Bégin on Sunday

RDS is now reporting that Steve Bégin will return tomorrow night for Game 5. What a relief that is - the Canadiens need him badly. Bégin will hopefully provide the spark the Habs need to get back on track in this series.

In other good news, RDS is also reporting that Saku Koivu's injury appears to be a lot less severe than what was feared. Apparently, if swelling around his eye goes down enough by tomorrow, Koivu could be back in the lineup as well. However, TSN is claiming that while he was released from hospital, Koivu is not yet cleared to play. Only time will tell on this one.

In today's Gazette, Red Fisher had trouble understanding why Canadiens fans were so upset with the non-call on Williams on the Koivu hit. I answer that it is more the fact that they didn't call that penalty but then called Komisarek for a double-minor in the last five minutes of play for a much less severe and equally accidental high stick. The refs' case was made worse last night when they only called 1 of 4 blatant high sticking infractions on the 'Canes. You can screw up once, but if you do so more than that, don't blame the fans for raging.

Game 4: Carolina 3 @ Montreal 2

So apparently in this "new" NHL, high-sticking is a perfectly legal thing to do as long as you're a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. After an awful and unpenalized high stick by Justin Williams in Game 3 which put the career of Canadiens captain Saku Koivu in jeopardy, the Hurricanes were back at it last night with some more of the same. Four Habs players - Richard Zednik, Andrei Markov (by Williams himself), Mike Komisarek, and Craig Rivet - were recipients of "errant" Carolina sticks, and only one of those four dangerous plays, the one on Zednik, was called for a penalty.

The officiating - or, rather, a lack thereof - wasn't the only thing wrong with this game, unfortunately for Habs fans. The Canadiens played an atrocious first period and an only slightly better second one. Alex Kovalev was basically non-existent in the game despite playing over 21 minutes of ice time. Cristobal Huet was just average. Mike Ribeiro, after two solid performances in Carolina, was back to his normal self, dipsy-doodling all over the place with nothing to show for it. In fact, only the line of Alexander Perezhogin, Tomas Plekanec and Richard Zednik had anything to show for themselves, with some exciting shifts and Perezhogin's first NHL playoff goal.

Yet despite the Canadiens' sloppy passing, lazy mistakes, complete lack of offense, and very ordinary goaltending, the Hurricanes, who seemed like the better team last night, were only able to score on some lucky breaks and fluke goals. Yes, these are the same Hurricanes who had scored 294 goals this regular season, and they could only score goals on a mediocre, Saku Koivu-less Canadiens team by crashing the net and interfering with the goaltender.

Speaking of goaltender interference, Jacques Demers and Don Cherry (I know, I can't believe I'm saying this) brought up two very good points about the Hurricanes' disallowed goal and their subsequent game-winner. Firstly, Demers pointed out that if a Hurricanes player interfered with Huet on the disallowed goal, referees Tim Peel and Don Van Massenhoven should have called a penalty on the player who caused the interference. I've seen goals get disallowed without a penalty before, but it doesn't make sense to only go halfway with the call.

Cherry's point is even more intriguing. If you look at the replay for Rod Brind'amour's game-winner at 5:54 of the third period, you will see that Niclas Wallin interfered with Huet just as much as the 'Canes player did on the disallowed goal. I've got my theories as to why the outcomes of these games have gone in Carolina's favour because of the officiating, but I'll keep them to myself for the time being.

If the Canadiens want to get back in this series, which is becoming less and less likely with each of Carolina's unpenalized high-sticks, they will have to come out of the gate strongly on Sunday night and show the Hurricanes why they took that 2-0 series lead to begin with. La Presse is reporting that Steve Begin might be ready for Game 5, and, if he is, he will provide the Habs with a much-needed boost in the absence of Koivu. If they continue to play as they did in Game 4, however, this series will be over faster than a Carolina winter.

Koivu done for first round

According to RDS.ca, Canadiens captain Saku Koivu will not return for the remaining games of his team's first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. There is still too much swelling and blood around the cut near his eye to make a proper diagnosis. Koivu was struck by Justin Williams' stick in the second period last night in Montreal.

Though the refs should have called Williams for a double minor but didn't, Bob Gainey is not dwelling on the poor officiating that took place in Game 3. In keeping with his calm demeanor, Gainey is just going to go ahead with his game plan and make sure the Canadiens keep up their good effort tomorrow night at the Bell Centre. The Habs will have to use Koivu's injury as a rallying cry to win Games 4 and 5.

