Walsh puts charity in the shadow of client promotion.

I’ll give him this, player agent Allan Walsh certainly knows how to draw attention to himself. If he ever has a lecture on self promotion, I’ll sign up.

The representative of former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak pulled another shameless self promotion stunt, but his time he’s using charity as a screen.

Halak will be signing autographs this Saturday at Montreal’s Fairview Mall from 2-4pm. Fees will be $20 and it will be provided 8x10 photos only. Proceeds will benefit a worthy cause, the Ste. Justine’s Children’s Hospital Foundation.

HabsInsideOut’s Mike Boone posed the obvious question as to whether the photos were of Halak in a Blues jersey. It would have been better if fans could bring their own items, but this does tend to slow the process on occasion.

The fact that it’s for charity is certainly a wonderful gesture, but it’s how Walsh went about it that irks me, and it has nothing to due with the fact that Carey Price remains unsigned.

The signing was first tweeted on Saturday by the Team990’s Mitch Melnick under his “alter ego” HunterZThompson as follows:

“Jaro Halak at Fairview next Sat PM to sign, say thanx & raise $ for Koivu Foundation. You're welcome.”

“Great news, and a great gesture by Halak,” was my first thought. Of course the sarcastic side figured he had to come up any way to sign off on the sublet of his condo.

Walsh, in his tweets however tried to make it his own little show, blowing off Melnick’s post by citing it was still in the discussion stage. He then proceeded on Sunday to tweet his own horn, and again on Monday morning with some “big Jaroslav Halak news.”

This is a charity event, so why make it a personal crusade, Mr. Walsh? Or would you rather here us say, “Praise yee oh great agent, as you bring back our playoff saviour to help our ailing children.”

The idea seems sincere from Halak as a chance to thank the fans for his support. I’m pretty sure Walsh originally tweeted it as a chance for the fans to thank his client, then probably reworded it. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s deleted a tweet, right?

The move by Walsh of course spurned more fire against the player rep. Once his client was traded, Walsh quickly isolated himself from any Twitter followers connected to the Montreal Canadiens.

Some of us might have had it coming (the tail end of my post on the trade was “Gauthier gives Walsh the FU”). But clearly the man is gutless, as instead of diplomatically handling the situation, he elected to block a series of followers.

The days events spurred more discussion from my fellow bloggers. The Checking Line’s George Prax quickly added a “Blocked by Allan Walsh Club” to his site.

One clever Twitterite even created a “Blocked by Walsha” twibbon.

Again I want to stress that this has nothing against Jaroslav Halak, or the charitable benefits of the event, although the fact that Ste. Justine’s Foundation website has no mention of it also irks me.

Perhaps their web-tech doesn’t maintain it regularly, but it would have been better if Mr.Walsh had worked further in advance to give fans unable to attend some opportunity to get in on the signing.

My advice to Mr.Walsh would be to have his client sign some extra photos, and allow the hospital to use them at their discretion. I haven’t had a chance to hear his comments from this afternoon on the Team990, so maybe he did offer that…Who are we kidding.

In the event fans can’t make it on Saturday, here is the link to donate to the foundation directly.

In the meantime, maybe Mr. Walsh will consider a simple press release the next go around, when his client has a farewell engagement in St. Louis.

Perron weighs in on Halak: St. Louis Blues forward David Perron participated in former Canadiens star Alex Kovalev’s golf tournament on Monday in Ile-Brizard. The winger spoke to the media on his new teammate with great expectations. “I've heard so much about him, and I can not wait to see it in action,” said Perron, who feels the netminder will fit in well with a young team going in the right direction.

Habs trade Halak to Blues: Gauthier gives Walsh the FU

If there’s any hockey insider that says they called today’s events long before they happened, they are lying through their teeth.

Nobody expected to see the Montreal Canadiens trade away goaltender Jaroslav Halak on Thursday afternoon. Correction, there was always strong speculation that Halak would be moved in the off-season, but nobody saw the St. Louis Blues as a destination. Nor did anyone see it coming over a week before the NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles.

Well they did, and the Blues will send prospects Lars Eller and Ian Schultz to Montreal.

Clearly the two sides of the bargaining table, the Canadiens and Halak and agent Allan Walsh, were nowhere close to financial numbers. In fact they weren’t even talking to each other. Walsh stated that there was no contact between him and the Canadiens, since the end of the playoffs.

With the threat of arbitration, Walsh’s Twitter and trade demand antics during the season, and a tight cap as it was, Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier confirmed there had been no negotiations and pulled the trigger on a deal.

Essentially Gauthier and the Canadiens were not going to give Walsh the time of day.

“We sat down and we evaluated how we want to go forward,” said Gauthier in a conference call on Thursday. “When it comes to the cost of a player, we don’t need an agent to get an idea what a player will cost in a cap system.”

Gauthier said that he did call Halak on Thursday to let him know of the situation, “He was a solid citizen for our club, both on the off the ice. We appreciate what he did for us.”

Halak said he was surprised, but happy about the new start in St. Louis. The Blues still have to negotiate a contract with the 25-year-old goaltender.

Many question why the Canadiens made the trade when they did. Why not wait for the Draft, when typically a player’s value hits peak potential?

Gauthier replied, stating that the deal was an easier process than many would think. “The GM’s are well aware what is going on with other teams,” he said. “People that are interested in certain players will call each other. Some are just kicking tires, but there was enough time for anyone interested to call and we made the deal that was best for both clubs.”

The role of the number one goaltender now falls on 22-year-old Carey Price, also a restricted free agent come July 1. In all likelihood a deal to resign him should be imminent now that Halak is out of the way.

“When we discuss players, we discuss what we think they will do in the future,” Gauthier said on deciding Price over Halak. “We look at the following year and other years.

“We are very comfortable with Carey Price. He brings a lot to the table. He has over 150 games in the league, and some playoff experience, a Calder Cup, and he’s only 22. We think he will be a very good goalie in the league and can carry the load.”

The next concern will be who takes the role of the No. 2 goaltender in Montreal. Will it be through the system, or via free agency or trade?

“We have a good idea of who is available, come July 1,in free agency,” said Gauthier. “We’ll keep evaluating as people get moved.

“You need two good goaltenders, and we’ll make sure we have two next year.”

