Hard und Software » Wings club that they swept in three meeting

One month into the season, is there any debate as to who is the leagues top team? Put your hands down,?New York Rangers fans. Same for you, Pittsburgh Penguins devotees. Edmonton Oilers? Nope. Chicago Blackhawks??Nice run, but no. The title of leagues best -- not to mention giving renewed optimism for a long-awaited return of the Stanley Cup north of the border -- belongs to the Montreal Canadiens.Here is why:Carey PriceSo Im the master of the obvious. Sue me. But after the top goaltender in the world missed almost all of last season with an injury that sent the Habs into a death spiral that saw them finish 21st and out of the playoffs with a minus-15 goal differential, Price and his health is the storyline of Montreals season. After a stellar World Cup of Hockey for champion Team Canada, Price has once again assumed his mantle as the top goalie on the planet with a perfect 9-0-0 record. He has a .953 save percentage and has allowed more than two goals just once. As you were.Its not just PriceRemember this: Price was kept out of the lineup at the start of the season because of illness, and the Habs were OK with Al Montoya, who has been brought in during the offseason after backing up Roberto Luongo for the?Florida Panthers, more than capably holding the fort. Never mind that he allowed 10 goals against the Columbus Blue Jackets?in the teams only regulation loss. Apart from that blowout, Montoya has turned in a save percentage of at least .921 in each appearance, and the 12-1-1 Canadiens are second in the league in goals allowed per game -- compared with 21st a year ago. Given the compressed schedule this season because of the World Cup and the bye week each team gets in the new year, Montoya is key to the Habs continued success.Alex Galchenyuk has arrivedRemember when GM Marc Bergevin threw shade on young forward Alex Galchenyuk and questioned whether he had the stuff to be the teams No. 1 center -- or a center of any account -- for a team that was as thin as paper down the middle? Remember how Galchenyuk, the third-overall pick in 2012, wasnt asked to join the other young stars for Team North America at the World Cup? Well, all is forgiven and forgotten, Galchenyuk has quietly become the Canadiens long-awaited top pivot, with 14 points in 14 games, and leads the Habs with six goals. All but three of Galchenyuks points have come with teams at even strength, as the Canadiens are tied for second in the league in 5-on-5 goals. A year ago they were 13th.The seat isnt so hot after allMy favorite moment of this season involving the Canadiens was the broad smile on coach Michel Therriens face after the 10-0 beatdown in Columbus. That smile was the smile of a man with perspective. Pretty good for a coach who was already considered on the hot seat before the first game of the season thanks to the abrupt, late-summer departure of head coach Patrick Roy?from the?Colorado Avalanche, which opened up all kinds of (idle) speculation that Roy was the Habs coach in waiting. If the Canadiens keep this up, Roy will be waiting a long time if he ever did aspire to the coaching job in Montreal.Therrien, often a lightning rod for criticism during last seasons implosion, has handled this lineup with precision, deftly moving players in and out without upsetting the teams rhythm. David Desharnais, for instance, was held out of Thursdays win over the?Los Angeles Kings?while Phillip Danault played center for the first time and was subsequently named the games first star. Therrien has moved promising young defenseman Nathan Beaulieu up and down his pairings.Its not all perfect. The special teams arent as dominant as one would expect a 12-1-1 team to be, and the Canadiens give up the second most shots per game. But so far, so good for Mr. Hotseat.P.K. who?OK, Im not going to debate the merits of what was one of the biggest star-for-star trades in the history of the game. But make no mistake: The arrival of Shea Weber in Montreal has changed this teams identity and its personality. P.K. Subban has likewise altered life in Nashville, and after a slow start, the Predators are starting to climb the Central Division standings.?But I digress. The stoic, physically imposing Weber, a block of granite on the ice, is the antithesis of the flamboyant Subban. Whether its a cause-and-effect thing or not, Weber has stabilized the defense, which has allowed 17 5-on-5 goals -- the third lowest total in the NHL. And if anyone thought that Weber was perhaps losing some of his offensive prowess? Um, no. The former Nashville captain has five goals, four on the power play, and leads the team with an average of 25:41 a game in ice time, seventh in the NHL.No boom so farWhen the Canadiens took a chance in signing former KHLer?Alexander Radulov to a one-year deal worth $5.75 million during the offseason, there were immediate comparisons to another reclamation project the Habs had undertaken a year earlier, with Alexander Semin. Both were talented players who had never achieved meaningful NHL success.Semin was a bust and played 15 games, scoring just once before being dismissed by the Canadiens. Radulov -- who has played often with Galchenyuk and more recently Paul Byron, as the Habs consistently ice three dangerous lines -- has worked hard at being a complete player while chipping in 12 points, second most on the team. Billy Ripken Jersey . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. Fred Lynn Jersey . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. https://www.cheaporioles.com/1848i-george-kell-jersey-orioles.html .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Curt Blefary Jersey ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Roberto Alomar Jersey . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. OXFORD, Ohio -- Logan McLane and Michael Weathers scored 15 points apiece and Miami (Ohio) held off an IUPUI rally in the second half Saturday for a 71-68 win.Miami (5-5) led by as much as 21 but had to scramble to pull out the win after IUPUI tied the game at 68-all with a 3-pointer from Kellon Thomas with 29 seconds left. Rod Mills Jr. put Miami back on top with a jumper at the other end, then McLane hit 1 of 2 from the line with three seconds left to pad it.IUPUIs Matt OLeary misseed a 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer.ddddddddddddMarcus Weathers got 13 points to make it his fourth straight game in double figures and Mills finished with 11 for Miami.Trailing 59-38 in the second half, IUPUI (3-7) rallied with a 23-3 run that included 3-pointers from T.J. Henderson, Thomas and Darrell Combs.D.J. McCall led the Jaguars with 14 points. ' ' '