All Habs Headlines: Friday October 28, 2011
On this day in hockey history… 1979 – Quebec Nordiques hosted the Montreal Canadiens for the first time at Le Colisee in Quebec City, and beat the visiting Montreal Canadiens, 5-4.
►Leblanc’s pro debut one for the ages: With assists on both of the Bulldogs’ goals by the end of two periods, it seemed legitimate to start calling Louis Leblanc‘s entry into the professional ranks a success. However, a different story almost emerged after the Rochester Americans tied the game in the third period and the game headed into overtime. But Leblanc proved to be the hero in this contest, scoring his first AHL goal on a feed from Andreas Engqvist to win the game for the Hamilton Bulldogs by a score of 3-2.
Read more: Leblanc, ‘Dogs down Amerks in OT
View video: Highlights – Oct. 27, 2011
► Head coaches-in-waiting: Darren Dreger at TSN has compiled a list of potential NHL coaches who would be the next in line if teams are looking to make a change. The list includes the usual cast of unemployed re-treads but also some promising NHL assistants and AHL head coaches. Former Canadiens assistant Kirk Muller, now with the Milwaukee Admirals, could be a prime candidate.
“Craig MacTavish and Kirk Muller are ranked high by a number of NHL teams, in part because both high profile coaches stepped into the AHL to hone their skills.” — Darren Dreger
Read more: Looking at 10 potential NHL coaches
► Bryzgalov tells all: Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov said that Wednesday night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens was one of his worst performance’s ever. And then came the game against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.
Check out his candid admission here: Bryzgalov offers apology
► Pearn speaks out: In a shocking move, Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier fired assistant coach Perry Pearn. The announcement was made only 90 minutes before a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. Pearn spoke to reporters today for the first time since the incident.
“Do I think it’s my fault the Montreal Canadiens had a bad start? I’ll take my share of the responsibility. Our power play wasn’t as good as it should be; our penalty-killing wasn’t as good as we wanted it to be. But to say I’m the only reason we had a bad start, no, I don’t accept that. And I’m sure that’s not the point of me being let go, is that it was all my fault. It was a way of sending a wake-up call to everybody that things had to change.” — Perry Pearn
Read more: Sportsnet talks to Perry Pearn
► P.K. Subban vs Brad Marchand: In the video above you can see P.K. Subban‘s reaction to his fight with Boston’s Brad Marchand. Carey Price chimes in with his post-fight analysis too.
If you missed the tilt you can find it here: P.K Subban vs Brad Marchand