Price will face Maple Leafs

I love this move by the management. Halak will never get better. Trade him somewhere as a good back-up. Price may very well be the future of the Montreal Canadiens, all he needs is time and hopefully he will get more. Huet is a great goaltender but he needs a rest right now and it's a perfect time to give Carey a work out. Even though I am not part of the team, I am guarantying a big win tonight. If it doesn't happen I will lock myself in my apartment until the next Leafs/ Habs game. I hate the Leafs, go to grammar school, it's the LEAVES not leafs.

great to see carey price back.he's gunna shine tonight.trade ryder allready.he's becoming an un needed distraction.

As a LOOOONG standing fan of Les boys,And supersttious one it vexes me to read about how we'll just take the 2 points from the Leafs,and of course with all the hacks reminding us that Price has NOT lost to the Leafs. As bad as they have been of late and were really spanked on Saturday night They always can rise to the occasion against the Habs.Les boys will have to play hard and for the full 60 min. GO HABS

The only reason I wish Getzlaf was on our team is so that we would actually be talking about a player on the Habs. But I digress.

Halak and Ryder are probably not going anywhere. Even with only 6 weeks left in the season, Ryder's lack of production makes him too expensive. Do you really see Florida giving up Jokinen for Halak and Ryder? You'd have to be buts and there haven't been that many nuts acting as GMs since that Courtnall for Kordic trade. The goalie market has gone south. We can sign Huet for the same money or less unless he takes the Habs to the finals. Dream all you want, but I don't see any moves for a top player. Other teams don't just give these guys away. There are always teams in the market, looking to improve their cap situation or the team, but I don't see any Lecavaliers or Crosbys available. Problems are traded away for the other team's problems. Bottom line? Be happy with what the Habs have right now, because they are not going to improve with a trade. Unless there is a nutty GM out there who wants to have his pocket picked. :) Gilbert

3 posts and you called me "habsidot", "mustardman", "liar", loser, and "armour hotdog" LOL, whatever that is....Thats pretty witty!!

Higgins is the guy who a month ago YOU had pegged as being the next captain !!!!!......LOLOLOL...now you want to trade him...how fickel...

Dropping Higgins down to that fourth line means he probably won't see much of Kaberle all night. Also, balancing out the scoring threat against such a weak D should all but nullify the home ice advantage of last line change. Antropov will still be out too, so we really just have to worry about Sundin wanting to show off to the scouts. But if Ryder can't make the line-up after Lapierre barely showed up against Ottawa... that just speaks volumes about where he flies on the Habs' radar right now. As for Koivu's problems this year, I think we should cut him some slack as long as the team is doing well. Higgins has failed to connect on at least 10 (if not 20) fabulous scoring chances this year and no other winger has been able to finish for Saku consistently all season. When the captain feels he has to do more than usual to make up for his line mates, bad things usually happen, such as bone-headed offensive-zone penalties. That's why most of his points are coming on the PP I think. But really, Koivu is not the problem. Come on.

geez it was my poker night and I must have missed seeing the habs slip into last place over all...sure seems that with all the trade talk ..

If we were able to obtain a Jokinen type player for the first line and a Shea Weber type player on defence then I think other teams would have a hard time stopping us from winning the cup.

Can we all agree that Hossa is not worth Higgins or even Ryder. Hossa has never ever played well in playoffs. He is completely none physical and he makes way too much imho. He is really an equivalent of spezza. "Dynamic" and talented in the beginning of the season and when surrounded by likes of Alfredson and Neil. When left to fend for themselves, both Hossa and Spezza are not any better than Ryder, just way more expensive. Habs need more grit, physical presence combined with scoring abilities.

I thought it would be interesting to see what was written about Craig Rivet's benching last year, and how close it was to the trade deadline. It was over a month before the deadline, and before he got pneumonia. This story in the Gazette also talked about Kovalev. What a difference a year makes. He was definitely a different player last year. Jacques Demers felt strongly about both players. http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:Ts9bw9ERUngJ:www.canada.com/topics/s...

The Hamilton Dawgs beat the Lake Erie Monsters 2 to 1 in OT. Corey Locke converted a pass from Matt Deggon on a two on one for the winner. Eric Manlow scored the other deflecting a shot from Mathieu Carle as D'Agostini also assisted. Jaro Halak stopped 31 of 32 shots for the win. 1st star) Jaro Halak - 3rd star) Corey Locke. Halek was shakey early but really came on in the third period when it was needed. Kyle Chipchura was back from injury and Mikhail Grabovski will return Friday night for the Dawgs.

