The NHL gets underway again on Wednesday and the Habs open up in Boston against the Bruins.

I'm personally confident that our team will be able to finish in second spot in the division only behiend the Sens, and we can go far in the play-offs.

On october 15th the Habs will announce three numbers to be retired. Most likely they will be Patrick Roy, Larry Robinson and another maybe Bob Gainey or Serge Savard?

My prediction for this year...i think they'll finish third in the North east(behind the Sens and the Bruins) and 6th in the conference.

As for the numbers being retired...in 2006 the numbers that'll be retired are 12(Cournoyer), 19(Robinson), 23(Gainey). In 2007 it'll be Dryden's(29) turn, in 2008(probably Savard(18) and in 2009 it will be Roy's(33) turn.

^ Fair prediction, I'd say about 11th best in league as well.

Philly will likely win cup.

After last night's game against the Bruins I'm a bit worried. The Bruins dominated during even strength. I think there's a huge something missing from this year's roster.

You worry too much SKY, The habs played a horrible game in Boston, and still came out with the Win.

As for teh game last ight in NYC, i don't know cause i only saw the last 30 seconds when Ryder scored, but once again, the Habs came out with the Win. I heard they didn't play extremely well, but still end up with the Two points. Now its off to Tronta to beat up on the figs.

Oct. 15th Game
Toronto 3
Montreal 2

Good game, but there was a few questionable calls by the refs... (Begin did not commit goalie interference; too many men on the ice?; as well as a few missed calls...)

As well, Theodore let in some weak goals, and the defence couldn't get it out of their own zone.

fuck they should trade theodore... wtf is he doing in this team?

Maybe when we had the chance to trade theodore for luongo we should have taken it :(

fuck they should trade theodore... wtf is he doing in this team?

Oh c'mon guys. We're 6 agames into the season and you're panicking already?

Theo will bounce back. I'm more worried about our defense than Theo.

^ I agree 200% on the defence, but Danis deserves the starts until Theodore regains his form.

Theo can't regain his form if he doesn't play. I say throw as many pucks at him as possible. If he has talent, he'll start stopping them.

^ I agree 200% on the defence, but Danis deserves the starts until Theodore regains his form.

Like I said, our defense does make me worry a little, but guys I thought would be solid, have been shaky(Ie: Souray, Dandeneault) and Guys I thought would have a hard time, are doing very well(ie: Bouillon and Rivet) Markov is playing more minutes per game(he's averaging 26 minutes) but he needs a little boost in confidence when he's on the PP. He should stop trying to send the puck over to Souray all the time. Souray may have a hard shot, but he's way too erratic. 70% of his shots never even make it to the net. Whereas Markov's shot isn't as hard, but it makes it to the net, and when that happens, you never know who might tip it in.

I'm satisfied with Komo's play(KomisareK)he's young, but he learns from his mistakes, and he likes to throw his weight around(how long have we waited to see a big boy in MTL throw his weight around!?!?!) I have to say that i'm quite impressed by Bouillon and Rivet. Both have shown some positive signs. Dandeneault has the mobility to be very good in this new NHL, i guess it'll take him a few more weeks to adapt to the new style the habs play.

Souray on the other hand has struggled in very game. He's slow, and has been taking some stupid penalties. His shot isn't very precise and he has a hard time making that goo first pass. I hope things will go better for Souray, maybe in a couple of months(ponce the rust will have left his body) he'll be back to his 2003-2004 form!?

Thoe will be fine...Danis is there to BACK UP Theo, not be the starter. We all know how shaky a goalie's confidence might be. Theo had a tough stat, but things will get better. You can quote me on that!

NHL.COM

TORONTO (AP) - Jose Theodore thought the officials played for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

``It's hard to play seven against five for the whole game,'' the Montreal goalie said after Mats Sundin scored a power-play goal at 1:29 of overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory over the Canadiens.

Montreal's Craig Rivet was called for tripping Nik Antropov at the end of regulation, giving Toronto the man advantage in overtime.

