Habs vs Bruins : Subban gets Bell Centre roaring

source : Faceoff.com

Thomas Vanek's pass to Tomas Plekanec was made with more velocity than some NHL players shoot the puck. Plekanec cradled it, roofed it over sprawling Boston goalie Tuukka Rask midway through Tuesday's first period and the 1-0 Canadiens' lead shook the Bell Centre to its foundation.
And then there was P.K.

Goodness, there was first-star P.K.

Defenceman P.K. Subban led mostly with his butt, Bruins' Reilly Smith in his crosshairs rushing across centre ice along the boards. Not only did Subban nearly vaporize Smith, he wiped out Vanek as collateral damage, sending his teammate to the dressing room for the final 7½ minutes of the period and himself to the penalty box for roughing.

Subban served his two minutes, then jumped in behind a surprised Bruins defence as he bolted from the box, sprinting in alone on Rask with a shifty deke to bury the puck in the Boston net four minutes after Plekanec's heroics.

When's the last time Montreal had an earthquake? About the time the goal light went on at 14:44 of the first, Subban wheeling away in celebration, his kneeling fist-pump a blurry mess on the scoreboard because the overhead camera was shaking in rhythm with the arena.

And then . . . Dale Weise.

When Weise is tiptoeing in behind the Bruins defence on a gorgeous pass from Daniel Brière and beating Rask on a breakaway midway through the second period, you figure the hockey gods have intervened.

Of course, this one got much more interesting than Canadiens fans would have liked, this city in need of one colossal defibrillator.

The Habs' 3-1 lead going into the third period was their third two-goal lead in a third period this series — Game 1 a double-overtime win, Game 2 a brutal loss.

And when Bruins defenceman Andrej Meszaros scored at 17:44 of the third, the horrid sense of déjà-vu, times two, gripped the Bell Centre.

That is, until Lars Eller — or Lahs Ellah, as he's known in Boston — hit an empty Bruins net with three seconds to play, giving the Habs a 4-2 victory and a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal.

"We've got a business attitude (as a team), we approach games with a business mindset. This is what I like about our group," Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien said.

The Habs left Boston Saturday night after their dreadful meltdown vowing to put the Game 2 loss behind them.

Not only did they win Game 3, but they remain perfect in this Ginette Reno Era, having won all three times this playoff season that the Quebec superstar has performed O Canada.

"We needed to have the right attitude to approach tonight's game and to play in front of our fans," Therrien said. "Guys were battling very hard, paying the price, blocking shots, and Carey (Price) made some key saves at the right time. It was a good team effort."

Therrien's counterpart, Claude Julien, said it was a lack of awareness that cost his Bruins dearly, pegging that as the reason for the Canadiens' first three goals before Eller's finishing nail.

"The first goal, (Plekanec) sneaking in the back door; breakaways, guys sneaking in from behind and (our) not knowing that it's the end of a power play, they should be looking at the guy coming out of the box," Julien said.

Indeed, Rask would say that he was not banging his stick on the ice at the end of Subban's penalty to warn his defencemen of the Canadien's imminent release.

"As usual, we kind of battled back and got ourselves in the game," Julien said. "But certainly, we dug ourselves a hole too big to get out of tonight.

"(The Canadiens) played a better game than they probably did in Boston but (we weren't) good enough at the start to give ourselves a chance."

The eve of this tilt began with Bruins' Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton claiming they had figured out Price by having allegedly exposed in Game 2 his weakness up high in the Montreal net — as the Bruins had tried unsuccessfully last season to get into the head of Chicago netminder Corey Crawford.

In the hours before Tuesday's game, Julien tried to douse a little of the predictable conflagration.

"When you look at the beginning of the series and you have both goalies, I don't think there are any secrets," Julien said after the Bruins' morning skate. "I had Carey Price for several weeks with Team Canada (at the Sochi Olympics). He's one of the best goalies in the National Hockey League."

Price demonstrated that for the joyful home crowd, making a handful of superb stops — he finished with 26 saves — until Patrice Bergeron beat him with a deft deflection late in the second to make the score 3-1.

"I don't think we're here talking about weaknesses or things like that," Julien said of Price. "It's pretty obvious that, thanks to him, his team is very good at the moment. He's been playing some great hockey from the start. Some things said by a young player were taken out of context, and something bigger was made of it."

