Habs For Breakfast - It's Do Or Die Time

The jig's up tonight for the Habs if they cannot find a way to hold the Bruins off better than they have in the last two games.

Boston, on the other hand, will play like they have nothing to lose.

We'll soon know what the Canadiens are made of, but they have yet to perform as though their backs are to the wall.

In the end, that might make all the difference.

Habs Fans Ride Playoff Roller Coater - Gazette

"It's cardiac time in Montreal. Grab the heart pills, Mabel, make sure Daddy has taken his Valium, pull up a seat within dialing distance of your 50-inch HDTV and get ready to sweat .50-calibre bullets." - Jack Todd

Habs Seek Killer Instinct - Gazette

"I have to feel confident," Montreal head coach Guy Carbonneau said yesterday. "We went through a lot of challenges. We weren't supposed to be in the playoffs, finish first overall. We always found another level." - Herb Zurkowsky

Series "Slipped Away" Says Koivu - Globe Sports

"Koivu reported that he and his teammates are relaxed, focused and confident. But after their past two dismal outings, in which they surrendered 10 goals after giving up only five in the first four games of the series, how confident can this bunch be?" - Tim Wharnsby

Montreal - Boston: Game 7 - Hockey's Greatest Legends

"Eleven Montreal players have played in a game 7 before, with a combined record of 17-8, led by Alexei Kovalev's perfect 5-0. The Bruins also have eleven players who have participated in a game 7, including back up goaltender Alex Auld. The Bruins are a combined 8-15. Glen Murray leads all Bruins scorers with 2 goals and 3 points in 5 career game sevens." - Joe Pelletier

The Night We All Said Thank You To Maurice "Rocket" Richard - Dennis Kane's Excellent Montreal Canadiens Blog

"I feel just a small break from the stress of the Boston-Montreal series is needed right now. Montreal fans were so optimistic going into round one, but the team hasn’t played well, and going into game seven Monday night, Boston carries all the momentum and good feelings." - Dennis Kane

Game 7 By The Numbers - Habs Inside Out
Carbo: More Urgency Needed In Game 7 - Habs Inside Out
Canadiens, Bruins Game 7 History - Habs Inside Out

L'urgence de la situation - RDS

"C'est un match sans lendemain. On n'a plus nulle part où aller. Si on n'est pas prêt et qu'on ne fournit pas l'effort, on va se retrouver en vacances", a affirmé Carbo. S'expliquant mal leur rendement en dents de scie dans les deux derniers duels, il a dit croire que ses troupiers vont répondre à l'appel, comme ils l'ont fait au cours de la saison régulière."

Kovalev a déjà vu neiger - RDS

"Pointé indirectement du doigt par l'entraîneur Guy Carbonneau, au terme de la défaite de 5-4 samedi, il a des choses à se faire pardonner. Il a été sur la glace pour trois des quatre buts des Bruins, en troisième période. Carbonneau a indiqué, dimanche, qu'il va s'efforcer de soustraire Kovalev à la surveillance étroite du géant défenseur Zdeno Chara. Ce que l'avantage de la glace lui permet de faire."

Julien: "La pression n'a pas l'air déranger cette equipe - La Presse

"Ça m'avait frappé, durant l'entraînement matinal, de voir que nos joueurs, sans être nonchalants, n'étaient absolument pas nerveux. Ils étaient concentrés", a souligné l'entraîneur Claude Julien." - Marc Antoine Godin

Bergeron dans la mélée? - Le Journal

"J'ai parlé avec le médecin de l'équipe samedi et il n'y a pas de changement dans mon cas, a-t-il confié. Ça m'étonnerait que les choses évoluent dans les prochaines heures. Ça va faire six mois le 27 avril que j'ai subi cette sérieuse commotion cérébrale et on ne veut courir aucun risque." - Pierre Durocher

"Ce serait excitant, mais énervant aussi" - le Journal

"En tant qu'entraîneur, il est difficile de comprendre qu'on n'arrive pas à rivaliser d'intensité avec nos adversaires", a continué Carbonneau. - Marc De Foy

More from Habs Inside Out, RDS, La Presse and Le Journal

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Habs For Breakfast - Last Shot Wins

An emotional roller coaster was what Game 6 indeed was!

