Waking up on this beautiful day of March 17^th, the Montreal Canadiens stand on the sixth place in the Eastern Conference. They are four points away from the Boston Bruins, who still have two games at hand. Boston is facing the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday and the New York Rangers on Sunday.

The Habs have gone 7-1-0 since their return from the Olympic break.

Jaroslav Halak has given his all, start after start, since his return. Although he came short of a Bronze Medal, he came back with the Canadiens on top of his game.

Carey Price, on the other hand, tried hard. He gave a stellar performance with 37 saves in a hard fought 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

His, say, ‘strange’ season has raised many doubts regarding the young goaltender and his work ethic. With his place as starting goaltender in jeopardy, rumours even swirled around concerning a potential trade. New GM Pierre Gauthier however ensured since his arrival in office that the team would keep its two current goaltenders.

Through the goaltending musical chair and the competition the management created between the two young goalies, Jacques Martin and Gauthier seemed to have won their bets:  one eventually stood out of the duo.

Struggling against the Anaheim Ducks two Sundays ago, Price had to sit the bench as Halak took on in the second period to bring the team to a 4-3 shootout win.

For Halak’s faithful fans, that game must have reflected just about the season itself.

Appointed starting goaltender despite a somewhat difficult season last year, Price came in with a few strong starts but eventually failed to make the difference in a team riddled with injuries. Halak came out of his shadow to help the team get 48 of its current 78 points in the standings.

It has not been without struggles, but he managed to get important wins.

The goaltender has not been the only consistent player since the Olympic break. While the team waits for Mike Cammalleri’s return, the newest additions such as Dominic Moore and Benoit Pouliot have been helping out.

Moore has scored a goal and recorded six assists in eight games since the start of the month. Pouliot has been faithful to what he has shown to the Habs since his arrival. Acquired earlier in the season from the Minnesota Wild, he now has registered 21 points in 28 games; including seven points (3-4) in March.  

Veterans have not gone invisible either. Andrei Markov, who has suffered a painful Olympic end to the hands of the Canadians, is outdoing himself with ten points in his last seven games.

Finally, Tomas Plekanec is being faithful to himself by providing a consistent contribution to the team’s offense. He has scored four goals and the game winner in shootout during the impressive comeback against the Anaheim Ducks.

The team is currently on a three day break before facing the Toronto Maple Leafs at the ACC on Saturday. The Leafs are preparing to face the New Jersey Devils tomorrow, after a 4-1 win over the Sens on Tuesday.

With eleven games to go, the Habs will face division rivals five times before the end of the season.

Go Habs!

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Meanwhile, we are down to the semi-finals in Vancouver and of the five Canadiens players invited to represent their respective countries, only one remains and it is no one else than goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

But in the first of this series of articles, let’s go back in time to recap one of our stars and his team’s tenure during this journey.

Sergei Kostitsyn –Belarus.

It was without sidelined Andrei Kostitsyn that Belarus took on Finland on February 17^th. With a Finnish team led by no one else than former ten year Habs Captain, Saku Koivu, Kostitsyn and his crew eventually lost 5-1.

However, it was not as a one way game as the score would indicate it to be.

For most of the second period, until the Finnish have scored their third and go ahead goal, Belarus was not going to give it up that easy.

Taking a 2-0 start in the first period, the Finnish saw their opponent get in the game with their first, albeit only, goal of the game; thanks to Sergei Kostitsyn.

 They moved on to play the defending champions Sweden two days later; but then again, were not able to get on the W-side.

All but four Swedes are currently playing in the NHL, which gives the team an allure of an All Star Game squad. Among those NHLers, Henrik Sedin and Nicklas Backstrom are ranked respectively at the second and fourth place in points so far.

Of the squad that eliminated Sweden in 2002 in the quarterfinals, four players are returning to these Olympics; including the goaltender. But Sweden took a three goal lead, including two goals in the first period, before Belarus answered with a pair. Finally, Daniel Alfredsson, helped by the Sedin brothers sealed the game with a 4-2 win.

