By Jared Book

Pierre Gauthier has been a busy man lately, much like the other 29 GMs leading up to July 1. Prior to the draft, he re-signed Andrei Markov to a three year contract which opened the door to today’s move which was trading James Wisniewski to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a conditional draft pick which is a 7th draft pick that moves to a 5th should they sign him.

Wisniewski was a necessary and good acquisition with the injuries that the Canadians had at the time. He is a quality defenceman in the league. There was no chance he was going to be signed for what he was looking for with Montreal, so the Canadiens got (a very little) something instead of nothing.

With Markov back and the team signing Alexei Emelin and Yannick Weber, it’s obvious that there wasn’t a big enough need to spend the money Wisniewski would command when the team could improve other aspects of the team with a bigger need. I think that it may have come down to Markov or Wisniewski, and even then, there is no guarantee Wisniewski would have re-upped with the Canadiens once he hit the open market. The same could be said for Roman Hamrlik. There was no way the two teams could come close on a number in the new salary cap era.

The Canadiens offseason is tricky. They were the closest (overtime in Game Seven) then any other team. That’s not to say that they are contenders but they aren’t far off and not many changes are necessary to get to the next level. To the rational fan, there isn’t much to expect from the Canadiens this summer. At the draft, Gauthier told TSN that this team will only be entering their third year together and that is where they are. They will continue to grow and they aren’t as far from the top as they may appear.

The biggest surprise thus far has to be the fact that Tom Pyatt did not receive a qualifying offer and will become an unrestricted free agent. Pyatt is a very good fourth liner in the NHL, but Montreal has many players exactly like him. They need a tougher person to play those minutes than what Pyatt provided. The move was more on what Montreal needs and already has than a thought on Pyatt as an NHLer.

By Bill Whitehead

The final goal has been tallied, Stanley Cup awarded and car overturned and burned in Vancouver, so now the attention turns squarely to the draft next week in Minnesota. Here’s a look at a few Swedish players the Florida Panthers and GM Dale Tallon may have a shot at selecting in St. Paul:

Gabriel Landeskog, LW, Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

While Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the media favorite, has been the likely No. 1 pick of the Edmonton Oilers for some time now and Jonathan Huberdeau has been increasing his stock with a standout showing in the Memorial Cup, Landeskog has been going about his business as “The Character Guy” of the draft. The Swedish winger, along with fellow countryman and forward Mika Zibanejad, was profiled by NHL.com while traveling around the city during the combine. The overall impression? He is “The Character Guy.”

His impeccable English belies his European background, and he’s well-spoken and comfortable talking to NHL players like Daniel and Henrik Sedin — no doubt heroes of his — and Tyler Seguin, a Stanley Cup-winning rookie he would surely like to emulate. Landeskog put up stout numbers (36 goals, 30 assists in 53 games) for Kitchener, whether it was working in front of the goal or in the corners. Check out video of Landeskog here where Kitchener teammate Brandon Maxwell calls him “the perfect human being, I guess.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtVG7KMhjxc

Probability of being drafted by Florida: Possibly

If the first round of the 2011 NHL Draft closes and Tallon and company walk out of the Xcel Energy Center with Landeskog as their catch, no one in South Florida who is seeing red — the club’s new marketing campaign — should literally be seeing red in anger by any means. Does Landeskog have as high an offensive upside and skill set as some of the other forwards mentioned in the top 10? Maybe not. But he brings a boatload of quality, does everything above average with a strong work ethic, works a solid two-way game and has a future captaincy written all over his 6-foot-1, 207-pound frame. The Panthers, who traded away captain Bryan McCabe last season at the deadline, have a vacant hole in its leadership. If he’s chosen, I would expect to see Landeskog on Florida’s roster next season and a team leader in a couple of years. Much talk of late, however, has been of Tallon perhaps taking a center instead, so Landeskog gets downgraded slightly from “Likely” chosen to “Possibly.” Still, Landeskog is this draft’s safe pick and the one that will contribute the quickest.

Adam Larsson, D, Skelleftea AIK (SEL)

Larsson was the consensus pick before the season to be the top choice, but a disappointing year has left his stock somewhat down. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound blueliner seems to possess all the accolades that come with being a top defender — great size, strong shot, good puck-moving abilities, solid skating — but he may be passed over by Edmonton and Colorado with the first two selections. A strong case could be made, though, for the Oilers and Avs to take the 18-year-old Larsson. Edmonton may be the best fit for Larsson, but the Oilers seem enamored with Nugent-Hopkins and the possibility of seeing him feeding passes to young talents like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi for a long time. However, Larsson could be a future top-pairing defender for Edmonton.

Probability of being drafted by Florida: Unlikely

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with Larsson. He’s a smooth skater who brings good offense from the blue line. And a good case can be made by some that drafting him would put the Cats in an envious position on the back end for at least the next five years — Larsson, Erik Gudbranson, Dmitry Kulikov, Jason Garrison, Keaton Ellerby, Colby Robak and Alex Petrovic would be a potentially outstanding group defending in front of goalie Jacob Markstrom soon. But the need for another talented but green defenseman isn’t there, and Florida’s biggest concern isn’t keeping the puck out of the net, it’s putting it in it. Also, the young defense could use a veteran presence, like a James Wisniewski, Andrei Markov or Eric Brewer, plus Mike Weaver’s there, too.

