Exhibition

After Saturday night's loss to the Ottawa Senators, Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau said he believes his team is ready for the regular season opener on Wednesday.

"It's disappointing to lose, but they had their full team and we were were missing three of our top guys and we outplayed them," Carbonneau said.

Patrice Brisebois had a good outing despite one hiccup, and Carey Price finished the game for Cristobal Huet, but the rookie's future is still up in the air, until Monday at least.

Read Pat Hickey's full report from Ottawa here.

After Saturday night's loss to the Ottawa Senators, Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau said he believes his team is ready for the regular season opener on Wednesday.

"It's disappointing to lose, but they had their full team and we were were missing three of our top guys and we outplayed them," Carbonneau said.

Patrice Brisebois had a good outing despite one hiccup, and Carey Price finished the game for Cristobal Huet, but the rookie's future is still up in the air, until Monday at least.

Read Pat Hickey's full report from Ottawa here.

From Pat Hickey:

Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau announced today that Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev and Andrei Markov won't play in the team's final exhibition game Saturday in Ottawa against the Senators.

“Those guys have been playing well and we know what they can do,” Carbonneau explained. “This will give us a chance to look at some other guys.”

Either Patrice Brisebois or Josh Gorges will take Markov's spot, while Kyle Chipchura and Garth Murray are expected to fill in for Koivu and Kovalev.

Carbonneau also announced that Cristobal Huet will get the start in goal and will play at least 40 minutes, if not the entire game.

The Canadiens open the regular season Wednesday night in Carolina.

From Pat Hickey:

Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau announced today that Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev and Andrei Markov won't play in the team's final exhibition game Saturday in Ottawa against the Senators.

“Those guys have been playing well and we know what they can do,” Carbonneau explained. “This will give us a chance to look at some other guys.”

Either Patrice Brisebois or Josh Gorges will take Markov's spot, while Kyle Chipchura and Garth Murray are expected to fill in for Koivu and Kovalev.

Carbonneau also announced that Cristobal Huet will get the start in goal and will play at least 40 minutes, if not the entire game.

The Canadiens open the regular season Wednesday night in Carolina.

The Gazette's Pat Hickey writes that the Canadiens appear ready for the regular season after their 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. Captain Saku Koivu said afterward that he is tired of playing exhibition games and can't wait for the start of the regular season. The same goes for Cristobal Huet, who played the entire game and stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced.

Head coach Guy Carbonneau said his troops are "close" to where he wants them to be to start the season.

The Gazette's Pat Hickey writes that the Canadiens appear ready for the regular season after their 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. Captain Saku Koivu said afterward that he is tired of playing exhibition games and can't wait for the start of the regular season. The same goes for Cristobal Huet, who played the entire game and stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced.

Head coach Guy Carbonneau said his troops are "close" to where he wants them to be to start the season.

Updated with link to Pat Hickey's story in the Montreal Gazette.

Tomas Plekanec lead the Canadiens offence with a hat trick and Christopher Higgins scored his first goal of the preseason as the Habs held off a late charge by the Boston Bruins to win 4-3 in Halifax on Sunday. Two of Plekanec's goals came on the power play, which has struggled so far this preseason. Higgins also added an assist and Bryan Smolinski has two assists.

Updated with link to Pat Hickey's story in the Montreal Gazette.

Tomas Plekanec lead the Canadiens offence with a hat trick and Christopher Higgins scored his first goal of the preseason as the Habs held off a late charge by the Boston Bruins to win 4-3 in Halifax on Sunday. Two of Plekanec's goals came on the power play, which has struggled so far this preseason. Higgins also added an assist and Bryan Smolinski has two assists.

Cristobal Huet stands – in this case, kneels – his ground Saturday vs. Ottawa.
Pierre Obendrauf, Gazette

Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau has said in the past week that Cristobal Huet is his No. 1 goaltender, and he expects to give the steady veteran the final two starts of the preseason this week to get him ready for the Oct. 3 season opener in Carolina vs. the Hurricanes.

