Saku Koivu’s Return: Pre-season Game 1

The Habs lace them up tonight to kick off the first pre-season game of the 2006/2007 season.

All eyes will be on Saku Koivu to see how he plays in his first game since going down with a terrible eye injury last April.

The Canadiens are giving a lot of prospects a chance to play and tonight we’ll see action from:
- Carey Price
- Guillaume Latendresse
- Duncan Milroy
- Kyle Chipchura
- Jonathan Ferland
- Ben Maxwell
- Matt D’Agostini
- Jon Gleed
- Ryan O’Byrne
Other than the concern surrounding Koivu, the pressure will be on Latendresse to show last season’s strong camp was not a fluke.

The new look Bruins will have Marc Savard, Zdeno Chara and rookie prospect Phil Kessel in their lineup.

Game on.

Related Bookmarks Tags

There are currently no tags for this post.

Leave a Comment

21 Comments

#1 Tom says:
September 19, 2006 at 10:55 am

Are they gonna show the game on TV ?

#2 HabsFanStuckInOttawa says:
September 19, 2006 at 12:36 pm

Good question Tom…I would REALLY like to know if they are shoing this/other games on TV. And if not, WHY??

The other thing…

Now don’t get me wrong because I love Saku, but I dont think we should be getting our hoped up here. This game seems like a bit of a field test. If it doesn’t go well, we may see Saku out for a while as he will need further surgery (sp?). The note about the catarac he developed was a bit worrying to me. Needless to say I am hoping for the best.

Go Habs Go,

If I can’t watch this game tonight, I’ll be listening to it online!!

Cheers,

#3 HabsFanStuckInOttawa says:
September 19, 2006 at 12:37 pm

shoing = showing

#4 Gui says:
September 19, 2006 at 2:45 pm

if you have the NHL network…you could watch the game….
Its all about AM radio

#5 Razz says:
September 19, 2006 at 3:36 pm

This is a responce to Rob from the previous post. When Gainey arrived to Montreal, it was clear to many, including myself, that Brisebois was very inconsistent and had to go. Nevertheless, Gainey himself gave him a 4 million dollar a year contract.

Tonight: Montreal 4-0 Boston.

Id like to see a goal from the top line and the rest by rookies.

#6 jack tornton says:
September 19, 2006 at 5:51 pm

Razz:

Why not 14-0 for montreal??
It’s a hope. right?
Let’s dream big then lol!
But I don’t think 14-0 would be a dream….I know that the score won’t end up being 14-0 because the canadiens are too generous! They will probably let them score a goal or 2 and they will score lets say 5!Therefore the score would be 5-2 in my opinion!

#7 Habs#1 says:
September 19, 2006 at 6:42 pm

I want to see how Kyle Chipchura is going to do. He’s going to be the team’s futur second or third line centre and captain. Though of course I, like everyone else wants to see how Saku will do. I really hope he does well other wise Grabovski will probably have to start playing before he’s ready.

Another thing I want to see is if my assumption that the Bruins are overrated is true. I just think that Chara is definitly not worth 7.5 million(he makes more than Lidstrom, Pronger and Nidermayer), that Marc Savard made a living playing on the same line as Hossa and Kovalchuk and that Kessel is going to turn into the Terrel Owens of the NHL.

I’m trying to get RDS on satellite out here in Alberta since french CBC dosen’t carry the games on Saturday’s anymore and I’m sick of listning to Bob Cole and Harry Neal every saturday talk about how much better the Leafs are than everyone.

#8 Razz says:
September 19, 2006 at 11:57 pm

Lidstrom makes 7.6 million/year next 2 years. (15.2M for 2).

#9 stevejur says:
September 20, 2006 at 12:01 am

If anyone cares you can listen to all the games at:

http://www.cjad.com/shows/canadiens
(cut and paste)
Just click on “listen now” when the game begins.
Great, clear channel.
Enjoy!

#10 Rob says:
September 20, 2006 at 12:50 am

Well, JT, you were right in a way; it was 5-2! I didn’t see the game; I was watching the future Habs’ franchise player, Sidney Crosby, play live. How bad were we? Were Boston’s defence really as “porous” as someone said they were going to be?

Now, don’t everyone start freaking out. It was an exhibition game, and the Habs did have a lot of their prospects in the lineup. Relax. Take a deep breath. I repeat, “Don’t start freaking out!”

#11 habby says:
September 20, 2006 at 2:55 am

Lets just say the preseason starts on Wednesday.

#12 Razz says:
September 20, 2006 at 4:01 am

Sidney Crosby, why does he remind me of Sinead O’Connor?

#13 Spicoli says:
September 20, 2006 at 10:34 am

Does anyone know why souray wasn’t in the line up?

#14 Habs Blog says:
September 20, 2006 at 10:41 am

It’s pre season. They don’t dress all the regulars for every game.

#15 Habs#1 says:
September 20, 2006 at 10:49 am

The Game was even on the scoreboard IF you take away the , I don’t know how many powarplays they gave Boston in the first period.

Plus Boston played more starters than the Habs did.

