The House of Habs

[Keeper]

Dude,

I don't think scoring 3 goals on the first 8 shots counts as having a great offense as much as it shows a team with a crap defense. I believe NHL rules on offensive leadership states that at least 20 shots on net are required.

Koivu is nothing without Gino.

 

[Dude]

You dummy.

Koivu scored a goal, and added a key assist. If anyone can contribute that much earlier than later, great. Better to put the team under early than having to play catch-up. Two points for one game in the NHL these days (especially playoffs) is considered to be very good contribution. Added to that, the midget also had a big hit early on to inspire his team. Carolina: too little, too late when playing against the hottest goalie in the NHL.

You are pretty much in a fish out of water here.

 

[Keeper]

You mean more like a dirty hit early in the game. Did you see how he broke his nose? Dirty bastard.

True, though, I guess I am a fish out of water here. I don't own an "I love the Habs" or a "Saku is my personal hero" t-shirt.

 

[Jimmy Holiday]

Theodore

Where would the HABS be without this machine.

How much longer can they allow 50 shots and expect to win games?????




THEODORE FACTOR

 

[gilly]

Keeper,

You must have misunderstood me. Montreal scored four goals, and Koivu was on the ice for THREE of them. He was an integral part of those goals, and thus I hypothesized that he led them offensively. It is only a hypothesis and may be proven invalid. Just find some evidence against it.

I did not know that the NHL had a rule about getting 20 shots on net to be considered an offensive threat. I guess I should read the NHLPA rule book. My apologizes.

Go HABS Go.

 

[JIM NEIGHBORS]

NAHOMAAAAA!!!

habboys tonight's the night the boys go up on the canes. keeper stick to finding out where the hell you got that brutal language, and get off the habs, you know nothing about the greatest franchise in the world. habs win 4-0

 

[Keeper]

Gilly,

No problem. It's an often over-looked rule, however you'll only find it in the NHLFA rule book -- that is, the Fan Association. As any fan ("who know's anything about hockey") will tell you, anything less than 20 shots on net can not be considered an offensive threat.

Now, while teams such as Montreal may win with merely 16 shots, this is akin to a mouse scaring off an elephant: while the mouse may win the confrontation, we all know it certainly is no threat to the elephant. Try to think of Dougie Gilmour as the heart of the mouse, Koivu as its intestines (i.e. guts), Gino as its tiny little brain (i.e. stupidity), and Theodore as its nervous system acounting for its agility, speed, quickness, and dexterity.

Columbus is Dumbo.

Don't worry though, the mouse will triumph.

P.S. Chad Kilger was on for three of the four goals too, and, in fact, got one assist. But even more impressive is the fact that Theodore was on for all four!

KeeperlovesgettingtheHabsfansallworkedup

 

[The Apprentice]

Gilly and the rest of the HOUSE OF HAB members...don't let Keeper get to you..he is the only twat from the Canuck thread to actually keep putting up a fight against the HAB fans on ttp. The rest are in hiding especially the mouth piece Guinness.
The HABS just have to generate some more offence and get out to an early lead and Theo should be able to hold the fort against the Canes.
Kevin Weekes is going nowhere...he is still trying to become the goalie of the future...too bad he has been on 26 teams in the last two years...

 

[TheRob]

Keeper, Keeper, Keeper.

Columbus is Dumbo.

What's Columbus got do do with this?

As any fan ("who know's anything about hockey") will tell you,

Must be refering to someone else if you think Montreal are playing Columbus.

 

[Keeper]

Doh

Errrr . . . it was late . . . yeah, that's it.

 

[knvb]

Where?

 

[Jimmy Holiday]

The Latvian Legend

Any truth to Paul Maurice starting Arturs Irbe tonight?

Reports on the radio said he was happy with what Weekes gave him(3 shutouts)and now wants to give his number 1,the brunt of the work??

Any truth to these rumors?

 

[Dude]

Weeks

Heard an interesting report this morning…

Apparently captain Ron Francis was seen having a private conversation with Weeks on the ice, something along the lines of, “I know it is tough, but these are the playoffs, and we need you to put that all aside right now…”

This is paraphrasing, of course, but it has lead to speculation that either Weeks is hurt, or he’s rattled. Isn’t this why Weeks ended up in Crawford’s doghouse? The guy gets a knick, and has to take the night off. The book on him is that he’s soft…which is why he keeps getting traded.

 

[gilly]

Whew, another much needed win. Great first two periods, then seemed to stop playing again, instead, of taking it to Carolina. Koivu is playing so well, and Theodore's he's OKAY, makes a couple saves here and there (lol).

Three consecutive icings in overtime by Carolina cost them. BrindAmour won the first two, but Perrault tied him up on the third and Wham Donald Audette slots it.

Almost blew the roof of the house when it went in.

Big game on Thursday, can't wait. The molson centre will be a rockin.

