The Reshuffle Habs And Rivals After Busy Free Agency Period

In: Erik Cole, Peter Budaj
Out: James Wisnieski, Roman Hamrlik, Benoit Pouliot, Alex Auld

On the surface, this is Cole for Pouliot + cash and Budaj for Auld. Both moves are fine with me, even if I still think Pouliot has a special talent that I wish was a few more divisions away.

On the surface, it also looks like the Habs have created a hole on defence.
Of course they have (Hamrlik and Wisniewski were #1 and #2 at times last season), but the additions don't account for Andrei Markov who was essentially "not there" last year and that of Alexei Emelin.

Markov will easily plug the gap left by the Wizz (who did a bang up job of trying to fill Markov's position in his absence). Hamrlik, however, will be missed. Weber and Emelin are not at Roman's level yet, not even as a committee, so this is a subtraction as it stands.

Overall then, Montreal has taken a small step back so far on the backline, and taken a decent step forward up front. Overall, they look a slightly better team. Compared to themselves.

But once again, it's important not to take this situation in isolation. Just because Montreal adds 8 goals at forward doesn't mean a spot in the standings. That can't be determined without looking at the rivals and how they performed.


The teams ahead of the Habs

Last year, 5 teams beat the Habs by a fair margin in the East. Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Boston and Tampa Bay. All 5 teams were active in the past few weeks and will likely keep tweaking.

The Washington Capitals, winners of the East last season may be the most improved of all. The Caps overpaid to improve their forward depth (Brouwer, Ward), but it is still improved. On top of that, they added Hamrlik and upgraded on Semyon Varlamov by stealing Tomas Vokoun from the rest of the league. Add to this the fact that Washington can claim their own "Gomezes" (players who can't go anywhere but up) with Ovechkin, Green and Backstrom coming off quiet years.

In my opinion, Washington won't be caught or overtaken by the Habs with the moves and rosters as they stand.

In: Brouwer, Joel Ward, Hamrlik, Vokoun, Potulny, Halpern
Out: Varlamov, Boyd Gordon, Andrew Gordon, Sturm, Bradley


Philadelphia made waves early with their shock trades of Carter and Richards, but true to form added the salary right back in the form of Bryzgalov and Jagr.

The biggest difference in Philadelphia should be Bryzgalov, who, while overpaid, is a vast improvement over Leighton and Boucher. It's hard to know how much Philly gave up at the front through Richards, Carter and later Leino; but Voracek, Jagr and co. might lighten the blow at least a bit.

Overall, I still feel schizo Holmgren downgraded his team by going old and young at the same time. But the downgrade isn't to the point where I feel Philly will struggle to make the playoffs.

In: Bryzgalov, Voracek, Simonds, Schenn, Lilja, Talbot, Jagr
Out: Carter, Richards, Powe, Boucher, Leino, Carcillo, O'Donnell


Pittsburgh have been quieter till now. Happy it seems to wait the return of their cavalry. If people in Montreal are excited about having Markov back and Gomez having nowhere to go but up, imagine the Pens fans delight at the thought of adding to last season's plucky team through Crosby and Malkin.

Pittsburgh also quietly switched Talbot and Rupp for Steve Sullivan, who when healthy should find a place beside one of the big two.

It's perhaps not headline stuff, but the returning wounded improve Pittsburgh far beyond anything Montreal could have hoped to do anyway. This team will once again challenge for the top and the Cup barring injuries again.

In: Sullivan, Valabik
Out: Talbot, Rupp


Chiarelli must have had his day with the Stanley Cup on Friday because he did very little indeed. It says he lost Valabik, but he wasn't a big league Bruins. Essentially the balance was Ryder for Pouliot. Payment aside, this is a downgrade. While both have been Montreal playoff benchees, Ryder at least thrives with Julien. Pouliot may or may not.

Boston's minor downgrade may be enough for Montreal to challenge. Remember after all, that Boston only pipped the Habs at the end thanks to a certain few head-to-head encounters where focus was lost.

In: Pouliot
Out: Ryder, Valabik


In his second season, Stevie Y is slower out the gates. He changed his back-up goalie (Garon for Smith) and added some depth D, but lost Bergenheim and Gagne and may have to fight off offers for Stamkos.

Tampa improved by leaps and bounds last season and will still be fueled forward by Stamkos and Hedman, but questions about how much longer Roloson can perform, not to mention how much further Lecavalier will slide, point to some vulnerabilities there for rival Eastern clubs.

I think on balance Tampa will hold their position, at least for another season. It wouldn't be all that surprising if the Habs gained on this outfit, though.

In: Gervais, Garon, Gilroy
Out: Smith, Bergenheim, Gagne, Jones


The teams around the Habs

Montreal posted a 6th place finish last season. 6th place last season, indeed any season, is indication of membership in the competitive pack, the peloton.

The Buffalo Sabres were the 7th place team last spring. They actually matched the Canadiens 96 points and did it thanks to a a flourish at the finish. The Habs beat them on the tie break of 44 wins vs. 43 wins.

All that to say that these two teams are quite close. In fact, they've been leap-frogging each other for a few seasons since the lockout.

So far from being inconsequential, the moves Buffalo made (and makes) will directly affect the Habs. This is quite a pity for the Habs, because like Washington, Buffalo went out and made some pretty substantial and positive moves.

Their defence alone merits their inclusion in any list of winners from this period. While ejecting Steve Montador and Chris Butler, the Sabres added Robyn Regehr and Christian Ehrhoff. This makes for an interesting unit at the back, and an improved one.

On top of that, the Sabres overpaid to add Ville Leino - a feisty and combative forward who would have been considered an answer to the Habs "power forward" need himself. To make space, they let Tim Connolly go, but this shouldn't be too traumatic for the team.

On balance, this makes Buffalo better. Factor in a likely return to league elite numbers for Ryan Miller behind that defence and the Habs should be prepared to look at the Sabres ahead of them in the standings for a while.

In: Regehr, Kotalik, Ehrhoff, Leino
Out: Butler, Montador, Mancari, Connolly


The Rangers were also close to the Habs. In fact, Montreal only beat them on the strength of 3 extra OTLs. Adherents of Corsi and the like will also question NYR's inferiority in light of the +35 goal differential they put up vs. +7 for Montreal.

New York didn't go wild as they have done in the past, but they scored the big goal. After letting Chris Drury go to create space, the Rangers nabbed Brad Richards to play with Marian Gaborik. This is a big improvement for a team whose lack was goal-making. The Rangers improvement is substantial and bigger I feel than a Pouliot upgrade at this point.

In: Richards, Rupp
Out: Drury, Gilroy


Finally, the Carolina Hurricanes. 5 points back of the Habs, the Canes challenged for the playoff spot right to the end.

And here finally there is some good news for the Habs. Though the Canes hung onto their better free agents, they did lose Erik Cole (an important goal-getter for them) and may yet lose others.

Montreal's slight gains get bigger compared to this relative rival who looked to replace Cole cheaply through Ponikarovsky, Brent and Anthony Stewart. Cheap replacements rarely work and these I feel make their forward attack even more hodge podge than it ever has been. Carolina's steps back should give Montreal some breathing space.

