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Montreal singer and songwriter Daniel Iorio sends us this timely tune...

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After a hard-fought victory over the Boston Bruins, the Canadiens will now take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference semifinals starting Thursday at the Bell Centre.

The series against the Bruins was not as easy as many expected, going the full seven games before Montreal was finally able to send the Bruins packing for the summer.

PuckCasters Pat Hickey, Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio have clipped on the microphones this week to discuss that and much more, including Carey Price, the return of Saku Koivu and the emergence of the Kostitsyn brothers on a line with Tomas Plekanec.

NOTE: Due to some technical problems, today's PuckCast might not sound as good as usual. We apologize for that.

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From Boston, The Gazette and Habs Inside/Out's Pat Hickey and Dave Stubbs, along with Jim Murphy of NHL.com and the Fast Hockey Radio Show, share their round-table thoughts on what has now become a whale of a quarterfinal playoff series between the Canadiens and the Boston Bruins.

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The Canadiens are Eastern Conference champions and will take on the Boston Bruins in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs starting on Thursday.

PuckCasters Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio have clipped on the microphones this week to discuss that and much more.

Boone and Stubbs also give their predictions on which teams will win their respective first-round matchups in the East and who they like to win the Western Conference.

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So, your Canadiens are Northeast Division champions, guaranteed to finish no deeper than second in the Eastern Conference. PuckCasters Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio have clipped on the microphones this week to discuss that and much more. Pat Hickey has earned the week off, celebrating his odometer turning back to zeroes after the Habs' Buffalo-Toronto-Ottawa road trip. Our topics:

• Was Tuesday's game against Ottawa really a perfect game, as some – including Alex Kovalev – have suggested?
• While the Habs have weathered injuries through the short term, will there be any long-term impact?
• What does everyone think about the possibility of a Montreal-Pittsburgh series somewhere down the road?
• Can Carbo now afford to rest a few regulars, with two games left before the playoffs?
• Twenty-two wins and three shutouts: does Carey Price merit consideration for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's MVP?
• And can the Senators actually miss the playoffs?

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So, your Canadiens are Northeast Division champions, guaranteed to finish no deeper than second in the Eastern Conference. PuckCasters Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio have straggled to the microphones this week to discuss that and much more. Pat Hickey has taken the week off, celebrating his odometer having turned back to zeroes after the Habs' Buffalo-Toronto-Ottawa road trip. Our topics:

• Was Tuesday's game against Ottawa really a perfect game, as some – including Alex Kovalev – have suggested?
• While the Habs have weathered injuries through the short term, will there be any long-term impact?
• What does everyone think about the possibility of a Montreal-Pittsburgh series?
• Can Carbo now afford to rest a few regulars, with two games left before the playoffs?
Twenty-two wins and three shutouts: does Carey Price merit consideration for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's MVP?
• And can the Senators actually miss the playoffs?

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So, the Canadiens are in the playoffs, their opponent to be determined, with five games to go in the regular season. The full PuckCast lineup of Pat Hickey, Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio put the week's news into focus with their usual dubious perspective. Our topics:

• Did anyone really see this Eastern Conference-leading performance coming, after last season's final-weekend heartbreak?
• Does coach Guy Carbonneau rest a few regulars now to prepare for the playoffs?
• Who is the ideal, and the worst, first-round opponent?
• Was the Canadiens' third-period letdown against Ottawa on Monday any reason for concern?
• Are the Habs in danger of a late-season sag, with the playoff berth confirmed?
• Will, or should, the Quebec-Chicoutimi major-junior fiasco, and Patrick Roy's role in it, affect the Hall of Fame goalie's expected Canadiens number retirement next season?

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This week's PuckCast is an abbreviated version with iron men Mike Boone and Kevin Mio holding court to discuss all things Canadiens.

With a postseason berth all but locked up, we look at possible playoff matchups and which team the Canadiens would fare better against. We also discuss the Canadiens' ironman, Mike Komisarek, whose streak could be in danger after being forced to leave Thursday's game against the Bruins with a lower-body injury. The latest reports list hims as questionable, so it will be Saturday before a decision will be made in his case.

Other topics include the dazzling goals of Alex Kovalev, the Saturday night rematch with the Bruins and why Tim Thomas can't seem to handle the Canadiens.

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A great many nosebleeds at Habs Central, some of us not used to the altitude of first place in the Eastern Conference. PuckCast regulars Pat Hickey, Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio weigh in this week on the club's lofty status. Also: Have the Canadiens finally solved the New Jersey Devils, having now beaten them three times in a row?; How does everyone feel about a possible Canadiens-Devils playoff round, which would be the first since 1997?; What about the team's two-win, two-loss western road trip?; What's recently taken goalie Carey Price to another level?; And just what was Mikhail Grabovski thinking ... if he was thinking at all?