Another blue-chipper in play would crowd the corps even more, perhaps making one or more up-and-comers expendable and have Tallon looking at another trade, which hopefully wouldn’t involve Gudbranson, a defender whose edgy, physical play has drawn comparisons to Chris Pronger. If Tallon wants toughness and grit on the future team he ices at BankAtlantic Center, Gudbranson is a must in the defensive mix, not Larsson.

How it should play out:

Zibanejad, the third Swede, has seen his value rise in the past few weeks. One pundit even suggested the 18-year-old could go as high as the third selection where Florida sits. But Zibanejad will only be a Panther if some wheeling and dealing takes place in Minnesota and the Cats pick in the 6 to 10 range. Even then, Zibanejad might be a stretch being taken in front of a player whose stock has mysteriously fallen (Sean Couturier) or a sniper-type who’s considered second-tier (Ryan Strome).

Of the sweet Swedes, Landeskog and his intangible-filled, all-around game — often compared to that of Flyers captain Mike Richards — fits the bill and would look perfect in a throwback red Panther sweater next year, but Tallon may have different plans and opt for more scoring from a high-profile center instead.

By Bill Whitehead
NHLHS Florida Panthers Credentialed Correspondent
Twitter: @BillWhiteheadFL
Email: BillWhiteheadFL@hotmail.com

By Alexander Monaghan
President

FEASTER GETS VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN CALGARY

Yesterday, no-longer-acting GM Jay Feaster re-signed Curtis Glencross for what is believed to be a four-year contract worth $10.2 million. Later in the day there was a press conference which put him in the driver’s seat for the considerable future. While Feaster will be seen as a much less abrasive boss to the media, his track record outside his Stanley Cup victory is rather mediocre, including his drafting where not one of his first round picks became an impact player with his tendency to only find role players like Mike Lundin, Matt Smaby, Dana Tyrell and Blair Jones. When your best draft pick happens to be the now-forgotten Paul Ranger it should be less-than-inspiring to Flames fans who desperately want another impact player.

However, with a clean slate and an important player locked up, Calgary can move onto reworking their core and growing together with a new generation of players. Yes, they will have to deal with the aging Robyn Regehr, Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff but they also shown some promise with Mark Giordano, Mikael Backlund, the somewhat disappointing Rene Bourque and now Glencross at the helm that next movement. Combine them with youngsters Lance Bouma, Tim Erixon and Greg Nemisz and the Flames have a shot as soon as next season.

Clearly Feaster did not build the Lightning, but he didn’t burn the house down either. Staying the course on an improving team which should only improve with a top-15 draft selection this June will keep fans in their seats. As Kent Wilson of Flames Nation points out, “the fairest thing I can do is wait and see how the Flames summer unfolds before offering judgement on Feaster’s ascendency.” So now we play the waiting game, just like with…

WHO RETIRES IN DETROIT?

Photo Credit: Dan4th / Flickr

Nicklas Lidstrom is the big name on the block with regards to retirement but there are plenty of older guys who could bow out like Kris Draper, Mike Modano, Chris Osgood or even Ruslan Salei. Nevertheless, Lidstrom’s departure would surely create the biggest hole on the blue line as he continues to lead the Western Conference powerhouse on the back end. In fact, without him as their defensive stalwart, one would have to imagine the Red Wings trying to make a big splash either via trade or free agency (Andrei Markov, anyone?)

While it may be easy to brush aside Draper, Modano, Osgood, Salei, etc., their roles will still need to be filled next season. Draper has essentially alternated with Drew Miller so his role is set. Salei could get replaced by the younger Jakub Kindl and Modano essentially only subbed in for Valtteri Filppula, only drawing into the playoffs due to various injuries. That leaves Osgood, who was replaced with Joey MacDonald for the majority of the season but could still outplay the journeyman if he has any legs left.

Nevertheless, Lidstrom remains the guy to watch and Mike Babcock told Ansar Khan of Mlive.com he can can field another competitive team next season with his star defender directly in the mix:

“I think if our team was no good, Nick wouldn’t even consider coming back. But I think having the kind of year he did and the kind of playoff he did and the kind of playoff our team had, it’s given me confidence he’ll be back. We felt we were a very competitive team in the playoffs. We’re getting good growth out of our young guys. (Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg) are in the prime of their careers. Mule (Johan Franzen) is a guy we think can be way better next year with health.”

