Your Canadiens for December 31, 2011

A very Happy New Year to all Montreal Canadiens fans who are kind enough to stop by and read this site with any regularity. May the New Year bring all the best in health and happiness to you and those in your life. And to our Montreal Canadiens, of course. On the occasion of the New Year, I have put myself in the shoes of a number of members of the organization to make some resolutions on their behalf. Here they are:

Randy Cunneyworth - To learn Russian in order to communicate with Alexei Emelin... and to piss off the French media.

Scott Gomez - To score more goals than I did in 2011. In other words, more than TWO!

Andrei Markov - To play more games than I did in 2011. In other words, to play a game!

Andrei Kostitsyn - I go net, I score goals.

Alexander Avtsin - To play in 10 games with the Canadiens... or to go back to the KHL.

Josh Gorges - To improve my financial situation. Specifically on July 1st.

Carey Price - To score more goals than I did in 2011. I mean, if no one else is gonna do it...

Raphael Diaz - To get the team to play me at forward so I can have a 50-point season and cash in.

Tomas Kaberle - To catch Mike Sillinger for most NHL clubs played for (12)... By the end of 2012.

Brendan Gallagher - To set what must be some kind of record by taking 4 goaltender interference penalties in a single game.

Mike Cammalleri - To learn to speak French. Maybe then fans will stop trying to trade me.

P.K. Subban - To finally get my darned lightswitch fixed. It's been stuck... #AlwaysOn. I'll be so happy to have it fixed that I'll never turn it on again. #AlwaysOff for 2012. And I'll be sure to Tweet about it all the time. Ohhhh... you guys thought that had something to do with hockey!

Aaron Palushaj - To continue to follow in the Ben Maxwell model, meaning I should get to play for at least 4 different NHL clubs in 2012.

Lars Eller - To be a little less Danish by working on my Finish.

And some final updates as the Canadiens prepare to take on the Florida Panthers this evening:

- No changes again to the Habs' line-up, despite their loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It's good to at least see some consistency from the coach. Carey Price will get the start.

- World Junior Championships Updates:

Jarred Tinordi and Team USA were upset for a second consecutive game, falling 5-2 to the Czech Republic. When Finland beat Denmark later in the evening, it officially knocked the Americans out of the medal round and into the relegation tournament, a huge disappointment for a pre-tournament medal favourite. Despite finishing a -2, Tinordi had a solid game, throwing some big hits and not being responsible for the goals he was on the ice for. He has had a very solid tournament and it is unfortunate he won't get a chance to compete for a top 3 position.

Michael Bournival missed practice again yesterday, after sitting out Thursday's game with a flu. In his absence, Nathan Beaulieu has been playing/practicing at forward.

Daniel Pribyl had a nice assist, taking a hit to make a play, in the Czechs win over Team USA. Pribyl, still recovering from his leg laceration, played limited minutes but looked good in finishing the game a +3. His assist means all five Habs prospects in the tournament have collected at least a point.

- Despite being outshot 39-30, the Hamilton Bulldogs overcame 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 deficits to defeat the Rochester Americans 5-4. On loan to the Bulldogs for the remainder of the season, forward Mitch Wahl scored his first 2 goals for the club, earning first star honours. Aaron Palushaj and Andreas Engqvist each had a goal and an assist (all on the powerplay), and Gabriel Dumont's 5th goal rounded out the scoring. Defenseman Frederic St-Denis had 2 assists in the win.

- The Canadiens' CHL prospects didn't fare quite as well last night:

Olivier Archambault was the only Drummondville player to finish a -2 in his club's 4-2 win over Chicoutimi.

After a hot start to the season, defenseman Darren Dietz has cooled off in a big way. He had no points and an even rating in Saskatoon's 9-4 victory last night.

Morgan Ellis (pictured above) had no points and finished a -1 in Cape Breton's 6-4 loss to Halifax. But the bigger news came at game's end, when it was announced that Ellis has been dealt to the Shawinigan Cataractes (where he'll join Michael Bournival once back from the World Juniors) in return for a first round pick in 2013, a second round pick in 2012, and Bronson Beaton. This will be a great experience for Ellis, as Shawinigan will host this year's Memorial Cup. That tournament should be another interesting event for Canadiens fans to follow, with Bournival and Ellis guaranteed to be participating, and a strong likelihood of Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi's clubs winning their leagues to make the Cup as well.

- Moving along to the college ranks:

Greg Pateryn and Mac Bennett's Michigan Wolverines won the Great Lakes Invitational (GLI) mini-tournament, defeating rivals Michigan State 3-2 in overtime in the championship game.

Steve Qualier had an assist to extend his current point streak to 8 games (5 goals, 8 assists) in a 3-3 tie against Princeton. On the season, this gives him 17 points in 15 games.

