MONTREAL -- Guy Lapointe was gardening in his front yard last week when Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson pulled up to his house for an unannounced visit. Lapointe didnt know what was in store for him. As it turned out, the former Canadiens defenceman was about to receive an unexpected honour. From Lapointes kitchen in Saint-Lazare, Que., Molson announced that the Hall-of-Famer will become the 18th player in Canadiens history to have his jersey retired by the team. The retirement ceremony will occur during the course of this coming National Hockey League season. "Its extraordinary," Lapointe said Thursday at the Canadiens Hall of Fame, located at the Bell Centre. "With the people Ill be next to -- Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard -- I just cant stop thinking about it. I was happy with just looking up at those jerseys. I never thought, in all sincerity, that my number would be retired. It never crossed my mind." On Thursday, the Canadiens organization made official the decision to retire Lapointes No. 5, the first jersey to be honoured since 2009 when Elmer Lach and Emile (Butch) Bouchard received whats considered one of the most prestigious honours in sports. Lapointe, 66, will finally be reunited with his Big Three teammates -- Savard and Robinson -- in the Bell Centre rafters. Savards No. 18 was retired in 2006, and Robinsons No. 19 joined the following year. Known as much for their staunch defending and offensive prowess, the Big Three were instrumental in Montreals six Stanley Cup victories in the 1970s. And the three defencemen were on hand at the Bell Centre on Thursday to celebrate Lapointes big day. "Im happy to see you both here," the Montreal native Lapointe told his former teammates before pointing to the rafters. "But Ill be even happier to see you up there when my jersey is going to be retired." Between 1968 and 1984, Lapointe played 16 seasons in the NHL -- 12 of them with the Canadiens before brief stints with the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins. Always a threat on the power play, Lapointe was known for his explosive speed, his inspired bouts of offence, and his rocket of a slapshot. He recorded 622 points in 894 career games, and ranks second in goals by a Canadiens defenceman with 166. Nicknamed Pointu, Lapointe had three consecutive 20-goal seasons, and still holds the Canadiens record for most goals in a year by a defenceman with 28. In his first complete season with the Habs in 1970-71, Lapointes 15 goals set a franchise record for a rookie defenceman. The record still stands today. "A lot of minutes in a lot of situations -- thats the way he was," said Robinson of Lapointe, whom he compared to Montreals P.K. Subban. "Guy could hold his own against anybody. He could play in all situations, play a lot of minutes. Thats the reason hes in the Hall of Fame. "Its very fitting to have his sweater up there. Im glad I got mine up there first -- I finally beat him at something." Lapointe was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993, two years before Robinson. He won six Stanley Cups -- all with the Canadiens -- including four consecutive championships between 1976 and 1979. "I grew up with this excellent organization," said Lapointe, who also pointed to the 1972 Summit Series in Moscow and 1976 Canada Cup -- both memorable victories for Canada -- as exceptional moments in his career. "The Canadiens helped me become a better hockey player and a better person. The team allowed me to reach goals I didnt even think were possible. "Winning was always our goal. That paid dividends throughout my career. I was a lucky person to make the team. I owe a lot to the Montreal Canadiens. Theyve been very good to me." Off the ice, Lapointe was known as a prankster, notorious for shaking hands with former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau with a palm covered in Vaseline. After Lach and Bouchard had their jerseys retired in 2009 -- the ninth and 10th such commemorative event in the five years leading up to the Canadiens centennial anniversary -- the teams organization put the process on hold. Fans clamoured for Lapointe to join the Canadiens legends in the rafters, including the defencemans daughter Stephanie, who started a petition last year to have her fathers jersey retired. "Dreams really do come true!" Stephanie Lapointe tweeted on Wednesday when the news was announced. "Never give up! I am beyond proud of my dad! Finally he is being awarded this honour!" Molson says the Canadiens organizations focus over the last five years has been rebuilding the team on the ice. On Thursday, he said the time was finally right to give Lapointe his long-awaited recompense. "Its a name that kept resurfacing when we bought the team in 2009," said Molson of the final Big Three defenceman. "We were in the process of retiring a lot of jerseys at that time. "I feel good about the organization (now). I feel good about the development of our players, the general manager, and our support staff. Were well on our way to having a winning organization year after year. The fans have had a break from the centennial celebrations. And its a nice surprise for Lapointe." Notes: Lapointe is currently the Minnesota Wilds amateur scouting co-ordinator. a Robinson flew up from San Jose, Calif., on two days notice for the event. a Howie Morenzs No. 7 was the first jersey retired by the Canadiens, in 1937. a Lapointes is the second No. 5 to be retired by the Canadiens. He joins Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, whose jersey was raised to the rafters in 2006. Ultra Boost Discount . His recovery time is expected to be six to eight months. Seidenberg was injured in the third period of Fridays 