Game 3: Carolina 2 @ Montreal 1

So far in this series, I haven't expressed nor harvested any criticism of the officiating, because, generally, Dennis LaRue and Dan Marouelli have been fair and consistent in their calls. That clearly wasn't the case tonight.

The fun all started in the second period, when Justin Williams clipped Saku Koivu in the face in the goal crease, in plain view of the referee, severely cutting Koivu and forcing him to leave the Bell Centre to go to the hospital. Williams wasn't assessed a minor penalty, let alone a double minor, for a blatant high-stick to the Canadiens' captain.

Then, in the 16th minute of the third period, Mike Komisarek high sticks a Carolina player (I believe it was Cory Stillman) and gets a four-minute double minor, leaving the Canadiens short-handed pretty much for the rest of the game. After the non-call on Koivu, this penalty seemed outrageous, but it wasn't over for the refs.

In overtime, Josef Vasicek throws Tomas Plekanec into the boards but gets away with another non-call. Plekanec then gets called for hooking Vasicek seconds later. Sheldon Souray loses his stick and Eric Staal scores on the power play, cutting the Canadiens' lead in the series to 2-1.

To be fair to the 'Canes, they had some good scoring chances and showed flashes of being the second-placed team that dominated the NHL for much of the regular season. But it was the Canadiens who dominated for most of this game, and, if it weren't for rookie goaltender Cam Ward's heroics and the blatantly lopsided calls of LaRue and Marouelli, the Canadiens would have had Carolina in a 3-0 stranglehold going into Game 4 on Friday. For now, though, let's just pray that Saku Koivu, who has suffered enough major setbacks in his NHL career, doesn't have to deal with another one.

Game 2: Montreal 6 @ Carolina 5

The picture to your left is of a silver platter guy who I found thanks to the amazing search power of Google Images. The reason I posted this picture is because I want you to imagine this guy wearing a Montreal Canadiens uniform. That is the only way to understand what the Canadiens did in the second period of last night's Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes: they handed it to them on a silver platter.

After taking a commanding and insurmountable 3-0 lead at the hands of Martin Gerber in the first period on goals from Jan Bulis, Michael Ryder, and Radek Bonk, the Canadiens took 6 penalties in the second, including a high-sticking double-minor to Richard Zednik. While, as Mike Ribeiro pointed out, a team usually gets a boost from a goalie switch as the 'Canes did with Cam Ward, you have to wonder how the Canadiens managed to play seemingly perfect hockey in the first only to break down completely in the second. This game was a microcosm of their season - bipolar play to the max.

But despite letting their lead slip away in the second and again in the third period, the Habs partly redeemed themselves in overtime with smarter play and some dangerous scoring chances, especially a few by the reinvigorated Mike Ribeiro, who was playing with an extra fire and determination that we rarely see from him. Despite the Habs being outshot in overtime 16-7, Michael Ryder put it home in the second extra frame with what he described as the most important goal of his career so far.

The Hurricanes' situation isn't as dire as it was after Game 1; they played with a lot more desire and desperation and managed to find some cracks in Cristobal Huet's game, but they didn't have it in them to break the Cristo-wall completely. They still have to deal with the Habs' hot goaltending, Alex Kovalev, and the smart defensive strategy employed by Bob Gainey, Guy Carbonneau, and Doug Jarvis. And though the potential loss of Sheldon Souray may hurt the Canadiens, home-ice advantage in Montreal is like no other in the League.

"Like practice"

"I just had too much space and too much time on my hands. I could shoot anywhere I wanted. I felt like it was practice."

-Alex Kovalev on his first goal in Game 1.

I just can't get enough of him. Can you?

Game 1: Montreal 6 @ Carolina 1

When I made my series preview for this Stanley Cup playoffs quarterfinal between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes, I said the Hurricanes would have trouble if they ran into a sharp Cristobal Huet, a hot Alex Kovalev, and a potent Montreal power play.

Tonight, the Canadiens went 3-for-3. After a shaky opening minute in which he allowed his first NHL playoff goal on his second playoff shot, Huet was impeccable in nets for the Canadiens in making 42 consecutive saves. Alex Kovalev had two goals and an assist, and Montreal scored twice in three power play opportunities.