They faced Germany the following day; the same Germany that team Canada eventually upset 8-2. Team Belarus shot 17 times towards the Sharks backup goalie Thomas Greiss, while 29 year old Vitaly Koval faced 40 shots from the Germans.

Our no.74 was a big part of his team’s 5-3 victory with a goal and three assists.

Germany did take the lead in the first period, but three goals put Belarus up front. It was 4-3 until the final two minutes of the game when Alexei Kalyuzhni, who represents his country for the third time at the Olympics, brought it to the final 5-3 winning score.

The ultimate game came down to the one against Switzerland last Wednesday. With both teams tied at three points as the Swiss recorded a shootout loss and a shootout win, while Belarus had one win in regulation time; the ticket to the quarter finals was going to be given that day.

Neither team wanted to let go as the game went to shootout, with the Swiss coming on top to eventually face the United States. With a 2-2 score by the end of the overtime, the game was down to Kostitsyn’s shot to tie the Swiss in shootout. However, he seemed to have lost control of the puck which gave Jonas Hiller the chance to end a 41 save game.

Closing the tournament, Kostitsyn counts the third most ice time of his team among forwards, averaging about 18 minutes per game. He leads his team with five points, and has managed six shots on goal in four games.

Quotes on Kostitsyn:

The Hockey News’ Patrick Williams prior to the Olympics: “Powerhouse Hamilton is also contributing to the Olympic effort, sending Swiss defenseman Yannick Weber. Sergei Kostitsyn, who played 16 games with the Bulldogs before being recalled to the Canadiens in late November, is a key part for the Belarusians.”

NHL.com’s Bob Condor prior to the game against Switzerland: “Sergei Kostitsyn has delivered the goods for Belarus as one of only three NHL players on the country’s roster.”

Yahoo! Sports’ Ken Daneyko on Switzerland’s win: “I thought Montreal Canadiens forward Sergei Kostitsyn played OK for Belarus but not well enough to be a difference-maker. To make matters worse, he did a poor job with his shootout attempt.”

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Then Guillaume Latendresse got traded. We barely had the time to realize what just hit that Georges Laraque is released by the Montreal Canadiens.

The following month, Bob Gainey steps down as General Manager.

It was through a rather relax and humorous press conference that the team management made the announcement of Gainey’s resignation. He is being replaced by Pierre Gauthier who has been Assistant GM since 2006.

He won’t be completely out of the picture however, keeping a close watch on the operations and assisting Gauthier in his decisions as well.

Desiring to decide of his own future, a few months ahead of the end of his contract with the team, Gainey did not take the Canadiens’ disappointing season as a reason to leave. He just wanted to have time of his own!

The five time Stanley Cup winner came back to the Habs Organization in May 2003, and has led the team to four playoffs appearances out of five opportunities. However, they have never been able to go beyond the second round; but that was since the last Stanley Cup victory!

And despite whatever the team is going through at the moment, he remains confident that they will make it this year.

The chuckles in the audience, responding to Gainey’s entertaining comments, reflected of a smoother transition than expected. After all, the timing is quite interesting as the season (so far) has had more lows than highs.

Those struggles, of course, have questioned the former GM’s decision that which affect the present situation of the team.

Some said that Carey Price thrown in as number one goalie was a big mistake. Others criticize the Scott Gomez acquisition. Jacques Martin as head coach also appears at the center of debates.

Despite the end of an era, the sun has risen again and life goes on. In fact, the general reaction among fans has been mostly “it was about time.” A decision eventually had to be made.

Coming back to on-ice matters, the Olympic break is right around the corner but it will get the Habs a few challenges to fully enjoy it.

First, the Washington Capitals.

Alexander Ovechkin’s crew has won their last fourteen games. Yes, fourteen! Their most recent victory was against the Stanley Cup Champs Pittsburgh Penguins, during which Sidney Crosby scored two goals and Ovechkin recorded a hat trick plus an assist.

