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.

Preseason Game 4: 24/09/11 Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens

The Habs try to build on momentum from their first win of the preseason tonight as they have a rematch against the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre.

Your roster this evening:

Forwards:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Brian Gionta

Aaron Palushaj - Gabriel Dumont - Brock Trotter

Olivier Archambault* - Philip DeSimone - Travis Moen

Phillippe Lefebvre* - Dany Masse - Ian Schultz

Defensemen:

Nathan Beaulieu - Josh Gorges

Jaroslav Spacek - Jeff Woywitka

Mark Mitera - Frederic St-Denis

Goaltenders:

Carey Price

Robert Mayer

* = Preseason debut

Not the strongest of teams this evening, but interesting that Gabriel Dumont, Brock Trotter, and Aaron Palushaj continue to get long looks for a roster spot. An interesting player to watch on D (other than Nathan Beaulieu) will be Mark Mitera, acquired this summer from the Anaheim Ducks in return for Mathieu Carle.

Carey Price will get his second start in as many nights.

23/09/11: Montreal 4, Ottawa 3 (SO); vets lead way

While we've stated that losing in preseason isn't a real concern, repeated losses may eventually have the effect of weighing down team morale. Thus, it was a nice sign to see the Montreal Canadiens bounce back from a 3-o deficit last night to top the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in a shootout and improve their exhibition game record to 1-2-0.

P.K. Subban had been the Habs' top player against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday but he was held out last night with a minor upper body injury. The slack was picked up by another young veteran, Max Pacioretty, who followed up on a "decent" first outing against Buffalo to lead the way with 2 goals, a boatload of shots and chances, plus a nice shootout marker against the Sens. Pacioretty looks ready to start the year, every bit as fast as his pre-injury self and playing the same game.

A player that DOESN'T want to repeat last year, Scott Gomez, made his preseason debut and looked far better than he did for most of last year. Gomez skated the puck well and set up some chances, all the while showing off his trademark carrying of the puck through the neutral zone - a skill at which there might be no better forward in the league. While it wasn't pretty, he was credited with the game-tying goal in the last 35 seconds by positioning himself in front of the net and whacking away at a rebound.

In addition to scoring the shootout winner, Erik Cole picked up 2 assists to now give him 3 points in 2 games. He was most noticeable in creating turnovers throughout the game, picking the pockets of opposing defenders. Looks like he'll be a nice fit.

If his first game against Buffalo was disappointing, it may have been just nerves, as Brendan Gallagher turned his play up many notches last night. His quick hands were evident as he took advantage of playing with Pacioretty and Gomez in coming up with several near-miss scoring opportunities.

In goal, Carey Price made a few nice saves, a small improvement from his first outing. But he still doesn't seem to be in season shape, with 3 pucks getting by him on 18 shots in the game's first half. Nathan Lawson looked quite good playing the second half, as while he didn't have to make many tough saves, he supported the rush well, most evidently with a long bomb breakaway pass he fed to Pacioretty for his second goal on the powerplay.

In what may be training camp's biggest surprise, Gabriel Dumont is meddling with a lot of prognosticators line-ups and depth charts. The short but feisty center has been far more remarkable than the likes of Aaron Palushaj, Brock Trotter, or even Andreas Engqvist. It will be interesting to see how the Habs handle the situation, as Engqvist fits the team's need better due to his size, and is a very responsible defensive player, but Dumont has shown greater upside in playing more physically and having a better rounded game.

Preaseason Game 3: 23/09/11 Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators

The Habs try to put their first win of the preseason up on the board tonight as they take the bus trip out to Ottawa.

For Scott Gomez, who was nursing a minor injury at the start of training camp, this will be the first step towards forgetting what was an awful 2010-11 campaign. He will be paired with usual linemate Max Pacioretty and youngster Brendan Gallagher. A funny link between Gomez and Gallagher is that during Scott's junior days, he was once treated medically by Gallagher's father, a trainer, and even visited the family's home. Brendan was 6 years old at the time, and tonight they will be linemates!

For Carey Price, it will be another chance to continue rounding into game shape in preparation for the start of the season. He had a shaky opener before which he declared himself as unprepared, but it is no reason to panic. Slow and steady improvement is all that is needed until early October.