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A special edition of your weekly PuckCast today – Inside/Out's Pat Hickey, Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and our resident referee Kevin Mio – who has better hair than Kerry Fraser – are in the studio high atop Montreal Gazette headquarters to discuss Tuesday's National Hockey League trading deadline and how it affected the Canadiens and other clubs, all of whom now settle in for the stretch run toward the playoffs. Feel free to disagree with us. Which surely would be a first. And forgive our outdated reference to "When will the Senators sack head coach John Paddock?" That happened a few hours after we recorded today's episode.

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With his son, Stephen, and daughters Anna and Colleen at his side, Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey tonight watched a banner bearing his name and No. 23 pulled to the rafters of the Bell Centre, an emotional and fitting tribute for the giant-hearted Hall of Famer. He is the 14th Canadien to be honoured with a number retirement.

Gainey is expected to meet the media between tonight's first and second periods. We hope to have the audio of that conversation in its entirety posted here by the second intermission, in a format to be played inline on this post or downloaded. Also look for images of the ceremony later this evening by clicking Photos above.

Link to a detailed Legends of Hockey package by clicking here.

Here's a terrific piece at nhl.com on Gainey's first experience as an NHL coach with the 1990-91 Minnesota North Stars, which showed his promise in hockey off the ice.

Robert Lefebvre's typically excellent post at his own blog features 23 links to Gainey stories.

And don't forget to visit the Gainey Foundation.

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Has your heart medicine kicked in since Tuesday's electrifying 6-5 shootout victory? Yes or no, your Inside/Out PuckCast squad of Hickey, Stubbs, Boone and Mio is back to discuss that, and more: Is the Canadiens habit of late comeback a worrisome sign?; is it time to put to rest the rumours of trading netminder Cristobal Huet?; how about sudden sniper Michael Ryder – keep him or trade him?; Boone says the Canadiens might be a team of destiny, though we might not all agree; Bob Gainey is said to be searching for an impact player – so who wants Mats Sundin?; and let's discuss Saturday's retirement of Hall of Famer Gainey's No. 23.

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It was a rough week for the Canadiens, who were able to snap a three-game losing streak on Wednesday night with a 2-1 overtime win over the Florida Panthers. That game followed a loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal's first game since Ryan O'Byrne and Tom Kostopoulos were arrested outside a Tampa bar early Monday morning. 

In this week's podcast, Gazette sports editor Stu Cowan, Pat Hickey and Mike Boone, as well as moderator Kevin Mio, examine the players' arrests and the possible implications for each.  We also discuss the return of Carey Price, who appears to have regained his confidence, which can only be good news for the Canadiens.

Also up for discussion is the improved play of Saku Koivu and Christopher Higgins over the last few games, the trade rumous swirling around the team, the importance of getting Roman Hamrlik back in the lineup and much more.

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Singer/songwriter/entertainer Daniel Iorio, who regularly produces songs for Tony Marinaro on Montreal's The Team 990, whipped up this ditty on Canadiens defenceman Ryan O'Byrne, forward Tom Kostopoulos and their Florida purse woes. Think Johnny Cash's classic Folsom Prison Blues, and enjoy Dan's tune, shared by Tony.

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Canadiens forward Alex Kovalev has been brilliant this season, the anchor on the team's first line with centreman Tomas Plekanec and fellow winger Andrei Kostitsyn.
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A few short months ago, it wouldn't have been unreasonable to think that Alex Kovalev had played his final game in a Canadiens uniform.

The 34-year-old Russian was coming off a tumultuous, sub-par season, one of just 18 goals and 47 points which saw him heckled by fans, shrouded by controversy, shredded by the media, demoted to the fourth line before being benched by coach Guy Carbonneau and, in his opinion, hung out to dry by the Montreal organization.

Now, 55 games into this season, Kovalev is the powerful locomotive pulling the Canadiens Express, the creative right-wing on one of the league’s premier lines with centreman Tomas Plekanec and left-wing Andrei Kostitsyn.

It’s been a long time since the 16-year NHL veteran has had this much fun, showcasing his prodigious, highlight-reel talent with a mature completeness of game that sees Carbonneau use him in every situation. And he's on pace to enjoy a career season in a few statistical categories.

On Wednesday, Kovalev sat for nearly an hour with Habs Inside/Out and Montreal Gazette writer Dave Stubbs to talk about this season, last season, and the huge gulf between the two. Typically, he was engaging, bright and very candid about his perceptions of himself, his linemates, the Canadiens and his problems of last year.

Click above to listen to roughly 38 minutes of Stubbs's Kovalev interview. Or, click on this link to download the file. Here is the Gazette feature that the interview produced, as well as a sidebar with Kovalev discussing his linemates and his long-ago developed puck-control prowess, and a roundup of a few quick-hit quotes from the Russian star.

