Montreal 4 - Buffalo 3

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 at the Bell centre tongiht. A hard fought battle and a high quality hockey game from start to finish, a home team win in an electric building. That's whats this sport is all about. Team captain Saku Koivu scored the game-winner, his 20th goal of the season.

Why do I love hockey so much? Of all of team sports played around the globe, hockey is the only one allowing players substitutions during the course of the action. This rule allows the play to run for a long period of time and gives the fans some great end-to-end action. Sometimes the play can be uninterrupted for 8 or 9 minutes. On tonight's decisive goal, Koivu went on the ice on a substitution during the course of play, immediatly intercepted a pass then rushed right at the goalie and score. Nobody was covering him as he was totally fresh on the ice.

Montreal keeps a hand on the 8th place as the remaining games of the regular season can be counted on one hand.

*Kudos*
Vincent Lecavalier has scored his 50th goal of the season in the last Tampa Bay Lightning game. A milestone he should be proud of for the rest of his life. 35 goals was his previous best production in one single season. The last french canadian from the province of Québec to score 50 in a season was Mario Lemieux.

Kudos Vinny!

Patrick Roy and Remparts eliminated.

The Québec Remparts coached by Patrick Roy, defending Memorial cup champs have been defeated in 5 games by the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the 1st QJMHL playoff round. Defensemen Christopher Letang's contribution during games 2, 3 and 4 was a deciding factor in the series. A new Memorial cup champion will be known this year after the CHL playoffs and Memorial cup round robin tournament ends.

Happy Golf season everyone!

Sens halts the Habs 5-2.

Mike Fisher scored twice in a 5-2 Ottawa Senators win over the Montreal Canadiens. A very intense and entertaining hockey game between the two teams.

Sheldon Souray scored his 25th goal of the season for Montreal on the power play, tying the NHL record for a defensemen with 18 power play goals in the same season.

The Ottawa Senators is the hottest team right now in the Eastern conference with only 1 loss in their last 10 games. The Habs have to get past this loss quickly. They stay 8th for the moment and plays another tough one against the top seeded Buffalo Sabres tonight at the Bell centre.

Will Kovalev remain hot?

Will we see the red hot Kovalev tonight? Alex Kovalev scored 4 goals in the last 2 games. Top 10 Kovalev goals.



Habs - Senators in an hour.

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The Jean Beliveau fundraising: a success.

(Picture: Canadian Press)
Yesterday the Bell centre was transformed in a ballroom for the Jean Beliveau foundation. The event was a great success as they raised one million dollars for the cause. The money will be spent among the six charity causes that the Montreal Canadiens are contributing to.

Among the numerous notables present at the event, Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper (seen with Jean Beliveau on the picture) said that he remembered very well one of Beliveau's goals in 2nd overtime during the 1969 semifinals against the Boston Bruins. ''That goal decided of the outcome of the playoffs that year. He was a veteran but was still able to make the difference''

Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs ex-goaltender Johnny Bower, Rodrigue Gilbert from the New-York Rangers, Red Kelly ex-Leafs and Red Wings were also present only to name those.

Beliveau is still one of the best hockey ambassador, even 35 years after he retired from the game. He won the Stanley Cup 10 times, scored 507 goals and 1219 points total. He finished 1st in league scoring during the 1956 season, won the league MVP title twice. (1956 and 1964) Beliveau will be 76 years old this summer but still attend to the majority of the Habs home games along with his wife Elise.

Habs - Sens tonight.

Two games in two nights are scheduled for the Montreal Canadiens. First stop is tonight in Kanata. The Ottawa Senators are trying to gain home ice advantage for the playoffs until the end of the regular season as the Habs are fighting for their playoff life.

Both teams are on a good streak, Ottawa is 7-1-2 in the last 10 games as Montreal will try to improove their winning streak to 6 in a row. Tonight's game promises a lot of action and intensity. Ottawa has won most of the matchups between the two teams this season but Montreal is playing with desperation since 10 days. Should be a good one.