In: Tim Brent, Boucher, Ponikarovsky, Stewart
Out: Cole


The New Jersey Devils

The Devils stand in a category alone. The best team in the NHL from late December on can't be pooled with the Leafs and Panthers of this league. They must be considered a serious rival for all the reasons they have been a serious rival to everyone in the East for two decades.

Interesting then that New Jersey's balance ledger is empty. A few pretty insignificant resignings point to the Devils standing pat. The Parise signing is the biggest factor in NJ and it seems like the higher means they'll be able to get that done.

Adding basically the best all around LW in the game to any team would be scary. To add him to the team that surged so strongly at the end of 2010-11 is a bit scary.

I'd think Montreal needs to think of NJ as a serious playoff rival this year, just another team added to the peloton for those last few spots.

In:
Out:


The stragglers

The 5 remaining teams in the East should be just that come April - the 5 remaining teams in the East. Some have tried hard to make steps (Florida) and some have stood virtually still (Ottawa, NYI). I'm sure the Leafs Nation will implore us to consider them a new rival, but it's hard to see how adding two injured/injury prone centres really answers the glaring deficiency they had, even if Cody Franson is a very handsome pick up. Tobalev also pointed out that the Monster/Reimer proposition should be an interesting one.


On balance

Keeping in mind that there's still many summer days ahead to change rosters, the Habs look like they should be holding some playoff ground in the East.

The Gauthier moves (and non-moves, I suppose) put the team in a slightly better position than the one they finished in.

By my count, two teams ahead of them distanced themselves further (Washington, Pittsburgh and the three others ahead probably did little enough damage to stay ahead. IN the pack that should occupy 6-10 in the East, Montreal looks competitive. I wouldn't be surprised to see Buffalo or NYR overtake, but Carolina should slip behind the Habs, and NJ likely won't overtake the Habs without seriously damaging the record of Philly or NYR.

I still believe that Pierre must do more from now till autumn's onset. Beyond replacing Halpern, which will happen as it always does, Gauthier should probably seek to supplement his backline and even add another forward that can score. There are plenty of attractive targets left in the UFA pool (Babchuk, Frolov, Miettinen, Stillman) and teams like NJ might need to trade yet.

I'm pleased , however, that Gauthier has put himself in a decent position four days into free agency. With money yet to spend, he is in touch and could credibly overtake some rivals here. This in itself is a positive thing, as mad signings (Randy McKay) might often have the opposite effect.

Game #1-4When You Miss That Many Chances, What Do You Expect?

Details

Date: 21/4/2011
Opponent: Bruins
Location: Montreal

Loss: 4-5 (OT)

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Thomas (W)

Habs goalscorers: Sopel, Cammalleri, Kostitsyn, Subban
Opposition goalscorers: Ryder (2), Ference, Bergeron, Kelly

Play of the game

Price made an incredible save on Boychuk in the third. He was sprawled out, at at the Bruins' mercy, all they had to do was shelf the puck, but Carey out-waited him and snagged what could have been a very deflating goal. In turns out that they did tie it up and they, of course, did win it, but at the time this was crucial and, all in all, it was our nicest play on the night.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Andrei Kostitsyn
Andrei was our second best forward all night long. He competed for the puck, took a lot of shots and had a lot of chances. I didn't see one bad play and saw a lot of good out there. I am, therefore, amazed that 5 other forwards played more than him, including Travis Moen who, I think, is lucky to even be playing at all right now. Kostitsyn needs to see more ice as he is becoming a key to this series. Oh ya, he scored a fantastic goal.

Michael Cammalleri - Game Puck
Mike had 3 points and scored a goal, but wasn't the main contributor on any of those goals. That shows how one can get points, but not necessarily be playing their best. In his case, however, he did have a decent game beyond the points and, quite frankly, no one else stepped it up any more; although the other forwards in the dome came very close.

David Desharnais
The rookie had a great game tonight, one of his best, and was the main reason that we scored our first goal. He played well enough tonight to warrant a little more than 11 minutes. In fact, if we aren't going to get off our high-horse (Martin) and give Pouliot a chance it may be time to put Desh on the wing beside Gomez and give him 5-8 more minutes per game. A re-think of how to group forwards #6-12 wouldn't go amiss as I think we are being beat in that regard. No problems with the top 5.

Defencemen

PK Subban
This is bittersweet as I didn't think that PK had one of his better games. The main reason that he is in here is that I didn't really like what I saw from Sopel, Spacek, Wiz or Hammer. At least PK scored the go-ahead goal and wasn't on the ice for any goals against. I didn't, however, like his poor line-change in OT (Moen is more to blame, however) and how he was trying way too hard to be the hero on the late PP rather than trying to distribute the puck.

Hal Gill
20 minutes, +1 and not on the ice for any Bruin goals are good stats to sport. I also felt that he played a strong game and didn't make too many mistakes. If I could change one thing, however, it would be that he would take low, hard shots on net instead of going for the weak-wristers every single time.

Goaltender

Alex Auld
Price wasn't the reason that we lost and is the main reason that we have 2 wins in this series, but after 5 goals on 35 shots I would have to try to shake things up. We blew 1-0, 3-1, 4-3 leads and the whole team must have a look at themselves. I am sure that he will rebound and I hope that it only gets better from here. My one other hope is that the Bruins don't start going glove-side all of the time because I think that may still be an area of relative weakness for him.

Comments

We started well, but you knew that Boston wouldn't just lie down. So, more of those early chances had to go in. That is where we miss a guy like Pacioretty as I am sure he would be able to score about half of Moen's great chances. Beyond the offence, though, how about our D? Our solid, shut-down style was not on display tonight, no, instead we looked confused and made too many mistakes. It wasn't just our defencemen either, it was our whole team defence. We did play a decent game, when you look at it on a whole, and it is nice to be tied at 2 after 4, but if you break it down little, by little one would expect more of a team that was up 2-0 in games and 3-1 in goals tonight. As upsetting and disappointing as it is, however, we must forget it and start anew in Boston. What has happened has happened and it is important to focus on winning the next game, the new all-important game. We can look at whys and hows and who to blames, heck, we can even ask why Chara is allowed to fully obstruct in OT (I guess the refs have no problem with cheating affecting the outcome, so long as it is not them), but at the end of the day that won't get us anywhere. It is a frustrating game, with frustrating opponents and officials, but we all love the Habs enough to look beyond that and do what it takes to take game #5. Good luck everyone.

Game #81Meaningless Game Has Exciting Finish

Details

Date: 7/4/2011
Opponent: Senators
Location: Ottawa

Loss:2-3 (OT)

Habs Goalie: Auld (L)
Opposition Goalie: Anderson (W)

Habs goalscorers: Gionta, Cammalleri
Opposition goalscorers: Spezza, Butler, Kuba

Play of the game

Kostitsyn made a great play to keep the play alive towards the end of the game. Had he not raced over to support the puck the game would have been over. Instead it got to Pleks behind the net who went to Wiz at the point. Then, all of a sudden, it was back on Andrei's stick. He then made a brilliant pass to Cammalleri who tied the game up with a perfect shot.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Mike Cammalleri
Mike is hot and he showed that with another great goal. It was a very typical game, however, for him as there were some bad passes and bad moments in there with all of the good stuff. This is what we need and expect though and I am happy with that.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Andrei was our best forward tonight and it was never more evident than on the tying goal. That play shows why he has gone from no PP time to a lock to be on the ice in tight situtations. His 6 shots led the team as he played the closest to the way I want our forwards to play next week.

