“It’s all hopelessness, but we add hope
in a sea of…of hopelessness.”

What is hope, exactly? Hope is the state which promotes the belief in a good outcome related to events in your life. For example, Habs fans hoped. All year they hoped that this would just be a season that they would look back on and not be ashamed of. The 2011-12 season in in a nutshell was the opposite of hope. It was despair. It was depressing. It was aggravating. But we all came back. Why? Because of hope. Fans knew well enough that it couldn’t get any worse. And they were right. In fact, not only did it not get any worse, but it got so much better it surpassed even the greatest optimist’s expectations. 15th to 2nd in one year? You can’t make this stuff up.

Hope drives the hockey fan. It’s what we need to continue this incredible yet extremely emotional and stressful journey of following a sports team. As this shortened season came to an end on a gloomy May night, Habs fans had that feeling. The talk wasn’t about who would get traded in the off season, who they would buy out, or what they need to improve on. It was about how bright the future is of the Montreal Canadiens.

I have been following this team for well over a decade and I cannot begin to remember a series in which the dominant team in four out of the five games came out on the losing end. Do I have to mention the injuries? Lars Eller, Carey Price, Brian Gionta, Ryan White, Brandon Prust, Max Pacioretty. Seperated shoulders, punctured lungs, concussions, torn ligaments, fractured ribs, and likely others we will never know about. This all happened in a span of four games. However, despite all of the injuries and all of the adversity and controversy that came along with it, the players never lost hope until it was well out of their reach. You could see it in each and every game. P.K. Subban declared to the media before Game 5 that the Canadiens were better than the Senators. He knew he was right, many Habs fans knew he was right. It doesn’t matter what the outcome turned out to be, P.K. believed it. If you put enough belief into anything, one day it just might come true. It didn’t come true this year, although one day it’ll maybe become a reality.

That is where Habs fans are at this point. They just want to dream and to believe that all of this will pay off someday. I am not talking about the over 30+ year olds who have seen Stanley Cups and were old enough to witness 1993. I am talking about the younger generation, 20-somethings like me, who have been stuck with mediocre season after mediocre season for way too long, with 2010 being the only exception. The older generation says, “Well, at least I’ve witnessed multiple Cup wins in my lifetime,” as the younger generation sighs and wishes they can see only one in theirs. It is the reason why we still watch this damn sport. From talking to other fans who have experienced it, watching your captain lift the Stanley Cup is one of the greatest feelings you can ever experience. All the heartache, all the pain, all the losses, all the injuries, all the firings, all the drama, all the trades; it is all worth it for that very moment your players whips off their helmets and their gloves and run towards their goalie and jumps into his arms. We all dream of it and if you haven’t then you’re simply lying. We stick around so one day that emotion can happen to us. Habs fans have hope that we’re close. It is going to take a lot of work, but we aren’t far off.

You don’t have hope? Let me show you Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher. Two of the biggest stories of the year, who made an impact on the ice almost every night. At just 19 and 21 years old respectively, they will only get better. Carey Price, a 25-year old that still has a lot to accomplish, but he is the backbone of this team and whenever they reach the top of the mountain, he will be there leading the pack.

For the first time in a while, Habs fans have something to be happy about despite being eliminated in only five games in the first round of the playoffs. The team is better than what the result was and many know that. The future is bright and fans are the most optimistic they’ve been in more than ten years. Let’s hope that, our hope, will one day pay off. One of these years, all of it will be worth it. We might even look at the 2012-13 season and say “that was the year that changed everything for us.”

Thank you Marc Bergevin. Thank you Geoff Molson. Thank you Trevor Timmins. And yeah, thank you Michel Therrien. Without any of them, there would be no hope.

To better days ahead.

It takes a special team to be given a standing ovation for the final minute of a 6-1 loss.

Rookies Alex Galchenyuk, and Brendan Gallagher, still smiling as always, say they’re moved by the passion of Montreal fans.

They only wish the result could have been different.

Max Pacioretty calls it “heartbreaking” and he revealed his playoff secret, a separated shoulder that will not require surgery this offseason.

