MONTREAL – For the Bulldogs players in town experiencing the Canadiens’ playoff run in person, there’s no better place to learn about postseason hockey. When Hamilton’s season came to a close on April 19, the majority of Sylvain Lefebvre’s troops packed up their stalls at the FirstOntario Center and headed home for the offseason. For 10 lucky players, it wasn’t time to break out the golf clubs just...
1: Silent force: If we were to ask you who the Canadiens’ top two sharpshooters were against the Bruins this season, Alexei Emelin wouldn’t necessarily be among your top choices. Nevertheless, the Russian rearguard scored two of his three goals during the 2013-14 campaign against Boston and goaltender Tuukka Rask. He also registered 19 hits and racked up nine blocked shots against Claude Julien’s troops...
BROSSARD – If the NHL regular season is a long grind, then the playoffs are a series of quick sprints. Off since April 22, when they snuffed out the Lightning’s postseason hopes in Game Four of the first round, Habs players have been patiently waiting for the action to resume. “It’s important to break up the routine occasionally and not have the same practice schedule every day. I want our guys to...
MONTREAL – A stats-based look at what matters in the Montreal-Boston series. There are many noteworthy attributes about the 2013-14 edition of the Boston Bruins, a team which finished first overall in the NHL with 117 regular season points. Despite their reputation, however, this year’s Bruins squad did not get to the top of the standings by out-hitting or out-brawling all comers. Looking at its roster,...
PRESS RELEASE NEW YORK - The National Hockey League today announced that the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round will begin Thursday, May 1 with a one game slate – Game 1 of the Second Round series between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. The starting time for Game 1 on Thursday will be 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden in Boston. The game will be seen exclusively on NBCSN in the U.S. and on CBC...
Act of rebellion MTL: Patriots’ War (1837-38) A long-standing conflict between British loyalists and French-Canadian settlers boils over. The fallout of the resulting armed conflict would shape the history of the country now known as Canada. BOS: Boston Tea Party (1773) Aggravated by the British policy of taxation without representation, American revolutionaries dump quantities of heavily taxed tea...
BROSSARD – In order to give his team the best shot at upsetting the Bruins, Michel Therrien mixed things up on Monday. Eighty-six game days have already come and gone for the Canadiens in the 2013-14 season. On the eve of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against Boston, the Habs are getting set for their 87th. However, there will be a lot fewer people watching them take to the ice on Monday night....
MONTREAL – It hasn’t taken Brendan Gallagher long to translate regular season success into postseason proficiency. In the midst of his second career playoff run in as many NHL seasons, the 21-year-old winger played a pivotal role in helping sweep the Lightning in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, torching Tampa Bay on the scoreboard and frustrating Steven Stamkos & Co. in his new shutdown role....
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - 2002 Boston (1) vs Montreal (8) In a page torn straight from David and Goliath, the eighth-seeded Canadiens were matched up against the conference-champion Bruins in the spring of 2002. Despite a 14-point gap in the standings, the Habs entered the playoffs riding high thanks to Saku Koivu’s emotional return from his season-long battle with cancer. Winger Donald Audette...
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - 2004 Boston (2) vs Montreal (7) After missing the playoffs in 2002-03, the Canadiens returned to the postseason the following spring led by head coach Claude Julien. The seventh-seeded Habs would face a stiff test in the form of the Northeast Division champion Bruins. The teams were coming off a hotly-contested regular season, which saw Mike Sullivan’s Bruins post...
Stanley Cup Semifinals - 1979 Boston vs Montreal After finishing ahead of the Bruins in the standings with a league-leading 115 points and going undefeated in four regular season meetings against Boston, the three-time defending Stanley Cup champion Canadiens should have handled their bitter rival with relative ease. No one bothered telling that to the Bruins. Home-ice advantage was an understatement...
Stanley Cup Finals - 1953 Boston vs Montreal After battling through a grueling seven-game war with the Blackhawks before reaching the Stanley Cup Finals, the Habs still had their work cut out for them in their quest from Cup No. 7. Awaiting them in the Finals, fresh from bumping off the league-leading Red Wings, were the Bruins who boasted a 9-3-1 regular season record against the Canadiens that year....
BROSSARD – After learning they’d be matching up against the Bruins in Round 2 of the playoffs, the consensus inside the Canadiens locker room is that a tough series awaits. Taking to the ice for a third straight day of practice at the Bell Sports Complex on Sunday morning, Michel Therrien’s troops began preparing for a date with the 2013-14 Presidents’ Trophy winners, who secured their spot in the...
BROSSARD – Not only has the city of Montreal been galvenized by their team’s recent success, but the Habs’ players, too, are feeling the buzz. With the Habs sweeping a playoff rival for the first time in 20 years, several established veterans on the team suddenly found themselves with a lot of free time on their hands. Two days off earlier in the week gave them plenty of time to engage in rest and...
MONTREAL – What would the Stanley Cup Playoffs be without a match-up between the Canadiens and the Bruins? Following a four-game sweep in Round 1, the Canadiens have been patiently awaiting their second round opponent since Tuesday night. The wait is over and the Habs will once again face off against the Bruins in the NHL postseason. This will mark the 34th time the two teams will meet up in the springtime...
BROSSARD – In another playoff edition of the notebook, the Habs are back at the rink after two days off and are looking forward to their next playoff matchup. Reinforcements on the way: It was a case of good news-bad news on the injury front for the Canadiens. After Friday’s up-tempo practice, head coach Michel Therrien gave a quick update on the health of forward Alex Galchenyuk, who has been out...
Alexei Valerievich Emelin, who turns 28 today, has assumed an important role for the Canadiens since arriving in Montreal three years ago. With the playoffs in full swing, the rugged blueliner is playing the finest hockey of his NHL career. Alongside Vladimir Malakhov, Igor Ulanov and teammate Andrei Markov, Emelin is one of just four Russian defensemen to suit up for the Canadiens in the team’s history....
MONTREAL – You can count the number of NHL postseason games Dale Weise has played on two hands, but that hasn’t stopped him from bringing a wealth of playoff experience with him to Montreal. He’s only been with the team since early February, but it hasn’t taken Weise long to slide seamlessly into the Canadiens’ postseason mix. Brought in to provide additional sandpaper – with an underrated scoring...
PRESS RELEASE MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens remind the general public that the sale of individual tickets for the Canadiens’ second round playoff games at the Bell Centre will begin Saturday, April 26, at 10 a.m. only on canadiens.com the team’s official web site. To purchase tickets, the public can log on to canadiens.com and click on one of the purchase links as of 9:30 a.m. to enter a virtual...
MONTREAL – A quick statistical look at the Canadiens’ comprehensive first-round win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last time, we predicted big things from Lars Eller, Brian Gionta and Daniel Briere; all three players were integral parts of their team’s success in the past week. Eller paced the team offensively with five points in four games, Gionta showed off his two-way excellence while playing over...