Jaroslav Halak will get another start in net for Montreal, the only difference is that he will be backed up by Christobal Huet who has been practicing with the team for a full week. Huet has recovered from his his leg injury and should be able to make at least one start before the end of the season. Montreal is now controlling their own destiny as they still hold 8th place of the Eastern conference.

6	NY RANGERS	77	39	29		9	87	223	204
7	TAMPA BAY	77	41	32		4	86	237	245
8	MONTREAL	77	40	31		6	86	231	239
9	TORONTO	77	37	29		11	85	240	246
10	NY ISLANDERS	76	36	28		12	84	227	221
11	CAROLINA	77	38	31		8	84	227	235

Bute - Bika : done deal.

As GYM (Groupe Yvon Michel) has planned, the IBF super-middleweight eliminatory bout between Sakio Bika and Lucian Bute will take place on June 15th at the Bell centre.

GYM avoided the purse bid by offering enough of a purse to convince Bika to fight in Montreal. The winner of the bout will be the mandatory division challenger for the champion. Other details and fighter records in my previous post.

Ugueth Urbina sentenced for 14 years.

The ex Montreal Expos stopper Ugueth Urbina, 32 years old, has been sentenced to 14 years in jail for attempted murder on five of his ranch employees in Venezuela. According to the reports, Urbina sequestered his employees, sprayed them with gasoline and threatened to put them on fire.

Urbina played for 6 Major League Baseball teams in his career from 1995 to 2005.

Simon Gagné will miss the World championships.

Simon Gagné of the Philadelphia Flyers will not represent Canada in the World championships in Moscow because of an abdominal hernia. He will be operated immediatly after the regular season will be over.


The abdominal hernia he is suffering isn't bad enough to take him out completely but Gagné told the press that he cannot skate at full power because of it. This season he has 37 goals and 21 assists for a total of 58 points in 69 games. The Flyers are already eliminated from the playoffs.

NHL Eastern conference playoff race.

This is the playoff race before tonight's matchups. Note that only 3 tiny points separate 6th from 11th spots. Tampa Bay and the Islanders have slowed down lately and now are in danger to miss the playoffs.

6	NY RANGERS	77	39	29		9	87	223	204
7	TAMPA BAY	77	41	32		4	86	237	245
8	MONTREAL	77	40	31		6	86	231	239
9	CAROLINA	76	38	30		8	84	226	230
10	TORONTO	76	37	29		10	84	238	243
11	NY ISLANDERS	76	36	28		12	84	227	221

Mikhail Zubkov attacks his own daughter.

In front of the cameras at the FINA World championships in Melbourne, Mikhail Zubkov of Ukraine attacked his own daughter Kateryna Zubkova, a young 18-year old swimmer. Deceived of her 18th place at the 50 meters back swim competition, he tried a couple of times to hit his own daughter.

The sickening piece of video that you see here only shows a small portion of the events. When he realized that he was filmed just seconds after the aggression, he tried to show some compassion and forced her to hug him. The young swimmer was visibly crying and uncomfortable, trying to get away from her father's clutch. When I first saw the images this morning, I was sickened and disgusted.

The australian police has opened a case and Mikhail Zubkov has been restricted to stand at least 200 meters away from his daughter. Police still might go forward and add criminal charges against him. The FINA also took away Zubkov's accreditation.

Sad and sickening.

Sport bloopers.

For your own amusement, here are some funny sport bloopers. :D



Enjoy!

The Montreal steamroller rolls over the Rangers.

The Montreal Canadiens extended their winning streak to 5 games by defeating the New-York Rangers at the Bell centre 6-4. The Habs scored 5 unanswered goals in the 2nd period in under a 12 minute span and rolled over the Rangers.

The Rangers tried to rally back in the 3rd period but fell a bit short. Saku Koivu did not score a goal but registered 4 assists during the game. Alex Kovalev, who is heating up, scored twice including the game-winner. Tomas Plekanec registered his 20th of the season, Steve Begin, Michael Ryder and Mark Streit with the insurance marker. With the win, Montreal defeats what was the hottest team of the moment in the Eastern conference. Jaroslav Halak did just enough to get the win. He looked a bit shaky in the 3rd period. The Habs will be looking to upgrade their winning streak to 6 in Ottawa on friday.