Brian Gionta
I felt that a lot of the players didn't go too hard tonight. Gomez's line had their moments, but overall they can and must be better. Gionta was the best of the lot though and still had a stronger game than the rest of the forward group.

Defencemen

PK Subban
Boos for PK? I hate that good players get booed - it happens in Montreal and apparently happens elsewhere. But, at least we know that he gets them because he is good - it is a way for other fans to acknowledge good play. Tonight he played a good game and looks ready for the playoffs.

James Wisniewski - Game Puck
James carried the load tonight for his team. He played over 25 minutes of reliable hockey and finished at +1. His 2 points are good, but just made him that much more expensive as he now has over 50 (51) points. He has got the job done all year and I am excited to see him play in the playoffs; we'll worry about next season in the summer.

Goaltender

Alex Auld
3 goals on 32 shots isn't bad, more like average. This wasn't his best game, but he got a point and allowed Carey to rest, so it wasn't all that bad. Hopefully that will be the last time we see Auld for a long time, because if that is the case it will mean that Price is playing well and at this point that is what we'll need to go anywhere.

Comments

I made the trip down to Kanata tonight with a few friends and what we saw was what one may expect to see from 2 teams that are presently certain of where they will be next week. Montreal played a smart, conservative game in which they were more interested in staying out of trouble than winning. Ottawa had their moments, but you could tell that the players wouldn't have minded had they lost. The Canadiens, I thought, outplayed Ottawa early, but there were bad passes and sloppy plays over the place. What they got was what they wanted I think, though - 1 point and a chance to leave the arena as healthy as they came.

They walk away from Ottawa as a team that didn't give too much effort, but with a better hold on 6th place. In fact, a win on Saturday would clinch us 6th and would give us an impressive 96 points. I think, however, the main goal has to be to stay safe and to stay relatively rested. A win against Toronto, though, in Toronto would be a good way to end ours and especially their season. I can't believe that we have already played 81 games and that the playoffs are just around the corner. Our team has come together and seems ready, though. Markov, Gorges and Pacioretty are all dearly missed, but I think that the rest of the guys are good enough to do what last year's team did. That doesn't mean that I think they will go as far as they did and I would be surprised and very happy if they did, but I do think that we have enough of the right pieces to compete this spring. It all starts with Price and the D, as it does every year, and we have one game to get ready for the real deal and to iron out any kinks.

Game #78Habs Back To Looking Sloppy

Details

Date: 30/3/2011
Opponent: Hurricanes
Location: Carolina

Loss: 2-6

Habs Goalie: Price (L), Auld
Opposition Goalie: Ward (W)

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri, Subban
Opposition goalscorers: Skinner (2), McBain (2), Pitkanen, Stillman

Play of the game

2 Power-Play goals is encouraging and I liked the second goal. It wasn't a tough goal, but it was quick and seemed rehearsed. In our best PP days (Kovalev, Koivu, Streit, Markov) we had a set play that worked. The good thing is that teams will always be worried about a potent play and that always opens other doors. The Wiz and Subban may be a good fit together back there; tonight was a good start.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Mike Cammalleri
Mike actually had a decent game tonight. It wasn't up to the level that we need him to be, but it was a far better effort than we having been seeing of late. The goal was quite nice and reminded us what kind of hands this sniper has.

Benoit Pouliot
There were a couple of give-aways and the usual careless play in his own end, but I saw something tonight. It helped that most of his teammates were off, I think, as I wouldn't have really had much to say about Ben had they not been. The one thing that is stopping Pou from being an impact player again is confidence. He is one of those guys (Samsonov anyone?) that needs to feel comfortable and needs to feel trusted by his coach. I am not sure if that will come back, but I saw glimpses of the skill tonight and think that it would be in JM's best interest to encourage him and use him from now on rather than punish him.

Scott Gomez
Scott was again our top centre. He played with some zip and was effective, especially early on. Right now it is actually Gionta that is slowing him down. I am done with that duo, but am really not sure where to go from here on in. Patches would give us options and if Pleks/Camms were on it would also open things up. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Defencemen

PK Subban
Didn't like the penalties and not too pleased with his play in our own end, but he was one of the top 2. That is mostly due to his offensive play and the goal that he scored.

James Wisniewski - Game Puck
James had quite a nice game tonight. He picked up two assists and was our best player in their end the whole night. His 5 shots led the Habs and he was once again tops in ice-time.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Auld had his chance, but did not look good at all in the third period. It was another tough game from Carey (3 pulls in his last 7 games), but his D must carry a lot of the blame. Not a night to remember in our own end, that's for sure.

Comments

We had chances throughout, but Ward was good and we couldn't get on the rebounds. In the end, though, we scored 2 goals and had many, many more chances. Apart from not finishing once or twice more it wasn't a bad game offensively. Defensively, however, this was a bad, bad game. We looked confused and extremely sloppy. Our coverage, at times, was simply non-existent. Of all the games and all the aspects of play over the past month or so this was the most worrying. We were going against a team that needed to win and we had no answer on how to stop them. Containing the Thrashers is one thing, but from now on (playoffs) we'll be playing against teams that really want to win. I am happy with our D and goaltending overall, but tonight was a reminder that we certainly can get ourselves into trouble. That, you see, is why scoring, and scoring early, is so key as it can change the way you have to defend against the competition.

Game #75One To Forget

Details

Date: 24/3/2011
Opponent: Bruins
Location: Boston

Loss: 0-7

Habs Goalie: Price (L), Auld
Opposition Goalie: Thomas (W)

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Boychuk, Campbell (2), Horton (2), McQuaid, Kaberle

Play of the game

Really? Can you think of a good play tonight? I guess the two things that stand out are the opening face-off as it was then that we briefly held control of the match (lost the draw, but reclaimed the puck in their end) and Mara's fight as it was the closest that the Habs and the Bruins were in any aspect of play tonight.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Andrei Kostitsyn
He tried things in the offensive zone and never really got burned in our own. Most of our forwards were horrible whether they took too many penalties or made too many give-aways, so this dome isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for any of the players.

Travis Moen
Travis managed to play a quarter of the game and not be on the ice for any of the goals. He chipped in with 3 hits and has been playing decent hockey of late.

Brian Gionta
He couldn't finish tonight, but seemed to be in the right place at the right time on many occasions. Scoring goals is all about finding the spots and with a bit of luck it could have been two goals for him thanks to his positioning.

Defencemen

Paul Mara - Game Puck
Mara wants to play and wants to play in the playoffs so he is showing that he can play that type of hockey. His fight with Campbell was decent and I admired him for going after Recchi. There was nothing dirty about targeting the big-mouthed small-man, he was simply sticking up for a teammate, organization and city; at least that was how I saw it.

