goucheThe Tampa Bay Lightening just keep on winning, and even the Detroit Red Wings have passed the Montreal Canadiens in the Atlantic Division. Foolishly, at this time, I am dead set on the Habs claiming the Cup The Lightening and Red Wings both have a game in hand. The Toronto Maple Leafs are in 4th spot with 33 points. The Metropolitan Division has no great interest for me except it is nice to see the Pittsburgh Penguins at the top. Now in the Central Division My Chicago Black have finally got on track and are ahead with 38 points and a game in hand. But my hometown Winnipeg Jets have got to start winning a few more, as they are in 4th spot and have only 33 points. Rumor has it that Dustin Byfuglien may be up for a trade, and that is quite distressing to me. Unfortunately the Anaheim Ducks keep on winning in the Pacific Division and now have the edge on Vancouver and Calgary. However the Canucks and Flames are still in the top three. Tonight (Dec. nth) there is a full slate of games , but only Montreal and Toronto have home ice.
A WIN AT Home FOR JETS by Momma Gouche
A power play goal by Bryan Little in the first period and a shorthanded goal by Michael was all it took to defeat the lowly Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday Night. The Sabres are sitting in the frozen cellar of the Atlantic Division while the Jets are lodged in the middle of the Pacific Division. Hopefully, if they continue to play moderately well, they will win enough games to make the playoffs.
IT’S A LONG WAY TO TiPPERARY ( the STANLEY CUP) by Momma Gouche
There is still lots of ice under the blades before the moment of truth, but the Montreal Canadiens are not letting any (grass) grow under their blades. The defeated the Boston Bruins 2-0, with Thomas Plekanec scoring one goal and assisting on the other. The Habs now lead the whole league with 33 points … 3points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightening. Meanwhile the Toronto Maple Leafs showed some (get up and go) with their 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Tyler Bozak led the way with 2 goals … one of them shorthanded. Jonathan Bernier was outstanding in net and the defence played what they are there fore …defence. Well done LEAFS! The Calgary Flames snuck threw in shoot out against the New Jersey Devils and are holding their own in the Pacific Division. And what about my Blackhawks who trounced the lowly Edmonton Oilers 7-1. Either the Chicago Blackhawks are playing up to their usual prowess or the Oilers are fading out of a playoff possibility.
MY WINS AND LOSSES IN THE NHL by Momma Gouche
The Montreal Canadiens are still in their winning mode and Max Pacioretty … with 2 goals (on his birthday) led the way to a 4-1 win over the St Louis Blues on Thursday night. The Canadiens have 31 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs surprisingly beat the Tampa Bay Lightening 5-2, which gives the Habs a 3 point lead over Tampa in the Atlantic Division. Vancouver let me down with their 4-3 loss to Anaheim, as I was hoping the Canucks would take the lead in the Pacific Division. Even Calgary lost 4-3 to My Chicago Blackhawks. Even though the Hawks badly need a lot of wins, they are only suppose to win over American teams. And lastly … my hometown Winnipeg Jets are floundering. With their 4-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings they are slipping down the ladder again.
MONTREAl “et al” THE CANADIAN TEAMS by Momma Gouche
The Montreal Canadiens are not only top of the Atlantic Division with 29 points …. they are on top of the whole League. In the third period Wednesday night they snuck by the Edmonton Oilers 5-4. The Oilers certainly cannot afford many more losses as they have a lowly 14 points.( foolishly I can see the glitter of the Stanley Cup in the hands of the Canadiens) .The Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs have 20 points and with a few wins could be feasible for the play offs. But the crowning glories at this point are The Calgary Flames and Vancouver, who are pressing the Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division. As an aside on my Canadian trail I hope that My Chicago Black Hawks will get back on their usual track and win over any American team.
CANADA IN THE NHL…Momma Gouche
With the Montreal Canadiens win over the Boston Bruins Thursday night and Tampa Bays loss to the San Jose Sharks the Habs again take over the lead in the Atlantic Division with 17games for 25 points. They are only one point behind Anaheim, in the Pacific Division. The Calgary Flames are in third spot in the Pacific Division and the Winnipeg Jets have 20 points. If they can continue to play as well they should have a crack at making the playoffs. The Edmonton Oilers are our only non contender at this point with a lowly 14 points in the Pacific Division. My only sore spot in the playoffs is where my Chicago Black Hawks are positioned. They have a lot to pick up if they want to in their usual spot in top of the heap.
THE LEAFS BLOW IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION by Momma Gouche
Phil Kessel had 2 goals by the 18th second of the second period in the Toronto Maple Leafs roust of the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night. Morgan Reilly scored @ 1:34 and James Van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak had power play goals. Boston got one goal by the end of the second. In the third period Peter Holland ended the scoring with a power play goal. This was a well put together and organized team that we had yet to see this season. Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak also had an assist each. It was a relatively clean played game, which I believe had only 5 penalties.
TUESDAY NIGHT IN THE NHL by Momma Gouche
The Montreal Canadiens continue to excel, with unfortunately a 3-0 win over my hometown Winnipeg Jets. There were two other shutouts, as The New York Islanders whipped the Colorado Avalanche 6-0. The Pittsburgh Penguins fell to the New York Rangers 5-0. This ended the Penguins winning streak. Well at least My Chicago Blackhawks got a 3-2 win in a shootout … against the leading Tampa Bay Lightening. The Buffalo Sabres were hammered by the St Louis Blues and the Edmonton Oilers fell 3-2 to the Nashville Predators. So the Sabres and Oilers continue in the cellar.
LIGHTENING KEEPS ON STRIKING by Momma Gouche
On Saturday night the Tampa Bay Lightening, in their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, lost no time in putting 4 goals on the score board. Twelve players contributed to these goals. It shows that the whole team is in complete awareness of each others move. They continue to be on top of the standings in the Atlantic Division with 21 points. Montreal had lead the way for some time and it appears as though these two teams will continue to be close rivals, as Montreal also had an outstanding game. The Blue Jacket players admitted that they had spent too much time in their own end and that they did a lot of chasing their opponents.
MONTREAL STILL ON TOP…….by Momma Gouche
The Montreal Canadiens lost 4-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, but they are still on top of the Atlantic division by 1 point. Fortunately Tampa Bay lost to the Islanders 5-2. The Canadiens were beaten by the third line of the Penguins. It has been an interesting battle for top spot between the Canadiens and Lightening, and there is more to be seen on Thursday night when Montreal hosts the St Louis Blues and Tampa Bay is hosted by Toronto. I believe the last time the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup was in 1993.
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