The Canadiens had seven penalties. Toronto had three.

Theodore said he wasn't going to get himself in trouble with the officials before making the comment.

``We all know our hockey. We all saw what happened for 60 minutes. It's frustrating,'' Theodore said.

Coach Claude Julien didn't like the Rivet call or that a Montreal goal was waved off earlier in the game.

``Guys, I can't answer too many of these questions because you know what that means, and my wallet is not thick enough,'' Julien said.

Sundin took advantage of Rivet's penalty. After Sundin's pass from the side of the net deflected off a Montreal player and back to him, Sundin put a quick shot past Theodore.

After the goal, Montreal's Andrei Markov received a 10-minute misconduct penalty for abuse of officials.

``There are so many things we need explanations about,'' Julien said. ``We need to find out whey these things are happening.''

Jeff O'Neill, Jason Allison and Chad Kilger also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have won 10 of their last 13 against their Original Six rival.

Games between Toronto and Montreal are among the most widely watched games in Canada. They've been featured there other times this season on CBC's ``Hockey Night in Canada.''

``The tradition makes for a great atmosphere. You have both teams fan in the building. These games are a lot of fun to play,'' Toronto goalie Ed Belfour said.

Tomas Plekanec, Mike Ribeiro and Alexander Perezhogin scored for the Canadiens, who have lost four of their last five games,

Theodore fell to 4-11-3-1 in his career against Toronto.

Both teams were coming off losses Friday night.

Toronto outshot Montreal 16-7 in the first period and scored twice. Allison put a rebound past a sprawled Theodore at 5:35 of the first.

After a Montreal turnover in Toronto's end, Kilger skated up the ice before passing it off and scoring on a rebound with a backhand shot at 16:59 of the first.

Ribeiro cut it 2-1 with a wrist shot that went between Belfour's pads at 7:18 of the second, and Perezhogin tied it by tipping Andrei Markov's shot from the point at 11:00 of the second.

But Sundin faked a shot before threading a pass to O'Neill, whose backhand shot from in front gave Toronto the lead at 16:33 of the second.

Montreal's Plekanec tied it at 3 with 4:49 left in the third, beating Belfour with a wrist shot off a passing play with Michael Ryder.

Notes: Toronto avoided a three-game losing streak. ... Toronto's Darcy Tucker missed his second straight game to be with his wife, who is expecting a child. ... Toronto's Staffan Kronvall left the game after straining a knee in the second. ... Since losing their first two home games, the Maple Leafs are 9-3-0 at the Air Canada Centre.

Hi guys!

I don't have access to any information about hockey and the Canadiens here (here it's only soccer and soccer...) so I really appreciate this thread where I can read how the Canadiens are doing.

I'm happy to learn that some players are going to have their numbers retired.

I still remember some of those players when we won the 1986 Stanley Cup:
Roy, Robinson, Rick Green, Svoboda, Ludwig, Carbonneau, McPhee, Gainey, Claude Lemieux (that overtime goal 7th game against the Hartford Whalers), Naslund (my idole), Jean Perron as coach and Laperrière as assistant, Savard general manager, Ronald Corey president, the Forum,...

Bleu, Blanc, Rouge, les Canadiens sont là!

^^ habs official site has all you need; nhl.com for quick hockey fix

Also a few big Habs message boards out there:
Scout.com: http://mb4.scout.com/fmontrealcanadiensfrm1
HF: http://hfboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

Thank you guys!

hmm, Habs put Hainsey on waivers - he was claimed by Columbus...

4:0 against Ottawa, ca va mal ...

^ I expected worse, we didnt have Markov, Souray, Komisarek or Hainsey on Defence. And no Kovalev at forward.

/\ very true...at least Souray is supposed to be back for Thrusday's game against the Sabres. Komisarek is in N-Y where his mother just passed away...i doubt he'll be back before next week..and Markov is still out for the game against the Sabres and the Kings!

