Week three and the month of October for that matter has wrapped up in great fashion with Les Bleu-Blanc-Rouge riding a three-game winning streak. The Montreal Canadiens are currently enjoying a five-day break from game action. The team travels to Kanata on Friday to face the hometown Ottawa Senators and on Saturday arrive in the Big Apple to meet the New York Rangers at Madison Square Gardens.

PHOTO CREDIT - CTV.ca

Whitby - November 2, 2011 - Week three and the month of October for that matter has wrapped up in great fashion with Les Bleu-Blanc-Rouge riding a three-game winning streak. The Canadiens are currently enjoying a five-day break from game action. The team travels to Kanata on Friday to face the hometown Ottawa Senators and on Saturday arrive in the Big Apple to meet the New York Rangers at Madison Square Gardens.

Canadiens’ Sick Bay
Chris Campoli Lower Body Injury (left leg) on Injured Reserve and is out indefinitely.

Ryan White Sports Hernia Injury and is out indefinitely.

Andrei Markov **UPDATE** Markov has returned from Florida. There is no timetable for his return to game action. Markov continues to skate and participate in two-a-day off-ice workouts.

Brendon Nash Shoulder Surgery and is out indefinitely.

Scott Gomez **UPDATE** Gomez has missed four games with an upper body injury and is on a similar rehabilatation schedule as defenseman Andrei Markov. Gomez will not be available for either two of this weekend’s matchups.

Molson Cup Winner
Carey Price is the Molson Cup recipient for the month of October. Max Pacioretty and Erik Cole were runners up respectively. Price was the first star of the game on three different occasions and was a second star once during the month of October. Price compiled a record of 4-4-2 in October, posting a 2.59 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. On October 26th, he earned his 100th career win. Price was also named the NHL’s first star for week three, edging out Edmonton’s Nikolai Khabibulin and Philadelphia’s Jaromir Jagr.

Assistant Coach Fired
Prior to the Wednesday, October 26th matchup versus Philadelphia, assistant coach Perry Pearn was unceremoniously relieved of his assistant coaching duties. Pearn was beginning his third season behind the bench with the Montreal Canadiens.

Give Blood. Give Life.
At the time of this article, the Montreal Canadiens’ annual blood drive is ongoing. In the concourse of Windsor Station (located at 1160 Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montreal) between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. today, Canadiens’ players and veterans alike will be on hand to thank blood donors for their contribution in giving blood - and giving life. President and CEO of the Montreal Canadiens, Geoff Molson, will also join the team at some point in the day. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Canadiens’ annual blood drive. The drive began in 1981 by Canadiens’ icon Jean Beliveau and veteran sports commentator Claude Mouton. To date, there has been nearly 30,000 generous blood donations.

Bulldogs Sit in Two-Way-Tie for Fourth Place Rank North Division GP W L OTL SOL PT
1 Toronto Marlies 9 5 3 1 0 11
2 Rochester Americans 10 3 4 2 1 9
3 Lake Erie Monsters 11 4 6 1 0 9
4 Hamilton Bulldogs 8 4 4 0 0 8
5 Grand Rapids Griffins 9 4 5 0 0 8

The Week That Was
October 27 - Bulldogs 3-2 O/T win against Rochester Americans

October 29 - Bulldogs 3-2 loss against Albany Devils

October 30 - Bulldogs 6-2 loss against Abbotsford Heat

Louis Leblanc - played in his first professional game on October 27th, scroing the overtime goal and added two assists. Leblanc was named first star in the game against Rochester.

Andreas Engqvist - played in his frst game for Hamilton on October 27th, registering one goal and three points. Goaltender Peter Delmas was recalled to Hamilton from the ECHL on October 31st. Goaltender Nathan Lawson was injured on October 30th in the first period against Abbotsford. The nature of his injury is unknown.

Aaron Palushaj was sent to the Bulldogs from the Canadiens on October 29th.

The Week Ahead
Tuesday, November 1st at home versus Abbotsford Heat 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 4th at home versus Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild affiliate) 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 5th at home versus Lake Erie Monsters (Colorado Avalanche affiliate) 7:00 p.m.

Nailers Remain Lone Unbeaten Team in ECHL
The Wheeling Nailers are a perfect 5-0-0 to start the 2011-12 ECHL regular season.

The Week That Was
October 28 - Gwinnett Gladiators 2 @ WHEELING NAILERS 3 (OT)

October 29 - Trenton Titans 4 @ WHEELING NAILERS 6 Montreal Canadiens’ prospect, Olivier Dame-Malka registered an assist in the Nailers’ 3-2 overtime victory on October 28th.

Atlantic Division Standings
1- WHEELING NAILERS 5-0-0-0, 10 pts
2- Reading Royals 3-3-1-0, 7 pts
3- Elmira Jackals 3-3-0-0, 6 pts
4- Trenton Titans 1-6-0-0, 2 pts

The Week Ahead
November 4 - Kalamazoo Wings @ Wheeling Nailers 7:35 p.m.
November 5 - Wheeling Nailers @ Trenton Titans 7:00 p.m.

Lars Eller Blossoming

Lars Eller

PHOTO CREDIT - Canadiens.com

Chalk it up to increased confidence. Multi-positional player Lars Eller is starting to come into his own for the Montreal Canadiens. The 22-year-old Dane was first drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Eller came over to Montreal in 2010 via trade involving Jaroslav Halak.

Born in Rodovre, Denmark, Eller stands 6’2? and weighs in at 202 pounds. Eller is a left-handed shot and since Scott Gomez went down with an upper body injury four games ago, Eller has been centering the Canadiens’ third line between Travis Moen and Andrei Kostitsyn.

Eller has always been a good skater, with above average hockey sense and has always had very good technical skills. Eller is emerging as an intriguing playmaker - he currently has one goal and two assists in nine games this season and is a plus+3. He is also averaging approximately 15 minutes of icetime per game.

I project Lars Eller to be a second line, two-way player for the Canadiens by the 2012-12 NHL season. To get there he needs to improve in four main areas:

1. his play around the opponent’s crease
2. his winning faceoff percentage (currently averaging a 44% success rate)
3. defensive play
4. staying healthy

For now, Eller will continue to centre the Habs’ third line and if his level of play continues to improve with an improved winning faceoff percentage, you will surely see Scott Gomez being relegated to the Canadiens’ fourth line until Gomez can get his game back to a NHL calibre-level.

Two weeks ago, it wasn’t much fun being a Habs’ supporter. The team was having no success whatsoever. Fans were calling for Coach Jacques Martin head on a platter and there didn’t seem to be any answer to Montreal’s continued woes, game-after-game.

My, how a week changes the air and atmosphere for Canadiens’ fans. The sun is shining, life is good and it’s a beautiful time to be a Habs’ fan as they currently ride a three-game winning streak. I want to keep drinking from a half-full jug rather than from a half-empty one when chatting about the Canadiens’ organization - and so should each of you!

The NHL regular season is a long 82-game sked and I wasn’t completely surprised to see Coach Martin seemingly subdued after the Habs’ third consecutive win on Saturday night against Boston. He knows, as should we, that the Canadiens will go through various peaks and valleys throughout the seasonâ€"let’s just hope we see much more peaks than valleys.

Hopefully Les Bleu-Blanc-Rouge are ‘peaking’ for a long time going forward. It is time for every Canadiens’ fanatic to ‘stand up’ for their team. Props go out to Annakinslayd for uploading the following YouTube video that will make any hockey fan excited to be a Habs fan:

Until next time, play every game as if it is your last one…