This win combined with the Islanders, Lightning and Hurricanes losses takes the Habs one more step ahead in the playoff race.

Bring on the Senators!

New-York Islanders in trouble.

The New-York Islanders will have to compose without goaltender Rick DiPietro for some time. DiPietro is not well, due to the post-concussion syndrome he is feeling.

The goaltender collided with Steve Begin of the Montreal Canadiens in the first period of their march 13th matchup. DiPietro missed the following 2 games, then came back to play on march 20th and played 4 games since. The TSN network announced that DiPietro has failed a neurological test and will be out as long as his medical situation will not improove.

This will hurt the New-York Islanders chances a lot. But who is to blame outside the Islanders themselves? When the injury took place on march 13th at the Bell centre, the team staff said that they were relying on THEIR doctors to inform the public remember? If you missed it, you can see what I wrote about it HERE. I had the feeling at that moment that the team intended to rush DiPietro back in net and I was absolutely right. Not a very wise move, especially when the player has just signed a very long 15-year contract.

The Islanders gambled with their investment and loss...

Good old J.R. will be inducted as well.

WWE RAW commentator Jim Ross will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next saturday. A lot of quality names are added to the Hall of Fame this year. Good old J.R. will join wrestling greatest stars along with Jerry ''the king'' Lawler, Mr. Fuji, Mr. Perfect, Dusty Rhodes, The original Sheik, Nick Bockwinkel and The Wild Samoas.



Everything is now set for Wrestlemania 23 next sunday. Chris Benoit will face MVP, Kane will get his hands on The great Khali, the womens championship will be disputed between champion Melina and Playboy covergirl Ashley. Also the ECW originals will fight the New breed, then the 8-man ladder match for the money in the bank title shot priviledge promises a lot of action.

Then the three most anticipated matches of Wrestlemania 23 will involve Batista and the Undertaker for the World heavyweight championship, John Cena and Shawn Michaels for the WWE championship.


Last but not least will be the hair vs hair match between WWE chairman of the board Vince McMahon (represented by Umaga) and Donald Trump (represented by Bobby Lashley). Stone Cold Steve Austin will be the guest referee. The winner of that match will get to shave the other billionnaire's head bald.

The event is available thru Pay-Per-View on sunday april 1st.

Marshall Faulk retires.

Marshall Faulk, one of NFL's top running back in history has decided to retire yesterday. Faulk missed all of last season with a knee injury and understood that at 34 years old it was time to say farewell.

With 12 279 total rushing yards, he was only 33 yards away from Jim Brown's career total rushing yards. Faulk also totals 6 875 receiving yards, good for number one among running backs. For a total of 19 154 all-purpose yards.

Faulk also won the Vince Lombardi trophy in 2000 with the St-Louis Rams. He will stay close to the NFL and the game as a TV commentator.

Jaroslav Halak named 3rd star of the week.

The Montreal Canadiens' 21-year old goaltender Jaroslav Halak received the 3rd star from the NHL for his efficient play last week. This is of course the first time in his career that he receives such a mention.

His level of play eclipses David Aebisher's fumbling and inconsistent playing. With Halak in the net, the players feel that they really have a shot at winning games. The team plays with more confidence knowing that he can repair some errors made in the defensive zone. Halak also showed that he can hold the fort, registered his first shutout in career and can make important saves to turn some games around. He prooved it twice last week against the Boston Bruins. His contribution will once again be needed tomorrow as the New-York Rangers will be in town.

The pressure to follow the pack and keep in touch with the 8th place is on the Habs and their young netminder.

Kelly Scott world champion.

The canadian womens curling team has been declared World champions yesterday with their 8-4 win over Denmark. Canada lost a single match during the whole tournament in the last prelim round.

Kelly Scott, captain, and her team formed of Jeanna Schraeder, Sasha Carter and Renee Simons are bringing gold back to Canada after getting the bronze medal last year. They came full circle yesterday and can already be satisfied of what they accomplished in their curling carreers. Winning the canadian championship once is a very difficult task, winning it twice in a row adding a world title is nothing short of remarkable.