The time in now for the Red Wings and if they are to get back to the Stanley Cup, they will be getting there with Zetterberg, Datysuk and Franzen in their prime. Funny how Babcock particularly singled out Franzen, as he is a player that definitely can improve in postseason following this year’s disappointing run, much like…

THE REAL SEDINS

Photo Credit: Mafue / Flickr

If you take a glance at the leading scorers this playoffs, you will have to go down 15 slots before you see the last name Sedin. Their struggles have been discussed amongst the media ad nauseum as they each sit slightly below their normal above point-per-game pace. However, a quick glace into their quality of competition will dictate that nobody has faced a stronger opposition amongst the Canucks. In fact, they sit in the top 16 amongst all players this postseason with most forwards actually the shutdown type (ie. Draper, Tyrell, etc.). If we limit it to forwards, we eliminate six other players. In other words, these guys are dogged all over the ice as soon as they step on. We witnessed this with the fine shutdown work of grinder Dave Bolland, we noticed this in the Nashville series when David Legwand and Joel Ward gave them everything they had.

Considering most teams are not nearly as deep as the Canucks, Ryan Kesler has faced considerably worse competition. Regardless, we are discussing the best players in the League or arguably the top 5. It was only a matter of time until they found their stroke and against the defensively challenged San Jose Sharks they should be able to once again show that elite offensive flair. Game 1 was only the beginning of what should be an exciting series where the Sedins once again find their mojo. They combined for two points (actually only Henrik) but overall there should be no problem with finding the back of the net with Antti Niemi sporting a GAA over three and SV% barely north of .900.

In all fairness, this topic has been harped on by many so we are not the first to discuss it. In fact, Ryan Porth of RLD Hockey predicted this series being their turning point for the talented Swedes. Speaking of things I can’t take credit for…

RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS WILL GO #1

Photo Credit: leafschik1967 / Flickr

The reasoning is of course less than scientific but essentially every pundit views Nugent-Hopkins as the consensus number one pick. Don’t take my word of advice on the subject, DC Sports Report’s NHL Mock Draft Database clearly puts him as the front-runner from ESPN to TSN to NHL.com. When drafting at such a lofty position going best player available is always the safe choice which states the Edmonton Oilers would rather gamble on Nugent-Hopkins than take a stab at Adam Larsson. Oilers defenseman Ryan Whitney even told The Edmonton Journal that would be they guy he takes.

If the Oilers have their guy then the Colorado Avalanche also have their man in Larssen. Our on-site reporter Bill Whitehead then explained recently that the Florida Panthers will quickly take Gabriel Landeskog as he holds leadership characteristics and would be a fine player to build their team around. Getting back to the Avs, Larssen seems like the logical guy even though they have a system completely built around offense. According to Adrian Dater of All Things Avs, there are contradictory views on the young Swede:

“He’s a kid who has been on the radar for three years now and people are all turning on him. But he never makes a bad pass and he’s a really smart player.”

Smart player sounds good but I keep seeing this underlying tone of safe player. With the current configuration based around speed and breakout offense it may be an indication that Joe Sacco could get the sack next year after another inevitably poor season. That, or the Avs could swing a deal for Nugent-Hopkins because we know all the Oilers really want is Sean Couturier aka a center with size!

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There is a lot to like about the Montreal Canadiens lately. They are getting good play from their defence despite the fact that they are without their best offensive defenceman in Andrei Markov and their best defensive defenceman in Josh Gorges. James Wisniewski, P.K. Subban and Yannick Weber are helping the veterans Hal Gill, Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek on the backend, and the forwards are also helping out in their own end.

On the offensive side, Lars Eller is playing the best he has played all season now that he is in a scoring role with Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn had a good couple of games with Jeff Halpern and will now be expected to step up in the absence of Mike Cammalleri. However, any team would struggle with the people who are missing out of the lineup. Cammalleri is expected to miss two weeks, and Max Pacioretty has escaped serious injury and is back in Montreal.

The question now, with those possible injuries, is who the Canadiens will go to. Benoit Pouliot should recover from the flu but the well in Hamilton is running low. Dustin Boyd and Ryan White are probably the top choices to come up if need be and then the onus would be on Pouliot to step up in a role with, most likely, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez until Pacioretty were to come back.

The difference with this team and past Canadiens teams is that this team has organizational depth in case of injuries, and there is a long list of NHL-calibre players in the organization. However, it’s one thing when you are replacing Alexandre Picard with Yannick Weber then when you are replacing Mike Cammalleri with Benoit Pouliot or Lars Eller.

The Canadiens had a good effort against Buffalo despite playing with 10.5 forwards in the second half of back-to-back games. Who knows how the game would have ended had Scott Gomez kept his cool in the third period. With a 5-1-1 record in their last seven games, the Canadiens are moving up in the Eastern Conference and giving themselves breathing room over ninth place. It will fall on guys like Eller, Kostitsyn and Pouliot – not Plekanec, Gionta and Gomez – to keep them there.

The NHL has some early surprises this year so far in several categories so let’s take a look at my top 5 “nice surprise” teams and top 5 individuals thus far in the 2010/2011 season

Teams

1. Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0-1 for 1^st place in the Eastern Conference

The much talked about storied franchise ran by one of the most assertive and straight to the point General Managers in Brian Burke are off to a hot start at 4-0-1. The goaltending, most notably Jean Sebastian-Giguere, has been excellent which is obviously key to a fairly young and new team. The defense as expect has been very good with the likes of Tomas Kaberle and Dion Phaneuf and the forwards have been contributing throughout lines 1-4 with Phil Kessel the leading scorer and the surprising Clarke Macarthur following suit right behind him. Do the Leafs have what it takes to keep this torrid pace up? The question may rest on the forward depth, the concern of solid Defense and good goaltending should be fine in Leafland.

