Happy Birthday Habs

Despite a week full of … unclassy… NHL behavior, it was a real highlight Thursday evening when the Montreal Canadiens proved they are one of the classiest franchises in the sport.

The New York Rangers came to town to help Montreal celebrate their 99th birthday on December 4th. Montreal kicked it old school with sweet jerseys that had their old “CA” logo (standing for “Club Athletique Canadien,” which the Habs were known as until the establishment of the National Hockey League). This is the start of the Canadiens’ centennial year, and if I do say so myself, it was great to see them kick it off with another Original Six team.

The classiest part of the event was when Montreal introduced Ron Greschner, Harry Howell, Brad Park, Rod Gilbert and Andy Bathgate. Because, just in case any of those names don’t ring a bell, those aren’t classic Canadien greats.

They’re Ranger greats.


Lafleur, Richard, Moore, Savard, Rousseau and Houle represented the Habs as the Canadiens had a pregame ceremony celebrating the Original Six rivalry and history between the two clubs. I’m expecting to see similar presentations for the other Original Six teams.

What a tasteful move by a class act.

Apparently, the Rangers thought the only way to repay them was to play the worst game they’ve played all season. Lundqvist said it was like an NHL team playing a non-NHL team. We wouldn’t want the Habs to lose on their birthday, would we?

No matter. Still a great move by a great organization. This fan appreciated it, anyway.

Happy Birthday Les Habitants.

Source.

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Leafs Lose Home Opener

Fans who planned the parade following the Leafs season opening win over Detroit got hit with a dose of reality tonight.

Montreal trounced Toronto 6-1 in the Leafs home opener. Toronto wasn't able to bounce back from Montreal's first two goals, scored 99 seconds apart. Roman Hamrlik scored at 11:00 in the opening period, followed by Alexei Kovalev.

Power play problems plagued Toronto's second period performance. The Habs potted three goals in under 5:00 - all with the man advantage. Alex Tanguay's backhand was sandwiched between Sergei Kostitsyn's snapper and wrist-shot goals. Guillaume Latendresse also scored for Montreal. The Leafs' lone marker came from Jason Blake, who drew criticism from some fans for his goal celebration.

Montreal was the more physical team but the only Leaf to try and send a message was Dominic Moore. The normally calm Moore went into the sin bin for double minors after expressing his displeasure at the Habs manhandling of his team.

Toronto again had pivot problems. They won 29 faceoffs to Montreal's 40. Only one Habs' centre, veteran Robert Lang was below 50%. Contrast that with Toronto - only Mikhail Grabovski and Matt Stajan were at 50% The lone Leaf above 50% was Jonn Mitchell, who only took one faceoff.

Next up for Buds are the St. Louis Blues on Monday. It's a 1PM start time due to the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday.

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I have accepted it

It's all Carey Price (aka Baby Sexy #1)'s fault

Don't belive me?


Well I'm sorry to disappoint. Price was amazing in the first three games against Boston, and then, somehow, he lost it. He made some great saves while give up some craptastic goals, and when I say craptastic, I mean craptastic.


Throughout the regular season, Price looked like the second coming of Patrick Roy. Despite my love of Hip Hip Huet, I let myself believe. I thought that we could win with Price between the pipes.... after all the kid had gone from the Dub, where he lost out, to a Calder Cup the year before. He should have been ready for the show.


Of course, that's easy for me to say. I've never played pro in Montreal. I've never had to deal with the media scrutiny. I've never had to deal with the St. Patrick comparisons. After all, the last second coming of Patrick Roy was Jose Thedore (SEXY #1), and despite taking back the starting gig in Colorado this season, Theo disappointed fans in Montreal before.


20 years old is too young for a goalie in today's NHL.


I am not making excuses for my team and the fact that they failed to make it to the Conference Championships.


I am stating a fact.


In 1999 a nearly 20 year old Roberto Luongo led Team Canada at the World Juniors. We lost in a heart breaker to Russia. Luongo still hasn't made an impact to ANY post-season team, and he's now 29.