In the prospects coming to the Canadiens, Gauthier said that taking two young players fits into the success formula needed in the cap-era NHL.

“You need the young players that don’t cost too much to offset the cost of the veterans, such as the Chicago Blackhawks.

“You need players that will play well through their entry level contracts. It becomes very important.”

The 21-year-old Eller, deemed the Blues No. 2 prospect, could be a solid second line centre within a year or two, according to Gauthier.

Eller was the 13th pick overall in the 2007 NHL Entry draft and had 57 points in 70 games with the Blues’ AHL affiliate on Peoria.

“He’s a big centre man, with a good shot, he skates well, and he competes,” Gauthier said. “He’ll fit well with our quick forwards and be a very well-rounded player.”

Schultz, 20, spent last season with the Calgary Hitmen (WHL) and could bring size and toughness down the line.

The concern amongst fans now is did Gauthier do the right thing?

Halak’s numbers in 2009-10(via the Blues press release) speak for themselves.

“Halak, 25, was 26-13-5 in 2009-10 for Montreal and ranked 4th in the NHL in save percentage (.940), 9th in goals against average (2.40) and was tied for 5th with five shutouts.
In his 26 wins this season he had a GAA of 1.68 and a save % of .948. He was 4-2-0 vs. the Western Conference with a GAA of 2.19 and a .928 save %.”

There always has to be the notion too that it was a contract season for Halak. If Gauthier is right in the trade, he avoids dumping the teams financial future on a goalie that could pan out like Cristobel Huet did after he was traded.

It also leaves cap space to possibly resign centre Tomas Plekanec, an unrestricted free agent July 1, or go fishing elsewhere. There clearly would not be room for both Halak and Plekanec or other.

If it works and Price flourishes in Montreal, he’s GM of the year. If it doesn’t, it’s the biggest blunder since the Patrick Roy trade.

In any event, you have to admit that Pierre Gauthier has balls.

Seeking answers to the Habs goaltending decisions.

The second biggest free agent concern for the Montreal Canadiens, after centre Tomas Plekanec, is how to deal with their goaltenders.

GM Pierre Gauthier’s concerns grew bigger when Jaroslav Halak came out as the teams No. 1 man between the pipes and had a spectacular playoff run.

Halak, through his agent Allan Walsh, had made it quite clear that he wanted to play regularly. He was given the chance by coach Jacques Martin, when Carey Price struggled, and it paid off.

At the beginning of the season, many felt Price would emerge as the top goaltender, making Halak more expendable when the duo became restricted free agents (RFA). Now, it’s not the case.

The question now is whether Price, who is an RFA for the first time, will be wanting to even stay in Montreal. It hasn’t been a good two seasons for Price, as the 22-year-old had moments of brilliance followed by runs of disappointment. The pressure of living and playing in a “What have you done for me, lately?” hockey town like Montreal has to add to his decisions.

The Canadiens know that Price is still learning and would be absolutely foolish to trade away their first round pick in 2005, especially when his stock value is down. For them to do so, it would have to be a massive deal, that evens out long-term for Montreal, to let Price go before he reaches his prime.

Halak’s stock has clearly soared, meaning he’ll seek earn top-dollar at his RFA level and likely be after a long-term deal somewhere. With the Canadiens on a tight cap already, it could be hard for the two sides to come to an agreement without clearing cap room.

In the cap era NHL, the Gauthier and advisor Bob Gainey have to be thinking of strategies and counter measures to keep at least one of these goaltenders. To let both go would be team suicide.

To keep Halak, and move Price, gives Montreal a goalie at the ready to be the No.1 guy. Cedrick Desjardins, who had a tremendous season with the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL), could be called on as the backup.

Desjardins has seen success at the Junior and ECHL level, winning championships in both, and led his team to the Calder Cup Conference final this season.

"They're going to have to make a decision," said Desjardins in an April 2009 interview with The Hockey News. "When they make that decision, I want them to consider that I'll be there.”

The 24-year-old’s contract is also up. Giving him some incentive to get his shot with the big club might save the Canadiens some money on a quality backup.

The question to keep Halak over Price does bring a bit of risk. Was his playoff run the pinnacle of his career with the Canadiens?

In Price’s case, he’s admitted to wanting to do what’s good for the team and could be easier to negotiate with to stay in Montreal. The Canadiens could be able to find a suitable veteran goalie to take the lead for another year or two while he continues to learn.

The Nashville Predators Dan Ellis could be a leading candidate in that regard.

After losing/splitting the starting job in Music City to Pekka Rinne, Ellis continued to put up respectable numbers and is a goalie strong under high shot totals. If the Canadiens are to be pelted with shots, the way Halak saw in the first two rounds of the playoffs, for another year or so then this is your man.

He’ll be 30, and a UFA, by July 1 with a current salary of $1.75 million and could be a nice fit in the Canadiens cap range.

The Hockey News recently ranked him as one of the “Top 10 Best Free Agents” last week, noting, “Ellis is a guy who will want to go some place he has a chance to steal some minutes, and even take over the No. 1 spot. But he won’t command many dollars to do so.” If Halak’s demands were too great, Ellis could be a good “Plan B” if the price was right. No pun intended.

Of course, Gauthier could work a deal to keep both netminders happy with a respectable salary. At the end of the 2008-09 season, maybe that could have happened. It would be surprising to see him be able to do it now.

Canadiens/Penguins Game 7: Habs oust the champs!

On thing is for certain now in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, there will be a new Stanley Cup Champion.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were ousted after Wednesday’s 5-2 Game Seven loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

The defending champions opened the game with a rather weak first period, while the Canadiens played their best period of the playoffs.

Montreal got on the board first after the Penguins Sidney Crosby took a roughing call right at the start. On the ensuing power play, Brian Gionta tipped a PK Subban shot, that snuck past Marc-Andre Fleury at 0:32.

Dominic Moore put the Canadiens up by two when he ripped a shot past Fleury at 14:23.

The Penguins found themselves being booed off the ice, by their own fans, at the end of the period. Meanwhile the Canadiens had a packed Bell Centre cheering them on at home.

"We played well together," said Canadiens defenseman Hall Gill, who returned to the lineup after missing Game Six with a cut to his leg.

"We got guys to step up at the right time, and that's what you need. In the playoffs, it's not about your star players. It's about everyone."

