Habster:

Below are some of my famous rambling, random thoughts from the past week of hockey……if only my english teachers from my many years of education could read some of my run on sentences:

• Now, let’s hope Guy Carbonneau’s little motivational chat with Maxim Lapierre will continue to pay dividends for the rest of the season. Lapierre arguably had his best game in a Habs’ uniform against the Bruins and heeded Carbo’s advice to bring his level of play to another height. Carbonneau told the media that he wanted Maxim to play a more solid two way game without running around aimlessly after the puck.

“I need him to be more than a guy who runs around after the puck,” Carbonneau said. “If he wants to be successful in this league, he has to learn to play with the puck at a lower pace than 160 mph. I told him to relax a little bit.”

• Mr. Lapierre did exactly what was expect of him by Carbo and had a solid game: winning 7 of 13 faceoffs, scoring a shorthanded goal, two hits plus numerous quality scoring chances as a result of his constant hustle. If Lapierre can continue playing with more purpose and understanding a more defined role, then he won’t have to continue looking over his shoulder.

• According to Pierre McGuire, Canadiens owner George Gillett asked to look at TSN footage of the defective section of the end board which caused the puck to deflect in front of the net where Marc Savard was able to bury it behind a scrambling Carey Price for the tying goal. According to McGuire, Gillett was going to go onto the ice after the game and repair the boards himself so there wouldn’t be any further deflections. Guy Carbonneau was certainly going to make sure the boards were fixed before the Coyotes game: “There were two or three bad bounces like that,” Carbonneau told the Gazette. “They had the Disney show in here and I guess the boards weren’t put back properly. I’ll make sure they’re right tomorrow.” Here’s to that!!!

• Unlike my fellow All Habs writer (insert Rocket here!!), I think Guy Carbonneau and the coaching staff are doing a good job with the team (there’s still a long season ahead of us though!) but with that being said, I think coach’s hunches are alright to follow when it comes to ice time, not necessarily in a shootout situations where skill set is even more of a factor. Carbo decided to use Andrei Markov as his first shooter and he has done well in shootouts but with players like the Kostitsyns, Kovalev, Plekanec, Koivu (injured or not) and even Lang on the bench with the game on the line, I’m just glad Carey Price came through, otherwise my good friend Rocket would be flying in the sky with further contempt for Carbo…..LOL!!!

• Alex Tanguay says he is still trying to fit in with his new teammates and feel more comfortable with his on ice decisions: “It feels good,” said Tanguay, “You know, I’m still nervous, still trying to find my way with the team, trying to get my momentum and trying to get in the groove.” Needless to say, there will always be an adjustment period when a player gets traded to a new team but I can’t imagine how much better Tanguay will get as the season continues. He has looked fairly comfortable to my unprofessional eyes with 4 points in 4 games and a solid +3 rating. He is starting to get his legs back and displaying his trademark speed and great passing skills. He has also looked great playing the point on the powerplay where he is in constant motion on the ice, looking for an open teammate with his pinpoint passes. Things can only get better as the season progresses.

• I have heard some people (my father-in-law and mother being a couple of them) talk about how Carey Price should stay in his net especially in the last five minutes of a game. I beg to differ with them as Price is very talented at handling the puck and helping his defense clear the puck or head manning it for odd man rushes. In other words, his wandering ways are more of an advantage than a disadvantage as far as I’m concerned. It’s not like we’re dealing with a Patrick Roy (one of his few weaknesses) or a Cristobal Huet who would cause heart attacks and fits of rage when they wandered out of their creases…….keep wander Carey boy, Mr. Gillett will be putting his tool belt on and smoothing out that crazy, wavy end board!!!

• Down on the farm: If the first two games are any indication, the Hamilton Bulldogs should have a strong team heading into the 2008-09 season. The Bulldogs won both games they played in Winnipeg against the Manitoba Moose (Canucks AHL farm team) with the veterans (Yanick Lehoux, Mike Glumac and Greg Stewart) leading the way in the 3-1 win in their season opening game. The second game was more of a rookie affair with three AHL rookies (Weber, Maxwell and White) scoring their first professional goals while Max Pacioretty got his first AHL point with an assist in 5-3 win. The Bulldogs were outshot in the two game series by a 68-44 margin but got strong goaltending from veteran Marc Denis who had a solid weekend’s work. According to head coach Don Lever, the team’s rookie are getting the job done in the very early stages of the season:

“There were a lot of things I liked. Yannick Weber was great on the back end and David Desharnais has played well, too. I especially like seeing guys succeed in roles they might not be used to,” said Lever. “I experimented with Ben Maxwell on the point during the power-play, which seemed to work really well. He’s also been clicking with Greg Stewart and Ryan Russell to form a really solid checking line for us.”

• I think the Colorado Avalanche will be calling the Quebec Remparts to get permission to talk Patrick Roy out of retirement as their goaltending has been downright terrible. Peter Budaj has started all three games thus far and has allowed 13 goals for a 4.38 GAA. He was dreadful in his last start against the Calgary Flames. With Andrew Raycroft as Budaj’s backup, there is no “relief pitcher” in the bullpen to fall back on when things get rough. I guess in hindsight, Jose Theodore’s contract demands weren’t so bad after all.

• Blackhawks, Bowman have other plans: You have to feel for former Blackhawks head coach, Denis Savard who was fired today by team management and replaced by Joel Quenneville. The Savard’s dismissal seems to be a bit excessive after only four games but the writing may have already been on the wall with the hiring of Quenneville as a scout. The sad part about the entire situation is that Savard is an extremely popular figure who had his very young team playing good hockey in the second half of last season. Hopes were high for the 2008-09 season with the big UFA additions of Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet plus the maturation of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith. Scott Bowman was hired in the off-season and his good friend/former assistant coach Pierre McGuire recently stated that there were some concerns where the team was headed as far as the coaching was concerned (McGuire wouldn’t give any further details regarding the situation). Huet’s play is also a cause for concern within the organization and probably one of the reasons why the ‘Hawks haven’t dealt Nikolai Khabibulin away yet (plus his huge contract is a big factor!!). In the end, I still think the Balckhawks will be contending for a playoff spot by the end of the season, whether they get there will depend on how well the team copes with the current changes being implemented by team management.