#16 Habs Blog says:
September 20, 2006 at 10:51 am

The games really don’t mean much. The only thing that was important was Koivu’s health which seemed to be better than expected.

#17 joshtm says:
September 20, 2006 at 4:43 pm

Anyone wanna take bets on who will win the stupid penalty award? Between Souray, Koivu and Samsonev, any of those three have the knack for getting stupid penalties that cost the game….But then again when all three are at their peak hey the goals more than make up for the stupid penalties. I can’t wait to see Samsonev and Koivu. The Habs still don’t have size or power yet, you would have thought by now that Gainey would have realized in the new NHL you need size to basically push the other goalie and score. This year the goalies are still getting the **** beaten out of them. Any bets on how long before one of the other teams hurts Huet? What’s his name, Corey Price, the new backup looks good too. To bad we have to wait a week before any of the games are broadcast, for those of us who don’t have access to NHL channel on the dish…

#18 PACTUM SERVA says:
September 20, 2006 at 4:53 pm

?

#19 Phil says:
September 20, 2006 at 8:15 pm

Hey Joshtm who cares about stupid penalty award:) With the “new” NHL anything can happen.Jeez sounds fair to me…13 Penalties to 6 give me a break.Boston played their little hearts out, playing their best except one.We played a lot of new blood.And had a very good look at what we have in our future.When Boston did play their new guys they were embarrassed.Bring on the regular season.Hail RDS!!!CBC can go the hell!!!

#20 habs heart 1 says:
September 22, 2006 at 10:13 pm

exhibition or no exhibition, we haven’t won a game yet! And remember, their opponents aren’t playing all their regulars either! The Canadiens as usual have no offence! that will be their downfall. You can say anything you want about these games not counting, but nobody likes to lose, and lose, and lose! That’s the recipe for the habs, because nothing was not enough was done in the off season to supply us with more offence, and I am extremely dissapointed at Gainey. He did nothing to improve this team, and I don’t see any way they will make the playoffs this year. Boston and Toronto are much improved, more so than the habs. I may not be an optimist, as far as the habs are concerned, but I am a REALIST! Boston, will finish higher in the standings than us. Toronto will finish higher in the standings than us. Buffalo will finish higher in the standings than us. Ottawa will finish high in the standings than us. Guess what that translates to? Last Place!

#21 habsland here says:
September 24, 2006 at 5:01 pm

I am a bit concerned about the habs. Yes I know it’s only preseason, but to be honest, our opponents look much sharper, and they look like professionals. We are looking like anmateurs. We don’t seem to know what to do with the puck when they get possession. Something , or should I say, alot of things are out of sync. Do you agree? Thank god, the season has not started yet. I am very worried about our center ice position. There is nobody backing up Koivu, and he’s not 100%. Ribeiro, they say is 1 step slower than his linemates, and we know already he can’t skate, so what are we going to do, and who will fill centerman position on the 2nd line? Plekanac is no better than a 4th line centerman, with no scoring talent. Did Yanic Perrault resign ? Maybe we can turn a winger into a centerman.

