Figaro wrote:

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 I'd almost put useless Ribs on the first line but that might send the wrong message.  I mean, he's so uselss that he's, what, 3rd on the team in point?  Yikes. 

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Not sure if this segment of the post is sarcastic or not. 3rd on the team in points? That should actually be considered pretty good.

But we all know better.

Muller93 wrote:

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Not sure if this segment of the post is sarcastic or not. 3rd on the team in points? That should actually be considered pretty good. But we all know better.

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barry33 wrote:

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On another note, Leafs lost last night and Ottawa lost in Philly. Ottawa has now lost 5 of 7. MURRAY HAS TO GO!!!! HE HAS LOST THE ROOM!!! HE HAS NO GAME PLAN!!!! HE HAS NO POWER PLAY!!!!HASEK GOES DOWN TOO EARLY!!FIRE MURRAY!!!!

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http://www.canadiens.com/eng/news/redirect.cfm?sectionID=habsNewsDetails.cfm&newsItemID=4617

Game Preview: Canadiens vs. Capitals

WASHINGTON - The Canadiens kick off their annual holiday road trip in Washington Friday night, in the first of five stops over a nine-day span to close out the calendar year. After a date with the Capitals, Claude Julien’s squad will head to Atlanta, Florida, Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina. The Canadiens will be looking to build on their thrilling 4-3 shootout victory Tuesday night over the Senators at the Bell Centre, that saw the home team fight all the way back from a 3-0 second period deficit thanks to Alex Kovalev’s three-point night in his much anticipated return to the lineup.

The Capitals will be playing the second of back-to-back games, having notched a 6-5 shootout win over the Thrashers Thursday night in Atlanta. Alexander Ovechkin led the way once again with a goal and three assists in regulation before scoring the shootout clincher. The victory was only Washington’s fourth road win of the season.

Tonight marks the second of four meetings between these two clubs with the Capitals having notched a 5-1 win at the Bell Centre on Nov. 19.

Welcome back Alex: Christmas came a little early for Canadiens fans as Alex Kovalev made a triumphant return to the lineup Tuesday against the Senators after sitting out 13 games following knee surgery. Kovalev also gave himself a little present by picking up both his 300th NHL career goal and 700th NHL career point in Montreal’s 4-3 win.

Walking wounded update: Saku Koivu did not make the trip to Washington as the Canadiens' captain continues to nurse a nagging groin injury that has already cost him six games so far. Richard Zednik will be back in the lineup to face his former team after sitting out Tuesday’s win over the Senators with the flu.

Can Huet do it...again? With Jose Theodore’s knee still not at 100 per cent, Cristobal Huet will make his third straight start for the Canadiens. Huet made 33 saves in the win over Ottawa in addition to stoning both Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley in the shootout to earn his first win as a Montreal Canadien.

Mr. Shootout: Should tonight’s game end in a shootout, you can bet the Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin will be on Washington’s list of shooters. Ovechkin is a league-leading 5-for-6 on his shootout attempts, including three shootout-clinching goals. Canadiens winger Pierre Dagenais has scored the winner in both of the Canadiens' shootout wins this season, including Tuesday’s win over the Senators and Montreal’s 3-2 victory over the Thrashers on Nov. 22 at the Bell Centre.

Manny Almela is a writer for canadiens.com



Cristobal Huet will look to build on his strong effort in Tuesday's outing, when he makes his third straight start for the Canadiens Friday night.

http://www.tsn.ca/headlines/main_story.asp?id=148077

Habs face Ovechkin and the Capitals

(Sports Network) - The Montreal Canadiens begin a tough road stretch tonight when they visit the Washington Capitals at the MCI Center.


The Habs will play their next five games on the road to close out 2005. They enter the tilt 6-4-4 on road ice.

On Tuesday, Alexei Kovalev returned to the lineup after missing six weeks with a knee injury and finished off his record-book night with a shootout goal, as the Canadiens rallied from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3, at the Bell Centre.

Kovalev also recorded a goal and two assists in regulation to lead Montreal, which ended a two-game slide. Kovalev notched both his 300th career goal and 700th career point.

Niklas Sundstrom and Michael Ryder also scored while Cristobal Huet posted 34 saves in the victory. Pierre Dagenais was credited with the game-winner after he put home the first Montreal shootout goal.





On the injury front, Jose Theodore missed Tuesday's contest with a knee injury and is day-to-day.

Montreal will visit Atlanta on Monday.

Washington, meanwhile, ended a two-game skid on Thursday. Rookie Alexander Ovechkin had a goal and three assists and scored the lone shootout tally as the Capitals slipped past the Atlanta Thrashers, 6-5, at Philips Arena.

Ovechkin, the Caps second shooter, raced in on goal and roofed the puck over the glove of Michael Garnett to give the Caps a 1-0 edge in the shootout. Goaltender Brent Johnson halted all three Thrashers skaters in the shootout.

Johnson finished the game with 29 saves for the Capitals, while Dainius Zubrus and Mathieu Biron each had a goal and an assist.

Washington, which is 7-8-1 on home ice, will host Boston on Tuesday.

The Caps posted a 5-1 victory over the Habs on November 19 and have won two of the last three meetings.

I like Michael Ryder's record against Washington - 5 goals and 8 points in 8 games.  Look for a Monster Performance from him tonight (God I hate that expression).

barry33 wrote:

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Once again it appears that Koivu will miss a substantial number of games this year due to injuries, which could  be why Gainey only signed him to a one year contract. We need thisguy to be healthy. Hard to be a leader from the press box or back home in Montreal. If I were Gainey I would frown greatly upon Koivu playing in the Olympics. His first obligation i sto the Canadiens and that 2 weeks off would really help him down the stretch (same goes for Kovalev if he is still hurting). No wwe not only need a numnber 2 center, but if things continbue we will need a number one as well.

