Game Thread | Canadiens vs. San Jose | 03/03/08

[Habsfan84]

2007-08 Regular Season Record:



36-21-9 : 81 Points
(1st Place in the Eastern Conference)




36-21-8 : 80 Points
(5th Place in the Western Conference)









Projected goalies for this game are:



Canadiens


# 31 Carey Price
Wins: 15
Loses: 9
OTL: 3
GAA: 2.67
Save%: .914



Sharks


# 20 Evgeni Nabokov
Wins: 35
Loses: 20
OTL: 7
GAA: 2.17
Save%: .909














Canadiens Player Stats
Link


Sharks Player Stats
Link











(46)A.Kostitsyn - (14)Plekanec - (27)Kovalev
(21)Higgins - (11)Koivu - (74)S.Kostitsyn
(84)Latendresse - (54)Grabovski - (73)Ryder
(32)Streit - (20)Smolinski - (40)Lapierre




(79)Markov - (8)Komisarek
(3)O'Byrne - (44)Hamrlik
(51)Bouillon - (26)Gorges


(31)Price

[Habsfan84]

This game can be seen live at 10:30pm eastern on:
&








Listen to the game live at 10:30 pm on CJAD 800 AM

OR


Listen to the game live (In French) at 10:30 pm on CKAC 730 AM

[Habsfan84]

[Habsfan84]

[Habsfan84]

[Habsfan84]

Canadiens-Sharks Preview Mar 3, 2008, 10:30 PM EST TV Information

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National TV:
RDS (HD)

Local Home:
FSN-BA (HD)

The Montreal Canadiens open a four-game road trip knowing no team in their conference has more points than they do. The San Jose Sharks can't make the same claim, but they'll return from a lengthy trip feeling awfully good.

San Jose looks to extend its season-high winning streak to six games Monday when it faces Montreal in its first home game since Feb. 14.

The Sharks (36-21-8) dropped the first three contests of their eight-game trip, falling in succession to the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils. Once they left the New York City area, however, they didn't lose again, closing the trip on a 5-0 surge that was capped by Saturday's 2-0 win over St. Louis.

"We played pretty close to perfect," coach Ron Wilson told the team's official Web site. "Considering this is the last game of an eight-game road trip and having to play back-to-back nights, I thought we had a great effort."

The surprising part of the win over the Blues wasn't the strong defensive performance - the Sharks have allowed the second-fewest goals in the league with 155 - but rather, the goaltender who earned the shutout.

Brian Boucher, signed as a free agent Tuesday to back up Western Conference wins leader Evgeni Nabokov, stopped 24 shots to earn his first victory since March 3, 2007.

"Whatever I can do here, I'm thrilled to be back in the NHL," said Boucher, a first-round draft pick in 1995 who had four shutouts in the AHL this season. "If I can go in there and give Nabby some rest some nights and they have the confidence to do that, then great."

Nabokov had been in net for all of San Jose's wins this season, posting six shutouts and a 2.17 goals-against average that's among the top five in the league. He was 4-2-0 with a 1.87 GAA on the trip.

Offensively, the Sharks have struggled all season - Milan Michalek is the team's only 20-goal scorer - but they've gotten a boost lately from Joe Pavelski. The 23-year-old center has scored a goal in his last three games.

Scoring hasn't been much of a problem for Montreal (36-21-9), which is opening a four-game swing against Pacific Division opponents. The Canadiens are among the top three teams in the NHL with 3.11 goals per game.

They've been even better recently, scoring 13 goals in their last three games while allowing only four. Montreal, though, didn't need big production to get past New Jersey on Saturday, winning 2-1 to move into the top spot in the Eastern Conference before Sunday's action.

"It is a pleasant surprise for us and for a lot of people," center Saku Koivu said. "There were some question marks for this team because of the young players coming from the minors, but those guys have done an excellent job coming in here and wanting a big role, not being happy just to be in the lineup."

One of the most important young players is the goaltender Montreal will count on as it tries to secure home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. The Canadiens dealt former All-Star Cristobal Huet to Washington prior to the trade deadline, leaving 20-year-old rookie Carey Price as the team's No. 1 netminder.

The strong play of the fifth overall pick in 2005 made Montreal comfortable in trading Huet, and Price has embraced the opportunity, winning all three starts and posting a 1.33 GAA since Huet departed.

Forward Alexei Kovalev continues to produce offensively for Canadiens, with four goals and 10 assists in his last nine games to give him 29 goals and 39 assists on the season.

