Kovalev - Sundin - Tanguay
S. Kostistyn - Plekanec - A. Kostitsy
Higgins - Koivu - Smolinski
Latendresse - Chipchura - Lapierre

J'avoue que le premier trio est très relevé.

À la défensive

Markov - Hamrlik
Komisarek - Streit
Dandenault - Bouillon

Pas très fort mais pas si faible non plus.  Ils doivent signer Streit sinon bien ils le remplcent par Ryan O'Byrne....!!!

Gardiens Price et Halak.

Beaucoup de pression sur Price.

Avec pareille alignement le Canadien devrait se classer au minimum 6e dans l'Est. 
Sa grosse faiblesse sera dans les buts avec deux gardiens qui n'ont pas prouvé grand chose jusqu'ici.  Embaucher un gardien d'expérience pour seconder Price pourrait les amener au 4e rang.   Répéter la 1ere position tiendrait du miracle.

Pittsburgh avec les talents qu'on leur connaît et Ottawa avec un nouvel entraîneur et pas de Ray Emery devrait aspirer à cette position, Washington à la 3e. Tampa Bay sera rehaussé avec un nouvel entraîneur et ils vont bien finir par se dégotter un gardien.  New Jersey, Rangers et Philadelphie ne seront pas plus faibles cette année. 

Donc c'est pour ça que je dis que le Canadien devrait se classer 6e.  Mais attendons, nous sommes que le 21 juin, premier jour de l'été, Mats Sundin n'est pas encore signé, les autres équipes de l'Est n'ont pas encore de grosse prise non plus et le Canadien a beaucoup de pression avec son 100e anniversaire et tous les chandails qui seront retirés, les festivités... de quoi déconcentrer bien des joueurs.

La coupe?  A ça avec des joueurs qui vieillissent comme Koivu, Sundin, Kovalev une défensive coussi-coussa... c'est possible mais ce n'est pas automatique.

Alors que tout les supposés experts et sous-experts, fe-fans, faux fe-fans, anti-fe-fans y allaient de leur prédiction sur le repêchage 2008 de la Énéchelle... évidemment, surtout en ce qui concernait le choix du CH en 1ère ronde... soit le choix #25...

Le CH repêchera pas grand chose au 25ème rang... 'FECTIVEMENT, Bob y est allé d'une transaction tôt en soirée, s'appropriant Alex Tanguay et du choix de 5ème ronde des Flames en 2008, en donnant son choix de 1ère ronde en 2008 et son choix de 2ème ronde en 2009... Et dire que durant la saison dernière, tout plein de fe-fans et faux fe-fans étaient prêt à DONNER tout plein de joueurs du CH pour obtenir Alex Tanguay... et BANG! qu'est-il arrivé à soir? Bob est allé nous le chercher pour pas cher... bon, côté masse salariale, ça boost un peu fort vers le haut mais bon... Si Alex arrive à créer des étincelles et trouver une chimie avec ses nouveaux coéquipiers et qu'il fait ce qu'il a à faire (i.e. scorer des buts) et ben on ne va même parler du montant de son contrat (5.2M$ m e semble?). Vous voue souvenez quand Bob a signé Hamrlik? Quelle était votre réaction? Et oui... Bob est din patates!!! Y'a manqué son coup pour garder Sheldon, pis il s'en va signer, pour le même montant, un Hamrlik qui va pas produire sur le PP... ben oui ben... on en n'a pas reparlé ben ben souvent de son contrat à Hamrlik durant la saison... et les fois qu'on en a parlé, c'était pour dire qu'il mérite son salaire!!

L'arrivée d'Alex Tanguay va-t-il donner un tit coup d'main à Bob lors de ses discussions prochaines avec Matssss Soundiiiiiine? Y'en a qui pense que si Bob arrive à amener Soundiiiiine, c'est Kapitaine qui va faire la baboune... d'autres pensent que Bob va échanger Kapitaine par la suite... Bon... on se calme le pompon... c'est Bob qui décide... arrêtons alors de spéculer... à moins que ça soit une de vos passions pis que vous z'avez du temps à passer là-dessus pour analyser tout ça...

SInon ben... moi j'm'inquièterais plus du côté de Kovalev... tsé... avec l'arrivé de Tanguay... Kovy ne sera plus le seul et l'unique *ALEx* de l'équipe... ça s'peut que Kovy fasse la babounne pour ça aussi... c'est la raison pour laquelle je suis d'accord avec Le 2'Pik, qui suggestionne (oui oui, suggestionne) qu'on l'appelle Alek Tanguay... tout d'abord pour que l'Artiste soit le seul Alex de la gang... pis de toute façon, y manque un *K* dans le nom d'Alex Tanguay... et vous le savez tout comme moi que le *facteur K* est à considérer...

