With his Blues up by a score of 1-0 midway through the first, Halak turned what appeared to be a routine batting of the puck into a rather embarrassing own-goal.  It’s not like the Wings needed any help last night putting the puck in the net.  They did manage to score six more goals of their own on route to a 7-3 victory, but I’m sure they wont complain about the helping hand from Halak.

The Montreal Canadiens scored early and often in game 7 against the Pens and they shocked the world with a 5-2 win. Amazingly, they are heading to the Eastern Conference finals. The Canadiens, entered the playoffs with the worst-record of any team in the postseason. Yet they defeated the Presidents’ Trophy winner in the Capitals and now they have defeated the Stanley Cup champion Penguins. They just set the standard for any and all 8th-seeded teams.

Brian Gionta scored the first and last goals of the game, both on the power play. The Habs went up 4-0 early in the second period, but the Pens got goals from Chris Kunitz and Jordan Staal to cut the lead to 4-2. Gionta scored with 10 minutes left in the third and the Canadiens were on their way to the series win. Mike Cammalleri scored his 12th playoff goal and 7th in the series, and Jaroslav Halak continued to dominate with 37 saves.

These type of stories are why sports are so great. The Montreal Canadiens have The Stat Line of the Night for 5/12/10.

Looking to avoid going down 2-0 with the series headed back to Montreal for Game three Tuesday night, Halak made 38 saves on 39 shots, shutting down Crosby, Malkin and company on route to a crucial 3-1 win.  The Canadiens defense was a key component to the outcome of the game, forcing the Pens to take many of their shots from the outside, but when they did get their chances from in tight, Halak was there to close the door.

Now the Montreal faithful will be able to breathe a lot easier as they are not required to win the next two games at home just to keep pace in the series.  They will, however, need to be on top of their game once again if they wish to knock off the defending Cup champions in yet another unexpected series upset.  In their opening round match-up, Pittsburgh was able to take a stranglehold on their series against the Sens by winning games three and four in Ottawa after splitting the first two at home.  You can be sure that the Habs will do everything in their power to avoid having history repeat itself, and once again, Halak will be an integral part of that plan.

Slovakia goalkeeper Jaroslav Halak was the victim of such circumstances in an 8-0 loss to the Czech Republic.  Halak, who came in to relieve Slovak starter Jan Lasak after the score was 7-0, took a a two-handed slash to the head after allowing the eight goal from teammate Tomas Surovy.  Unfortunately, Halak’s head wasn’t enough for him, and Surovey’s next victim was the cross bar.

Surovey didn’t seem to concerned about the well being of Halak, but it is anyone’s guess what the keeper was thinking after taking the stick to the head.  The stare he gives Surovey I would think says enough about how he felt.

Here’s the clip of the unusual display from the Czech vs. Slovakia game.

In the second period after the Bruins took a 4-1, Canadiens goaltender Carey Price had a Patrick Roy moment and waved to his hometown fans as they cheered sarcastically that he made a save.

“Oh, Patrick Roy moment for Carey Price!!!!!!” Said the announcer

Back in 1995 in his final game as a Hab, Patrick Roy allowed 9 goals in an 11-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings and waved to the crowd as the fans cheered when he finally stopping a puck.  After he was pulled he walked over to Team President Ronald Corey who was sitting behind the bench and told him he was done as a Canadien.  Patrick Roy was then traded to the Colorado Avalanche and that same year went on to win the Stanley Cup.

So where does this leave Carey Price and and his future with the Canadiens?  They have another good goalie in Jaroslav Halak who many think should have been in since game three in this series.  Is Carey Price done in Montreal?  He showed he can act like Roy, but will he ever be able to play like him?

Wilson said Pogge will be part of a rotation that will see him go back and forth between the Leafs and the Marlies. Pogge made his NHL debut Dec. 22 in Atlanta, giving up just two goals in a 6-2 Toronto win. However, he was immediately returned to the Marlies. Pogge was the Leafs’ third-round pick, 90th overall, in the 2004 Entry Draft. He has been with the Marlies since 2006 and in 32 games this season is 15-13-4 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Reports Sportsnet.ca

Some fans believe that this may be the first move to begin the process of leading Curtis Josephinto retirement and seeing Pogge become a full-time NHL back-up for the remainder of the NHL season, again this is only speculation. While others have mentioned that bringing Pogge up into the Leafs’ mess and keeping him for an extended amount of time may be a mistake. Some examples of goalies who have been thrown to the wolves in Leafs land include the likes of Ken Wregget andAllan Bester. Though Wregget survived and managed to play a few more seasons, Bester was never the same again.

