Jeff Halpern Photos

Ottawa Senators' Craig Anderson looks up ice as Montreal Canadiens' Jeff Halpern celebrates teammate Alex Galchenyuk's goal during the second period of Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Ottawa, Ontario, on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick)

Ottawa Senators forward Mika Zibanejad (93) collides with Montreal Canadiens forward Jeff Halpern during third-period NHL hockey Game 2 first-round playoff action in Montreal, Friday, May 3, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)

To go along with the Lars Eller injury, it appears the Canadiens will be missing two more critical top-6 forwards for tonight's game. Michel Therrien has yet to announce who will take their place in the lineup, but one would have to speculate that Jeff Halpern and Colby Armstrong will at least be two of the three new bodies suiting up. Meanwhile, things got heated in both locker rooms. Following Paul Maclean's arguably disrespectful comments towards "player 61" Raphael Diaz and Eller himself, Brandon Prust had the following to say about the Senators' coach. "He's already showed enoug...

Philadelphia Flyers' Brayden Schenn (10) tries to grab a loose puck against Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) and Alexei Emelin (74), of Russia, as Alex Galchenyuk (27), Andrei Markov (79), also of Russia, and Jeff Halpern (24) watch during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, April 3, 2013, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The puck goes into the net past Carolina Hurricanes goalie Justin Peters on a gaol by Montreal Canadiens' Jeff Halpern during second period NHL hockey action Monday, April 1, 2013 in Montreal. (AP Photo/ The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

Montreal Canadiens' Jeff Halpern is congratulated by teammates following a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during second period NHL hockey action Monday, April 1, 2013 in Montreal. (AP Photo/ The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

Montreal Canadiens' Michael Ryder (73) celebrates with teammates Jeff Halpern (24), Colby Armstrong (20), Alexei Emelin (74) and Andrei Markov (79) after scoring against the New York Rangers during first-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Saturday, March 30, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

You can bet dollars to doughnuts that Canadiens coach Michel Therrien will make good use of the penalty-kill and faceoff skills of repatriated Jeff Halpern.

Yesterday I quickly tossed a few things out on Jeff Halpern, but I didn't get a chance to go too in depth. Looking at Halpern's 10 game rolling averages for Fenwick and zone starts in comparison to the Rangers' team average, it looks like the Canadiens got a really underrated player for free. [click for high resolution] The timing of the Halpern pickup couldn't be better with Ryan White now injured, but I've also recently looked at how White has performed this year in the role that Halpern will be taking over. Using the same process, we can compare Halpern's performance to White'...

The Montreal Canadiens have claimed former Hab Jeff Halpern off of waivers from the New York Rangers. Jeff Halpern was an excellent defensive forward for the Habs two years ago, although the lasting memory most Habs fans have of him is him playing while possibly concussed in the playoffs and tipping Nathan Horton's shot past Carey Price in overtime of game 7, helping the Bruins eliminate the Canadiens in the first round in 2011 en route to a Stanley Cup victory. Halpern has been used an extreme defensive role, taking just 26.3% of his faceoffs in the offensive zone, yet he's still onl...

According to Larry Brooks of the NY Post, the Montreal Canadiens have claimed Jeff Halpern off of waivers from the New York Rangers. Halpern was placed on waivers yesterday, with Arron Asham hopeful to return on Sunday against the Washington Capitals. While the Rangers lose one of their top faceoff guys, the move was likely made to clear some space in the contracts department. The Rangers were currently sitting at 49 contracts with Halpern on the payroll, and with this claim they now drop down to 48. It now gives them some room to breath, as they will have two contract spots to take on...

In a very surprising bit of news the New York Rangers have placed Jeff Halpern on waivers. Halpern, who was a free agent acquisition this past off season by Glen Sather, was supposed to be a fourth line player who would add some depth and be a monster in the faceoff circle. Halpern has been great at the dot - he's won 57% this year - but he hasn't exactly been the player the Rangers were expecting when they brought him in. He's only averaging nine minutes a game, has one assist in 30 games and seems to have fallen out of favor with John Tortorella. Think about this for a second: The Ra...

Buffalo Sabres' Christian Ehrhoff (10) of Germany, battles for the puck with New York Rangers' Jeff Halpern (15) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

From Blueshirt Banter, here's how the Rangers lines are expected to look tonight: Marian Gaborik - Brad Richards - Rick Nash Carl Hagelin - Derek Stepan - Taylor Pyatt Mike Rupp - Brian Boyle - Benn Ferriero Arron Asham - Jeff Halpern - Stu Bickel Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi Marc Staal - Michael Del Zotto Anton Stralman - Matt Gilroy Henrik Lundqvist Scratches: Chris Kreider (ankle), Steve Eminger With Ryan Callahan hurt, once you get past that first line there's not a lot of scoring threats. But man is that top line pretty potent with 3 all-star caliber players. Brooks Orpik and Paul M...