Finalement, j'voudrais simplement mentionner que les fe-fans du Ottawa ont eu aucun respect à soir envers les Feuilles lors de l'annonce de leur choix de joueur... j'ai AUCUN problème qu'on hue l'adversaire (surtout les Feuilles) lors d'un match... mais là, c'était la séance de repêchage de la ligue nationale... chaque équipe choisit un jeune qui vit alors un moment de RÊVE lorsqu'il entend finalement son nom être prononcer... lorsqu'il monte les marches pour aller sur la scène, lorsqu'il donne des poignées de mains aux dirigeants de l'équipe, lorsqu'il enfile le chandail et sa casquette... ME SEMBLE que ce n'est PAS normal d'entendre des huées... il va avoir la chance de les entendre quand il va jouer dans la ligue... là... y'a pas besoin d'un avant goût de ce qui l'attend... Et même avant même que les Feuilles annoncent leur choix, on entendait *LEAFS SUCKS* depuis les gradins... venez pas me dire que c'est de bonne guerre entre les fe-fans des SenatOrs pis des Feuilles... J'ai entendu l'équipe de RDS (pierréyvon et cie) être amusé de la situation... ben moi j'ai pas trouvé ça *CLASSE* de la part de ceux qui ont hué... Alors que nous, à Montréal, quand on *hue* un joueur adverse... quand on hue un ti gars de chez nous... genre BRIÈRE... et ce, lors d'une GAME de hockey... et ben là, on se fait torché dans les journaux, à la tivi, via radio... on dit alors de nous, qu'on est irrespectueux... qu'on manque de savoir-vivre... qu'on devrait avoir honte d'avoir huer... TROUVEZ L'ERREUR!!! nous, on HUE l'adversaire durant une game de hockey... ce n'est pas correct... les autres HUENT lors de la séance de repêchage... c'pos grave... c'est amusant... c'est de bonne guerre...

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!

Speaking perfect English is an amazing thing when it's not your mother tongue. It's very admirable. Some European NHL players have mastered it. For most, of course, it's impossible.

Detroit's Swedish star Nick Lidstrom speaks English almost perfectly, but you can detect that Swedish tongue in there just slightly. And it's a little more so with Mats Sundin and Daniel Alfredsson. You can definitely here the Swedish way of talking in their speech, although their English is excellent.

But not at all with Lundqvist. In those two interviews I heard, he could've been the guy in the pool hall, Or the Canadian goalie in the beer league. I need to hear more from Lundqvist. I'm curious about this.

The NHL Russian guys' English is basically all the same, ranging from pretty good to lousy.  Alex Kovalev speaks English pretty well, with the obvious Russian accent,  but Alex Ovechkin is still a work in progress, and Evgeny Malkin is only beginning. Igor Larionov, on the other hand, spoke excellent English back in the days when Soviet players couldn't play over here, and so had very little exposure to English. Somehow, though, he got great at it.

Larionov even snuck away from the Russian camp to Wayne Gretzky's parent's house in Brantford during the 1987 Canada Cup and partied with all the Canadian guys.

Remember the 1972 Summit Series? We got the odd interview with some of the Russian players including Valeri Kharlamov, and they were interviews using an interpreter. But at the end, the few Russian players managed a meek "thank you" in English, and it was both surprising and wonderful.

The Finnish players pick it up pretty well, like Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne, but you can hear the Finnish accent in there, even though their words and grammar are perfect.

The Czechs, it seems, have a little bit of a harder time of it. Jaromir Jagr's English is terrrible, after all these years in North America. Tomas Plekanec, however, looks promising as a speaker of English. But the Czechs, like the Russians, use their throats and tongues differently, so there's many English words they'll never master properly.

Some of the English guys speak French really well. I can't learn French, but they speak it with almost no accent. Mike Bossy wins by a landslide on this front.

Henri Richard was so quiet in the early days of his career, that when Toe Blake was once asked if Henri could speak English, Blake replied, "I don't even know if he can speak French."

French guys like Daniel Briere, Martin Biron, Vincent Lecavalier, Mario Lemieux, and Canucks' coach Alain Vigneault speak English with only a trace of an accent. It's very impressive.

It's just a good thing there's no heavy-duty Scotsmen in the NHL. Their accent can be thicker than lumpy gravy. I worked with a Scottish guy in Calgary who had been in Canada for years, but he could talk to me for fifteen minutes and I wouldn't have a clue what he was saying.

Compared to this guy, Alex Ovechkin sounds perfect.

No room for one of the best forwards in the NHL. Too slow, said the text message. Those Russians have been a barrel of laughs since 1972.

With the Russians, it's always something else than what the official party line says. They're masters at being cagey. The years they dominated NHL teams, particularly in the late 1970's and early 1980's, they politely said they were here to learn from the pros, which was almost laughable. They have a history of manipulating on-and-off ice officials. In 1972, they made sure Canadian food went missing when Team Canada was holed up at their Moscow hotel. They awoke Canadian players in the middle of the night with telephone calls. And they've held a gun to Hockey Canada's head for more money on more than one occasion throughout the years. 

There's always a questionable agenda, and some unsavoury activity, when it comes to the Russian hockey family.

Why wouldn't Alex Kovalev, one of the smartest, shiftiest, magical talents in hockey not be invited to play for his home country? This guy should not only be on the Russian squad, but should be captain.

He's not slow. Or if he's slower than the chosen players on Team Russia, then they must be lightening-fast. It must be three lines of Alex Ovechkin's, and Valeri Kharlamov risen from the dead. It must be the KLM line reincarnated.

Kovalev has probably upset the Russian Ice Hockey Federation somewhere down the line. Maybe he's spoken too much about how great it is in North America, because by all accounts, he loves it here. Heck, he doesn't even want to be called Alexei anywhere, but simply Alex.

It's possible he's critized the Russian way of doing things from time to time. Kovalev has never been one to keep things bottled up. And the Russian hierarchy certainly has long memories. Kovalev has probably never towed the line. He would've made a great hippie in the 1960's. 

If Alex Kovalev can't make this team, then Teams Canada, USA, Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic don't stand a chance. These teams will be too slow. Like Kovalev.

I don't particularly want Kovalev playing in the World's anyway. He's 35 years old and needs to rest his weary bones after the long and stressful season of being a leader and star with his Montreal Canadiens. I want him fit, healthy, and renewed for next season when the Habs take a more serious stab at the Holy Grail.