Their only possible goal besides repeating would be to get an Olympic gold medal.

Kobe's 50+ streak ended at four.

Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant ''only'' registered 43 points in yesterday's Lakers victory over the Golden State Warriors. His number of 50+ point games was then stopped at four.

There is no doubt that Kobe made his mark in the NBA history books with that great streak. Only the legendary Wilt Chamberlain did better than what he accomplished all week long. Bryant has time in his career to repeat and maybe get even closer to that impressive seven 50+ point games record established in the 1961-1962 season.

Worse case scenario for the Habs.

The New-York Rangers and the New-York Islanders had to go in overtime today to decide of a winner in their matchup. The Rangers ended up winning the contest 2-1 in overtime. The bad news for the Habs is that both teams made points in this matchup making the next Montreal Canadiens game yet another must win. The Rangers will be at the Bell centre on tuesday.

Nothing seems to solve the 6-team congestion for the last 3 available playoff spots. Each team wins every single ''must win'' matchup. Only exception for the Leafs who dropped one of those games 2 days ago to the Sabres. The Leafs avenged that slip yesterday by dominating the Sabres 4-1 at the Air Canada centre.

Only one of those 6 teams have lost some momentum lately. The Tampa Bay Lightning were cruising just 10 days ago but are now flirting with danger. They have fallen from top spot of their division to 7th place of the NHL Eastern conference in a matter of 10 days. Tampa has a 4-6 record in their last 10 games and in serious danger if they don't start winning on a more regular basis.

The Schumacher S.

Michael Schumacher will have his name associated with the Nurburgring german circuit. A turn on the circuit will be named the Schumacher S at the next F1 race at the Nurburgring on July 22nd 2007.

This is a way for the german circuit organization to recognize the talent and accomplishments of the best german racing pilot of all times. The Nurburgring circuit has already a salon named after Schumi and also gave him the Nurburg golden ring. But they felt the need to go a little bit further in their tribute to him and decided to name a turn after him. Schumacher will be there on July 22nd, will make a honor lap on the circuit and be the first to go thru the Schumacher S.

Schumacher has won the Nurburgring race 5 times. (1995, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2006)

Habs finish a perfect week.

The Montreal Canadiens have defeated the Washington Capitals by the score of 4-1 at the Bell centre yesterday and finished the week with a perfect 3-0 record.

Alex Kovalev has put on a show and scored twice including the game-winner. Plekanec and Ryder also scored for the Habs. Only Alexander Semin managed to beat Jaroslav Halak who once again showed no weak signs. The young goaltender has been impressive once again stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced. All the other teams battling for a playoff spot with the Habs have also won their respective games yesterday. The standings remains unchanged and is still as tight as it can be. Montreal will try to improove their 4-game winning streak on tuesday.

Bring on the Rangers!

Canadian womens curling team will fight for gold.

Kelly Scott and her team will face Denmark in the World curling championship final. The winner of this game will grab the gold medal and will be sacred world champions. Canada defeated Denmark twice this far in the tournament and should be considered as heavy favorite in this final matchup. The last canadian womens gold medal was in 2004.

Good luck and Go Canada!

Ovechkin and the Caps are in town.

The Montreal Canadiens faces the Washington Capitals and their young star player Alexander Ovechkin tonight at the Bell centre.

Even if the Caps are already eliminated from the playoffs they still should be considered as a dangerous opponent. Ovechkin and his band can explode anytime in any given game. Ask the Tampa Bay Lightning: they got creamed 7-1 by the Capitals just one week ago. With a win, the Habs will upgrade their winning streak to 4 and put pressure on the other teams fighting for a playoff spot.

Eastern conference playoff race sheet? Here it is:

6	TAMPA BAY	75	41	30		4	86	233	233
7	NY RANGERS	74	37	28		9	83	215	196
8	CAROLINA	74	37	29		8	82	219	220
9	MONTREAL	75	38	31		6	82	221	234
10	NY ISLANDERS	73	35	27		11	81	220	213
11	TORONTO	74	35	29		10	80	228	241

Leafs crumble in the 3rd.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have blown a 4-1 lead and saw the Buffalo Sabres score 4 unanswered goals to steal the game 5-4. Thomas Vanek, Daniel Brière, Jason Pominville and Drew Stafford (game winning goal) scored inside a 9 minute span of the 3rd period to complete the Buffalo comeback. The Leafs missed a nice opportunity to tie the 8th place Carolina Hurricanes.

