All Habs Headlines: Wednesday April 29, 2015 |
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On this day in hockey history… 1997 – Craig MacTavish, the final player to appear in the NHL without wearing a helmet, announced his retirement after 15 seasons in the league. |
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► Montreal Canadiens: April 29
- The Canadiens returned to practice at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard on Wednesday morning to prepare for the first game of Round 2 on Friday. The team had enjoyed a two-day break after closing out their first round series against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.
- In his press conference prior to Round 2, GM Marc Bergevin announced that Nathan Beaulieu will miss at least the first four games of the second round with an upper-body injury widely believed to be a concussion.
- Bergevin on facing Tampa or Detroit, “I liked the character of our team against Ottawa. They were the hottest team in the League coming into the playoffs.”
- Responding to a question Marc Bergevin said that Nikita Scherbak will not be joining the Black Aces squad.
- On Greg Pateryn, Bergevin said, “I’ve always believed in Pateryn. He plays a hard game and he’s always earning his place on the ice. He’s done exceptional work.”
- Andrei Markov (via John Lu): “I know I have to be better… There’s no question I have to be better and I’ll try to be better next series.”
- Red Wings coach Mike Babcock on getting to the second round: “There’s a deli called Schwartz in Montreal, I’m dying to have a sandwich from.”
- Missed Sunday night’s game? Check out our game report which includes the game summary, video highlights, 3-stars and post-game quotes: Game 6 Recap – Canadiens vs Senators: Price Carries Habs to Round 2
► Lines and defense pairings at practice
Pacioretty – Plekanec – Gallagher
Galchenyuk – Desharnais – Weise
Prust – Eller – Parenteau
De la Rose – Mitchell -Smith-Pelly
Flynn – Malhotra
Markov – Subban
Emelin – Petry
Pateryn – Gilbert
Weaver
► Panarin going elsewhere
- The Canadiens were one of five teams to make a strong pitch to KHL free-agent Artemi Panarin to join them following a season where he led his champion SKA Saint Peterburg in scoring. Panarin, a highly-skilled 23-year-old left winger, is expected to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks according to Elliotte Friedman.
► Defending the middle
- In talking about the Senators – Canadiens series with a NHL’er, Elliotte Friedman reports that the key to defeating Montreal is to “drive the middle and push the defence back” creating an opportunity to cash in on one of the few rebounds allowed by Carey Price. That strategy might explain why the Tampa Bay Lightning had so much regular season success against the Habs.
► Mellanby to Vegas?
- Billionaire William Foley is moving forward with his plan to bring an NHL team to Las Vegas. Foley is well-connected with Wayne Gretzky counted among his friends. According to Elliotte Friedman, former NHL’er Murray Craven is on the Foley team.
- With Canadiens assistant GM Scott Mellanby rumoured to be on the move, Friedman speculates that it wouldn’t be surprising to see Mellanby reunited with his former teammate, Craven, in Las Vegas.
In Case You Missed It…
► Nominated for Vezina
- Carey Price put up a record season. It came as no surprise that he was nominated for this year’s Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender.
- He led the league in wins with 44, goals-against average with 1.96, and save percentage with .933.
- He also passed Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante with the most wins in a single season.
- Price is nominated beside Wild’s, Devan Dubnyk, and Predators’, Pekka Rinne.
► Nominated for Norris
- P.K. Subban seems to always be in the spotlight and this season is no exception. His hard, accurate cross-ice passes; blazing shots from the point; and every maturing game play, has earned him a nomination for this year’s Norris Trophy. This trophy is awarded annually to the “defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”
- Subban put up big minutes for his team and suited up for all 82 games this season. He also put up a +21 plus/minus differential.
- Subban is up against, Erik Karlsson, of the Ottawa Senators, and Drew Doughty of the L.A. Kings. Full break down here.
► A look back to round one
- The Canadiens took a three-to-zero series lead over the Senators, but Ottawa didn’t go out without a fight- taking it to game six.
- P.K. Subban spoke to the media following the Canadiens’ game six win, “I like the fact that we had to come in here and win the series. If we’re going to get to the Stanley Cup Finals, we’re going to have to go into tougher buildings and tougher situations and find ways to win. One thing I learned last year was I felt we got so emotionally hyped up in that Boston series that I think it’s important for us to control that and gauge how much energy we use. I’m happy we won the series, but this is not our end goal. This is one step,” he stressed. “It’s a step in the right direction, and now we’re going to get prepared for the next step.”
- One stat you should know from each Canadiens first round game.
► Price pranked
- After the Habs’ game six win over the Senators, their star, Carey Price, was pranked in the locker room.
- The team decided to give him the silent treatment after his big shutout. His reaction was gold.
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