Koivu returns, plays the kind of inspired game we all love him for. Higgins steps up. Plekanec nets a big goal. The Canadiens carry a 2-1 margin confidently into the third.

Then, all hell breaks loose.

The Bruins system of sending two forecheckers deep in killing the Canadiens late in the game. What Claude Julien retained from caoching the Habs during three seasons is obviously helping him gain a measure of revenge against the team who let him go.

The table is now set for Game 7, and it just might come down to the last shot wins!

As long as the game doesn't head to OT. I don't feel the old ticker can handle it at this point.

Heartbreak In Beantown - Gazette

"An alleged mismatch between the No. 1-seeded Canadiens and the No. 8 Boston Bruins returns to Montreal tomorrow for a seventh and deciding game, after the Bruins defeated the Canadiens 5-4 last night in a stunning Game 6 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoff." - Gazette

Koivu Happy To Be Back - Gazette

"This would have been a remarkable comeback for most players. Not for Saku Koivu. Not for the Canadiens captain who six years ago recovered from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma to not merely resume his career, but to score 10 points in 12 postseason games and play some of the finest hockey of his life." - Dave Stubbs

"I Don't ( Expletive ) Believe It" - Gazette

"First came the high fives, then the expletives, as Habs fans at home watched their team lose a hard-fought Game 6 against Boston last night. "I don't (expletive) believe it," said Joel Beaulé, 34, who remained calm throughout the third period while cheers and chanting gave way to sweaty brows and nervous faces at the Peel Pub on Peel St." - Amy Luft

"Game 7: It's Do Or Die For The Habs - Gazette

""We went up 3-2 on (Francis Bouillon's) goal and then we made a series of mistakes and gave them three goals on breaks," Carbonneau said. "But they created those breaks and took advantage of them. We had veteran guys on the ice every time, but we didn't react the right way." - Pat Hickey

Bruins Force A Seventh Game - Globe Sports

"When it was his turn to sit at podium for his post-game remarks, 20 minutes after the pesky Boston Bruins forced a seventh and deciding game with a wild and wacky 5-4 victory at TD Banknorth Garden, the Canadiens bench boss sent a clear message to his high-scoring line of Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn as well as veteran defenceman Roman Hamrlik." - Tim Wharnsby






















Bruins Have Final Say In Back And Forth Affair - Lions In Winter

"Boston had just taken the 4-3 lead and it looked like the game may be over. Luckily for us no one told that to Saku and his line who had an answer just 11 seconds later. The puck got dumped in soon after the face-off (which Saku won) at centre ice. It was then the captain who raced behind the net and knocked the much bigger (4" taller, 20 lbs. heavier) Shane Hnidy off the puck. He then fed Sergei Kostitsyn who came out from behind the net and found a wide open Christopher Higgins who buried his second of the game; it drew the teams level on goals for the fifth time all game." - Tobalev

Where There's Life - The H Does Not Stand For Habs

"I thought this year would be different. I thought the team had such a great season, with everything coming together, that it would carry over into the playoffs. Not so. The old line goes that the playoffs are a whole new season. That was never more true than it's been for this first round between Montreal and Boston. Everything the Canadiens did to Boston in the regular season has been forgotten by all but the Bruins, who are now taking their revenge by doing it straight back to the Habs." - J.T.

Bruins Passover Habs - Four Habs Fans

"The Great Sea parted, with Bruin players and fans amassed unmercifully on two compressed fronts. The Habs army began to march through with confidence, in praise of this great breach. And soon thereafter, the walls began their devastating descent on the trapped Canadiens, caught in a bewildered state of paralysis and confusion. If the Bruins had appeared the weaker opponent for so long a time, incapable of winning let alone scoring on this Montreal team, today they are now transformed, the better team of the series. The waves conquered the Canadiens and tumbled on them with fury." - Habsfan4

Let's Just Bury Game Six And Concentrate On Game Seven - Dennis Kane's Excellent Montreal Canadiens Blog

"The picture is now crystal clear. Boston has figured Montreal out, and Montreal doesn’t know how to figure Boston out. Claude Julien understands how playoff hockey works, adjusted nicely, and his team has delivered." - Dennis Kane















"Nous n'avons plus le choix" - RDS

"Évidemment l’atmosphère n’était pas à la fête dans le vestiaire du Canadien à la suite du revers de 5-4 subi samedi soir à Boston."