The Canadiens momentum carried into the second period when Mike Cammalleri one timed his 12th goal of the playoffs at 3:32.

It continued to get worse for Pittsburgh. On a penalty kill, Travis Moen got the puck out of the Montreal zone, and chipped the puck past Sergei Gonchar to beat Fleury at 5:14.

Having allowed four goals on 13 shots, Fleury was pulled in favour of Brent Johnson.

The home team responded to the goaltending change when Chris Kunitz squeaked a rebound past Halak at 8:36.

It started to look like a game when Jordan Staal deflected an Alexei Ponikarovsky point shot past Halak, at 16:30, to get the Penguins within two.

Pittsburgh out shot Montreal 13-7 in the second period and carried a 4-on-3 power play into the third.

The Canadiens came up big on the penalty kill, thanks it part to a spectacular save by Halak, off the stick of Crosby, that was easily the game-saver.

The Montreal netminder was called upon again on a second Pittsburgh man advantage minutes later, and had 37 saves on the night. The Penguins also had 26 shots that were blocked and 17 that missed the net.

Gionta added his second of the night, on a Canadiens power play, batting a saucer pass from Cammalleri out of mid-air past Johnson at 10:00.

"It just means we get to keep playing," said Cammalleri. "We might be changing some minds. We've had that underlying confidence. It's been good so far, but we have to get better."

"They came hard, created some chances and capitalized on every one of them," a disappointed Crosby said. “They find ways and you gotta give them credit for that.”

Montreal fans spilled out of the Bell Centre and surrounding taverns and into the streets in a massive, but peaceful, celebration.

The Canadiens will return home to await the winner of the second Eastern Conference Semi-Final between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers. That series goes to a seventh game on Friday.

Games Three Stars: 1. Jaroslav Halak 2. Brian Gionta 3. Michael Cammalleri

Notes: Mike Cammalleri becomes the first Canadiens player with a dozen goals in the playoffs since Guy Lafleur in 1975.

The series win comes as an early birthday present for the Canadiens’ Jaroslav Halak and P.K. Subban, who celebrate their 25th and 21st birthdays respectively on Thursday.

The game marks the final one at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena. The Canadiens bookend the arena’s history with wins at it’s opening in 1967 and on Wednesday night.

Game Photo: Dave Sanford (Getty Images)

Friday Night Vids: Sidney Crosby Tribute and Habs Romance

Rogers Sportsnet gets video of the day with this playoff tribute to Sidney Crosby. I hear it’s the in-flight film on the Habs charter to Pittsburgh.

A couple variations on the popular Lady Gaga song “Bad Romance” as heard on Montreal’s Virgin 96 Radio.

The first one was the teaser for the opening round.

The second was made for the second round vs. Pittsburgh.

Audio game highlights come from Virgin 96’s sister station CJAD.

The “voice of the Habs” Rick Moffat is currently working on a new version of Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t worry, be happy!”

Canadiens/Penguins Game Four: Halak foils Pens, Refs

Jaroslav Halak took back his reign as the goalie of the playoffs, making saves to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 Game Four win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Halak had another “day at the office,” with a 33 save performance.

With and excited Bell Centre crowd behind them, the Canadiens opened the scoring when Tom Pyatt scored his first career playoff goal on a wrist shot went five hole on Marc Andre Fleury at 2:34.

Maxim Talbot replied on a two-on-one rush just a minute later. The Bell Centre crowd was looking for a penalty prior to the goal as P.K. Subban appeared to be tripped up by Ruslan Fedotenko.

Chris Kunitz added a power play marker at 5:18 to put the Penguins ahead. The goal was reviewed, as there was question to whether Kunitz had kicked the puck in.

The Penguins out shot the Canadiens 15-6 in the opening period that was full of questionable officiating calls. That trend by the officials carried throughout the game.

The game remained scoreless in the second period, with Pittsburgh still remaining in control. The Canadiens managed just three shots to the Penguins ten, and were blanked on their one power play chance in the period.

A totally different Canadiens team emerged from the dressing room in the third period.

Battling behind the Penguins net, Maxim Lapierre tied it up on a wrap around at 2:07

The Canadiens regained the lead just over a minute and a half later than a shot from Brian Gionta deflected off of Penguins defender Chris LeTang and past Fleury.

“The players recognized our performance was not too good in the first two periods,” Canadiens coach Jacques Martin said. “If you don’t make a commitment to shooting the puck, or getting your nose dirty, you’re not going to win the game.”

From then on, it was all Halak. The Slovak-born netminder made 16 saves in the period to earn the game’s first star.

“We’ve got nothing to lose,” said Halak, noting the Canadiens unexpected playoff run. “We’re not even supposed to be here, but here we are. Tonight we were down 2-1 going into the third, and we showed a lot of character.”

The Canadiens goalie also got some help from his teammates, who blocked 23 Penguins shots. Hal Gill led Montreal with eight blocked shots.

“Everyone pulled together in the third,” Gill said. “Jaro stood on his head and kept us in the game, then we came around and found the way to get some goals.”

“Our blueline has really stepped it up,” Martin added. “The leadership of Gill and (Josh) Gorges really speaks volume of their character.”

The win for Montreal ties the series at two games apiece. Game Five goes Saturday night back in Pittsburgh.

Games Three Stars: 1. Jaroslav Halak 2. Josh Gorges 3. Maxime Talbot

Off the Bench: After spending all of Game Three on the Canadiens bench, forward Mathieu Darche played 8:12, assisting on the Lapierre goal, and was +1.

game photo: by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images

Habs/Penguins Game 2: Halak back as Habs tie series.

After an off performance in Game 1, Jaroslav Halak returned to the Montreal Canadiens net for Game Two and gave a 38-save performance to lead his team to a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins opened the scoring at  4:38 of the first period, putting a backhand shot past Jaroslav Halak.

Montreal replied at 15:48 on Brian Gionta’s fifth goal of the season.

The second period saw the Penguins dominate, outshooting their opponents 18-3. No matter what they tried, they could get nothing past Halak.

The Canadiens defence, led by veteran Hal Gill and rookie P.K. Subban, made things difficult for the Penguins Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, with the former breaking his stick on the Canadiens net.

