Yes folks, Sidney Crosby was skating with his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates Monday, but will not be dressed to ace the Montreal Canadiens tonight. Crosby said he is no closer to returning to the team, and is not ready for full practices on a regular basis

Even without "Sid the Kid" though, the Penguins have been on a tear of late, going 8-2-0 in their last ten games, and sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

They've had no problems with the Canadiens this season, having won all three prior meetings. The last was on January 20, a 5-4 shootout win in Pittsburgh, that saw Montreal lose the lead three times, including a two goal lead in the third period.

The big factor in the Penguins success has been Evgeni Malkin, who potted the tying goal and shootout winner in their last meeting. Malkin has 29 goals on the season and leads the league in scoring with 61 points.

Tyler Kennedy was sent back to Pittsburgh, to be examined for a lower-body injury.

Travis Moen is a game time decision tonight for the Canadiens, and has been the talk of trade rumors for some time. The latest report has the rugged winger going back to the San Jose Sharks.

Marc-Andre Fleury gets the call in goal for Pittsburgh, while Carey Price returns to the crease for the Canadiens.

Pre Game Reading:

Chris Boucher asks why Anthony Stewart was not claimed on waivers.

Continue reading this post »

Sunday afternoon I sat down with Montreal's own Jay Baruchel in his NDG home to watch the Montreal Canadiens take on the Winnipeg Jets for Scott Gomez's anniversary game since his last goal. A 3-0 win for the good guys that was one of the few bright spots of this depressing season.

We spoke about how growing up in a hockey loving family has influenced his career and life, and how his new film "Goon" is more than just a movie to him.

Jay also talks about his favourite Habs from Bob Gainey to P.K. Subban, and how he feels about the future of the team.

"Goon" hits theaters in North America on Friday, February 24th, 2012.

For more from Jay, you can follow him on twitter @BaruchelNDG and follow his sports tweeting @JBSportsface. The following interview contains coarse language and is suitable for anyone who isn't super sensitive.

And a special thank you to John Leger, friend and tech geek, for supplying the equipment used to record the interview. You can follow him (he's a funny guy, do it) @crosseyed_mofo.

As the Montreal Canadiens playoffs hopes drop, ticket sales from third party sources are quickly paralleling them.

That in mind, our partners at TiqIQ are offfering some great prices to catch the Habs in action at the Bell Centre, with last minute seats starting from $50 or maybe even less as game time appraoches!

It's a great opportunity for fans to still see some great teams at the Bell Centre, as the 2011-12 NHL season winds down. It's especially good for those out of town fans looking to make a road trip for a game, or happen to be in town when the Habs are at home.

We've also thrown in a few links for the Habs upcoming road games.

Tickets for Upcoming Home and Road Games

February 7 vs. Pittsburgh

February 9 at NY Islanders starting at $9 !!

February 11 at Toronto Maple Leafs

February 13 vs. Carolina Hurricanes

February 15 vs. Boston Bruins

The struggling Montreal Canadiens were already on a three-game losing streak, headed into Sunday afternoon's action. Things didn't look any more promising for the Habs, who had lost five straight games on Suberbowl Sunday.

Both streaks would end however as the Canadiens blanked the Winnipeg Jets 3-0. The win also gets the team out of the Eastern Conference basement, and had to boost the players' confidence, especially following Saturday's loss by the same score to the Washington Capitals. On this night, every one came to play.

"We're in a big hole, and we need to bring it every game," said center Tomas Plekanec, who had a goal and assist on the afternoon. Plekanec and the rest of the Canadiens know the tradition and heritage of the hockey club, and want to give a solid effort the rest of the season. "It's a matter of pride, and there are no quitters," he said.

It's a positive sign, coming from Plekanec, that the players are willing to make an effort, despite the fact that their playoff chances are all but erased. It essentially says that it will be up to Pierre Gauthier to decide whether or not to keep the squad together and play out the season, or see if any buyers are interested.

Carey Price made 23 saves, including several brilliant ones, on the afternoon for his thrird shutout of the season.

Continue reading this post »

Good news Montreal Canadiens fans, this team can't bet any worse in the NHL Eastern Conference. The Habs found themselves dead last in the Conference this morning, but could bounce back into 14th with a win over the Winnipeg Jets.