It's bad enough that Andrei Markov will be joining the Russian squad. He hasn't been 100% healthy lately, which showed drastically in the playoffs, and this tournament better not set him back. He needs to be firing on all cylinders, along with Kovalev, when October rolls around.

I've been saying it all year. I hate that song. I despise it. I cringe when I hear it. I think it pumps the other team up.

If you know anyone who goes to games at the Bell Centre and sings this, please take them out to the country and throw them off a bridge. Or at the very least, rip their vocal cords out with a pair of pliers.

So what went wrong?

Although there's lots of good about the Montreal Canadiens, why did Philadelphia win?  And why did Montreal almost blow the Boston series?

Why aren't they ready yet?

Did Bob Gainey get rid of Cristobal Huet a little premature?

Was Carey Price exhausted?

Did the Habs burn out in the regular season going for the coveted first place overall?

Did they go into the playoffs a little too cocky?

Why did the defence disappear during the playoffs? Hamrlik, Komisarek Gorges, Bouillon, all solid as a rock beforehand, and too soft in the post season. And Andrei Markov, a premier defenceman in the league, didn't play at all like a premier defenceman.

What about Michael Ryder? Will he stay or will he go? He's going to have to go. They didn't want him in uniform in the playoffs, so why would they want him in uniform next year?

Why did the big guns become quiet? Alex Kovalev played quite well, and so did Saku Koivu when he came back from injury.  But what happened to the Kostitsyn's, and Mark Streit, and Tomas Plekanec? Or Higgins and Latendresse? These were guys who turned it down a notch in the playoffs, and hopefully it was such an experience this year, that next year, they'll turn it up a notch.

Will I be chosen as flag guy at the Bell Centre next year?

Will Danielleia stay a Habs fan?

Will der Habinator buy a new computer?

Will Mike continue to experience ups and downs as an elevator mechanic?

Le Unhappy Fan ressort après l'élimination du Canadien par les Flyers.  La saison de golf peut enfin commencer au Québec.

Ainsi la 1ere position de l'Est se fait éliminer par la 6e position.  C'est en quelque sorte la vengance de Daniel Brière qui vient de faire comprendre aux partisans du Canadien et à la direction du tricolore pourquoi il a signé avec les Flyers plutôt qu'avec Montréal.

Au Centre Bell ce soir après avoir pris les devants 3-1, le Canadien s'est effondré à la fin de la deuxième et de la troisième période pour perdre le match 6-4.  Encore une fois les largesses de Carey Price ont coulé le Canadien.  Il est de plus en plus évident qu'il est beaucoup trop tôt pour comparer Price à Roy ou Dryden.   Jusqu'ici ont peu davantage le comparer à Steve Penney.  Mais bon il est encore jeune mais malgré tout il a encore une fois prouvé ce soir après la défaite qu'il avait la grosse tête. Il n'a pas jugé bon retirer son masque pour saluer l'adversaire après le match... pas fort.

Le Canadien a accordé 20 lancers en deuxième période, c'est là qu'on a vu que ça serait difficile de battre les Flyers ce soir.  À 4-4 ça redevenait possible, mais Price a laissé tombé ses coéquipiers et le but dans le filet désert venait de mettre un terme aux espoirs du Canadien.

Quant à Guy Carbonneau, il peut faire brûler sa cravate chanceuse qu'il portait ce soir, elle n'a été d'aucune utilité.

Quant à eux, les Flyers se reposeront en attendant la fin de la série New York - Pittsburgh.

R.J. Umberger, originaire de Pittsburgh, a encore une fois inscrit son nom sur la feuille de pointage ce soir.  Il a marqué deux buts amassé une passe et mérité la première étoile du match, tout ça le jour de son 26e anniversaire.  Sans aucun doute il se rappelera longtemps de ce jour et de cette série.

Pour terminer, Don Koharski a manqué le bateau sur le but de Kovalev, celui-ci n'aurait jamais dû être bon.

Philadelphia deserved this series. How could they not? They took out the Habs in a measly five games. Their goalie was better than our goalie. RJ Umberger was better than Alex Kovalev.

How could Montreal allow three goals in three minutes when they were up 3-1? I dunno. I didn't see it. And I'm not going to watch it when I get home because I don't feel like it.

To all the die-hard Flyers fans that have been reading my blog, I say good for you and your team, and I hope you'll read my stuff from time to time as I'll be posting every day year round. You guys had some great comments and feedback, and you definitely added a lot of colour to this. All's fair in love and war.

And to the great Habs fans who have been faithful readers as we took this gigantic roller coaster ride, I know you'll continue to check in. There's lots to talk about. We gotta figure out together how to make our team better.

So back to work for a few more hours, then the long drive home. I'm not feeling on top of the world right now, that's for sure.

Hoping to hear what went wrong. Please let me know.

Dear Rodney, please help.

"Don't worry, Dennis. They come from a bad neighbourhood. I put my hand in some cement there and felt another hand."

Flyers fans drink too much. When they give a urine sample, there's olives in it.

Flyers fans take viagra and prune juice. They don't know whether they're coming or going.

They asked Flyers fans to be poster boys - for birth control.

Martin Biron's mother had morning sickness after he was born.

The Flyers complained to their psychiatrist that everyone hates them. He said they were being ridiculous - everyone hasn't met them yet.

When Daniel Briere was a kid his parents moved a lot. But he always found them.

When Derian Hatcher was born, the doctor slapped his mother.

STOP THAT, RODNEY.

Sorry, Flyers fans.

In all seriousness, what I've garnered from the comments this past week from Flyers fans is this:

They don't feel their team is getting enough respect. They're complaining that when I write about Montreal losing, it's not because the Flyers played well, it's because the Habs played poorly.