So while some are eager to get Pogge into the cage, it may be wise to groom this goalie in the minors for a few more months. Seeing as Pogge has had issues with confidence it may be wise to see if he can handle losing at the NHL level, because losing comes with the territory. At some point you have to forget about his confidence and put him in there or else… They can only protect him for so long. We know that his numbers went through the roof last time they called him up and then sent him down again. Maybe the management’s theory is that a nibble at the carrot every once in a while can keep him motivated.

Ron Wilson and Brian Burkeseem to be stern on their reasoning with Pogge, their attitude seems to be that if he deserves another start he will get one and that NHL starts shouldn’t fall right into his lap. The best bet would be for Pogge to take it day by day and if he doesn’t perform then he gets sent back down. It may be hard to determine what he can do in such a short amount of time, but there is no point in ruining his confidence. Also, with the Marlies standing currently in 5th spot, in the hunt for holding onto a playoff spot, it makes sense to keep Pogge involved seeing as it may be possible for them to make a serious run for the Calder Cup. While people play the blame game and place it on Vesa Toskala, others claim that the problem is not Toskala and that the teams defensive breakdowns which materialize due to a lack of a better system, are what is causing the numbers to pile up in the goals against column.

Some people say that the Leafs’ owe Toskala big time. Fact is, no one should be running this guy out of town when the entire team is not doing the job. However, the problem may lay deeper then just the Leafs’ dressing room. This team has been built to lose, it has come to a time where Pogge needs this exposure to wet his appetite for the NHL. This competition between Toskala and the rookie goaltender pushing him in order for him to start his game is exactly what the doctor ordered.

The only possible way Toskala can get started (even though some say it’s too late) is if he has another goaltender that is right up there taking his job away. For example last year, when Paul Maurice was flip flopping on who the started was going to be, Raycroft and Toskala were neck and neck, Toskala was stealing games and playing like a starting goaltender. However if Pogge is going to use this opportunity to play and pass Toskala as the starting goalie. Pogge will needs chemistry and experience in the NHL, not just one game.

It seems like Wilson’s plan is to do exactly that, attempt to give Pogge some exposure to the NHL and allow him to gain some chemistry.

Head Coach Ron Wilson said that Pogge will be called up from the minors every now and then until the end of the season. Pogge should play enough to gauge “whether he’s an NHL goaltender or not,” Wilson said. While I like the idea of getting him into NHL games every now and then, I don’t like the idea of making the decision to send him back to the minors beforehand. What happens if he gets lit up in tonight’s game versus the Wild? He’ll get sent down and probably recalled for another game later this month. Then, what if that game doesn’t go well either? His confidence will be shot and he won’t believe that he belongs in the NHL.

It may be hard to grasp where Ron Wilson is going, the fact is that Pogge may get lit up, but then again he might not. The fact again is that if he lets in 5 goals, it doesn’t matter. How he performs overall throughout the game is what will be remembered. With the Leaf defence not being the greatest all the blame could be place on Pogge if he is lit up. Though it is easy to forget that Pogge’s Leafs’ debut was a 6-2 win over Atlanta. So maybe the pressure is good ? Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak were put under tremendous pressure, playing for Montreal, and look how well they perform. The reality may be that giving him spot starts may actually be taking pressure off of him. If they say “you win, you stay” he has a ton of pressure heaped on him to make it with the big club, however if he already knows his fate, he can go out there and just play. There is no pressure on him to succeed. Just look at Fluery in Pittsburgh. He came in took his lumps and is now a true #1.

1.  Montreal Canadiens Season Preview

Probably could have guessed this one after just reading the title. They finished first in the division and conference last year and with the injuries to Whitney and Gonchar in Pittsburgh I expect the same thing this year.

What’s not to like about their forwards? Alex Kovalev, Saku Koivu, Andrei Kostitsyn, Tomas Plekanec, Chris Higgins and Alex Tanguay are all quality top 6 forwards. Robert Lang helps their center depth and guys like Steve Begin, Tom Kostopoulos, Maxim Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse fill out the bottom 6 very nicely. Georges Laraque will of course make sure that teams don’t push around the more talented players.

I don’t like their defence as much as the forwards, but it’s still very solid. Andrei Markov, Mike Komisarek, Roman Hamrlik and Mathieu Dandenault are all solid. I’ve been a fan of Josh Gorges since seeing him join the NHL with San Jose and Patrice Brisebois played better than expected last year.

Net could be their only down fall, mostly due to the inexperience. Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak are two very good young goaltenders but they only have 76 games of NHL experience (including regular season and playoffs) between the two of them.

There’ll be some bumps along the road for the Habs this season like there is for every team, but in the end I see them coming out in first place.