Danny Kristo generated a number of quality scoring chances but was repeatedly stopped, unable to snap a 4-4 tie between North Dakota and Harvard.

Dustin Walsh recorded an assist, returning to the Dartmouth line-up in a 3-2 win after a 6-game absence due to injury. Walsh now has 8 points in just 6 games played this season. He recorded 20 points in 34 games for Dartmouth last year.

Your Canadiens for December 28, 2011

That one felt good, didn't it Habs fans? I posted Monday my skepticism about the Canadiens' chances at making the playoffs this season based on the likely record they'd need from here on out in order to make it. But there is no doubt that if they are going to make it, they need to start winning NOW. Let's hope that last night's offensive output was the breaking of a slump for a number of players and not just a fluky flash-in-the-pan. The third period was encouraging as, despite the team being up by 3 goals, Montreal did not let up and continued looking to generate more chances. There was no "sitting on the lead," which typified the Jacques Martin regime, even if the former coach himself claimed he would never instruct his players to do so.

Mike Cammalleri showed nice chemistry with Louis Leblanc, and Lars Eller seemed to work well with Erik Cole, so there is no reason not to give these lines at least a couple of games together to see what might develop. The game wasn't perfect; there is still lots of work to do. But it's a start. Hopefully.

- World Junior Championships update:

Neither Canada nor the U.S. were in action yesterday, meaning no news on the Habs' prospect front. The Americans play Finland at 3:30 PM EST today on TSN, after which Canada faces the Czech Republic at 8:00 PM EST (also on TSN).

Speaking of the Czechs, there is news about Daniel Pribyl. As mentioned yesterday, he was mysteriously left off the Czech Republic's roster, despite a report that he was to be made an assistant captain. As speculated, it was indeed an injury that kept him out, specifically a laceration above the knee. Apparently it was bad enough that it would bleed just from bending the knee, though the Czech coach indicated that the team purposely named only 12 forwards for now to keep a spot open should he recover quickly. If he can't go in the next couple of days, they'll fill it with another player. The Czechs won their tournament opener 7-0 over Denmark last night.

On the subject of Pribyl, check out this Q&A with him which is undated, but evidently was prior to last June's draft, where the Canadiens selected him in the 6th round:

http://dansallows.com/interview-daniel-pribyl/

- Despite the World Juniors getting underway, Canadian junior league play resumes. In the QMJHL last night, Olivier Archambault picked up an assist but finished a -2 in a 9-3 Drumondville loss. Archambault, Montreal's 4th round pick in 2011, now has 29 points in 32 games but is an abysmal -14.

Over in the WHL, defenseman Darren Dietz also finished a -2 in a 7-2 Saskatoon loss. Dietz dropped the gloves in both the first and third periods, resulting in 2 fighting majors.

Your Canadiens for December 27, 2011

Welcome back, Habs fans. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas or happy holiday weekend, and after a 4-day break, your Montreal Canadiens are back on the ice this evening. Let's hope that the team begins to play up to its potential and rattles off a win streak, or the opposite occurs and we see the kind of re-tooling I discussed yesterday. The only thing we don't want is a middle ground scenario, especially if it encourages Pierre Gauthier and Geoff Molson to trade picks or prospects to try to grab on to the 8th playoff spot.

- We saw Randy Cunneyworth roll out new lines at practice yesterday. They were as follows:

Max Pacioretty - Lars Eller - Erik Cole

Travis Moen - Tomas Plekanec - Andrei Kostitsyn

Mike Cammalleri - David Desharnais - Louis Leblanc

Mathieu Darche - Petteri Nokelainen - Mike Blunden

Josh Gorges - P.K. Subban

Hal Gill - Raphael Diaz

Alexei Emelin - Tomas Kaberle

Yannick Weber - Chris Campoli

Lots to look at here. Most notable is the slotting of Lars Eller and P.K. Subban on to top lines following their one game sat as healthy scratches. Many have complained that Eller's potential is being wasted by playing him with third line wingers, pointing to this as a cause of his limited production (despite evident displays of top notch skill). He's now being given a chance with the large and talented wingers that David Desharnais has been blessed with this season (though he has played to a level worthy of their talents). It will be an interesting experiment to see if Desharnais can continue to produce without their size and if Eller can unblock offensively by playing with them. As for Subban, he will go right back to where he was before his scratch and I'm sure Randy Cunneyworth will be watching closely to see if any of the lessons he may have sent his way have been understood.

On D, Alexei Emelin seems to finally have a spot made for him on the left side. As much as Tomas Kaberle looks good on the powerplay, he hasn't earned any trust at 5-on-5. Could he really be that much worse playing the right side? At least you strengthen the left by slotting in a guy who has played like a Top 4 blueliner on the team on that side of the ice.