“They were more aggressive in the neutral zone,” said Crosby. “We got to the offensive zone, but maybe we got a little too fancy.”

Montreal managed to make good on their trio of shots when Mike Cammalleri put the Canadiens ahead, during a power play at 7:29, on a fantastic hand-eye move, batting to puck past Fleury.

Pittsburgh had it’s chances in the third with a pair of power play opportunities to open the final 20 minutes. Again Halak and the bodies in front of him were able to shut down the Penguins attack.

“We can’t fix something that works,” said Canadiens centre Scott Gomez on how the team can get the win despite being badly outshot. “We made the adjustments.(Assistant coach) Kirk Muller went over the tapes from the last game and made it work.”

Cammalleri intercepted a Penguins pass and blew a shot past Fleury to give the Canadiens the insurance marker at 17:06.

Things then got dirty when Pittsburgh’s Craig Adams slammed the Canadiens Marc-Andre Bergeron from behind and into the boards. Adams received a five minute major, for checking from behind, and a game misconduct.

The series in now tied at two and heads to Montreal for Games Three and Four on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

Games Three Stars: 1. Jaroslav Halak 2. Mike Cammalleri 3. Matt Cooke

Deja-vu in the “A”: The Canadiens AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs managed to tie their series at one with Abbotsford this afternoon with a 3-1 win.

Does Halak have one more left for Game Seven?

Can Jaroslav Halak do it one more time for the Montreal Canadiens in Game Seven on Wednesday? Photo: Richard Wolowicz, Getty Images

It’s been almost 24 hours since Jaroslav Halak gave the hockey world a playoff goaltending show for the ages. Everybody is still talking about the 53-save performance by the Montreal Canadiens netminder against the top offense in the NHL.

It’s not just Habs fans either. Leafs fans, Sens fans, Bruins fans, everybody is in awe of what happened Monday night.

Halak’s performance is already being ranked among some of the greatest in the Canadiens playoff history. Many will say that it is not the greatest as it was not during a Stanley Cup Final, but taking it as a single game, and depending on how old you are, it has to be in the top three.

Washington tried everything from tapping Halak’s mask to crashing his crease to phase him. It worked in Games Two and Three, but it’s not working anymore and now it’s the Capitals who are “shaking”.

An astounding stat for Halak is his 9-0-1 career record when his opponents score 40 or more shots. With the firepower of the Washington Capitals, can he have “Another day at the office” and take it to 10-0-1 on Wednesday night or can he just get the win with an easier night?

Well to do it, he’ll need help up front. The Canadiens forwards will need to score when possible and get shots on net as often as possible.

They’ve proven that Semyon Varlamov is not invincible, giving him his first career loss at the Bell Centre, but a less than 20 shot night may not be enough for the Canadiens in the deciding game.

Additional help from the supplemental cast in the third and fourth lines will again be needed as well. Maxim Lapierre led the support charge in Game Six. Can he repeat that, or does someone else step forward this time.

Fans can only hope that Jaroslav Spacek’s virus is finally gone for Wednesday night. If the only Canadiens blueliner that seems to have Alex Ovechkin’s number game-in and game out is there, it is a huge burden off the shoulders of the other five rearguards. In other words the shot count and quality of said shots should be easily reduced. Add in the sparkplug play of P.K. Subban and things will be difficult for the Capitals.

From there it falls to special teams. Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau could pull a desperation move and use Scott Walker, who has yet to play this series, in an effort to stir things up and rattle the Canadiens cage. The Pittsburgh Penguins did that successfully with Georges Laraque two seasons ago.

If Montreal can stay disciplined though, and avoid unnecessary penalty calls or a trio of diving calls, then we should see them in a Game One against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Go Habs Go!

An unlikely comparison: It was funny to hear Canadiens forward Mike Cammalleri on Tuesday, as he compared Jaroslav Halak’s play, and ability to perform under fire, to a goaltender he watched growing up, Allan Bester. What?

Well actually he has a point, win-loss results withstanding.

Growing up north of Toronto as I did, the Habs sniper saw Bester in his busiest two seasons (1988-90) with the Maple Leafs. The diminutive goalie was sometimes all the blue and white had as he saw an average of 30 shots against per game. I seem to recall a four or more game run where the Leafs netminder faced a minimum of 40 shots per game and still gave his team a chance. I’d need a Leafs historian to verify it though.

Best Facebook Status: Tyler McKinna from NHLDigest, “Chuck Norris carries a Jaroslav Halak lunchbox.”

Game 6 Goal Analysis: Chris and Robert at "Habs Eyes on the Prize" have worked their tails off breaking down the goals in all six games thus far. Well done guys, but you need a break. How about a 1-0 Habs win to rest up for Round Two?

A Fan’s Game Prep: A reader of Dennis Kane’s blog offers his preparation for a big game.

From the Notebook: J.T. from “The H does hot stand for Habs” offers some Game Seven eve thoughts and notes.

Five Keys to Game Seven: From canadiens.com

The Right Stuff: Yves on Habs shows the Canadiens have what it takes to win the series.

Suffering withdrawals: For the first time since Sept 29, I didn’t have to load my goalie gear into the car on a Tuesday night. I gotta find a spring/summer league in the GTA!

Canadiens/Capitals Game Six: Halak carries Habs to seventh game

Facing elimination, and having not won a home playoff game in nearly two years, the Montreal Canadiens had their backs against the wall in Game Six of their first round series against the Washington Capitals.

Perhaps the young player sporting a Ken Dryden mask in the pre-game ceremony was a positive omen as they answered the call, thanks to the brilliant 53-save goaltending performance from Jaroslav Halak.

After an early exchange of end-to-end rushes and opportunities by both teams, the Canadiens struck on the power play at 7:30 when Mike Cammalleri blew a shot past Semyon Varlamov.

Ninety-nine seconds later, Cammalleri struck again on a set play from the draw, taking a quick pass from P.K. Subban for his fifth goal of the playoffs.

“Everyone was concerned about getting the job done and movign on to game seven,” said Subban, who had been called up Sunday evening from the Hamilton Bulldogs. “I was a little bit tired. It was a bit of a battle for me, but I’m happy I kept the puck out of my end.”

The Canadiens appeared on track but got into penalty problems later in the period, finding themselves on the opposite side of a 5-on-3 Capitals power play.