Ovie now has 42 goals, while the Pens’ Captain has 39.

While Washington is 14-0-0, Montreal is 6-5-3 with five of those wins thanks to Jaroslav Halak.

Struggling to find consistency in their performance, the three consecutive victories over Vancouver, Boston and Pittsburgh seemed to have lit the end of the tunnel. Finally! But that was before the hungry Bruins came back to the Bell Center to put an end to their devastating ten game losing streak.

A very agile and dominant Tukka Rask made 36 saves to earn his third shutout of the season in the 3-0 win.

For Washington, Jose Theodore started ten games in their victory sequence. He has not allowed more than two goals in five of those. Meanwhile, the Caps have scored at least three times in all fourteen match-ups, including nine when they have had five or more goals.

In other news, with the Olympic break come the trade deadline speculations as well. Although the goalie situation seemed to bother most and could be solved with a trade, new GM Gauthier reinsured that the Organization will keep both young goaltenders.

And here I thought that the moment Gainey would be gone, Carey Price would pack up too!

It is still unsure whether or not the team management will pull a ‘Brian Burke’ on this team, as most changes were already made last summer. But we should never say ‘never’!

News from across Habs land:

-Ryan O’Byrne will come back to British Columbia during the Olympic break to assist to his mother’s memorial service. Lorelei O’Byrne passed away at the end of January, after a long battle against cancer. Love and prayers to the entire family.

-Forward Tom Pyatt has been recalled from the Hamilton Bulldogs, while Ryan White and Brock Trotter have been assigned back.

-Following the fuss about Andrei Markov and Carey Price, Michel Bergeron expressed his disagreement with the goaltender’s attitude in his chronicle on RDS.ca.

Citing the fact that the 22 year old leaves the practice as fast as he came in, and his lack of work ethic; the former Nordiques head coach declared that the goaltender needs to change. “Jim Craig, the former star goaltender of team USA who won the gold medal at the Lake Placid Olympic Games in 1980, has become famous fast. Then he suddenly disappeared. The same thing could happen to Price.” (Rough translation)

-Follow our players at the Olympics Games on ‘Canadiens Eh?’ with our new segment “The Canadiens in Vancouver” featured throughout the tournament.

Go Habs!

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The last time he started was against the New York Rangers, when the team blew a two goal lead to eventually let the game slip 6-2.

Tonight however, Mathieu Darche and Halak made sure the ending would be quite better.

Zach Parise opened the score with his 21^st of the season, during the first period. That puts him fifteenth overall in goals in the league, as well as leading his team in points and goals.

Moreover, recording a plus -1 during the game, it brings his total rating to plus -21 which is good for the seventh place in the NHL. The first spot is actually being held by no one else than Alexander Ovechkin who has plus -29.

Zach Parise might be hot, but Benoit Pouliot is boiling!

With two goals last game which helped the Canadiens steal a point to the St Louis Blues last Wednesday, he went at it again with a goal to tie the game.

He now has eleven goals this season, and his ninth in 14 games played with the Canadiens.

Obtained in return of Guillaume Latendresse a few weeks ago, Pouliot appears to be a good fit for the Organization. The trade turns out to benefit both teams as Latendresse is also showing productivity in his new environnment.

The former no.84 now has 19 points in 29 games with the Minnesota Wild and has been elected third star in the NHL last week.

The second period was rather calm in terms of shots on goal. Montreal managed only five shots on Martin Brodeur while the Devils shot only six times on Halak.

Freshly recall Mathieu Darche has however scored the Canadiens’ go ahead goal just five minutes within the period.

A former McGill University player, the 33 year old did not have the ballad of the butterflies in the big league. Playing his first NHL game with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2000-2001 season, he then has not recorded a point in nine games.

The next years would be a trip between the NHL and the affiliates; with the Blue Jackets, the Predators, the Sharks and the Lightning.

Before being recalled by the Habs, he has played 32 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs and has recorded 25 points.

