Hit the Post with Rick Moffat

With the City turned on for a chance to go up 2-0 in games on the Flyers, Carey Price has to go and issue the appeal for calm in Hockeyville.



The low-key Cowboy goalie hits a lowpoint in the playoffs, letting in 4 goals he usually stops, including 2 Flyers goals on the first 5 shots he faces. That will take the steam out of the fans and do more than 100 riot cops to quiet down Ste. Catherine Street.



Thankfully Carey is strong on the emotional rebound. 7-1 since his recall to the Canadiens in February in starts after losses. Watch for Carey to be at his best in Games 3 and 4 in Philly.



Saku Koivu is going to have to change that quote in the Habs dressing room. No failing hands here. He's not going to pass the torch. He's going to hold it higher. Koivu scored the Habs' first goal in game 2 even as the stick was knocked out of his hands. That's alright. Only freed up his hands to punch the sky in celebration.



Koivu almost had to punch out Scottie Upshall before the night was over. The Flyers are taking their shots at the captain, and he's not about to back down.



One of the things I love about hockey? It turns foes into friends. OK, so no group-hug for Avery and Brodeur, but how about Round 2 adversaries Josh Gorges of the Canadiens and Scottie Upshall of the Flyers. "I was Kelowna's lock-down guy in Junior and Upshall was so arrogant I hated him," Gorges tells me. "Kamloops was our big rivalry game.So then Upshall goes to Nashville and is teammates with my buddies from the Rockets (Kelowna of the Western Hockey League) and next thing you know he's working out with me, Vern Fiddler and Shea Weber in the offseason. Now I think Upshall's a great guy!"



That's fine Josh, just keep locking him down and shoving him away from Carey Price. And don't forget to treat him to a free ice-cream cone at your Dad's Dairy Queen in Kelowna, BC this summer.



I'll suggest you give him extra sprinkles on the day you bring the Stanley Cup to your hometown. But that's just me.



Far away from the prying eyes of the media, Canadiens rookie Mikhail Grabovski continues his due diligence. Before the Habs' Friday practise before Game 2 of the series, there's "Grabo" as his teammates call him, first one on the ice, and last one off. Like his Belarusian buddies Andrei and Sergei, Mikhail's career is under the influence...not DUI, under the influence of AK27. Grabovski, having been scolded during regular season by Alex for the frustrated rookie's wildcat strike in Phoenix, must have been watching the Kovalev skills&drills DVD...his exercise long after practise had wrapped up: sprinkle 30 pucks around one faceoff circle, then skate and stickhandle one puck through the mess. An amazing test of hand eye coordination.





PS: Andrew Carter and I are st-rting to get dares via e-mail that if we join the "Buzzcut Boys" listeners and readers of the this blog would be willing to make a donation to the Gainey Foundation. If you're IN, e-mail me at Canadiens@cjad.com, and you'll automatically go in a draw for a copy of Alex's new DVD Boxset.