And they don't think I'm giving enough credit to Martin Biron.

So I've been thinking about this. And really, the big reason Philly is doing so well is because of Martin Biron. It's not because the Flyers are on fire. Daniel Biron's been good but not great, and also RJ Umberger. But Mike Richards hasn't, or most of the Flyers forwards, for that matter. And whatever John Stevens did to make his defence so tight around their net, it's really working.

The reason I say Montreal is not playing up to their standards is because they're not. They won the eastern division, they scored more goals during the regular season than any other team in the league. And their power play was the best in the league. They played fire wagon hockey all year, they were dynamic, fast, and were a handful for others teams on most nights.

But not now.

During these playoffs, their power play has fizzled and their scoring in general is way off, and that includes the Boston series also. The guys who lit it up during the season, the Kostitsyn's, Higgins, Kovalev, Plekanec, are quiet now.

So Montreal isn't playing up to scratch, and Philadelphia is riding with a red-hot goaltender. (And don't forget, Flyers fans, there's been a lot of goal posts hit.)

I don't know why these fans have a problem with this thinking.

And one last little thing. After Philadelphia scored late a couple of games ago, Flyers defenceman Kimmo Timonen turned around and laughed in Tom Kostopoulos' face. This is the kind of thing that turns off most hockey fans. It lacked class, you don't see this type of mocking often, and when Kostopoulos smacked him in the mouth for this, I'm sure hockey fans, even Habs haters, nodded their heads approvingly.

But Blog Plan B won't be coming anytime soon, because Montreal will win this series. Carey Price will rebound, and this year's playoffs will make an incredibly interesting chapter in the book that will some day be written about young Mr. Price. He's cool as a cucumber, he'll be back, and that's bad news for the Flyers and their fans.

Montreal needs all hands on deck. That means Mike Komisarek, Guillaume Latendresse, Mark Streit, the Kostitsyn's, Chris Higgins, Roman Hamrlik, me, Mike, der Habinator, Rick the Trucker, Brian, Robert, Danny, the hockey gods, and the amazing bandwagon punkette, Danielleia.

And I have complete faith that Alex Kovalev and Saku Koivu will take the bull by the horns and lead this team to the promised land.

Montreal just needs to continue what they're doing, which is outshoot the Flyers, storm the net, and make some of the lunkheads on the Flyers like Derian Hatcher and Steve Downey continue to take unnecessary and poorly-timed penalties which will seal their team's doom once the Habs power play is back on track completely.

Mike Richards, who was a class act with Canada in the World Juniors a couple of years ago, still needs maturing, and Montreal can get him off his game without much problem. He gets upset too easily, will take bad penalties because he's upset, and we need to take advantage of his habit of losing it.

And maybe Mike Komisarek could punch him in the mouth from time to time for good measure.

And about blog plan B, coming this summer. Of course it'll stay Habs talk, but because no games will be on, it'll be more pictures, more old stories, and maybe even a photo tour of Powell River, a place you'd all like to live whether you know it or not.

Until then, though, it's get rid of the greasy Flyers, roll over the Penguins or Rangers, and take on, with huge confidence, whoever comes out of the west.

But first things first, and that means Wednesday night. Come on, boys, have a couple of good practices, eat your broccoli, go to bed early, focus, meditate, and concentrate on shooting pucks under, over, and through Mr. Biron.

Habs Universe, and Danielleia, are behind you.

Ce serait donc jusqu'à quatre défenseurs d'expérience que le Canadien pourrait perdre durant la saison morte.

jaroslav Halak chez les gardiens pourrait aussi demander un échange.

À l'avant, Michael Ryder pourrait évoluer ailleurs également et Steve Bégin sent aussi la retraite à plein nez.  Les frères Kostystin seraient peut-être tenter par l'option d'évoluer dans un circuit professionel en Russie.  Quant à Koivu il ralenti et lui aussi la retraite approche.

Aussi, Alex Kovalev n'a plus 25 ans.

Alors cela me fait dire que c'est ce printemps que le Canadien doit aller chercher la Coupe Stanley.  Sinon ça risque d'être beaucoup plus tard avant d'arriver à former une telle chimie auprès d'une équipe et d'être combatif.

I think last night was some of the worst officiating I've ever seen. And in a semifinals game, no less. Way to go!

I really think Kovalev's goal was hit with a high stick and I don't see how the War Room didn't see that, but whatever. Everyone thinks it would have bounced off Marty's back and gone in the net anway. But that call on Richie at the end of the game was completely retarded.

I mean, A KNEEING PENALTY?! Come on. No one is going to put their team in that sort of situation with like 40 seconds left in a game, especially Mike Richards.

AND THEN...as if that wasn't bad enough, Habs fans threw a beer on Richie when he's in the sin bin. WTF is up with asshole fans?! I don't care if they're from Montreal, Philly, or Washington. If you do something like that - you're an asshole.

Anyway...I thought the Flyers totally outplayed the Habs. And it was the most pleasant surprise I could have asked for. I knew we were the huge underdogs going into this series, but I think the boys proved last night that not only can they take on the Habs, but they have a shot to win this round! So I'm excited for the next few games (give or take).

I'm glad Joffrey Lupul seems to be getting his game back. I'm not sure if I'm crazy about him on the Danny B/Vinny P line. I liked the way Harts was playing with them, they haven't clicked as much without him. Though I do like Kaps with Richie. How about Danny/Vinny/Harts and Lupes/Richie/Kaps? Kthxbai.

Marty B had another impressive game. Some of the saves he made were sick. I'm very happy for him - I knew he could play this awesome. Haters need to stfu.