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JohnM wrote:

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barry33 wrote: Once again it appears that Koivu will miss a substantial number of games this year due to injuries, which could  be why Gainey only signed him to a one year contract. We need thisguy to be healthy. Hard to be a leader from the press box or back home in Montreal. If I were Gainey I would frown greatly upon Koivu playing in the Olympics. His first obligation i sto the Canadiens and that 2 weeks off would really help him down the stretch (same goes for Kovalev if he is still hurting). No wwe not only need a numnber 2 center, but if things continbue we will need a number one as well. Yes Bob Gainey knew that the most injuries in the league would be in the groin area and that Saku would be 1 out of 60 pr so players so far to suffer from such an injury. He forgot to look into his crystal ball and see that Kovy would need knee surgery. Not to mention missing Theo, Zednik, Bonk's for extended periods of time. Damn how could he miss these things when he had that crystal ball.

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John- can you please tell me why you need to get so defenisve anytime anyone mearly mentions Koivu in an even semi-negative light? I am only pointing out that Koivu has been hurt THROUGHOUT his career, groin and otherwise. Give me a break for God's sake. Anytime anyone on here mentions Koivu and does not say he is the best thing since sliced bread you jump down their throat and to be honest Gainey does not need a Crystal  Ball to know that Koivu has been hurt alot on his career. And because of this any GM with a brain, ragardless of who the player is, will be reluctant to sign him to a long term contract. No matter how good he is.

I simply pointed out that we need this guy to stay healthy and that he should sit out the Olympics if he is hurting that bad (as should Kovalev). So please save your sarcasm for someone else. Koivu is a good player and we need him healthy. But he is not God. It is like you just lurk on this site waiting for someone to say anything even remotely resembling a negative comment towards Sak and then you jump down their throat. I have read and put up with my share of criticicsm on this board but have never respondes n a sarcastic manner towards the posters. I try to reply with a good argument based on the facts as I see them, not with sarcastic comments about a crystal ball. Don't worry I will not bother mentioning Koivu again either negatively nor positively. I do not need the BS.

Zubrus . . . 2-1 Caps!

Looks like another third period lead down the tubes . . . damn!

C'mon Habs, get those two goals back.

barry33 wrote:

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barry33 wrote: John- can you please tell me why you need to get so defenisve anytime anyone mearly mentions Koivu in an even semi-negative light? I am only pointing out that Koivu has been hurt THROUGHOUT his career, groin and otherwise. Give me a break for God's sake. Anytime anyone on here mentions Koivu and does not say he is the best thing since sliced bread you jump down their throat and to be honest Gainey does not need a Crystal  Ball to know that Koivu has been hurt alot on his career. And because of this any GM with a brain, ragardless of who the player is, will be reluctant to sign him to a long term contract. No matter how good he is. I simply pointed out that we need this guy to stay healthy and that he should sit out the Olympics if he is hurting that bad (as should Kovalev). So please save your sarcasm for someone else. Koivu is a good player and we need him healthy. But he is not God. It is like you just lurk on this site waiting for someone to say anything even remotely resembling a negative comment towards Sak and then you jump down their throat. I have read and put up with my share of criticicsm on this board but have never respondes n a sarcastic manner towards the posters. I try to reply with a good argument based on the facts as I see them, not with sarcastic comments about a crystal ball. Don't worry I will not bother mentioning Koivu again either negatively nor positively. I do not need the BS

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Habhead wrote:

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Wow, what a dismal third period . . . 4 goals given up. We just can't win on the road lately . . . and why we can't match up well with Washington is beyond me.  The Caps have outscored us 9-3 now in just less than two full games.  Good thing the Caps won't be making the playoffs, I wouldn't want to play them

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If Habs keep playing like that... they won't eaither.

barry33 wrote:

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John- fact is that Koivu has had 2- 82 game seasons in his career. His rookie season and 02-03.  Those are the facts. This year it is a groin, other times it has been knees. The fact is he is injury prone (and yes I realize he missed most of one season with a cancer, that one does not count). My point in my earlier post is that we need him healthy. He is a good player and our captain and team leader and we need a number one center on a regular basis, especially with the obvious definciencies we have at that position. So get healthy Saks. As for tonites game I felt not one of the coaches better games. I felt his line matchups weer horrible and certainly, for whatever the reason, the team lacked emotion (which baffles me after the win Tues). He seems intent to work himself out of a job. However I will note a couple of non-coach issues. Alot of people here keep crying that he shoudl play Murray and Perzhogin more. He starts playing Perez tonite and in the 3rd period he takes another dumb penalty which turns the flow of the game around. Murray loses a battle in the corner for the puck and they score the 3rd goal. Huet looked pretty uhmmm...normal tonite.

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I agree, we do need a healthy Sak in order to go anywhere and I was also thinking the same thing about the Olympics. I would rather all of the Habs stay here and rest during the two weeks but these guys love playing for their countries, sometimes more than playing for the Stanley Cup itself. It's hard to stop them from living their dream if that's what they want to do. Just think how Finland feels about Kipr bailing on them, they had a good shot before he bailed. How would we feel if Brodeur said nah, I wanna rest for the 2 weeks. We would say no heart, etc... Gotta let 'em play if they are healthy at that time. If they aren't healthy at the time, they need to say NO and I am pretty sure Sak will.