PK Subban
He skated well and got a few shots off. This wasn't a good game for him really, but I did like him over the other 4.

Goaltender

Carey Price
They both played bad, but Auld played worse. This was Auld's dome until he stepped on the ice; that was when Carey won it back. Just one of those nights I think - forget it, move on.

Comments

I have been in Europe for a couple of weeks and had missed a few games. I kept up with my news and scores, but did miss watching games live. There was added excitement tonight as we would be icing 4 players who haven't played in a while. Surely the addition of Pleks would make a difference, and if we stuck to hockey we would win. Well, it was Plekanec who stood out tonight, but more for poor defensive play and his penalties than for what I had hoped. It is unfair, I guess, to target just Tom as the team, in its entirety, was beyond off. Camms lacked any touch whatsoever, Darche looked about 25 steps behind, Gionta was as bad as can be and the list goes on and on. It was a tough night of hockey with the worse part being the fact that it was a loss to the Bruins. If I needed one positive, though, it would have to be that the Bruins will now be even cockier the next time we meet them. There is a good chance that we will see each other in the first round and I think that we could surprise some people if we play like the team of 2 weeks ago and not like the one of tonight. 7 more games to go until the season really starts, that means 7 warm-up games. Anything that has happened until now is irrelevant, it is now time to prove our worth. I think that we are a good team with good depth, but I will base my final assessment on our April play, not our October-March efforts.

Game #73 Winnesota Mauled

Details

Date: 20/3/2011
Opponent: Wild
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota

Win: 8-1

Habs Goalie: Auld (W)
Opposition Goalie: Theodore (L), Backstrom

Habs goalscorers: White, Kostitsyn, Subban (3), Wisniewski, Moen, Pyatt
Opposition goalscorers: Koivu (PS)

Play of the game

A missed call left Kostitsyn flattened after he had played the puck around. With some great play from his linemates, and to his quickly regaining his own feet, Andrei was back in to receive a puck in the slot. A split second later, he undid Theo's confidence with another high shot. It was the gamewinner minutes in, it felt like it.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Benoit Pouliot
Just as the key to the last game was the last 40 minutes, this game swung right from the start. By the time the game was 21 minutes old, the Canadiens had basically won and Pouliot had been involved in all three goals. The pre-game was a all Pouliot (his first game back in Minnesota) and so was the first few minutes as his line injected superior energy against the Minnesota bewildered. Not all his assists were big time plays, but the first goal certainly was, a highlight play for the reel.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Looked invigorated every time the camera panned to him (except maybe after 7-1). His goal was truly exceptional and his play meant the Wild D had a lot to worry about on two lines. His stat line only shows a single goal, but his pass to Eller (no goal) in the third was also sublime. The dangerous forward is back for the time being.

Ryan White
Great first goal against Theodore blocker side and a brilliant game through and through. Back when I predicted White would make the team in 2009, this is what I had in mind. It's safe to say he won't do this every time, but perhaps a little injection of confidence in Minnesota will help Ryan to open up like this more frequently.

Defencemen

PK Subban - Game Puck
It was a game ago that McGuire spoke of the emergence of a superstar. It didn't take long. Tonight's game showed Subban to be dominant in many situations. His first goal was his usual determined puck protection turned goal and the second and third showed us all the utility of his protracted wind up. But as I said to my wife as we watched, the amazing thing about Subban is that his goals were probably not his best contributions. I would count his outlet pass on important Goal #1 as example of more play, as well as other outlet passes. But in this near shutout, he also had multiple minutes of calm and controlled defensive play.

Roman Hamrlik
Most nights this performance from the Brigadier General would merit a game puck, or at least the best defender spot. He was slick and looked comfortable despite the minutes of the season. I think it shows the difference of the system and the wins the system has afforded. 20+ minutes this season is not equal to 20+ minutes in Roman's previous seasons. It's no wonder he wants to extend his millionnaire days in this city.

Goaltender

Alex Auld
Good concentration and good luck gave him a real-game shutout. The only blemish being a classy breakaway move by little (big) Koivu. In 2 straight games, Auld has done the job and performed the important task of allowing Carey to rest. Tonight, Alex returned to his early season form, filling his team with belief and calm.

Comments

One of those games for the Habs. Goals came quick and on nearly every chance. Minnesota seemed determined to show Canadiens fans that other teams can let up more odd man rushes than the defence we complain about. As the praise flows, it is important to recall that this result will have little effect on the Buffalo game.

The result does, however, have an enormous effect on the playoff security of this hockey team we watch. 87 points moves them closer to a certified place in the playoffs. 0.500 from hear (9 points) would clinch regardless of what anyone else does. It closes the door to teams lower down coming through a bit more. And it puts the heat on the Boston Brutes.

Speaking of unsportsmanlike reactions to being down by more goals than your team can score. I thought the refs did a great thing by ejecting Clutterbuck when they did. It probably saved the Habs another injury.

Gam #72 Habs Make Most Of 40 Minutes After Meltdown

Details

Date: 18/3/2011
Opponent: Rangers
Location: New York

Loss:3-6

Habs Goalie: Price (L), Auld
Opposition Goalie: Lundqvist (W)

Habs goalscorers: Subban, Wisniewski, Gionta
Opposition goalscorers: Anisimov, Girardi, Callahan, Gaborik, Boyle, Prospal

Play of the game

The coach made the play of the game in this one. The decision to start Carey Price was the right call, but after a fluke goal and a bad minute, it was right also to pull him. Auld coming in didn't turn the tide right away, but did eventually have that effect. In addition, it provided the comical moment of the game as the large goalie had to get on the ice without the benefit of a door, clambering over the boards in his pads. A close second must be whatever Martin and his leaders said in the room during the first intermission - since those words salvaged 40 minutes from the contest.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

David Desharnais
David did a nice job, but he really does look better going against lesser defenders, especially against playoff level teams with organized defence. We hope Plekanec comes back soon for the sake of the overall attack, and so the Canadiens can complicate the lives of opposing coaches as they struggle to deal with a 3rd/4th line centered by this tricky attacking centre.

Brian Gionta
Gionta played a nice game and had another goalscorer's tally. TSN hit the nail on the head (unlikely as that sounds) when they recognized the importance of Gionta in the Canadiens never-say-die attitude in this one. The captain's determination both troubles and surprises his opponents and will be a major key in the Canadiens future hopes.

Scott Gomez
It's really too bad Gomez can't score. That's because it would be the final complement to his play. He really does do so many of the other things just right. Most noticeable for me tonight was his stickwork in boardlong battles. Gomez should deliver a clinic to his teammates, as winning the puck with a quick burst and clever stick check seem to be the norm of late for him.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
Clear villain of the first act. His crosschecking penalty was just about unforgivable and certainly unnecessary. The confusion of the penalty unravelled all the good from the Subban goal and rally. In a game of redemption, however, Hamrlik was central. He looked good on the PP and began to look confident at the back again too. Usually, we aren't too forgiving of veteran mistakes, but in a 5-goal meltdown, most had mess on their hands.

