All Habs GameDay: Thursday February 9, 2012
On this day in hockey history… 1995 – Philadelphia obtained John LeClair, Eric Desjardins, and Gilbert Dionne from Montreal, in exchange for Mark Recchi and Philadelphia’s 3rd round pick in the 1995 Entry Draft.
GAMEDAY: Habs hockey tonight!
MONTREAL CANADIENS (21-24-9) vs. NEW YORK ISLANDERS (22-22-8)
Last 10: Islanders 6-2-2; Montreal 5-4-1
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 7:00 p.m. EST
TV: RDS, MSG PLUS 2
Projected line combinations (updated following morning skate)
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Forwards
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Erik Cole
Travis Moen – Tomas Plekanec – Mathieu Darche
Rene Bourque – Scott Gomez – Andrei Kostitsyn
Aaron Palushaj – Lars Eller – Louis Leblanc
Defenseman
Josh Gorges – P.K. Subban
Hal Gill – Chris Campoli
Tomas Kaberle – Alexei Emelin
Goaltenders
Carey Price (will start) – Peter Budaj
Scratches
Raphael Diaz
Injuries
Mike Blunden – Andrei Markov – Brian Gionta – Petteri Nokelainen – Yannick Weber
Power-play
Pacioretty – Desharnais – Cole – Kaberle – Subban
Bourque – Plekanec – Gomez – Diaz – Weber
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Forwards
Matt Moulson – John Tavares – Kyle Okposo
Michael Grabner – Frans Nielsen – P.A. Parenteau
Matt Martin – Josh Bailey – Rhett Rhakhshani
Tim Wallace – Jay Pandolfo – Nino Niederreiter
Defensemen
Mark Streit – Steve Staios
Dylan Reese – Andrew MacDonald
Mark Eaton – Aaron Ness
Goaltenders
Evgeni Nabokov (will start) – Al Montoya
Scratches
Injuries
Milan Jurcina – Mark Katic – Marty Reasoner – Rick DiPietro – Mike Mottau – Travis Harmonic
GAMEDAY: All Habs Headlines
► Sick bay: Yannick Weber is the most recent addition to the Canadiens injury list. Weber left the game on Tuesday night after a hip check by Pittsburgh’s Chris Kunitz — on his way to the dressing room, he wasn’t able to puck weight on his leg. Weber did not travel with the team to Long Island.
Aaron Palushaj was called up from Hamilton to fill the void.
Mike Blunden underwent arthoscopic knee surgery on Wednesday morning. He is expected to be out of the Canadiens lineup four to six weeks.
Defenseman Andrei Markov skated for 40 minutes on his own. There is no announced timetable for his return.
Travis Moen was not at practise on Wednesday morning, but it had nothing to do with an injury. He was assisting his wife with the birth of their second child, a baby daughter. Congratulations Travis and family!
► Playoff bound? With a win by Buffalo over Boston on Wednesday night, your Canadiens find themselves 26th overall in the league. They are also 10 points behind Ottawa for the last playoff spot in the Eastern conference. Can the Habs beat the NHL odds? According to Sports Club Stats, the chances of Montreal appearing in the post-season are now 8.2 per cent.
► More readers like All Habs: Traffic to All Habs Hockey Magazine set an all-time record in January 2012. Apparently you like us — well, we like you too. Compared to the same month one year ago, page views are up 248%. Wow!
Yes, we’re different from the rest. We’re publishing what you want to read — our talented writers present a variety of perspectives, and we post original content in four different languages. We also do a reasonably good job of connecting with you, hence our dominant position in social media.
So we want to send a big thank you to you our loyal readers. And can we ask one favour? Wake the kids, call your friends, and tell your neighbours — please spread the word about AllHabs.net
► Price comments on win: Carey Price was awarded star for his 32- save performance in the Canadiens shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Price also earned praise from coach Randy Cunneyworth, “Saves that Carey made [in the shootout] were not easy saves. He had to battle for every one.”
Price complimented Habs shooters saying, “The guys pulled out a few moves that we’ve been working on in practise for awhile now. And they worked!” He had this to say about Evgeni Malkin’s shootout move, “I didn’t really get to see it as all I saw was black pants. He stuck his butt in my face.”
► RSVP today to join us for Hockey Day in Canada: All Habs Hockey Magazine has scheduled two parties on February 11th to bring together hockey fans in Toronto and Montreal.
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 us at St Louis Bar and Grill on Bay St. RSVP here for the Toronto event!
► New at All Habs Hockey Magazine:
Allure of Draft-Eligible Prosepcts Eases Habs Fans’ Pain
When NHL Fans (and Media) Cross the Line
Habs’ Heart and Soul — Is It Enough?
Guest Post: On the Ice, Language Does not Matter
Catching for Torch: Beaulieu Reigns
► Puck’s take: Need to know who will win tonight? You can find his prediction here (check back later in the day.) His record is an impressive 15-7-3.
(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)