2. New York Islanders 3-1-2 for 3^rd in the Eastern Conference

The Islanders are a young exciting team on the rise but started in bad shape with their top blue-liner in Mark Streit (shoulder), Kyle Okposo (shoulder), and Rob Schremp (back) all on the injured reserve. They have had recent injuries to leading scorer Josh Bailey and solid 2-way player in Trent Hunter, yet these young kids from Long Island continue to get the job done and have managed a 3-1-2 record through their first 6 games. The often injured Rick Dipietro and aging Dwayne Roloson have supplied the Islanders with a great 1-2 tandem in goal. It’s doubtful the Islanders can keep up this pace throughout the entire 82 game schedule but one never knows they may just surprise some people. The horrific issue with NYI is lack of fan support, for their home opener they had a touch over 13,000 fans in attendance and that number is slowly, but surely, decreasing. Islander fans really do not know what they are missing with this young exciting team.

3. Dallas Stars 4-1-0 for 2^nd in the Western Conference

Many predicted this club to finish 30^th overall in the NHL, myself included. However, Dallas has bolted out of the gates with an impressive 4-1 record with star forward Brad Richards averaging 2 points a game with 10 points in 5 games and a nice supporting cast of Mike Ribeiro, James Neal, Loui Eriksson and Brendan Morrow contributing game in and game out. Kari Lehtonen has been solid in goal playing all 5 games with a 2.91 G.A.A. and a solid .921 save percentage. I am sticking with my pre-season prediction and saying Dallas will have a legitimate shot at the 1^st overall pick in next seasons NHL entry draft but we all know “predictions are for gypsies”. Still, Dallas has been a nice surprise for Stars fans and could not ask for a better start to the season.

4. Nashville Predators 3-0-1 for 4^th in the Western Conference

Head coach Barry Trotz implements one of the best defensive strategies in the game and so far in this NHL season it has worked perfectly. Not only do the Predators have a solid 3-0-1 record but they have had solid goaltending by rookie Anders Lindback filling in for an ailing Pekka Rinne. The Predators have been in rough shape with injuries to Rinne, Jamie Lundmark, Martin Erat, Marcel Goc and one of their off-season acquisitions Matthew Lombardi has a concussion. Nashville is getting equal contributions on the score sheet from players like veteran Steve Sullivan, J-P Dumont, and Cal O’Reilly but the scoring is spread out through lines 1-4. Shea Weber, one of the best 2-way defenseman in the league, is also having a nice start to the year with 3 assists so far in 4 games. While I don’t think Nashville will contend for the 1^st position in the Central I do think they will have a solid year and make a huge push for the playoffs plus might just finish middle of the pack in the Western Conference standings.

5. Montreal Canadiens 3-1-1 for 6^th in the Eastern Conference

Les Habitant have started off strong with a 3-1-1 record giving the devoted Montreal fans something to cheer for, not only are they getting solid goaltending by the much talked about and questioned Carey Price but getting some solid defensive play led by Josh Gorges and rookie P.K. Subban. Montreal’s best defenseman Andrei Markov is still nursing a knee injury but is supposedly close to returning to the lineup but with the solid play of the aforementioned Subban and Gorges along with Hamrlik, Spacek and Gill the Habs have not had to rush Markov back. The offense is not exactly lighting up the score sheet but they are scoring enough to get the job done. Montreal should make another push for a playoff position as they have 3 pretty decent forward lines with a nice complimentary checking line. If they keep getting the goaltending from Price and stay healthy on the blue line the Habs will make the post season.

Honourable mentions: Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lighting, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues.

Individuals

1.  Marian Hossa – Chicago Blackhawks

Hossa is off to a hot start for the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks amassing 7 goals and 4 assists for 11 points in 7 games. Not only is Marian contributing offensively but has been solid in all 3 zones of the ice. Hossa, being on pace for a goal a game, is looking to repeat his 2008/2009 goal totals in which he scored 40 goals for the Blackhawks arch rival Detroit Red Wings. Hossa has scored 30+ goals in 7 of 11 of his past full seasons plus scoring over 40 goals in 3 of those seasons with Ottawa and Detroit.

2. Brad Richards – Dallas Stars

As mentioned before Richards is off to a torrid pace with 2 goals and 8 assists in only 5 games and is currently 1 point behind Marian Hossa for the early scoring race. Richards has always been a very good point producer with Tampa Bay and Dallas plus if he keeps up with this pace and the Dallas Stars fall from playoff contention you can bet teams will be trying to acquire Brad for a playoff run and possibly as soon as the all-star break depending on the position of the Dallas Stars in the standings.