I hope to see some more goals from Richie, Carts, Danny & Vinny in the next few games. I know they can do it :)

I think we'll take game 2...here's hoping.

In the West, Chris Osgood made a nice save with less than ten seconds to go that helped seal a 4-3 win for Detroit. Johan Franzen (his second of the night) was credited with the game-winner with a tally 1:13 into period 2. Avs goalie Jose Theodore was pulled after the Franzen score. He was then sent to the team hotel due to sickness.

Backup goaltender Peter Budaj stopped all 20 shots he faced in relief.

Derian Hatcher and Jason Smith, though clearly fatigued and far slower than usual (and yes, it is possible for them to be slower), led this team last night.  With 4 hits, Hatcher used his size and strength throughout the game to compensate for lack of movement.  His calm puck movement and smart decision-making slowed the pace of the game - a tactic which benefits the Flyers. 

Smith registered 2 hits, 5 blocked shots, and a +2 rating.  The plus-minus is a key stat for Smith.  While paired with Jaroslav Modry during the Capitals series, Smith was on the ice for the vast majority of goals scored by the Caps.  Lasse Kukkonen replaced Modry in the lineup (Modry went to Czechoslovakia for his father's funeral) and did an excellent job both at even strength and short-handed.  Once again, proving why Kukkonen should never have lost his roster spot.

I cannot say enough about Martin Biron's performance.  He stopped a penalty shot from Andrei Kostitsyn, who is arguably one of the most unsung young forwards in the league.  That feat is more amazing considering his save percentage in shootouts is below 80%.  He caught a Mark Streit point shot that was an absolute laser.  He gave this team momentum, compensating for their fatigue with tremendous netminding.  If you haven't seen any of this, I suggest you check out the game highlights and look at Biron's body of work.

The reason the Flyers lost this game was pure fatigue.  From about 8 minutes remaining in the third, they looked dead on their skates - not from lack of effort as we saw last weekend against Washington but from lack of gas in the tank.  They started to get caught more frequently in their own end, which led to the penalty on MIke Richards, which led to Kovalev's power play goal.  That call - which I addressed in my game blog - never happens if the Flyers find the strength to clear the puck earlier.

- One concern for tomorrow's game will be Jeff Carter.  He had a rough night, to say the least.  in the second period, he received the puck in the neutral zone and had plenty of time and space to make a decision with it.  Instead, he quickly moves the puck, placing right on the tape of a Montreal forward.  The Candiens got a 2-on-1 rush and A. Kostitsyn scored their first goal.  Later, Carter's stick broke on the face off, allowing the puck to squirt free to Kovalev, who buried the tying goal.

We saw a similar situation with Mark Staal of the Rangers during the first round.  Staal had made some errors in the previous game and was clearly frustrated with himself.  The next game, he picked himself up, played well, and scored a goal.  Carter must put this game behind him and bring a great performance the next game.  Losing confidence at this point in the season helps no one.

- I liked Braydon Coburn's postgame interview with Steve Coates of the Flyers broadcast team.  Typically after a hard-fought overtime loss, players are muted and reserved in their comments.  Coburn took a positive outlook, saying that his team put out a great effort and that they expect to bring the same on Saturday - he was almost smiling.  I felt weird watching it, but simultaneously it's a sensible response.  In fact, that's exactly how this team should respond.  They have to remain positive, believing that if they continue playing their game and outworking the Canadiens, they could win this series.  Because that's the truth.

 GAME ONE

PRE-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

Here's what I know about the city of Philadephia:

City Hall in Philadelphia, if it's still in the same place as it was in 1969, has stairs up to the top where you can look out over the street and smoke a joint. That's what Mike and I did on our way to the Atlantic City Pop Festival way back then. 

WC Fields' proposed epitaph was "All thing's considered, I'd rather be living in Philadelphia." Sounds a lot like Daniel Briere. Except Fields was talking about dying.

Philadephia is the home of legendary hockey players - Dave Schult, Don Saleski, Bob Kelly, Moose Dupont, Steve Downie, and the guy who broke ankles better than anybody in the game, Bobby Clarke.

"Rocky" was filmed in Philadelphia. The movie included quite a few shots of the some of the nicer parts of the city. A meat slaughterhouse, guys out on the street, freezing, and standing around fires burning in tin cans, singing a capello, Rocky's (Sylvester Stallone) lovely bungalow and neighbourhood, and a sweaty old gym.

Philadephia is the home of the Philadephia Phillies mascot, the Philly Phanatic. You've probably seen him. You know, the creature with the ridiculously long nose, extended neck, and gangly, weird body. 

And there's absolutely no truth to the rumour that the Phanatic was actually Don Saleski in the off-season. The Phanatic was apparently quite upset about these allegations. "There's no way I look as silly as Don Saleski," stated the creature. 

POST-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

Two games were played tonight. The one Bob Cole saw, which was Philadelphia all over Montreal most of the game. And the one the rest of us saw, which was a couple of posts hit by Montreal, a penalty shot, a shorthanded goal by Kovalev, a couple of comebacks, overtime, a dramatic goal by ultimate warrior Tom Kostopoulos, and a pretty tip-in by Patrice Brisebois, which was, unfortunately, into his own net.

It wasn't great, but it wasn't what Bob Cole saw either. It was a lip-smacking 4-3 overtime win for the Canadiens. A late comeback, and then the Kostopoulos goal 48 seconds into the extra period.

Yes, that Tom Kostopoulos, the one fans pooh-poohed when he came over from Los Angeles. Everybody wanted a star like Vincent Lecavalier or Daniel Briere, but had to settle for a plumber these fans labelled Krustyopolos, and everyone wanted to lynch Bob Gainey for this lacklustre signing.

