CHRISTINNE MUSCHI
Max Pacioretty's injuries - severe concussion, fractured vertebrae - and the subsequent hue and cry over the NHL's decision not to suspend the Boston Bruins' defenceman Zdeno Chara for the hit on the Canadiens' forward remains the front-and-centre issue in Montreal - and might be the only one that could have overshadowed tonight's anticipated date with the St. Louis Blues, which also represents the first time this season the Habs get to face former goalie Jaroslav Halak, who helped them get to the Stanley Cup semi-finals last spring.
Under different circumstances, the Halak-Carey Price showdown would be playing out big time in Montreal, largely because the faith the Canadiens demonstrated in Price's abilities this past summer have clearly been justified. Price had a tough 2009-10 season and ultimately lost his starting position to Halak, who then proceeded to lead the Canadiens on a miracle playoff run that eliminated both the Washington Capitals of Alex Ovechkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins of Sidney Crosby before stalling in the conference finals against the Philadelphia Flyers of Daniel Briere.
At the time, Halak could have been elected mayor of Montreal. Meanwhile, Price's popularity had sunk so low that in September, during the exhibition season, he was booed after a so-so first outing.
Halak was outstanding in the first month for St. Louis - he had an 8-1-1 record with a goals-against average of 1.46 and a .944 save percentage in early November; and had twice been named in the NHL's three stars of the month.
Alas, Halak wasn't able to sustain that level indefinitely. On Wednesday, Halak made a winning return to the Blues' lineup after being out since Feb. 17 with a right hand ailment, but it is too late to salvage something from a season that started with so much promise in St. Louis.
The Blues swept a pair of games from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the past 72 hours, but they are 10 points back of eighth-place Phoenix, with 15 games to play and four teams (Minnesota, Nashville, Anaheim and Columbus) to overhaul. Not going to happen, which means Halak won't get a chance to reprise his magical playoff run. The hope in St. Louis is that his return will stabilize a team looking for a new defensive identity, after trading away two blue-line mainstays, soon-to-be-unrestricted free agent Eric Brewer plus former first overall pick Erik Johnston.
In exchange for Halak, Montreal received Lars Eller, a former first-round draft choice who ironically, scored his sixth and seventh goals of the season in the same game against Boston in which Pacioretty was injured.
Coach Jacques Martin is encouraging his team to focus on the task at hand - playing St. Louis - and Price seems to be all in favour of that. Playing down the matchup against his former teammate, Price tells the Montreal Gazette: "He got traded. That was the end of him being my teammate. You hope for the best for him, but I'm not concerned with what he's doing in another conference."