Faces kings in L.A.Habs goalie gets first start of season
Jaroslav Halak will make his long-awaited season debut as the Canadiens' starting goaltender this afternoon against the Los Angeles Kings and he's hoping to improve on his last National Hockey League start.
Halak has been limited to two periods of relief work this season and he hasn't started an NHL game since April 5, 2007. While he had a respectable 10-6 record as a rookie, his season ended on a low note at Madison Square Garden.
"I was pulled after two periods," recalled Halak. "We were down 3-0 and Cristobal (Huet) came in and the game finished 3-1." Halak has been on a roller-coaster since. He came into camp last September determined to win a job, but head coach Guy Carbonneau elected to go with rookie Carey Price as Huet's backup.
"It was a disappointment, but I went down to Hamilton and I had some good games," said Halak, who was the leading goaltender in the American Hockey League for a second consecutive season.
The Canadiens recalled him in December when Huet suffered a groin injury and again in January when Price went to Hamilton to work on his confidence, but Halak never started. He did play two periods in relief roles, stopping 18 of the 19 shots he faced. He has been in uniform as the backup for 22 games, including the last five since Huet was traded to Washington.
"I'm just expecting a good effort," Carbonneau said. "He's been anxious to play; I think he's been anxious since September. He came up a couple of times this year and didn't get a chance to play. He's been a good pro and he's worked really hard in practice. But like anyone who's really competitive, he wants to show us what he can do in a game.
"That's the fun part," the coach added. "We have two young kids who want to play and they're competing for that chance." Carbonneau denied that he lacked confidence in Halak.
"We saw what he could do last year and were just looking for the right spot." With back-to-back games this weekend - the Canadiens are in Anaheim tomorrow night - Carbonneau decided this was the right spot.
On the surface, Carbonneau is saving Price for the tougher assignment and sending Halak against the team with the worst record in the NHL.
But Halak said he viewed the game as a tough challenge.
"They beat Ottawa last night, so we know they'll be ready." Halak also said the Canadiens know they have to play better than they did Thursday night. They rallied to beat Phoenix 4-2, but the Coyotes outshot the Canadiens 39-20 and outplayed Montreal for most of the game.
"It's been kind of hard sitting on the bench all the time, but right now I have a chance to play," Halak said "I'll try to keep it simple and stop the pucks." Halak said the toughest part of not playing is staying sharp mentally.
"Physically, I'm ready because (goaltender coach Rollie Melanson) takes care of me. Did you see today's practice? It was all 5-on-0 rushes." There will be one other lineup change tonight, with Tom Kostopoulos replacing Mathieu Dandenault. Carbonneau said he expected Kostopoulos to be excited because he played for the Kings last season. The Canadiens could also use some extra muscle to deal with Raitis Ivanans, a bona fide heavyweight who started his NHL career in Montreal.
Jaroslav Halak will make his long-awaited season debut as the Canadiens' starting goaltender this afternoon against the Los Angeles Kings and he's hoping to improve on his last National Hockey League start.
Halak has been limited to two periods of relief work this season and he hasn't started an NHL game since April 5, 2007. While he had a respectable 10-6 record as a rookie, his season ended on a low note at Madison Square Garden.
"I was pulled after two periods," recalled Halak. "We were down 3-0 and Cristobal (Huet) came in and the game finished 3-1." Halak has been on a roller-coaster since. He came into camp last September determined to win a job, but head coach Guy Carbonneau elected to go with rookie Carey Price as Huet's backup.
"It was a disappointment, but I went down to Hamilton and I had some good games," said Halak, who was the leading goaltender in the American Hockey League for a second consecutive season.
The Canadiens recalled him in December when Huet suffered a groin injury and again in January when Price went to Hamilton to work on his confidence, but Halak never started. He did play two periods in relief roles, stopping 18 of the 19 shots he faced. He has been in uniform as the backup for 22 games, including the last five since Huet was traded to Washington.
"I'm just expecting a good effort," Carbonneau said. "He's been anxious to play; I think he's been anxious since September. He came up a couple of times this year and didn't get a chance to play. He's been a good pro and he's worked really hard in practice. But like anyone who's really competitive, he wants to show us what he can do in a game.
"That's the fun part," the coach added. "We have two young kids who want to play and they're competing for that chance." Carbonneau denied that he lacked confidence in Halak.
"We saw what he could do last year and were just looking for the right spot." With back-to-back games this weekend - the Canadiens are in Anaheim tomorrow night - Carbonneau decided this was the right spot.
On the surface, Carbonneau is saving Price for the tougher assignment and sending Halak against the team with the worst record in the NHL.
But Halak said he viewed the game as a tough challenge.
"They beat Ottawa last night, so we know they'll be ready." Halak also said the Canadiens know they have to play better than they did Thursday night. They rallied to beat Phoenix 4-2, but the Coyotes outshot the Canadiens 39-20 and outplayed Montreal for most of the game.
"It's been kind of hard sitting on the bench all the time, but right now I have a chance to play," Halak said "I'll try to keep it simple and stop the pucks." Halak said the toughest part of not playing is staying sharp mentally.
"Physically, I'm ready because (goaltender coach Rollie Melanson) takes care of me. Did you see today's practice? It was all 5-on-0 rushes." There will be one other lineup change tonight, with Tom Kostopoulos replacing Mathieu Dandenault. Carbonneau said he expected Kostopoulos to be excited because he played for the Kings last season. The Canadiens could also use some extra muscle to deal with Raitis Ivanans, a bona fide heavyweight who started his NHL career in Montreal.