His back up that year was Brian Finley. I had to Google him to find out who he is. Last season he played 12 games. 2 in the show for the BOOuirns and 10 for their AHL affiliate. He's 26.


In 2000, Maxime Ouellet started for the Red and White. He's 26 now. He played 6 games in the ECHL this year. Brian Finley was his back up.

In 2001, Maxime was back between the pipes for the Red & White. We finished third for a second year in a row. Alex Auld was his back up. He split this year between Phoenix, San Antonio (AHL) and Boston. He's 27.

In 2002, Team Canada was led at the World Juniors by Pascale Leclair. We place second, and it took him until this season, as a 25 year old, to make a difference for Columbus. His back up, Olivier Michaud, had to be Googled. He's playing in some league called the LNAH for the St. Jean Chiefs. (For the record, 2002 was the year that Hottie McHottie from Fort McMurray, Scotti Upshall was el Capitaine!)

In 2003, Canada took home silver again and began developing a complex. This was also the year that Crosby was like, a stick boy or something in Halifax. He would have been like 15. Upshall once again wore the "C" for Canada, only this time, MAF (Marc-Andre Fleury) was between the pipes for the Red and White. He's really making noise as a star goalie now - at 23.

His backup, David LeNeveu, had to be Googled, and all he did was play 39 games in the AHL for 2 teams this season.

MAF was back in 2004 when Team Canada (AKA MAF) gave up a lead to the Americans (led by Hottie McHottie Zachie Parise) and eventually the game in the third period in Finland. His back up that year? Josh Harding. Hards, a dirty Regina boy if ever there was one, played 29 games as the Wild back up this year. He's 23.

In 2005, the Red and White finally won Gold. (First time in like, forever for Canadian hockey fans). They were led in goal by Jeff Glass. As a 22 year old, he played 45 games for the Baby Sens. His back up Rejean Beauchemin (SEXY #1's Doppleganger) played 43 games in the ECHL at the same age.

In 2006, Team Canada was Golden again. This time we were led by a Laffs draft pick named Justin Pogge. He went on to be a Bootlegger Spokesmodel. Well, mainly model, and at 21 he's still playing for the Baby Laffs. His backup, Devan Dubnyk, was a backup in the AHL this year, after a year in the ECHL.

Finally, in 2007, the Super Series Team was led to Gold against Team Russia by Jonathan Bernier, Steve Mason and Leland Irving. Mainly, Bernier was in the minors, despite a great start for the Kings, and a few games in the AHL. He's 19. Mason, also 19, was back in the OHL all season. Irving was back in the Dub.

Carey Price led the 2007 edition of Team Canada to World Junior Gold. He went on to be eliminated in the Dub playoffs, only to lead the Baby Habs to a Calder Cup. His backup, was Irving who toiled in the Dub this year.

The fact is, 20 is simply too young for a goalie in today's NHL, and if anyone wants to argue with me, you just have to look back at the Great Goalies of the World Juniors to see what I mean... and I didn't even look at Russia's goalies!

So Baby Sexy #1 was too young, but he's formidable as it is. Give him a couple of year. The Habs will be the next Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup. Trust me...

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I.....

Hate my team and really want to cry right now.

That is all.

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Weekly Topic 1: Second Banana

Apparently both life and hockey still go on even as we Caps fans recover from our heartbreaking first round exit (who knew?) - so it seems as good a time as any to hitch my wagon to some other poor, unsuspecting team.

Luckily for me I already have a few backups lined up, teams that I follow all year long to some degree or another - and amazingly a few of them are still kicking after the first round! It's come as quite a shock in the CC household to not fully despise every team in the playoffs, I have to admit.

I'm always keeping an eye on the Sharks and Stars out west because I have a number of players I like on each team...but I have to admit the team I'll be watching the most is Les Habitants, the Montreal Canadiens.