I also speculated that the Hurricanes would allow a high number of goals against as they had done all season, and, sure enough, the Canadiens put 6 markers past Swiss goalie Martin Gerber. The 'Canes defense was mistake-prone all night, a huge reason why the Canadiens were able to score that many goals on a mere 21 shots.

The shot total is one area that the Canadiens will have to improve on for Monday night's dance at the RBC Center, especially considering how the Habs blocked 22 other shots and the Hurricanes missed another 11 of their own. Andrei Markov and Alexander Perezhogin each made a mistake which led to a dangerous scoring chance for the Hurricanes, and, though Huet was there to stop them both, the Canadiens will have to be more careful with the puck and try to take less penalties than the 6 they took tonight.

Unless Gerber dwells on this game and is completely unable to regain his confidence, this series is far from over. The Hurricanes will come to the rink extremely hungry on Monday night, and Montreal better be ready to weather a pretty devastating storm (no pun intended). But, if the Canadiens are able to take Game 2 in Raleigh, it will be very tough for the Hurricanes to overcome their series deficit in front of 21,273 of the most passionate, noisy fans in the game in Games 3 and 4 at the Bell Centre.

Post #100: Round 1 Preview, Carolina vs. Montreal

The pundits, experts, and bloggers have all spoken. The Montreal Canadiens, according to them all, are going to be eliminated, quite handily they might add, by the Carolina Hurricanes in their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series. Even Maggie the Monkey concurs. The Habs, my friends, have got everyone just where they want them.

Sure, Carolina has a speedy, explosive team. Sure, they have pretty good goaltending in Martin Gerber and Cam Ward. And sure, they finished 2nd in the Eastern Conference with 112 points. But those numbers don't reveal the full picture.

Although they scored 286 goals this season, the Hurricanes also hold the notorious record of having allowed the most goals against of any of the 16 playoff teams this year. That number doesn't look so good when you're facing the NHL's fifth-best power play, which belongs none other than to Carolina's current opponents, the Canadiens. It's especially disheartening when you realize that the Hurricanes' penalty kill is only 19th-best in the 30-team league. The 'Canes defense corps may be big and strong, but they're all of a relatively lower calibre than what a potential Cup contender should want to have. In this new, penalty-laden NHL, that doesn't help settle the playoff butterflies.

Then, there's the matter of the Hurricanes outscoring the Canadiens 25-9 this year. Let us remind you that three of the four games between the two teams were started by José Theodore, and he only finished one of them. Theodore gave up 4, 5, and 5 goals against the Hurricanes - 14 of the 25 goals they scored. David Aebischer started the fourth game, which just so happened to be his Canadiens debut. If you look at all the goaltender movement around the league this year, you can tell that a goalie's debut with his new team is not a true measure of his abilities.

The important point, though, is that the Hurricanes have yet to face Cristobal Huet as a starter, and that means that Carolina hasn't faced the Canadiens that made a remarkable push into the playoffs. They also haven't faced an Alex Kovalev who always turns up his game a notch in the postseason, especially when he gets frustrated answering questions about why people think his team is going to lose.

This series is going to be a fast-paced, high flying set of games, and boy, it's going to be close. But all those people who picked the Hurricanes to tear apart the Canadiens are forgetting that Carolina is facing a much different Montreal team than it thinks. These Habs know how to throw a wedge in a top team's Cup dreams; just ask Mike O'Connell.

Canadiens in 7.

Playoff predictions

And now, here they are - my bold predictions for the first round of the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs:

MON-CAR: Canadiens in 7. OTT-TB: Senators in 5. NJ-NYR: Rangers in 7. BUF-PHI: Sabres in 6.	DET-EDM: Red Wings in 5. DAL-COL: Stars in 6. CGY-ANA: Flames in 6. NAS-SJ: Sharks in 4.

Next up: Post #100 - Canadiens vs. Hurricanes preview!

Huet vs. Abby

Here's a comment I posted on Jeff J's blog, Sisu Hockey, which can be accessed from my links menu on the right. Jeff, like many other Canadiens followers, was questioning Bob Gainey's decision to play David Aebischer more often than the red-hot Cristobal Huet the last week and a half. My response:

I disagree about Huet. I think Aebischer has proven over time that he is the more durable goalie. Remember, Huet has never played more than 42 NHL games in a season, and he's already 31 (yes, I know that's partly because he came into the league late).

