Guy Carbonneau Discusses the Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau gives a candid interview about his teams' chances in the upcoming season. Carbonneau is especially excited about the addition of Alex Tanguay.

Guy Carbonneau called the acquisition of Alex Tanguay a "Christmas present that came before July 1."

"He may have had some difficulties last season," the coach added, "But his style will mesh very well with the kinds of players we have. And at the age he's coming here, I think he'll be able to handle the pressure of playing in Montreal."

The additions of Tanguay and Laraque should be welcomed in Montreal. How they will translate to on-ice success remains to be seen, but both are serviceable players who should be excited about playing in La Belle Provence.

NHL Morning Papers: Playoff Teams (Tuesday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the Eastern Conference playoff match ups:

Montreal versus Boston:

• The Canadiens were as close to perfect as a team can be for a Game 7 last night, writes Pat Hickey. Habs coach Guy Carbonneau made a good line up move by switching Alexei Kovalev onto Saku Koivu's line for last night's contest. The Habs should enjoy this victory because in Red Fisher's opinion they were outplayed in four of the seven games.
• "It's a good feeling to have, proving a lot of people wrong. I think we can build a lot on what we did this year and carry it on to next year," said Bruins rookie Milan Lucic after his team's 5-0 loss in Game 7. It was tough to beat the impressive Carey Price last night, writes Bob Ryan. Last night's game may have been Glen Murray's last as a Bruin.

Pittsburgh versus Ottawa:

• The Penguins have been very pleased with their acquisition of big defenseman Hal Gill at the trade deadline, writes Dave Molinari. Meanwhile, Jarko Ruutu has found his comfort zone in Pittsburgh.
• Apparently the Senators are looking to add Fabian Brunnstrom to their forward mix for next season.

Washington versus Philadelphia:

• The Capitals' roster, which is heavy on Europeans, is responding just fine to the playoff grind, writes Jason LaCanfora. Alexander Ovechkin is the main reason that the Capitals were victorious in Game 6, so can he be the reason they advance to the second round too? "Well, we had no doubts in this room," said Caps netminder Cristobal Huet about his team being down 2-0 early in Game 6.
• The Flyers still have one more chance to close out the Capitals tonight, writes Phil Sheridan. One mistake can change the complexion of a game and it did last night, writes Tim Panaccio. Riley Cote is hoping to replace Mike Knuble's scoring with some energy and physical play.

New Jersey versus New York Rangers:

• It is evident by this article that Martin Brodeur had become mentally exhausted from the Devils season. Devils fans can say bye-bye to Karel Rachunek.
• Things are looking up for the Lundqvist brothers after some hard times this season, writes Jay Greenberg. Henrik Lundqvist is very deserving of his Vezina Trophy nomination. The Rangers will be starting on the road in Round 2 regardless of if they play the Habs or the Pens.

The morning papers for the Western Conference playoff match ups are soon to follow...

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers: Playoff Teams (Thursday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the Eastern Conference playoff match ups:

Montreal versus Boston

• Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau is not apologizing for his team's 3-1 series lead, writes Herb Zurkowsky. The Habs have more information about the Bruins than they had on Tuesday thanks to Harry Sinden who outed Zdeno Chara's rib injury to the press.
• The Bruins are down 3-1 because they just cannot score, writes Fluto Shinwaza. According to coach Claude Julien, don't expect Boston to adjust their power play plan. Don't count out the Bruins just yet, writes Stephen Harris.

Pittsburgh versus Ottawa:

• Penguins coach Michel Therien was satisfied with all aspects of the Penguins' game in the Ottawa series, writes Ron Cook. Forget all the goaltending questions, Marc-Andre Fleury has been terrific since the playoffs began. The Penguins have been making a concerted effort to get more pucks on net in the post-season. It is not yet known who the Pens will face in the second round.
• "We lost four straight. We got outplayed," said Senators coach and GM Bryan Murray after last night's season-ending 3-1 loss. Last night was almost assuredly Wade Redden's final game in an Ottawa uniform. "There was a lot of negativity around this team, from the outside, from inside the room," said Senators center Jason Spezza when trying to sum up the team's disappointing season.