And I swear it's not (just) because they face Philadelphia in the next round.

I've been waiting for this type of season from them since I first started watching them eight years ago, when I was but a wee innocent American studying in Montreal, and I have to say watching them this season in the games that they dominate has been a true joy. When I was initiated into the world of the Habs back in 2000 they were the scrappy underdogs; today, when they play to their potential, they are nothing short of breathtaking. How can you not love the awesome puckhandling skills of Alex Kovalev, the whirling dervishes that are the Kostitsyn brothers, or the bone-crushing checks of Mike Komisarek?

And then there is Carey Price, the rookie goaltender thrust into the spotlight and handed the reins of the historic franchise in the hopes that he could repeat the magic performed by Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy before him. And Saku Koivu, the captain who has been knocked down so many times both physically and mentally over the last ten years and yet still manages to pour his heart and soul into this team.

When your hopes are dashed early it's almost more painful than not making the playoffs at all, but I'm really trying to enjoy playoff hockey again - hopefully my Habs can help me out to the tune of a little thing called the Stanley Cup...

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Dude Where's My Team??

This off course, was what I was saying to myself during the third period of tonight's game.

Dude - Where's my team?

So I thought to myself, "Self - what can I do to help my team?"

Due to mainly brokeness, my previous tradition of getting drunk while watching playoff hockey has had to make its way out this year. Which is fine with me. Mainly because my team is supposed to destroy the Boouirns in the first round.

Note the key word in that sentence is "supposed to".

The team apparently forgot about this during the third period, where mes Habitants were looking mediocre at best. MEDIOCRE.

We forgot to move our feet. We also apparently forgot how to shoot the puck, and when we remembered, we forgot that the puck is supposed to HIT the net. You know, because the puck hitting the net (as opposed to the post and end boards) actually has a chance of going in.

Unlike Don Cherry and Bob Cole (stupid pro Boouirns morons - I mean, I know the Laffs didn't make the playoffs and the Habs did, but that's no reason to be so blatant about your dislike of the TOP CANADIAN TEAM in the PLAYOFFS!!), I am not going to give credit to Boston.

Sorry, not for nothin', never happen.

The fact is, mes Habitants were beating themselves. They had plenty of power play time (and did anyone else notice the blatant interference on Baby Sexy #1 during the first period?? The referee apparently forgot to put his contacts in before the game) and they still failed to come alive.

So I decided to bring out an oldie, but a goody.

And so I whipped out Les Canadiens de Montreal, which, once upon a time, was the team's theme song. I would love to share it with you all, but that would require far more work then I am willing to put in this morning. I swear there will be a YouTube video with that song in the background sometime in the near future.

So, mes Habitants, wake up! Game 3 goes TONIGHT in Boston!

P.S. - I can't for the life of me make the "Read More" thing work. So if anyone has any advice with helping my incompetent self, please, feel free.

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Big Bang, I'm back

And who would have guessed it? So are the Habs!

The NHL trade deadline is coming up on Tuesday and to everyone's surprise, the Montreal Canadiens are only one point back of the East leading Senators, who are currently LOSING to The Crosby Show(okay so he's not even on the ice, but you get my drift) 3-2, heading into the third period of play.

What does this mean you ask? It means, darlings, that the Habs are going to be playas come deadline day. Names being mentioned you ask?

1. Mats Sundin - ICK ooh. ICK. So he was hot once, back when he had the Campbell's Soup Commercial, and so what he scores points. He's a LAFF. Ain't no way he can wear the Red, White & Blue. I'd rather die then cheer for Sundin.
2. Brad Richards - YUMMY. On many levels. both PPG (point per game) and HMH (Hottie Mc Hottie)-wise. Of course, his salary is somewhat ridiculous, which may strap the Habs for cash, so I'm not completely sure that my Habs should go in this direction. That said, he adds depth down the middle, and since the Habs are currently TWO points back of 1st in the East, they could use some of that y'all.
3. Marian Hossa - I totally love the Hossa's so I am completely biased. When the Habs traded away baby Hossa for Garth Murray I was bitter. Don't get me wrong, I love Garth. He's a dirty Regina boy, so I gotta give him mad luv, but baby Hossa has done good things for the Rangers, while Garth was placed on waivers this year. So I think another Hossa would be a great pick up for the Habs.

