Nov 07 Catching Up On The Latest Habs News

It's been a while since I have been able to catch you up on all the Habs news that has come across our mailbox and for that I apologize. Following are the press releases on the Molson cup recipient for October, a new contract signing for the Habs as well as my commentary on Montreal's recent game against Columbus.

Alex Tanguay Named Molson's Cup Player Of The Month - October

Left-winger Alex Tanguay is the Molson Cup Player of the Month for October. Tanguay, acquired from the Calgary Flames last June, wins the first Molson Cup segment of the 2008-2009 season.

Tanguay amassed a total of 14 points in the Molson Cup standings in October, by virtue of two first star selections, one second star and another third star selection. He finished ahead of teammates Carey Price and Andrei Markov, who collected 11 and 6 points respectively.

Tanguay netted a team-high 6 goals in 9 games in October and led the Canadiens with 11 points, tied with Andrei Markov. The Ste-Justine, Quebec, native also scored three power-play goals (1st on the team) while posting a plus-7 rating.

Tanguay will be presented with the Molson Cup during a ceremony prior to game against the Ottawa Senators on November 11 at the Bell Centre.

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Canadiens Sign David Desharnais to a 2 Year Deal

Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey announced today the signing of forward David Desharnais to a two-year, two-way contract (2008-09 to 2009-10). As per club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

This season, Desharnais registered 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) and is a plus-2 through 11 games with the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs. He participated in his first training camp with the Canadiens this season, and recorded two points in three preseason games (0-2-2).

In 2007-2008, his first full season as a pro, David Desharnais led the Cincinnati Cyclones to their first ECHL championship. The centreman led the ECHL in points (9-24-33) and assists (24), finished second with 9 goals and posted a plus-11 rating in 22 playoff games.

During the regular season, the Quebec City native registered a league-leading 106 points in 68 games (29 goals, 77 assists) while posting a plus-38 rating. Desharnais, 22, was named the ECHL Rookie of the Year and voted to the league’s All-Star Team in 2008.

From 2003 to 2007, Desharnais amassed 374 points (126 goals, 248 assists) in 262 regular-season games with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the QMJHL.

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Montreal Loses To Columbus 4-3 in the Shootout

The Canadiens took a 2-1 lead early in the third period and you almost got the feeling that this was how it was going to end until Montreal allowed Columbus to get back into the game. RJ Umberger, a Montreal nemesis since last year's playoffs when he was with Philly, was one of the contributors in the goal department but the story here is that Montreal has, of late been playing a dangerous game of falling behind and relying on their skill to get them back into it. Lately this has been working and one would think you can't complain with a 8-1-2 start, however, at one point, this precarious road they are driving down will take a turn for the worse and they will slowly realize that they will not always be able to mount comebacks against better skilled teams.

So far in the Montreal schedule, with the exception of Anaheim and perhaps Minnesota, the Canadiens have not yet met teams that are considered to be top tier. I'm talking the Redwings, San Jose  and the Rangers, teams who will rarely allow any team a chance to come from behind, once they get a lead on them. Montreal has to start playing strongly out of the gates and then keep the pressure on through 60 minutes offensively because I still maintain they do not have an elite defense and are still missing a legitimate 4th defenseman.

Jaroslav Halak, who played his second unimpressive straight game, should start to realize he still has a long way to go before he is a number one goalie in the NHL and when he is called upon the next time, should take heed that Marc Denis is doing a more than noble job in Hamilton and has much NHL experience.

The Canadiens deserved the point as they yet again managed to come from behind in the dying seconds of the 3rd period, but did not deserve the extra point because they should have never been in this situation in the first place against the Columbus Bluejackets, and more importantly because Halak let in the shots of the the first and only two shooters he met in the shootout and neither Tanguay nor Andrei Kostitsyn could muster anything against Steve Mason.

Tags: Alex tanguay \ David Desharnais \ habs \ Jaroslav Halak \ Marc Denis \ Molson Cup \ Montreal Canadiens \ NHL