NEW YORK – Dustin Tokarski has made a career of coming up clutch in big games. The NHL Playoffs have given him a chance to rise to yet another occasion. When Carey Price went down with a series-ending injury in Game 1 against the Rangers, Tokarski was watching the play from the comfort of the Bell Centre pressbox. Two days later, he was handed the keys to the Canadiens’ crease as the team’s newly-minted...
Eastern Conference Finals: Game 3 Rangers lead 2-0 On Thursday night, the Habs will look to close the gap against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Monday night at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens’ forwards threatened early and often, but were thwarted by Henrik Lundqvist, who only allowed one goal on 41 shots against. After Max Pacioretty scored midway in the first period, Ryan McDonaugh, Rick Nash...
BROSSARD – In today’s notebook, Max Pacioretty dishes on the art of beating Henrik Lundqvist and the postseason grind, and Michel Therrien makes some moves up front. Dethroning King Henrik: It’s safe to say Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist was the difference-maker in Game 2 on Monday night at the Bell Centre. The 32-year-old netminder turned aside 40 shots to register his league-leading 10th victory...
1. It’s Possible: Coming back from a 2-0 deficit in a playoff series is a difficult task, but it’s certainly not imposibble. Since 1943, when best-of-seven series were integrated into NHL play, the Canadiens hold a 5-16 record under similar circumstances. On three of five of these occasions when they won the series, the Canadiens ultimately went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1966, 1971 and 1993. Talk...
Montreal – With the series headed to Wall Street, the Canadiens are a great buy-low candidate. Outscored 10-3 in the first 120 minutes of the series by the New York Rangers, it could be said that the Canadiens have fallen on hard times. Then again, there are also several signs pointing to a Habs revival in the Big Apple. “I like the engagement level of our team in Game 2,” offered head coach Michel...
MONTREAL - Here's a numerical look at Game 2 between the Habs and the Rangers on Monday night at the Bell Centre. 1 – Career NHL playoff starts for Dustin Tokarski. Make no mistake about it, the 25 year-old is a proven clutch performer, having won league titles in Midget AAA, the WHL, the AHL, plus a gold medal as a member of Team Canada’s World Junior Championships squad. 0.944 – In Tokarski’s last...
MONTREAL – There’s one important thing that P.K. Subban wants you to know: We’re still in this. The big story before puck drop was the identity of the Canadiens’ starting netminder. With Carey Price out for the series with a lower-body injury, rookie Dustin Tokarski was called upon to make his first career NHL playoff start. While short in experience in the League’s springtime dance, the Humboldt,...
Eastern Conference Finals: Game 2 Rangers lead 1-0 On Monday night, the Habs will try to even the score against the Rangers at the Bell Centre. Playing in their first Conference Finals game in four years, the Canadiens were blitzed by a speedy New York squad on Saturday afternoon. The visitors scored in quick bursts early in the first period, with Martin St-Louis and Mats Zuccarello beating Carey Price...
BROSSARD – Instead of worrying about why they’re down 0-1 in the Eastern Conference finals against the Rangers, the Habs are focused on how they’re going to make it 1-1 on Monday night. After coming out flat following an emotional Game 7 win over the Bruins to suffer a 7-2 loss in Game 1 of the Conference finals on home ice, the Canadiens held a spirited optional practice on Sunday morning with an...
1. Gretzky 101: The Great One once said that you miss 100 percent of the shots you never take. He was right. In 2013-14, the Canadiens posted a 5-10-1 record, including Saturday’s loss in Game 1, when they fired 22 shots or less on the opposing goaltender. When the Canadiens register 35 shots or more, however, the numbers suggest success is imminent. The Habs have a 12-2-1 record when they run up the...
MONTREAL - Here's a numerical look at Game 1 between the Habs and the Rangers on Saturday afternoon at the Bell Centre. 15 – Number of times the Rangers and Canadiens have met in the postseason in NHL history, including the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals that got underway on Saturday afternoon at the Bell Centre. The two teams have split their playoff matchups, with each club boasting seven postseason...
MONTREAL – One game does not a best-of-seven playoff series make. That was the consensus inside the Candiens’ locker room after Michel Therrien’s troops were downed 7-2 by the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the Bell Centre. Following a lackluster effort on home turf, Rene Bourque didn’t mince words when it came to explaining why the Habs were manhandled...
Eastern Conference Finals: Game 1 Canadiens vs. Rangers On Saturday afternoon, two battle-hardened teams will go head-to-head at the Bell Centre. The New York Rangers faced elimination, down three games to one against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but stormed back to win the series in seven on Tuesday. Henrik Lundqvist was nearly perfect in Game 7, making 35 saves on 36 shots. Brian Boyle opened the scoring...
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL SERIES M - A3 vs. M2 TIME (ET) vs. NETWORKS Saturday, May 17 1 p.m. NY Rangers at Montreal NBC, CBC, RDS Monday, May 19 8 p.m. NY Rangers at Montreal NBCSN, CBC, RDS Thursday, May 22 8 p.m. Montreal at NY Rangers NBCSN, CBC, RDS Sunday, May 25 8 p.m. Montreal at NY Rangers NBC, CBC, RDS *Tuesday, May 27 8 p.m. NY Rangers at Montreal NBCSN, CBC, RDS *Thursday, May 29 8 p.m....
MONTREAL – In a few days, Michael McCarron will attempt to end his first Major Junior campaign in style at the Memorial Cup. The 96th edition of the CHL end-of-season extravaganza will kick off at the Budweiser Gardens on Friday night. This year’s tournament will feature the Val-d’Or Foreurs of the QMJHL, the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL, the Guelph Storm of the OHL and the host club London Knights,...
BROSSARD – Michel Therrien can count on some insider information as he prepares his troops for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon at the Bell Centre. Two of Therrien’s regulars – Brandon Prust and Dale Weise – each suited up for the Blueshirts over the course of their respective NHL careers, and they know first-hand what the celebrated Original...
1. Face off: While the second round featured the blockbuster goaltender matchup of Carey Price versus Tuukka Rask, the third round will offer a similar duel. Henrik Lundqvist (2.36 GAA, 0.920 save percentage) and Price (2.32 GAA, 0.927 save percentage) have both been extremely stingy in the 2013-14 regular season. Though Price was better in the regular season, Lundqvist has allowed fewer goals in the...
MONTREAL -- What started as some good-natured back and forth on Friday afternoon had become, by Friday night, official: the Canadiens and late-night king Jimmy Fallon have a bet riding on the outcome of the Eastern Conference Final. Fallon, the former star of Saturday Night Live and current host of NBC’s The Tonight Show – taped at the famed studios situated at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York – confirmed...
MONTREAL – How the Bears were slain, and what to expect from the Rangers in the Conference Finals. Games keepers Facing the best regular-season team in the NHL, the Habs got over the hump in seven games thanks to superior performances from their most-used and least-used players. With his team against the wall after Game 5, Carey Price stopped 55 of 56 shots faced in must-win situations to out-duel...
MONTREAL – For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Canadiens and Rangers will do battle in the playoffs. Contrary to when they eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, the Habs didn’t have to wait long to learn the identity of their next opponent. Before the opening face-off even took place on Wednesday night at TD Garden in Boston, the winner of the Canadiens-Bruins tilt was already...