Too close for comfort

[Madferret]

Too close for comfort
February 08, 2007

Sportsnet.ca News

The Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators are separated by one point in the Northeast Division standings.

That could change after the rivals play a home-and-home series, which begins Thursday at Scotiabank Place.

The Canadiens (29-20-6) are second in the division with 64 points - 14 behind first-place Buffalo - while the Senators (30-22-3) are right behind with 63 points. Montreal and Ottawa are currently the fourth and sixth seeds, respectively, in the Eastern Conference, where just three points separate the fourth and eighth-place teams.

Both clubs have lost three of their last four games, though, and are looking to get back on track.

"It's this time of the year and it's the same thing every year," said Canadiens captain Saku Koivu, who hasn't recorded a point in the last four games. "This league is very competitive. There are maybe one or two teams that seem like they'll make the playoffs, but from the third spot to the 12th or 13th spot, everything is open."

The Eastern Conference race grew even tighter Tuesday, when the Canadiens lost 2-1 to the eighth-place Carolina Hurricanes. Alexei Kovalev's goal tied the game in the second period, but Montreal gave up its second power-play goal of the game just past the midway mark of the third.

The Canadiens' penalty-killing unit has struggled lately, thwarting only 12 of 21 opponent chances over the last four games.

Cristobal Huet is expected to get the nod in goal for Montreal despite his recent struggles. The All-Star netminder is 4-8-0 with a 3.61 goals-against average in his last 12 starts, and has dropped three of his last four starts against the Senators while posting a 4.03 GAA.

Ottawa had a chance to jump over Montreal in the standings Wednesday, but fell 3-2 to the Sabres. Peter Schaefer tied the game early in the third period, but Buffalo's Thomas Vanek scored his second goal of the game with four minutes remaining.

Ottawa managed only six shots in the final 16 minutes of the loss, and leading scorer Dany Heatley failed to record a point for the fourth time in five games.

"We tried," Senators coach Bryan Murray said. "The guys had the puck and had a flurry for a couple of shifts, but not consistently."

The Senators will look for a better result at home, where they are 6-1-1 in their last eight games. They'll host a Montreal team that has dropped seven of its last nine on the road.

The Canadiens have won three of five meetings between the teams this season, however. Montreal got goals from Sheldon Souray, Mark Streit and Tomas Plekanec in a 2:24 span of the second period to beat Ottawa 3-1 on Jan. 29 at home.

Senators goaltender Ray Emery has dropped his last three starts beginning with that defeat, but backup Martin Gerber may get the start Thursday as Ottawa plays on consecutive nights. Gerber is 4-1-0 with a 2.41 GAA in five career starts versus the Canadiens.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/images/nhl/ott/heatley_practice_hor.jpg

[Max Power]

Holy s^%* will Murray finally give up on these lines. As much as I don't think anybody is playing particularly bad (excluding Redden last night) the lines just don't work. I don't know how many botched opportunities there was last night? I swear at least 5 - 10 times a perfect pass to an open man for a scoring opportunity was totally missed just to shoot the puck in Biron chest. Either put Comrie with Spezza to make to scoring lines or put Spezza back on the top line and make a second line of Comrie Vermette and Eves and hope they gel.

[Madferret]

Spezza and Senators drop Canadiens
Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) - Both the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens turned to tried-and-tested combinations Thursday night, hoping to break out of their mid-winter doldrums.

It was the Senators who met with success, however, when the reunited duo of Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley combined for a pair of goals in a 4-1 victory over the Canadiens before a sell-out crowd of 19,915 at Scotiabank Place.

"For us, getting back together was the same as it's been all season - good things happen," said Heatley, who took a pass from Spezza in the slot and notched his 32nd goal of the season 56 seconds into the second period, a goal that stood as the winner. "We were moving the puck well and we got a couple of goals out of it," he added.

Spezza, who hasn't played regularly with his longtime linemate since returning from a knee injury suffered before the all-star break, had a goal and an assist in the front end of a home-and-home series between the teams.

Meanwhile, Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau reunited the line of Saku Koivu, Christopher Higgins and Michael Ryder, a combination that served Montreal well in the early part of the season, but didn't fare as well Thursday.

"They have to get better," said Carbonneau of his top line. "We need something to turn the corner, but I don't have a lot of options."

Carbonneau watched the Senators take the lead 4½ minutes into the game through Chris Phillips before Montreal made eight trips to the penalty box and allowed a power-play goal by Peter Schaefer.

The Senators (31-22-3) stopped a two-game losing slide and won for just the second time in five games to leapfrog Montreal (29-21-6) in the Northeast Division standings.

Senators goaltender Ray Emery stopped 27 shots to pick up his 23rd win of the season, matching his victory total from all of last year and Volchenkov added two assists.

Guillaume Latendresse had the lone goal on a second-period penalty shot and Cristobal Huet finished with 35 saves for the Canadiens, who have lost back-to-back games and four of their past five.

Montreal went 0-for-6 on the power play.

"In my speech before the game, we talked about discipline," Carbonneau said. "The good thing is they took (six penalties) on us, but we just couldn't capitalize. The last seven or eight games, we've been creating chances - we just can't put it in the ocean right now."<

Chris Neil sidestepped a check from Aaron Downey in the neutral zone and hit Phillips with a lead pass. Huet got a piece of Phillips' drive from the top of the faceoff circle, but the puck rolled off the tip of the goaltender's glove and in.

It was the seventh straight game in which the Canadiens have allowed the first goal.

Montreal then proceeded to give up a goal just 56 seconds into the second as Spezza found Heatley in the slot for Heatley to notch his 32nd goal of the season.

Schaefer took a pass from Daniel Alfredsson and beat Huet from close range during a power play later in the period.

"We're starting to skate better and play better, then we go back to doing lazy things - taking too many penalties," Higgins said.

Latendresse gave the Canadiens hope when Phillips pulled him down on a breakaway with 2½ minutes remaining in the second. He scored on the ensuing penalty shot and Phillips also received a high-sticking minor on the play from referee Rob Shick, but Montreal couldn't convert with the man advantage.

"Montreal's got a great power play," Emery said. "(But) I think we did a really good job. We got in the lanes. Volchenkov was blocking shots (he was credited with a game-high six) and we did a good job of clearing out."

Spezza capped things off on an odd-man rush with 1:31 remaining in regulation.

The teams meet again Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Notes: Bill Comrie, the father of Senators centre Mike Comrie and founder of The Brick chain of furniture stores, is scheduled to be awarded the Order of Canada by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean on Friday. .. Canadiens defenceman Andrei Markov, who's day-to-day with a knee injury, sat out the game. a Montreal also scratched blue-liner Craig Rivet.