^^ I hate it when sports commentators blamed Canadiens management for lack of depth on defense ... I can not imagine a team in any sport that loses 3 best pleyers in a given position and remains competitive.

"I hate it when sports commentators blamed Canadiens management for lack of depth on defense ... "

Alot of them are idiots. Everyone questionned the Habs Defence at the beginning of the season...and with the exception of Souray, most of our d-men have surpassed expectations(Bouillon, Rivet, Markov).

Like you said, i'd like to see any team remain competitive when it loses their top 3 d-men!!

FROM TSN.CA

The Montreal Canadiens will be without captain Saku Koivu tonight when they host the Buffalo Sabres at the Bell Centre.

Koivu, with one assist in the last five games, is suffering a groin injury and the team will likely call up a player from Hamilton of the AHL.

The Montreal Gazette reports that Koivu left practice early Wednesday after feeling what head coach Claude Julien described as "a twinge" in his groin.

It's a recurring problem that Koivu has reportedly been been playing through.

More to follow.


SON of a BI.TCH!!!

^^ Bad news.
On the side note, I am shocked how first line production dropped off when Kovalev went down ...

PS. For you autograph hunters, Kovalev is a regular in the Russian restaurant on Du Fort. Would not be expecting $$$ man to be buying food in a not so classy place (I mean it is ok but nothing spectacular) ...

"Kovalev is a regular in the Russian restaurant on Du Fort."

You mean the Troika?

Troika is on Crescent, the place I am talking about is on DuFort between St.Cathe and Maissoneuve. It is between a Polish store and some Indian joint. It is nothing special just good food, no bling ...

Who's Canadiens' coach now?

Claude Julien...he's a good coach.

^ Is it his fault the team takes too many 'too many men on the ice' penalties? Whats up with that?

Too many men on the ice can be partially attributed to the COach, but in the end...it's the players who jump on the ice when they aren't supposed to...the coach can'T jump after the guy onto the ice!

Do you think if the coach jumped onto the ice, that it would be called too many men on the ice? :laugh:

how you thing the Avery thing will turn out?

how you thing the Avery thing will turn out?
I think he deserves to be jumped after the game...

I think he deserves to be jumped after the game...

I'd rather it happen before or durring the game, the sooner the better.

So how's the season going? Are we going to classified for the playoffs this year?

Well, last night the habs beat the best team in the league(the Senators) and they did it in style.

Coming back from a 3-0 deficit, they scored two goals in teh second period and Kovalev Tied the Game up in the third period.

By the way, Kovalev had three points in his first game back after his knee surgery 5 weeks ago.

The habs are now sitting in 6th place of the eastern conference(the top 8 teams make the playoffs) but that is still very far away!

watched 6 minutes of second period when they came back from 3:0 to make it 3:2 ... that Kovalev move on Sundstrom's goal was a thing of beauty! ... Awesome

The habs are now sitting in 6th place of the eastern conference(the top 8 teams make the playoffs) but that is still very far away!

So what happened with the Adams division? (Montreal, Boston, Hartford, Buffalo, Nordiques)? Senators best team?

Everything seems to have changed...

Excellent game, interesting how one player can make such a difference. When Koivu returns things can only get better.
Huet played surprisingly well.
Still a few problems with the Habs though, we should get rid of Bonk, trade him to get Sykora, and see if we can pry McGillis from NJ.
I have a feeling that the Habs will lose on Friday vs. the Caps but win the game after.

So what happened with the Adams division? (Montreal, Boston, Hartford, Buffalo, Nordiques)? Senators best team?

Everything seems to have changed...

I assume you haven't been here in a long time!

The Adams Division(Boston, Buffalo, Québec, Hartford, Montreal) was changed to the NorthEast Division in 1994 or 1995.

Québec moved to Colorado in 1995(now part of the nortwest division) and hartford moved to Carolina(now part of the South East division)

Ottawa was added in 1992 and Toronto was then moved from the Norris division in the Western conference to the North East division with the habs, Bruins and Sabres.

