When I first started thinking about this post Wednesday morning, I intended to focus it on the goaltending "controversy" unfolding in Montreal. After all, Carey Price, the No. 5 overall pick in 2005 and next in line for the throne that is the Montreal Canadiens' goaltending position, was getting ready to start his fifth straight game on the bench behind Jaroslav Halak, a ninth-round pick in the 2003 draft.
I decided, however, to go in a different direction and instead focus on Price himself, and whether or not it's time to panic and cast doubt as to whether or not he's really the goaltender of the future in Montreal.
After serving as the Florida Panthers general manager for the past four seasons (and head coach for three of those seasons) Jacques Martin will be named the new head coach of the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. During his four-year stint in charge of the Panthers, the team failed to make the playoffs each season, while he brings 14 years of head coaching experience to the Canadiens.
After a brief two-year tenure with the St. Louis Blues in the late 1980s, Martin took over the Ottawa Senators in 1995, leading the team to the playoffs eight times in nine years, while also winning three division titles and the Jack Adams award as coach of the year in 1999.
During last night's game against the Bruins, Canadiens fans really let Carey Price, their starting netminder, hear their displeasure with him. Chants of "Carey! Carey!" rained down towards the end of the third and at one point, there was a lot of sarcastic applause for a save he made (video above). Price reacted to that by saluting the fans and, as the announcer on TSN points out, Price's reaction looked awfully similar to one from Patrick Roy in his final game as a Canadien.
Let's just come right out and say it: the Canadiens are in trouble. The Boston Bruins systematically dismantled Montreal on Saturday night, putting on a clinic in their 5-1 win at TD Banknorth Garden to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
Marc Savard led the way with two goals and two assists, helping the Bruins chase Carey Price after two periods as the 21-year-old netminder surrendered five goals, including one to Michael Ryder with just under three seconds to play in the second period.
Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.
Blue Jackets 2, Predators 1:Raffi Torres may only have 12 goals this season, but he sure has a knack for getting them when they count. His goal at the 4:05 mark of the third period in Columbus' 2-1 win over Nashville was his sixth game-winner of the season, helping get the Blue Jackets back in the win column after dropping three of their past four games. Steve Mason turned aside 21-of-22 shots in net to earn his 32nd win of the season.
On Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens continued their season of disappointment by getting crushed by Toronto, 5-2, on home ice. The recent struggles have left more than a few fans, like the fine folks over at Four Habs Fans, slightly perturbed.
Entering Monday night's action, Montreal could wake up on Tuesday morning on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture if Florida can knock off Carolina. So, where has it all gone wrong for the Canadiens in what was supposed to be a season of glorious centennial celebration?
Senators 5, Canadiens 4: It could be argued that Montreal has already hit the panic button by firing Guy Carbonneau, but if there's another one hidden in the bowels of the Bell Centre, it might be time to press that one, as well.
Thanks to their 5-4 loss to Ottawa on Thursday, the Canadiens have now lost four in a row and six of their past eight, as they continue to flirt with the possibility of missing the postseason.
The Montreal Canadiens entered 2008-09 as a serious Stanley Cup contender in what was supposed to be a glorious centennial celebration. Instead, the season has been derailed by scandal off the ice and disappointing results on it, and the man that's going to take the fall for it all is head coach Guy Carbonneau. The 38-year-old Carbonneau was fired on Monday afternoon, and will be replaced by general manager Bob Gainey.
A couple of weeks ago, TSN hockey analyst Gord Miller came to the conclusion that in order for the Pittsburgh Penguins to remain competitive in the NHL, they would have to deal the league's leading scorer, Evgeni Malkin, for a first-line winger, a No. 2 center, and "hopefully" a pick or a prospect. It was a laughable proposal.
On Sunday night, Rob Rossi, Penguins beat writer for the Tribune-Review, appeared on a weekly Pittsburgh talk show and suggested the team would be wise to put Sidney Crosby on the trade block this offseason. I guess this is what happens when you go from being two wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup to being the No. 10 team in the Eastern Conference in a matter of one season.
In the first period of Wednesday's Montreal-Washington game,Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 42nd goal of the season, and in the process added to his lengthy career highlight reel.
When I first started thinking about this post Wednesday morning, I intended to focus it on the goaltending "controversy" unfolding in Montreal. After all, Carey Price, the No. 5 overall pick in 2005 and next in line for the throne that is the Montreal Canadiens' goaltending position, was getting ready to start his fifth straight game on the bench behind Jaroslav Halak, a ninth-round pick in the 2003 draft. 
After serving as the Florida Panthers general manager for the past four seasons (and head coach for three of those seasons) 
A couple of weeks ago, TSN hockey analyst Gord Miller 
