Hockeytickets.ca Giveaway: Bruins@Canadiens, Sept 26, Bell Centre.
Sponsored Blog Contest:
I'm very pleased and excited to announce that
Hockeytickets.ca has provided me with a pair of tickets to give away for the very first game between the Bruins and Canadiens at the Bell Centre, when they meet up for pre-season action on Monday, September 26th.
These aren't just any seats. They're reds, in row V of section 118. Here's the view:
So here's how this is going to work:
The winner of the blog contest I'm starting today will attend this hockey game with me.
The rules of the blog contest are as follows:
1. I need a 350-word submission (no more, no less) on what the rivalry between Montreal and Boston means to you.
2. All entries
must be submitted to the following email address:
[email protected], subject line should read: EE CONTEST (please do not send me private messages with your entry here on hockeybuzz, don't leave them in the comments of the blog, and don't send them to my email if you have the address-- they won't be read).
3. The winner of the contest will be announced on the hockeytickets.ca twitter feed, so you may want to follow
hockey_tickets between now and Thursday, September 22nd.
4. The winning blog will appear on Monday, September 26th--Game Day, as the pre-game blog.
***Please note, if you'd like to participate and you're from out of town,
your expenses for travel and stay will not be covered. These tickets won't be delivered, they reside with me, and we will arrange to meet and go together to take in the game. It should be a blast!!!
FIVE HABS NOTES
1) If you're looking for an updated report on rookie camp, you've come to the wrong place. I haven't ventured out to Brossard yet to take in the sights and sounds of "Red-White" games, nor is it my intention to report the scores of them.
I've been checking out the reports done by several colleagues on what they're seeing, and I'll gladly refer you to Marc-Antoine Godin's first assessment of the
"budding talent"within the organization.
2) In glimpsing the various reports on yesterday's scrimmage, it seems
some are not impressed with 2010, first round pick Jarred Tinordi.
A word of caution to all Canadiens fans. The development of young defensemen, regardless of when they were drafted, takes longer. P.K. Subban is the exception to the rule.
Just because Tinordi or Nathan Beaulieu don't stand out on the first day of rookie camp, doesn't mean they won't one day fulfill the already weighty expectations fans are thrusting upon them.
For every Drew Doughty; every Shea Weber; every Subban, there's a Duncan Keith honing his skills to inevitably break out on that level.
3) Speaking of expectations, I have no idea what to expect from Peter Budaj this season. Montreal is a place where his career can be completely rejuvenated.
Rarely in his career has Budaj been slated for negligible playing time. Two years ago, he got stuck behind a red-hot Craig Anderson, and only appeared in 15 games-- a role he
wasn't very happy about being relegated to.
Who would be happy just playing 15 games?
And yet, Budaj couldn't have come to the Canadiens with any illusions about his role this season.
On a positive note, in the year he was forced to play so little, he went 5-5-2 on a .917 SA% and a 2.64 GAA. Small sample, but those are the best numbers he's ever had in the NHL.
Alex Auld last year: 6-2-2, .914 SA%, 2.64 GAA.
4) On CTV this week, I'm previewing the NorthEast Division. Yesterday's review focused on the Boston Bruins,
who I believe will be winning the division and once again contending for a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Not to say I think they'll be in the finals or repeating as champions, but to I do believe they have what it takes to contend.
I did find it interesting that many Canadiens fans feel that Tim Thomas won't come close to matching last season's performance--and that fact will inevitably bring the Bruins down the rankings.
5) Exactly one week from today, the Canadiens get into their first pre-season action. It's an 8-game schedule that will be broadcast almost in its entirety on RDS (only Sens-Habs on Friday, September 23rd won't be broadcast).
Finally, the decision-makers there have decided that there's more interest in pre-season Habs games than there is women's bowling. From an advertising perspective, surely the Habs are a more attractive buy, no matter the time of year.
Tue, Sept 20- Dallas@Montreal, 7:30pm
Wed, Sept 21- Sabres@Montreal, 7:30pm
Fri, Sept 23- Canadiens@Senators, 7:30pm
Sat, Sept 24- Senators@Canadiens, 7:00pm
Sun, Sept 25- Bruins@Canadiens (Halifax, NS), 6:00pm
Mon, Sept 26- Bruins@Canadiens, 7:30pm
Thu, Sept 29- Lightning@Canadiens, 7:30pm
Sat, Oct 1- Lightning@Canadiens (Quebec City, QC), 7:00pm
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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