Michael Cammalleri eventually sealed the game with his 24^th of the season, assisted by Andrei Markov and Darche.

Cammalleri scored his third goal in three games and his fifth point this month. It puts him eighth overall in the NHL in goals, right after Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos who has 26. Patrick Marleau currently stands first with 35 goals scored in 52 games played.

 Halak ended a good day at the office with 31 saves, while Brodeur made 21.

The team immediately flew back to Montreal as it will face the New York Rangers at the Bell Center.

Notes and numbers:

Brian Gionta had six shots on goal. However, Devils’ Jamie Langerbrunner tops both teams with eight. He recorded an assist on his team’s only goal.

The team gave 21 hits on the Devils, and blocked 11 shots in front of Halak.

It was a calm day at work for Markov, who is used to an overflow of ice time. Last night, he hit the 22 minute level but not more.

Scott Gomez lost eight face-offs out of 13.

Despite last night’s loss, it was only Brodeur’s 14^th lost match-up of the season; it represents more than Carey Price’s number of wins this year.

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Indeed, the Montreal Canadiens who expressed so much need for an enforcer at the start of the 2008-2009 season just told Georges Laraque that his services were no longer required.

The news was first reported by RDS.ca, and the story is still developing.

Laraque’s trip with the Canadiens has not been exactly a fairytale, and both the player and the fans started to express some frustrations.

Some criticized the coach for not giving him more ice time so he could actually do his job. Some criticized Laraque for not imposing himself enough to force the coach’s decision.

No matter who gets the blame, Laraque is the one to go.

TSN published their first conversation with the player after the announcement; in which Laraque said it was a “classless” act from the Organization.

The fingers can be pointing everywhere, but the player had a personal favourite as to whom the decision was from; he declared the coach “did not believe in toughness.”

Laraque is the second player not being part of the Canadiens’ plans after the season start. Guillaume Latendresse has been traded to the Minnesota Wild a few weeks ago after going through the same bench warming treatment.

The news comes a day after goaltender Carey Price dropped the gloves for the first time in his NHL career; which had many joke about the actual need of Laraque.

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So far, the team has had four match-ups; respectively against the Buffalo Sabres, the Washington Capitals, the Florida Panthers and the New Jersey Devils.

There are a few things that we can be thankful for, at least if we look at those games alone.

Among them figures Andrei Markov.

Captain or not, Markov has been a true leader. His return to the game has transformed the team, and the differences are quite tangible.

Back since December 19, he has scored three goals and helped set ten others. Moreover, he has brought stability on the blue line, as well as on the special units. With him on the sideline, Montreal has been quite struggling on the man advantage, averaging a 20% success.

Then, at his very first game, he scored two PP goals. Since he came back, Montreal is now rolling with 13 PP goals scored on 33 opportunities; as opposed to 21 in 105 before.

Head coach Jacques Martin heavily relies on the Russian D-man, even playing him for 28: 32 against the New Jersey Devils.

Another player to be thankful for is of course goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

Not only did he deliver the merchandise, but he did it with style.

He has made 38 saves in a shutout win over the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre. He has also delivered a goalie battle against Martin Brodeur, which unfortunately folded out in favour of the Devils but the Habs still managed one point in the loss.

The debate concerning both goalies will keep on going, unless Price steps up his game. Indeed, scepticism starts to grow regarding the young goaltender.

Price fans might however argue the following.

Against Buffalo, the team shot 30 times in direction of Ryan Miller, and has blocked 16 shots in front of Price. Against Washington, the Habs had 26 SOG and 18 blocked shots.

As Halak replaced him against Florida, Montreal shot 39 times on Tomas Vokoun and blocked 26 attempts; while against New Jersey, they have shot 30 times and blocked 21 shots in front of the young goaltender.

Some might say that the general tenure of the team is improved when Halak guards the net.

That being said however, it could mean that he is bringing a better team oriented attitude on the ice. But I am just saying!