On Saturday, having played his first full game since last April 7, Huet called Price the goaltender of the future for the Canadiens. But Huet, who made 17 saves in his team's 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, sees himself as the club's goalie of the present, at least, and he's sharply focused on being ready for the start of the season.

Huet missed 20 games last season, having suffered a torn hamstring on Valentine's Day. The injury required surgery and extensive rehabilitation, and he returned to action for a period on April 5, then played the Canadiens' final game, April 7 in Toronto.

Huet can expect to start Thursday's home game against Boston and the Canadiens' final preseason game on Saturday in Ottawa.

Below is a feature on the third-year Canadien that appears in Monday's Gazette.

Cristobal Huet stands – in this case, kneels – his ground Saturday vs. Ottawa.
Pierre Obendrauf, Gazette

Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau has said in the past week that Cristobal Huet is his No. 1 goaltender, and he expects to give the steady veteran the final two starts of the preseason this week to get him ready for the Oct. 3 season opener in Carolina vs. the Hurricanes.

On Saturday, having played his first full game since last April 7, Huet called Price the goaltender of the future for the Canadiens. But Huet, who made 17 saves in his team's 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators, sees himself as the club's goalie of the present, at least, and he's sharply focused on being ready for the start of the season.

Huet missed 20 games last season, having suffered a torn hamstring on Valentine's Day. The injury required surgery and extensive rehabilitation, and he returned to action for a period on April 5, then played the Canadiens' final game, April 7 in Toronto.

Huet can expect to start Thursday's home game against Boston and the Canadiens' final preseason game on Saturday in Ottawa.

Below is a feature on the third-year Canadien that appears in Monday's Gazette.

The Gazette's Pat Hickey writes that when Guy Carbonneau makes what is expected to be drastic cuts after Sunday's game in Halifax, one area of play that will need to be worked on is the team's power play. When the players remaining in camp assemble in Mont Tremblant next week, you can bet some of the focus will be on the man advantage.

"We haven't spent a lot of time on the power play and it shows," captain Saku Koivu said.

The Gazette's Pat Hickey writes that when Guy Carbonneau makes what is expected to be drastic cuts after Sunday's game in Halifax, one area of play that will need to be worked on is the team's power play. When the players remaining in camp assemble in Mont Tremblant next week, you can bet some of the focus will be on the man advantage.

"We haven't spent a lot of time on the power play and it shows," captain Saku Koivu said.

Rosters | Game Report | Scoresheet | Super Stats | Carbo's Press Conference | Boone's Blog

The Canadiens dropped a 2-1 Bell Centre decision to the Ottawa Senators tonight at the Bell Centre. Follow the links above for those details, and listen to head coach Guy Carbonneau's post-game press conference (runs 6:28), also linked to above.

The Canadiens are in Halifax for a 3 p.m. ET game against the Bruins. You'll find that on the Internet at cjad.com.

And below is a look at the Canadiens camp thus far, in point form.

Rosters | Game Report | Scoresheet | Super Stats | Carbo's Press Conference | Boone's Blog

The Canadiens dropped a 2-1 Bell Centre decision to the Ottawa Senators tonight at the Bell Centre. Follow the links above for those details, and listen to head coach Guy Carbonneau's post-game press conference (runs 6:28), also linked to above.

The Canadiens are in Halifax for a 3 p.m. ET game against the Bruins. You'll find that on the Internet at cjad.com.

And below is a look at the Canadiens camp thus far, in point form.

Guillaume Latendresse wasn't happy with the way he started his preseason, but he made up for it in a big way on Friday night at the Bell Centre, The Gazette's Pat Hickey writes. Latendresse scored a goal and an assist, but he also helped set up the winning goal by Matt D'Agostini in overtime as the Habs downed the Islanders 3-2.

"I played that game (against Pittsburgh) in my head before it happened," Latendresse said. "I was very nervous. Tonight, I was relaxed and I played my game."