Although playing behind a much better team, Aebischer still has better career stats if you ignore this year's numbers. When he played 62 games for the Avs in 2003-'04, he had a 2.09 GAA and .924 SV%. Huet has yet to accomplish that feat in that many games and he's a UFA looking at a big raise.

I agree that Abby's numbers aren't great with the Habs this year, but every goalie needs a few games to adjust to his new defensemen and, after doing so, he posted two solid wins against a very potent Ottawa offense. Huet wasn't all that great in his first few games as a Hab, but took off when he adjusted.

Gainey's investing in the right man when he plays Abby, in my opinion.

CANADIENS CLINCH

Well, the Canadiens didn't actually do anything, but with the Atlanta Thrashers losing 6-4 to the Capitals tonight, the Habs have clinched a playoff berth. This marks the first time since 1996-'97 and 1997-'98 that the Canadiens have made the playoffs two seasons in a row. I know, it's not that impressive a feat, but it's something to build on. Most importantly, Todd Bertuzzi and the entire Toronto Maple Leafs both won't be seeing any postseason action, while 4 Canadian teams will be. Don't you love Alexander Ovechkin even more now?

As expected, Cristobal Huet will be getting the nod in nets tomorrow night against the New Jersey Devils. If the Canadiens want to play the Ottawa Senators, against whom I think they'd fare better, then tomorrow's game is a must-win. The Carolina Hurricanes, the Habs' other possible opponent, have been having some problems of their own, but they always seem to have the Canadiens' number. In any case, the Habs have made a point of upsetting top seeds (Boston Bruins x 2), so anything is possible. Happy playoffs!

*Sorry for being out of commission - it is exam time, but I'll try to post as much as possible. Keep checking!

Theodore debuts

Still wearing the bright red and blue mask he donned for almost 10 years as a Canadien, José Theodore made his first start in a Colorado Avalanche uniform last night, helping his team to a 6-4 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. Well, I'm not sure if I'd call it helping - the Avs were up 6-0 before Phoenix scored any goals, and then they managed to score four straight. Theodore made 21 saves on the night. This sort of reminds me of the beginning of the season, when Theodore was letting in soft goals but his team still won because their offense was hot. Only time will tell though, and, in any case, it was a bit weird to see Theo and his number 60 in another uniform.

Steve Begin will be out for the rest of the regular season, though doctors are hoping he'll be able to make it back for the start of the playoffs. Radek Bonk is questionable for tonight, and Cristobal Huet makes a return in nets against Buffalo. David Aebischer is likely to play tomorrow night against the Bruins.

Wild

Last night was the second Habs game I've attended this season, but it was the first real game I've seen at the Bell Centre since hockey returned this year (the other was a boring 5-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes). The way the Canadiens have been playing, and the way the fans have responded, would make anyone from another city (except maybe Toronto) think that we were already in the third round of the playoffs.

Sure, the Habs beat a team whose defensive corps was depleted by injuries, but it worked the other way around when the Sens beat Montreal earlier on in the season. The Habs, in various games, had been missing the likes of Richard Zednik, Mike Komisarek, and Sheldon Souray, and were still dealing with the spotty goaltending of José Theodore in their losses to the Sens. Last night, however, the Habs got exceptional goaltending yet again from Theodore's trade partner, David Aebischer.

This win puts the Canadiens almost completely out of the Atlanta Thrashers' reach, as Bob Hartley's squad would basically need to win all of their remaining games in order to surpass the Habs. A Canadiens win and a Thrashers loss, or 2 Atlanta losses, will clinch the Habs a spot in the playoffs. But while Montreal has taken advantage of having their fate in their own hands, it will now take them a little help from the Devils if they want to move into the sixth position in the East. The Devils have one more win than the Canadiens, and the two teams face off once more in what will be the final game of the season for both clubs on April 18.

Last night's win marked only the third time in 10 years that the Canadiens have reached the 90+ point plateau in the standings. The other teams that were successful in that regard were the 2003-'04 (93 pts.) and 1995-'96 (90) teams. The 1992-'93 Canadiens finished the regular season with 102 points.

