All Habs GameDay: Saturday February 4, 2012
GAMEDAY: Habs hockey tonight!
WASHINGTON CAPITALS (26-20-4) vs. 
MONTREAL CANADIENS (19-23-9)
Last 10: Washington 5-3-2; Montreal 3-5-2
Bell Centre, 2:00 p.m. EST
TV: RDS, CBC, CSN-MA
Projected line combinations (updated following morning skate)
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Forwards
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Erik Cole
Aaron Palushaj – Lars Eller – Mathieu Darche
Rene Bourque – Tomas Plekanec – Scott Gomez
Yannick Weber – Louis Leblanc – Andrei Kostitsyn
Defenseman
Josh Gorges – P.K. Subban
Hal Gill – Raphael Diaz
Tomas Kaberle – Alexei Emelin
Goaltenders
Carey Price – Peter Budaj (confirmed)
Scratches
Chris Campoli
Injuries
Mike Blunden – Andrei Markov – Brian Gionta – Travis Moen – Petteri Nokelainen – Ryan White
Power-play
Pacioretty – Desharnais – Cole – Kaberle – Subban
Bourque – Plekanec – Gomez – Diaz – Weber
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin – Marcus Johansson – Alexander Semin
Matt Hendricks – Brooks Laich – Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera – Mathieu Perreault – Mike Knuble
Keith Aucoin – Jeff Halpern – Joel Ward
Defensemen
Karl Alzner – John Carlson
Jeff Schultz – Dennis Wideman
Roman Hamrlik – Dmitry Orlov
Goaltenders
Tomas Vokoun (will start) – Johan Hedberg
Scratches
Injuries
Nicklas Backstrom – Tom Poti – Mike Green
GAMEDAY: All Habs Headlines
► Weekend roster changes: Aaron Palushaj was called up from Hamilton with Mike Blunden ailing after a hit from behind by New Jersey’s Patrik Elias on Thursday night. Elias was fined $2,500 by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. Paulshaj will likely get his chance on Saturday afternoon against the Washington Capitals unless Ryan White is ready to go.
Palushaj joins Andreas Engqvist, Carey Price, Peter Budaj and Scott Gomez as the only players on the current roster who have not scored a goal this season.
Travis Moen has been put on the Canadiens’ injured reserve list.
Peter Budaj will get the start in goal against Washington with Carey Price returning to the crease on Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets.
The Canadiens had a regularly-scheduled visit from sports psychologist David Scott on Friday before practise.
► Cunneyworth targets refs: There was no question in coach Randy Cunneyworth’s mind who was responsible for the Canadiens loss to New Jersey on Thursday night. “What the difference was, was the penalties. It’s hard to fight a good team and battle when you’re down for as much time as we were,” said Cunneyworth.
“It’s tough enough playing a team straight up, but when you don’t get the calls, and especially on the [goal] that made the difference, Cole was obviously hooked and could not battle to get the puck out of the zone there. He was held up by Kovalchuk and that’s a little bit beyond comprehension for me.” — Randy Cunneyworth
► A story about ghosts and deja vu: They say that the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. There’s a story from 2002 about a general manager who, under his watch, saw his team miss the playoffs, attendance drop, and was missing a number one scoring star. The GM in the article had just been fired. His name was Pierre Gauthier — the team was the Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks.
“Gauthier made absolutely no impact on Orange County hockey fans in his four-year tenure. He was not part of the community in any noticeable way. He was anonymous. He tended to make statements that weren’t true, in the sense that soon after he’d said something wouldn’t happen, it happened.” — Diane Pucin, Los Angeles Times
Read more: We hardly got to know Gauthier
► Get to a Hockey Party! Hockey Day in Canada is Saturday February 11th. All Habs Hockey Magazine has scheduled two parties in Toronto and Montreal to help celebrate the day.
In Montreal, hockey fans who RSVP via the All Habs link will be given VIP access — prime seating and a reduced-price menu — to McLean’s Pub on Peel Street. Join the All Habs crew to watch the Canadiens take on the Maple Leafs. For the same game, Habs fans in Toronto (and some Leafs fans too) will be joining All Habs hosts Michael and Dayes at St Louis Bar and Grill on Bay St. RSVP here for the Toronto event!
You’ll have great food and drink, a lot of laughs, and a whole lot of fun as you meet new friends and cheer your team to victory. Test your team knowledge during the All Habs Trivia Challenge for a chance to win prizes, too!
► New at All Habs Hockey Magazine:
Video: P.K. Subban Hit on Adam Larsson
Habs Season: Beginning of the End
Her First Habs Game: It’s All About Subban
Catching the Torch: Kristo Delivers
► Puck’s take: Need to know who will win tonight? @PucktheBunny has his prediction here. His record is an impressive 15-5-3.
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)
