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Happy holidays and a happy new year from Zenni Optical.

Maxim Lapierre shines in Florida.

Maxim Lapierre registered his first NHL hat trick to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers.

Florida still represents the only NHL franchise to have a winning record over the Montreal Canadiens. Since the arrival of the Panthers, the Habs seems to always find a way to struggle, play a bad game and lose to them.

But yesterday, Maxim Lapierre punched in three goals to dissipate his team's complexes over the Florida Panthers.

Into the second frame, Tomas Plekanec sent the Canadiens ahead with a nice shorthanded goal. But David Booth tied the game at 2 only a few moments later.

Lapierre was later jammed by Florida's goaltender, Craig Anderson, on a ''wrap around'' from behind the net. But he took the puck again and tried the same move towards the other end of the net.

Anderson struggled to move towards the other end to fend off Lapierre for a second time. The goaltender looked like he was swimming in a pool while Maxim roofed the puck into Florida's net for his first goal of the game. The goal counted as the game-winner as Montreal never lost their lead from this point on.

The third period was once again highlighted by Maxim Lapierre. The hero of the evening received a pass from Guillaume Latendresse and sent a screened shot that beated Craig Anderson again. Craig Anderson left the game for Tomas Vokoun after this goal.

Maxim Lapierre completed his hat trick in the last minute of the game when he stripped defense men Bryan McCabe of the puck on a great second effort to push the puck into the empty net.

Montreal has won the first two games of this four-game road trip and plays the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight.

(Picture: Maxim Lapierre, Getty Images.)

Tougher than expected.

Team Canada registered a third win in a row yesterday when they defeated Team Germany by the score of 5-1.

Canada was only leading by a single goal after two periods because of the great performance of the seventeen year old German goaltender Philipp Grubauer who was simply spectacular in his net. Canada had to work during the third period to finally take a more comfortable lead.

Zach Boychuk with two goals led the way for Canada while Jamie Benn, John Tavares and Evander Kane each scored a goal. John Tavares and Cody Hodgson are tied at the top of the tournament scoring list with nine points each.

Day 3 scores:

Canada 5 - Germany 1
Sweden 10 - Latvia 1

(Picture: John Tavares and Philipp Grubauer, Canadian Press.)

Canada crushes Kazakhstan 15-0.

Day two of the World Junior Hockey Championships looked like day one for Team Canada as they easily defeated another opponent yesterday.

Team Kazakhstan was not a challenge for Team Canada as they allowed a total of 15 goals. Eight of those goals were scored during a man-advantage. Cody Hodgson with two goals and four assists in this game alone now leads the tournament in scoring. Jamie Benn with three goals, John Tavares and P.K. Subban with two goals each were the best Canadian players.

The shot total also gives an idea of the way the match was played. Canada outshot Kazakhstan 69 to 11 yesterday.

Day 2 scores:

Canada 15 - Kazakhstan 0
USA 4 - Czech Republic 3
Russia 5 - Finland 2
Sweden 3 - Slovakia 1

(Picture: Canadian Press.)

Canada downs the Czech Republic 8-1.

Team Canada opened their 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa, Canada with a 8-1 victory over the Czech Republic.

John Tavares scored the first two goals of the game and Angelo Esposito scored the third goal for Canada on a great feed from Tavares en route to a decisive victory.

Zach Boychuk and Ryan Ellis also did well as they both contributed with three points in the game. Canada's goaltender, Dustin Tokarski, did well as he allowed only one goal to the Czech with two minutes to go.

Canada will play their second game of the pool round on Sunday against Kazakstan.

Day 1 scores:

Canada 8 - Czech Republic 1
Russia 4 - Latvia 1
Sweden 3 - Finland 1
USA 8 - Germany 2

(Picture: John Tavares and P.K. Subban, Canadian Press.)

Team Canada's hunt for Gold begins.

Canada's first pool match at the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships is scheduled today versus the Czech Republic.

With very skilled offensive players like John Tavares in Canada's roster, the host of this year's edition of the WC is aiming for the gold medal, as always...

Tavares is entering the competition on a 15-game point streak and is likely to be the first pick this summer at the 2009 NHL entry draft. A lot of media attention will be around him and also around 20-year old forward Angelo Esposito who finally made Team Canada at his fourth and final attempt.

Canada's head coach, Pat Quinn, said that Esposito should inspire some of his team mates because he becomes the figure of a player that never gives up in order to achieve his goals. Quinn will have all of Canada's finest junior players at his disposal and will benefit of the home crowd support.