Hal Gill and Josh Gorges were crucial in killing the Washington two-man advantage that lasted 49 seconds. Whatever they couldn’t stop, Halak was there to turn away. Another 1:46 of unsuccessful 5 on 4 time for the Capitals had the Bell Centre crowd on it’s feet.

“Our biggest penalty killer was Jaroslav,” said Canadiens coach Jaques Martin. “The five-on-three was crucial and I thought they (Gill and Gorges) played it extremely well.”

The Capitals had 18 shots on Halak, to just 10 for the Canadiens, but the home team skated out after the first 20 with a 2-0 lead. They also held the physical edge early with an 11-5 hit advantage.

Montreal was forced to kill off two Capitals power plays early in the second period, but Halak answered the call yet again. The Slovak netminder came up with big saves, including one on the snake-bitten Alexander Semin and stopping Alex Ovechkin in close.

Washington had an 11-0 shot advantage through the first nine minutes, with the Canadiens not getting one on Varlamov until the 10:13 mark and managed just three all period.

Playing his best game of the series, in light of a pair of diving infractions, Maxim Lapierre raced up the right wing blasted in a shot past Varlamov to give the Canadiens a three-goal lead at 4:17 of the third. It was Lapierre’s first career playoff goal.

“Everybody played great tonight,” said Lapierre noting a full 60-minute effort from everyone on the ice. “I just followed the group.”

On the downside, if Lapierre has a previous diving call this season, he could be subject to suspension.

“Lapierre’s been called his whole life on diving,” said a bitter Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, who has seen his team squander a 3-1 series lead. “They dive a lot. I’m grateful that they started calling them.”

Not giving up, Washington continued to minimize the Canadiens attack, limiting them to just 22 shots on the night, and keep the pressure on. Halak answered every attempt, even flashing the leather a-la Patrick Roy on occasion at the frustrated Capitals.

Eric Fehr finally solved Halak on the Capital’s 52nd shot, tipping a point shot past the Canadiens netminder with just under five minutes to play.

Halak’s 53 saves set a franchise record in a regulation playoff game. The previous holder was the man emulated in the pre-game ceremony.

“You can’t stop all of them,” Halak said on Fehr’s shutout buster. “It’s a great feeling, especially in the playoffs, winning a game like that.”

The Canadiens goalie was asked if he had another performance like that left in him for Game Seven, “We’ll see what happens. Every game is a different game.”

Tomas Plekanec potted an empty net goal with 57 seconds remaining to seal the win and snap the Canadiens six-game home losing streak in the playoffs.

“We’ve liked our group all year long,” said Cammalleri on a rebuilt Canadiens team that was given little chance to even make the playoffs, let alone take the top seed to a seventh game. “You’re not going to shut these guys down. We know we have to do our best to make it difficult for them. They’re the team that’s supposed to win and we’re the underdog.”

The series concludes Wednesday night in Washington.

Three Stars: 1. Halak 2. Cammalleri 3. Maxim Lapierre

Game Photos: Montreal Gazette

Afterthoughts on Game Three

I don’t know but last night may have been the most disgusted I ever felt as a fan of the Montreal Canadiens. Maybe it’s just the heat of the playoffs, as I’m sure there have been more disheartening moments over the years. Don’t worry, I’m not giving up on by beloved Habs, not at all. Just a little pissed off.

Instead of going on a rant that will likely contradict myself three times over, and the fact I’m short on time today, I thought I’d skim the good old WWW to see how others have been feeling.

First up, Dennis Kane gives his brief yet defining look back at Monday’s disaster.

Next my buddy Abe Hefter from CJAD gives his evaluation. Abe notes what was mentioned during the second intermission on TSN, that it didn’t matter who was in goal in the second period. The team simply pulled a disappearing act. Abe also sees Carey Price in for Game Four.

On that note, Robert Lefebvre asks you who you feel should be in goal, Price or Halak?

Before you vote, here’s what the two goalies said after Tuesday practice:

Halak: “We had a good first period. We had some chances and we didn’t score. It wasn’t the start we wanted in the second period. It still could be a long series. We’ve gotta put it behind us and start fresh tomorrow.”

Carey Price on the Capitals attack: “That’s their bread and butter, shooting pucks, getting pucks at the net and crashing the net. That’s why they scored 100 goals more than we did.”

…and on handling the crease crashing: “I’m a pretty big boy, I can handle myself. That could be advantage us. If they’re still coming to the net and we don’t retaliate, we could be drawing penalties.”

The entrenched blogger Arpon Basu, of the Daily Hab-it , says it’s not time to jump off the ledge, yet. You can also find a link to his CBC blog, in which he gets no credit for by name on the site – just sayin’, and his CP article there as well.

Oh Canadiens has a playoff beard contest going. Here’s the latest entry. I always saw MetricJulie more as a goatee gal myself.

Canadiens coach Jacques Martin has been under the gun from Robert, myself and other fans and bloggers alike in the past several days.

Scott Burnside, whos is covering the Capitals/Canadiens series for ESPN, seems to back some of our feeling that Martin lacks in emotion in his Tuesday writeup.

On the good side, there are reports that Martin has contacted the playoff series supervisor regarding the bumping of his goalies, and was more in conversation with referees during the game. I didn’t realize JM was a subscriber to my feed.

Nonetheless, Kyle Roussel has given us 22 reasons to fire the Habs bench boss. Four Habs Fans already have a replacement in mind. Could he be any worse?

Martin was observing the Capitals practice, on Tuesday morning, that focused primarily on a Washington power play that is 0 for the playoffs. Did Martin learn anything to counter it, or will Ovechkin and company light it up with the man advantage? Why do I sense the latter?

Canadiens.com has five keys to Game Four. This is rather interesting as it relates to the  post that I will have up Wednesday morning.

That’s it for today. I’m off to my last pick-up game of the season before they tear out the ice at the local rink.

Capitals/Canadiens Game 1: “Jagr” Wins it in overtime for Habs

Tomas Plekanec is swarmed by his Montreal Canadiens teammates after his overtime goal in Game One vs. Washington Capitals – Chuck Myers (MCT)

Tomas Plekanec put his money where his mouth was, in the media-fuelled war of words against Jose Theodore, in Game One as the Montreal Canadiens shocked the Verizon Center crowd with a 3-2 overtime win over the Washington Capitals.