3. John Michael-Liles – Colorado Avalanche

John has not only contributed offensively with 8 points in 6 games with 6 of those points coming at even strength but is also a solid +6. John is the Avalanche top defender and plays in all situations and is averaging around 22 minutes of ice time per game. If Liles keeps this pace up you know he will get some big time Norris Trophy votes but of course there is a long way to go in the season. Nevertheless, Liles is off to an all-star start to this season providing Colorado with some much needed offense from the back end.

4. Brent Johnson – Pittsburgh Penguins

There is no doubt Marc-Andre Fleury is the starting goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins…or is there? Johnson has stepped in for Fleury and provide the Penguins with some excellent goaltending to get the Penguins out of the cellar in the Eastern Conference. Fleury started for Pittsburgh and his stats spoke for themselves, 0 wins 3 losses, a 3.41 G.A.A. and a dreadful .853 save percentage whereas Johnson has come in and gone 4-0, a 1.49 G.A.A. and an unheard of .950 save percentage. The numbers speak for themselves, Johnson is off to an incredible start and really Pittsburgh cannot sit Brent until he falters. Right now Brent Johnson is playing like the best goaltender in the league and thus far, he is.

5. Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning

All the hype over what Stamkos could do this season from all of the fans and prognosticators is coming true, Steven has already potted 5 goals and added 4 helpers to an up and coming Lighting team. Like Hossa, he is a goal per game pace and 60+goals are not out of the question for Stamkos this year. With offensive juggernauts like Lecavalier, St.Louis, Gagne, Malone and yes…Steve Downie, we may see Stamkos finish atop the scoring leaders this year in the NHL. Keep in mind Gagne is pointless so far and Lecavalier is not exactly lighting it up with 2 points but when those 2 get scoring the rest of the NHL better watch out for this explosive team, especially Steven Stamkos.

Honourable mentions: Patrick Sharp, Alexander Ovechkin, Kari Lehtonen, Sidney Crosby, Mark Letestu.

Trent Kondo
NHLHS  Correspondent
tkondo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @TK0N

For the Montreal Canadiens, the number eight seed was simply enough. Enough to ignite a spark under a team compiled of averaged sized players surrounded in turmoil from every angle except financially.

And to think, luck was on their side in order to squeak into the playoff picture.

After blowing a 4-1 lead in game two of their first round quarter finals series with the Washington Capitals and more importantly falling behind in the series three games to one, it seemed as if there would be no Cinderella story this season.

Guess again.

Jaroslav Halak and company fought back, taking each and every after Washington sent them to the brink.

As of today, the Canadiens await their opponent for the Eastern Conference finals series that will begin on Sunday.

However, the road to the Conference finals has not been easy.  In fact, the Habs made history and created one of the better Cinderella stories of all time.  Again, a team that was not even guaranteed to make the playoffs are defying the odds.

The Eastern Conference dark horse, who in my opinion were the Montreal Canadiens all along (as you can read here), are now four wins closer to playing for the greatest prize in all of sports history.

After the series against the Capitals, the Canadiens had to face the defending Stanley Cup champs. After a scare against their first round opponent, the Ottawa Senators, the Penguins bounced back led by Marc-Andre Fleury, Sidney Crosby and the gang.

Enter the Canadiens.

With a back and forth series, it went to a seventh game to decide who would be playing for the Conference title. Hal Gill was a force, when healthy, for the Habs in shutting down Crosby, which was a key situation that played out over the course of this series.

We all know about sniper Michael Cammalleri, who score seven goals against the Penguins in the seven game series.

One name that continues to grow, not only in ice time but across every media hotbed in both Canada and the States is that of P.K. Subban. The Habs rookie defenseman has had quite an amazing playoffs.  Even with a few hiccups along the way, which are all expected from a just turned 21 year old skater.  To be thrown into the fire and pressure cooker in Montreal, Subban has answered the call.  He is averaging 20 minutes and 20 seconds of ice time through these playoffs. He has filled in for the injured Andrei Markov on the power play, and has played in every situation.  Cool, calm and collected seems to be P.K.’s style, a style that he displays well.

Whoever the next opponent is, the should not take Montreal lightly.

These playoffs have been nothing short of incredible.

For Montreal, it’s a telling tale for such a storied franchise.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC

Last night fans of the National Hockey League witnessed steps taken for not just one, but two teams who have the option to carry out this years slogan known as “History Will Be Made”.

We start with the Montreal Canadiens.  If the display of heart and the play of Jaroslav Halak against the leagues best offensive weapon wasn’t enough, then round two has blown the doors off.

Last night from Le Centre Bell, the Habs did the home crowd proud.

Not only have they already created magic by upsetting the leagues President Trophy winners after trailing that series three games to one, they have forced a seventh game against the leagues most complete team and defending Stanley Cup champions.

Michael Cammalleri put on another offensive display by netting two goals en route to a 4-3 final by Le Bleu, Blanc e’ Rouge.

Halak, who for much of these playoffs along with Cammalleri have been the stars of the show, put on a performance good enough to push their series back to Pittsburgh for one final game.

Let me be the one to remind you that the team was without two of their top defensemen last night in Hal Gill and Andrei Markov. P.K. Subban, who has impressed with every shift thus far during this post-season, played over 29 minutes last night along with Josh Gorges who skated in just under 26 minutes.