Canada's quest for the gold medal starts today. Game on!

Despaties and Petitclerc named athletes of the year.

Winner of a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Alexandre Despaties has been named Quebec's athlete of the year today.

Four months before the competition, Alexandre Despaties broke a bone in one of his foot and his four-month recovery was difficult for his preparation. But his discipline and dedication allowed him to be in good shape for this great competition.

Yes, a Chinese diver was untouchable during the competition and managed to finish ahead of Alexandre at the Olympic final of Beijing. But great athletes and champions sometimes finish second.

Congratulations to you Alexandre for your great silver medal in Beijing.


On the womens side, Chantal Petitclerc won the same award with her fantastic five gold medal performance at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. Petitclerc also broke a number of her own World Records during the competition. She was simply the queen of the track at these games.

A fantastic harvest of gold for Chantal for her last Olympic Games in career. We will follow the continuation of her career as she said to wish to try to compete in Marathon events.

Congratulations and good luck Chantal.

The Canes, the spoilers again.

Last weekend, the Montreal Canadiens played two games in two nights.

The Habs won in overtime on a goal from Alex Kovalev against the Buffalo Sabres Saturday but were once again beaten by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Since Carolina defeated Montreal in the playoffs to go on to the Stanley Cup championship, the Canadiens have hardly won a couple of games against the Hurricanes. Especially at the Bell centre. The streak is now almost becoming a farce.

But on the bright side, the Canadiens at least managed to extend Sunday's game against the Canes to overtime before losing. A single point, but each of those count at the end. The team is now enjoying a rest before a crucial four-game road trip starting next Saturday.

Montreal will play three games in four nights before 2008 is over.

First, in Pittsburgh, with a certain Sidney Crosby around. Then in the sunshine state to face both the Panthers and the Lightning in two consecutive nights on December 29th and 30th. The fourth game of the road trip for Montreal will end on January 2nd in New Jersey. Red hot goaltender Scott Clemmensen and the Devils will be the last challenge for Montreal before coming back home.

Despite playing two of the low ranked teams in the Eastern Conference, do not expect a full harvest of points out there dear Habs fans. If the team ever slips out of Pittsburgh with a vitory, Florida and New Jersey will not be easy on the Habs.

(for those of you curious about this ''Florida curse'', a search will show you that only a handfull of teams have managed to win two night in a row in Florida since the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning entered the NHL.)

As we can see, this four-game stint outside the Bell centre is full of challenges. Let's see how many points the team can harvest.

Flyers-Canadiens: Komisarek returns and the Habs rolls over the Flyers.

An inspired Montreal Canadiens team played a solid game and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by the score of 5-2.

Tonight's game marked the return of Mike Komisarek at defense and also marked the return of the killer man-advantage. Montreal scored two goals on the power play versus the Flyers, crowding the front of the net and playing in unity.

Every bleeding bleu-blanc-rouge fan was delighted to see the intensity showed by the majority of the roster. The rookie Matt D'Agostini with his fifth goal of the season, Alex Kovalev, Sergei Kostitsyn, Steve Begin and Guillaume Latendresse scored for Montreal.

The Habs fans waited a long time to finally see a glimpse of what this team is capable of. A little consistency as of being intense and wanting to be first on the loose pucks is the only missing piece of the puzzle.

(Picture: Steve Begin, Canadian Press.)

Canadiens-Hurricanes: Indiscipline sinks the Canadiens.

The Montreal Canadiens were in Raleigh yesterday to face the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes took advantage of the Canadiens' indiscipline as they were called for a total of eleven minor penalties during the match. Eric Staal converted on the man-advantage twice during the first period and gave a 2-0 lead to his team.

The second period was a bit better for Montreal as they tied the game up. First, Guillaume Latendresse reduced the Canes lead to a single goal on a successful penalty shot. Then later into the second frame, Alex Kovalev scored while being short of a player.

But the Hurricanes scored during a double man-advantage to take the lead once again. Joe Corvo's shot from the blue line went past Jaroslav Halak. Corvo's goal was the game-winner.

Final score: Carolina Hurricanes 3 - Montreal Canadiens 2.

(Picture: Eric Staal, Getty Images.)

AFC East: The three-way tie still intact.

With three weeks to go last week, a three-way tie on top of NFL's AFC East between the New York Jets, The New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins formed with a record of 8-5.

Those three teams have won this weekend and now show a 9-5 record, tied at the top of the division.