Plekanec beat out Capitals defenceman  Shoane Morrisonn, inside the Washington blue line, and fired a wrist shot past Theodore at 13:19 of the extra period.

The two adversaries had been in a war of words after Plekanec said Theodore was not the same level of goalie as a Martin Brodeur or Ryan Miller. Theodore responded sarcastically, referring to Plekanec as “Jagr”.

The game began looking just like it has been predicted, with a Washington offence swarming the Montreal end. The Capitals outshot their opponents 19-7 in the first period and dominated in the faceoff circle.

It could easily have been a three or four-goal lead if not for the goaltending brilliance of Jaroslav Halak. The underdogs would not get their first shot until the 7:24 mark.

The Canadiens knew they would be in tough against the top five-on-five team in the regular season (213 goals) and would need special teams to help their effort.

They got just that at 12:26 when Mike Cammalleri scored on the power play to give the Canadiens a one-goal lead.

Washington continued to mount the pressure and Joe Corvo lobbed in a shot from the blueline, over the shoulder of a screened Halak, at 15:33.

In the second period, coach Jacques Martin made some adjustments and the Canadiens turned things around. The visitors dominated the Capitals in the second half of the period. Martin double shifted Cammalleri on a line with Maxim Lapierre and Mathieu Darche to put some strain on the larger, but slower Capitals defence.

With the majority considered slow and, in some cases old, themselves, the Canadiens corps of blueliners were able to shutdown the league’s most explosive player, Alexander Ovechkin. The Russian sniper had no shots on goal and five attempts blocked for the entire game.

Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau put more of the blame on his captain. “They gapped up on him (Ovechkin), but I don’t think he played very well,” he said, indicating that the rest of the Capitals had 47 shots on goal.

"Our best players weren't our best players tonight. I just didn't think he was very good tonight"

The Canadiens hoped to carry the momentum in the third period, but a poor clearing effort and a bad bounce off the skates of Hal Gill led to a Niklas Backstrom goal.

Washington Capitals Jose Theodore makes one of his 35 saves in Game One – Molly Riley (Reuters)

Montreal refused to give up and fired everything they had at Thoedore , who made 35 saves on the night. They finally broke through when Scott Gomez beat out defenceman Mike Green to the front of the net, defecting a feed from Brian Gionta past the Washington netminder to tie the game at two.

Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin skates away in disgust as the Canadiens celebrate Scott Gomez’s tying goal. – Greg Fiume (Getty Images)

The Habs defence and Halak continued to hold back the Capitals through the rest of the period and into overtime. Jaroslav Spacek logged just under 20 minutes and thwarted Ovechkin and co. at every window of opportunity. Gill was equally effective in his 25 plus minutes, blocking nine shots.

“We gave him (Ovechkin) no space or time to shoot,” Halak said. “He’s a great one-on-one player. We probably pissed off everybody, so they will try to come out stronger on Saturday.”

Martin praised his team for the group effort to shut down the league’s top offence shut down all four Capitals power play chances.

“When you face an elite player, like Ovechkin, it’s not one individual’s responsibility, it’s a team effort,” he said. “Our support players gave us some good help tonight. I thought it was some excellent teamwork.”

Overtime began with and unsuccessful Canadiens power play and was followed by some exciting end-to-end play, cumulating in Plekanec’s winner.

Plekanec explained post-game that his comments, from earlier in the week, were taken out of context. “I didn’t take it personally. It wasn’t completely right in the newspapers,” he said. “I would never say anything wrong about Theo, and I respect him.”

Game Two goes Saturday night in Washington, with Games Three and Four in Montreal on Monday and Wednesday.

Three Stars: 1. Tomas Plekanec 2. Jaroslav Halak 3. Jose Theodore

Habs fate is in their own hands vs. Leafs

The Leafs and Canadiens wrap up the 2009-10 regular season tonight, with Toronto looking to play partial spoiler. Photo: Kevin van Steendelaar

The Habs playoffs hopes fall into their own hand Saturday night, as they host the Toronto Maple Leafs to close out their regular season in 2009-10.

All they need is a single point to secure a spot in the post season. A regulation loss means Sunday afternoon scoreboard watching. The Bruins secured a spot with a 4-2 win over Carolina Saturday afternoon.

It could come down to the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday afternoon. The Canadiens would need would then need a Flyers win in regulation or overtime/shootout or a Rangers win in regulation to remain in the playoff race. A Rangers win in overtime or a shootout puts Montreal in ninth.

The Canadiens need to take their destiny into their own hands and plain out win their game. There are no exceptions. A win gives them a shot at sixth with Boston’s last game on Sunday. Fumbling around Sunday before supper time, after blowing two chances already this week, is no way to earn a playoff spot

The Canadiens hold the season series over the Maple Leafs with a 3-1-1 record, but the Leafs have outscored their rivals 15-14.

Jaroslav Halak will get the call in goal and is 2-0-1 with a  2.52 GAA and .929 SvPct against Toronto this season. Halak’s career numbers are very similar (6-2-1, 2.92, .925) in four seasons.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere will get the call for Toronto. The Quebec native’s last start against the Canadiens was with the Anaheim Ducks in October of 2008 when he made 47 saves in a 6-4 victory.

Leafs coach Ron Wilson had been alternating between Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson for most of the remainder of the season, but tweaked the schedule so that Giguere could start in his hometown.

“I appreciate that. It shows a lot of respect for the player,” Giguere told the Montreal Gazette. “It was nice and unexpected. I was maybe going to ask, but didn’t want to ruffle any feathers.”

The 32-year-old netminder has a lifetime 4-2-1 record against the Canadiens, with a 2.84 GAA and .904 SvPct.

Canadiens coach Jacques Martin will make his starting lineup choices closer to game time. There is speculation that Sergei Kostitsyn could be a healthy scratch.

Kostitysn found himslef benched for the latter half of Montreal’s 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday and was used sparingly in the teams Friday practice.

Maxim Lapierre, Tom Pyatt and Ben Maxwell are also in the mix of the last-minute decision.

Habs autograph signing Sunday: Canadiens Andrei Markov and Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn are scheduled to appear Sunday afternoon at 1pm for an autograph signing. Signatures are $25 each. The appearance will be at Classic Auctions, 215 St.- Francois Xavier Ste 104 in Dolson, QC.

