Promotion » Montreal Canadiens are right about where

BROSSARD, Que. - Lars Eller feels the Montreal Canadiens are right about where they hoped to be at the midpoint of their NHL schedule.The Canadiens (26-12-2) are in a battle for top spot in the Eastern Conference with 54 points heading into their 41st game — halfway through the 82-game schedule — on Saturday night against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.They are ahead of a year ago, when they had 50 points at the halfway mark to finish fourth in the conference with 100 points. Then came a surprising run to the conference final before they were stopped in six games by the New York Rangers.The challenge for the rest of the season to be to stay among the lead group in the east, which includes Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, the rising New York Islanders and Detroit. Mentally, its the challenge of going out every night and taking pride in wanting to be right up there with the best and not be satisfied, said Eller. Weve got a lot of young bodies.There are going to be times when were a little bit tired, but its the same for the other teams so I dont want to use that as an excuse. In the long run, its about not being satisfied and challenging yourself to be the best you can be every night during the course of 82 games.Their performance last season raised expectations for the Canadiens. Theyve met them so far, even if the team is widely considered to be still a top player or two away from being a Stanley Cup contender.Theyve had scoring from three lines instead of the two that got most of the goals last season. The defence has so far held up well. And 27-year-old Price is having his best season.I dont think we put too much pressure on ourselves, said Eller, who has scored seven goals while continuing his strong defensive play as the third-line centre. We expect a lot of ourselves.Once we get to the playoffs, its a totally different thing. Well talk about that when we get there. Were just trying to do as well as we can in the regular season.General manager Marc Bergevin gambled in the off-season on moving out several veterans so younger players could take on more leadership.Instead of naming a captain, the club put forward Max Pacioretty and defenceman P.K. Subban among a group of four alternate captains along with veterans Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Markov, while giving goalie Carey Price similar status without a letter on his jersey.It has worked out well so far.Pacioretty, the team scoring leader with 17 goals and 32 points, Subban and Price are among a core of players in their 20s who will likely form the heart of the team for the next several years, along with Eller, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, David Desharnais and a few others.But extensive changes were made last summer and into this season.Gone from last seasons team are backup goalie Peter Budaj, defencemen Josh Gorges, Douglas Murray and Francis Bouillon and forwards Brian Gionta (the former captain), Daniel Briere, Rene Bourque, Travis Moen, George Parros, Ryan White and late-season pickup Thomas Vanek.Newcomers are rearguards Tom Gilbert and Sergei Gonchar as well as forwards Manny Malhotra, Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Jiri Sekac. Defenceman Nathan Beaulieu was recently called up from AHL Hamilton and looks likely to stay. The same may happen with forward Sven Andrighetto. And Dustin Tokarski, who replaced the injured Price in the playoffs, is the new backup.Another step came when coach Michel Therrien finally moved Galchenyuk, used mainly at left wing since he was drafted third overall in 2012, to centre on the top line with Pacioretty and Gallagher. To date, he is adapting well to the raised responsibility. And surprisingly, former top line centre Desharnais is thriving as a winger on the third unit.Were a little younger team than last year, said Therrien. The younger guys are well supported by veterans like Markov, Gonchar and Plekanec. Theyre learning to become leaders, to do good things on the ice. So far, its going pretty well and well continue in that direction.Another improvement has been on faceoffs, where the addition of specialist Malhotra looks to have had a ripple effect. Malhotra has won 61.9 per cent of his draws, while Eller went from 53.2 per cent last season to 57 per cent and Plekanec has gone from 48 per cent to 50.6 per cent. Only Galchenyuk lags at 46.2 per cent.However, Malhotra, who may no longer have 82 games in his system, was a healthy scratch twice in recent games and may be again against Pittsburgh. On Friday, prospect Christian Thomas was recalled from Hamilton. Andrighetto got most of the work at centre on the fourth line with Thomas and Michael Bournival on the wings.Therrien would not confirm that Thomas will play, but said that while he is not specifically looking for more goals, he wants more offensive zone time from the fourth unit.Its a long season, said Therrien. Its a marathon.Whats important to me is that we get better every week. Thats our focus. Its a challenge to make the playoffs. We understand theres lot of good competition and every game is tough. Cheap Ricky Vaughn Jersey . - Free agent defensive end Will Smith has signed with the New England Patriots. Cheap Joe Carter Jersey . Lexie Lou earned a commanding 4 1/2-length win Sunday in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks. http://www.cheapindiansjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-kenny-lofton-jersey .ca. The NHL Play of the Year showdown kicks off with some slick moves going head-to-head with a combination of soft hands and endless patience. Cheap Larry Doby Jersey .3 seconds remaining, and No. 7 North Carolina held off a resilient No. 25 Virginia team, 54-51, on Saturday. John Henson contributed a double-double with 15 points to go with 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels (25-4, 12-2 ACC), who have won five straight and 10 of 11. Cheap Indians Jerseys China . -- Olympic medallist Jennifer Abel of Laval, Que.