Peter Budaj started this game as Carey Price was out with an undisclosed lower body injury. However the different goalie, it was the same old story.

The Canadiens jumped out to a 12-6 shot advantage, but fell behind 2-0 in the 1st period. But in the final seconds of the period, PK Subban who bluntly decared “we’re a better team”, let his stick do the talking with a powerplay goal from the left point. That reduced the Senators lead to 2-1 despite Montreal’s 16-10 shot advantage and heavy lead in the scoring chances department.

Call them the black & blue, blanc, rouge.  They’re depleted depth due to injuries is being tested in Game 5 but the Canadies have come out flying yet again. Kyle Turris was credited with a shorthanded goal restoring a 2-goal lead in the 2nd, when Tomas Plekanec pushed him into Budaj.  The war room in Toronto upheld the goal despite fan anger (not to mention Coach Michel Therrien) at what appeared to some to be goalie interference.

In what was likely his last appearance as a Hab, Michael Ryder took a costly 3rd period penalty that Daniel Alfredsson turned into a 3-goal lead for the Sens and that was the game.

The Habs finish this 2012-13 campaign with a Northeast Division title which obviously does not mean much at this point, however when you put into consideration that they were 15th in the East last year to 2nd this year, it looks a lot brighter and not so much bleak as it was last season. Hold your head high, Habs fans. The future looks pretty promising.

The Sens have added another injury to insult.  Carey Price had to leave the game for the start of overtime, giving way to Peter Budaj in OT.

It wouldn’t last long.

Kyle Turris scored at 2:32 of the 4th period on a shot that glanced off the struggling Raphael Diaz and sneaking through the armpit of Budaj on the short side.

Price suffered a lower body injury (likely a groin or hamstring pull) in the final seconds of the 3rd after Ottawa had launched a furious comeback from 2-0 to tie the game.

The Ottawa Senators were down, but not out.  The Sens closed to within a goal, busting Carey Price’s shutout bid in the 3rd period then banged home the gametying goal in the final seconds with a wild scramble around the Habs’ net and Craig Anderson on the bench for the extra attacker.

Cory Conacher fired the winner through the legs of Carey Price.  It was his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal, after scoring only 2 for the Sens after coming from Tampa in a trade.

Ottawa’s goal was reviewed by the officials but ruled “no kicking motion” by Mika Zibanejad after the puck glanced off the skate of rookie defenseman Jarred Tinordi who played the puck and not the man.

On the day PK Subban was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy as NHL top defenseman, he fired the shot that gave Montreal the lead in Game 4 and just 61 seconds later rookie Alex Galchenyuk added to the Montreal advantage.

Subban was set up on the rush by Tomas Plekanec, while veteran Jeff Halpern, in the lineup for the injured Brian Gionta, set up “the other Gally” for his first Stanley Cup playoff goal.

Now the Canadiens must win Thursday night in Game 5 to force the series back to Ottawa for a Game 6 Saturday.

Brendan Gallagher, along with Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers and Brendan Saad of the Chicago Blackhawks are the 2012-13 finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, the NHL announced Monday.

Monday also marks Gallagher’s 21st birthday and one I am sure he will never forget.

He had 15 goals and 13 assists in 44 regular-season games and was selected 147th overall at the 2010 NHL Draft. Gallagher has already made an impact in this year’s playoffs, picking up two goals in the first three games of Montreal’s first-round series against the Ottawa Senators.

Gallagher is the first Hab since Michael Ryder during the 2003-04 season to be nominated for the award. It should also be noted that no Montreal Canadien has ever won the Calder Trophy since Ken Dryden in 1971-72, and I say Gallagher has a pretty good chance of doing so. We’ll see what happens in June. Until then, all we can do is speculate.

The Ottawa Senators exploded for four goals in the third period on Carey Price en-route to a 6-1 thumping of the Canadiens at Scotiabank Place.

The win gives Ottawa a 2-1 lead heading into game four Tuesday night in Ottawa.

The Canadiens came out and played a splendid opening period: but it was all downhill after that for Montreal.