Washington versus Philadelphia:

• With back-to-back losses, Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau has experimented with putting Sergei Fedorov on the team's top line to replace Nicklas Backstrom. The Capitals' best line has been outplayed by the Flyers' top line.
• Rich Hofmann of the Philadelphia Daily News warns Flyers fans to expect a big game from Alexander Ovechkin tonight. Flyers netminder Martin Biron was happy he was okay after taking a shot to the mask in Game 3. Boy are the Flyers relieved that Kimmo Timonen will be in the line up for Game 4.

New Jersey versus New York Rangers:

• "Everybody believes we can come back," said Devils leader Jamie Langenbrunner after his team fell behind the Rangers 3-1 in their playoff series. The Devils know the key to getting back into this series is returning to their defensive ways. Here is a game review by Lisa Kennedy of the Newark Star-Ledger.
• The Rangers' young talent are really proving their worth in the playoffs thus far, writes Jay Greenberg. Everyone around the Rangers has been impressed with the play of Marc Staal. If they didn't already know the fourth game of a series is the hardest to win, Rangers GM Glen Sather came into the locker room after the game to remind the team of just that. (Writer's note: Man, how low profile has Slats been in NYC????)

The morning papers for the Western Conference playoff match ups are soon to follow...

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers--Eastern Conference (Thursday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail tells readers that Jose Theodore is enjoying life in the Rockies.
• Since getting a break from playing, Tomas Vokoun has been terrific for the Panthers, writes Mike Brehm of USA Today.
• Kevin Allen has the insider information on a number of NHL injuries.

Here are the Atlantic Division morning papers:

• The main reason the Rangers signed Chris Drury this off-season was for his clutch play, and that move paid off last night, writes Larry Brooks. Last night's victory at New Jersey gave the Rangers a 6-0 record versus their Hudson River rivals this season.
• The Flyers will have earn nine or ten points against their division rivals the rest of the way if they have any hopes of making the playoffs, writes Tim Panaccio. Instead of a day off, the Flyers were preparing for their upcoming game against the Rangers yesterday.
• Much of the Penguins' success can be attributed to Ryan Malone, writes Dave Molinari. On the injury front, Sidney Crosby is expected to miss the team's next two games.
• Not surprisingly, the Islanders' success and failure this season was directly correlated with the play of now-injured star netminder Rick DiPietro.
• The Devils continued their losing ways against the Rangers last night, writes Rich Chere. Even with their 0-3-3 record against the Rangers, the Devils really do not seem overly concerned about it.

Here are the Southeast Division morning papers:

• Ethan Skolnick of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Panthers have to prove they are for real to their fans tonight. The significance of tonight's contest versus Carolina is not lost on the Florida players.
• "It was embarrassing, it was ugly, and there's really just no excuse for that," said Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle after his team somehow blew a 4-1 second intermission lead. Bolts defenseman Matt Smaby is happy to be back up with the big club and is hoping to make a good impression.
• The Hurricanes got offensive production from all throughout their line up last night, in their 5-3 victory over the lowly Thrashers. Off the ice, the team is still attempting to sign young Brandon Sutter to a contract.
• Their awful performance didn't demonstrate it last night, but the Capitals are supposed to be competing for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
• Thrashers defenseman Boris Valabik made his NHL debut and was welcomed to the league by being on the ice for all five Carolina goals, writes Craig Custance.

Here are the Northeast Division morning papers:

• It looks like Zdeno Chara will be a game-time decision for tonight's game versus the Canadiens. Since returning from injury, Glen Murray has been unable to regain his scoring touch, writes Steve Conroy.
• The Sabres somehow scored six goals in the third period last night to defeat the Lightning 7-4 at the HSBC Arena.
• The Leafs are unsure of the injury statuses of their key players, writes Kevin McGran. Meanwhile, Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun tells readers that Pavel Kubina has been doing it all for the Leafs. (Writer's note: Why do I have a feeling that Leaf fans would rather he be "doing it all" for another franchise?)
• The Senators play their last out-of-division game of the season tonight when they host the Blues. On the ice, Martin Gerber appreciates the support his coaches and teammates have given him.
• Guy Carbonneau has warned his players not to overlook the Bruins tonight.

The Western Conference morning papers will be posted soon...

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com