Ottawa has had a very good team for the past 6 or 7 years, but this year they will be simply unstoppable! That's why last nights win over Ottawa was so surprising!!!

Tosco, if you wanna be able to follow what going on with the habs, i would check out the RDS website(in french) or ESPN (in english)

www.rds.ca

www.espn.com

I assume you haven't been here in a long time!

The Adams Division(Boston, Buffalo, Québec, Hartford, Montreal) was changed to the NorthEast Division in 1994 or 1995.

Québec moved to Colorado in 1995(now part of the nortwest division) and hartford moved to Carolina(now part of the South East division)

Ottawa was added in 1992 and Toronto was then moved from the Norris division in the Western conference to the North East division with the habs, Bruins and Sabres.

Ottawa has had a very good team for the past 6 or 7 years, but this year they will be simply unstoppable! That's why last nights win over Ottawa was so surprising!!!

Tosco, if you wanna be able to follow what going on with the habs, i would check out the RDS website(in french) or ESPN (in english)

www.rds.ca

www.espn.com


Thanks for the information.

I went to Montreal last christmas but there wasn't hockey (strike) so I couldn't notice all those changes.

Apparently, from what I saw in a TV5 program, after the strike they have changed many game rules to have a more ofensive league, with more goals.
Have does changes been good for the game? Is the NHL more spectacular now?
Are there still fights? Are there still players just for fights in every team like John Kordic?

Yes, when the League started up after the Strike, many changes were made to make it more offensive.

1. Goalie equipment was made smaller.
2. Two line passes are allowed.
3. Games that are still tied after 5 minutes of Overtime go to a shootout.
4. and most importantly the Refereees are calling the penalties(hooking, grabbing, interferance) which is giving teams more powerplays!



Overall, I'd say that many of the Changes are good. But i don't like the SHootout. Hockey is a team sport, and the Shootout is anytyhing but a team aspect of the game...but hey, so many of the rule changes are for the better, so i'm not gonna complain!

Yes, when the League started up after the Strike, many changes were made to make it more offensive.

1. Goalie equipment was made smaller.
2. Two line passes are allowed.
3. Games that are still tied after 5 minutes of Overtime go to a shootout.
4. and most importantly the Refereees are calling the penalties(hooking, grabbing, interferance) which is giving teams more powerplays!



Overall, I'd say that many of the Changes are good. But i don't like the SHootout. Hockey is a team sport, and the Shootout is anytyhing but a team aspect of the game...but hey, so many of the rule changes are for the better, so i'm not gonna complain!


And what about fights, are there still players like John Kordic around?

Yeah, fighting is still allowed, but you don't see as many "goons" around. What we are seeing is more and more regular guys fighting, or "fighters" who can play hockey!

RIP Bernie Boom Boom Geoffrion.
1931-2005
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/669/frp161682mh.jpg

Bernard (Boom Boom) Geoffrion said he invented the slapshot as a youngster, swiping at pucks on a rink in a churchyard near his home in Montreal.

Others have also claimed the invention, but there is no question that Geoffrion was the player who popularized the shot that would give him his nickname.

Geoffrion died in an Atlanta hospital on Saturday of stomach cancer. He was 75.
Full Story here: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=a35391d3-b369-473a-acb3-0c12ce374f01&k=81546

Editorial: Tribute Came too Late: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=048d6a46-5b3e-4358-8800-51545c007671

Related: Red Fisher looks back at hockey's cathedral, the Montreal Forum: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=a6c065b5-e8b3-4f08-b742-cc1833f0c1d6

RIP Bernie Boom Boom Geoffrion.
1931-2005
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/669/frp161682mh.jpg


Full Story here: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=a35391d3-b369-473a-acb3-0c12ce374f01&k=81546

Editorial: Tribute Came too Late: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=048d6a46-5b3e-4358-8800-51545c007671

Related: Red Fisher looks back at hockey's cathedral, the Montreal Forum: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=a6c065b5-e8b3-4f08-b742-cc1833f0c1d6


Wasn't this guy who use to do the beer commercial?