The Buffalo Sabres now have 103 points and are ranked 1st overall in the NHL.

*Oilers stop their losing streak at 12*
The Edmonton Oilers have finally won a game without Ryan Smyth. Since trading Smyth in February, the Oilers were caught in a downward spiral. They defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in the shootout session. Their nightmare is now over.

Kobe the unstoppable!

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers has done it again. For a 4th game in a row he managed to register at least 50 points in a game. Only Wilt Chamberlain (with 7 in a row in 1961-1962) did better than Kobe in that department.

The Lakers defeated the N.-O. Hornets 111-105. Bryant registered his 50th point of the game with just over 5 minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

Can Kobe keep it up and break the record of the great Chamberlain?

Eastern conference race.

The NHL Eastern conference race is still as tight as it was one week ago. The only thing that changed is the position of some of the teams in that race. The New-York Rangers (7th place) is the team in those six with the better push at this moment. Ten days ago the Rangers were 11th. But still, we cannot count out the Hurricanes, Habs, Islanders and Leafs.

Can the Rangers keep it up?

6	TAMPA BAY	75	41	30		4	86	233	233
7	NY RANGERS	74	37	28		9	83	215	196
8	CAROLINA	74	37	29		8	82	219	220
9	MONTREAL	75	38	31		6	82	221	234
10	NY ISLANDERS	73	35	27		11	81	220	213
11	TORONTO	73	35	28		10	80	224	236

Kobe does it again!

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers became only the 4th NBA player to ever register three 50+ point games in a row. He joins a select club formed by Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan who are the only other players to ever score 50 points in three consecutive games.

It is now a formality in my mind: Kobe will enter the basketball hall of fame at the end of his career. Now, can Kobe do it again and upgrade his streak to four consecutive?

The answer tonight versus the N.-O. Hornets.

Mission accomplished, How's my drawing Perez?

From 1-3, the Montreal Canadiens scored 5 unanswered goals, 4 in the 3rd period to virtually eliminate the Boston Bruins from the playoff race. Montreal follows the other teams with the win sweping the 2-game mini-series.

Plekanec, Johnson, Lapierre (game winning goal), Higgins and Ryder flooded Tim Thomas' net in the 5 goal comeback. The young guns are the main power source right now for the Habs. Four of those are under 24. If Pittsburgh can make it in the playoffs, Montreal can place 8th. Jaroslav Halak allowed 3 goals but stoned the Boston Bruins on a breakaway in the 2nd period, a turning point allowing the comeback.

Next opponent: the Washington Capitals.

Hey Perez Hilton, how's my drawing? I issue you a challenge, lose 25 pounds before ever drawing stuff over someone else's physique again. :P

Bruins are in the cables.

Tonight the Montreal Canadiens can finish off the Boston Bruins, a team that is reeling and will be definatly out of the playoff picture with a loss tonight. The Habs have won 4 of their last 5 games and have kept their chances alive.

The team is in a 3-way tie with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes with 80 points, good for 8th place of the NHL Eastern conference.

Unless a huge surprise, Jaroslav Halak will once again be in net for Montreal. In his last start, Halak has registered his first NHL shutout in career with a superb performance against those same Bruins.

This is a golden opportunity for the Habs to score points as they will face very tough opposition next week. They cannot afford to drop such an occasion. Here is the Eastern conference playoff race as of today:

6	TAMPA BAY	74	40	30		4	84	230	232
7	NY RANGERS	74	37	28		9	83	215	196
8	CAROLINA	73	36	29		8	80	215	217
9	TORONTO	73	35	28		10	80	224	236
10	MONTREAL	74	37	31		6	80	215	231
11	NY ISLANDERS	72	34	27		11	79	217	212

Another player leaves on a stretcher.

