Good morning

Good morning, Alex Kovalev. Good morning, Saku Koivu. Good morning, José Theodore. Thanks for finally waking up. There are certain people who watch the game and who watch these Canadiens who have it right: when the Habs' best players aren't giving it their all, the team will do poorly. These three players combined make about $12.42 million, roughly a third of the Canadiens' total payroll for the season, but their presence on the ice is worth much more than that 33%. When these three are at their best, which they were last night in Toronto, the Canadiens will win way more often than they will lose. Unfortunately, during the Canadiens' "Streak of Awful," as I shall refer to it, none of these three players were earning their fat paychecks. If they're not motivated, no one on their team will be.

I was quite impressed with the presence of Canadiens fans at the ACC last night. Normally, Leafs-Habs games draw many Toronto fans to the Bell Centre, but the same bipartisan atmosphere isn't usually found in Toronto. That was different last night, and it was great to hear people cheering Canadiens goals in the Leafs' lair. I'm sure at least part of the cheering was coming from disgruntled Maple Leafs fans, who saw their team get handed their 8th straight loss last night. At least we can be united in the lameness of our teams this year!

For those who didn't notice, Richard Zednik was a healthy scratch last night against Toronto. It didn't seem any different than when he was in the lineup, however, as the Slovak forward has contributed little in the way of offence to help curb the Canadiens' futility streak. Trade talk continues to heat up amongst the Canadiens - everyone from Tyler Arnason to Manny Fernandez to Roberto Luongo are being rumoured to be coming to Montreal - and expect Zednik to be part of any deal involving the Habs.

Also, take note of the fact that when all the Canadiens' big-time players come together and put in a good effort, as they did last night, Mike Ribeiro continues to be useless. Ribeiro had 17:17 of ice time last night, including a whopping 5:51 on the power play, yet he only managed 1 shot. I don't know if anyone would want him, but I sure hope Bob Gainey is able to make short work of him, and soon.

Don't expect Theodore to be traded this season, either. He is having an awful year, which puts him quite low on GMs' priority lists, especially considering his salary. Habs fans, including myself, have had to learn to be patient with him, but there's only so much time you can give someone to get back into form. As long as the Canadiens play like they did against Toronto for the remainder of the season, they still have a shot at the postseason. But if they play like they did against Ottawa, boy, are they in for a major fan backlash. Our patience is as thin as dental floss. Don't disappoint, José & co.