And at montrealgazette.com, you'll find two audio excerpts of the interview along with a slideshow featuring Kovalev on and off the ice. Here's Part 1 and Part 2.

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The Canadiens have gone through some highs and lows this week after having narrowed the gap on the Eastern Conference-leading Ottawa Senators to only one point after defeating the Sens. But the Habs stumbled in a loss to the Maple Leafs on Thursday and the team's play has started to slide a little bit.

In this week's podcast, The Gazette's Pat Hickey and Mike Boone, as well as moderator Kevin Mio, examine the team's play over the last few games and discuss some of the lapses the team has suffered from lately. We also look at the return of Carey Price, how Cristobal Huet will handle the increased workload he has faced and is likely to continue facing in the coming weeks.

Also up for discussion is the possible return of Ryan O'Byrne, the Saku Koivu situation, the team's lack of secondary scoring and what, if any, moves general manager Bob Gainey will make before the looming trad deadline.

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Where were we before we were so rudely interrupted by the NHL All-Star break. Right. The Canadiens had just rallied for an improbable, impressive come-from-behind victory over the New Jersey Devils last Thursday. So PuckCasters Pat Hickey, Dave Stubbs and Mike Boone, with ringmaster Kevin Mio, weigh in this week on the following, the morning after the Habs blanked the Capitals:

Can the Canadiens catch the Senators? Will Bob Gainey make any moves before next month's trading deadline? So how about that third line of Bégin-Kostopoulos-Smolinski? When do we see the return of defencemen Patrice Brisebois and Mathieu Dandenault, complicated by the impending return of Ryan O'Byrne? Alex Kovalev – a bruised or, heaven forbid, a broken thumb? And the All-Star Game. What a beauty that was, eh?

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This week you've got The Gazette's all-star PuckCast lineup of Pat Hickey at centre and Dave Stubbs and Mike Boone on the wings, with Kevin Mio in nets. So we have no defence – kind of like the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre last night.

On this week's menu: the dilemma facing pressbox-sitter Mathieu Dandenault, who must be patient for his return to action; the return after a 19-game injury rehabilitation of Steve Bégin; the Canadiens depth – good or bad?; now, into New Jersey to face those damn Devils; Alex Tanguay to the Canadiens?; the Penguins' Georges Laraque and how to deal with him; the lustre, or lack thereof, of the National Hockey League's All-Star Game; and the firing in Toronto of general manager John Ferguson Jr.

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The Canadiens head into Atlanta tomorrow night with two wins in three games on their four-game road trip, not the perfect record coach Guy Carbonneau was after, but a good trip nonetheless. Listen in to hear our experts give their opinion about the team's recent play as Gazette sportswriter Dave Stubbs, I/O blogger Mike Boone and moderator Kevin Mio are back for the season's 13th edition.

This week: The panel examines the team's dual identity in New York after a poor game on Saturday against the Rangers and a solid effort against the Islanders; Alex Kovalev's stellar play this season and his being left out of the All-Star Game; Cristobal Huet's puckhandling skills - or lack thereof; and Carey Price's struggles in his four games down in Hamilton, including allowing 12 goals in his last two starts.

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The Canadiens have entered 2008 on a positive note having survived the six-game holiday road trip without falling into a deep funk. They have even found a way to win at the Bell Centre in the new year. Listen in to hear our experts give their opinion about the team's first half and the recent players movements as Gazette sportswriter Pat Hickey, I/O blogger Mike Boone and moderator Kevin Mio are back for the season's 12th edition and the first of 2008.

This week: The panel examines the team's play through the first half of the season and looks ahead to the second portion of the calendar; Will Carey Price benefit from his time in Hamilton?; Has the team finally figured out how to win at the Bell Centre?; Has Michael Ryder finally found his scoring touch again?; The emegence of Andrei Markov as one of the Eastern Conference's elite defenceman.

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... to bring you Toronto Maple Leaf legend Johnny Bower's timeless holiday classic, Honky The Christmas Goose. The fundraiser was penned by CBC producer Chip Young and recorded in November 1965 by Johnny with Little John (his son, then 9) and The Rinky Dinks. The tune sold 40,000 copies in its first year.

See the terrific biographical piece by Inside/Out friend Joe Pelletier at his Legends of Hockey website. Happy holidays, John!

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Is it time for Canadiens fans to panic, given the team's skid of late? We're unanimous in our belief at the Inside/Out PuckCast, but you'll have to give us a listen to hear what that opinion is. Gazette sportswriter Dave Stubbs, I/O blogger Mike Boone and moderator Kevin Mio are back for the season's 11th edition; Pat Hickey swears he'll be back soon, though he might not once he hears Boone's warm holiday wishes...

