The Habs Inside/Out Puckcast

PuckCast, Vol. 3, No. 4 [Podcast]

Kevin Mio — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:30:36 -0500

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We’re a quarter way through the 2008-09 season and the Canadiens have had their share of highs and lows through 21 games. But the team turned in one of its best performances of the season Wednesday night during a 3-1 win over the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings.

Most people had expected the Canadiens to struggles against the Wings, but a solid performance should serve to boost the team’s confidence as they move on to play the Washington Capitals on Friday before starting a seven-game homestand on Saturday.

PuckCasters Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio review the first quarter of the team's season and examine some of the surprises - both positive and negative - of the 2008-09 season so far. Mr. Hickey went to Washington – for Friday's game vs. the Capitals.

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PuckCast, Vol. 3, No. 3 [Podcast]

Kevin Mio — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:35:08 -0400

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For the first time this season, Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau was able to ice his complete lineup against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night as the Canadiens wrapped up a five-game homestand with a 3-2 shootout win. But that healthy lineup might not last as Roman Hamrlik left the game with a leg injury. The win over the Hurricanes gave Montreal a 4-1 record on the homestand and they are 6-1-1 on the season despite not playing their best hockey, especially on the power play, which is struggling after being the best in the NHL during the past two seasons. The Habs play their next four games on the road starting in Minnesota on Thursday night.

PuckCasters Pat Hickey, Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio review the just-completed homestand and look at the play of certain players including Alex Tanguay and Tomas Plekanec.

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PuckCast, Vol. 3, No. 2 [Podcast]

Kevin Mio — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:39:17 -0400

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The Canadiens have won three of their first four games to start the 2008-09 season and the newest members of the team, Alex Tanguay, Robert Lang and Georges Laraque have all made an easy transition into the bleu, blanc, rouge, with Tanguay and Lang contributing offensively and Laraque making his presence felt during his debut against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night. The Canadiens will be at the Bell Centre for their next four games, where they play host to the Phoenix Coyotes, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes.

PuckCasters Pat Hickey, Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio are back for the second puckcast of the season. This week, we review the first four games of the season, discuss the Denis Savard firing, the return of the Canadiens' injured players and several other topics.

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Captain Koivu on his past, present and future

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:01:01 -0400

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This could be an historic season for the Canadiens and their captain Saku Koivu.

Expectations are high for the club in their centennial season, having won the Eastern Conference championship last season and gone two rounds deep in the playoffs.

This is the ninth season (10th, including the lockout of 2004-05) that Koivu has worn the captain's C, second in service only to the great Jean Béliveau. And it's a contract year for Koivu, with no guarantee that he'll be back with the club next year.

The 33-year-old native of Turku, Finland sat alone with The Gazette's Dave Stubbs at the Bell Centre on the eve of the Habs' breaking training camp for a 45-minute talk about his past, present and future with the Canadiens.

Here is roughly 30 minutes of their conversation.

PuckCast, Vol. 3, No. 1 [Podcast]

Kevin Mio — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:46:15 -0400

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As the Canadiens prepare to start the 2008-09 season, the Habs Inside/Out crew got back to business for the first Puckcast of the season.

PuckCasters Pat Hickey, Dave Stubbs, Mike Boone and Kevin Mio have clipped on the microphones this week to preview the coming season, the 100th for the Canadiens. Among other things, we examine the long preseason schedule, the impressive showing of the team's prospects and how the Canadiens will manage the increased expecations after last season's performance.

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Sweet Dreams of Sundin

Dave Stubbs — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:39:13 -0400

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

Playoff PuckCast, Vol. 2, No. 25 [Podcast]

Kevin Mio — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:34:31 -0400

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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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PuckCast [Extra] from Boston

Dave Stubbs — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:37:58 -0400

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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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PuckCast, Vol. 2, No. 24 [Podcast]

Kevin Mio — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:35:25 -0400

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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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PuckCast, Vol. 2, No. 23 [Podcast]

Dave Stubbs — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:39:34 -0400

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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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PuckCast, Vol. 2, No. 23 [Podcast]

Dave Stubbs — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:38:43 -0400

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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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PuckCast, Vol. 2, No. 22 [Podcast]

Dave Stubbs — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:41:36 -0400

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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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PuckCast, Vol. 2, No. 21 [Podcast]

Kevin Mio — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:06:56 -0400

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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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PuckCast, Vol. 2, No. 20 [Podcast]

Dave Stubbs — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:03:11 -0400

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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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PuckCast, Vol. 2, No. 19 [Podcast]

Dave Stubbs — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:26:32 -0500

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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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