 

[The Apprentice]

Gilly you said it, Great win for the HABS tonight....Game three usually is make or break in any series...I felt that if the HABS lost tonight they might have been in alot of trouble playing catch-up to a good Carolina team. Montreal is now in the drivers seat and hopefully can use the game four home ice to make the series 3-1 going back to Raleigh.

Oleg Petrov and Dougy Gilmour had solid games tonight...they created a ton of chances and were unlucky to not be rewarded with the winning goal with less than 3 min to play in regulation. Jose Theodore is great...enough said.....

Also, good to see Donald Audette get the winner...this goal must have meant alot to a guy who had a frustrating year.


GO HABS GO

TAHASBEENONBOARDSINCETHEBEGINNINGOFTHEYEAR

 

[Jimmy Holiday]

HABS

One step closer to guaranteeing a CANADIAN team in the finals.

What else can I say but thank god for THEODORE,once again the difference!Looks like the Patrick Roy of 93

The Canes are putting up a great fight though,who would of thought at the begining of the year that the HABS and the CANES would be battling in the conference semi's.

 

[Mr Coppertone]

What a team

Theodore has to be in the lead right know for the Conn Smyth. He has been robbing the Canes in all three games. If the Canes don't find a way to beat Theodore they can start booking there tee times now.

Jimmy jumping on the hab wagon while the canes wagon falls behind.

 

[Dude]

Looks like the Patrick Roy of 93

That's a stretch, but I will give you Patty of '86, or even a Mike Vernon of '88. Roy in '93 is simply the stuff of legends. What was it, 10 OT wins in a row?

 

[The Apprentice]

So true, Roy became a legend after that series...he stood on his head and did win 10 playoff games in a row. Most people say that this team was the worst team ever to win a cup. He even had a pretty serious injury (shoulder??????) during the playoffs and was still brilliant.

Theo can not be compared to Patrick Roy...it is unfair to Compare such a young goalie to the greatest of all time.

 

[The Apprentice]

Long Article but pretty good for any HAB fan

Canadiens re-energize the Great White North

By Rod Beaton, USA TODAY


By Christinne Muschi, Reuters
The success of the Canadiens in this year's playoffs brought Stanley Cup fever back to the city of Montreal.

MONTREAL — The Canadians had their triumph. The Canadiens are seeking theirs. It's May. All is well in sports north of the U.S. border ... in hockey, and even beyond. The Canadian Olympic team's gold medal in hockey this winter triggered chest-thumping euphoria from the maritimes of Prince Edward Island to the far reaches of Vancouver Island. And with the Canadiens back ruling the roost after three years out of the postseason, the NHL playoffs are bigger than any entertainment in Montreal or La Belle Provence of Quebec. Homegrown Celine Dion doesn't stand a chance. Some in the media have taken to renaming Les Habitants "Les Glorieux" — the glorious ones.
After the Canadiens stunned the No. 1-seeded Boston Bruins in the first round, fans poured into the streets as if they had won the Stanley Cup.

"There's a huge amount of excitement and intensity," says Jacques Demers, who coached the Canadiens' last Stanley Cup-winning team in 1993 and writes for USATODAY.com. "Everybody is very much into this, but don't forget, everybody waited four years for this."

A Finals chance, eh?

The Toronto Maple Leafs or Ottawa Senators will reach the Eastern Conference final this postseason, and there is a 75% chance that a Canadian team will go to the Stanley Cup Finals. The last time ...

At least three Canadian teams reached the second round: 1998 (Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, all in upsets)

A Canadian team reached the conference final: 1999 (Toronto)

There was an all-Canadian conference final: 1994 (Vancouver, Toronto)

A Canadian team reached the Cup Finals: 1994 (Vancouver)

A Canadian team won the Cup: 1993 (Montreal)



The buzz in Montreal echoes a nationwide roar. With the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators still alive, there's a very real possibility that Canada might be represented in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994.

"There's still this love and great desire to show you are proud to be Canadian," says James Cybulski, who has a popular morning radio show on Vancouver's Team 1040. "It all comes back to (the Olympics) a little bit and people wanting to see a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Finals."

Life stops again tonight in Montreal when the Canadiens host the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. Montreal, which has gotten this far only once since 1993, leads this best-of-seven series 2-1.

Baseball's Montreal Expos are unexpectedly in a race for first place in the National League East. But no one seems to notice, except Major League Baseball, which is intent on moving or eliminating them before next season.

"I go through the papers and it's nice to see (the Expos) in the race," Montrealer Nelson Olivera says. "But this is a hockey town."

Ever heard of a major municipal riot over a hockey player? Montreal had one in 1955 when star right wing Maurice Richard was suspended for the last three games of the season and the playoffs for punching a linesman.