Andrei Kostitsyn, who has been criticized by the Montreal faithful for much of this series, earned two apples in last nights contest. A crucial time for number forty-six to show up and help his team when in desperation.

When discussing the playoffs one statement is constantly made, players need to step up.  Each and every player on one teams roster is called upon to perform at a higher level once the post-season is underway.

For the Philadelphia Flyers, after trailing in their series three games to none, players have truly stepped up.

Matt Carle, helping his teammates stave off elimination in game four with three assists, has had an impressive post-season for the orange-and-black. He added another assist last night, his seventh of the playoffs, in helping the Flyers stave off elimination yet again.

The Flyers beat the Bruins in Boston last night by a final score of 4-0. A combined effort by both Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton due to Boucher suffering an apparently severe injury to both of his knees.

Simon Gagne, who was originally diagnosed to miss a significant amount of time after sustaining a leg injury in the series against New Jersey, returned in game four and has provided the club with an offensive spark.

He now has three goals in his last two games.  During the quater-finals for Gagne, he was only able to earn two assists in four games.  If Philadelphia plans on extending this series to the limit, Gagne will need to supply the same type of offense which he has since returning to the line up.  Especially with the teams leading goal scorer, Jeff Carter, unable to play due to an injury.

Michael Leighton went on record to say:

“I was a little bit nervous at the start. I didn’t want to lose the confidence of the team. We scored some goals in the second and it took some pressure off.”

Online wagering on game six, for the betters, has this writer wonder who would you choose?

For the Flyers to not have any pressure, and to force a game seven, they must continue playing this series with the motto of “one game at a time”.

So far, it’s been working.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC

With two games down in round two of the Capitals, err… Habs – Penguins series (yes, I’m still surprised, who isn’t?), we’re going back to Montreal with the series all tied up at one.

Both teams lost key players in game one and this series is getting more and more virulent and, in my humble opinion, dirty. A few nasty hits seem to have ended the seasons of key players from both teams: Andrei Markov for Montreal and Jordan Staal in Pittsburgh.

The anemic Montreal D-line has now lost one of its key cogs, and although one can argue that Markov was not playing at his best, he is an obvious upgrade to anyone the Habs can call up from the AHL, and an important component on the PP and on the PK.

The Habs lost game one in Pittsburgh by a final score of 6-3 during which the Montreal team seemed to be lifeless and lost on the ice. The intensity, passion and drive to win that had been visible during most of the series against Washington never appeared in the Canadiens’ first game.  Apart from a few certain moments, the Habs were never strong enough to give them a fighting chance as we witnessed from game one.

Furthermore, the reason the Habs were in the second round was due to the spectacular play of Jaroslav Halak who, in game one, look completely depleted. Although the Canadiens were able to get off more shots on Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury than the Pens did on the other side, Halak wasn’t able to contain crucial rebounds and make key saves that may have kept the Montreal squad in the game both mentally and score-ally. For the second time of the playoffs, he was chased off the ice after letting in five goals in favour of ex-starter Carey Price.

Looking to redeem themselves, and more importantly, not drop down two games to none in the series, the Habs were able to put their bad series opener aside while Halak was able to brush away his fatigue enough to muster 38 saves in game two, leading the Canadiens to a 3-1 victory.

The Habs were slow out of the gate when a defensive breakdown allowed the oh-so-lovable Matt Cooke, All-Star Killer of the Universe, to score a, I must admit, really awesome goal right between the pads of J-lak (one of the many new nicknames Halak has now acquired in Montreal). But the Habs then reared their short heads and scored three goals on the Pens, one in each period.

The most noteworthy was Michael Cammalleri’s first goal which came during the second period. He scored when he was able to bat a rebound out of the air, baseball style, and score a home run, giving the Expos a 2-1 lead. It was so noteworthy, the NHL immediately responded with a new commercial:

How this goal is more epic than Mark Savard’s OT winner on Saturday in his first game coming off a two month absence due to a grade two concussion is beyond me. But hey, it’s the NHL, and they love surprises, right?

So the Habs return to Quebec with the series tied up at on, and with a crowd of hopefuls just waiting to see their team as well as go Penguin hunting at home. The morale is very high here in Montreal, and rightfully so, but with this high morale comes high expectations. Seeing their team come all the way to the second round, just to lose in five to Pittsburgh will be unacceptable for Habs fans in Montreal, so the pressure that this team faces is huge.

Actually, scientists have calculated that had Montreal not been such a high-pressure hockey city, Brian Gionta would now be 6’5 and Mike Cammalleri would be so big that he’d replace Terry Crews in the new Old Spice commercials.

Montreal hockey fans have seen what their team is capable of, and they won’t let them stoop down to anything less.

Now I’ve decided to start a new installment in my writing. It’s called Who’s Hot/Who’s Not? Original right? So without further ado:

Who’s Hot:

To me, there are three names that stick out above the rest in this category.

