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Tuesday Habs Links – Desharnais demoted to the fourth line

Montreal Canadiens News

Jaroslav Halak makes his second return to the Bell Centre tonight, but all anyone can talk about is David Desharnais. The Canadiens’ centreman has only one point in 15 games, the worst stretch in his career, and a feat that not even Scott Gomez was bad enough to accomplish. At practice on Monday, Desharnais was, for the first time, clearly in Michel Therrien’s doghouse, as he took rushes on the fourth line with Ryan White and George Parros, and in fact was subbed out in favor of recent call-up Martin St. Pierre at times.

You can read two very different perspectives on Desharnais here and here.

In other news, Galchenyuk is back at his natural position of centre, Daniel Briere is no longer experiencing concussion symptoms, and Alexei Emelin may be back in the lineup as early as next week.

The Blues, meanwhile, are re-arranging their lines as they prepare for the clash with the Habs.

Elsewhere in the NHL

The Cup Champ Chicago Blackhawks paid their traditional visit to the White House yesterday, and Barack Obama, a native of Chicago, was appreciative of having a home-town team back for a second time (Disclaimer: Not sure Obama has ever been to a Blackhawks, let alone a hockey game). He even took a shot at the other Chicago franchises. Obama also chirped Corey Crawford for his…umm….candid rant at the parade.

Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski welcomed Philadelphia writer Frank Seravalli onto their daily podcast. Seravalli was the beat-writer who voted Ray Emery as the 3rd star despite his beat-down of Braden Holtby (or rather because of it) in a 7-0 Philly home loss. Marek and Wysh do a good job of cross-examining the witness, here, and it’s a great listen. For the record, although I think what Emery did was despicable, I don’t really have a problem with Seravalli’s decision. The three stars really are just a spectacle for the fans, and they were given nothing to cheer about for their money. He hadn’t heard Emery’s comments at that point, and in his defense Holtby at least made a feeble attempt to fight back.

For those who have enjoyed our Breaking Down Film posts, there were a couple of similar pieces around the NHL yesterday. Justin Bourne, a former minor league player who brings one of the best and most well-balanced perspectives in the blogosphere, breaks down how to defend a scissor play.

Also, JP Nikota over at Pension Plan Puppets has a well-argued theory as to why the Leafs have struggled so much in transition this year.

Is there anything better than a coach totally losing their cool and flipping out on the bench? The answer is no. Watch Baie-Comeau’s coach chuck six sticks on the ice in protest.

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