The NHL (in partnership with the Canadiens) has instituted legal action against a Montreal restaurant for putting up a sign in one of his downtown restaurants with the words “Go Habs Go”. The NHL and the Canadiens feel that the phrase “Go Habs Go” is part of their copyright and they want 89-thousand dollars in damages. The action mirrors a suit brought against an auto dealership in Vancouver last month.

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We’re told Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier is going to sit down with super agent Don Meehan at the end of the month. The subject – Andrei Markov’s future with the Canadiens.
Here’s the way we imagine the conversation between Gauthier and Meehan might go.

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Along came Max Pacioretty. When he was called up from Hamilton in mid December, Pacioretty was leading the American Hockey League in goals. He was immediately fitted into the Gomez line. For 35 games, until the Pacioretty’s injury on March 8th, the line scored 29 goals. Twenty eight of the 29 goals came from Pacioretty and Gionta. Gomez had only a goal and 10 assists.

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Judging by the last two days of practice, Canadiens coach Jacques Martin is not in the mood to play Boston’s game. Paul Mara, one of the two truly tough guys on the team (along with Travis Moen), has been relegated to a fourth defensive pairing in favour of Brent Sopel and his shot-blocking ability. Martin seems to be gambling on a Bruins reluctance to rough it up against the Canadiens.

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UPDATE – NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy issued the following statement on Chara’s hit on Pacioretty:
“After a thorough review of the video I can find no basis to impose supplemental discipline. This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly — with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards. I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, that Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous.

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When the Canadiens win, for the most part the pattern is clear. Get an early lead and turn the game over to Carey Price. In the three game road trip Price dealt with 117 shots and allowed three goals. In each of the games the Canadiens had 2-0 leads.
There will be no complaining about Scott Gomez after this game. He was outstanding from start to finish along with his linemates, Brian Gionta and Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty scored twice and was a big part of Hal Gill’s second goal in two games, screening Dwayne Roloson on the 50 foot slapshot.

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Glen Matropolit enjoyed terrific success in his one season with  the Swiss National league six years ago.    So, after gaining unrestricted free agency from the Canadiens in July, he signed a contract with EV Zug of the Swiss National League in August. It took him a while to get back into the flow of European hockey, but, in
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James Wisniewski is very lucky. After spending yesterday in his Calgary hotel room, Wisniewski was on the McMahon Stadium ice this afternoon with his teammates, elevating hopes that he will be available for tomorrow’s Heritage Classic game against the Flames. Wisniewski was hit on the left cheekbone by a hard deflected shot by Edmonton’s Taylor Hall on Thursday.

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The Canadiens have returned defenseman Brendon Nash to the Hamilton Bulldogs. With Hal Gill and probably James Wisniewski returning to the lineup along with the newly acquired Paul Mara, Nash became the eighth defenseman on the depth chart. Nash played two games during his callup including his NHL debut against Buffalo last week. He was
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The Canadiens will spend most of the next week in Western Canada starting tomorrow night with a game in Edmonton. Spacek has been left in Montreal to undergo treatment for an unspecified lower body injury. Hal Gill is with the team but is not expected to play until at least Sunday in the Heritage Game at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium.

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