Yesterday, Todd Fedoruk of the Philadelphia Flyers got KO'd by Colton Orr of the New-York Rangers in a fight after only 21 seconds of play in the 1st period.

Orr landed a perfect right hand to Fedoruk's jaw and sent him flat on his back, unconscious. Seems like some things had to be settled since last meeting between those two teams and more specifically with Fedoruk. He was sent to the hospital and got scanned. No fracture and no serious injury was found by the doctors who said that everything will be fine. Who will be the next player to drop unconscious?

The last 2 weeks have been really tough on the players. Simon on Hollweg with his stick, Tootoo on Robidas with a sneaky punch and then this one by Orr on Fedoruk. (a KO during a fight) Just imagine if the intensity picks up a bit more during the playoffs. Could get ugly in a hurry.

Oh! Almost forgot! The Rangers ended up winning the game by the score of 5-0...

Canadian womens curling team is perfect.

The canadian curling team at the World championships has a perfect 10-0 record in round robin action, Canada is in first place and is already assured to be a part of the semifinals. By finishing first, the team has the priviledge of having the last rock advantage for the rest of the tournament.

The other teams still in the race right now are:
*Denmark with a record of 8-2*
*Scotland with a record of 7-2*
*U.S.A. with a record of 7-3*

Will Kelly Scott and her canadian partners come back with the gold medal?

Todd Bertuzzi could make a comeback tomorrow.

Todd Bertuzzi 32 years old, more famous for his sneaky career ending hit on Steve Moore than for his entire NHL career could make a comeback tomorrow with the Detroit Red Wings. He was traded from the Florida Panthers to the Detroit Red Wings on last February 27th just before the trade deadline. Bertuzzi only played 7 games this season before hurting his back so badly that a serious surgery was needed to fix him.

His best season was back in 2002-2003 with the Vancouver Canucks as he picked up 97 points. (46 goals and 51 assists) For those of you living on another planet and ignoring about the Bertuzzi hit, here it is:

Will it blend? Hockey style!

Sorry but I had to share this with you guys... :D

Halak shuts down Boston 1-0.

The Montreal Canadiens have successfully accomplished part 1 of their assignment by defeating the Boston Bruins 1-0 at the Bell centre. The two teams will collide once again on thursday in Boston.

The Habs rookie goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been spectacular late in the 3rd period to preserve the slim advantage and register the very first NHL shutout of his career. Halak has been chosen the first star of the game for a second game in a row. Rookie Guillaume Latendresse was the only player to beat Boston goaltender Tim Thomas.

The Bruins are now in the cables. Can the Habs finish off Boston on thursday?

A new stadium for Montreal!

After numerous rumors about the future location of the Saputo stadium, an official announcement has been made today.

Montreal really needs some new sport infrastructures just like today's announcement and this will really give the community another reason to go to the Olympic park.

L'Impact de Montréal, member of the A-league (soccer) will have a new home field for the 2008 season. Their owners, the Saputo family, has announced today the construction of the Saputo stadium. Located at the Olympic park, the construction is scheduled to begin as soon as next month! The stadium itself will include 13,000 seats and a training field. If needed, the stadium could eventually be extended to 17,000 seats.

Last season l'Impact de Montréal registered a record attendance of 161,762 spectators, an average of 11,554 per game. The Claude-Robillard centre could not satisfy the growing attendance, too many times some fans were forced to sit around the field because of the lack of seats. This 2007 season will be their 14th and last season at Claude-Robillard.

Because of it's location directly in the Olympic park, the Olympic Installations Board has leased a part of the park for the construction. After the 40-year lease, the installation is scheduled to become the property of the Olympic Installations Board. The total cost has been evaluated at $15 Millions and is entirely covered by private funds. The Saputo family has donated $7.5 Millions for the project.

Great news for Montréal!
*Picture from the Impact de Montréal website.*

What the ????

Kevin Durant, a young Texas University basketball player is drawing so much attention that already a NBA general manager and an owner were fined. Danny Ainge, general manager of the Boston Celtics (30 000$ fine) sat with Durant's mother during a tournament and was fined for that.

