Season Over

Well it is official. Montreal's dominating win over the Toronto Maple Leafs appears to have been the most costly game of the season with both Markov and Schneider out for long periods of time.

Schneider, who has brought life back to the powerplay is out for the season after a shoulder injury. I believe it was caused in the first period by a hard hit from Brad May behind the Canadien's net. Markov was injured by the hit from the pain in the ass Garbovski who is already hated by the entire team and now will be hated even more. Markov has injured his knee and is expected to be out for 3 weeks.

Markov will be impossible to replace so the team needs to come together and buy into a team defence strategy and Price will have to come up with some unbelievable goal tending.

It is possible that Markov will be back for the second round of the playoffs, if we were to make it that far.

That top line of Kovalev, Koivu, and Tanguay will need to be on fire and maybe the habs should bring up a guy like Weber who should be able to play quarterback for the Canadiens.

Habs Looking Great

Well, what can I say. I have been embarrased to write anything lately because we were on such a terrible stretch that there was nothing nice to say at all about the Canadiens. Fortunately, they seem to be coming out of the slump and getting into a grove at the optimal time in the season.

With a few games left in the season, it is looking very promissing that they will be playing in the post season again this year and hopefully they do not end up with New Jersey as their opponent. I would prefer the Bruins or the Capitals, just not the Devils.

When Gainey put Kovalev, Tanguay and Koviu together, a spark seemed to turn into a flame and the team just put it in high gear. The best thing about it was that it was the entire team who picked it up. Komisarek was having trouble earlier and seems to have gotten out of his funk. Schenider started being smarter and Markov stepped it up a notch as well. And of course, the most important piece is the goal tending and that seems to be improving as well. I expect Price to be healthy for Monday nights game in which we almost lock up the playoff birth.

What can I say about Kovalev? Well, when Kovalev is hot, he is hot. He scored last night against the Leafs, on the power play, the same way he scored on the powerplay last year. I don't know about the rest of you, but when Kovalev is out of the linup, the offence is horrific. I know some will disagree, but I am really hoping they sign him for next year as he is a piece of the puzzle that will be very difficult to replace.

But don't forget, there are still many who believe a trade is already in place to bring in big Vinny Lecavalier from Tampa before the no trade clause kicks in. I am not keeping my fingers crossed, but, who knows, we will have to wait and see.

I have so much to say right now that I will have to post more later today or tomorrow. This is the best time of year!

Komisarek Ready for Playoffs?

With the season winding down and Koivu looking like he is going to be injured for a month or more, we turn our attention to our shot blocking, hard hitting, work horse Mike Komisarek. It appears that he is skating again with the team and is expected to be playing come playoff time.

This is critical for the Habs to make a good run into the playoffs because they need his grit and power to ensure no one walks over Price. We also Markov fight Spezza last night and I think we all know that Markov is a far better puck mover than a fighter.

The playoffs are almost here...the excitement is almost more than we can take, two more games decides if we finish our best season since the 80's.

Ovechkin in Montreal...

The latest rumour on the street is that Alexander Ovechkin could possibly be interested in joing the Canadiens in the next few years. He becomes a restricted free agent next season and is good friends with our best defenceman, Markov.

Is there any truth to this rumour? Potentially. Is Ovechkin interested in joining a team that sells out every game? Considering he has top 3 in the league potential, it would be a shame to see his talent go unnoticed in Washington where they only get a lousy half full rink on a regular basis.

So where do we stand on the Ovechkin line? Well, lets just hope Markov talks to his friend frequently in the near future and is able to sell him on the city. After that, its up to the big guy, Gainey, to come up with an offer that is in the $10 Million range.

But lets not hold our breath, after all, wasn't Koivu suppose to lure Selanne?

Hamrlik or Souray?

With the season close to 1/4 of the way through, I feel confident to say that Hamrlik was a better choice for a top two defenceman than was Souray. This statement has nothing to do with the fact that Souray has only played a handful of games.

I enjoyed Souray on the Habs. One of my favorite things about Souray was his mean streak and his strength for protecting himself and his teammates. There was the fight against Darrin McCarty in which Souray absolutely demolished him. McCarty left bloodier than any fight I could remember. Souray's shot was also something to dream of. However, Montreal tried too much to get Souray the puck on the point.

This years powerplay seems much more balanced. They are using Markov more effectively, who is leading the NHL in goals for a defenceman, Streit, and all the forwards. It makes it much harder for a team to defend against because they have multiple weapons.

Now lets look at Hamrlik. He is not as offensive as Souray, but he is a good quarterback with the puck. He moves the puck out of the zone and logs big time minutes. His under rated strength is his defensive ability. We all remember the Spezza around Souray goal. I don't expect to see any of those with Hamrlik. He is strong 1 on 1 and knows where to be.

So, I wish the best of luck to Sheldon, but must admit, Hammer time is a good replacement.