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Montreal Canadiens HvL (S2E20): The gifts that keep giving

ByOmar L|
MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 26: Fans take in the atmosphere during the singing of the Canadian anthem prior to the NHL game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Los Angeles Kings at the Bell Centre on October 26, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 26: Fans take in the atmosphere during the singing of the Canadian anthem prior to the NHL game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Los Angeles Kings at the Bell Centre on October 26, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Christmas time has come for the Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs and the boys at HvL are here to spread holiday cheer with a fun-filled episode.

Habsfan vs. Leafsfan – Season 2 Episode 20 (Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs).

Have you ever taken someone to take a picture with Santa Clause? It’s always nice to see the kids line up with their parents and tell St. Nick what they want for Christmas. Well, things got pretty heated between Mitch Marner and William Nylander during their visit. Fortunately, HvL recorded the whole thing (0:00).

For once, the juiciest talk wasn’t necessarily about the Habs or the Leafs (3:06). Sure Marner and Nylander still aren’t producing as much as the team would want, but on the bright side, the Habs have turned things around since their performance at the NHL 100 Classic. However, Eugene Melnyk’s words are still floating around the league which could put them at the top of the standings for, ‘Gong Show of the Year.’

Inconsistency has been an issue for the Leafs as they’ve been on the wrong side of being scored on. Ari is concerned about the teams they’ll have to face as the second half of the season soon approaches (16:00). It doesn’t mean much to have a good performance here or there; they need to keep things going to consider themselves a threat in this league.

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The Habs have been compared to a lot of things this season. Here’s a new one, Kamal thinks that the team is similar to the Christmas tree in that classic Charlie Brown special (17:40). Montreal has a bunch of ornaments, but just like Linus used his blanket to help the tree from falling, they need further support.

This Christmas episode finished off with a pair of interviews with the podcast’s affiliates. I (@OLW93) joined the boys to talk about what the Habs will be looking for this holiday season and what fans will have to look forward to in 2018 (19:36). Finally, Ari and Kamal talked to Dave Stevenson (@baltimoredavey) from Puck Prose about Patrick Marleau, developments around John Tavares, and what is making Alex Ovechkin have such a productive season (27:01).

Follow @HabsvsLeafs and co-hosts Ari Shapiro (@ari_shapiro) and Kamal Rehman (@kamalrehman10), and look for new episodes as the season continues.

Check out previous episodes down below:

Next: Victor Mete For Captain

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