And then some guy on some French TV show used profanity when describing Kostopoulos, and said a French player should be playing, not Kostopoulos. Thankfully, the guy was later fired for his rude and tasteless comments.

Tom Kostopoulos is as important as any player on the Montreal Canadiens. Every great team has had players like him in defining roles. 

Game one's in the books. That's five wins down, eleven to go

 Game notes:

About those two kids dressed in their Habs uniforms, holding flags and skating around the Bell Centre at the beginning.  HOW THE HELL DID THEY GET THIS GIG?

I need to do this. Can an old guy do this too? If Club de Hockey Canadien needs to be paid, I'll sell the house. Please call. I can be there in twelve hours.

Flyers did an excellent job considering their high fatigue level.  They worked hard the entire game, pushing through and moving their feet.  They took few penalties, put lots of shots on Carey Price, and forced turnovers.  I'm sure they're frustrated by this game's result, but they should walk away this evening proud of themselves.  Should they play this way throughout the series, they may just steal four games from Montreal.

On officiating:  I will always maintain that teams must put themselves in positions to win despite the referees.  The Flyers received penalties whenever they spent too much time chasing Montreal around Martin Biron.  They did not lose because of bad calls by the officials.

BUT, as Lou Lamiorello once pointed out, referees need to call what they see, not what they think  they see.  The penalty on Mike Richards was an instance where the ref decided based on what he thought he saw.  It did appear from Kovalev's reaction that knee-on-knee contact was made, but replays clearly showed from every angle that Richards' shoulder was the only body part that connected with Kovalev.  May I point out that Mike Hasenfratz was one of the refs tonight, and that he also delivered the horrendous Kozlov goaltender interference call in the Flyers-Caps series?  Were there really that many officials with worse records in the first round? 

Third period. Flyers 3 - Canadiens 3.  Goals from Lupul and Kovalev.

- Flyers spent too much time in their own end towards the end of the game.  Richards receives an unfortunate penalty for supposed knee-on-knee contact.  Replays showed that he clearly hit Kovalev with the shoulder - as Richie was telling the refs after the play - but to no avail.

- Carter is having a bad night.  Missed several shots during the game, turned the puck over for no apparent reason on the play that ended in the Kostitsyn goal, and had his stick break off the faceoff with 30 seconds left.  The puck squirted to Kovalev in front of the net, and he banged it home.

- Headed to OT, which has to favor the Canadiens since they had more rest coming into the game than the Flyers.  Flyers need to play solid defense here and hope for a good turnover to capitalize on.

- Carey Price has struggled to control the puck every time Braydon Coburn has shot the puck.  If the Flyers could get someone in front when Coburn shoots, they might have a goal.

Second period.  Flyers 2 - Canadiens 2.  Goals from A. Kostitsyn and Kovalev

- The score doesn't reflect how well Martin Biron is playing.  He made an amazing glove save on a shot from Mark Streit as well as stoning A. Kostitsyn on a penalty shot.

- Kovalev's goal is extremely controversial in my book.  His stick came down right on top of the cross bar.  He hit the puck.  I don't know how the physics would work to move a stick vertically, hit the puck and the cross bar, and still score a goal.

- Flyers need to pick up the pace.  They had the Habs fans out and now they're back in.

First period.  Flyers 2 - Canadiens 0.  Goals from RJ Umberger and Jim Dowd.

- Good night so far for the Flyers fourth line.  Umberger was out with Thoresen for the first goal, and Dowd out with Thoresen and Downie on the second.

- MAR-TY! MAR-TY! MAR-TY!  Martin Biron made the most amazing save at the horn to prevent the Canadiens from making it a 2-1 game.  Habs fans thought the puck had gone in and that the refs had ruled no goal because of time.  But the puck never made it past the goal line.

- The goal posts are the Flyers' friends.  Canadiens hit two posts in the first.  Flyers hit one, which resulted in a goal.

- The Flyers looked a little slow to start, perhaps because they're a little tired.  A bit of a track meet.  They're hitting well and playing solid defense - they'll need to continue that effort without relaxing to win.

- A few scrums already, usually involving either Mike Komisarek or Mike Richards.  Richards and Markov had words on multiple occasions.

- Alex Kovalev is one of the slipperiest forwards in the NHL.  Braydon Coburn tailed perfectly on a play, moving from the boards to the hash marks to the blueline without losing him for a second.  Great work by Coburn!

Pregame. 

Flyers to watch:

1.  Jeff Carter - The Caps have big bodies on defense, and even they struggled to contain the Flyers' largest center.  Outside of Mike Komisarek, the Habs are much smaller on the blue line, but they hit hard and often.  So the question becomes - will Carter or Price prevail?

2.  Danny Briere - He's been great for the Flyers so far.  It will be interesting to see how he reacts to playing in Montreal.  Fans there are still upset he chose Philadelphia rather than Montreal this past summer, so the boo birds should be out in force.  Will he prove he made the right choice or will les Quebecois relish their revenge?

3.  Martin Biron - Everyone knows Carey Price will put up some terrific saves.  Biron must bring the same determination he showed against Washington if the Flyers want to be successful.

GO FLYERS GO!!!

But Briere wanted no part of this.

I don't think he has the balls to be a star in Montreal.

Now he has to play the Habs in round 1. Then, when the series ends, he can crawl back into obscurity.

I watched the Flyers play four times against Montreal this year, and also in game seven against the Capitals, and I don't see much. Mike Richards needs to be stopped. Steve Downie's going to take a lot of penalties and has a brief history of cheap shots. Defenceman Derian Hatcher has been around since the 1970's, hasn't he?  He's slow. I can see Kovalev and the Kostitsyns's burning him on a regular basis. Briere's their leading point getter with 10 points so far in the playoffs. He's a slippery bugger, but he's small, and the Habs need to quickly make him inconsequential.