D'Agostini, who scored a pair on the night, was quick to share the credit for his success, saying he was just "in the right place at the right time."

Guillaume Latendresse wasn't happy with the way he started his preseason, but he made up for it in a big way on Friday night at the Bell Centre, The Gazette's Pat Hickey writes. Latendresse scored a goal and an assist, but he also helped set up the winning goal by Matt D'Agostini in overtime as the Habs downed the Islanders 3-2.

"I played that game (against Pittsburgh) in my head before it happened," Latendresse said. "I was very nervous. Tonight, I was relaxed and I played my game."

D'Agostini, who scored a pair on the night, was quick to share the credit for his success, saying he was just "in the right place at the right time."

Links updated Saturday 7:05 am ET

Game Report | Scoresheet | SuperStats | Boone's Blog

First star Matt D'Agostini, one of the talented young Hamilton Bulldogs, scored his second goal of the night, unassisted at 1:45 of overtime, to give the Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the visiting New York Islanders Friday night. The win evened Montreal's exhibition-season record at 2-2 and avenged Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Islanders in Moncton.

New York's Radek Martinek scored at 14:03 of the third period to send the contest into extra time.

A pretty second-period goal by Guillaume Latendresse on a feed by Tomas Plekanec on a delayed penalty had given the Canadiens a 2-1 lead. D'Agostini had given Montreal a 1-0 lead in the first, assisted by Latendresse and Plekanec, before New York's Jeff Tambellini tied the score early in the second.

Habs goalie Carey Price made 22 saves on the 24 shots he faced. The Canadiens' power play went 0-for-5.

Links updated Saturday 7:05 am ET

Game Report | Scoresheet | SuperStats | Boone's Blog

First star Matt D'Agostini, one of the talented young Hamilton Bulldogs, scored his second goal of the night, unassisted at 1:45 of overtime, to give the Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the visiting New York Islanders Friday night. The win evened Montreal's exhibition-season record at 2-2 and avenged Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Islanders in Moncton.

New York's Radek Martinek scored at 14:03 of the third period to send the contest into extra time.

A pretty second-period goal by Guillaume Latendresse on a feed by Tomas Plekanec on a delayed penalty had given the Canadiens a 2-1 lead. D'Agostini had given Montreal a 1-0 lead in the first, assisted by Latendresse and Plekanec, before New York's Jeff Tambellini tied the score early in the second.

Habs goalie Carey Price made 22 saves on the 24 shots he faced. The Canadiens' power play went 0-for-5.

Goaltender Carey Price smashed a stick in frustration this morning, not long after non-scorer Garth Murray beat him with a lovely top-shelf backhand, and not long before Price starts tonight's Bell Centre game against the New York Islanders.

Price is expected to play the full 60 minutes of this exhibition, the Canadiens' fourth this week. While head coach Guy Carbonneau said that no one is going to make the roster tonight, Price could use a strong showing after yielding three goals in his only game action thus far. That came in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Canadiens will send 14 NHL-experienced players onto the ice against the Islanders, against whom the Habs lost 3-1 in Moncton on Wednesday. All that was known of New York's lineup as of noon hour, according to Carbonneau, is that they won't have goalie Rick DiPietro in nets tonight.

Goaltender Carey Price smashed a stick in frustration this morning, not long after non-scorer Garth Murray beat him with a lovely top-shelf backhand, and not long before Price starts tonight's Bell Centre game against the New York Islanders.

Price is expected to play the full 60 minutes of this exhibition, the Canadiens' fourth this week. While head coach Guy Carbonneau said that no one is going to make the roster tonight, Price could use a strong showing after yielding three goals in his only game action thus far. That came in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Canadiens will send 14 NHL-experienced players onto the ice against the Islanders, against whom the Habs lost 3-1 in Moncton on Wednesday. All that was known of New York's lineup as of noon hour, according to Carbonneau, is that they won't have goalie Rick DiPietro in nets tonight.

