All Habs GameDay: Friday March 23, 2012
On this day in hockey history… 1944 – Playing in his second career playoff game, Montreal’s Maurice Richard scored all five goals to lead the Canadiens to a 5-1 victory over Toronto, in Game Two of the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals.
GAMEDAY: Habs hockey tonight!
OTTAWA SENATORS (37-27-10) 
MONTREAL CANADIENS (28-33-13) vs.
Last 10: Ottawa 4-4-2 ; Montreal 4-3-3
Bell Centre, 7:30 p.m. EST
TV: RDS, SNET-E, TSN-HABS
Projected line combinations (updated following morning skate)
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Forwards
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Erik Cole
Rene Bourque – Tomas Plekanec – Lars Eller
Mike Blunden – Ryan White – Louis Leblanc
Brad Staubitz – Petteri Nokelainen – Aaron Palushaj
Defenseman
Josh Gorges – P.K. Subban
Andrei Markov – Alexei Emelin
Yannick Weber – Chris Campoli
Goaltenders
Carey Price (confirmed) – Peter Budaj
Scratches
Blake Geoffrion
Injuries
Brian Gionta (biceps) – Travis Moen (upper body) – Mathieu Darche (dizziness/upper body) – Raphael Diaz (lower body) – Scott Gomez (concussion) – Tomas Kaberle (upper body)
Power-play
Pacioretty – Desharnais – Cole – Markov – Subban
Bourque – Eller – Plekanec – Weber – Campoli
OTTAWA SENATORS
Forwards
Colin Grenning – Jason Spezza – Milan Michalek
Zack Smith – Kyle Turris – Daniel Alfredsson
Nick Foligno – Jim O’Brien – Chris Neil
Rob Klinkhammer – Zenon Konopka – Erik Condra
Defensemen
Filip Kuba – Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen – Sergei Gonchar
Chris Phillips – Matt Gilroy
Goaltenders
Craig Anderson (confirmed) – Ben Bishop
Scratches
Injuries
Jesse Winchester (concussion) – Peter Regin (shoulder) – Jason Spezza (game-time decision: flu)
GAMEDAY: All Habs Headlines
► Rumours abound: So what do some write about without an exciting playoff push for the Canadiens? Rumours. For the past few weeks we have heard about Scott Gomez being bought out at the end of the season and heading to the Devils. There’s also been a great deal of speculation about potential candidates for coach and GM positions.
Martin Leclerc of Radio-Canada reported that a deal was already signed by Patrick Roy to be the Canadiens next head coach. Shawn Simpson, a former pro scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs, suggested via Twitter that Roy would be the next GM with his buddy Bob Hartley stepping in behind the bench. Either rumour, if true, would be a monumental mistake by ownership.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/SSimpsonHockey/status/182509095390154752″]
Habs fans can only hope that after a season of disappointment that Canadiens ownership chooses from the best that the NHL has to offer to fill their expected vacancies. For his part, Roy offered the expected denials.
“I would like to see that contract I supposedly signed. I’m flattered, but it’s making me laugh. I don’t know what’s happening. Molson never called me. When I hear that the information comes from a good source, it shows that journalists are ridiculous sometimes. At the end of the day, Molson is the one who is going to decide who will be his coach and his general manager. If he is satisfied with Pierre Gauthier’s work, he’s going to keep him and same thing with Randy Cunneyworth. Last time I spoke with Geoff Molson, it was at my jersey retirement at Bell Center and I can assure you that I didn’t sign any contract that night.” — Patrick Roy via Le Journal de Quebec (translated)
► New at All Habs Hockey Magazine:
Habs Motivation: Competiveness, Pride, Jobs
Got a Hockey Questions? Ask Habs Legend Guy Carbonneau
Price, NHL Goalies Choose Comfort Over Safety
Out of the Red, White, Blue: Markov, Kaberle, Koivu
► Puck’s take: Need to know who will win tonight? You can find Puck the Bunny’s prediction here. His record is an impressive 21-10-6.
(Photo by REUTERS/Blair Gable)