Up front, Andreas Engqvist is in the line-up again, meaning he's played all 3 preseason contests. Given that he's also playing with veterans in Andrei Kostitsyn and Erik Cole, it seems like the 4th line center job is his to lose. Interestingly, in practice, Kostitsyn took turns playing the point on the powerplay. With only P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov as locked pointment on the PP to start the season, there may be an opportunity to play a forward back there along with Alexei Yemelin or Yannick Weber, both of whom will continue to try to prove superiority in the depth chart this evening.

With Lars Eller, David Desharnais, and Ryan White all currently out rehabbing small injuries, there may be additional spots open for a player like Mike Blunden to start with the team as well. He showed poor skating ability in his first start, but certainly was amongst the team's most physical players.

Your lines for this evening:

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Forwards

Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brendan Gallagher

Andrei Kostitsyn - Andreas Engqvist - Erik Cole

Mathieu Darche - Gabriel Dumont - Alexander Avtsin

Brock Trotter - Philip DeSimone - Mike Blunden

Defensemen

Alex Henry - Jarred Tinordi

Hal Gill - Raphael Diaz

Alexei Yemelin - Yannick Weber

Goaltenders

Carey Price

Nathan Lawson

OTTAWA SENATORS

Forwards

Nikita Filatov - Jason Spezza - Bobby Butler

Milan Michalek - Stephane Da Costa - Daniel Alfredsson

Mike Hoffman - Zack Smith - Erik Condra

Derek Grant - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Andre Petersson

Defensemen

Filip Kuba - Erik Karlsson

Chris Phillips - Brian Lee

Patrick Wiercioch - Mark Borowiecki

Goaltenders

Craig Anderson (full game)

Alex Auld

2011/12 NHL Preview - Northeast Division

And finally we arrive at the Northeast. If you missed the earlier division previews, check them out here:

- Atlantic Division

- Southeast Division

- Northwest Division

- Central Division

- Pacific Division

BOSTON BRUINS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Milan Lucic - Patrice Bergeron - Nathan Horton

Tyler Seguin - David Krejci - Brad Marchand

Benoit Pouliot - Rich Peverley - Chris Kelly

Daniel Paille - Greg Campbell - Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara - Dennis Seidenberg

Andrew Ference - Joe Corvo

Johnny Boychuk - Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas

Tuukka Rask

The defending Stanley Cup champions lost some depth over the summer, notably playoff hero Michael Ryder who signed in Dallas, and trade deadline acquisition Tomas Kaberle who joined the Carolina Hurricanes. Picking up some slack offensively will be a year-older Tyler Seguin who should now be a regular, and Benoit Pouliot who will be trying his luck with a third club in his short NHL career. Rookies Zach Hamill and Jordan Caron will battle for jobs in training camp but the forward group is deep enough that they are likely to start the year in the AHL. Brad Marchand was a hero (second only to the man in goal) in last year's playoffs and should improve on the 41 point he scored last season. With the possible exception of assist-man David Krejci, all of Boston's top 6 should be expected to top the 20 goal mark, and with quality two-way players in trade deadline acquisitions Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley on the third line, the team looks ready to compete again.

The Bruins defense isn't nearly as deep as their offense with a significant drop-off after captain Zdeno Chara. The addition of Joe Corvo should help the team's powerplay, but just as it did last year with the acquisition of Kaberle, much of the team's remaining cap space (over $7M with only Marchand left to sign) should go to patch a hole on the back end as this year's deadline nears.

Goaltending isn't something Boston has to worry about as Tim Thomas dominated the league through the regular and post- season last year. And even if, at age 37, he begins to slow down, Tuukka Rask, who stole the starting job from Thomas for one season in 2009-10, is capable of putting up equally as impressive numbers.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Conference contender.

BUFFALO SABRES

Projected depth chart / lines:

Thomas Vanek - Derek Roy - Jason Pominville

Drew Stafford - Brad Boyes - Ville Leino

Tyler Ennis - Paul Gaustad - Nathan Gerbe

Jochen Hecht - Cody McCormick - Patrick Kaleta

Tyler Myers - Christian Ehrhoff

Robyn Regehr - Jordan Leopold

Andrej Sekara - Mike Weber

Ryan Miller

Jhonas Enroth

Active on both the trades and free agency markets this summer, the Sabres enter the season with the best roster they've had since the Daniel Briere and Chris Drury days. At 5'5" and 5'9" respectively, Nathan Gerbe and Tyler Ennis are Buffalo's answer to David Desharnais and Brian Gionta on the Habs, with both showing last season that they belong in the NHL despite their diminutive stature. They will provide added scoring depth to a top 6 that was completed with the signing of Ville Leino, a player whose best seasons many feel are still ahead of him. It seems like top forward Derek Roy will be fully recuperated from his leg injury of last season when training camp opens in a couple of weeks which means Thomas Vanek should continue to score at a 30-goal, 70-point clip on his wing. Drew Stafford exploded last season with 31 goals in 62 games but it remains to be seen if that will be an anomaly for a typical 20 goal man or if it was simply a leap ahead in his development as an NHL'er. The Sabres do still have a bit of work to do to get under the salary cap, but the most likely situation seems to be a trade or demotion of Ales Kotalik up front and Shaone Morissonn on the back end, leaving the above roster unaffected.

Speaking of the defense, adding Christian Ehrhoff and Robyn Regehr gives Buffalo arguably a top 5 defense in the league for the coming season. Anchored by Tyler Myers, the top 4 is as good as any, and to provide further depth, 25-year old Andrej Sekera unexpectedly set a career high last year with 29 points.

For my money, Ryan Miller is the top goaltender in the NHL, and though his numbers took a bit of a dive last season, expect him to rebound behind his newly upgraded D and be one of the top fantasy performers in the league. The Sabres should get at least one more full season out of Jhonas Enroth, now 23, as a back-up, but it is likely he has starter aspirations and that will have to be with a different club.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Solid playoff team.

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Erik Cole

Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brian Gionta

Travis Moen - Lars Eller - Andrei Kostitsyn

Ryan White - David Desharnais - Mathieu Darche

Andrei Markov - Josh Gorges

Hal Gill - P.K. Subban

Jaroslav Spacek - Alexei Yemelin

Carey Price

Peter Budaj

Ah oui, les Canadiens. Pierre Gauthier managed to land his man on July 1st this year with the signing of Erik Cole to a 4-year deal. Cole seems like a great fit, bringing much-needed size and physicality to the Montreal forward core, but Habs fans need to hope that he'll fit in much better with Tomas Plekanec than he did with the Edmonton Oilers - his only other stint in the NHL outside of Carolina. Andrei Kostitsyn had some harsh words about head coach Jacques Martin printed in the Belarussian media this summer so it will be interesting to see how long he remains in Montreal, given that he's a pending UFA next summer and appears to be slated in for third line duty. He formed a nice duo with Lars Eller at times last year, though, so if the two stick together, it could mean a breakout year statistically for the young Dane. Max Pacioretty should be back at full strength after a vicious Zdeno Chara hit ended his season and what was a very hot breakout stretch for him. The team must hope that the hit and concussion won't cause Pacioretty to play timidly and to avoid the corners and front of the net - the areas where he was most successful.

Montreal lost two pillars on the blueline in James Wisniewski and Roman Hamrlik but will see the return of veteran Andrei Markov who, when healthy, can be one of the game's top defensemen. Markov will find his old spot quaterbacking the powerplay, meaning P.K. Subban should improve upon the 38 points he scored last year just from receiving passes from the guy at the opposite point. Alexei Yemelin will be an intriguing addition to the club, assuming he makes the big team out of camp, as he brings a physical toolkit the team has missed since the departure of Mike Komisarek. Jaroslav Spacek has (rightfully) fallen out of favour with much of the Canadiens' fanbase, but as a pending UFA, he will have the pressure of improving or seeing his NHL days come to an end following this season, which hopefully will inspire him to reach his pre-Habs levels of play.

Carey Price made Pierre Gauthier look smart for making the unpopular move of trading Jaroslav Halak by turning in the best performances of his career. After playing 72 games, Habs fans must believe that he is the real deal, but there will remain some trepidation that it could have been just a good season until he plays well consistently again in 11-12. No one will mistake Peter Budaj for a quality NHL starter, but given that he played 45 games for Colorado last year, he should be expected to get more action than the 16 games Alex Auld saw in Montreal (perhaps a 60-22 split).

Frankly, if things go right, this team could be as good as the Bruins and chase them and/or the Sabres for the division title. However, if Scott Gomez doesn't rebound from a horrid season, Carey Price is inconsistent, Erik Cole disappoints, the injury bug strikes, and Pierre Gauthier sits tight all year with this group of d-men, it could be a long season that sees the team finish outside the top 8.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Solid playoff team.

