Final piece of Stanley Cup Puzzle in place

Lap dance to random anonymous in the last very sexywoody post who alerted us to the fact that the Twitters are abuzz that Josh Gorges has signed a 1 year, $2.5 million deal. TSN has confirmed its own reporter's tweet, so I'm sure it's true. That leaves zero players unsigned, and thus a full roster (give or take a few knees) set to go. PLAN THE FUCKING PARADE BITCHES.

The System Works(?) Habs 3 Leafs 2 (OT)

Apparently the Habs beat the Leafs 3-2 in overtime. I say 'apparently' because I only caught the first period live due to family/holiday obligations (I use the term "obligations" precisely - if you, too, have had more shots over the past several days than the Habs opponents' just to get through meals with family you schlepped across continents to escape, you know what I'm talking about).

You know what? I think I've see this game before, so here is your game summary:

• Canadiens score early and then hold on for dear life.
• SuperPleks is a god - or is at least playing like a bona fide first line centre.
• Gomez is looking much better.
• Big Tits is on a role; Saggy Tits, not so much.
• It's good (no, GREAT) to have Markov back.
• The Energized Bunny has nothing on Jaro.
• It's fucking sweet to beat the Leafs, no matter how ugly or undeserving.
• Suck it Dou$charek. Third star, my ass, you pylon.

Besides the gratuitous Leaf bashing, sounds like any one of the past 3 road games.

If the definition of a 'system' in sports is that a team plays the same way every game, the Jacques Martin Era has officially begun in Montreal. JM's version of The System is apparently to get outshot by a ton but deposit more of our shots in the back of their net.

Maybe it's the mix of copious amounts of tryptophan and Captain Morgan's still circulating through my pulmonary system, but I can't figure out if I'm happy or not about this. On one hand, a win is a win. On the other, getting outshot 50-10 every game doesn't sound like a Stanley Cup-winning formula.

I could talk about not letting an inferior opponent back into the game. I could write about taking bad penalties. I could discuss relying too much on your goaltender. There are any number of cynical and/or negative observations I could add about this game.

You know what else? Fuck it. I'm just going to enjoy a win over the stupid fucking Toronna Maple Laffs on HNIC. Go Habs Go. Leafs suck. Plan the Parade along the usual route. Yadda yadda. I'm too worn out and beaten down by the "holidays" to be negative or cynical.

Just don' t think you're off the hook, Canadiens. Because when I do have the energy to care about anything other than when the holidays (and family visits) are over, you're in trouble.

Unless, of course, they keep winning. Then we'll talk about the System working.

Cup Champs Continue Hot Start

Discussion in FHF headquarters late last night:

HF29: Listen, HF4 and I were at ball hockey and missed the whole thing. Who saw it?

HF10: Mini-HF10 2.0 has the croup. I spent most of the night trying to get him to sleep. Oh, and since the free NHL Centre Ice preview is over and I don't have RDS, I couldn't have watched anyway. Panger?

Panger: You volunteered to do it earlier this week, so I didn't watch with my usual analytical goalie awareness. And I have depositions all day so I can't write anything now (random spelling mistake).

HF4: I'm busy. What are we going to do?

HF29: Okay, okay calm down. We'll just post a classic FHF ... no one is gonna know the difference.

Cup Champs Teach Pens a Lesson; Canadiens 6 Pens 1

With the World Series over and the Yankees returned to baseball's summit, the NHL season is starting to pick up steam, with the defending Cup champs already off to a roaring start. And why not? After all, they feature the most marketable and arguably best player in the league (some would plump for another, but they'd be wrong), a bevy of other high-scoring, MVP and Art Ross worthy talents, an all-world goalie and a third line shutdown player who is the envy of every other team in the league. Frankly, with the champs rolling like this, it wasn't going to be a good night for a rebuilt squad starting their back-up on the road.

Fresh off a four game winning streak that featured a come-from-behind win against the Goal-a-Game line Rangers and two wins over the Islanders and their hot-shot rookie goalscorer (mark my words, that Bossy kid can score although his skating needs work ... if the Isles keep that young core together and get a veteran final piece, I see them contending for Cups in the next 3-5 years), the Canadiens rolled home to face a Penguins squad that is in transition; Pittsburgh has made some wholesale changes over the summer, and while their offensive talent looks promising and their goaltending has potential, their defence lacks an all-star presence and might be an Achilles heel.

The Canadiens are not without their own minor troubles, as a manufactured goalie controversy looks to rear its head yet again. Look, we understand that people love Bunny Larocque, and yes, his numbers look superior to Dryden right now. Bunny is an ideal back-up who can win games and even get on a hot streak and carry the team when needed. But Dryden is a big, rangy, calm and cool goalie and the future of this franchise. Now that he has that silly law career notion out of his head, expect him to be manning the nets for Montreal for at least another decade. Bunny is a good little goalie, but his upside doesn't come close to matching Dryden.

Tonight the goalie issue was a moot point, as the defending champs got a hat-trick from Lafleur and one each from Cournoyer, Mondou and defenceman Bill Nyrop. Dryden stopped 17 Pens shots and was only beaten by Pittsburgh second-liner Jean Pronovost on a rare 5 on 3 man advantage. Based on their play tonight, the defending champs are still the ones to beat, with two Art Ross candidates in Lafleur and frequent linemate Lemaire, another potential big-time scorer riding shotgun on the wing in Shutt, wily veteran Cournoyer, and talented defenders like Robinson, Savard and Lapointe in front of Dryden. They will battle the Bruins and Flyers (and possibly the fast starting Sabres) for class of the Prince of Wales conference again.

As for the Penguins, a new coach and a big turnover in the dressing room won't immediately make fans forget a decade of playoff near misses and disappointments. No one really knows what to expect from this team, and they may need a third of the season to figure it out. Based on last night, they are clearly not up to the level of the defending champs, but few teams are. However, they are battling every night and fans seem to be warming up to them.

Next up for the Canadiens is a date with former Habs goalie Tony Esposito and the Blackhawks on Friday, followed by a meeting with the Leafs on Halloween night. No doubt the bombastic loudmouth at the head of the Leafs organization will have something to say (as usual).