Aebischer starting

RDS is reporting that David Aebischer will start tomorrow night against the Senators. This is another in a series of smart roster decisions that have been made by Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau. Aebischer played exceptionally well in the Canadiens' 5-3 win over Ottawa last Thursday, and Cristobal Huet is in need of a bit of a rest. As I've been saying all along, and as Gainey has pointed out many times, the Habs will need both Huet and Aebischer in top form if they are to make and succeed in the playoffs, in case of injury or slump.

Speaking of coaching, there has been talk that ex-Canadiens captain Kirk Muller will join the Habs' coaching staff next year. Muller has just finished his first season as head coach of the Queen's University men's hockey team. While Gainey, Carbonneau, and Doug Jarvis were known for their defensive abilities, Muller was more of a scoring forward, amassing 357 goals among his 959 points in 1349 career games, including 247 points as a Canadien. His offensive knowledge could be a valuable addition to the already star-studded coaching staff.

Lastly, there has been lots of talk about whether the Canadiens will be able to hang on to Cristobal Huet after this season. Huet is a pending unrestricted free agent. First off, let me say that the amount of money Huet will command on the market will depend largely on how far he takes the Canadiens in the playoffs. While his 2.12 GAA, .931 SV% and 7 shutouts are spectacular numbers, Huet has only appeared in 34 games and his ability to be consistently great over an entire season is yet to be proven. I think that Gainey will offer him something in the $2.5-3 million range, but if Huet wants more in his pocket, Gainey will let him go and be content with David Aebischer. The last thing the Habs need is another monster José Theodore-esque contract.

Tidbits

Just a couple of things of note: The Habs have now evened up their goals-for and goals-against differential at 228. The Devils, however, who are tied with the Canadiens, have scored two more goals than they've let in, which is significant in the event of a tiebreaker. Montreal, at 40-27-9, is currently 4 games above .500, and has achieved the 40-win mark for only the third time since the 1995-'96 season.

The thing I liked best about the win last night was that after the game you could tell that the players weren't getting too high about their streak. They have kept in mind that, although they played well, the Senators were missing their top 4 defensemen and their other opponents were mostly non-playoff teams. For a second last night, the Canadiens reminded me of the team that only came out to play for 20-40 minutes, and not for a full 3 periods. Things could change in a flash and the win streak could go down the toilet, but for now, the Habs have managed to keep it alive.

Comparisons, continued

The Montreal Canadiens won their 8th straight game tonight against the Ottawa Senators in a 5-3 victory on the road. The win marked the first time since the 1992-'93 season, their last Stanley Cup year, that the team had won 8 games in a row. If the 'Drive for 25' hasn't already picked up enough momentum, it sure has now.

The last time the Habs had as successful a month as they were in March was January, 1993, when Patrick Roy and Kirk Muller, among others, led them to Cup #24. Tonight, the Habs beat a depleted Senators roster that still played an extremely strong game. The Sens peppered David Aebischer with 47 shots, but Aebischer finally proved his worth in making key saves and showing that his positioning and poise were up to the challenge. And while the Canadiens' month of March was successful mostly due to the calibre of their opponents, the Habs faced adversity in a tight game against Ottawa tonight and still came out on top. Mike Ribeiro had a goal and 2 assists, Alex Kovalev had 3 assists, Saku Koivu scored a goal and added a helper, and Michael Ryder, still searching for his 30th of the season, picked up two assists on the night in an offence-filled affair.

While they were badly outshot, it is now safe to say that the Canadiens are in for the long haul. Unless things change drastically, their offence is running smoothly, Andrei Markov and Sheldon Souray are holding the fort on defense, and they have two very capable goaltenders in Cristobal Huet and David Aebischer. And who can forget the incredible performance of late of rookie forward Chris Higgins, who notched his 21st goal of the night, the same number he wears on the back of his Canadiens jersey. If the Canadiens can keep up the consistency against their remaining opponents, you can expect good things of them come playoff time.

Dangerous underdogs

According to a THN (The Hockey News) player poll, the Canadiens are the third most feared "underdog" team to face in the playoffs this year. Ahead of them are only New Jersey and Edmonton.