This week: Will the Canadiens ever win again at home?; does the team actually have a system?; what's wrong with the penalty-kill?; has the NHL figured how to beat goalie Carey Price?; are coach Guy Carbonneau and captain Saku Koivu on a collision course?; how long until GM Bob Gainey makes a personnel move?; and then there's the issue of panic.

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Most of us are back for Inside/Out's PuckCast No. 10 of the season,
featuring Gazette sportswriter Dave Stubbs, I/O blogger Mike Boone and moderator Kevin Mio. We've sent the Saint Bernards out into the country to find our fourth, the snowed-in Pat Hickey.

In this edition: With netminder Cristobal Huet nursing a pulled groin, what of Carey Price in the No. 1 role in goal, and will Price and Hamilton callup Jaroslav Halak be the Canadiens' goaltending tandem of the future?; a look back at the Habs' meltdown Saturday night against Nashville, and the team's troubling habit of folding in the third period; so what was up with Guy Carbonneau's bizarre (though pretty functional) lines that night?; should the team sit defenceman Andrei Markov and let him heal whatever's bothering him?; a look at six tough games ahead; and what to make of Michael Ryder and Bryan Smolinski being healthy scratches, if that happens tonight against Detroit?

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It's PuckCast No. 9 of the season, featuring Gazette sportswriters Pat Hickey and Dave Stubbs, I/O blogger Mike Boone and moderator Kevin Mio. On this week's menu: the miserable Toronto Maple Leafs; Habs coach Guy Carbonneau's line-shuffling; the size of the Canadiens up front; the return on Saturday of former Hab Radek Bonk, with Nashville; and Andrei Markov – all-star to be?

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We're back with Inside/Out's eighth PuckCast of the season, featuring Gazette sportswriter Pat Hickey, I/O blogger Mike Boone and moderator Kevin Mio (the fourth regular at our microphone, Dave Stubbs, was in sick bay). We discuss the Canadiens' poor defensive showing during the last few games; the character displayed by the team during the fight-filled game against the Bruins on Saturday; Larry Robinson's retirement ceremony and the signs of life shown by Michael Ryder and Guillaume Latendresse.

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We're back with Inside/Out's seventh PuckCast of the season, featuring Gazette sportswriter Dave Stubbs, I/O blogger Mike Boone and moderator Kevin Mio (the fourth regular at our microphone, Pat Hickey, will return). We discuss the Canadiens' superb 54-minute effort on Saturday vs. Ottawa; the plans for goalie Carey Price in the week ahead (OK, so we were wrong); the enigma that is Michael Ryder; Habs defence legend Larry Robinson's sweater retirement next Monday – and whether goalie Patrick Roy deserves the same honour; the three Canadiens on the all-star ballot; and the new-look Inside/Out site.

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Your sixth Inside/Out PuckCast of the season, featuring panelists Pat
Hickey, Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and host Kevin Mio, discuss the
Cristobal Huet bandwagon; the Canadiens' four-game road trip, beginning
Thursday in Boston; playing the Buffalo Sabres, then again and again
and again this month; Latendresse vs. Kostitsyn on the Habs' second
line; Michael Ryder's puzzling start; and more.

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Your Inside/Out PuckCast panel – Pat Hickey, Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone
and host Kevin Mio – are back with your fifth weekly installment. On
tap: goalie Carey Price's start tonight against Atlanta, his second
consecutive start and first on home ice; the Canadiens' excellent
October; the impressive power play; the incoming Philadelphia Flyers,
rugged or worse, depending on your point of view, and the "homecoming"
of Daniel Brière; the fine performance so far of Tomas Plekanec; and
the Canadiens' upcoming tough four-game road swing, after four games on
home ice.

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Inside/Out's fourth weekly PuckCast has Warm Stove regulars Pat Hickey,
Dave Stubbs, I/O blogger Mike Boone and moderator Kevin Mio discussing
the fine play of goalie Cristobal Huet; the Canadiens' 6-1 drubbing of
Boston on Monday; the inspired play of Steve Bégin and Guillaume
Latendresse since their one-game scratches last week; GM Bob Gainey's
signings of Roman Hamrlik, Bryan Smolinski and Tom Kostopoulos; and who
plays goal in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday in Carolina and
Pittsburgh. We also give a nod to all who organized and took part in
last Saturday's first annual Inside/Out Fan Summit.

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Your regular cast is back for Inside/Out's third weekly PuckCast – Pat
Hickey, Dave Stubbs, I/O blogger Mike Boone and moderator/referee Kevin
Mio discuss the benching tonight of forwards Steve Bégin and Guillaume
Latendresse; Carey Price's superb debut in goal; the Canadiens power
play (or lack thereof); yet another language controversy dumped on
captain Saku Koivu by the francophone media; and an update on this
weekend's first (annual?) Habs Inside/Out Fan Summit.

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