With both Brian Gionta and Max Pacioretty in the lineup, the Habs came out of the first period tied at one: Rene Bourque scoring for the Canadiens on the power play; with Gionta picking up a helper.  Both Gionta and Pacioretty missed game two with upper-body injuries.

The Sens then began to take the play to the Canadiens with Ottawa native Jean-Gabriel scoring the only goal in the second period: his first of three on the game.  Frustration started to spill over in the second period, as PK Subban and Max Pacioretty could be seen exchanging words at the bench.

Pageau made it 3-1 Ottawa at 1:18 of the third period — and the Sens were off and running, with the game turning ugly in the third period. Players from both teams repeatedly dropped the gloves: with nine game misconducts dished out; five to the Canadiens.

The Habs also took seven fighting majors, as did the Sens in a game that featured more than 232 penalty minutes.

The Canadiens ended up outshooting Ottawa 34-30.

Game 4 goes Tuesday in Ottawa. This is gonna be good.

The Canadiens came out flying again to start a period but could not phase Craig Anderson.  Jumping out to 8-0 and 12-6 shot advantages despite taking the majority of the penalties 1st period, the Canadiens still could not get pucks past the 48-save hero of Game 1.

White scored unassisted at 3:20 of the 2nd after a brutal giveaway by Erik Karlsson to give the Habs their first lead of the night, poking a loose puck 5-hole on Anderson who looked as solid as ever in the 1st period. Moments later Michael Ryder scored his first goal dating back to early April, and 1st as a Hab in the playoffs since 2006 to restore a 2-goal lead after 40 minutes.  Ryder had a wide open side to shoot at with Bourque and Desharnais earning assists. The Habs were outmuscling Ottawa 28-13 after 40 minutes in the “hits” department while the penalty-killing squads were 4/4.

Price won back the fans in the final minutes of the 2nd when the Habs’ Brandon Prust was hit from behind but called for “closing his hand on the puck.”  On the ensuing powerplay Price jabbed out his left leg getting across from his right post to save the game-tying goal.

Price was sharp again until perhaps distracted by Jean-Gabriel Pageau screening him before the Sens scored to make it a 1-goal game again.  The Habs goaltender tweaked Pageau between the legs with his stick, then gave him a solid blocker shot in the back knocking the Senator over just as a point shot from Chris Phillips drifted in to beat Price at 8:16 of the 2nd. Just as Anderson lost a tooth after taking a shot in the mask in Game 1, Carey Price appeared to spit out a tooth in the period after being accidentally kicked in the head by his own defenseman Jarred Tinordi.

Less than a minute later Brendan Gallagher tucked a perfect pass from Alex Galchenyuk into the open side to Anderson’s left.

“We wanted to win for Lars but it wasn’t something we spoke about,” said White all smiles before praising Carey Price and the character win by the Habs.

Game 3 will be on Sunday in Ottawa

Eric Gryba’s hit On Lars Eller

In the aftermath of the Eller incident, the Canadiens fell flat and Carey Price was haunted by crowds in front and pucks changing direction on deflections as the Habs gave up the lead despite widening a shot advantage to 50-29 over Ottawa.

The Canadiens have been frustrated by Craig Anderson, who has never won a playoff series—not in the NHL, minors or even junior hockey.  The Senators’ star goalie has made 47 saves while Price pending review has given up 3 goals on 5 shots in the 3rd.

Guillaume Latendresse provided an insurance goal that carombed in off his body as PK Subban collided with Carey Price in the Canadiens’ crease.

Rene Bourque tied the game with a crafty backhand raising hopes for the first Habs’ playoff win since 2011, but the Bell Centre was quieted in horror minutes later when Lars Eller hit the ice face first following a head shot from Senator Eric Gryba.

Blood was flowing freely from Eller’s face and the young Hab was carried off on a stretcher as a precaution, and the Canadiens would let their sticks exact revenge. Given a 5-minute powerplay Brendan Gallagher made the Sens pay with his first career playoff goal set up beautifully by Tomas Plekanec.

However, Ottawa’s miracle-man has given the Senators the lead in their first modern-day series against the Canadiens.  Erik Karlsson tipped a shot past Carey Price at 17:25 of the rousing opening period.  The young stud back from serious achilles tendon injury logged 9:32 icetime in the 1st.