	AFC East Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Streak
	New York Jets	9	5	0	.643	385	319	1W
	Miami Dolphins	9	5	0	.643	283	269	3W
	New England Patriots	9	5	0	.643	350	302	2W
	Buffalo Bills	6	8	0	.429	306	306	3L

This weekend, the New York Jets will face Seattle Seahawks while the New England Patriots will play the Arizona Cardinals. The Miami Dolphins will meanwhile play the Kansas City Chiefs before tangling with the Jets at the last week of the season.

Likely, a winner in the AFC East will not be declared this week because of the parity and the calendar of those three teams. And unless an upset happens this weekend, we could see those same three at 10-5 next tuesday morning.

And the coveted division title is not the only prize available for those teams. A wildcard spot is awaiting winners...

(Picture: AP Photo/John Russell)

Capitals-Canadiens: Wasted points for Montreal.

The Montreal Canadiens did everything in order to win their match with the Washington Capitals except winning. After wasting numerous chances, Montreal saw Michael Nylander score the game-winner late into the third period to give a 2-1 victory to the Caps.

Yes, the Canadiens did everything but win. The Capitals have sent Simeon Varlamov in their net for his very first NHL game in career. The young goaltender did well at his first outing and was helped a number of times by his posts. The Canadiens forwards, especially Alex Kovalev and Alex Tanguay missed a number of glorious chances to put the game away.

In net for a third game in a row for Montreal, Jaroslav Halak was very good yesterday but more importantly, he gave his team a genuine chance to win. Halak is not to blame on the winning goal by Michael Nylander. His little shot from behind the goal line was swift, surprised everybody as the Capitals player didn't looked to be able to send the puck to the net. And the shot bounced off the goalie to enter the net.

Once again, Montreal's man-advantage wasn't able to put Montreal ahead during the second and third period. The team did respond and played well after head coach Guy Carbonneau sent his fourth line on a man-advantage. With this decision, Carbonneau's message to his top players was clear but nobody answered the call.

(Picture: Capitals' bench, Getty images.)

Another solid performance from the Canadiens.

The Calgary Flames were at the Bell centre yesterday to face the Montreal Canadiens. Outside the arena, the temperature forced some fans to stay at home. Despite being sold out, the building was not filled to capacity.

The Canadiens and the Flames played a very physical game as many bone crunching hits were delivered. The result for the home team: two players did not finish the game. First, Christopher Higgins during the opening frame did not return to the action after being pinned hard into the boards. Then later in the game, Mathieu Dandenault had one of his arm fractured by the strenght of the hit delivered by an opponent.

As for the scoring in this game, Robert Lang registered two goals, Matt D'Agostini scored a goal in a fourth game in a row. The young player has four goals at his first five game this season. The other goal for Montreal was scored by Andrei Markov. Despite playing a great game for the Flames, Mikka Kiprusoff allowed four goals. At the other end of the rink, only Dustin Boyd managed to put a puck into Jaroslav Halak's net.

The Canadiens kept a 3-0-1 record during this home stand and looks like they found back their rythm. The only thing that is still missing to the team is a decent man-advantage production. The team is struggling with the man-advantage and the head coach, Guy Carbonneau, is still trying to find a productive combination.

The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals are the next two teams coming to the Bell centre this week.

(Picture: Canadian Press.)

15 000 readers!

Today, overtime! got past the 15 000 visitors mark. The unique visitor count is active in here since January 1st of 2007. The amount of visitors has been increasing steadily ever since.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank each and every reader for their visit over the past two years. I had a lot of fun reviewing the different international sporting events as they happened.

I also had a lot of pleasure exchanging views and opinions with you, the readers, who left me comments on my posts during those last two years. I also wish to thank those of you who are linking back to me or are exchanging a sidebar link with this blog. Without you, this blog would not exist anymore.

If you want to exchange a link with me you are welcome. Just link to this blog then leave me a comment and I will link to your page as soon as I get back online.

I wish you all a great holiday season, and why not, a happy and prosperous 2009.

(Picture: At the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.)

Montreal Canadiens on a win streak.

The New York Rangers were at the Bell centre yesterday and faced a solid Montreal Canadiens team. All in all, it was one of the best showing of the season for the Habs in this 6-2 victory.

The team coached by Guy Carbonneau notched a third win in a row and despite a troubled month of November, the team is holding it's ground along the top teams of the Eastern conference.

Yesterday, goals scored by Andrei Kostitsyn, Alex Tanguay, Maxim Lapierre and Robert Lang sent the Rangers packing early. The Rangers at one point were down 4-0 into the second period and never really got a chance. Even Georges Laraque contributed offensively (with two assists).