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, when he got his leg tangled with forward Cory Conacher. Cheap Ultra Boost China . After two months of mediocrity, perhaps the Washington Nationals have turned the page. Strasburg struck out 11 in seven innings Wednesday night and the Nationals kept the Philadelphia Phillies bats quiet yet again in an 8-4, rain-interrupted win. http://www.cheapultraboostshoes.com/. -- Jonathan Vilmas season is over and his future on the football field is in doubt. Wholesale Ultra Boost . A larger-than-life personality known for his intimidating style in the 18-yard box, Schmeichels career spanned some 20 years -- including a memorable tenure at Manchester United. Cheap Ultra Boost .com) - Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall left Saturdays game against the Senators in the second period with a left knee injury. LAS VEGAS -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew he probably didnt have enough fuel to finish. Being in Vegas, he decided to gamble anyway. And when Earnhardts tank went bust on the final lap, Brad Keselowski was right there to clean up. Keselowski surged ahead when Earnhardt ran out of fuel, claiming a dramatic victory Sunday in the NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Earnhardts Chevy sputtered and slowed out of the second turn, and Keselowski roared past him on the backstretch in his Penske Ford for the first weekend sweep in his career. Keselowski followed up Saturdays Nationwide Series victory with his first Las Vegas Cup win, doing it in exhilarating fashion against the friend and mentor who gave him his first big break in racing. "Thats what you live for as a driver, at least I do," Keselowski said. "Those moments where youre side by side, and you lay it all out on the racetrack and bring back the car with the tires smoking, engine smoking, and youre worn out inside because you gave it all you had. It was one of those races there at the end." Keselowski knew all about the fuel shortage faced by Earnhardt and Carl Edwards, who both made their final pit stops about 10 laps before him. So Keselowski decided to force the issue, getting around Edwards and pushing for the lead so Earnhardt would be forced to abandon his conservative, fuel-saving lines. "I felt like we could run him down," Keselowski said about the driver who put him in his first Nationwide ride. "He was going to have to burn fuel to keep me behind him. At that point, it was just a matter of whether a yellow (flag) came out or not, because it was just a ticking time bomb. It worked in our favour today." Earnhardt finished second and didnt regret it, secure in his overall position thanks to the new rules in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, which puts increased emphasis on wins. Still, Earnhardt and his Hendrick Motorsports ride were just a few ounces of fuel shy of earning their second victory in three races to start the season. When Earnhardt sat down for his post-race news conference in front of two cans of his sponsors energy drink, he picked up one can wistfully: "Thats all we needed, just 16 ounces." The Daytona 500 champion was disappointed, but not discouraged after his spectacular start to the NASCAR season. He also finished second last week at Phoenix. "We werent supposed to make it," Earnhardt said. "We were trying to save ass much as we can and make it work, but we knew we were short.dddddddddddd We wouldnt have finished second if we didnt have that strategy." Keselowski, the 2012 Sprint Cup champion, virtually assured himself of a spot in the Chase after missing it entirely last season. "Its just such a reliever for everyone on the team to get that win in early, and be able to enjoy the races and opportunities that we have instead of being stressed out about them," Keselowski said. "You know, I think if anything it actually lends itself to better racing." Earnhardt also praised NASCARs new Chase setup, which allowed him to take a fuel gamble in Vegas after winning already this season. Additional wins are worth bonus points in the Chase, while a second-place finish doesnt help his position much -- hence the motivation to go for broke on an empty tank. "I think the new format is definitely is showing it has tons of positives," Earnhardt said. "Its better as far as entertainment for our sport. It gives us freedom, and its nice to have that freedom to do the things that we did today, even though we knew our odds werent good. We really shouldnt have made it, and we didnt, but we got to try because of the new system." With his wife due to give birth at any minute, Paul Menard finished third in his Richard Childress Racing Chevy in front of Keselowskis teammate, pole-sitter Joey Logano. Edwards was fifth in a Roush Fenway Racing Ford, and Earnhardt teammate Jimmie Johnson came in sixth. The Las Vegas race is the first of 11 on 1.5-mile tracks, and NASCAR spent much of the off-season working on ways to improve the racing on these tracks with a new aerodynamics package and other improvements. The changes resulted in 23 drivers breaking the track speed record during qualifying, but the racing wasnt particularly thrilling until that final lap. Keselowski and Earnhardt are the only two drivers to finish in the top five in each of the seasons first three races, and they dueled down the stretch after Earnhardt passed him for the lead on a restart with 42 laps to go. Earnhardt had gone to the pits on the 211th lap and attempted to stick it out. Keselowski was in fine form after his third-place finish in Phoenix last week without crew chief Paul Wolfe, who had returned home for his childs birth. Keselowski also finished third at Daytona. Keselowski is the second driver to win both Vegas races in the same weekend, joining Jeff Burton in 2000. ' ' '