Word out of the Canadiens is that Eller suffered a head injury, loss of consciousness, with facial and dental fractures, and is in hospital overnight for observation. More on his status will probably come within the next couple of days. It is safe to say he is done for the series.

And the votes are in. Thank you to all my lovely Twitter followers  for helping me out on this one.

It’s been a fun, albeit short season for the Montreal Canadiens. Trying to pick 10 moments from 48 games instead of the usual 82 can be tough, but thanks to some awesome Habs fans, I have narrowed it down. Note that the list is not in any particular order, so decide for yourself which moments are you favorites.

The playoffs are here, people. Here is something that might get a few of you pumped up for what should be a great series between the Canadiens and Senators. Enjoy!

Warning: Not dial-up friendly. Sorry!

10) Comeback shootout win vs. Boston

Games against the Bruins are always the most intense, no matter what the score is. However this one stood out to Habs fans more than the others. The Habs grabbed a 2-0 lead early but fell back with the Bruins scoring four unanswered goals and leading by two,  but a comeback ensued, and with 8.2 seconds left in the final period, Andrei Markov tied it up to send it to overtime. Brendan Gallagher would get the game winner in the shootout to steal two points from right under the B’s.

Check out Top 9 below…

» Continue reading “Fan Selection: Top 10 Moments From The 2012-13 Season”

Well, the time is here. Playoff time. The best time of year.

Now it is official. Make all the predicitions you want, bet all the money. It’s Habs vs. Sens, Ottawa vs. Montreal, Ontario vs. Quebec. You get it.

The Sens won 4-2 over the Boston Bruins tonight in the final game of the regular season to finish in 7th place in the Eastern conference and 56 points. The Bruins loss gives them 62 points, one point shy of the 63 points the Canadiens picked up in the shortened 48-game season. They would have needed a win in regulation or overtime/shootout to pass the Habs for the division lead but fell just short.

A little over a year ago, the Habs finished dead last in the Eastern conference. Literally nobody predicted that they would make the playoffs the following year, let alone win the division. While winning the division is an accomplishment, getting out of the first round will be a much bigger accomplishment. The Senators were told they would not start before Wednesday because of this extra game tonight. It is likely Game 1 and 2 will be on Thursday and Friday night in Montreal and Sunday and Tuesday night in Ottawa. The official schedule has not been released yet so this is just pure speculation at this point.

UPDATED: The schedule has just been officially announced.

Game 1: In Montreal on Thursday, May 2nd at the Bell Centre

Game 2: In Montreal on Friday, May 3rd at the Bell Centre

Game 3: In Ottawa on Sunday, May 5th at Scotiabank Place

Game 4: In Ottawa on Tuesday, May 7th at Scotiabank Place

Game 5: In Montreal on Thursday, May 9th at the Bell Centre

Game 6: In Ottawa on Saturday, May 11th at Scotiabank Place

Game 7: In Montreal on Sunday, May 12th at the Bell Centre

The Montreal Canadiens will have to wait until the final day of the regular season before they find out who they will face in the opening round of the playoffs.

While the Habs were busy beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 at the Air Canada Centre, the Washington Capitals were busy beating the Boston Bruins 3-2 in overtime.  The Montreal win, coupled with the Boston loss, moves the Canadiens into first place in the Northeast division: one point up on Boston.  However, a win by the Bruins in their final game of the regular season, tomorrow night in Boston, will allow the Bruins to leapfrog over Montreal and claim top spot in the division.

With Carey Price given the night off, Peter Budaj got the call in goal vs. the Leafs and wasn’t very busy: certainly not in the second period, when the Canadiens held the leafs to one shot on goal.

Lars Eller, Andrei Markov, Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Plekanec scored for the Canadiens, who chased James Reimer early in the third period. Ben Scrivens mopped up for the Leafs, who take the season series 3-2 but were thoroughly outplayed by the Habs tonight. The Habs outshot the Leafs 28-17.  Eller also finished with two assists.

This one was billed as a potential first-round playoff preview, but the final seedings will not be set until the end of business tomorrow.