Josh Gorges

Les Binkley
This Penguin had Canadiens connections

Les Binkley was the Pittsburgh Penguins' first No. 1 goaltender, recording a remarkable six shutouts in 54 games in his 1967-68 rookie season. Through five NHL seasons in front of less than stellar defence, he earned 11 shutouts, including a 4-0 whitewash of the Canadiens on March 3, 1971, making 23 of his 33 saves that night off the sticks of future Hall of Famers.

The native of Owen Sound, Ont., had more than a few Canadiens connections. Among them: one of Binkley's best friends in the game was future Habs enforcer John Ferguson, with whom he hung out and played on the 1960s AHL Cleveland Barons (loosely a Canadiens farm team) and later worked for in New York and Winnipeg as a goaltending coach and amateur scout with the Rangers and Jets.

Binkley fondly remembers long practices in Cleveland with the late Fergy, who paid special attention both to deking and working on getting his gloves off as quickly as he could. Now, at 73, Binkley is settling in to watch his Penguins take on the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final, eager to see whether Marc-André Fleury can backstop his alma mater to their third NHL title, Binkley having scouted for back-to-back champions in 1991 and '92.

Dave Stubbs profiles a charismatic netminder in today's Montreal Gazette. And surf below for an action photo from the 1970s – and the story of Binkley, then with the World Hockey Association's Toronto Toros, facing four penalty shots (two saves, two goals) from future daredevil Evel Knievel in a memorable, if twisted, intermission gimmick.