PK Subban – Game Puck
What a goal. What a player. Pierre McGuire is not a man I find much opportunity to agree with, but in the case of Subban, I find no dispute. After yet another rush, Pierre affirmed we were watching the first year of a superstar's career. Like Hamrlik, he was not unscathed in this contest, no defender was, but he availed himself well when down, never giving more ground.

Goaltender

Alex Auld
Embodiment of the resilience of the Habs. Alex looked determined to leave it at 5 and to lead his team from the back. There were several decent saves in his 18. What's more, he outperformed his rival against the same opposition. As simple as it gets for dome goalie calls.

Comments

Those who thought I was harsh after the Washington loss will certainly have reason to question tonight (or not). The nature of this loss, being so different, leaves me feeling another set of emotions. The lows came in the first, and resignation of a loss was turned into hope.

Part of this was playing an opponent with a 4-goal lead. But I also thought the depleted Habs showed a lot of will and spirit as the refused to relent in their task. The win was never going to be in reach, but the moral victory, the team-building endnote was. It's worthy of note then that the Canadiens stuck with it and won the second two periods and led the hopeful to believe their hope was reasonable.

Important stuff at playoff time. Important stuff for the players tasting their first action in the NHL and important for those coming back. A loss is a loss, but this loss had some victory in it. For that, there's reason to be positive.

Habs Reinforce Weakest Position

Sure Carey Price is one of the best players on the Habs. But goaltending at an organizational level with this team was a glaring weakness.

Auld is an OK back-up, but with what future. Sanford is a good AHL goalie, but might not have the confidence of the management team. Ramo seems OK, but he's in the KHL. Beyond those the situation was more dire.

Mayer has not handled the AHL workload well. Doesn't bode well for anything more than that.

Peter Delmas hasn't exactly shown his release from Colorado's system was a mis-step on their part.

Petteri Simila is in the second Finnish league now after sliding out of the OHL and the SM Liiga.


Drew MacIntyre probably won't sets hearts alight in Montreal. Perhaps he should offer some comfort. If Carey price ever got injured and Montreal needed a back-up, it will be nice that Curtis Sanford would be contested. Mayer couldn't do that. MacIntyre might push him.

Why The Habs Might Look The Same At The End Of Today

Most Habs fans are not fools. Most know a thing or two about hockey. They should from watching 80+ games of hockey each year.

So when we at LIW polled Habs fans for the players they would like to move, I have some confidence that the results reflect something pretty close to the feelings of members of the Canadiens organization with a say in these matters.

Untradeables
G: Price
D: Subban, Gorges
F: Plekanec, Gionta, Pacioretty, Cammalleri
B: Avtsin
P: Leblanc
E: 1st rounders


Proposed trade pieces
G: Auld
D: Picard, Spacek
F: Gomez, Pyatt, Kostitsyn, Moen
B: Depth forwards, defencemen and goalies
P:
E: 5th, 6th, 7th rounders


As well as the lists of everything Canadiens fans want and don't want, these lists could also substitute for lists of what other GMs would want and not want from the Canadiens system. Interest in Price and Subban would be high, whereas interest in Auld, Spacek, Gomez or 6th rounders isn't going to make Gauthier the popular phone number of the day.

The clever fans know this, so they have keyed on Andrei Kostitsyn. He is on the list of discards, but fond memories loom close enough that peopl think he has value on the trade market. After all, he is big, he can shoot better than 98% of players in the league and he has done things worthy of note in the past. Most hopeful pundits seem to hope that other GMs might not have noticed his MO, that is scoring 20 goals each season in clusters, instead paying for him like they would a clockwork 40-goalscorer.

This isn't going to happen and it won't take too many phone calls for Gauthier to assess this information. If he intends to trade Andrei Kostitsyn, he is likely to get a player very much like Andrei Kostitsyn in return. The problem of course being that familiarity with Andrei lets us know he's already OK on defensive assignments, that he can ignore the Montreal hoopla better than many and his high points can be very high, even on a low scoring outfit like the Habs.

The alternative is an unknown.

Many would suggest the unknown is potential. It is, but it is potentially worse, just as it would be potentially better.

I think Gauthier will see what he can get for his more valuable bargaining chips and realise that he's better hoping for turnarounds in form than for integration and turnaround in form.

To those that cling to the hope that Nashville has more sentimentality than memory, consider the Predators are consistently in contention on a tight budget. This isn't because they reunite pairs that didn't really work in the past at great cost to their future plans.


The other scenario

The other scenario is that Gauthier takes the sudden view that his team will not be a big-time contender this year and looks for this year's "Ville Leino".

In this case, he'd have to loosen the hold on those middle range players (not in the Trade Now bracket) like Pouliot or Eller in order to find an upgrade.

It's also possible that a player like Hamrlik or Gill, who is key to the team's fortunes at present, and has value to a team that can fit a salary and needs a top-4 defender for some reason to make a Cup run, could be moved.

In both cases, he'd expose himself to backlash from those who think that Cinderella runs are owed to this city again. Personally, I don't think he'd be willing to face the backlash. Nor do I think he's got the eye to spot the Leino deal from the mess of other things going on today. He didn't last year.


So, with half the TSN talkfest over, a single trade to speak of and a few hours to go, I'd be pretty comfortable in sticking with the poll results together with my case here and say that the Canadiens won't be moving anything worth talking about this afternoon.

(That said, the moment I publish this, Murphy and his law might kick the smug blogger to the curb and send Gomez to Dallas for Richards).

Game #63Montreal Keeps It Simple, Takes Two Points

Details

Date: 26/2/2011
Opponent: Hurricanes
Location: Montreal

Win: 4-3

Habs Goalie: Auld (W)
Opposition Goalie: Ward (L)

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri, Eller, Plekanec, Kostitsyn
Opposition goalscorers: Jokinen, Ruutu, Stillman

Play of the game

I really liked what I saw when Kostitsyn laid that hit that led to the Eller goal. He came in on the Hurricane defender and not only rattled the player, but also won body position. From that he dove to get the puck to his centre in front. It wasn't an easy shot, but Lars certainly made it count. Not bad at all from our third line.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Andrei Kostitsyn - Game Puck
Was this his last game as a Hab? I hope not, because tonight he was at his best and I would hate to lose a player of this caliber. His assist was sublime and his game-winning goal was quite simply icing on the cake. I think that he thrives on the 3rd line and always has; I hope that he stays there and tears it up in the coming weeks.

Tomas Plekanec
Pleks quietly had a goal and an assist tonight as he creeps closer towards the 50-point plateau. He still hasn't found his A+ game, but tonight was another step in the right direction. His line is clicking and I believe that it is only a matter of time until he is back to being our go-to guy.

Mike Cammalleri
What a goal Mike scored in the first! That type of goal doesn't come that often in the NHL and one must only watch enough games before they appreciate how special that shot was. He also chipped in on Plek's goal which, to me, is an added bonus. It looks like he is getting back into the groove now too and I can say that he is just in time.

Defencemen

Hal Gill
Hal played a simple game tonight; perhaps reminding us that we should keep him beyond Monday. Does he fit into our long-term plans? Well, since long-term really means our till November or beyond plans then I would say yes. He is playing very well of late and I really liked what I saw tonight. He is playing well with PK and, if my hunch is correct, will keep getting better as we head towards the playoffs.

