The 100th season of the Montreal Canadiens was certainly memorable, but over a history of tremendous triumph and celebration it would have to be filed as one of the team's greatest failures. Of the many players who helped create a memory Canadiens fans would prefer to forget, some spent great years in Montreal, and highlights from those years complete a picture that would otherwise be rather dark.
While this upcoming season offers a fresh canvass for the Montreal Canadiens, here a few things you might want to shuffle into the memory deck when you see your old favorites lining up against you new ones.
-Remember the night Francis Bouillon leveled Kyle Wellwood at the Canadiens blueline, in typical Bouillon style; using that low frame and pushing his backwards stride into a nice hip-check that sent the young Maple Leaf flying? And then Darcy Tucker plowed Frank from behind, only for Bouillon to snap right up and get into a little verbal match with Toronto's superpest. That was when Bouillon one-punch knocked Tucker on his seat.
-Who could forget when Steve Begin ate the boards (literally) against Boston in the playoffs? There was never a doubt he'd be back--slap a cage on, bleed it out... but 15 minutes later? Throwing hit after hit? Diving in front of shots, and blocking 5 on 3 one-timers (with his face if he had to).
-The Habs drop five goals to the Rangers just half way into the game, and the waves start coming. Lo and behold, they've made it to 5-4, when Saku Koivu retrieves a puck in the left quadrant of the offensive zone, leaves it for Andrei Kostitsyn, who drops to Kovalev, who falls over himself slapping it past Lundqvist. What a feeling!
-Mike Komisarek picks off a D-to-D pass from McCabe to Antropov in overtime at the ACC, and skates the length of the ice on a breakaway, faking backhand and going forehand-fivehole on Andrew Raycroft to win the game.
-Christopher Higgins scores his first NHL hat-trick against the Ottawa Senators, with three breathtaking goals. The first comes shorthanded care of a Saku Koivu 2-line lob over the Senators defense pairing, into Higgins' hand, on to his stick, past Alex Auld's blocker on the short side. The second is a rebound from Ryan O'Byrne's point-shot, straight to Sergei Kostitsyn who passes over to Higgins by the side of the net. The third is another breakaway, and another laser wrist-shot past Auld's blocker. It was November, last season, Higgins was coming off an injury, playing in one of his first games back with Tanguay and Koivu, and Price pitched a shutout...Things were looking good!
-Saku Koivu-- and his hits in the playoffs. Two in particular come to mind, and though I can't recall the dates, I'm confident many others share the same fond memories.
The first- Boston, 2001-2002 (the year Koivu came back from Cancer). Either game 1 or game 2, Koivu lobs a knuckler into Hal Gill's corner and steams him about 1-foot from the boards. The hit creates a turnover that results in a goal for Donald Audette.
The second- In Carolina, also 2002, Koivu meets Joseph Vasicek behind the net, and pancakes him with a violent crash.
-Mathieu Dandenault breaks his arm against the Calgary Flames, and despite excruciating pain, heroically finishes his shift with a blocked shot.
These are just a few of my favorites…what are yours?
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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