Thursday night at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens will have their Season Opener, Redux. At least it feels that way after a quirky schedule which gave the Habs a break since their last contest on Saturday night. Two days of rest and two days of practise for the team is how coach Jacques Martin filled the gap.
To no one’s surprise the Canadiens anemic power-play got a fair share of the attention in practise. The first wave will remain the same with Tomas Plekanec’s line as the forwards. P.K. Subban will continue to man the point but will be joined by Roman Hamrlik in place of Jaroslav Spacek.
There was also the troublesome problem of finding someone to play with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta. So far Martin has tried Travis Moen, Mathieu Darche and Benoit Pouliot. The coach continues to have blinders when it comes Lars Eller, the player with ideal skill set to join the second line duo.
Eller is the leading choice of readers for the vacant spot in the All Habs Poll of the Week.
Tom Pyatt, another fourth line plugger will line up withe Gomez and Gionta against the Devils.
It will be Carey Price vs Martin Brodeur in the nets.
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As the NHL continues to struggle to define a social media policy in conjunction with its franchises, it has decided clamp down on the group it most closely controls, the officials. NHL referees and linesmen informed their friends on Facebook this week that they would be discontinuing their pages as mandated by the league.
The Score reports that many officials pages contained the words “legally no longer allowed [to use Facebook]” when making the announcement.
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If you took a vacation yourself from hockey while the Habs were off, there are numerous new articles waiting for you at All Habs Hockey Magazine. This is original content from our team of outstanding writers that you won’t find anywhere else. Here’s a sample:
Habs Week at a Glance: Devils and Senators
Weekly game previews by Steve
Habs’ Prospects to Play in 2010 SUBWAY® Super Series
Super Series preview and Team QMJHL roster by Kathy
What’s in Jacques Martin’s Notebook?
A sneak peek behind the bench by Erica
Better Late than Never: ‘Dogs Begin 15th Season
Hamilton Bulldogs season is underway by Kathy
The continuing hit series by Mike
Did the Islanders Marketing Team Go too Far?
Habs fans targeted on Isles website by Rick