Now more recently, Micheal Jordan owner of the Charlotte Bobcats (15 000$ fine) mentionned last week to the press that he was interested in drafting a young prospect from Texas University.

A rule in the NBA doesn't allow owners, managers or coaches to talk about players that are not already declared available for a NBA draft. Talk about a strange rule... Just imagine the NHL fining teams because the team owners said that they were interested in drafting Sydney Crosby as he was still in the junior ranks.

Is it me or this rule is really really dumb?

DiPietro could come back tonight.

After colliding with Steve Begin last tuesday at the Bell centre, Rick Dipietro has practiced with the New-York Islanders and commented on how he felt.

"I had a good practice and that's a good start. But let's see how the morning skate goes tomorrow (today) and then take it from there. We have to make a decision based on what's best for me and the team, long-term."

The New-York Islanders faces the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight in Tampa. Both teams have had a rough week and didn't grab their chance to really position themselves out of danger. Tonight one of those two will keep the playoff pace as the losing one will continue to slide a bit more dangerously.

Label this game in the ''redemption opportunity'' section.

Oilers are suffering.

Since trading Ryan Smyth to the New-York Islanders at the trade deadline, the Edmonton Oilers have yet to win a single game.

Yesterday they suffered their 11th loss in a row, this time 2-1 to the Vancouver Canucks. With this bad streak they have fallen to the 11th place of the NHL Western conference, 17 points away from a playoff spot. The Oilers (30-36-7) are only 3 losses away from their record 39 losses of the 1993-1994 season. A very bad way to end a season.

Let's hope they have a plan to quickly become more competitive and be a challenger again next season. Last year the Oilers were 1 game away from winning the Stanley Cup as they lost game 7 of the finals to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Another proof that it is hard to get to the top and very easy to fall off in the NHL.

Tootoo will sit out for 5 games.

Jordin Tootoo of the Nashville Predators has been suspended for 5 games by the NHL for hitting defensemen Stephane Robidas of the Dallas Stars. The suspension was well deserved but I would personnally have given a more severe suspension for this kind of dangerous agression.

As for the victim, he is still in hospital and is expected to miss at least one more week of action.

A sucker punch that should result in a suspension.

After Chris Simon's disgusting hit 10 days ago, a free shot was once again delivered by a NHL player. Jordan Tootoo of the Nashville Predators hits Stephane Robidas of the Dallas Stars.

Simply disgusting. This guy has clearly no respect for anyone and the National Hockey League should reply with a severe suspension. The league has to make this guy an example and suspend him for the rest of the season. Robidas is suffering a concussion after this agression and was escorted out of the arena on a stretcher.

Suspension please!

Jaroslav Halak will defend the Montreal net.

Montreal Canadiens' head coach Guy Carbonneau announced today that young rookie Jaroslav Halak will get the start against the Boston Bruins tomorrow. After the repeated mediocre performances by my ''friend'' David Aebisher, coach Carbonneau has no choice but to give the net to the young slovak goaltender. A very reasonnable decision if you ask me.

In his 8 starts in career, Halak has a 4-4 record, a goal against average of 3.44 and a .886% efficiency ratio. This goaltender reminds me of Tomas Vokoun who began his career in Montreal a few years ago. Will the Habs sink the Bruins for good this week?

Part 1 of the answer is coming tomorrow evening at the Bell centre.

Next assignment: crush the Bruins hopes.

The Montreal Canadiens plays the Boston Bruins twice in a row this week (tuesday and thursday) and can really take Boston out of the playoff picture by winning both games. With only 9 games left in the season, every win is huge and every loss handicaps your chances of making it to the spring dance.

Boston is now in Montreal's way... the Habs should show no pity and sweep them off the playoff picture. Here is the Eastern conference playoff race as of today:

6	TAMPA BAY	73	39	30		4	82	226	229
7	CAROLINA	73	36	29		8	80	215	217
8	NY RANGERS	72	35	28		9	79	208	195
9	NY ISLANDERS	71	34	27		10	78	214	208
10	TORONTO	72	34	28		10	78	222	235
11	MONTREAL	73	36	31		6	78	214	231
12	BOSTON	71	34	32		5	73	202	251