This is the fourth and final meeting between the two clubs, with Montreal holding a 2-1 series lead. In their last meeting, Lars Eller had a career night, potting four goals, and adding an assist, in a 7-3 win at the Bell Centre.

The Jets are crawling at a playoff spot, sitting four points back of eighth place, heading into this afternoon. If they want a playoff berth, their offense will need to pick up steam, especially on the road where they are 9-15-4.

Winnipeg is 4-5-1 in their last ten, and have two or less goals in nine of their last 11 games. Their power play has also struggled with just three goals in their last 31 opportunities.

But if there's a place to bag a road win theses days, the Bell Centre is the place. The Canadiens are one of two clubs with a below .500 record at home. The even worse Columbus Blue Jackets are the other.

Dustin Byfuglien returned to the Jets Thursday, following a 16-game absence.

Ondrej Pavelec gets the call in goal for the Jets. Carey Price will be between the pipes for Montreal.

Raphael Diaz is a healthy scratch for the Habs.

The Canadiens are 11-8-1 on Superbowl Sunday, but have lost the last five straight games.

Continue reading this post »

So let's toss aside the optimism and denial and call it just as it is. The Montreal Canadiens are not a playoff team in the 2011-12 NHL season. It's over folks. This is not a club capable of overcoming an 11 point deficit in the final 0 games in a league that offers a three-point game. To do that they would have to be a team that can finish an opponent handily in regulation, and these guys can't.

Later this evening, the Habs could find themselves dead last in the NHL's Eastern Conference. It falls on whether or not Kirk Muller and the Carolina Hurricanes salvage a point against the Los Angeles Kings.

Abe Hefter, on CJAD's new program "The Locker Room", asked if fans can sit through the remainder of the season with listless, lethargic hockey. Can you?

One has to wonder what the Canadiens will do as a team and what management will do as the Trade Deadline approaches. Sell now, or play out the season and deal with it later?

Will Pierre Gauthier, or whomever is GM at the time, blow up the team and start all over again, just three years after Bob Gainey attempted the same thing? It could very well happen, and if so would push the Montreal Stanley Cup gap past a quarter century. Somehow fans may not be that patient, but given the current state of affairs they may just be expecting it. We now know what fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs have endured the last 44 years.

Continue reading this post »

This will be the second meeting of the season between the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals.

The first meeting didn't fair well for the Canadiens (what game has?), when Michal Neuvirth whitewashed them 3-0 on January 18. Neuvirth has only had three starts since December 26, and given a loss and an 88-footer he let in against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, we should see Tomas Vokoun between the pipes.

Alexander Ovechkin had one of Washington's three goals that night, and returns from his three-game suspension. While far off his typical season point totals thus far (39 points in 47 games), Ovechkin tends to bring out his A-game against Montreal. He has 27 (13 goals) points in 23 career games against the Canadiens, with 10 points coming while his team is on the man advantage.

Mathieu Perreault also contributed a goal in the last meeting between the two clubs, and has 7 points (5 goals - including a hat trick) in his last 6 games.

As a whole, the Capitals were dumped from third to ninth in the Eastern Conference standings, after the Florida Panthers leap-frogged over them for the Southeast Division lead, Wednesday.

One of the Caps biggest problems is finding wins on the road, where they third worst in the conference at 8-14-3 to go with a minus-20 goal differential.

But whether on the road or not, the Capitals have no problems when leading after 40 minutes. They are 15-0-0 when starting the 3rd period with a lead, which will mean lights out for the Habs if they find themselves in that position this afternoon. Then again having a lead hasn't down the Canadiens much good of late either.

With Canadiens playing their traditional back-to-back Superbowl Weekend afternoon games, Peter Budaj gets the call in goal against the Capitals. Budaj is 0-1 (3.81, .848) in 79 minutes of career action against Washington.

Continue reading this post »

Yesterday I was invited on to discuss Pierre McGuire as a possible GM for the Montreal Canadiens in the future. Listen to the podcast in it's entirety here.

Other highlights of the podcast were a discussion of Habs fan and Montrealer Jay Baruchel's new film 'Goon' and the loved until he steps on your sacred cows Ryan Lambert.

Oh and here's a trailer for 'Goon':

Goon - Official Trailer [HD] (via trailers)