First and foremost, the obvious Jaro Halak. Montreal’s number one netminder offered a tired performance in game one against the Pens, which had fans and analysts alike wondering if, to give Halak the opportunity to rest up, Price would start in goal for game two.

Jacques Martin surprised many by sending Halak back out in game two, and Halak silenced his critics by offering a near lights-out performance.

Another hero of the the playoffs for Montreal is Cammalleri. The speedy attacker already has eight goals and 11 points to his credit in these playoffs, and doesn’t seem ready to slow it down. Cammalleri leads his team in goals, and offers his maximum at every game, regardless of the score. And think about it, when was the last time you said “Wow Mike, that was a really BAD play!” Yeah, I couldn’t find one either.

Another hotty on the Habs squad is Montreal’s unsung hero: Hal Gill.  The hulking Dman was often criticized during the season for just plain sucking and acting like a , but he has revved up his game for the playoffs, blocking shots left, right and center while using his long reach to break up plays and cut off shooting lanes. He does, sometimes, have a bad tendency to take useless penalties, but his work on the PK largely compensates for it.

P.K Subban has an honorable mention, but I will wait a game or two extra to watch his performances before officially adding him to the “hot” list. His play has been worthy of a veteran, and his poise is incredible, successfully keeping Pittsburgh’s first line in check repeatedly.

Who’s not:

The first and most worthy mention of this list is Andrei Kostitsyn. The Habs’ sniper has been held scoreless in the series against the Penguins, registering his last point, an assist, in game six against the Capitals. Since then, he has had an overall minus one +/- while seeing his ice time dwindle significantly, going from 19 minutes to a meager three shifts and 1:43 in game two against the Pens. The Habs have been relying heavily on their first line to produce offense for them, which they have been doing, but if the Montreal squad wants to beat a very well rounded Penguins team, they had better be able to expect scoring from all four offensive lines.

Benoit Pouliot. The left winger that le Canadien acquired near the Christmas break, in what has come to be seen as the most equal trade in recent years, began his stay with the team with a bang. Coming off an injury, the quick winger notched 15 goals in his first 25 games, registering 19 points. Since then, the new acquisition went cold, registering only five points in the remaining 14 games of the regular season. That cold streak has extended itself into the playoffs, where in nine games he has registered only two assists and has a +/- of minus three. He is another player that the Habs hope will activate and provide some secondary scoring for a team who needs every one of it’s goals!

Marc-Andre Bergeron. The offensive defenseman has been practically offering the puck to the opposition with his giveaways and his work on the PK is not glamorous at all. The blueliner is now down to just under 14 minutes of ice-time, although he still gets a significant amount of time on the PP, where his slap shots are known to tear down buildings.

Game three goes tonight from the lovely Bell Centre.

Christopher Nardi
NHLHS Montreal Canadiens Correspondent
cnardi@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @dragonlancehuma

Unfortunately for the surging Penguins, they will fall to the aforementioned dark side with a season ending injury to Selke nominee and one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL, Jordan Staal.

While both TSN and NHL.com have suggested that Staal could return in a future series, multiple sources have confirmed that Staal’s injury will require surgery and end his season. The typical recovery time frame for the injury, a foot laceration caused by a skating accident with Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban, is typically two to three months.

Staal’s injury will be felt in all levels of play for Pittsburgh. #11 is a number seen matched up against top lines throughout the season, on the top penalty kill, and on the team’s second powerplay unit. At the beginning of the postseason, I wrote that special teams and getting key matchups on the ice will be imperative to Pittsburgh’s postseason success. The Pens still find themselves, especially with owning home ice advantage in the Eastern Conference, as one of the more talented teams in the East, but I’m willing to bet each of the seven remaining teams in the playoffs in both conferences slept an extra hour last night.

Eyeing a replace for a player like Staal, who has never missed a single game throughout his four year career in the NHL, will not be easy. The Penguins have called up center Mark Letestu from the team’s AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, who will get a good shot to make a name for himself among Pens fans this spring. Letestu played ten games in Pittsburgh this season, including making multiple appearances as the team’s third line center in victories over the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres. Jordan Staal was centering the team’s second line with Evgeni Malkin playing wing during that span. Letestu showed adequate forechecking and takeaway ability during those games, but did not produce statistically, earning a minus-two rating and only scoring one point in those ten games.

Montreal also suffered a key injury in last night’s loss to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh grinder Matt Cooke finished his check on Habs defenseman Andrei Markov, who sustained the infamous “lower-body injury” as a result. According to Montreal coach, Jacques Martin, Markov is listed as day-to-day and will be re-evaluated before determining his official status in game two’s lineup.

Still, last night’s game was not all drank from a glass half-empty. The Penguins will have to remain emotionally stable, hope their organizational depth is more solid than they anticipated, and use their home ice advantage during every line change. Last night’s four-for-four powerplay was a breath of fresh air for Pittsburgh, as was the outstanding play of young defensemen Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang, who both scored powerplay goals and were very solid in their own defensive zone.

Some believe that when life closes a door, a window opens. The defending champs have enough talent to keep their heads held high despite the loss of Staal. Still, it’s tough to imagine any window being opened that can match up to the size of the door that was slammed when a player of Staal’s caliber goes down.