"On a travaillé pour obtenir l'avantage de la patinoire, on va l'utiliser" - La Presse

"La déferlante qui s'est abattue sur le filet du Canadien en troisième période a laissé Guy Carbonneau bouche bée. Échapper de la sorte un match qu'il menait pourtant 2-1 après deux périodes... Que peut-il en retirer de bien? - Marc Antoine Godin

Koivu: " Je n'aurais manqué ce match pour rien au monde" - La Presse

"Le capitaine reconnaît qu'il a trouvé le temps long, surtout que cette année est peut-être celle qui peut le plus lui permettre de rêver depuis qu'il est à Montréal. "Ça faisait quelques années qu'on n'avait pas vécu ça. On sent l'enthousiasme chez les fans et les joueurs quand on regarde les matchs. C'est bien d'être de retour dans la vraie atmosphère." - Marc Antoine Godin

"Nos meilleurs doivent être nos meilleurs": Carbo - Le Journal

"C’est extrêmement décevant, a dit d’entrée de jeu l’entraîneur du Tricolore après la rencontre. « On vient de bousiller deux chances de mettre fin à la série, mais on a per mis aux Bruins de revenir de l’arrière." - Marc De Foy

Bergeron a Pensé au CH - Le Journal

"Malheureux de son utilisation (sa production avait chuté de 31 à 22 buts), Bergeron avait surpris son père en lui disant qu'il envisageait la possibilité de jouer avec le Canadien, ce qui lui permettrait par la même occasion de se rapprocher de la famille." - Bertrand Raymond

More from Habs Inside Out, RDS, La Presse, and le Journal
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Habs For Breakfast - One Down, Fifteen To Go

I heard two pearls of wisdom the other day.

The first said that the Habs playoff inexperience would not be factor against the Bruins. The thinking was that the Habs are so young that they haven't enough experience yet to understand fear.

The second was nothing to do with hockey, but funny enough to share. An old Groucho quote:

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read!"

The Canadiens win, as surprising in manner in which it came out of the gate, is reassuring but nothing to get overly excited about.

I'll tell myself that at least 10 times today. The series is far from done, though I have a sense that a tone and theme were set last night. It's three win away from one big step along a hard road.

Hard Hitting Habs Wanted Game More Than Bruins - Gazette

"That's nine in a row," Bruins coach Claude Julien was mentioning to a guy in the moments after yet another unproductive night against the Canadiens. "That's why you have a seven-game series," he added with a tight, little smile." - Red Fisher

Playoff Magic - Gazette

"The team fed off that electricity," said Montreal defenceman Mike Komisarek, returning to action following seven games missed with a hip injury. "It felt like the Super Bowl out there." - Dave Stubbs























Habs Draw First Blood - Gazette

"It's a shame that hockey fans in Belarus weren't able to follow the exploits of brothers Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn on TV last night. Those wild and crazy guys from Novopolotsk made their National Hockey League playoff debuts memorable as they each scored a goal early in the first period last night to propel the Canadiens to a 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series." - Pat Hickey

Bruins Bergeron Hungry For Habs - Gazette

"Patrice Bergeron believes the nightmare has almost reached its merciful conclusion, more than five months after it began. The symptoms that resulted from his first concussion have long since faded, and the Boston Bruins forward realizes it's probably only a matter of days before he resumes his career." - Herb Zurkowsky

Bruins Couldn't Match The Habs Intensity - Gazette

"We looked nervous at the beginning," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said after watching his squad lose last night at the Bell Centre. "Our team has played in this building all year. But when you're nervous, you make mistakes." - Herb Zurkowsky