Montreal just needs to remember what they did in game seven against the Bruins. Attack instead of being attacked. I think it's simple.  

Game note:

Game one begins Thursday night 

 It wasn't their best game of the season, but it was certainly their best game of the playoffs. By far their best game. A beautiful 5-0 shutout. It's like getting rid of a big boil on your nose.

Monday night, game seven, we saw the Montreal Canadiens we had become used to throughout the regular season. They attacked. They skated. They played with poise. And that's the way they should have being playing all along in this opening round. 

Maybe they've learned something from this stressful seven game experience with the Bruins. From now on, we do the attacking, not the other guys. 

So what happened for the Montreal Canadiens, down and out after blowing a three games to one lead, with the Bruins carrying all the confidence and momentum going into this deciding game? How could they come out in game seven, find the game they were desperately looking for, and skate away with a mouth-watering 5-0 shutout to eliminate the pesky Bruins?

Carey Price kept them in it early in the game, and then it was like a lightswitch went on. The Canadiens suddenly remembered how they won the eastern conference. Everyone stepped it up, they attacked, and the Bruins became no match.

Alex Kovalev was flying, so were the guys who had been in a funk - the Kostitsyn's, Tomas Plekanec, Chris Higgins, Mark Streit, and about ten others.  Carey Price, who went from giving up ten goals in two games to none when it counted the most, in game seven, was fabulous, and showed he doesn't rattle in a pressure cooker.

Guy Carbonneau was no longer outcoached by Claude Julien, and whatever he did to get the team to open it up like they did, he's got to bottle it and feed it to his players in the second round.

And what a difference Saku Koivu makes when he's in the lineup.

The Bruins were good, fought hard, they stressed out me and most Habs fans, and I'm glad they're out of there. I've had enough of Zdeno Chara and his shorter teammates. They were good, but Montreal showed that when they're firing on all cylinders, they're better. 

So it becomes this - If Philadelphia eliminates Washington, then Montreal plays Philadelphia in the next round. But if Washington wins, Montreal takes on Sean Avery and the New York Rangers.

I don't care who it is. Bring em on!

Just play every game like Monday's game, boys, and you'll take out either one of them.

Résultat: Boston gagne 5 à 4 et la série est égale 3-3.  Les Canadiens ont accordé 10 buts à leur deux derniers matchs éliminatoires.  De quoi empêcher de dormir tout le personnel d'entraîneur et les belles statistiques de Carey Price en prennent pour leur rhume.

Tout peut arriver lundi soir à Montréal, bien des partisans des Canadiens ont quitté les Cages aux sports de ce monde amèrement déçus.

Quand Alex Kovalev termine une rencontre -3, y'a de quoi être déçu.

J'espère que le SPVM sera sur le qui-vive lundi soir advenant une défaite au Centre Bell, plusieurs partisans frustrés des Canadiens pourraient exprimer leurs frustrations.  On le sait les partisans du tricolore ne sont pas tous des gens qui démontrent un savoir vivre.  On a qu'à penser leurs hués envers Chara et Brière

Parlant de savoir vivre, lisez mon prochain billet.

Maintenant la question, est-ce que les joueurs des Canadiens, commenceront leur saison de golf dès mardi après-midi?

The picture is now crystal clear. Boston has figured Montreal out, and Montreal doesn't know how to figure Boston out. Claude Julien understands how playoff hockey works, adjusted nicely, and his team has delivered.

Tonight, it became a 5-4 Bruins win, and it was a game that surely has left all Habs fans grumbling and more than slightly pissed off.

Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau has not been able to light a fire under his boys, and so again, in this game six, it meant four Boston goals in the third period, the same as in game five. It meant five goals scored again by Boston, the same as in game five. It meant that again, Montreal was flat, their power play was flat, and although Chris Higgins and Tomas Plekanec finally broke out of their scoreless draught, it was a non-effort by almost everyone on the Montreal team.

Or maybe it wasn't so much a non-effort by Montreal, but a better effort by Boston.

So I don't want to but I have to ask this one question, a question which makes me uneasy, but I feel must be addressed. Are there too many Europeans on the Montreal Canadiens to understand what it takes to win in playoff hockey?

The playoffs aren't the regular season. And for a couple of decades now, we've seen many examples of players from across the pond not understanding the importance of the Stanley Cup, unlike North Americans, especially Canadians, who have this emotion implanted in their hearts and souls.

I hear from Canucks fans all the time how the Sedin twins, from Sweden, are the furthest things from playoff performers. 

If you say this is bullshit and I'm out of line, then where have the European Habs gone?

Russian-born Alex Kovalev, mentioned as a possible league MVP, has brought his game down a couple of serious notches and is no more the straw that stirs the drink during Montreal's once daunting power play. The Kostitsyn's, from Belarus, can't crack Boston's playoff checking. Tomas Plekanec, from the Czech Republic, was an offensive marvel during the regular season, and now is playing like he'd rather be some place else. Switzerland's Mark Streit is playing like he belongs in the American Hockey League.

Even Russian Andrei Markov, frequently called one of the top defensemen in the entire league, has posed no threat whatsoever.

This is a very disappointing turn of events. It was such a short time ago that talk of a Stanley Cup was rampant throughout Hab universe, but now this is a team hanging by a thread, playing scared, playing tight and nervous, while Boston is a team of happy campers, feeling good about themselves, and can't wait for game seven Monday night.

