There is no atomic bomb in the canisse!

Listening to CKAC after the Habs win against les super poche de Columbus, you’d think we should all be running off to Crappy Tire to get a chaise longue and reserving a spot on St-Catherines for the parade..

On se calme..

The fuss? A new goaler by the name of Jaroslav Halak who was brought up to replace Huet while he recovers from surgery.

Halak had himself a good game, good enough to give the Habs a boost. Koivu and Ryder scoring the bulk of the points started too look like their old selves.

Tonight and the coming matches will determine if this slide into the abyss is now over and if they can hang on for a spot in the playoffs.

Until then, I’m gonna wait before buying that chaise longue.

In a phrase: they suck.

Lots of ink has been spilled over the fact that the Habs have fallen faster then the temps in February. Truth be told, the Habs were clinging to fourth for the past few weeks and it was only going to take a few losses in a row to have them plummet to what, sixth is it now? Seventh? I stopped looking.

Go ahead and flip back a few HWIR’s and you’ll read that what’s keeping this team afloat is goaltending (Huet) and a goal scrorer (Koivu). Both have stopped doing what they did. The end result ? Ya, the train wreck that you see before you.

So what’s a Hab fan to do ? Scream for Gainey to trade Samsonov for a bag of pucks and another mascot ? Call up Carey Price and hope he’s the next Roy ? No pressure there Price.. it’s not like we didn’t call you up to win us a cup like the last time we called up goalie with no NHL experience just before the playoffs.

No, we hang tight and hope to God Huet finds his Mojo and that Koivu finds that scoring touch. Then we hope that Kovalev realizes that it’s crunch time and puts on his playoff game face.

Until then, enjoy the free fall.

Ahh, sweet redemption, n’est pas Souray ?

Ya, Prince was his usual awesome self at the halftime of the SuperBowl (and I would KILL to get that guitar tone.. anyone got a flanger they wanna sell me ?) but watching Sid the Kid cough it up in overtime to Plekanec (3 points) who drilled a perfect pass to Souray, who stuffed it past Fleury to take the win, was better.. MUCH better. That overtime win generated the kind of excitement you get in the playoffs. And having Syd cough it up made it all that much more.

This was the second match of two after the Habs lost to the Penguins on Thursday and lost in rather pathetic fashion to the Rangers on Saturday.

It about sums up how the Habs are playing. When inspired, they look like a team that can do some damage in the playoffs. When not so inspired, they look pathetic.

All this to say that I think this is a team that doesn’t win on talent, but on guts. There are still too many players playing below average. Hopefully, when it counts, those players will pick it up.. and you know whom I am referring to.

The Habs are still in 4th, but only by a hair.

The slump is over.

As the Habs head into the All Star break, they take with them the added confidence of back to back wins against Atlanta and the Sabers. Two teams which are ahead of the Habs in the standings.

The two wins, coupled with losses from various other teams put the Habs back in 2nd in their division and 4th overall.

They key to finding back their confidence may in fact have been due to head coach Guy Carbonneau benching Samsonov and Craig Rivet. Rivet, reportedly, is still trying to lick the wounds to his ego after Carbo’s benching.

While the move did not immediately make a change in the proceeding match, it did in the following. Samsonov scored one (his first in what seems like months) as well as Kovalev. Huet, regained his confidence and the Habs are now back.

The Habs will no doubt enjoy the next few days off and look to see Huet and Souray in the All Star line up this weekend.

Ça paraît que notre vénérable Jacques Villeneuve, l’ancien champion du Formule 1, va s’installer bientôt à Montréal avec sa épouse et son bébé. Jacques vient d’acheter une maison à Westmount pour environ $3 millions. Même si le gars va habiter içi, je doute qu’on verra Jacques achetant du lait au dép ou à son resto Newtown. Il a toujours dit que sa vie privée était très importante. Mais ça sera intéressant à voir comment les médias vont lui traiter donné qu’il est comme fils béni pour beaucoup de Québecois.

Did you see the look on Huet’s face Saturday night after he let in the sixth goal in a 8-2 loss just before being pulled? He was crouched down on his knees, his head lowered in disgust.

The Habs are in a slump. It’s official. The Habs have won only won 4 of their last 11 and have often looked very lethargic.

With two games in hand, if the Habs continue at this rate, they will be knocked from 2nd in their division and from fourth to fifth overall. The good news however is that the Habs are playing poorly as opposed to they just being a poor team. The difference is subtle. Which is to say, the Habs are playing below their abilities and should pull out of this slump, hopefully before or at worst, just after the All Star break.

Hang in there, it’s temporary. The Habs are a better team then this.

Habs have a big week before the All Star break playing Red Wings, Canucks, Thrashers on Thursday and Sabers on Saturday.

I smell a slump.

It might be the melting snow revealing those, um, gifts on the street that is normally reserved for springtime, but I smell a slump.

Since the holidays, the habs have won 3 and lost 3. While this isn’t considered a slump for say the Leafs, given how the Habs have been playing before the holidays, .500 hockey is moving into slump territory.