For The Love Of The Habs - Gazette

"Her short-term memory fails her every so often, but Maria Sousa always seems to know when the Canadiens are playing.The 76-year-old Toronto woman is suffering from inoperable liver cancer, and the drugs she takes have terrible side effects. But she's always in a good mood when talking about the Habs." - Jason Madger

Kostitsyn's, Kostopoulos Lead Habs Over Bruins - TSN

"The brothers from Belarus - Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn - got it started, but then the diggers got down to work for the Montreal Canadiens. The Kostitsyns each scored a goal in their first NHL playoff games in the opening 2:02 of the first period and the usually mild-mannered Canadiens crashed and banged their way to a series-opening 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night."

Montreal's Band Of Brothers - Globe Sports

"Not only did the spell that the Montreal Canadiens held over the Boston Bruins in the regular season continue in the playoff opener last night, Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau's lucky necktie continued to work its magic." - Tim Wharnsby

Habs Take Early Series Lead - Lions In Winter

"Gainey made some great acquisitions last summer, but none may be more important than the big Czech defender. He may have been the steal of free-agency, a question that will be answered with a resounding yes if he keeps this play up throughout the playoffs. He was absolutely fantastic in his own end tonight, he really controlled the flow around Price. He had a game high 6 hits and they were all big hits too. Carbo recognized the type of game Roman was having tonight by rewarding him with more ice-time than any other Hab." - Tobalev

Jive Talkin' - The H Does Not Stand For Habs

"This week, the volume of traffic on Habs fan boards has increased alarmingly, with topics ranging from "What strategy should the Canadiens take to counter the Bruins' physical game," to "Should the players grow full beards or just goatees?" There are polls on everything from who'll win the series to what people think of the team playoff slogan." - J.T.

Ten Things I Hate About.... The Boston Bruins - Four Habs Fans

"While every week is technically Bruins Hate Week at FHF Headquarters, the almost annual playoff showdown rachets up the hate quotient to another level. So in the fine tradition of apparently hating the rest of the Eastern seaboard.

4-10-08: Canadiens 4 Bruins 1 - Theory Of Ice

"The Habs have a beautiful game. Go ahead and argue about what makes a team ‘best’, certainly that’s a qualitative debate open to many different perspectives, but I defy you to find a more consistently elegant game being played by any other team in the League. Not just elegant in the sense of aesthetically pleasing, but elegant in the sense that physicists might use the term- their play is a balanced equation that synthesizes speed, toughness, and intelligence in an uncannily efficient and perversely obvious manner." - E

Black and Bleu - Boston Herald

"Everyone in the hockey universe knew the Canadiens had much more team speed than the Bruins and far more pure skill. But who’d have guessed they’d be so much tougher? Taking the body, finishing checks, being a physically hard team to play against - those were key elements of the Bruins’ game all season, and they did well in the rough and ready part of the game."

Un premier test réussi- RDS

"Les gars étaient nerveux et ils ont simplement décidé de ne pas jouer du hockey de rattrapage", a déclaré l’entraîneur-chef Guy Carbonneau. "On met beaucoup de pression sur les joueurs de premiers plans et je suis simplement content de voir que tout le monde a produit."

Après 122 secondes. les doutes étaient dissipés - La Presse

"Cent vingt-deux secondes au cours desquelles les frères Sergei et Andrei Kostitsyn, deux des sept blancs-becs du Canadien, ont tour à tour marqué leur premier but en carrière en séries, à leur tout premier match, à leur toute première présence." - François Gagnon


La prédiction de Sergei Kostitsyn - Le Journal

"J'ai dit à Andrei que j'allais marquer dès le départ", a fait savoir Sergei après la victoire décisive de 4 à 1 du Canadien. "C'est vrai, a confirmé Andrei. Mais moi, je ne lui ai pas promis cela ! J'étais vraiment heureux quand j'ai vu mon frère marquer le premier but après seulement 34 secondes. Il m'a ensuite dit que c'était à mon tour d'en réussir un."

More links to articles at RDS, La Presse, and Le Journal