Added to the mix is the strange irony that the Picton Castle is closer to Boston than to any other NHL city. How strange it is that the Habs are playing tonight in a place where they are as close to the accident scene as anyone could be, anywhere in the NHL.

Go Habs!

Through all the sorrow we have felt the past few days, it is imperative we stand behind our hockey team and give them strength and support to make it through these tough times. as fans, our emotions will always fluctuate,but we must stay positive in trying to get the habs back on the winning track.
Because a few regulars might be missing tonight’s game, I think a strong defence, along with a skating offence would be in order. so guys, win this game for your fans, and more importantly, for your GM, Bob Gainey, who needs our support, and has enough on his plate ,without having to worry about his team. Let’s beat the **** out of the bruins! turn that sad and negative energy into a strong and dynamic desire to win !

I think the addition of Lapierre is a positive. The rookies are the key to the cup.

Just win it for Laura…

Still the classiest family I know. Here is their press release for anyone who missed it:

We wish to sincerely thank all the people who have been involved in the search for our darling Laura,” the Gainey family said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Their extensive efforts and their tremendous support throughout this ordeal will never be forgotten. We would particularly like to thank the United States Coast Guard and the Canadian Forces’ Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax for their extraordinary efforts. We are also very grateful to the entire crew of the Picton Castle and the merchant ships that graciously volunteered their time and resources. Our family would like to express our deep appreciation for the overwhelming support and prayers from our family, friends and the general public. Thank you

The beautiful thing about our Habs is that this is not a monarchy - I would not call anyone King - we have depth. Souray may be out, and parts of his game will be missed, but we have 2 qualified D men that can take his place. Souray is a -8 boys let’s not forget. I’m not knocking him and I love the guy - I’m just saying, for example, the loss of anyone on the 3rd line (tap tap tap - that’s the sound of me “knocking on wood”) would be just as big a loss.

While Souray will be missed at least it’s not Markov, who’s more valuble then Shelly. This will probably be one hell of a game since the Habs are playing for Laura Gainey and the B’s are playing for Kessel who’s having surgery for testicular cancer which isn’t a laphing matter.

well samsonov just scored 2 goals to take the lead for the habs and he is playing a great game. so let me guess all the people that have hated on him all year are gonna jump on his band wagon and love him tonight. he just needed some time to get used to the team

Of course, they let up and get scored upon..

drama…why does it have to be this way!!!

Unbelievable…a sigh of relief!!!

oh baby we made it!!! I was totally freakin out with that goal scored with 50 seconds left… Keep it up guys!!! man we are rockin… No Souray, No Higgins, No Bégin, who cares cuz the habs can win no matter what!

First win for Abby for a long time, good job for the whole team! Love to hate that drama ending they always have at the end!!!

Too bad Samsonov can’t play his former team every game! that’s the reason he played so well. anytime you play against your former team, you play extra hard. Trust me; he won’t play this well against other teams. the one thing I keep noticing, is that when we have the puck in their zone, we just don’t finish, and our passes in their zone are horrible; also we don’t shoot enough. when we get good chances, like 2 on 1’s. often times we don’t even get a shot. we need to work on passes and plays in the opposition zone. Nevertheless, good thing we won, because we desperately needed a win, and considering we are playing 3 games in a row at home,against inferior competition, these are games we are supposed to win. let’s see what happens on Thursday against TB. I hope Souray and Begin are back for that game.

Wow it clearly shows who the problem is on the second line, Mr. Alex Kovalev.

Plekanec and Samsonov awesome showing, great job.

To Mr. Gainey and Family, my deepest sympathies.

To Mr. Kessel,.. good luck and a speedy recovery mate.

Good game last night. Sammi was outstanding. Niinimaa had a very solid game and has improved of late. Does anyone else here think Markov totally rocks? All in all, the habs are looking like a team that is tight and enjoys playing together more than at any other time. You can thank the coaching for that.

koivufan: I agree.
Habs#1/Sam/fanatic1: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/stats?team=mon

Sammy has 13 even strength goals (1 measly pp assist). He is shared for the lead with Koivu for even strength goals on the team. He has been working hard and skating in most of the games I’ve watched and he got some results last night.

I expect him to produce, and it would be great if he had done more to this point, but I’m not bashing him.

As for the 1 pp point, when the Canadiens PP is going well, they score before the 2nd PP unit (including Sammy) comes on the ice. He’ll get 30 seconds at the tail end of the PP when nothing has happened in the 1st 1:30 of the PP and the offense is in disarray - not ideal for producing PP points.

There were 2 times I missed Souray last night - which goes to show what he brings to the team:

1) PP -> there were a few times on the PP when Markhov had the puck on the left point. Each time I was like “Get it over to the Howitzer so he can unload” … and then I realized the howitzer wasn’t there and was missed.

2) toughness -> a little pushing & shoving in front of the Habs net after a whistle. I thought to myself “Man, I wish Souray was there to lay down the law.”.

Wow the excitement and energy a win brings to the Montreal club… you think we could savory a little bit as fans! Even in the losses they are never out of reach of winning. Most games I have seen were fun to watch.

I agree one game does not mean squat for a struggling second line that has let us down for for such a long time, but maybe this is a turning point. A time where evrything came together. There were much more positives last night then negatives in my opinion and the results did not show the true domination over an arch rival like Boston (who always plays us tough). I would bet there are not very many teams enthusiastic about having the Habs on there schedule.

I would still like to see some line juggling to better match (and some cases unmatch)a few current players particular styles of play before looking outside organization for help. As seen from the play of Maxim last night and many others, the boyz from Hamilton have talent.

I could not imagine this team going through a slump like Toronto… I think violence would erupt! Montreal is a pretty solid well rounded team; let’s savory the victory and see if we can string a few together…Go Habs

I doubt very much gauthier would do anything but sit in gaineys office lol but im sure he has one of his own.No moves will be made intill gainey comes back and thats if he comes back.I have been having a gut feeling that gainey might step down as gm but i hope i am wrong.Laura would want him to bring our habs to glory once again.

I cannot believe that Bob would step down. He’s a consummate professional: in these cases therapists recommend returning to the routine, to what you do best, as a therapy itself. Goodness only knows what the Gainey family is going through and they need to take the time they need. But at one point the grieving must give some way to healing.

As many pundits and Carbo said, it’s hard to believe but the team came out of this stronger yesterday. I believe they will keep it up. Not only because of the tragedy that has befallen the Habs family, but also because this type of event underscores the strength of the TEAM and dedication to excellence.

Listening to McGuire on 990 tonight, I get the impression the Habs are definately one of the top 4 in the East… is it true? We could be looking at a big year Les Gars!

Best wishes to the Gainey family.

The Hab’s may have had the same identical record as last year’s team but that is where the comparison end’s. At this time last year Theo was beginning his melt down that would lead to his departure and injuries were starting to become a factor with a team that did not have nearly the depth of this year’s squad. This year’s addition of the Hab’s is a much better team, and I look for them to continue to improve in the second half and finish the season in a good position for a play-off run. Regarding the comment’s by Stevejur; don’t believe everything you hear.

There is an on-line guestbook to send condolences to the Gainey Family that is being offered by the Montreal Gazette. This can be accessed at the following link:

http://www.legacy.com/can-montreal/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=20268499

Please pass this information on to anyone that you feel would be interested in sending condolences.

Thank you.

I meant “To HaBz4EveR re: post #36″

Hey Gumper sorry your right I was just too much into the walt disney-type movie thing and its true that this isn’t a laughing matter. I should of said nothing.