PK Subban
PK was great on offence, bad on defence and spectacular on defence all at the same time. That is the game we get from Subban as it is rarely average. I saw a lot of highlight reel stuff tonight as he seemed to be involved in as many Habs chances as 'Canes ones. I did, however, like how he always followed the play, how he always made up for his own mistakes.

Goaltender

Alex Auld
Early on this was Price's dome as Alex looked bad, under-prepared and nervous. Was he not used to the 2 starts in a row? Maybe not used to being the guy that we were relying on? Whatever the case he started badly as it was rebound or missed played puck over and over. As the game went on, however, he settled in and it started to work. He was making the saves that he had to and was gaining his team's confidence. The goals were weak, but he pulled out the win and played well enough over the 60 minutes to deserve it.

Comments

When a team is chasing you the best way to stop the bleeding is to do it yourselves. Tonight we were able to solidify our position and hurt Carolina's all at once. This wasn't a great game by either team, but it was an important one and the Habs were the only team that got the result. I liked our offence tonight and was happy that all of the lines were active. I also felt that our D did a pretty good job against a pretty tenacious offence. This wasn't a must win per-se, but had we lost in regulation we woudl be worried about next week. It is, therefore, a very good thing that we took this win and that we did it with relative ease (compared to our last few games). Things are only going to get tougher from here on in, so we can use all of the points that we can get at this point.

Game #62Habs Play Well, Leafs Refs Play Better

Details

Date: 24/2/2011
Opponent: Maple Leafs
Location: Montreal

Loss: 4-5

Habs Goalie: Auld, Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Reimer (W)

Habs goalscorers: Halpern, Cammalleri, Wisniewski, Pacioretty
Opposition goalscorers: Kessel (2), Lebda, Bozak (2)

Play of the game

Cammalleri's goal was a beaut, and boy did we need a goal from Mike. It started when PK made a great play to gain the zone and then attack it. Most players would have given up on the play, but Subban kept it going. He couldn't get to the goal, but just before rounding it left the puck for Kostitsyn. Andrei then made a great pass to Mike who was able to place a perfect shot by Reimer.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Jeff Halpern - Game Puck
I haven't seen Jeff play this well since early in the season. I wonder if the trade deadline makes a journeyman veteran pick it up a bit? Proving he wants to stay? Proving why another team wants him? Nah, I don't really think it was that, but he did play a fantastic game. Towards the end he seemed to be very active around the Leaf goal and I wasn't surprised that he was in on Pacioretty's marker.

Tomas Plekanec
Pleks is certainly picking it up of late. Tonight was another great example of how good of a player he is as he, at times, dominated in both ends. He was on the ice for three of our goals, but did so much more than that. His best stuff was his one-on-ones that he seemed to be winning with fairly good regularity. Making Komisarek look like a fool, even though it isn't that hard, is always welcome with me.

Max Pacioretty
If there is one thing that has been bothering me of late with Max it is that he always tries to go inside then outside on every defender he faces. It isn't working for him and, unfortunately, often ends in a turn-over. That, however, isn't enough to deter me tonight. In fact, I do quite like that he at least is getting the puck and trying stuff with it. What I did like was that he wanted to be at the net all game long and he wanted to take shots, as many as he could. In all he took 9 and it, therefore, isn't surprising that one finally went in.

Defencemen

James Wisniewski
James probably wants to make sure that he is still with this team in a week and what better way to do that than score your first of 2011. He did very well on the PP and laid some nice hits too. It will be interesting to see what our D will be next week (it looks like Spacek it out long-term), but I am hoping that James is a part of it because he adds an element that when we don't have it, we all complain that we need it; so much so some even wanted MAB back.

Roman Hamrlik
This was another fantastic game from Roman. He played 28+ minutes which may seem like too much, but for all the assumptions about him getting tired, he isn't really showing it. He has had some down times over the season, but, for the most part, has been very reliable in every aspect of play. Like the Wis, I hope that Hammer is part of this team next week and I think that he is making a very good case to be on it next year too.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Not too much to choose tonight. Both goalies played and Price played better. Auld got unlucky, but so did Price. I would like to say that had Price started we would have won, but that is taking the blame off the refs and putting it on Auld. Tonight I really don't think that either goalie was a major deciding factor.

Comments

4 refs to supervise 12 players. 4! How on earth they can get the majority of calls wrong, I'll never know. The refs in this league are horrible, we all know that, but tonight they went beyond their usual farce, they were putrid. This game would have been so different had Gionta not been called for lifting a stick and having a Leaf player catch an edge. For starters we should have been given a PP on that very play and, the real kicker, Gionta could have scored as he had a 2-0n-1 going when that call was made. Two quick PP goals by Toronto gave them a lead that they really had no business taking. We played better than the Leafs tonight and deserved a better result. I felt that we played some of our most intense, chance-ridden hockey late in the third period; a type of hockey that would overwhelm any team. It is upsetting that we didn't come out of this with a point and I can only hope that the coaches saw the same thing that I did and side with the players, and not against them, in this case. Carolina is never easy for us, but with them so close behind us I feel that we really need a regulation win, no if, and or refs about it.

Game #60Habs Have Fun Being Outside, Flames Have Fun Playing Hockey

Details

Date: 20/2/2011
Opponent: Flames
Location: Calgary

Loss: 0-4

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Kiprusoff (W)

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Bourque (2), Babchuk, Tanguay

Play of the game

The play of the game (or the reason I was able to keep watching this display) was that it was outdoors. It was fun and was a nice change, but, sadly, the Habs' play left nothing worth talking about.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Scott Gomez
Scott's line looked better than any of the others and were the only ones that seemed to be generating chances with any consistency. Considering how he has played of late he was the closest player to his normal form (not sure if that is a compliment...).

Travis Moen
He was part of the only line that was close to good tonight. I wish that he wasn't on a scoring line and I wish that he played tough, but I just don't think that it will happen. The rest of team should be ashamed that Travis is on here ahead of them.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Not a good game, better than at least 9 forwards, though. I am hoping that with Cammalleri's return Andrei will be able to find something in his game down the stretch. It is really now or never for his Habs career and I do think that time is running out. Is it fair that one of our best defensive forwards and offensive contributors is in this position? No, of course not, but with the French media taking no time off in their attack on him it is his reality.

Defencemen

James Wisniewski - Game Puck
Why is he getting the Game Puck? Well, I just couldn't think of anyone else and if there was one thing that I was impressed with tonight it was the fact that James played at all. We'll need him over the next few weeks, so he gets recognition for realizing that and playing with a condition that would knock most of us out of desk jobs for at least a week.

Yannick Weber
I only noticed Weber a few times out there, but when I did he seemed to be doing well enough. He played with Mara and I think that that can be a decent partnership. It will be interesting then to see what happens when Spacek is healthy as we all know that Paul wasn't a choice last season or summer over any of PK, Weber, Gill, Hammer or Spacek.

Goaltender

Alex Auld
It would have taken something really special to get a result tonight behind that team, but I am also thinking that had the game been closer towards the end things may have picked up. There were no real horrible goals, but a change, something to get this group going tonight would be what I was looking for. Add that to the fact that we rarely score 5+ goals anymore and it becomes obvious that taking a chance with Auld may have been our only hope.