Game Two of the Penguins/Canadiens Eastern Conference Semifinals series will be broadcast tomorrow at 2pm EST on NBC.

Joe Depto
Pittsburgh Penguins Correspondent
jepto@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @PensHotStove

Game six of the Washington Capitals – Jaroslav Halak series was quite the show. The Halaks, down in the series 3-2 against the offensive powerhouse that is Washington, needed to capitalize on the fact that they had home ice advantage to bring out their biggest effort of the game. Let me tell you, they had quite the home ice advantage, considering that the fans were the loudest I’ve ever heard them in, well, forever!

Now you may be confused by this team called the “Halaks”, so I explain. In game six of this epic series, Halak was the star; Halak was the show; Halak was the team. There is no player, apart from Patrick Roy back in ’93, that I have ever seen carry a team so singlehandedly on his back as Halak did in game six, and most of the other games in the series. That is why I believe that Jaroslav Halak deserves to have the team named after him, at least in my opening paragraph.

Montreal has been in a must win situation since having lost game four to Washington in Montreal. After having put together an inspiring effort in game five to bring the series back home, the pressure was on le Canadien de Montréal to show the 21,273 fans that they didn’t want to be the first generation of Montreal players not to bring home the cup.

The game actually went as people expected it to. The Capitals dominated the game practically from the beginning to the end, fact demonstrated by the final shot count: 54 for Washington, and a measly 22 for Montreal. The difference was, the Caps hit a solid granite wall (notice, brick isn’t even strong enough to describe the wall), whereas on their side, Semyon Varlamov resembled a mix of Silly Putty and Play-Doh. They say that a goalie can make or break a game, and we got to see both extremes in this game. Halak came up with amazing saves, never giving up an inch of his crease, and playing with every inch of desperation his poor body could muster.

Apart from Halak, there were a few other things that the Canadiens excelled at. The first thing was their PK. Going seven-for-seven, the Habs were able to shut down completely the most effective power play lines in the league, making it look easy in the process. The most noteworthy stat of the night though, came in the first period. At 13:10 of the first frame, the Habs Glen Metropolit was awarded a two minute trip to the sin bin for holding. Fighting off Washington, the Habs again lost a player when, in his attempt to clear the puck, Hamrlik threw it over the glass, giving the Capitals 75 seconds of five-on-three hockey.

Yet even down two men, Montreal was able to kill the penalty so effectively that not only did Washington not get a goal, but they didn’t even register a single shot on net. This was greatly helped by excellent collapsing by their PK unit, effectively blocking any potential shooting lanes, while generating some nice movement to block passing lanes, forcing Washington players to keep the puck without being able to shoot it.

Another noteworthy element of the Canadiens game was the willingness of all the players, but mostly the defenseman, to block shots. Hal Gill led the charge with five blocked shots, followed closely by Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges, who had three. In total, the Canadiens blocked 25 shots, basically getting lots of bang for their buck.

Yet there are a few, rather important if you ask me, things that the Canadiens didn’t do during the game that made this win all the more unexpected. First of all, the Habs need to shoot more. The Montreal team was able to take advantage of a very weak Varlamov, which allowed them to score two soft goals on the rookie goaltender early in the game: Michael Cammalleri’s second goal, and Maxim Lapierre’s goal, which should have been routine saves. With only 22 shots on goal and 12 more blocked by the opposing team, the Habs will be very hard pressed to score if the Capital’s goalie in game seven decides to get off the bus and show up.

Furthermore, when even strength, the Habs defence is as porous as Spongebob Squarepants (and, considering shots blocked, absorbent also; see theme song) while in the offensive zone. The Habs allowed for two BIG breakaways, which were thwarted by Halak. The Habs Dmen need to close up the middle lanes to force the opposing team to carry the puck along the boards. Also, the Habs need to make sure that their offense can get back into a defensive position quickly when the puck leaves the Washington zone, as to prevent the countless odd-man rushes that Washington almost capitalized on.

Game seven will be no piece of cake for the Habs. The Montreal team was able to take advantage of some bad goaltending that gave them the opportunity to take the lead quickly in the first frame, allowing them to keep the energy of the crowd behind them for the rest of the game. My prediction is that Theodore will be in nets for the Caps for game seven, so if the Habs are able to score early in the game, they will have the advantage of shaking the opposing net minder’s confidence quickly. Quite the game it will be ladies and gentleman, and I can’t wait to see it happen.

Quick Fun Fact addition: one of my friends was watching TSN, and told me that, according to TSN analysts, on the play leading to Cammalleri’s first goal, what would have actually happened is, when Varlamov had the puck, while he was rushing up the wing, Cammalleri would have yelled to the Caps goaltender to play along the boards, where he was waiting for it. It would seem that Varlamov listened to him, because he threw the puck right at the Montreal winger, setting up the play that would eventually lead to the first goal. Now you can laugh about that to help relieve the tension of game seven .

Christopher Nardi
NHLHS Montreal Candiens Correspondent
cnardi@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @dragonlancehuma