If Ryder was to whine and cry like Dandenault....he would not be allowed to play any more.Carbo has his favorites....can't ya see.Ryder is under contract and a UFA next year, and has to shut his mouth and take it.

Well if anything this one great 4th line. Guy didn't ask me but I agree with the line up changes. At least he has had the insight to get KPK togethor and it works, we need to aknowledge that. It's incredebile how much we are winning with the likes of Koivu, Higgins and Ryder not producing. If we were given their present stats in October and nothing else we be guessing we'd be where toronto is now.

Beside the near fatal 3rd again, what we were treated to last night by our big line was pure hockey symphony. The world was awakened to what is coming in less than two more years. I sure hope you all saw the way the game use to be played.

i've read a few posts from habs fans on the west coast. i'm out here in vancouver and would love to get a group together to watch a game one night (afternoon) at a pub or something. anyone?

I support Carbo's decision. For him, Ryder will not be with the team after the trade deadline. He is an UFA next year. Our team doesn't need him to make the playoff. Carbo has to get prepare for the playoff. His move reflects what he is trying to do. Both Andrei Kostitsyn and Guillaume Latendresse are team player while Higgins thinks that he can do it by himself. Putting him on another line will let him see something different. Since Koivu's line is not producing anyway, we have nothing to lose.

Ryder was not producing, Koivu is in a funk, but the person that sticks out like a sore thumb to me is Higgins. He can't handle a pass and when he does he shoots wild. I'm glad he's moving to the fourth line, I really don't know what the solution is for the Koivu line, but we really need another line that can score. I don't believe that Saku has lost interest or he's being out shined by Kovy, why now when the team really has a chance to go somewhere, this is what he's been waiting for. Any ideas people?

I have just returned to the West Coast from watching three Habs home games, against the Islanders, Rangers, and Senators. Here are some observations that come from the difference in watching live vs. televised games: Kovalev is even better live. Of course he is a great passer and dangler. What I hadn’t been able to see well on TV was his ability to control the pace of the game. If he wants it to speed it up, he can. But when he wants to hold onto the puck outside the blue line to give Pleks and Andre time to catch up, he finds a holding pattern and then off they go. And you really notice how little room there often is to work with on the ice, making his ability to find the open man and make those great passes truly impressive. If you don’t admire Kovalev, then you must be a bowling fan. The chemistry on the KPK line is mostly between Kovalev and Plekanek. Andre is good now and will be better next year, but right now those two make their plays look choreographed. The Habs reputation for being a great passing team is well deserved. None of the three teams they played passed anywhere near as well. Stretch passes from the goal line to the opposition’s blue line, tic-tack-toe coming out of their own end, or sharp passing in the opposition’s end. Yes, Heatlie and Alfredsson did not play on Tuesday, but I’m speaking to what I saw, not what was missing. When they skated, the Habs dominated. In the games against the Rangers and the Senators they took their feet off the throttle, and nearly paid twice for it. But in each game when they skated like they could their team speed is impressive. They drew penalties early and were clearly superior. Some posters correctly lamented that the Habs stopped skating in the last two games. The silver lining is, they got into trouble because they stopped skating, not because other teams could outskate them. Why the distinction? Because you can’t turn a switch on that doesn’t exist. Fixing these lapses is easier than trying to fix team speed that isn’t there to begin with. I see Higgins is on the 4th line now. In each of the games Koivu’s line did produce scoring chances. Higgins does the spadework in the corners, Koivu is the play maker. I believe the trouble that they have had is that the line hasn’t had a consistent winger who can come close to finishing their work. We all know the Ryder story; Sergei is still learning the game but struggled getting the puck out in his own end and this too freighted the line’s ability in the games I saw. For those of you who have been hard on Latendress, yes he is no gazelle. But he has at least adequate speed, is strong in fighting for the puck along the boards and made some nice passes. He’ll score 20 goals this year – and for a guy who has spent much of his time on the third line that is more than ok. The people in Montreal are wonderfully warm and welcoming. Everyone accommodated my sad attempts at speaking French, and graciously switched to English the moment I said ‘bonjour.” And the fans at the Bell Centre LOVE hockey. They gave standing ovations for a good 20 second penalty kill shift! The atmosphere is fabulous and if you haven't seen a game in person you must! This isn’t about live game observations, but for those going to the Bell Centre for autographs, the best time is before and after practice. Most players will stop for at least a few. Some, like Komisarek, Begin, Breezer (remember that when you are ragging on him) and the supposedly sullen Markov will stop before and after games. The worst two are Andre and Kovalev, who will not stop ever. In fact, Kovalev is downright irresponsible in driving far too quickly from the garage past people, over the sidewalk and onto the street.