OTTAWA SENATORS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Milan Michalek - Jason Spezza - Daniel Alfredsson

Nikita Filatov - Nick Foligno - Bobby Butler

Chris Neil - Peter Regin - Stephane Da Costa

Zack Smith - Zenon Konopka - Jesse Winchester

Sergei Gonchar - Erik Karlsson

Chris Phillips - Jared Cowen

David Rundblad - Filip Kuba

Craig Anderson

Alex Auld

The Senators are rebuilding and the fact that they were rather quiet this off-season seems to indicate the process is on-going. Offensively, there are a number of young players who will try to establish themselves during training camp, including mid-season signee Stephane Da Costa, draft day acquisition Nikita Filatov, and 2011 first round pick Mika Zibanejad. The Sens will need some of these guys to elevate their play as the offense is quite thin beyond the top trio of Jason Spezza (slowed by injuries), Daniel Alfredsson (aging, injuries), and Milan Michalek (hasn't been productive since removed from the top lines of San Jose). College free agent signing Bobby Butler looks to have been a nice find for the Sens, putting up 21 points in 36 NHL games after getting a call-up from the AHL in his first pro season. If he can build on that, he should have the inside track for a top 6 job this year.

If you look at half of Ottawa's defense, you see declining veterans whose best days seem long behind them. Fortunately, the other half is comprised of top notch defensive prospects Erik Karlsson, Jared Cowen, and David Rundblad, the first of which broke out last year with an all-star game nod worthy performance, and the latter two expected to play their NHL rookie seasons this year after putting up big numbers from the blueline in their respective leagues. Rundblad in particular comes over to North America turning 21 in October and coming off a season where he scored 50 points in 55 games in the Swedish Elite League; quite an impressive feat. The Sens hope they've found a balance of new and old, but it is more likely the veterans slowly fade out and give way as the youth takes on larger roles.

Craig Anderson will get another shot to prove he can be a quality starter over a full season after putting up studly numbers following a trade to Ottawa from Colorado (.939 save percentage and 2.05 GAA in 18 games). Sens fans should be cautious, though, as he only has one season of more than 55 games under his belt, meaning Alex Auld should expect to see more action than he did in Montreal.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Out of the playoffs.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Joffrey Lupul - Tim Connolly - Phil Kessel

Nikolai Kulemin - Mikhail Grabovski - Clarke MacArthur

Colby Armstrong - Matthew Lombardi - Nazem Kadri

Mike Brown - Tyler Bozak - Darryl Boyce

Dion Phaneuf - John-Michael Liles

Luke Schenn - Cody Franson

Keith Aulie - Mike Komisarek

James Reimer

Jonas Gustavsson

Brian Burke kept no secrets that he was looking to upgrade his center position this summer, and after missing out on Brad Richards, he did so by signing the highly skilled but oft-injured Tim Connolly. Having missed only 23 games in total over the last two years combined, the Leafs hope Connolly's biggest issues are in the past, and that he'll find chemistry with Phil Kessel on the team's top line. If that works out, the Leafs may have a potent offense this season, with the second line of Nikolai Kulemin, Mikhali Grabovski, and Clarke MacArthur coming off a big season. Further helping the club's depth is the fact that salary dump acquisition Matthew Lombardi looks to be healthy and may join the club as early as during training camp. Lombardi played only 2 games with Nashville last year due to a concussion, but topped the 50 point mark in Phoenix the year prior. A number of young players will be auditioning for roles, but only Nazem Kadri seems like a safe bet to make the team out of camp. Joe Colbourne, Matt Frattin, and Jerey D'Amigo will be amongst those looking for a call-up at some point.

The Leafs lost a lot of their depth on D but also got quite a bit younger. Picked up in trades, Cody Franson and Keith Aulie both look like they could be fixtures for many years, while another acquisition, John-Michael Liles, increases the group's mobility and puck-moving skills, eating minutes while the younger players develop. The pressure, then, will be on Mike Komisarek whose career has taken a disastrous turn, and captain Dion Phaneuf who seems to have left his offensive game in Calgary.

James Reimer had a hot start at the NHL level, emerging from obscurity to post a .921 save percentage and 2.60 GAA in 37 games. Toronto faithful have to hope for at least a repeat performance from the 23-year old, but it wouldn't be the first time a young goalie rose to stardom quickly only to fall right back down. Fortunately for the Leafs, there is still hope that Jonas Gustavsson develops into "The Monster" he was seen to be, with several great performances towards the end of the American League season after returning from injury.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Bubble playoff team.