The Canadiens were wearing a vintage jersey yesterday. The logo of the team during that portion in time was quite different to the one we usually see. As we can see on this picture, the white ''H'' in the middle of the logo becoming a red ''A''.

The New Jersey Devils without their star netminder Martin Brodeur will try to stop the streaking Montreal Canadiens this Saturday night.

(Picture: Andrei Markov, Robert Lang and Christopher Higgins, Canadian press.)

A wild game at the Bell centre.

The Montreal Canadiens started the month of December with a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Trashers. The third period of this contest was a roller coaster ride for the fans gathered at the Bell centre yesterday.

The Canadiens dominated the play during the first two frames and was leading by the score of three to nothing at the start of the third period. Among others, Matt D'Agostini scored his very first NHL goal.

The Canadiens were safely rolling towards the win until Georges Laraque forgot to step on the ice with his linemates. The Trashers benefited of this man advantage to score their first goal of the game. A shot from the blue line by Ron Hainsey went past goaltender Carey Price. The gates were open for Atlanta.

A minute later, Hainsey scored his second of the game when the puck just passed the goal line on a mad scramble in front of the net.

The action resumed only to see this game tied at 3 seven seconds later on yet another goal form the Trashers. Right from the face off, a two-on-one was allowed by Montreal's defensive unit. Chris Torburn completed this lightning fast comeback with a perfect shot on this odd man rush.

The Canadiens managed to regain their composure and were the next to score. With five minutes to go, Andrei Kostitsyn gave the lead once again to Montreal with a great individual effort. Robert Lang added a goal in the empty net vacated by Johan Hedberg. The Canadiens were up five to three.

Jason Williams scored in a lst effort with 20 seconds to go but it was too late for the Trashers. Robert Lang's empty net goal stood as the winning goal of this wild contest.

While the Canadiens' win streak improoves to three in a row, we cannot say the this team is playing well yet. Blowing a three goal lead against a marginal team tells about the fragile state of the players confidence and awareness. An awareness event from a marginal player like Georges Laraque almost ended up in a disastrous outcome for the Canadiens.

Montreal will now clash with the New York Rangers and then with the New Jersey Devils.

(Picture: Matt D'Agostini, Canadian Press.)

On to December.

The race for a spot in the playoffs in both the Eastern and Western conference is shaping up in the NHL. Some teams could fall off with a bad performance in December.

Here is a quick look at the standings in the Eartern conference:

1	Boston Bruins	24	16	4	4	36	82	55
2	New York Rangers	27	17	8	2	36	72	65
3	Washington Capitals	24	13	8	3	29	77	75
4	Pittsburgh Penguins	23	14	6	3	31	75	63
5	Montréal Canadiens	23	13	6	4	30	67	61
6	Philadelphia Flyers	23	11	7	5	27	76	71
7	New Jersey Devils	22	12	8	2	26	65	60
8	Carolina Hurricanes	25	12	11	2	26	65	75
9	Buffalo Sabres	23	11	9	3	25	65	69
10	Toronto Maple Leafs	23	8	9	6	22	71	82
11	New York Islanders	24	10	12	2	22	65	80
12	Florida Panthers	23	9	11	3	21	56	65
13	Ottawa Senators	22	8	10	4	20	52	56
14	Atlanta Thrashers	23	8	12	3	19	67	82
15	Tampa Bay Lightning	23	6	10	7	19	53	72

And now for the Western conference:

1	San Jose Sharks	24	20	3	1	41	92	57
2	Detroit Red Wings	23	15	4	4	34	82	70
3	Vancouver Canucks	24	14	8	2	30	73	59
4	Anaheim Ducks	25	14	8	3	31	74	70
5	Minnesota Wild	22	14	7	1	29	62	47
6	Calgary Flames	24	14	9	1	29	72	74
7	Chicago Blackhawks	22	10	6	6	26	75	65
8	Nashville Predators	23	11	10	2	24	68	77
9	Los Angeles Kings	22	10	9	3	23	59	60
10	Columbus Blue Jackets	23	10	10	3	23	68	73
11	St Louis Blues	22	10	10	2	22	63	67
12	Colorado Avalanche	23	11	12	0	22	58	66
13	Phoenix Coyotes	23	10	11	2	22	55	63
14	Edmonton Oilers	23	10	11	2	22	61	70
15	Dallas Stars	23	8	11	4	20	65	86

*The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.

So as we can see, the teams are still bunched up. The worse teams in each conference are still in the race for the top eight. The all important point for those teams at the bottom is not to slip for a long period of time during December.