Comments

That was still better than any loss indoors in Alberta would have been, so I can't complain. I do love the concept of a game out in the middle of winter and hope that we can see the Habs play a few more of these over the years. In fact, Molson Stadium would be an ideal venue as its setting on the mountain and at the edge of downtown would make for much more spectacular views than the highways and parking lots of Calgary.

The Habs just didn't have it tonight as it seemed like they weren't really playing hockey. There was no intensity, no fore-check, no hits and no chemistry out there. Calgary played well, but not that well. Had we been focused and ready to go this could have been two points. It is a shame, therefore, that this game did count for points as our team just didn't seem to be too into it. Too worried about the cold? The ice? Injuries? Who knows, but the Flames dealt with it, the old-times dealt with it better and it looked like even the fans dealt with it more effectively than our players. A must-win in Vancouver now awaits. Oh dear.

Game #56Habs Manage A Single Point Where Two Should Have Been A Given

Details

Date: 10/2/2011
Opponent: Islanders
Location: Montreal

Loss: 3-4 (SO)

Habs Goalie: Auld (L)
Opposition Goalie: Koskinen (W)

Habs goalscorers: Pacioretty, Pouliot, Plekanec
Opposition goalscorers: Tavares, Grabner (2), (Okposo - SO)

Play of the game

I really liked Pouliot's goal. It wasn't, however, his shot or White's pass that stood out to me, but was instead the work that Ben did in the lead up to the goal. He had skated in, behind their net and had looked very dangerous with the puck, winning his battles. He then found himself at the point where he put the puck back behind the net. There White did well to find the puck and then to find Pou in the slot.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

David Desharnais
This was another good game from David. He didn't stand out too much, but played as well as one would expect a rookie on the 3rd line to play. He made a great pass to Patches on his goal which had the makings of a true play-maker. As he worked his way through New York's D you could tell that his focus was to get the puck to Max , who was open on the right, at the first possible chance.

Max Pacioretty - Game Puck
7 shots and a goal tonight for Max; he even led the team in hits. We are missing Camms, for sure, but it is nice to see a player stepping up lately in his absence as Max has done. It is still unclear if this is the real Pacioretty, but the more I see and the more he plays like this the more his, and our, confidence can only grow.

Tomas Plekanec
Gomez's line had a horrible game as it was bad pass after bad pass followed by mishandling of pucks all over the ice. That fact alone made our other top line look that much better. Tom added to that with a nice 2-on-1 goal. To be fair, though, Gomez's winger, Andrei, looked very good on that play as he burned up the ice with Pleks.

Defencemen

Yannick Weber
I wasn't left with many options tonight so again went with Weber. I saw good coverage in our own end and particularly liked two events. The first was similar to what he and Price did in New York. Tonight he backed Auld up on one of Alex's nice saves; had the puck gone through, Yan was there. The other was when he pushed Tavares into the goalie and, for the second straight game, got the call in his favour. I like players who push the limits, but also play smart hockey and this is the type of stuff that I look for.

Roman Hamrlik
Someone had to bite the bullet tonight and take some ice. With Gill gone and the fact that we were all tired from yesterday this wasn't the greatest job, but Hammer did his best. In all he played 27+ minutes and didn't seem to be making as many mistakes as his partner, the Wis, who was putting us in all types of trouble.

Goaltender

Carey Price
I didn't want to have to do this, but when I added it all up this was a bad game from Auld. Yes, the D was weak and under-staffed, but I just didn't like what I saw at the back end. There were too many chances other than the 4 goals that were getting through and were hitting posts or were just missing. That is 2 nights, 12 goals and two shaky looking goalies. I do hope that this was a blip and not a sign of fatigue or that our team's general luck/defence is running out.

Comments

That makes 3 losses in a row and, once again, we are settling to the middle of the pack. That is, however, where we should be, isn't it? We don't have that great of a team, have average coaching and management and are dealing with big injuries. To me we are an average (middle 1/3) team that is right where we should be. The thing about teams like that is that they lose games that they should have won. If they won all of their games that they should have won they wouldn't be in the middle third, but would be in the top third instead. Just remember that a bad team (New York) still picks up about 25-30 wins a year and that means that 25-30 times a year they beat a team that should have beaten them. So, it is disappointing and it shouldn't have happened, but at least we got one point and, unlike last night, didn't drain ourselves physically and emotionally. That means that we should be ready for Toronto in 2 days. A home game, Leafs, Saturday night, we're due, they aren't - it should be fun! As always.

Game #55Boston Play Dirty; Hey, Maybe On The 40th Try It Will Win Them A Cup

Details

Date: 9/2/2011
Opponent: Bruins
Location: Boston

Loss: 6-8

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Thomas (W)

Habs goalscorers: Gionta, Subban, Weber, Desharnais, Pacioretty (2)
Opposition goalscorers: Marchand, Seidenberg, McQuaid, Ryder (2), Lucic (2), Horton

Play of the game

I don't really like fights in hockey. I don't mind the odd time when players drop the gloves to stick up for teammates or to send a message, but on a night like tonight I didn't really like what I saw. I can't, however, not choose a fight for in here; simply because I can't remember much else right now. On a night when it was clear for all to see that we aren't built to fight (or be as dirty and cheap as Boston) I liked the fact that calm-old Ben Pouliot laid the nicest punch of them all. Sure he was only fighting Krejci, but a punch (a knock-out in hockey terms) like that deserves a mention. It was an irrelevant play amongst a bunch of meaningless plays, but it stood out to me as the one big Habs-better-than-Bruins moment on the night.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

David Desharnais
The kid was quite possibly playing for NHL life tonight. He is a small, offensive centre that isn't so great in his own end. So, to be put on the 4th (and later 3rd) line with a certain defensive responsibility against a good (and big/dirty) team was going to be a challenge. I think, though, that he passed this test. He played with heart and made things happen in their end. In all it was a goal, an assist, 56% on face-offs and an even rating.

Max Pacioretty
Players that keep playing until the end, no matter what the score, will always have a friend here. That is exactly what Max did. He didn't give up or stop trying, but instead went for goals. Is it selfish to try and score when the game is out of reach? Not at all. One should always be trying to score and what better practice than to do just that in any situation. That all said he scored 2 PP goals in the final frame to up his season totals to 8.

Brian Gionta
After a weak first period it was our captain who set the tone early in the second. Within 8 minutes the game was tied and he was at the heart of both goals (goal, assist). He also led the team in shots and happened to be the only Hab to finish with a positive rating.

Defencemen

Yannick Weber - Game Puck
If you don't think playoff goals count (like the NHL) then Weber scored his first NHL goal tonight. Of course I can see their argument: why would we count stats from the only time of the year that matters? He also picked up 2 assists and now has 10 points which isn't that bad for him at all, in fact that is a 30+ point season pace. I can't say he played well in his own end (did anyone?), but do like that we are getting contribution from him as it certainly adds to our back-end.