At least some of the off-ice uproar before Game 3 was reminiscent of what went down in Montreal before the Canadiens' 2010 quarter-final against the Washington Capitals.
Remember Plekanec, favourably comparing the Habs tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Price to Washington's Semyon Varlamov and José Theodore?

"I'm not saying their goalies are bad," Plekanec said then of the Caps. "I'm just saying our goalies are better."

Plekanec would be proven right, of course. Halak played mind-blowing goal, stopping 94 of 96 shots he faced in Games 6 and 7 — a .979 save percentage — then leading his team another two rounds in the post-season.

And four years later, on Tuesday against Boston, Plekanec got his team off to a rousing start toward a victory that was never in doubt.
Well, OK, it was in doubt. But for the home fans, the final result was as delicious as anything they'll serve in the finest cardiac ward in town.

Habs : Playoffs at the Bell Centre ‘like a normal game times 1,000,’ Prust says

Source : Faceoff.com

The denial first: Brandon Prust was not at the Montreal poutine restaurant in the pre-dawn of Wednesday, a few hours after the Canadiens had swept the Tampa Bay Lightning from the playoffs.
“Went for some dinner, had some cocktails,” a sleepy Prust said late in the afternoon on Wednesday, having barely stirred from bed the entire day.

I was with those guys earlier, but I’ve wasn’t at the poutine spot. I’ve cut that out of my diet, which was a good decision.”

Those guys would be David Desharnais and Douglas Murray and maybe a few others, teammates photographed at the restaurant counter closer to breakfast hour than dinnertime.

“And I had to come home and kiss MP before she went to work,” Prust added brightly of his girlfriend, Maripier Morin, further strengthening his alibi.

The Canadiens enjoyed the first of two days off following their resounding dispatch of their Eastern Conference quarter-final foe. Prust figures he’ll return to the Brossard training rink Thursday for a little treatment in the clinic and maybe a sauna or dip in the hot tub.

“The next couple of days are about recovering,” he said. “I haven’t gotten out of bed too much, except to grab some food and watch some TV. I’ve slept the day away. No plans. I doubt we’ll move far from the bed today.”

What Prust will be enjoying in the near future is the beating the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings will put on each other for at least two more games, with the winner next up for the Canadiens.
“We’re just watching those teams punish each other and hope that they continue to punish each other more,” he joked, or not. “The rest now will be great for a lot of guys who have bumps and bruises.

“Rest is a positive and it can be a negative — you kind of lose a little momentum and that game-feel if you’re not playing for many days. But it’s our job in the days ahead to make sure we’re really focused in practice.

“During series, practices are 20 minutes, just to get your legs moving. But in the upcoming days we’re going to need to be sharp every day at practice, making sure we’re ready and at tip-top game speed for puck-drop of the next round.

“It’s a huge positive that we get a great rest now. You hope in June that you’re looking back, saying those days off really helped us.

“It’s been a long season, plus exhibitions and training camp, and it’s taken a toll on everyone. (Tuesday) after the game, we were sitting in the dressing room all happy, but you could see the guys were exhausted. Not only do the playoffs take a physical toll, they take an emotional and mental toll, too. You saw a lot of exhausted bodies and exhausted faces (Tuesday) night.

“I’ve got to tell you this — taking our equipment off (Brendan) Gallagher says to me: ‘I wish this were like baseball, where we could just pop champagne and spray each other after every round!’ ”
Like Gallagher, Prust is a skating rainbow, bruise piled atop multi-hued bruise; he has been like this his entire playing career, at every level of the game.

The 30-year-old missed 30 games this past regular season with a shoulder separation and rib issues, sitting the last 12 games of the schedule to prepare for the physical grind of the playoffs.
Like everyone else in the room, his body is held together by head athletic therapist Graham Rynbend, assistant Nick Addey-Jibb, strength and conditioning coach Pierre Allard and a therapy crew that grows during the playoffs. That team is “a blessing” to the players, in Prust’s view and that of every player.

On a line with fellow bulldog Gallagher and centre Tomas Plekanec, Prust had an assist and was plus-1 in the four-game series vs. Tampa, averaging 15:31 on ice.

“They’re very talented players,” he said of his linemates. “As usual, I just try to get the puck to them and clear some room for them.”

