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HEAD COACH
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Alain Vigneault
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ROSTER
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C - Saku Koivu, Vincent Damphousse, Scott Thornton, Matt
Higgins, Trent McLeary, Sergei Zholtok. LW - Shayne Corson,
Martin Rucinsky, Benoit Brunet, Terry Ryan, Brian Savage, Andrei
Bashkirov, Dave Morissette, Patrick Poulin. RW - Mark Recchi,
Turner Stevenson, Jonas Hoglund, Jason Dawe. D - Vladimir
Malakhov, Stephane Quintal, Patrice Brisebois, Brett Clark,
Miloslav Guren, Stephane Robidas, Craig Rivet, Igor Ulanov, Eric
Weinrich, Alain Nasreddine. G - Frederic Chabot, Jeff Hackett.
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INJURIES
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Saku Koivu, c (elbow infection, day-to-day);
Craig Rivet, d (back spasms, day-to-day); Turner Stevenson, lw
(spained ankle, day-to-day); Brian Savage, lw (strained ribcage
muscle, undetermined).
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TRANSACTIONS
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01/16: Brett Clark assigned to Fredericton (AHL);
01/19: Brett Clark recalled from Fredericton; 01/21: Sylvain
Blouin recalled from Fredericton; 01/22: Sylvain Blouin assigned
to Fredericton.
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GAME RESULTS
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01/12 at Detroit L 5-1
01/15 at Washington W 3-0
01/16 NY Rangers W 3-0
01/18 Washington T 4-4
01/21 at Chicago L 3-0
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STANDINGS
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Northeast Division GP W L T PTS GF GA
Toronto 46 27 16 3 57 152 133
Ottawa 45 25 14 6 56 133 101
Buffalo 43 23 13 7 53 119 86
Boston 43 20 16 7 47 116 97
Montreal 46 17 21 8 42 106 120
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TEAM NEWS
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by Jacques Robert, Montreal Correspondent
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Never Give Up...
Or so it says on the Maurice Richard Trophy unveiled at 1999 NHL
All-Star Game in Tampa Bay to honor one of the NHL's all-time
greats -- Maurice "Rocket" Richard of the Montreal Canadiens --
with a trophy in his name to be awarded annually to the league's
top goal scorer.
In regard to this season, is that quote from the Rocket meant for
the players, the fans, or the press? As far as reporters are
concerned, most seem to already have given up on this season and
feel that the Habs would be better off not making the playoffs in
order to get a good draft pick. Well, the fans appear to be
behind the Canadiens, still buying tickets, and with blind faith,
hoping to see them for the team they once were in the days of
Maurice Richard, and later Guy Lafleur & Co. I guess that leaves
the players, and we will know soon if they have the drive not to
give up, even though they have to win 65% of their games to have
a chance to make the playoffs.
The Canadiens went into the break in 10th place in the Eastern
Conference. All the teams they are trying to catch have at least
two games in hand. Also, the Habs are five points out of a
playoff spot and three points behind ninth-place Florida, winner
of the Pavel Bure sweepstakes. Dave King commented: "The
situation has changed there since they got Bure. He looked pretty
good in his first game back and that's one more team we have
to worry about."
One who worries is Alain Vigneault. He spent the All-Star break
in Nassau but he left with the bitter taste of defeat after his
team was outplayed 3-0 by the Blackhawks. He said: "If the
players have the kind of vacation they deserve, it will rain for
four days." Even though things have picked up since December 26
(9-3-1), that loss against Chicago exemplifies the first half of
the season. Hackett, the player who has been keeping hopes
alive since he was acquired on Nov. 16, was left to fend for
himself. While on the other side of the ice, Jocelyn Thibault was
able to count on his teammates to protect a shutout against his
old team. "I think we were all trying to win this one for
Jocelyn", said Doug Gilmour.
Two other former Habs, Dave Manson and Brad Brown, also really
wanted to win. However, those are emotions that seem hard to
come by in the Habs dressing room. One long time hockey
commentator, Yvon Pedneault, wrote: "Some players break
their stick out of frustration at the end of a match. Is it
frustration or hypocrisy?" However, just to be fair, the guys
could have just been over confident after their last three games,
including two shutouts, 3-0 at Washington (Jan. 15) and 3-0
against the NY Rangers (Jan. 16) and a 4-4 tie against Washington
(Jan. 18). Those were Hackett's 15th and 16th shutouts of his
career. "I feel comfortable, " said Hackett at the time. "Our
team was down against Detroit, but we showed how we bounce back.
We have character. We have a sign of a good team."
Well, that's one guy who doesn't show signs of giving up, let's
hope his feeling is contagious and that the Canadiens will
start the second half of the season on the right foot in Tampa
Bay. They have to...
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