Exactly four years will have passed since Montreal's last game in San Jose, a 4-3 Sharks win on March 3, 2004.


http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=p...008&gameType=2

[Habsfan84]

Its going to be a late night tonight for me. I have to watch till one and then be up for 6:10 tomorrow morning.

[Baltek]

Wow! That's all I can say.

After being so good in the last 3 games, Price was completely crushed by San Jose. And what is it to say about the defense: totally worthless tonight!

I guess it's Halak vs Phoenix.

[Habsfan84]

Originally Posted by Baltek

Wow! That's all I can say.

After being so good in the last 3 games, Price was completely crushed by San Jose. And what is it to say about the defense: totally worthless tonight!

I guess it's Halak vs Phoenix.

Ya Price let in a few blunders but on the third goal by Sanhose he was interfered with.


I think the Habs should actually go back to Price to show that he can screw up a few times and we will still believe in him.

[Habsfan84]

Canadiens slowed in San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -Brian Campbell had been trying this particular spin move since he and Joe Thornton were kids growing up in Ontario. It never really worked until Monday night, when the Sharks' newest defenseman finished a win for his new fans with a tantalizing preview of coming attractions.
Thornton had two goals and two assists, and Campbell put one last flourish on an evening of sublime hockey skill with the final goal in San Jose's sixth straight victory, 6-4 over the Montreal Canadiens.

Campbell, acquired six days ago from Buffalo, left his teammates slack-jawed when he pinwheeled through the slot and fired San Jose's final score past Montreal goalie Carey Price with 1:39 to play. The Sharks expect big offensive numbers from Campbell, and the two-time All-Star clearly has the means to produce them.
"He told me he was going to pull that trick out," said Thornton, whose pass set up Campbell's goal. "He's been doing it since age 10, so that's no different. He's been like that since I've known him. ... There was just so much skill out there on the ice tonight. They obviously have so much skill on their team, and it was just two powerhouses going at it."
Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo also scored dazzling goals for the Sharks, who lost none of the momentum acquired on their eight-game road trip. Enforcer Jody Shelley scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period, and captain Patrick Marleau also scored as the Sharks added to their longest winning streak of the season.
Evgeni Nabokov made 27 saves in San Jose's first home game in 2 1/2 weeks. Both teams were playing their third games in four nights, yet the numerous skill players on both sides didn't seem weary - not with playoff positioning on the minds of both clubs.
"The crowd was loud, and it was almost a playoff atmosphere," said the soon-to-be free agent Campbell, who couldn't hear the chants of "Sign him! Sign him!" from the stands. "It's nice to score, but the win is really nice. We've got games in hand, so we've got to take advantage of those."
Tomas Plekanec scored two goals and Ryan O'Byrne got his first NHL goal for the Canadiens, whose three-game winning streak was snapped in the opener of a four-game West Coast road trip. Price made 33 saves.
Though the Sharks are among the NHL's best defensive teams, the clubs played a wide-open game featuring three ties before Shelley put the Sharks ahead 4-3 with his first goal of the season late in the second period. Cheechoo then scored early in the third before San Jose survived Maxim Lapierre's late goal and a Montreal power play.
"We did some really good things, and we did some really bad things," Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau said. "We're playing well, but we still have a young team that's learning to play on these occasions. ... In the papers, everyone was talking about our defense and our goaltender, and we saw the results tonight."
Sharks defenseman Craig Rivet had an early assist in his first game against the Canadiens, who traded Rivet to San Jose last spring for defenseman Josh Gorges, who started for Montreal.
The Sharks were uncharacteristically sloppy, taking a handful of foolish penalties to aid Montreal's vaunted power play. But it went 0-for-7, including its last attempt in the final four minutes.
"Both teams had an incredible amount of energy," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "It was kind of sloppy. There were mental mistakes by players on both teams, but people were opportunistic.
O'Byrne, a rookie defenseman called up in early December, got his first goal in 22 games with a long slap shot through traffic late in the first period. Thornton put the Sharks back ahead in the second period with a 4-on-3 power-play goal for the 27th multigoal game of the former MVP's career.
After Plekanec tied it again, Shelley scored his first goal since Feb. 25, 2007, when he rattled home a long shot from the blue line. Cheechoo then made a spectacular move before firing a quick shot over Price's shoulder, clinching his fourth straight 20-goal season.
Notes: Sharks C Jeremy Roenick missed the game with the flu. ... San Jose F Tomas Plihal picked up his first NHL assist on Shelley's goal. Plihal has played 16 games over two seasons. ... Moments before Thornton's power-play goal, he took a shot that bounced off Price - and the puck was left sitting on its edge squarely on the goal line before a Montreal defenseman cleared it.