Now add in the fact that the Les Canadiens have called up Maxim Lapierre and Mikhail Grabovski from their farm club because 5 of their regular players have come down with the stomach flu and you have further complications. I’ve had that stomach flu and trust me, you don’t want to be taken to the boards while suffering from it. Ew!

So Carbo is going to have to do some juggling and tinker with what he’s got.

This, coupled with the fact that the Habs at times, have looked very lethargic. A team that is on a roll needs to stay on a roll. They need to continue to play. With the Christmas break, a stomach flu and soon coming the All Stars break, the Habs will be hard pressed to keep that winning machine rolling.

Habs play the rangers today at 15:00.

With but a few games left in the 2006 year, I think it’s time to take a look at how the Habs have played thus far. In a word: Exceed. That is, the Habs have completely exceeded the wildest dreams of most fans.

The Habs currently sit in 4th overall in the East; which is about where they have been most of the year. This is several positions higher then what most analysts and commentators had them set at the start of the year. So much so that La Presse is running serveral pages with photos of the 93 Habs players Carbonneau and Muller (now coaches with Les Canadiens) with a Stanley Cup in the air. All with the idea of pointing similarities between that year and this current season.

Mayor Tremblay would be best advised to hold off on releasing the parade route for 2007.

Having said that, the Habs have surprised most fans thus far. We can especially thank four members of the team for this achievement thus far.

Cristobal Huet. Without Huet, the team would not be where it is now. While he’s not Roy, he has had nights where he’s done what all great goalies can do: hold off the attacks to give the offence a chance. Our beloved Cousin from France has continued what he started in last year’s playoffs.

Sheldon Souray. A defencemen who the Habs MUST sign for next year. He currently has the 5th most points scored as a defencemen in the entire NHL.. His +/- however isn’t much to brag about. Nevertheless, Souray is a player that has scored more then his share of key goals.

Saku Koivu. Koivu has shown that he is a true captain both in his leadership off the ice and on the ice. Koivu is a leader that while doesn’t quite have the style that Carbo did back in 1993, is a player that shows his leadership by his actions.

Which brings me to the one member who seems to be overpassed the most for kudos: Guy Carbonneau. Do not forget that this is Carbo’s first job as a head coach in the NHL. Not only is he the most winningest freshmen coach currently in the NHL, but he is also a coach in a media hungry city, that is Montreal. Coaches in this city have very short shelf lives and the Media can make or break you. Carbo has motivated and protected his players when needed be and also put out fires as quickly as possible (Roy vs Latendresse comes to mind).

Honorable mentions:
Guillaume Latendresse. He’s handled the pressure very well and performed above expectations.
Francis Bouillon. Callers of sports call in shows often speak about how the Habs need more French Canadian players.. because they play with heart. While I find the comment somewhat xenophobic, I think what they have in mind is Francis Bouillon.

Players that need to pick it up and quickly: The entire 2nd line. It’s pathetic and none of them deserve the money they make.

All in all, a fabulous start and if it continues, dare I say cup fever is in the air?

Happy Holidays everyone.

Last week I had changed my player’s jersey from a Latendresse to Huet. This week, the change goes to Koivu.

There are those who follow the Habs who state that Koivu is not a true leader, a true captain. This past week has silenced those critics. Twice in one week Koivu picked a lagging Habs up off the ice and carried them to victory.

Two games of note. The first was last Saturday’s match against the Leafs. A match in which after the first period, the Habs looked sluggish and destined to lose. By the end of the first down 2-0, Francis Bouillon solidly checked a leaf only to be charged against the boards,face first, by Darcy Tucker. Bouillion, without hesitation, drops his gloves and goes after Tucker (a move which Champ Car driver Paul Tracy should take note). Tucker, leaving his gloves on throws a couple of punches when Bouillon lands a solid right hook to put Tucker down. This changes the momentum of the match.

Down 3-0, Perezhogin scores one in the second to bring the Habs within 2.

In the third, Koivu scores two to tie. Habs and leafs go into OT and then a shootout.
Koivu, in the shootout puts a spectacular patented move on Raycroft and with a surprising goal from Souray, the Habs leave with a win.

Last night against the Islanders, again Koivu puts on another spectacular performance to lead the Habs with two goals in a 4-2 effort. Rivet and Latendresse scored the other two.

This goes with two dissapointing matches from the Habs against Boston and Devils. These where two matches which where in grasp and the Habs let slip.

The Habs are still in 4th and play the Sabres at home.

Habs this week find themselves in 4th place in the East and second in their division. All in all a good week.

What has become apparant is Cristobal Huet is Montreal’s number one goalie. He leads the entire NHL with a GAA 1.94. He has yet to be picked for the All Stars match. Not only is Huet keeping the team in the game, the players in front of him play better when Huet is in net as opposed to Aebischer.

Habs head coach Carbo, also leads the league as first year coaches with the most amount of wins.

The second line of the Habs is still not producing up to par. This is the Russian line. Thankfully, the first and 3rd lines have been doing their part.

As Christmas fast approaches, the question is which name to put on your Habs jersey? At first, it was a no contest: Latendresse.. simply because he’s a home boy. But after watching Huet, night after night, I think the Frenchman will be adorning my back.

Habs play the Hurricanes Saturday in Carolina.