On our highlights of last week also figures Benoit Pouliot who has recorded two ‘stars’. He has been awarded third star of the game against Buffalo, and Florida.

He has scored two goals in the last four match-ups; one in the 2-0 win over the Panthers, the other against the Caps.

 Finally, Scott Gomez also deserves an honourable mention as he has scored his first goal in seven games, and second in 17. Hopefully, it will open the door to a comeback that the team could very well use with the loss of Andrei Kostitsyn.

Indeed, Coach Martin’s hard work to maintain the rhythm in spite of the injuries will be put to test again. The oldest of the Kostitsyn brothers underwent a knee surgery last Friday and is expected to miss another six weeks.

On the coach’s platter also figures another issue: George Laraque. The tough player’s ice time is similar to what Markov gets on the PP during busy nights.

Most times, he would play in the first period and warm the bench for the remaining of the game.

In an interview with RDS, Laraque expressed his desire to get more involved; and hoped that the second part of the season will allow him to do what he does best as teams get ready for the playoffs.

Talking about the second part of the season, the Organization will have to deal with a few issues.

Among them stands the race for the playoffs. Currently eighth, Montreal could get swept off the playoff picture at any occasion as the standing is tightening and everyone wants a piece of the cake.

Injuries have messed up the first part of the season, and it is not guaranteed that Martin will eventually have his full and healthy roster sitting in front of him.

Second, Bob Gainey might want to take a look at his goalie situation. It is not a secret for anyone that his vote goes to Price. However, if this latter keeps on stumbling while Halak keeps on working hard, the GM might remain among the few ones to hold on to the 22 year old goalie.

No matter what Gainey’s decision will be, the coach might also want to take a look at the way he uses his goaltenders. The play-until-you-lose system can be helpful in a young season; but as the team tries to set a cruise control for the last run, time will soon come when the starting goalie will need constancy.

Go Habs!

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Indeed, the Canadiens have now lost their last four home games; which brings their records to 9-10-2.

Carey Price was back in net, as head coach Jacques Martin’s musical chair look-alike system keeps on going even at this period of the season. But what can he do? Price’s inconsistence has put Halak in the highlight; but then again, Halak cannot win them all.

The BC native stopped 29 out of 30 shots. Unfortunately, one goal was enough for the Buffalo Sabres to steal the win thanks to their goaltender Ryan Miller who pulled an A-game for the shutout.

After the loss to the Sabres, the team flew to Washington to face the Capitals tonight.

Washington is currently 24-11-6 and stands first in the Southeast division. They are two points away from the Buffalo Sabres who currently hold the second place in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres will play the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow.

Things are not as shiny on the Canadiens’ side; although we will all agree that it has improved in a month. The standing starts to pack up like sardines between the eighth and the thirteenth place.

The Thrashers, the Lightning, the Islanders, the Flyers and the Panthers all have two or more games at hand than the Canadiens. The three or four point gap is therefore within close reach; and a misstep could cost our Sainte Flannelle.

As we will take it one game at a time, let’s go back to the Washington Capitals.

This will be the third meeting between both teams. Montreal visited the Caps for the first match-up and left with a 3-2 win. Washington however returned the favour and defeated the Tricolore 4-3 in shootout.  

Price was in net for both games, posting a .906 save average. Semyon Varlamov got the win for the Caps. He is however sustaining an injury that will cause him to miss a few more days than expected.

The Capitals just lost their last three games; respectively to the Kings, the Sharks and the Hurricanes. Jose Theodore let in six goals against Carolina and has been replaced by 21 year old Michal Neuvirth for the next two match-ups.

Tonight’s starting goaltenders will be revealed through the day.

Washington stands first overall in goals scored per game. In 41 challenges, they have scored 142 goals; including 38 on the man advantage which actually puts them right behind our Habs on the PP standing.

Alex Ovechkin currently flies high with 50 points. He got a goal and an assist the last time he faced the Habs. Additionally, in 18 career games against the Canadiens, he has recorded 11 goals and 11 assists.

