Canadiens Rout Bruins 5-1

BREAKING NEWS! 

The Montreal Canadiens have scored a powerplay goal! 

Canadiens fans were beginning to think they would never score on the powerplay again. What a game to do it in too. This was by far the Canadiens most all around, complete game this season and it couldn’t have come against a better opponent in a 5-1 rout of the archrival Boston Bruins.

As is tradition by this point, the Habs came out in the first period slow, allowing the Bruins to score the games first goal on the PP. Dougie Hamilton blasted a knucklepuck past Carey Price, who had no chance at stopping it. Montreal began to take the game back slowly after that and had a couple of great chances before the period ended.

After the intermission however, it was a game between boys and men. Dale Weise, who was playing his first game against Boston since the Lucic handshake incident last spring, tied the game up for the Canadiens on a penalty shot. He also added an assist and a fight to the score sheet to complete the Gordie Howe Hat trick. This was easily Weise’s best game as a Canadien.

The Canadiens poured it one from there on and dominated the Bruins on the scoreboard as well as in the physicality department.  Dale Weise leveled Gregory Cambell with a clean check and then pounded him to the ice with no effort at all when Campell took exception to the hit. PK Subban made Milan Lucic look like a pansy when the Bruins power foreword refused to be drawn into a fight with the Habs’ best defenseman.

The Canadiens were able to able to play their speed and transition game against the lifeless Bruins, who have appeared to have lost their “Big Bad Bruins” identity.  Coming off a 6-1 dismantling at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs the night before, the Bruins were hoping to get back on track and prove that the Canadiens are not in their heads. Is this what the post-Chara Bruins will look like, or was this a case of exhaustion for the Bruins, who were playing their third game in four nights?

Lost in all the post game hype was the debut of Sergi Gonchar in a Canadiens uniform. The 40 year old veteran looked like his younger self, playing almost 20 minutes on the Habs backend and adding some much needed structure to the Canadiens powerplay.

Jiri Sekac continues to show he blongs in the lineup, scoring a PP goal and using to speed and size to his advantage. Lars Eller also scored his third goal in as many games and has seemed to gain new life with the addition of Sekac to the third line, after the demotion of Rene Bourque. That Canadiens third line has become the heart and soul of the team.

Carey Price had a rare quiet night, facing just 22 shots, to earn his 10^th win of the season.

Max Pacioretty also scored twice in the win.

Up next the Canadiens host the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre on Saturday night.

Canadiens Earn Two Wins in Busy Week

So much has happened over the last couple of days in the world of Habs news. First the Canadiens earned a huge two points Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. For the first time in what has felt like a lifetime, the Canadiens controlled and play and came away with a comfortable 4-1 win. The Canadiens started the first period slow, a reoccurring theme in this early season, but got their act together and took control of the game in the second and third periods to post back to back wins.

Then on Monday the Canadiens finally decided to deal with the Rene Bourque conundrum by placing the enigmatic forward on waivers then assigning him with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. Higher expectations were placed on Bourque this season after he broke out in last years playoffs, scoring eight goals and eleven points. However Bourque had only recorded 2 assists in 13 games so far this year which made GM Marc Bergevin's decision painfully easy. I have always thought Bourque possessed all the tools to become a dominant player in the league. When he wants to be, he is strong, fast and has a great shot but for some reason he could not take advantage of those skills. I don't know whether it is a attitude issue or what but hopefully, for his sake he can use this situation as a learning experience and get his game back on track. 

Marc Bergevin wasn't done with his roster moves. On Tuesday the Canadiens moved another under performing forward, Travis Moen, to the Dallas Stars in exchange for defenseman Sergi Gonchar. On the surface this seems like a strictly salary trade. Moen is signed for another year at $1.85 million, while Gonchar is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.  I do not hate this trade as much as other Habs fans. The guys over at SB Nation Eyes On The Prize have published an article explaining how Gonchar cannot help the Habs.

http://www.habseyesontheprize.com/analysis/2014/11/11/7194977/sergei-gonchar-trade-canadiens-travis-moen-habs-powerplay

It is worth the read even though I disagree. While Gonchar is a shell of his former self, he cannot hurt the Canadiens' abysmal power play which ranks 28th in the league. As long as Michel Therrien doesn't rely too much on Gonchar I think he could help the struggling Habs power play.

Tuesday night saw the Canadiens, minus the newly acquired Gonchar  take on the red hot Winnipeg Jets. The Jet came into the game with eight points in eight games. The Canadiens entered the contest looking to extend their win streak to three games. Despite PK Subban playing one of his worst games of the season and the power play still refusing to click, Carey Price was on his game once again and earned his first shutout of the season stopping all 29 Jets shots. Lars Eller, Alex Galchenyuk and Tomas Plekanec scored for the Canadiens who take on the Boston Bruins Thursday night.

Habs Grind One Out Vs. Sabres

It has been a tough couple of weeks for Canadiens fans. I will admit that I have not been able to bring myself to write about them in this slump. It's depressing. It's not that they were just losing, they were losing in spectacular fashion. The team refused to show up for home games against the Flames and the Blackhawks, leaving the Bell Centre uncharacteristically quiet.

Michel Therrien has been criticized for his lineup choices, most prominently sitting Jiri Sekac in favour of veterans Travis Moen,  Dale Weise and Rene Bourque. You have to feel a little sorry for the 22 year old Czech native. He reportedly picked the Canadiens from a list of 12 suitors, had a tremendous training camp and scored his first goal in from of his cheering family. His was rewarded for this by being sent to the press box for seven straight games.

Well last night Sekac finally made his way back into the lineup against the Buffalo Sabres. Taking his place in the press box was Rene Bourque. Bourque has not been awful, he has had his chances, but he just seems to be a player where offense goes to die.

To be honest, there is not a whole lot to say in regards to the Buffalo game. It was incredibly boring. The team played with zero intensity and at times the Canadiens made the Sabres look like a legitimate playoff team. It is understandable to come out slow in the second game of back to backs but you would think that the Canadiens would want to come out flying against a weaker opponent to get themselves out of this funk. However, the Canadiens offense sputtered and if not for some heroics by Tokarski, they would have lost.

Word has also come out that Jiri Sekac will not receive a call from the Department of Player Safety for his check from behind on Sabres Defenseman Nikita Zardov. This is surprising to me. Sekec is not a dirty player but that hit was. Zardov was cut on the play and had to leave the game for a bit. However Sekac only received a two minute minor for boarding. Sufficed to say, the next meeting between these clubs may get interesting.

There were some positives that came out of this win. One was that the Canadiens continue to excel in the shootout. Another was that P.A. Parenteau came up clutch once again. That trade for Daniel Briere keeps on looking like a absolute steal for the Habs.

Next game up is a tough one against Minnesota on Saturday.