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hi Kerry, I wanted to say that I love reading your take on these questions and I loved your book. I have a question regarding the Montreal vs. Minnesota game the other night. Now I am a Habs fan so this may seem like a strange question but late in the third, Minnesotas Marco Scandella was called for hooking, clearly this was a good call but my concern is this - at this point the Canadiens were already winning 6-1 and I was thinking did the referee really need to make that call? I mean, there must come a point where the whistles have to be put away, no? There is nothing wrong with a decisive win, and if the offending player had say given a blatant head shot or high stick to the face call it, but to me the hooking just added insult to injury and maybe should not have been called. So my question is - does there come a time when you just put the whistle away and just let the game finish? Thanks as always,Dan Boucher Dan: Thank you for the kudos. Your philosophical question pertains to an area of officiating called "game management." Please understand that game management is not just about making a decision to call or not call a penalty. It goes much beyond that and pertains to a refs "feel" for the game as it is being played out in the moment. The most exciting and entertaining games are when the players are allowed to compete hard and on the edge where physicality is properly balanced with player safety. No different than a pot of water on a stove, the temperature of a game can intensify and will boil over if the chef does not turn down the heat at the appropriate time. A referees ability to appropriately manage the emotional element of the game (players and coaches) is crucial in this regard. That can include situations when player frustration results during an embarrassing blow-out game. The good referee knows when to impose his authority in a way that achieves a positive result. Former NHL Director of Officiating John McCauley, my mentor and current NHL referee Wes McCauleys late father, told me that "the very best game is one played with "controlled bedlam" and the most successful referee is the one that can get the players to play on his terms with laying the hammer down!" John was talking specifically about "game management." There are some fans that take the position that a penalty is a penalty regardless of the sccore or the time of the game.dddddddddddd Your question Dan highlights a more realistic and practical approach that balances a referees ability to enforce the rules (maintain integrity of the game) with common sense judgment through his feel for the game and what a game requires in the moment. The wide gap in the standard of rule enforcement from days of old has narrowed in the "new, newer NHL." The expectation from the majority of the hockey community is that a violation of the rules will (should) result in a penalty called by the referee. It is often hard to understand how a puck over the glass is an automatic penalty in overtime while an obvious hold might not be called? We know there is ongoing work to be done by the Officiating Dept. in the area of coaching and holding the refs accountable to the expected standard. As these theories pertain to your specific question Dan let me say that an obvious penalty must be called at any time in the game, regardless of the score or the time! In addition to maintaining player safety, all flagrant fouls, stick infractions, dangerous hits and fouls on scoring opportunities should never be overlooked by the referees. Marco Scandella of the Minnesota Wild hooked Max Pacioretty with a potential scoring opportunity after a turnover in the neutral zone. While Pacioretty did not lose possession of the puck the referee maintained the expected standard when Scandella hooked the hands of the Montreal player as he was cutting toward the Minnesota goal. A "must call" was made in spite of the 6-1 Montreal lead with 3:40 remaining. It is also important to note that the referees worked the game right to the end with a consistent standard when Daniel Briere was assessed a penalty for holding Mikael Granlund with 1:49 remaining in the game. The infraction occurred as Granlund carried the puck up the wall in the neutral zone and was stalled from behind with a tug-hook and eventual free-hand grab by Briere that forced a loss of puck possession. The proper standard was maintained with the holding penalty called against Daniel Briere and resulted in Danny Heatleys power play goal with two seconds remaining in the game. If the referee had missed, or worse yet avoided calling the infraction committed by Briere you can bet the game temperature would have spiked through Wild frustration during the final minute and a half. The timing of the Briere infraction allowed for excellent "game management" to be demonstrated by the referee. John McCauley would be proud. 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