The Montreal Canadiens have gotten off to a slow start this season, and entered Thursday night’s game against the New York Islanders having gone thirteen games without a win in regulation dating back to last season. Apparently, all they needed to cure their ails was a team that was struggling more than they are. The Islanders only have one win on the season, and the Habs jumped on them early scoring three goals in the first two periods en route to a 5-1 victory at the Bell Centre.

NHL hockey betting devotees who weren’t scared away by the -180 home favorite price tag on Montreal cashed their tickets with the Canadiens’ big win. It was the sixth win for the Habs in their last eight meetings with the Islanders. The six goals scored just managed to go OVER the posted total of 5′. The Canadiens went OVER for only the fourth time in nine games, while the Islanders have gone OVER in five of their nine contests.

The struggling Montreal offense finally woke up, helped by a 43-22 shots on goal advantage. When Montreal opened a 2-0 lead in the first period it marked the first time this season that they’d led by more than a goal, a fact that surprised left winger Mike Cammalleri:

“We’re making it hard on ourselves. That’s something — I didn’t realize that until right now but that makes sense. Every game’s been so tight, and it’s important to try and win in tight games and find ways to win those games but at the same time you can’t do that 82 times a year and then however many games in the playoffs, so it was important to get out to a little bit of a lead and hang on to one tonight.”

Montreal goaltender Jaroslav Halek played well in relief of starter Carey Price, but lost his shutout bid when he misplayed a puck just seconds into the final period. Cammalleri described a conversation he had with Halek after the game:

“After the game I went to give him a hug and he said, ‘I don’t like shutouts. And I said, ‘Well, you better like shutouts!’ But he played great when we needed him tonight, made some solid saves, and we’ll let that one go.”

Islanders’ coach Scott Gordon admitted that his team’s poor play made it easy for the Habs’ to dominate:

“We were a pretty easy team to play against. Defensively we were on our heels because of all our turnovers and it wasn’t just in one area, it was coming out of our zone, it was situations where we had full control of the puck and we’re not making plays. It’s probably the worst that I’ve ever seen it tonight and it’s something that we’ve got to get better at.”

Montreal plays their next two games at home, hosting the New York Rangers on Saturday night and welcoming the Islanders back to the Bell Centre for another game next Monday night. They’ll then head to Pittsburgh for a game against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins on Wednesday. The Islanders have a Saturday night home game against the Washington Capitals before their return engagement with Montreal. They’ll then return home to play their regional rivals the New York Rangers on Wednesday.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

In the’60′s, the NHL was almost entirely made up of Canadian born players. There were a few US natives, but players from other countries were unheard of. Stan Mikita, born the country formerly known as Czechoslovakia, started to change that. While he was sometimes overshadowed by teammates like Bobby Hull, most hockey experts consider Mikita the best NHL center of the’60′s. He was born in what is now Slovakia, and sent to live in Canada as a young boy. Like most boys his age, he began playing the national sport of hockey.

As a teenager, Mikita starred for the St. Catherine Teepees of the junior league Ontario Hockey Association. In’59, he made the jump to the NHL for good joining the Chicago Blackhawks. He played sparingly in his first partial season in the NHL, but quickly became an important part of the Chicago offense in his first and second full seasons as a pro. In’61, he led the team in playoff scoring as they won the Stanley Cup”his only championship during his career and the last time the franchise would win the NHLs highest team honor.

The following year was when Mikita really began to make a mark in professional hockey. Centering the dangerous Scooter Line with Ken Wharram on the right wing and Ab McDonald or Doug Mohns on the left wing, he became one of the most feared offensive scorers and playmakers in the league. While he played in the media shadow of Bobby Hull, Mikita was considered by most hockey cognoscenti to be the real offensive catalyst of the team.

Mikita wasn’t a one way player by any means–he was a tenacious defender and one of the best faceoff men in the sport. He’s also responsible for introducing the curved stick blade to the NHL. It was a radical innovation at the time, but now players who *don’t* play with a curved blade are a rarity.

Early in his career, Mikita played a tough, rugged style of hockey that made him one of the most penalized players in the game. In the mid’60s, however, he began to play a much cleaner and more sportsmanlike style that would earn him the Lady Byng Trophy for most gentlemanly player twice. The story goes that he had a change of heart when his young daughter asked why he spent so much time sitting in the box on televised games.

Mikitas career accomplishments are among the most impressive in the history of the sport. He won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHLs leading scorer four times (1964,’65,’67,’68), the Hart Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player twice (1967 and’68) and the Lady Byng Trophy in’67 and’68. He remains the only player in NHL history to win the Ross, Hart and Byng trophies in the same season (1967).

Mikita suffered from back injuries in his last years as an active player, finally retiring in’80. He played his entire career for the Chicago Blackhawks, and was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in’83. He became something of a trivia answer for a younger generation when a donut shop called ‘Stan Mikita’s Donuts’ was featured in the popular movie ‘Wayne’w World’.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and noted authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Though his scoring records have been obliterated by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, former Boston Bruins/New York Rangers center Phil Esposito is still regarded by hockey cognoscenti as one of the greatest offensive players in the history of the game. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, as is his brother Tony Esposito who was a standout goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Esposito was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and his prodigious hockey talent quickly became apparent. He was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks as a teenager, and made his NHL debut in’64. In’67, Esposito was traded to the Boston Bruins along with Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield. Within a few years Hodge and Stanfield blossomed into All Stars, while Esposito quickly took his place alongside his former teammate Hull as the best scorer in the league.

Esposito began to shred the NHL record book in Boston, prompting Bruins fans to display car bumper stickers that read Jesus Saves; Esposito scores on the rebound. In’69, he became the first NHL player to top the 100 point mark (combined goals and assists) for the season”he obliterated the record with 126 points, which would be the first of six times that hed top the century mark. He topped 100 points in five straight seasons between’71 and’75, missing a sixth straight season by a single point with 99 in’70.

In the’70-71 season, Esposito smashed the NHL record for most goals in a season with 76. That record stood for over a decade until Wayne Gretzky scored 79 for the Edmonton Oilers in’81-82. Gretzky also broke Espositos single season points record of 154. Even now, only four other players including Gretzky have scored more than 150 points in a season and only five others have scored more than 76 goals in a season. Perhaps the most amazing element of Espositos game was the frequency with which he put the puck on net”Espo had 550 shots on goal in’70-71. No one has since come close”in fact, just last Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals became the first player to come within 100 shots of Espositos mark.

In’75, Esposito was traded with Brad Park to the New York Rangers for Brad Park, Joe Zanussi and Jean Ratelle. By that point, he had been slowed considerably by knee injuries but his experience, intelligence for the game and nose for the puck made him a valuable component of the Broadway Blueshirts offense and he was named team captain. Until the very end of his career, he remained a dangerous scoring threat that all opposing teams were forced to reckon with.

After his retirement in’75, moved into the executive suite. He served as the GM of the Rangers before helping secure an expansion team for Tampa, Florida in’92. Esposito served as the President and GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning until’98.

Ross Everett is a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 and an authority onprofessional hockey history and NHL hockey betting . He’s a published expert on sports handicapping theory, as well as stock and investment strategy. He contributes to a number of websites providing insight on how to bet on NFL football, MMA and boxing.