Claude Giroux's opener (and eventual game-winner) was notable for more than his quick change of pace and beauty finish. It also gave us the opportunity to laugh at Josh Gorges' wardrobe malfunction as he struggled with the strap on his skate guard. 

Now, if you've ever heard Claude Giroux speak then you'd understand why someone would think he was from Quebec. Turns out, he's from Hearst, Ontario which is one of those Northern Ontario towns that are more French than English. Naturally, I had assumed that he was a Quebec-born Habs fan. Having put together some clues I came to a different conclusion. Oh, and did you know Montreal drafted some Minnesota high schooler at 20th overall instead of Giroux who went to Philly at 22? Hilarious.

Letter and translation after the jump:

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Daniel Briere's game winning goal in game two was a beauty. He used his speed to beat Hal Gill and fired a laser over Halak's glove. It must be particularly painful for Habs fans to see him have such a big impact on their current plight since Briere represents another French-Canadian Messiah that chose to chase the dollars elsewhere and leave the fan and media's lunacy to some other sucker. That's why he gets booed every time he touches the puck in Montreal. I wonder if he regrets his decision. That deicision is a pretty good hint as to where his allegiances lie.

Since he speaks French, it was suggested that this letter should be in French. Thanks to Fleet Fox's translation the idea has become a reality. The English version can be found below:

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1967ers and I are batting around some ideas for posts to write this summer but if we were Atlanta fans Braydon Coburn would definitely feature in some way. Don Waddell, in his infinite wisdom, saw the need to actually make the playoffs traded a young defensive stud who he had drafted eighth overall for Alex Zhitnik. The Thrashers were promptly swept. Meanwhile, the Flyers laughed all the way to the bank so to speak.

In game one, Coburn's opener, and eventual winner, set the stage for the kind of traffic that Jaroslav Halak was going to face in this series. Coburn spent more time in the Habs' crease on play than most Capitals and Penguins forwards did throughout their entire series.

Letter after the jump and you best believe I mentioned the Thrashers trade.

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Sergei Gonchar was another No Habs No! winner from Russia. It feels bad to point out that I was witness to what would probably amount to one of his worst moments as a professional. So I'll just note that Evgeni Malkin learned English by speaking to Gonchar's daughter. That's a pretty nice way to help a rookie adjust to life in North America and, frankly, pretty safe considering Malkin's mug. He is going to be a free agent this summer. I know what you're thinking, I invited him to come to Toronto. It's not quite that...check it out after the jump. Hopefully it can help sort out the Tomas Kaberle problem.

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Last year Evgeni Malkin won the Conn Smythe for his efforts in the playoffs. His parents were shown nightly and were credited with his strong play. This year, if they were there then their magic failed. Instead of a repeat performance he instantly became the Pittsburgh Penguins' Tomas Kaberle. Heck, now he might even be overrated. One thing is for sure though: he scored a game winning goal against Montreal. It gave the Penguins the elusive (or is it illusory?) momentum but in the end counted for nothing.

After the jump, I remind Malkin about his last visit to Canada.

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When Craig Adams raced into the slot to bury a Pascal Dupuis shot it looked like Montreal's luck had finally run out. They were no longer facing the naive and unlucky Washington Capitals. They were face-to-face with the defending Stanley Cup champions. No longer were they going toe-to-toe with the Southeast Division champions but the team that had unseated the hallowed Detroit Red Wings. Sure, they had lost a couple of key players including Hal Gill who would be lining up with the Canadiens. Oh how wrong we were.

After the jump, a question for Craig about his schooling.

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Jason Chimera's had a tough career. He played a bunch of seasons pre-lockout with the Edmonton Oilers only to end up in Columbus after the lockout and missed the Oilers' run to game seven of the Stanley Cup Final. That's without even getting into the fact that Columbus, Ohio is a terrible place to live filled with some of the worst humans parading as sports fans in the US. He potted the fourth goal in Washington's 6-3 win which led Carey Price to throw his first hissy fit of the game.

Anyway, this one is a bit different from the other two mostly because there's no attempt at tampering. Chimera is 32 and has quesitonable sex with teenagers. No wait, that was Mark Chmura. Whatever, he's too old for the Leafs.

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 Game three in the series saw an unlikely recipient of the No Habs No! token of appreciation as Brooks Laich scored the eventual game-winner in a 5-1 win. The third game of the series was more along the lines of what pundits and all fans outside of Quebec expected when they looked at the 1 v. 8 matchup. Jaroslav Halak was shelled, earning himself the nickname Jaroslaugh HAHAHAlak, and the stage was set for Carey Price's triu...errr...return to Montreal's net. I commend Brooks on his goal and commiserate over shared fandom.

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