Looks like Jaro Halak will play vs Habs Tuesday at Bell Centre

The timing couldn`t be better. On the heels of Lars Eller`s jaw-dropping, four-goal, first-star performance Wednesday night at the Bell Centre against the Winnipeg Jets, news trickled out Thursday that my main man Jaroslav Halak will likely be starting in goal for the St. Louis Blues when they hit town Tuesday.

You`ll recall – how could you forget? – that Halak was traded to the Blues in June of 2010 in exchange for the young Mr. Eller and right-winger Ian Schultz (the latter who has yet to play for Nos Habs). You remember because many of us were ready to riot in the streets following Pierre ‘Major Major’ Gauthier`s dismissal of the goalie who had single-handedly brought us to the conference final that year.

At the time, it seemed like a bone-headed move. Halak had effectively stolen the No. 1 job from Carey Price who had a hellish season and then the Slovak netminder had quite literally stood on his head against Washington then Pittsburgh. Have a look at the tape of those games. The Habs beat the No. 1 team in the East and the Stanley Cup champs because Halak did his best impersonation of Ken Dryden. Or was it Patrick Roy.

But I’m a big enough boy to admit that ‘What Me Worry’ Price bounced back in no uncertain fashion last season and made Ghost Gauthier look like he knew what he was doing. (Subsequent events have, of course, confirmed that Gauthier only knows what he`s doing when he`s shopping in the vegetable aisle to maintain his strict vegan diet.)

And Halak has struggled. He had a decent season last year for the Blues, with 27 wins, 21 losses and a goals-against-average of 2.48. But he had one heckuva a rough start to this season, along with all of his team-mates I might add, going going 3-7-2. But he`s turned things around since Ken Hitchcock was brought in as coach.

He`s 5-0-3 in his last eight games and his save percentage for the season is now .911 and his GAA is 2.26. He’s 8-7-5 on the season.

As Jeremy Rutherford points out in his piece in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Halak has only allowed 15 goals on 221 shots during that eight-game streak, for a goals-against-average of 1.45 and a save percentage of .932. He hasn`t lost in regulation time since Nov. 22. Rutherford suggests Halak may be finally grabbing the top goaltending job in St. Louis.

Halak is set to start Thursday night against Edmonton. Halak’s goaltending rival Brian Elliott – who`s been battling all year for the No. 1 spot and has been doing some pretty amazing stuff – will likely start between the pipes Saturday against Colorado and Hitchcock is leaning toward using Halak on Tuesday in Montreal.

Me I like Halak. I have a soft spot for the guy and I’m convinced he’s gonna be – long-term – a very good NHL goalie. So let’s trade Price for Halak! Just kidding. Really, today, I’m just happy that Halak is doing good and Eller had an amazing night. Though I agree with Pierre ‘I’ve Got a Lot to Say’ McGuire on the Danish Kid – he’s never gonna be Guy Lafleur.

Here is just one of just dozens of amazing saves by Halak in the spring of 2010.

New Canadien Erik Cole makes his Montreal debut

The newest addition to the Montreal Canadiens, power forward Erik Cole, is splashed all over the local papers Friday morning. That’s cos he was at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard on Thursday to meet the meeting for the first since signing as a free agent with the Habs a couple of weeks back.

Click here for Pat Hickey’s story on Cole in The Gazette and click ici for the piece by Richard Labbe in La Presse, in which Cole suggests that the 2011 Habs have a lot in common with the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes…..who just happened to win the Stanley Cup that year.

And then click here for ctv.ca columnist Arpon Basu’s typically thoughtful piece on Cole, focusing on whether or not it’s fair to say he’s injury-prone and looking at his less-than-spectacular year with the Edmonton Oilers. And click here for Associated Press article on Cole’s visit to Montreal.

Reading all this, one thing came to mind – we shouldn’t pin all of our hopes on one forward. Cole is a good addition for a team desperately short of power forwards but a 26-goal-scorer is not going to carry the team on his shoulders.

- Brendan

 

A look at tonight’s games

Games to look forward to tonight – the Habs could clinch a playoff spot vs the Hawks, the Buffalo Sabres take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, the fighting Maple Leafs battle the Capitals, the Pens who have clinched a playoff spot vs the eliminated NJ Devils, the Flyers vs the Senators. In the West, the Blues and the Avalanche meet, the Atlanta Thrashers take on the Nashville Predators, the Blue Jackets vs the Dallas Stars, and first vs worst, the Oilers meet again with the top-dog Canucks (the last time they met, the Oilers crushed Vancouver 4-1).

- Keane

 

The Playoff Race

In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Tampa Bay Lightning have all clinched a playoff spot. In 9th place in the Eastern Conference are the Carolina Huricanes, with 87 points, 2 points behind the 8th place Rangers, who have 89 points. Both those teams have 3 games remaining in the regular season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs also have a slight chance of being a contender in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Leafs have 84 points and are 5 points behind the Rangers. Toronto would have to win all of their last 3 games and the Rangers would have to lose their last 3 games. The teams eliminated in the Eastern Conference are the Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators, NY Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and the Atlanta Thrashers. All the Montreal Canadiens have to do to clinch a playoff spot is to win one of their last 3.

The only teams in the West who have clinched a playoff spot are the Vancouver Canucks –  who have also clinched there Division and won the President’s Trophy – the Detroit Red Wings, and the San Jose Sharks. The Calgary Flames have 91 points, 1 point behind the 8th place Hawks who have two games in hand over the Flames. The Dallas Stars are also fighting for a playoff spot – the Stars are 3 points behind the Hawks. The Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild are all eliminated from the playoffs.

-Keane