PAT’S NOTEBOOK
WHO NEEDS TICKETS?
You have to be plugged in if you hope to score Canadiens tickets for the first round of the playoffs. Tickets for the general public are available only through the team’s official website (canadiens.com). The sale begins at 10 a.m. Sunday, but potential purchasers are advised to sign in to a virtual waiting room beginning at 9:30 a.m. Fans are limited to tickets for one game and there is a limit of four tickets.
DECLINE THE PENALTY?
When Tyler Johnson scored a short-handed goal to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-1 win over the Canadiens Tuesday night, it gave Johnson five short-handed goals and five power-plays goals this season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other rookie in NHL history to score at least five short-handed goals and five power-play goals in the same season was Dennis Maruk, who had five short-handed and seven power-play goals for the California Golden Seals in 1975-76. Maruk went on to score 50 goals with the Washington Capitals in 1980-81 and added 60 the following season.
BRUINS LISTED AS CUP FAVOURITES
The Boston Bruins are the favourites to win the Stanley Cup, according to the oddsmakers at bodog. ca. The latest odds have the Bruins going from 15-2 to 9-2 odds. The St. Louis Blues, who were the favourites at the beginning of March, are listed at 5-1 and the defending Cup-champion Chicago Blackhawks are at 13-2. The Canadiens have slightly shorter odds after winning eight of their last 10 games, going from 25-1 to 22-1.
SWEET REVENGE FOR BOBROVSKY
What could be better than coming back and beating a team that gave up on you? Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky did just that Thursday night when he became the seventh ex-Philadelphia Flyer to earn a shutout against his old team. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he’s the first goalie to do it since Jan. 28, 2006, when Sean Burke made 38 saves in a 6-0 win for the Lightning. The other ex-Flyers with a shutout against them are Dunc Wilson, Ron Hextall, Pete Peeters, Roman Cechmanek and Garth Snow. Former Canadien James Wisniewski had his first game-winning goal in two years for Columbus and has a goal and six assists in his last five games.
MAJOR UPSET FOR CLARKSON
Clarkson University scored a major upset when it beat Minnesota in the NCAA women’s hockey championship final. Two-time defending champion Minnesota went into the final with a 26-game winning streak and a record 87-2-1 over three seasons. The Clarkson team features 19 Canadians, including three Quebecers — Vanessa Plante of Rivière-du-Loup, Dawson Blues grad Vanessa Gagnon of Saint-Constant, and Christine Lambert of Thetford Mines. The team is guided by the husbandand-wife team of Matt and Shannon Desrosiers.
PACIORETTY’S STAR SHINES
Before the Canadiens face the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night at the Bell Centre, Max Pacioretty will be introduced as the Molson Cup winner for the February-March segment. The award is based on the nightly three-star selections and Pacioretty was named the first star four times for 12 points. Carey Price and newcomer Thomas Vanek were second with nine points each, but Vanek heard the post-game cheers more often. Price had three first-star nods, while Vanek was the first star once and had two mentions each for second and third star.