He has however been blanked against the Kings, which is only the seventh time this season that he hasn’t recorded at least a point in a game.

Montreal has good news and bad news.

The bad news is that the brothers Kostitsyn are reportedly staying in Montreal. Andrei took a tough hit during the game against the Florida Panthers last week, and left the game in the second period. Sergei, on the other end, did not even play as he got injured during the warm-up.

Moreover, Ryan O’Byrne is back in B.C according to HabsInsideOut, for family reasons.

The good news is that it will be a 100 years tonight that the Habs played their first game. Jack Laviolette was Captain and coach at the same time, as the team prepared to face the Cobalt Silver Kings. The Habs won it 7-6.

Hopefully, it will constitute some inspiring material.

Pucks drops at 7.00 pm ET.

Go Habs!

Updates:

Carey Price will be the starting goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens. He has allowed only one goal at each of his two last starts. It will be his first consecutive start since December 16th and December 17th.

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The month of December has been quite a busy one, with 17 match-ups concluded with a seven game road trip.

They visited Florida for the first time this season last Thursday, with Jaroslav Halak coming back in net after Carey Price played the day before.

Andrei Kostitsyn’s tenth penalty of the year opened the door for Keith Ballard to open the score for the Panthers. After the first period, the score was 2-1 after Hal Gill tied the game and Florida’s Nathan Horton took the lead again.

Mike Cammalleri is not just walking but running on the road of success. He has extended his game streak with at least a point to six. A power play goal starting the second period now brings his statistics to 20 goals and 17 assists. He currently stands ninth overall in goals scored and fourth overall for all LW; after Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley.   

Talking about success, Tomas Plekanec is on cruise control. With now 46 points after scoring a goal in the second period Thursday, he has gotten seven more points than he had all of last season.

At his time last year in 2008-2009, he just got four points in 13 games during the month of December. He would eventually get a nine game streak with a least a point, including six goals in five games.

Marc Andre Bergeron, for his tenth of the season and sixth on the man advantage scored the fourth goal for the Canadiens before newcomer Benoit Pouliot concluded the game.

Pouliot, used approximately 13 minutes per game, has scored his second goal in five games as a Canadiens. He averages around three shots on goal per night.  

Halak made 32 saves in a 5-4 win, while his vis-a-vis Tomas Vokoun made 37.

The starting goaltender has not been confirmed yet for this afternoon, against the Sabres.

It will be the fourth match-up between both teams, with Price goaltending in a 2-1 OT win at the start of the season. Halak was in net for the 6-2 and 4-3 next losses. He is however currently the hot goalie, earning the Molson Cup for December.

The Sabres will look to extend their winning streak to four, this Sunday afternoon after wins over St Louis, Pittsburgh and Atlanta.

They were 9-4-2 in December while Montreal was 9-7-1.

Ryan Miller, who has been named to the Vancouver 2010 roster last Friday, has started all but seven of his team’s games. He has an impressive record of 22-8-3 which is one more win than Halak and Price combined. He is 15-5-5 against Montreal with a .913 saving average.

Jason Pominville also holds a decent record against his hometown team with 20 points in 31 career games. He has recorded three points at his last two games against Montreal.

Derek Roy is currently rollerblading on concrete, going as fast as he wants to and having control of his speed; leading the team with 31 points and looking to extend his streak with a least a point to five games.

One of the highest notes Montreal could probably start the new year on is their new position in terms of power play. Starting the season with struggles on the man advantage; the Canadiens wake up this morning with the best power play of the NHL at a 25.2% success rate.

Buffalo is currently 24^th, but sixth overall in penalty kill.

Newcomer Benoit Pouliot will feel 21, 273 stares tonight for his very first game at the Bell Centre.

Puck drops at 3 pm ET.

Happy New Year,

Go Habs!

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Facts and Stats.