And Prust got plenty of dirt under his fingernails, as you’d expect, scrapping with Lightning defenceman Radko Gudas, picking up two minors, dishing out eight hits and blocking two shots.

The impressive sweep of the Lightning was the result of contributions across the board, he said, of everyone buying into and sticking to a game plan the entire series, even if there was the occasional, brief stumble.

As for the magic of the home rink?

“My God, it’s like a normal game at the Bell Centre times 1,000,” Prust said. “It’s like the Bell Centre on steroids. Standing out there for the national anthem, being on the ice here in Montreal, was probably one of the most incredible moments and feelings I’ve ever experienced as a hockey player.

“What happens at the Bell Centre during the playoffs can’t be matched anywhere else in the world.”
Prust will enjoy more of it than he did last season, when the Canadiens were shown the door by Ottawa in a five-game quarter-final. He played Games 1 and 2 in Montreal, but didn’t suit up for the Game 5 finale in Montreal after suffering a separated rib in Game 4 that he pressed back into his rib cage in an arena corridor.

The next day, I reached Prust at a home-furnishing store in Brossard as he waited for his beloved to finish shopping for patio chairs.

“I remember the mental anguish of that being worse than the pain from a separated rib,” he joked.
Overhearing that during our Wednesday chat, and knowing that Prust had just told me, “I’m healthy now, touch wood, everything’s healed up, I’m not playing through anything,” Morin spoke aloud of the couple’s plans for the days leading to Round 2.

“I’m planning to bring him to IKEA this week,” she said triumphantly in the background.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen, that’s just wishful thinking on her part,” Prust replied, laughing.
There is that IKEA ball pit, I suggested, the giant kiddies cube filled with thousands of multicoloured balls.

“Yeah, you’ll find me passed out in there,” Prust said.

It was then that the pleasure of some well-deserved R&R became a deadly serious business.

Habs vs Sabres : Sabres upend Canadiens in OT 3-2

Source : Yahoo.com

Jonas Enroth did what was needed to get the Buffalo Sabres a win.

The Buffalo goaltender had stopped 32 shots - including 26 while protecting a lead in the second and third periods - to help the Sabres post a 3-2 overtime victory over the Montreal Canadiens on

Tuesday.

Steve Ott's second goal of the game at 2:16 overtime clinched the victory after Montreal tied the score with a pair of third-period goals.

''I was just trying to focus on the next shot, stay sharp,'' Enroth said. ''It's huge for us and it's good we could finally win a game with a power-play goal.''

The shots didn't tell all of the story of Enroth's workload, as the Canadiens had 24 more attempts that missed the net.

The 24-year-old doesn't get to play a lot behind No. 1 goalie Ryan Miller, but got the start in Montreal largely because he has never lost to the Canadiens. His record is 3-0-0 against the Habs.

''It's actually 4-0 - I won an exhibition game up here too,'' Enroth said with a laugh. ''It's always a lot of fun to play here.

''They've got a really good team this year, so this was probably the toughest win for me.''

Enroth may see more action in coming days. The Sabres have won only twice in their past eight games and Enroth was in net for both. He subbed for a sick Miller in a 3-1 win over the New York Rangers on March 12.

Ott and Tyler Ennis scored in the opening period for Buffalo, which is 5-5-3 under interim coach Ron Rolston since Lindy Ruff was fired Feb. 20.

The Canadiens entered the third period down 2-0, but got goals from Max Pacioretty and Colby Armstrong to tie the game.

But only 17 seconds into overtime, Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban took an open-ice run at Mark

Pysyk and missed, with his stick catching the Sabres defenseman for a high-sticking penalty.

Only two seconds remained on the man advantage when Ott shoveled the puck past Carey Price for the game-winner. The Sabres went into the game with the NHL's worst power play.

Montreal coach Michel Therrien used Subban liberally during the team's comeback, but wasn't impressed with his penalty.

''It's a bad penalty, especially with the effort the guys put in in the second and third,'' Therrien said.

''We're going to take care of that internally and make sure it doesn't happen again.''

The Canadiens ended a five-game winning streak, but still have only one regulation loss in their past 18 games (13-1-4) since a 6-0 loss to Toronto on Feb. 9.

''We went through the motions in the first period,'' Therrien said. ''We weren't at our best, that's for sure.