Of course Montreal can redeem themselves in one game and make everyone forget they haven't deserved this series. They can win still, make no mistake about that. They've been a team of surprises all year, and now it's time to pull one last trick out of their bag.

But so far, and it pains me to say this, I haven't seen a Stanley Cup contender from my Montreal Canadiens.

Montreal has given us a lot of great and exciting moments this year. Tonight wasn't one of them.

In a game where the Canadiens could have eliminated Boston and had a nice rest in preparation for the next series, they came out and smelled up the joint. Now they'd better look themselves in the mirror, and take a good, long, hard look.

If they can't adjust in a close checking series, how do they expect to be successful if they can actually get by Boston and meet other close checking teams?

However, will they actually get by Boston?

Is their game only one-dimensional, a game that is free-wheeling and one which allows Kovalev, the Kostitsyns, Higgins etc. to play only pond hockey and nothing else?

Did they make the mistake of believing their own press clippings that said how great they are?

Will Tomas Plekanec, Chris Higgins, Michael Ryder, the Kostitsyns, Latendresse, and most of the team decide to actually play some playoff hockey before it's too late? Especially Higgins. Hello 911. I'd like to report a missing person.

Although Carey Price has been so good in this series, it was his gift of dropping the puck in front of his goal, right on the stick of a Bruin, who then scored, which began, and probably caused, the complete collapse.

This team can seriously infuriate me.

I also see that Saku Koivu is the true leader of this team, and if he can skate, which he can, he needs to be in the lineup two days from now.

And now that the Bruins know they can win this series, what's going to happen Saturday in Boston? Which Montreal team will show up, the great regular season one, or the lousy playoff one? 

Game note:

Montreal stunk 

Phil Kessel, Glen Metropolit, Zdeno Chara, Marco Sturm and Vladimir Sobotka scored for Boston. Alex Kovalev was the lone goal getter for Montreal.

Now the 3-2 series will head back to Boston for Game 6.

Biographie d'Alex Kovalev

by JT UTAH

Mon incroyable roomate, le même beau tata qui m'avait donné le scoop de l'échange Ryder vs Tanguay, a quelques connections à Radio-Canada.

Il m'a envoyé le super reportage qu'Alain Gravel et Pierre Legault ont fait sur Alex Kovalev, aka Mister Kovi.

Honnêtement, prenez la peine de le visionner:
http://www.radio-canada.ca/audio-video/#urlMedia=http://www.radio-canada.ca/Medianet/2008/RDI2/TelejournalSurRdi200804092100_5.asx

All that matters is game four in Boston. Montreal can ill-afford a loss to the newly-renewed Boston Bruins. Because it would be a loss that not only ties the series, but also creates even more momentum for the Bruins.

I'm sure Guy Carbonneau and his coaches are working hard to overcome Boston's recent adjustments, which have seen the Bruins bottle up Montreal's attack, and Alex Kovalev especially. For me, it all boils down to the power play. Get that back on track and the series will end quickly. 

One Montreal writer said recently that he doesn't know why, but the number five is a big number this year. For instance, Montreal won game two, 3-2, which totalled five.

So keeping with that, our Habs can win Tuesday night, and then game five (there's that five) back in Montreal.

And any long series is never good in the scheme of things, as the road to the Stanley Cup is a long- distance marathon, and Montreal needs to end it as soon as possible to be fresh and healthy for the second round. But I'm not getting ahead of myself. That would be bad luck. And smug.

The Canadiens absolutely need their power play to return. It's been their bread and butter all year. They need to unravel the ropes the Bruins have tied around them. And in general, they need a big night from everyone, especially the first line.

Every game for the last month has been a huge game for Montreal. But none are bigger than this upcoming game four. 

Am I nervous? Of course I'm nervous. I'd be nervous if the Habs were up three games to nothing. But I also believe in my team.

Go Habs! You're gonna do it.

During the regular season, Montreal's power play looked like Sophia Loren - beautiful, lovely, graceful, nice to watch. But in this playoff round against the Bruins, Montreal's power play resembles a drunken Britney Spears. Kovalev's overtime goal in game two was a power play goal, but that's it. The only one in three games.

And that's the main reason why tonight, Boston skated away with a 2-1 overtime win in game three, and now it's going to take five games instead of four for Montreal to win the series.

Another reason is the ineffective play in the series so far of Tomas Plekanec, Christopher Higgins, Michael Ryder (who can't hit the net), and pretty well everyone except Carey Price, Alex Kovalev, and the Begin, Kostopoulos, Smolinski line, who have shown up every game. It's not good when the grinder line is the best line. The Kostitsyn boys, huge in game one, are a non-entity right now. And it's obvious now that Saku Koivu is greatly missed.

Montreal showed all year that they are a superior team to Boston. But they need to adjust to the adjustments the Bruins have made. There was no fire wagon hockey tonight, only chances that arose from hard work. They need to overcome the tight checking the Bruins have instilled.

Show us your Sophia Loren moves again, boys. Show that you can score often, just as Sophia probably could.

Fourteen wins to go, on hold for the moment. Enjoy the moment, Bruins fans. Soon enough, you'll be hating the moment.

Game note:

Milan Lucic, Boston's young power forward, looks a little like a young Phil Esposito. Except Lucic's nose is quite a bit bigger.

Bonus game note:

Ron McLean called Brad Richards "his boyfriend."

Brian Rafalski and Tomas Holmstrom each contributed 2 points as Detroit beat the Predators 4-2 this afternoon.

And the Eastern Conference's highest seed also came away victorious. Although the Canadiens required OT to do it, they came away with their perfect record against Boston this season intact. Alex Kovalev got the game-winner on the Power Play only 2:30 into extra time.