Just follow the lynch mob if the Habs lose Saturday. Coincidentally the Rangers/Flyers game starts right about he time the signing will likely be wrapping up.

This day in Habs history: The Canadiens won the first of five consecutive Stanley Cups, defeating the Detroit Red Wings in five games.

Jean Beliveau led the regular season and playoffs in scoring and set a still current NHL record with seven goals in the Finals.

Puck photo: Just a few autographs from my own colllection over the past couple months. From the top and left to right: Dickie Moore, Johnny Bower, Darryl Sittler, Dick Duff, Yvon Lambert and Henri Richard.

Habs and NHL Tidbits for the Day

Just a few little pieces of news and info to pass along for today.

Habs Fans: Make your voices heard to Jimmy Fallon!: A blog on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon website wants to know which pro sports franchise has the most dedicated superfans. You can put your vote in for the Habs by linking to the blog.

Obviously the Late Night crew are not up on current Habs events if you note the picture they are using.

Great video tribute to the Rocket: A nice little video put together by Jerome Charlebois, son of noted Quebecois singer/songwriter Robert Charlebois, put together this nice little lip-synched tribute to Maurice Richard. The original song used in the video was recorded and written in 1970 by Pierre Latourneau.

Didn’t realize Carbo was a green thumb.

Rookie Coach gets AHL Honours: Congratulations to Hamilton Bulldogs coach Guy Boucher on being winning the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL’s most outstanding coach in 2009-10. Boucher has coached the ‘Dogs to the second-best record in the league (currently 51-17-3-7 for 112 points) and a North Division championship in this season.

The full AHL release can be found here.

"I've always believed that coach of the year is an award that belongs to everyone, the assistant coaches, the players, the management, the scouts and the staff, so I am proud to accept this award on behalf of the entire organization," said Boucher.

Hamilton winds up it’s regular season with games in Syracuse and Toronto before starting the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs on Saturday.

Halak up for NHL Award: Jaroslav Halak is the Canadiens nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL player judged to best exemplify the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication.

Tkachuk Retires: Veteran forward Keith Tkachuk announced we will retire following the St. Louis Blues game Friday vs. Anaheim. Tkachuk was a healthy scratch on Wednesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks. Perhaps FoxSports MidWest could have given him proper airtime during an intermission to make his announcement, rather than during the game. Three times Tkachuk was interrupted by the fog horn as the Blackhawks scored.

The 19-year veteran has 538 goals, 1063 points and 2219 penalty minutes in 1200 games with the Blues, Thrashers, Coyotes and Jets.

O’Ree receives Order of Canada: Willie O’Ree, the first black player in the NHL, received the Order of Canada Wednesday morning. O’Ree received his award for his years of service to youth development and the growth of hockey across communities in Canada and the U.S.

O’Ree began his NHL career with the Boston Bruins, making his debut on January 18, 1958 against the Montreal Canadiens. He was traded to the Canadiens in the summer of 1961, but never suited up for them.

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Habs Should Stick With Halak Until The Olympics

For the first time this season, Jaroslav Halak got a back-to-back start after sustaining a loss.

He did not disappoint, continuing the Montreal Canadiens “goaltending controversy” between him and Carey Price for yet another few days.

Halak may not be graceful, but he did what was needed with a 45 save performance against the powerhouse Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

That should keep the “he plays sub-500 teams” critics quiet for a day or two.

The win puts Halak’s record, after coming off a loss, to 5-2-1this season. By comparison, Price is 6-9-3 in his next start after a losing decision.

Until Tuesday, Canadiens coach Jacques Martin never started Halak after a loss, but why? In only three situations, the team had played back-to-back nights, and on two occasions Halak had been lit up pretty bad.

Martin may have finally realized that after each of Halak’s ten losses (eight in regulation), Price went 4-5-1, including a humiliating 7-1 loss back in October to the same Canucks team.

So Halak has proven he can bounce back immediately after a loss, so what now?

With the 2010 Winter Olympics approaching, and six games to play for the Canadiens, Martin should use Halak as much as possible.

If he gets thumped by the Bruins on Thursday (note: Price is 2-0 vs. Boston), put him back in against Pittsburgh. Give him that chance again to prove himself.

Price’s record against the remaining pre Olympic opponents is 4-3-1, so why not give it a shot?

Keep in mind too that Halak will be seeing lots of ice time in Vancouver as the number one goalie for Slovakia, so when the NHL starts up again on March 2, he’ll have seen a lot of rubber.

Price in the meantime, will have time to practice, rest, reflect/prepare for the remainder of the NHL season to prove himself again.

That is of course, if Bob Gainey doesn’t make a deal before the Olympics or the March 3 trade deadline.

Mike Komisarek: Or as a friend tweeted, Karmaserek…Out for the season with a shoulder injury.

Lorelei O’Byrne 1953-2010: Condolences to the family of Canadiens defenceman Ryan O’Byrne, whose mother Lorelei passed away January 28 after a long battle with breast cancer. A celebration of life will be held on February 16 in Victoria, BC.

The Canadiens had given O’Byrne time off, for the first three weeks of January, to be with his mother and family. Many feel he played his best game of the season on Tuesday, against his home-province team.

HNIC Heats Up Canadiens Goaltending Controversies

Cassie Campbell-Pascal got this bloggers attention, when she asked Canadiens’ Jaroslav Halak if it was safe to say that he was the Habs #1 goaltender.

OK, for quite some time I’ve come to the defense of the CBC using Cassie Campbell-Pascal as a between periods interviewer or game analysis with “Hockey Night in Canada.”

Yes, it’s true she has no journalism background, but she does have a sociology degree, from the University of Guelph, and is an active public speaker throughout the year.

Cassie Campbell-Pascal got her big break on HNIC in Oct 2006 as the colour analyst with play-by play man Bob Cole.

Her background in women’s hockey, and the upcoming 2010 Olympics, brings a potential female viewership to the CBC’s flagship program that the network didn’t have before.

Her biggest flaws are that she becomes a deer in headlights in front of a camera, struggling with on-the-spot interviews and intros frequently, and some of her questions are not always well prepared.