James Wisniewski
I liked PK tonight and felt bad that he is a perceived target around the league and now must fight pretty much wherever he goes. Stupid because apart from playing with a lot of spirit and a big mouth I can't say that he is that bad. If being young and those things is enough to be a target (it clearly is) then I guess watch out. The ironic thing is that the people who say that he has no respect are the very players who lack the most class (Richards, Lucic, Horton etc.) and who think being dirty is the way to 'teach' players the 'code'. Anyway, Subban narrowly misses this dome because I think that Wis played a better game, even though I have more to say about PK. James was instrumental in 3 of our goals (2 assists) and was only on the ice for 2 of theirs. We certainly have missed that positive contribution.

Goaltender

Alex Auld
Was this the type of game that goalies can't do well in (fired-up offence, poor defence)? Or, were goalies the cause? I realize that Carey made some big saves and kept us in it early, but I am thinking that had he played his best, even behind our porous D, we could have won. In fact, I think that this was Price's worst game, by far, on the season. 8 goals, despite making many good saves, is a horrible result. Martin probably should have pulled him after 4 or 5, but I guess assumed that it was just one of those nights. This game alone cost him .004 in Save % (now .918) and .11 in GAA (now 2.43) as he falls back towards the middle of the pack. I, however, am not worried about him because of one bad game and am actually glad that if your stats take a beating they take them all at once. He'll be ready to go next game and can rest assured as he wasn't the only reason that we lost tonight, far from it.

Comments

I can deal with a loss, I can deal with poor D and poor goaltending. One thing that I hate seeing, though, is hockey like we saw tonight. Sure, there were a lot of goals and that is exciting, but what are the refs thinking letting things carry on like this? In all there were 192 minutes of penalties! That is 3+ games worth. There were two full-out, everyone-in type fights and even the goalies got in on it. This to me is not exciting, no, it is far from it. All this really does is put players like Pyatt, Spacek, Pouliot, Pacioretty, Gionta and others at the risk of injury. For what? What is gained by playing like this? Now, don't get me wrong as I don't think that this was the Habs' fault. No, this was Boston's doing. Old Fat-Head and the other brain-dead folk on that team want to intimidate the Habs and fail to see that scoring 8 goals is as intimidating as anything else. There will now be a cry in Montreal that we need to get tougher (otherwise known as the February toughness cry) and you can bet your bottom dollar that Gauthier will give in. That means we'll land a useless player (remember Laraque and how much we loved him) at the expense of picks, prospects or talented players. If we can all agree that Boston didn't win tonight because of toughness (I am pretty sure it was the 8 goals) then we can all ask do we need to be tougher? Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Washington are far from being as dirty and tough as Philly or Boston (0 cups in 35 years, 4 in 70 playing like this), but their strategies seem to work. We can beat this Boston team regularly enough (and we have been doing for the past 5 years) that I really urge everyone to calm down about being tough, about the need for toughness in the playoffs. What a team 'needs' in the playoffs isn't as simple as scoring or goaltending or toughness, no, it is different for each team. The Habs right now have a very goo team and we shouldn't let one stupid game (in which we managed 6 goals, 4 on the PP, of our own) affect our plans and our design.

Game #52 Opportunistic Attack, Luck, Auld Help Habs Past Panthers

Details

Date: 2/2/2011
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Montreal

Win: 3-2
Habs Goalie: Auld (W)
Opposition Goalie: Vokoun (L)

Habs goalscorers: Halpern, Plekanec, Gionta
Opposition goalscorers: Timmins, Weiss

Play of the game

Goal #3 was a classic. Pacioretty charged down the outside as he so often does, but cut in hard for once. Vokoun was off guard as MaxPac skimmed through his crease and offered a good shot on net. He was sprawled to make the save and still out of position for a few seconds later. Gionta found the time to pounce just then, and his hard, pad-carom was a perfect gamewinner for this affair.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Max Pacioretty
Max Pacioretty nearly scored on a breakaway just after the Halpern goal. At that instant, the thought that went through my head was: "Oh, Pacioretty's playing tonight". Invisible he wasn't through the rest of the game as the Panthers defence had to open up and allow his insurgences. His work on the gamewinner was top notch and his work in getting a couple of breaks was also very good. Other than that, it was another assist, +2, 6 shots and 8 attempts on net. Good game.

Tomas Plekanec
Player of the month for January by a few votes. He must be thankful that the voting 400 picked him this time. It's a pity he can't catch Carey. He's been as good as the goalie all season, but people have just disinvested completely in this 3 star thing, if one looks at the vote totals. This game, Pleks put in another good one. His goal was earned, but was not his best play on the night. That may have been the near breakaway he manufactured through several Panthers while shorthanded. Really, this grind of a game showed what a value Pleks is to the team. He stands out against plain opposition as a dangerous player, who works constantly. To think we all once liked Higgins more.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Andrei may not have played his best game, but I thought he thought the best game of the forwards. There was only one shot in the end, but it was a well generated chance that gave a rebound. Then there were multiple passes. passes that caught the other team off guard because they were creative. A team certainly needs its cheesy bounce ins, but teams also need players like Kostitsyn to keep opposing defenders honest. Tonight, I thought he did that, opening up space for Gomez and Eller.

Defencemen

PK Subban
The play Subban made on the first goal, the cut to the inside of the ice, was a glimpse back to Subban at his precocious rookie best. It's good to see that side of him is still around, despite his new maturity and responsibility. Despite a couple of wacky hits and iffy dives, Subban was also a good bet on D tonight. His willingness to take charge diffused more than a couple of periods of threat. Two months ago we might not have anticipated Subban in the lineup, let alone leading the team in minutes. He's come a long way. He might have a long way further to go.

Roman Hamrlik
Last night I insisted on Spacek. Tonight, the "Wild and Crazy Guy" gets the call. Hammer hasn't been doing much that is too special lately. Or has he? He has taken on probably his 5th partner of the season and has made yet another pairing that puts minds at ease. Wisniewski is a good player, but it takes a solid man to help the transition of an outsider into a system (an Islander, no less). Hammer has done that and did it in fine fashion tonight. 4 blocked shots and plenty of edgy play without penalty. A good game from #44.

Goaltender

Alex Auld - Game Puck
There was never any point this evening where I sat up and thought "Wow, what a goalie". yet, thinking to the way the Florida goals went in, this could have easily also have been a 33 shot shutout. His play in the first after the goal went in, and then the shutout second were key to the victory here. Even though we're talking about the Panthers, a team of Higginses, a lesser goalie on this night would have put his team in a tie or a deficit.

Comments

Another game, another comeback. It's so odd considering the way the season started, with all wins coming from early leads. It's as if the Canadiens are coming back to vanquish the accusation that they couldn't come back. My feeling is, however, that this can't go on. It's one thing to be caught napping by Florida, quite another with Philadelphia, Pittsburgh or Detroit. This was a nice win, but the team has put in a lot of work to avoid their slow and tentative starts.

In a way, I think the Canadiens were lucky here to get points. In what must surely be the stupidest two days the NHL schedule makers put together, several teams were made to come back from their week off to a one-day road trip with a game at home the following night. It takes a tough team to come back from a one week break to win two comeback games in different cities. They'll appreciate these points in March.