- Other than the lines, the big news out of practice was that the Canadiens now have an ad for Subway (Sandwiches) on their practice jerseys. This was met with outrage by many, including Dave Stubbs of Hockey Inside/Out / The Gazette. There have been many indications this season that the Molson family is about the cash in a big way and this is the latest move to increase their profits. Habs fans will be less angered if it is positioned as extra money going to pay for Jacques Martin's dismissal and/or perhaps sending Scott Gomez to Hamilton! And at least it's just a practice jersey right now.

- The 2011-12 World Junior Hockey Championship kicked off yesterday. If you don't follow the tournament, as a hockey fan, you are missing out. These under-20 kids play with hearts on their sleeves, representing their country and trying to be noticed on a big stage to vault their hockey careers forward. It is some of the best hockey you can watch all year. Here's how the Habs fared on opening day:

Brendan Gallagher had the game-winning goal and added an assist in Team Canada's 8-1 steamrolling of Finland. Gallagher spent most of the game on a top line with team captain Jaden Schwartz and future Winnipeg Jets star Mark Scheifele.

Nathan Beaulieu played only limited minutes 5-on-5, but was a fixture on Canada's top powerplay unit where he looked far smoother than any other blueliner. He finished the game with 1 assist. He isn't a flash player like a Subban, but he makes smart, efficient plays well and has a booming and accurate point shot.

Michael Bournival was the weakest of the three Canadian Canadiens (heh), generating some chances but also fighting the puck at times. He was the only member of Team Canada to finish a negative, of course a -1. He got looks on many different lines throughout the night after starting as the fourth line center.

Jarred Tinordi, an assistant captain with Team USA, scored a lucky goal in the first period with a shot that was going well wide but bounced in off a Danish player's skate. Still, it was a well timed pinch in the offensive zone by the big man. Tinordi played on the team's top pairing with Adam Clendenning. He took a delay of game penalty for clearing the puck over the boards from the defensive zone in the first period which was costly, as the Danes scored on the ensuing powerplay.

Daniel Pribyl is an interesting story that I don't fully understand yet. Despite a report last week that he would be named an assistant captain for the Czech Republic, according to the IIHF website, he is not a part of the final Czech team. I've yet to see any report explaining this, but the Czechs do only have 12 forwards on their final roster (most teams carry 13). I would guess Pribyl may have been injured in a pre-tournament game or practice, but we will perhaps know more when the Czechs open their tournament tomorrow.

- The Hamilton Bulldogs got back into action yesterday follow their Christmas break. They played the first period as though they were still working off their Christmas dinner, falling behind 3-0 to the Toronto Marlies in the first six minutes. But they came storming back with 6 unanswered goals to earn the win. Robert Mayer was perfect after coming in to relieve Nathan Lawson after the third goal, while Olivier Fortier passes the offense with two goals. Also scoring were Aaron Palushaj, Ian Schultz, Phil DeSimone, and Andreas Engqvist with an empty netter. Joonas Nattinen and Gabriel Dumont each collected two assists.

Jarred Tinordi + Daniel Pribyl Named WJC Assistant Captains

In addition to having three prospects as important cogs on Team Canada, the Montreal Canadiens will have two other prospects playing big roles for their countries at the upcoming World Junior Championships. When the tournament opens on Boxing Day, defenseman Jarred Tinordi will be an assistant captain for Team USA, while center Daniel Pribyl will wear an A for the Czech Republic.

Tinordi, 19, was Montreal's first round pick, 22nd overall, in 2010. The 6'7", hard-hitting defensive defenseman is the captain of the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights and should have a big role on a shutdown pairing for the Americans. Tinordi's game has very little offensive upside, but is the type of player the Canadiens sorely lack and thus will make a highly anticipated debut with the Hamilton Bulldogs next season. Tinordi had previously captained the U.S. under 18 team, but will serve as an assistant to WJC returnee Jason Zucker. The other assistant is fellow returnee and WHL star Emerson Etem.

Pribyl, who just turned 19 on December 18th, is a 6'4" skilled center who was taken in the 6th round this past June. Criticized for not using his size to his advantage in winning battles often enough, Pribyl has boom-or-bust potential but will first need to fill out his frame and work on his agility and balance. He plays in the senior league in the Czech Republic, but has limited ice time as a young player and has managed just 2 goals in 15 games despite being seen as an offensive player. He is penciled into a third or fourth line role on the Czech Juniors team, but the club will need added offense throughout the line-up as top prospect Martin Frk has had to declare forfeit for the tournament due to injury.