Habs won't be stuck on LI after loss

Call it to Hab - or Hab not.

While the Jets got stuck in Chicago following their loss to the Bears Sunday and the blizzard caused the Giants to get stranded in Green Bay following their loss to the Packers, it now looks like the Montreal Canadiens - known as Les Habitants - will catch a lucky break after being snowed-in overnight on Long Island.

The Federal Aviation Administration is reporting Long Island-MacArthur, Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark-Liberty will all remain closed until at least 4 p.m. - making it an uncertain proposition when the Jets or Giants will be able to fly back to the metro area. But officials at Republic Airport in East Farmingdale said the charter flight carrying the Canadiens is scheduled to be the first flight out when the airport reopens Monday afternoon.

Of course, the Canadiens do so following a 4-1 loss to the Islanders Sunday at Nassau Coliseum.

Snow wreaked havoc on a number of teams Sunday. The blizzard also caused the postponement of the Minnesota Vikings game against the Eagles in Philadelphia Sunday night and the teams are now scheduled to play Tuesday night - the first Tuesday game in the NFL since 1946.

Republic Airport handles over 200,000 flight operations annually, many of them corporate jets. Since the snow began falling Sunday afternoon, an airport spokesman said the airport's fleet of snow blowers, payloaders and sanders have been in operation around the clock to clear its 6,800-foot-long main runway and 5,500-foot secondary runway.