Montreal Canadiens

The much anticipated home opener for the Montreal Canadiens was this evening at the Bell Centre. The opening ceremonies were a lack-luster affair, with the highlight being the names of the players showing up on the ice. The team was introduced by the public address announcer, the Habs came out and acknowledged the capacity crowd. The Anthem was performed by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra - with the crowd singing. There was no ceremonial face off - then the game started. 

The Habs started with a lot of energy and pep with Andrei Kostitsyn scoring on a beautiful set up by Max Pacioretty on a two-on-one. It was a nice start for the home town heroes. Then the Habs starte...

p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }

Coyotes @ Sharks

That was almost exactly how the Sharks would have wanted to start the 2011-12 season. Sure, it would have been nice if less starters had been injured and if they could kill a freaking penalty, but all in all, a 6-3 win against the Phoenix Coyotes at the home opener is a great start to what hopes to be a great season.

No starting goalie? No backup goalie? No problem. Enter Thomas Greiss, who is just two years removed from backing up Evgeni Nabokov. He played...

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Ever since the National Hockey League announced the return of the Winnipeg Jets, all anyone who is a hockey fan has been waiting for is opening day.  If the return of Jets wasn’t enough, the league decided to bring in the most storied franchise as their first opponent:  the Montreal Canadiens.  The summer of logo and sweater unveilings, new coach hirings and player signings is over and now real life in Winnipeg begins.  The hype is over and now it’s time to drop the puck.

Previous Game:

The Montreal Canadiens played their first game of the season last night, and believe me it was not pretty. It's always exciting when the Habs take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the matches are always close, even when the talent may not match up on either side. Both teams have historically brought their A game to the table. Leaving one fan base to wonder often out loud - who are these guys and why can't they play like that all the time.

Unfortunately last night was not one of those nights. In the first period, the Habs totally dominated the leafs - using their speed to draw penalties. Unfortunately, they hit a couple of posts and Reimer brought his A game to the table. The ...