That fan fervor is another reason the Canadiens have a history of 24 championships surpassed only by the 26 of baseball's New York Yankees. They built their appeal around legendary figures, mostly French-Canadians.

Their past is a hockey Who's Who: Howie Morenz, Richard, Jean Beliveau, Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, Yvon Cournoyer, Henri Richard, Guy Lafleur, Doug Harvey, Larry Robinson, Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy.

People joked that when the puck took a Montreal bounce in the Forum, it was the ghost of Canadiens legends working its magic.

But things began to change in December 1995 when Roy demanded a trade — and was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche — after being left in the nets by then-coach Mario Tremblay for nine goals in an 11-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

And they got worse in March 1996 when the Canadiens moved out of the Forum, a cathedral of hockey with escalators positioned like crossed sticks, a place so revered that a replica of its dressing room is in the Hall of Fame.

Apparently, the Canadiens forgot to pack the ghosts, or the ones they brought to the Molson Centre had a wicked sense of humor.

Bad trades were made. The weak Canadian dollar forced the team to ditch high-priced free agents-to-be. Injuries abounded. Trent McCleary, now retired, nearly died on the ice two years ago when hit in the throat by a puck. Donald Audette lost four pints of blood after someone skated over his arm during a game this season and severed 11 tendons. Current captain Saku Koivu was diagnosed with cancer in September.

But Koivu, Audette and the Canadiens fought back.

Residents stand tall

Walk the streets. Visit a popular restaurant. Ask a native Quebecois about the Canadiens, and he or she will stand a little taller, responding with hope and pride.

Olivera works at Schwarz's, a legendary restaurant specializing in "smoked meat," called viande fumé in French. It's really cured meat, equivalent to what a cheesesteak means to Philadelphians.

Schwarz's is on Boulevard Saint-Laurent, the street that attitudinally separates French east Montreal from the English-speaking west side. The two sides come together when the Canadiens play, just as there is a dramatic slowdown in the frenzied shopping on Rue Sainte-Catherine, the Fifth Avenue of Montreal.

"We bring in the TV for the games and everyone crowds around," says Karen McKee of Schwarz's.

They mill around sold-out Molson Centre. No one expects to get in, but fans stand nearby to catch the Canadiens' vibe.

"The game starts at 7, there's people there at 4:30," Demers says. "The game finishes at 10, there's people there until 11."

It's a place to be seen. Former New York Islanders Hall of Famer Mike Bossy was there Tuesday, as was Michel Bergeron, ex-coach of the hated Quebec Nordiques.

The center-city gift shops are well-stocked with Canadiens gear, souvenirs and toys. Lots of Expos stuff is on closeout.

Even the Expos pay homage to the Canadiens. First baseman Lee Stevens, an avid fan, recently rounded up teammates, including Andres "Big Cat" Galarraga, to go to a Canadiens workout.

They wanted to meet and express support for Koivu. Galarraga also is a cancer survivor. He and Koivu have recovered from the strength-sapping chemotherapy and other unpleasantries of their rugged regimen to recovery.

As popular as Galarraga is, he never achieved the acclaim heaped upon Koivu, who scored his fourth goal of the playoffs in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime win against Carolina. He leads Montreal in playoff scoring with 10 points.

Koivu's story is winning fans in unusual places.

During the first round when both Toronto and Montreal were playing on the same night, a jam-packed, pro-Maple Leafs crowd at Wayne Gretzky's Toronto restaurant cheered wildly as the Canadiens stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Boston in Game 3.

Tradition to be upheld

Montreal's French daily newspapers fire up blanket coverage of each Canadiens game with every play, misplay and decision.

"This is a team with a great history," says Audette, whose overtime goal Tuesday sparked another Canadiens celebration. "There is a tradition to live up to."

Before each game in this postseason, black-and-white photos of the Cup-winning legends are superimposed on the ice.

"It seems like the guys are more comfortable playing here than three years ago," Koivu says of the Molson Centre. "I haven't felt this anywhere before."

This is a revival. New owner George Gillett Jr., an American, has brought stability. One sign that the Canadiens are extricating themselves from years of bad management: Scalpers are prospering.

Players seem upset that years of lean performances have allowed the Yankees to pass them in titles.

"We hear the fans," Audette says. "We feel the fans."

Now the fans have a new set of heroes. Goaltender Jose Theodore, a French-speaking native of Quebec, has summoned memories of the standouts that preceded him, but he must win a Cup or two to rate with Plante, Dryden and Roy.

This is probably not a team gifted enough to win the Cup. Koivu and Theodore are the only players who could have won a spot on the last Canadiens dynasty, from 1976-79. That doesn't mean Montreal magic can't apply.

"When the (Canadiens) get into the playoffs, they put on the sweater and become different people. They play with more heart and hunger," says Cepitano Fernandez, a hotel worker in Montreal. "What (they) are doing is such a surprise. No one expected this."