''But we never quit. I thought the guys worked really hard to make a comeback. Enroth played really well for them. As long as the effort is there, I'm going to be satisfied.''

Sabres scoring leader Thomas Vanek limped to the bench after taking a Christian Ehrhoff point shot off the hip area during a power play eight minutes into the second and did not return. The team said first that he had an upper-body injury, then changed it to lower-body after the game.

''We'll have to go day-to-day,'' Rolston said. ''He's limping around a bit.

''It will probably be a day-to-day, pain-tolerance thing.''

The Canadiens' failure to clear the puck from their zone led to two Buffalo goals in the opening period.

Ott jumped on a loose puck and sent a shot in off the post from the slot at 7:47 and Tyler Myers had a point shot go in off Ennis' stick in front of Price at 18:59.

The Canadiens had an 11-2 shot advantage in the second period but failed to score, with Enroth's best stop coming off Michael Ryder.

Pacioretty finally scored on Montreal's 28th shot 7:04 into the third as he slid a shot in from the edge of the crease after some clever work by Brendan Gallagher behind the net.

Armstrong, with his second goal of the season and second in as many games, then deked to the backhand to beat Enroth at 16:09.

''What you saw in the latter part of the game is where we're at right now,'' Rolston said. ''We had a two-goal lead, we played well, and then the confidence of our team faltered a bit, especially after they got the first one.

''I'm happy we caught ourselves, but that's where we're at right now. We have to build the confidence in those games to be able to finish them off. That's another step.''

Notes: The Canadiens moved Gabriel Dumont to center on the fourth line and promoted Armstrong to the third a game after he scored his first goal of the season. ... Michael Blunden was returned to AHL Hamilton with Michael Ryder back from an injury. ... Tomas Kaberle sat out for Montreal, while Nathan Gerbe and John Scott were Buffalo's scratches. Andrej Sekera missed with an upper-body injury. ... The ceremonial faceoff saw former world boxing champions Jean Pascal and Lucian Bute approach center ice from opposite directions. They fight each other May 25 at the Bell Centre.

Le CH fait plaisir à ses partisans

Malgré leur dernière défaite aux mains des Rangers de New York, c'est avec un sourire aux lèvres que les joueurs des Canadiens de Montréal ont accueilli plusieurs milliers de leurs partisans, dimanche, lors de la deuxième présentation du FestiFan.

Lors de cet événement, le Centre Bell s'est transformé en véritable fête foraine avec des jeux d'habiletés et interactifs pour les participants. Ces activités se sont déroulées en compagnie des joueurs du CH, au plaisir des amateurs de tous les âges.

En plus de rencontrer leurs étoiles préférées du Tricolore, les admirateurs de l'équipe ont pu visiter les coulisses, le vestiaire et la salle de conférence de presse du Centre Bell.

«Bien que ce soit une collecte de fonds pour une cause sérieuse, l'ambiance est festive. Les gens viennent pour s'amuser et rencontrer les joueurs des Canadiens, tout en finançant de bonnes œuvres, ce qui permet de joindre l'utile à l'agréable», a affirmé Louis Morissette, humoriste et porte-parole de l'événement.

Cette activité aux allures de carnaval était organisée au profit des Manoirs Ronald McDonald du Québec et de la Fondation des Canadiens pour l'enfance. Les billets vendus serviront à financer ces deux œuvres caritatives.

Une fête pour les enfants

Le plongeur québécois et médaillé olympique Alexandre Despatie était aussi présent en tant qu'ambassadeur des Manoirs Ronald McDonald dont la mission est d'offrir un domicile aux familles d'enfants gravement malades.

«La cause que je représente vient en aide aux enfants et cet événement est fait sur mesure pour financer cette œuvre. Ici aussi, ce sont les enfants qui sont les plus choyés. Ils s'amusent pendant une journée et rencontrent leurs héros», a déclaré ce dernier.

C'est le cas du petit Marc-Antoine, 8 ans, qui est venu au FestiFan accompagné de son oncle et de sa tante, tous arborant les couleurs du CH. «J'ai fait tous les jeux et j'ai rencontré Mathieu Darche», a-t-il confié tout souriant.

Fondée en 2000, la Fondation des Canadiens pour l'enfance a remis plus de 12,5 millions $ à 425 organismes œuvrant pour le bien-être des enfants défavorisés à travers le Québec.

Source : Tvasports.ca