Mike Wyman is following the Canadiens' run throughout the playoffs. For more entries in his ongoing journal, check out his columnist page...

Montreal isn’t going to sweep the Flyers, despite their regular season whitewashing of the folks from Philly. After winning one they didn’t deserve, they lost the second game after going up against a goaltender who had a Carey Price-like night in the net.

On the upside, Koivu potted his first since returning from his foot injury and fans can only look forward to another Price rebound, if his form holds true and the youngster manages to regain his poise between the pipes.

The flags are still flying in ever-increasing numbers. Houses are garnished with them now as are a number of businesses. One local concern has four flagpoles with the Canadian, American, Quebec and Habs banners blowing in the breeze. I can only assume that the city of Montreal’s emblem is the one that has been left on the shelf for the duration.

Probably not a bad idea since the city and mayor Gerald Tremblay are still playing the Grinch’s role. As relayed in an earlier post, the mayor got ticked about his fire department repainted a number of doors to fire halls in Canadiens colours. It was learned yesterday that a fire captain from one of the offending stations has been demoted and transferred, ultimately losing about $20,000 in pay this and every other year as a result.

The creeps and bums who set a number of police vehicles alight after the seventh game against Boston have led this city’s mayor to declare that there ought to be some way for promoters to assume the cost of added police protection for events they promote.

There are some municipal signs of support however. The public transit system workers, unlike the firefighters, are not presently in a labor dispute with their employers. They have been allowed to display Go Habs Go in the space normally indicating the bus route on the front of the vehicles.

When it comes to the flags on personal vehicles, the abundance has led to variety. While most still feature the Habs logo on a red background, others, with a field of blue, are starting to appear. So are flags celebrating individual players, with the numbers 31 and 14 being the most widespread in this part of the island.

I did spot a rarity on my way to work on Friday, a car festooned with three Flyers flags, driven by someone that I hope, for his own sake, had superior acceleration at his disposal. Also wonder if he’d leave the car unattended in a parking lot for any length of time. If it survived intact I guess the orange and black banners would make it easy enough to spot upon leaving the mall.

Last week I went to Toronto to avoid a game, one the Canadiens won. Tomorrow I’ll be at Pete Morin Arena in Lachine, home base for the Belorussian team preparing for the World Championships. They’ve been practicing there for the past week and were all pulling for Boston since, if the seventh game had gone the other way, their side stood to have been augmented by a pair of Kostitsyns and Mikhail Grabovsky.

Right now Detroit is their team of choice in the NHL playoffs since an early Colorado exit would free up Ruslan Salei for international duty with the team that hopes to place in the top eight this time out.

Opponents for the evening will be the Italian national team, not a significant threat for medal contention since Jim Corsi hung up his pads some time ago to teach a fellow named Hasek all there is to know about goaltending.

Next time out, a look at the Belorussians, based on watching two practices, one game and chatting with head coach, Curt Fraser, about his experiences working and living in Minsk, his part-time home for the past two years.

Once a thriving sport, Belarussian hockey went into freefall after the USSR’s dissolution and is only now regaining its popularity and funding, largely thanks to a president who both loves and plays the game.