How the Canadiens are putting players on the ice this morning to prepare for the club's fourth game of this preseason:

How the Canadiens are putting players on the ice this morning to prepare for the club's fourth game of this preseason:

The Gazette Pat Hickey writes that at Thursday's Canadiens' practice, the group was split into two squads and it was obvious from looking at them which one was bound for Hamilton, and which group has most of the players likely to start the season in the NHL.

Hickey writes that Team A had a definite B-list feel to it, with Bulldogs head coach Don Lever running the show. Carey Price and Ryan O'Byrne were the only players on that squad with a realistic chance of making the NHL this season.

Head coach Guy Carbonneau with go with a veteran-laden lineup as the Habs take on the Islanders tonight, dressing 14 players with NHL experience at the Bell Centre. Price will play the full game between the pipes.

Read Hickey's full article here.

The Gazette Pat Hickey writes that at Thursday's Canadiens' practice, the group was split into two squads and it was obvious from looking at them which one was bound for Hamilton, and which group has most of the players likely to start the season in the NHL.

Hickey writes that Team A had a definite B-list feel to it, with Bulldogs head coach Don Lever running the show. Carey Price and Ryan O'Byrne were the only players on that squad with a realistic chance of making the NHL this season.

Head coach Guy Carbonneau with go with a veteran-laden lineup as the Habs take on the Islanders tonight, dressing 14 players with NHL experience at the Bell Centre. Price will play the full game between the pipes.

Read Hickey's full article here.

Here's the Canadiens' goaltending situation for the next three exhibition games.

Carey Price will start and play whole game Friday night against the Islanders, Cristobal Huet will play a full 60 minutes against the Senators on Saturday and Jaroslav Halak will face the Bruins on Sunday in Halifax.

Here's the Canadiens' goaltending situation for the next three exhibition games.

Carey Price will start and play whole game Friday night against the Islanders, Cristobal Huet will play a full 60 minutes against the Senators on Saturday and Jaroslav Halak will face the Bruins on Sunday in Halifax.

The Gazette's Pat Hickey has informed us that the Canadiens' lineup for Friday night has been changed. Here are the new combinations. We are still waiting to hear who will be in nets, but if the rotation holds, it would be Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price. We'll update you as soon as we know more.

Forward lines:

S. Kostitstyn-Koivu-Ryder
Latendresse-Plekanec-D'agostini
Begin-Maxwell-Kostopolous
Murray-Lapierre-White

On defence:

Hamrlik-O“Byrne
Gorges-Komisarek
Bouillon-Dandenault

The Gazette's Pat Hickey has informed us that the Canadiens' lineup for Friday night has been changed. Here are the new combinations. We are still waiting to hear who will be in nets, but if the rotation holds, it would be Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price. We'll update you as soon as we know more.

Forward lines:

S. Kostitstyn-Koivu-Ryder
Latendresse-Plekanec-D'agostini
Begin-Maxwell-Kostopolous
Murray-Lapierre-White

On defence:

Hamrlik-O“Byrne
Gorges-Komisarek
Bouillon-Dandenault

The Gazette's Pat Hickey writes from Moncton that Yann Danis turned in another solid outing in the Canadiens' 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Wednesday night. Danis turned aside all 11 shots he faced during the second half of the game as he continues to battle for an NHL roster spot with Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price.

Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau said Danis has been the best goaltender in the team's first three exhibition games. "He came into camp in great shape and he's been working hard," Carbonneau said.

"I'm fighting for my career," Danis said.

The New York Islanders pelted Cristobal Huet with 17 shots in the first period tonight in Moncton, grabbing a 3-0 lead at the end of the frame. Jon Sim scored a pair and Bill Guerin added the third goal for the Islanders.

Sergei Kostitsyn scored for the Canadiens at 4:43 of the third period to narrow the gap to 3-1, but that was as close as the Habs would get as they dropped their second straight exhibition game.

Huet played the first half of the game, stopping 18 of 21 shots. Yann Danis played the third period, stopping the 11 shots he faced.

Montreal had another poor showing on the power play, going 0-for-7 on the night.