Clues Posted October 23, 2013 Report Share Posted October 23, 2013 Ducks' Saku Koivu making rare return to Montreal DUCKS (7-2-0) at CANADIENS (5-4-0) TV: RDS, PRIME, TSN-HABS Season series: The Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim Ducks have not met since Nov. 30, 2011, and this will be Anaheim's first visit to Montreal since Jan. 22, 2011. The Ducks have won each of the past two meetings. Big story: Center Saku Koivu has played one game in Montreal since leaving the Canadiens to sign with the Ducks as a free agent in the summer of 2009, and he hopes this second game will be less emotional than the first time around. Not likely. Koivu was captain of the Canadiens for 10 years and was the face of the franchise for a generation of fans, and with his 39th birthday next month, it is entirely possible this could be Koivu's final game in Montreal. Canadiens coach Michel Therrien was the coach back when Koivu made an emotional return from cancer on April 9, 2002, getting an eight-minute standing ovation from the fans prior to the game and helping Montreal clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-3 win against the Ottawa Senators before leading the Canadiens to a first-round upset of the Boston Bruins. "What I remember the most is the ovation the Canadiens fans gave him," Therrien said after practice Wednesday. "I wasn't behind the bench at the time, I had to go in the back because emotionally, that was a special moment. It is such an important moment in my life that I have a photo of that in my house to remind me of that day. There are moments in your life that stay with you, and his return stayed with me." Team scope: Ducks: Anaheim is in the second game of a season-long eight-game road trip that runs through Nov. 4. Though the Ducks are perfect at home (5-0-0), they are 2-2-0 on the road with seven games to go on the trip after losing 4-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. The Ducks lost the special teams battle, allowing a power-play goal and going 0-for-4 on their power play. It was the seventh time in nine games this season the Ducks have failed to score on the power play, and they are 3-for-36 this season, a success rate of 8.3 percent, last in the NHL entering Wednesday. "I didn't think our power play was very good at all tonight. At all," coach Bruce Boudreau said after the game in Toronto. "It's just something we have to continually work on and make the process get it right. It's a productive thing. We haven't used the power play to win a game this year, or special teams for that matter, and it cost us tonight." The Ducks have been able to compensate for their power play by being very effective at 5-on-5, scoring 25 goals, tops in the League. But that is sometimes difficult to maintain on the road when the home coach has greater control of the matchups. Fixing the power play may be a key to a successful road trip. Canadiens: Montreal played its first game since losing Daniel Briere and Brandon Prust to injury Tuesday and blew a 2-0 lead against the Edmonton Oilers to lose 4-3, with their third goal coming with fewer than two seconds remaining. Montreal was up 2-0 after 20 minutes but the game was tied by the end of the second period, a trend for the Canadiens over the past two seasons under Therrien. Since the start of 2012-13, the Canadiens have allowed 68 goals in the second period and 74 goals in the other two periods combined. "We opened the door for them, and it was unnecessary," center Lars Eller said Wednesday. "I can't tell you why, but we took our foot off the gas." Who's hot: Ducks center Mathieu Perreault has a four-game point streak with two goals and two assists. Right wing Emerson Etem has a goal and two assists in his past two games. … Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher has a goal in each of his past two games. Center Tomas Plekanec has three goals and an assist in his past three games. Injury report: The Ducks are missing left wing Dustin Penner (upper body), left wing Matt Beleskey (thumb), defenseman Luca Sbisa (ankle), defenseman Sheldon Souray (Wrist) and goalie Viktor Fasth (lower body) …The Canadiens will be without center Daniel Briere (concussion), left wing Brandon Prust (shoulder), left wing Max Pacioretty (hamstring), right wing George Parros (concussion), defenseman Alexei Emelin (knee), defenseman Davis Drewiske (shoulder) and defenseman Douglas Murray (upper body). go Habs go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marathon.Man Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 GO HABS GO!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habby4ever Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Go Habs Go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HabsRuleForever Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Welcome home Saku. Nice GDT Clues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenzed Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Enjoy the game guys. Clues, I'm liking the GDT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-1 Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Amazing GDT, Clues, I hope the Habs don't spoil it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer_rocket Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Saku's last game in Montreal ever? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeanCountingHab Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Saku's last game in Montreal ever? Has he hinted this will be his last season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer_rocket Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Has he hinted this will be his last season? Not sure. He is getting up there (38 years old) though. I don't expect that he would have many more than 1 or 2 years left if he decides to keep going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerplay2009 Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Always a good night when Koivu comes back. He was more than the face of the franchise for my generation. He was the one bright spot in what has been a pretty dark time. He will always have a special place in my memory of the Habs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennifer_rocket Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Always a good night when Koivu comes back. He was more than the face of the franchise for my generation. He was the one bright spot in what has been a pretty dark time. He will always have a special place in my memory of the Habs. One of my favorite players. In my mind, no one has claimed the role of captain since he left (sorry, Brian). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaubie Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 It will be nice to see him. His is the only jersey I have with a name on it and it always hangs on my door. Love it Clues, Gally is going to lead us to the Holy land Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramcharger440 Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 hope the team comes to play tonight we need a good effort for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-1 Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 hope the team comes to play tonight we need a good effort for sure! We seem to play to the other teams level,,,, down for the bottom feeders (where we inevitably have a difficult time) or raise the level for the top teams, (where we play well, but still lose). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColRouleBleu Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Koivu this, Koivu that i really apreciate what he has done while here , specially in the community and i'll probably be one of the first to cheer during any hommage he gets after his career. HOWEVER... Last i checked, he has not retired yet and he has not been on this team for FOUR seasons. He's an opponent like any other tonight and i dont cheer for opponents. What's next, let him score a hat trick to please his adoring fanson his return night? Well it's not a return night, he's not playing for "us", lets move on I should have checked the list of games more carefully in that tix package... /rant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddienmike Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Great GDT Clues,this one is for HRF. Tonight is not JUST another game, Co's Saku is here, but it's not the same, Co's tonight he is a Mighty Duck, I can't wish him well, we need our luck. Times are hard and the goings tough, But at least,the Ducks aren't that rough,(I hope) We really need to keep to the plan, We can beat them, I know we can. It's not twenty minutes we need to play, But a full sixty,to make our day, If all our players played like Gally B, We can win this game, just wait and see. But it doesn't matter what happens here, I will always give our team a cheer, But a win is a must, Or our playoffs could hit the dust, Now I am not ragging on our team, The lucks been brutal,or thats how it would seem, I just want to see them take every chance, We can cheer Saku at another dance. When we raise his Jersey. GO HABS GO :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-1 Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Great GDT Clues,this one is for HRF. Tonight is not JUST another game, Co's Saku is here, but it's not the same, Co's tonight he is a Mighty Duck, I can't wish him well, we need our luck. Times are hard and the goings tough, But at least,the Ducks aren't that rough,(I hope) We really need to keep to the plan, We can beat them, I know we can. It's not twenty minutes we need to play, But a full sixty,to make our day, If all our players played like Gally B, We can win this game, just wait and see. But it doesn't matter what happens here, I will always give our team a cheer, But a win is a must, Or our playoffs could hit the dust, Now I am not ragging on our team, The lucks been brutal,or thats how it would seem, I just want to see them take every chance, We can cheer Saku at another dance. When we raise his Jersey. GO HABS GO :rolleyes: Very eloquent Maddie, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaas Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Every time I think of Koivu (reminded by tonight's visit) I am saddened that he's no longer on our squad. Dont get me wrong, had he turned into "another player" (ie getting Turgeon for fan favourite Muller, or later getting high picks for Damphousse) it would be different. At least we could look back & say "well we still have player X" on our squad... ...but to lose him for nothing (other than cap space we really didnt use effectively) still stings many years later. How useful could he have been? I also cant help but think how poorly he was 'accessorized" during his time here. Sure, Recchi was on his wing for a while, as well as Corson, but really most of the time his wingers were guys like Zednick, Bulis, Higgins etc. When the GM tried to "get him help" he was "blessed" by the likes of a Donald Audette or Alex Kovalev - the latter of whom was given 4 or 5 games at a time by the "coach du jour" before they decided they were incompatible.One wonders what a 25 year old Koivu would be like on today's roster - with a PK Subban feeding him from the back (in fairness, he did have a Markov in his prime) and guys like Patches, Gallagher, Galchenyuk and Eller to play with as linemates. Heck, even guys like Bourque and Gio are better than most of the revolving door of wingers that old Sax had to deal with. Anyway, I just felt like venting. As ive said in many other threads, I have no problem with letting players go if you get a return for them - in fact, it makes hockey-sense to do so - but to let him go for nothing? And then see the effective player he's been while gone? It hurts. Thats for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEBIGGESTHABSFAN123 Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Great GDT Clues! Koivu was my favorite player. Always wish we kept him. But we have to move on. Our focus should be on winning. I expect this game to be fun and intense. Hope I'm right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Saku will always have a place of honour in my Habs room, but for tonight,,, he's the enemy. We need these points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaas Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Koivu was my favorite player. Always wish we kept him. But we have to move on. Our focus should be on winning. I expect this game to be fun and intense. Hope I'm right. Saku will always have a place of honour in my Habs room, but for tonight,,, he's the enemy. We need these points. No question there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forza-Montreal Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Great GDT Clues, We Need to make sure our hunting gear is in working order tonight, we cant let a flock of ducks beat us lol Go Habs Go!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstStar Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Hope I can catch the game, shops getting busy. Hope Clues brings us luck with her wonderful GDT. Need to break this losing streak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinot-1 Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Great GDT Clues, We Need to make sure our hunting gear is in working order tonight, we cant let a flock of ducks beat us lol Go Habs Go!! A hunting we will go,,,,,,,a hunting we will go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigTed3 Posted October 24, 2013 Report Share Posted October 24, 2013 Just thinking how much better this team would be with Koivu on that third line than Desharnais. Could also be a great role model for players like Gallagher, Galchenyuk, Eller, Bournival, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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