Leave a Comment

ShoutBox

Last Message 25 minutes ago

goalie : In all fairness to AK...he has played more aggressively and has been more involved the last 5 games or so. Amazing what UFA does to a player. If we could get 25+ goals plus a consistent effort I would want him on my team. His biggest downside is his inconsistency to be involved in the play.
Senet1 : Also the addition of Blunden and even Leblanc is not shy to throwing body checks. Also PK has been more aggressive lately
Senet1 : That is partly because of the change in coaching styles and the addition of Bourque.
Senet1 : If we kept Plekanec and Bourgue then we need a shooter on that line. So to me from a forward standpoint we need to add a goal scorer, but one who goes to the net and is not knocked around. To me based on our offence this year that is the most needed position to fill on our forward lines. When you consider that we got ride of Cammy, and if we trade Gionta and Gomez disappears we are no longer a small team. The team has more grit now than at the first of the year.
Senet1 : So we have to add some muscle as well as skill to our second & third lines and upgrade our fourth line as well. I could see Leblanc moving in as the centre on the second line if we got something good Plekanecs, otherwise, he could play the wing on either the second or third line. Blunden seemed to score faily well in the AHL not sure if he has it in him but would like to seem him on a line with Eller and maybe Leblanc next year all three players like to use their bodies and therefore should be
Senet1 : Not counting Markov if he plays. If we trade or let go of our UFA defenceman then we will need at least three D-men, I would like a good look at Nash to see if he can play at this level. If not he is gone, I do not think any of our other defensive prospects are ready quite yet. Our junior and college players should be coming on stream for Hamilton next year so we will get to see how much they have developed and whether any are ready for the big time.
Senet1 : While I agree we have quite a few players that could be made available, I do not see a need to make wholesale changes only the necessary one. obviously Gomez, Gionta, AK46(if he will not sign) I keep our top line of Cole, Pacman and David. I keep Eller and Leblanc, Blunden, Bourque, probably Plecanec unless we can really improve on his positin. I keep PK, Emelin, Gorges, Diaz and Naturally Price. Probably Budaj. That basically gives us two functional line and two sets of defence, not counting
goalie : Great to see Pacs gets su=ome success after the devestating dirty check last season that could have paralyzed him for life.
goalie : Given ho the team has played this season one thing in our favor is that we pretty much need to clean house. Other than about 6-7 guys everyone else would be available in my mind.
goalie : After how the tes]am has
Avatar37 : Apparently only one offer for Carter on the low side so far, I think Montreal would be foolish not to investigate the possibility of a trade for him, and if there is low interest, the deal might be able to include moving Gomez. Gomez/Darche/Cam poli and a third round pick? Maybe not, but I'd be in serious talks with Columbus right about now.
Avatar37 : «link»
Avatar37 : for him had we held on to him until now and created a bidding war. There are more buyers than sellers currently on the market and it would have been the perfect time to have traded him.
Avatar37 : Goalie - I'm not sure how we could have obtained more for Halak. We showcased him, everyone knew he was available for trade, and in the end, we took the best offer. Any asset is only worth what a purchaser will pay for it. The Halak trade wasn't like the Cammalleri trade where you had GMs afterwards saying they didn't even know he was on the market. The Halak trade was done properly, the Cammelleri trade was a knee-jerk panic move, and while my opinion is that we could have received more
Avatar37 : I saw the game, the Islanders first goal came from a shot that was clearly above the height of the crossbar. How is it possible for a play to go to review where they have the advantage of mulitple camera angles and the ability to pause and they STILL get the call wrong?
goalie : I agree don't get dilusional over our three game winning streak. Changes MUST be made. I am however, glad to see the effort being put forth by the players.
Mats Naslund : I just went to capgeek to see who the Avalanche might be dealing for a rental - and I see they have only 6 players signed for next season!!! There are a couple young D men on that squad who are RFAs who would do very nicely next season.
Mats Naslund : One thing I know - the 3 game winning streak had better not get PG thinking about holding onto guys for a PO run. Trade them, build the value and move on to next year.
Mats Naslund : How about Max Pac though.. 21 goals and on pace for 65 points this year. That is absolutely monster for a guy at his age/experience and especially coming after a horrific injury. Huge cornerstone moving forward. On pace for 33 goals.. could he get 35?
Mats Naslund : Didn't get to see it either - and while I don't really care about the win, I am very glad that Gomez scored so we don't have to endure all of the negativity in the media about him for the rest of the year. He still su@ks, but at least it won't be a topic every shift he takes.
goalie : Didn't get to see the game at all but it's great to see Pacs get a hat trick and fpor Cole to be + 3. When was the last time this team won three games in a row? Great victory -looks like they're giving 100% effort!
Senet1 : 4-2 win habs
Senet1 : Gomez scores, Yea!!!
goalie : As I said yesterday it will be interesting to see what our lame ass GM gets for players he ships out. Bourque is good and he'll help us but I still think we could have gotten more for him and for Halak when he was traded.
Avatar37 : round those picks occur (probably 3rd).
Avatar37 : An interesting article. If we slip to the 5th or 7th draft pick, a very interesting case could be made for drafting Galchenyuk. If we wind up with the second or third pick, I'm not sure who I'd draft, because clearly Yakupov is going to be drafted first overall. Our second round pick also becomes interesting, I know I'd take Vasilevski if he were still available. It will also be interesting to see if we can turn some of our veteran players (Moen, Gill, Campoli) into draft picks, and what
Avatar37 : «link»
Avatar37 : That is why PG should have waited on trading Cammalleri. Right now, there is a high demand for a top 6 forward, we could have gotten much more than Bourque in return. That isn't a knock against Bourque, but a knock against a knee-jerk reaction trade that didn't maximize our return on a top asset.
Avatar37 : «link»
Avatar37 : chips fall where they may. After all, the only difference between finishing 17th and 29th is how good a pick you get in the draft.
Avatar37 : We currently sit in 26th place in the league. We are 15 points ahead of Columbus, it's safe to bet at this point they will place last. We are, however, only 4 points ahead of Edmonton so it's still wide open as to who is going to finish second last. I still think that it's time to sit the veterans, play the youth, let them get experience, and regroup for next year. I'm not suggesting deliberately tanking like the Penguins, but give all our young players lots of playing time and let the c
Avatar37 : goalie - If it were not for the play of Cammalleri, we would never have made it out of round 1. Cammalleri played as big a part, if not bigger, than Halak did. Sure, Halak played well, but remember the team collapsed in front of him, making his job much easier. We had lots of blocked shots and the ones that got through were typically from the outside.
Senet1 : Goalie you are absolutely right, of course the one thing we had the two previous years that won the games that we are losing this year was our power play. If you look at say 10 games that we should have won had we had a similar power play, again we would not be having these conversations. When your PP goes from first to last in the league that is a lot of goals.How many games have we lost this year by one goal. Again poor management who did not prepare for Markov's possible absence.
goalie : I'll put it another way.... we need more players who are willing to get their noses dirty.
goalie : Two years ago when our goaltending stole series adn our players suddenly scored the coaches / GM believed that that was our true team . Well time has proven that was not. Though I was very glad to see the Habs knock off some very good teams we were very fortunate. And fortunate that spring was spelled HALAK!