All Habs GameDay: Friday March 16, 2012
On this day in hockey history… 1961 – Montreal’s Bernie Geoffrion became the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season, in a 5-2 win over Toronto. His 50 goals tied a mark set in 1945 by Maurice Richard.
GAMEDAY: Habs hockey tonight!
MONTREAL CANADIENS (28-32-11) vs. OTTAWA SENATORS (36-25-10)
Last 10: Ottawa 5-3-2 ; Montreal 4-5-1
Scotiabank Place, 7:00 p.m. EST
TV: RDS, CBC
Projected line combinations (updated following morning skate)
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Forwards
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Erik Cole
Rene Bourque – Tomas Plekanec – Ryan White
Mike Blunden – Lars Eller – Louis Leblanc
Brad Staubitz – Petteri Nokelainen – Blake Geoffrion
Defenseman
Josh Gorges – P.K. Subban
Alexei Emelin – Yannick Weber
Frederick St-Denis – Chris Campoli
Goaltenders
Carey Price (confirmed) – Peter Budaj
Scratches
Aaron Palushaj
Injuries
Brian Gionta (biceps) – Travis Moen (upper body) – Mathieu Darche (dizziness/upper body) – Raphael Diaz (lower body) – Scott Gomez (concussion) – Andrei Markov (upper body) – Tomas Kaberle (upper body)
Power-play
Pacioretty – Plekanec – Cole – Markov – Subban
Bourque – Eller – Geoffrion – Weber – Campoli
OTTAWA SENATORS
Forwards
Colin Grenning – Jason Spezza – Milan Michalek
Rob Klinkhammer – Kyle Turris – Daniel Alfredsson
Nick Foligno – Jim O’Brien – Chris Neil
Bobby Butler – Zack Smith – Erik Condra
Defensemen
Filip Kuba – Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen – Sergei Gonchar
Chris Phillips – Matt Gilroy
Goaltenders
Ben Bishop (confirmed) – Alex Auld
Scratches
Injuries
Peter Regin (shoulder surgery) – Jesse Winchester (concussion) – Craig Anderson (finger laceration)
GAMEDAY: All Habs Headlines
► Fraser on high-five: On Wednesday night following his 27th goal of the season, Erik Cole high-fived referee Greg Kimmerly. When asked about the impromptu celebration, Cole said, ” He was the only guy there to celebrate with. His hand was up so I slapped it.”
The moment was even amusing for teammates. When asked to comment Carey Price said, “Classic! It was awesome — highlight of my year.”
But what was the reaction from the officiating fraternity?
“I loved the spontaneity of Erik Cole’s high-five celebration with Referee Greg Kimmerly last night even if others didn’t. Erik Cole exhibited for the hockey world that the game can still be played by “big kids.” In doing so he tapped into our emotions, lightened our hearts and perhaps restored in us the youthful enthusiasm that first caused us to fall in love with this great game.” — former NHL referee Kerry Fraser
Read more: Fraser: The Cole – Kimmerly High-five was all in Good Fun
► New at All Habs Hockey Magazine:
Grigorenko et Roy : Deux choix logiques?
NHL Rulebook, Discipline Creates Headaches for All
Koivu: Et si on reparlait dans 10 ans
Pride and Jubliation: A Story of Habs Heart
NHL Entry Draft: A Game of Russian Roulette
► Puck’s take: Need to know who will win tonight? You can find Puck the Bunny’s prediction here. (check back later) His record is an impressive 20-10-6.
(Feature photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)
