It has been confirmed that Carbonneau will stick with Higgins-Koivu-Kovalev line for the first game of the second round tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers. That means that the Kostitsyn brothers will again be centered by Tomas Plekanec.
So basically, there are no line or lineup changes expected tonight. The same team that beat Boston in game 7 is what we will be seeing on the ice tonight against Philadelphia.
It is official!!! Saku Koivu and Francis Bouillon will return to the lineup tonight against the Bruins. This is really good news going in to game 6 of the series tonight in Boston. The Canadiens obviously need a pick-up of some sort and this is it. The return of Koivu should really help out the first line as it gives the Canadiens a much better second line.
Go! Habs! Go!
As we relax during the NHL All-Star break, we have time to look back on the first half of the 2006-07 season.
The Canadiens have outperformed the expectations of fans and so-called experts everywhere. After 49 games played, our Habs have a record of 27 wins, 17 losses and 5 ties. For the Toronto fans that cannot ad, that works out to 59 points and 4th overall in the Eastern Conference.
Guys like Cristobal Huet, Sheldon Souray, Saku Koivu, Andrei Markov, Guillaume Latendresse, Radek Bonk, Mike Johnson and Mike Komisarek have had a great first half. Others, such as Michael Ryder, Alexei Kovalev, Christopher Higgins, and Tomas Plekanec have put up some points but need to come out stronger in the second half.
With two big wins over Atlanta and Buffalo this past week, things are looking up for the second half. The mid-season slump appears to be over and the players seem to have regained their confidence. Hopefully the guys will take it easy during the All-Star break and recharge their batteries.
The Canadiens are back on the ice for a team practice Thursday, January 25 at 3:00 p.m. Next game is Saturday, January 27, against the ever-popular Toronto Maple Leafs.
During the break, I'll be out snow riding! If you are an ATV fan like myself, you know the arctic cat atv specs are amazing. These machines are the most fun you can have on 4-wheels!
Serge Savard will have his number 18 retired Saturday night. I never had the pleasure of seeing Savard play live, but I have seen video and heard countless stories of his playing career. I think it goes without saying that not only was he one of the greatest defenseman in the history of the Canadiens, but also one of the top General Managers of the franchise. During his playing career, he put up some pretty significant numbers while being one of the top defensive players of his time: 1040 games played, 106 goals, 333 assists, 592 penalty minutes. But most amazing has to be his 10 Stanley Cups … 8 as a player and 2 as General Manager of the Canadiens.
Indeed, this is an honor well deserved.
RDS and Canoë are reporting that Janne Niinimaa is a scratch for Thursday's game against the Florida Panthers. Mathieu Dandenault will make his return to the defensive corps after playing on the 4th line in Wednesday's return. Aaron Downey will join Steve Bégin and Tomas Plekanec on the 4th line tonight.
All I can say is IT IS ABOUT TIME!
Link: Niinimaa écope (RDS)
Link: Niinimaa dans les gradins (CP from Canoë)
According to RDS, Francis Bouillon took part in his first team practice today. Although the practice went well, there is no date set for his return. Also, Mathieu Dadenault continues to progress and could very well play in Wednesday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Link: Francis Bouillon a retrouvé le sourire (RDS)
In an interview with the Canadian Press, Patrick Roy says the Canadiens offered him not only to Colorado, but also Detroit, Toronto and Chicago. The story includes comments from Scotty Bowman. It is a very interesting read for Montreal fans who feel the Canadiens did not receive full value for Roy.
Link: Roy reveals Leafs, Wings and Hawks also in the mix before trade to Colorado (Official NHL Site)
According to TSN.ca, Partick Roy and Guillaume Latendresse have made their peace. After Saturday's game in Toronto, Roy and Latendresse met in their hotel lobby. They shared a few words and shook hands.
Hopefully, this is the end of this story.
Link: Roy and Latendresse make their peace (TSN.ca)
Cristobal Huet (6' 0", 204, 3-2-2, 2.41) will get the start tonight against the Senators.
The lines are expected to be as follows:
Latendresse (6' 2", 229) - Koivu (5' 10", 187) - Ryder (6' 0", 192)
Samsonov (5' 8", 188) - Kovalev (6' 1", 222) - Kostitsyn (6' 0", 189)
Perezoghin (6' 0", 211) - Bonk (6' 3", 210) - Johnson (6' 2", 202)
Bégin (6' 0", 193) - Plekanec (5' 10", 196) - Downey (6' 1", 215)
Souray (6' 4", 227) - Rivet (6' 2", 210)
Komisarek (6' 4", 242) - Markov (6' 0", 203)
Niinimaa (6' 1", 220) - Streit (6' 0", 196)
Garth Murray (6' 2", 208) will be a healthy scratch.
Game time is 7:30 p.m.