Just like any other former pro athlete, that winds up on “The Panel” or in the booth, she’s on a learning curve in journalism.

But her most recent example, during this past Saturday’s post-game of the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens, really got my attention.

After a 6-0 victory by the Canadiens, Campbell congratulated Jaroslav Halak on his shutout, then stated a question along the line that it was safe to say that he was the number one goaltender in Montreal right now.

I couldn’t believe she asked that, and from what I saw on Twitter, several were stunned at the question!

The Canadiens goaltenders have been under the gun on this issue all season long, and not even a veteran Montreal journalist would dare pose that question to either Halak or Carey Price.

Maybe she was trying to catch Halak off guard. If so, it didn’t work as the netminder shrugged the question off.

In my opinion it was a boneheaded question. For anyone following the Canadiens this season, they know that Canadiens coach Jacques Martin prefers to ride the hot goalie.

Message to Cassie Campbell-Pascal: There is no number one goalie for the Montreal Canadiens!

Maybe she got that update on that shortly after, as she smartly stayed quiet during the John Tortarella post-game scrum.

Meanwhile back in Habs land, the debate amongst fans, as to who is the number one goalie, continues to roll on.

The Slovak-born Halak currently edges out Price in all statistics, and is fourth in the league in save percentage.

The argument for Price is that he has played in more games against a higher level of competition. Halak-a-maniacs can counter that this week as the New York Rangers are not the Carolina Hurricanes, and the New Jersey Devils, whom he beat Friday, are certainly not the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Many will say too that the Canadiens have a potential 1-2 combo similar to a Moog-Fuhr in Edmonton, or dare we say Roy/Hayward with Montreal in the late eighties.

Debate all you want as to which one becomes the Hall of Famer of the duo, or if it’s fiscally possible for GM Bob Gainey to sign both potential RFA’s, and keep them both happy splitting with sufficient playing time.

For the time being, it appears Halak is the one willing to step up to the plate. Regardless of that, Jacques Martin does not have a full-time number one and makes the final decisions on who starts and who doesn’t.

Something I’d like to see: Halak has yet to start a game coming off a loss. It would be nice to see how he bounces back from a defeat, rather than sit on the bench.

More Halak/Price Arguments from the CBC: HNIC’s Elliotte Friedman feels this may be the right time to trade Carey Price.

A few other Habs related stories can be found in his 30 Thoughts section further down the post.

…and a response to Mr. Friedman: From Lions in Winter.

So Who’s the Real #1? : Dave Stubbs, of the Montreal Gazette, has a feature column showing that Halak is the better number one, for time being. Stubbs points out that Martin’s decision on the goalie, against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, is a no-brainer on paper. Halak is 4-0 lifetime against Florida.

Team Slovakia Weighs In: The debate can go world-wide thanks to this tweet from The Sporting News’ Craig Custance:

“Just spoke with Slovakian GM Peter Bondra. He joked that, the way Jaroslav Halak is playing, he wishes the Olympics started tomorrow.”

Update: Thought everyone had their say, but here comes the Gazette’s Jack Todd.

Game action photos (Halak and Price): HabsInsideOut

In Case You Missed It: Habs News and Blogger Views for January 4, 2010

Still recuperating from the chaos of the holiday season, I came across a few things of interest to peruse through as the Canadiens make their way to Washington.

Habs World Junior Championship Alumni: Props to Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette/HabsInsideOut for tweeting a list Canadiens players, on the current roster, with a WJC medal.

Gold (3): Tomas Plekanec, CZE, 2001; Benoit Pouliot, CAN, 2006; Carey Price, CAN, 2007

Silver (4): Paul Mara, USA, 1997; Andrei Markov, RUS, 1998; Mike Cammalleri, CAN, 2002; Josh Gorges, CAN, 2004

Bronze (2): Andrei Markov, RUS, 1997; Mike Cammalleri, CAN, 2001

In total, 14 players on the Habs roster, have played in 24 World Junior Championships tournaments. Sergei Kostitsyn and Paul Mara have each played in three tournaments.

 

 A Resolution for Tolerance: JT at the “The H Does Not Stand for Habs” has her New Year’s resolution, but may have a list of snags.

 

Lack of Support for Price: I brought this to attention, earlier in the season, on the lack of scoring support by the Canadiens for Carey Price.

Marc-Antoine Godin, of La Presse, divulges into it further, noting the Habs score and average of 3.24 goals-per-game with Jaroslav Halak in net as opposed to 2.19 with Price in goal.

 

 Desjardins honoured by AHL: Cedrick Desjardins, of the Hamilton Bulldogs, has been named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for December.

The goaltender went undefeated (8-0), posting three shutouts, a 1.16 GAA and .949 SvPct.

The 24-year-old prospect  is 14-5-1 in 21 games for Hamilton this season, ranking second in the AHL with a 1.66 goals-against average, third with a .932 save percentage and first with five shutouts.

Habs World has their weekly recap of the Hamilton Bulldogs here.

 

What the Habs are driving, and wearing: Nice piece at All Habs on a visit to team practice, and seeing what the players are driving.

I never saw Travis Moen (pictured) as the Hyundai type, especially as a rental. Hopefully he has snow tires on it. Scott Gomez, in a Mini Cooper, in the Montreal snow?

Habs vs. Nordiques Rivalry Continues: Veterans from the wars of the Battle of Quebec will have a chance to renew their rivalry in March.

The former players will meet in a pair of games, March 13 in Quebec City and March 14 in Montreal.

Tickets can be purchased at GEG.CA for the game at the Bell Centre, or at La Colisée Pepsi

 This Day in Habs History: On January 4, 1975 Guy Lafleur scores his 5th career hat trick and adds three assists as the Canadiens crush the Washington Capitals 10-0.

Lafleur would finish his breakout 1974-75 season with 53 goals, breaking the team record of 50 first set by Maurice Richard and later equaled by Bernie Geoffrion.

When Canada left the IIHF: With Team Canada’s Junior team ready top play for a 6th straight title , and the Olympics just weeks away, here’s a great piece by Joe Pelletier at Greatest Hockey Legends.

Joe looks back 40 years ago, when Team Canada walked away from the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Mr. Tretiak goes to Pittsburgh: The Pittsbugh Tribune caught up with former goaltending great Vladislav Tretiak at a recent Penguins game.