Game Thread: Habs Complete 7 Game Road Trip in Sunrise, Florida

[Habs n Jays Fan]

Montreal Canadiens(20-19-3) at Florida Panthers(16-17-7)

All Time Series: 25-26-6-2 154 GF 155 GA

Vitals:

Montreal: 105 GF(T-20th), 113 GA(T-16th), 11-10-1 Road, 24.4% PP(1st), 84.3% PK(8th), Habs have scored the 1st goal in 10 of their last 14 games

Florida: 108 GF(15th), 123 GA(T-25th), 6-7-5 Home, 16.8% PP(23rd), 79.5% PK(21st), Panthers are the only NHL team who holds an all-time winning record vs the Montreal Canadiens

Previous Meetings:
1st Meeting of 2009-10

Probable Goalies:

Jaroslav Halak: 10-6-0, 2.56 GAA, .924 SV%, 1 SHO
Career vs Fla: 2 GP, 2-0-0, 2.89 GAA, .915 SV%
Last Game vs Fla: 1 GS, 1-0-0, 4.62 GAA, .857 SV%

Tomas Vokoun: 11-11-7, 2.62 GAA, .922 SV%, 3 SHO
Career vs Mtl: 12 GP, 3-4-1-2, 2.63 GAA, .913 SV%
Last Game vs Mtl: 1 GS, 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .972 SV%

Players To Watch:

Montreal- Scott Gomez
Season- 37 GP, 5 G, 19 A, 24 Pts, +1, 20 PIM
vs Fla- 34 GP, 8 G, 20 A, 28 Pts, +8, 8 PIM
Streak- 1 goal and 7 assists over his last 4 games

Florida- Nathan Horton
Season- 40 GP, 13 G, 24 A, 37 Pts, +4, 28 PIM
vs Mtl- 17 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 10 Pts, +8, 8 PIM
Streak- 9 goals, 17 assists over his last 24 games

Pre-Game Reports:

Montreal:
Paul Mara(hand)- Questionable...has been with the team since injury on Dec. 21st

Florida:
Cory Stillman(knee)- Expected to Play
Rostislav Olesz(flu)- Expected to Play
Dmitry Kulikov(knee)- Out
Kenndal McArdle(shoulder)- Out
David Booth(concussion)- Out

[HabsFan87]

I like our chances tonight.

[Habs n Jays Fan]

Decent game, nice to see the offense win it. Don't know what it is but Spacek has looked absolutely terrible these last few games, maybe he's hurt or something.

[HabsFan87]

Glad to grab the 2 points, agree, Jaro hasn't been playing like the workhorse he was before Markov returned. I remember in training camp to someone questioning Markov and Spacek's chemistry with one another. Hope he can figure it out quick and the team can keep winning.

[Habs n Jays Fan]

I don't know what it is but he's not shutting down the opposition like he was as early as a few weeks ago. Maybe Markov's presence has hurt him since he's got less of a role. Hopefully he turns it around as this was one of the most successful Road Trips we've seen in a long time. Snaking 12 of 14 points has us right in the thick of things. Hopefully it's a precursor to a successful 2nd half.

[HabsFan87]

I hope we keep putting up the wins, those games in hands for the other teams might haunt is if we go on another 5 out of 6 loses drought again. They gotta play like this at home, minus the Ottawa game and the chances of taking over the division lead isn't to far in sight.

[McMikel]

We're beating the teams in the East we need to beat. Suddenly those games in hand those other team have on us become must wins, a very different situation. Montreal, for all the flaws, is sitting well and looking strong for the run up to the Olympic break.

Spacek, Gorges, and O'Byrne have been on Christmas holiday during this 6-1-0 run. Stunningly, Hal Gill has been much more than solid. He's a leader and will stick up for any Canadien player. I thought Halak was mediocre yesterday, the second game in a row of so-so play. Compared to Price's effort in Tampa, I can't see there being a contest about the number one goalie. I'm sure CP will start against Buffalo. Up front Mancrush and Lapierre need to step it up. They're a step behind as of late. I really wonder who D'Agostini is sleeping with in the front office. He's awful and in the way. With Laraque and little Kostitsyn close behind in uselessness, Martin deserves a lot of credit for the success Montreal is having.

This Price/Halak talk brings back the Huet/Volkoun controversy. I wonder how things would have ended up if the Habs had gone with Volkoun instead. Would we even be seeing Price in Montreal!