Those are the top three names being banded about, and really I think only #2 and #3 are possibilities. The Habs can easily give up Ryder, who is clearly sucking a nut this season, while being able to toss in a name like Josh Georges (who I hate for all kinds of non-hockey related reasons) and a draft pick, because clearly our drafting is like, erratic at best. I mean, we didn't even pick up Espo #2, and we had the chance.

The Habs will be buyers come deadline day. The only questions left to answer are who are they going to buy? And what will they give up to get them?

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Boys Behaving Badly

First off, I'd like to echo what McP said about Richard Zednik. The good news is that the surgery was fine and a spokesperson for the Panthers says he's recovering comfortably at the hospital.

There are some troublemakers on the Habs.

Edited to Add
Their mug shots are now available.

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A not so friendly Habs note.

Dear Reader/Lurker/Person passing by,

I have been spending the past hours, more accurately the whole day, gloating. And that is because I am a bad hockey fan. I know I should spread messages of love, peace and understanding. But fuck – did you just see the score? Is that a score I should pretend to be all calm about? I’ll be honest here; I wasn’t very enthused at the start. The Habs were on the chopping block for my love of all things Hockey. And they wasted no time in proving their love for me. Komisarek got on his knees and – bless his heart – he begged to not be left behind. Markov told me that without me, he wouldn’t be able to read basic street signs. Plekanec had a turtleneck dedicated to me. And well Kovalev – he did something?

And yes, Huet. Oh Huet. The French bastard stole my heart.

Nonetheless it was a bit pear shaped, the Habs only had 50% of what penalties the Bruins had. Manny the Tranny was hung out to dry and Francis Bouillon finished with a +3. Fancy that.

And by the way, I am still an awful fan. I told the resident Canucks fan that his team sucked so much I was proud to wear my Oilers shirt (only because he told me to get rid of it). I even poked fun at the kind of things the team lost to, even if I enjoyed the Canucks I couldn’t pass up a good gloating.

And yes boys and girls, Jordi may be the fun aunt but she isn’t the aunt you listen to. Especially when she touches the vino.

And as a parting note, guess the defendant!

Plaintiff soon began to suspect that her husband was having an affair with her brother's wife. In the summer of 2002, she confronted defendant about her suspicions; both defendant and her sister-in-law denied having an affair, and plaintiff had no reason to disbelieve them. She allowed her brother and sister-in-law to remain living with them. On December 24, 2002, however, defendant admitted to having an adulterous relationship with his sister-in-law. When, on December 28, 2002, plaintiff learned that the affair was continuing, she removed defendant's belongings from the marital home and asked him to leave. He stayed in hotels and then an apartment for the first few months of 2003.
After the separation, plaintiff still had access to the couple's joint bank account and to her credit cards. Because she was uncertain about her future, she immediately withdrew $300,000 from their joint account and deposited the money into an account in her own name. Plaintiff admitted that she spent some of this money on plastic surgeries for herself and her sister and for a car for her sister. She claimed that some of the spending on her sister was consistent with the couple's prior gift-giving practices and that some of it was to compensate her sister for helping plaintiff with the children.

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A 5 second post for the busy Habs fan.

This is our #11, our god, our Saku Koivu.

This is Plekanec, he believes in turtlenecks. When he scores hattricks, turtlenecks fall.

This is Andrei Kostitsyn, he's bringing mullets to the Slavic community.

This is Komisarek, he bleeds Bleu Blanc and the godly Rouge.

This is Markov - he is Defence. I'm sure his full name is Andrei D Markov.

Go Habs!

I have been lazy. And yes, fuck.

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