Congratulations to Chris Higgins for scoring his 20th goal of the season, becoming the only Canadiens rookie drafted in the first round to do so since Saku Koivu in 1995-'96. With his 29th of the season last night, Michael Ryder is on the verge of becoming only the 5th Canadiens player to score 30 goals or more since that same season, the others being Richard Zednik (2002-'03), Mark Recchi (1996-'97 and 1997-'98), and Pierre Turgeon and Vincent Damphousse (both 1995-'96). An honourable mention should go out to Koivu, who scored the game-tying goal and assisted on Higgins' winner last night.

Jan Bulis scored a goal after being inserted back into the lineup tonight, which begs the question, Can GM/Coach Bob Gainey really justify continually scratching Bulis, when the man who normally plays instead of him, Richard Zednik, has been completely flat offensively? Bulis is going to be a UFA at the end of the season and currently has 18 goals. He's obviously going to want to rack up his totals to score big in his next contract, and Gainey should take advantage of that, because it certainly helps the team. What of Zednik, you ask? Let him watch and learn.

Chara broiled

Ottawa Senators defenseman Zdeno Chara is out for 5-6 weeks with a broken finger, an injury which stemmed from a fight with Penguins defenseman Eric Cairns. The Sens are also without defenseman Chris Philips for about 4 weeks, and goaltender Dominik Hasek is still waiting to return. There have been rumours that Hasek won't be back at all this year, although Sens GM John Muckler has stated otherwise.

Right now, it's looking pretty good for the Canadiens to face the Senators in the first round of the playoffs, but that could end up backfiring. The Sens are still a deeply talented team, and losing a few key players isn't as much of a problem for them as it would be for other teams. Remember, Martin Havlat is expected to return sometime next week, and Ray Emery has been doing a pretty fantastic job in replacing Hasek in nets. Although these injuries might make it a bit easier to beat the Senators, the Habs shouldn't change their plan of trying to move up in the standings as much as they can.

More fun stuff

Here's some more fun stuff I've found...always looking for more things around the Web, the blogging home of the Montreal Canadiens - thehabs.blogspot.com!

• A feature interview from ESPN.com on Canadiens defenseman Sheldon Souray.
  
• A hilarious article on why Canadians should console Maple Leafs fans over their team's lost season. And they wonder why we hate the Leafs and Toronto!

Surprise, surprise

Cristobal Huet was named the NHL's defensive player of the week after posting a 0.65 GAA, .979 SV%, and one shutout in 3 games last week. It was Huet's third straight shutout against the Bruins this year. Could there really have been anyone else?

Other news of note:

• According to TSN.ca, Richard Zednik will be a healthy scratch tomorrow against the Bruins. Bob Gainey has elected to go with Jan Bulis instead. It's about time! Bulis has been having a stellar season for the Canadiens, yet has seen more time in the press box than Zednik or Mike Ribeiro, who both have a lot of work to do on their game.
  
• If you haven't already done so, I encourage you to sign the petition asking the Canadiens to bring back the old goal song instead of U2's vertigo. That was the song that took us through the Habs' most recent playoff runs -- we need it back!!
  
• Here's a nice article on Aaron Downey and how he has become one of the most well-liked players in the dressing room, due in part to his gift of a sack of potatoes from his family farm for each player.

Reeking of yesteryear

I hate to get ahead of myself and seem like the typical bipolar Habs fan, but the Canadiens, as they're playing right now, are showing a lot of similarities to the way they were in 1986 and 1993, the club's last two Stanley Cup victories. They have a hot new goaltender, a good mix of energetic youngsters and talented veterans, and Bob Gainey, Guy Carbonneau, and Doug Jarvis, albeit in different capacities, with the team.

Let's remember that those two Habs teams that won Cups were not expected to go very far in the playoffs, and, by comparing this year's Canadiens to those two teams, we are placing pretty lofty expectations on them which might end up being a distraction. However, that doesn't take away from the fact that the Canadiens have momentum, something a lot of other teams had at various points of the season but have since lost (see: Buffalo Sabres). We've seen the possibility of the Habs breaking down and collapsing, but, more recently, we've seen a team that is extremely talented and cohesive. That could be a huge factor should the Canadiens face the Ottawa Senators, who are hurting and, for the moment, inconsistent.

If Cristobal Huet continues his superhuman play, and if the Canadiens' offence can stay afloat, the Habs' playoff run this year will be very promising and exciting. First, though, they have to clinch a berth in the postseason; only then can we really begin talk about how many years (or months) until #25.