Brian Gionta’s return last Monday against the Ottawa Senators marked the first time in a long sequence that the Montreal Canadiens had a complete roster. Indeed, Andrei Markov got injured the very first game of the season, and a few more injuries eventually followed up.

Gionta was on a point-per-two-game pace; and it seems he is picking up where he left off. With an assist at his first game since November 12, he now has two points in two nights after making it 1-0 for Montreal last night.

Scott Gomez is also picking up his pace to a much higher level, with nine points in seven games. He has assisted Gionta on his most recent goal, and has gotten at least a point in his last four challenges.

Tomas Plekanec has earned the third star of the night, and should probably earn every star of every night with the constant effort and hard work he is providing. Players inspire their team through many ways, and Plekanec inspires through preaching by example.

The 27 year old Czech player, who has just been selected to represent his National team for Vancouver 2010, has scored his ninth of the year to conclude the game in favour of the Habs. If a few games ago, he and Mike Cammalleri were battling for the lead in points, ‘Pleky’ now has nine more than his teammate.

Andrei Markov also recorded an assist on Gionta’s goal last night and now has at least a point at each of his games since his return. Talking about a saviour!

He has played 25: 36 including 03: 51 on the man advantage.

Andrei Kostitsyn might not have scored or earned a point, but he still tops his team with four shots on goal. He has played 19: 18; which is about three minutes more than Gionta’s ice time. It is certainly a relief to see his season takING a turn for the best.

On the D-side, Ryan O’Byrne had a busy night with five hits distributed which tops both teams. Tomas Plekanec, Josh Gorges and Brian Gionta follow directly behind with two hits each. For the rest of the crew, it was a relatively calm night.

Talking about calm night, Maxime Lapierre had one being the only player earning less than ten minutes of ice time through the game. Sergei Kostitsyn had about eleven minutes, Matt D’Agostini had thirteen, but Lapierre had only 08:20 TOI.

He has won only one faceoff out of six.

Carey Price was in net for the first time in six games. He earned the first star of the night with 34 saves, equally as impressive as his vis-a-vis Mike Smith who kept his team in the game until the OT with 33.

Price hasn’t earned a win since December 7 against the Phildadelphia Flyers. Since then, he has been 1-3-1 while Jaroslav Halak has a 5-2-0 record.

Halak has been especially shining, earning the NHL first star of the week with a four game winning streak on the road.

He will be back in net tonight against the Panthers.

Florida has its first game in four days, after a 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins. Their December schedule looked light, but they had two sets of two games in two nights. They are 6-5-3 this month, with Tomas Vokoun starting nine of those games.

It has been reported that he will get tonight’s start.

It is the first time this year that both teams meet, and that Jacques Martin will face his former Organization.

Puck drops at 5 pm ET.

Happy New Year to all, celebrate safely. Go Habs!

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Senators goalie Pascal LeClaire was the story for the Senators, making 29 saves in the game.

LeClaire came out big in the first period, denying the Canadiens of multiple opportunities to close off the game early.

The Canadiens got on the board first when Mike Cammalleri scored his 19th goal of the season, and 20,000 in team history, at 4:59 of the first period.

Benoit Pouliot added his first as a Canadien five minutes later.

Peter Regin responded for the Senators at 12:38 of the period.

The Senators maintained strong control in the first period out hitting their opponents 13-5 and winning faceoffs 17-5.

Ottawa tied it up,on the power play, with a blast from the point at 15:33 of the second period.

The Senators thought they had a go ahead goal, late in the second period. The goal was waived off after it was ruled that Chris Neil had interfered with Halak.

Neil got the goal back at 6:15 of the third period, after Mike Fisher drove to the net and the Senators tough guy cashed in the loose puck.

Chris Campoli added an empty net goal to seal the win.

The Senators found the best way to shut down the Canadiens number one ranked power play, by staying out if the penalty box the entire night.

The Canadiens will close out 2009 with back-to-back games, on Wednesday and Thursday, against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.

Three Stars:

1. Pascal LeClaire 2. Peter Regin 3. Andrei Markov

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