All Habs GameDay: Friday November 25, 2011
On this day in hockey history… 1930 – Philadelphia Quakers picked up their first NHL victory, 2-1 over Toronto. The Quakers finished their only NHL season (1930-31) with a record of 4-36-4.
GAMEDAY: Habs hockey tonight!
Wells-Fargo Center, 3:00 p.m. EST TV: RDS, TSN-HABS
Projected line combinations (will be updated following morning skate)
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Forwards
Mike Cammalleri – Tomas Plekanec – Brian Gionta
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Erik Cole
Travis Moen – Lars Eller – Aaron Palushaj
Mathieu Darche – Petteri Nokelainen – Frederic St. Denis
Defenseman
Josh Gorges – P.K. Subban
Alexei Emelin – Yannick Weber
Hal Gill – Raphael Diaz
Goaltenders
Carey Price (will start) – Peter Budaj
Scratches
Injuries
Scott Gomez – Andrei Kostitsyn – Jaroslav Spacek – Andreas Engqvist – Chris Campoli – Andrei Markov – Ryan White
Power-play
Pacioretty – Desharnais – Cole – Weber – Plekanec
Cammalleri – Gomez – Gionta – Subban – Diaz
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Forwards
Scott Hartnell – Claude Giroux –
Andreas Nodl – Danny Briere – Matt Read
Wayne Simmonds – Max Talbot – Jakub Voracek
Zac Rinaldo – Sean Couturier – Harry Zolnierczyk
Defensemen
Kimmo Timonen – Braydon Coburn
Andreas Lilja – Andrej Mezaros
Marc-Andre Bourdon – Matt Carle
Goaltenders
Ilya Bryzgalov – Sergei Bobrovsky (will start)
Scratches
Chris Pronger (virus) – Jody Shelley
Injuries
Joni Pitkanen – Erik Gustafsson (wrist) – Jaromir Jagr (lower-body) – Brayden Schenn (foot) – Blair Betts – James van Riemsdyk
GAMEDAY: All Habs Headlines
► Pearn stays on: General manager Pierre Gauthier announced that former Canadiens assistant coach Perry Pearn, has agreed to remain with the Habs as a pro scout.
► Movember gallery: Moustaches are in full bloom throughout the NHL (and the sports world) as athletes bring awareness and raise money for prostate cancer research. Click the link for a photo gallery titled “Movember sports figures” that includes Carey Price, Brian Gionta, Josh Gorges, Peterri Nokelainen, Raphael Diaz, Anthony Calvillo and Yvon Lambert.
► Fraser gives thumbs up to ‘Canes goal: On Wednesday night, Carolina’s Brett Sutter used his stick to sweep the puck back into play after it had landed on top of the Canadiens goal behind Carey Price. The disc made its way to Anthony Stewart who deposited it the Habs goal. Many felt that the goal should have been disallowed. Former NHL referee Kerry Fraser disagrees.
“Brett Sutter picked the puck cleanly off the top of the netting which was well below the height of his shoulders therefore no high-sticking of the puck resulted. The puck became eligible for Sutter or any of his teammates to play at this point.” — Kerry Fraser
Read more: How was Carolina’s goal allowed to count?
► Habs prospects update: Take the Canadiens injury woes and add general manager Pierre Gauthier‘s fondness for trading prospects for immediate help and the talent cupboard is rather bare in Hamilton. There are few legitimate prospects besides Alexander Avtsin, Brendon Nash, Joonas Nattinen and Louis Leblanc. But look beyond the Bulldogs to the CHL and the picture gets much rosier.
Darren Dietz, D Saskatoon Blades “The tough, physical defenseman has been playing big minutes in the shutdown role while playing on both the power play and penalty killings units. Dietz has already improved on last season’s offensive numbers and has shown a willingness to defend his teammates by dropping the gloves when it’s needed. He has produced solid numbers so far by scoring five goals (three on the power play) along with 10 assists and a team leading plus-19 while taking 45 PIMs ( three fighting majors and a misconduct) in 24 WHL games.” — Hockey’s Future
Read more: Montreal Canadiens possess numerous talented defensemen at the CHL level
► Habs 2010 draft class: Here’s another look at Canadiens prospects, specifically those picked in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The class is led by Jarred Tinordi, Brendan Gallagher and Morgan Ellis.
Morgan Ellis, D Cape Breton Screaming Eagles “Although the Screaming Eagles (QMJHL) aren’t a contender, they’re much better compared to last year and Ellis’ numbers are much better as a result. He currently sits 10th the league in points by a defenceman and although his plus/minus isn’t on the happy side of even, it’s much better than last year. Although it’s still a long shot, he at least has played well enough to be in the discussion for who to invite to camp for the upcoming Canadian World Junior team.” — HabsWorld
Read more: A closer look: 2010 draft class