Game #29 Habs Run Out Of Time On Comeback Bid

Details

Date: 10/12/2010
Opponent: Red Wings
Location: Detroit


Loss: 2-4

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

Habs goalscorers: Moen, Pouliot
Opposition goalscorers: Lidstrom, Kronwall, Datsyuk, Eaves

Play of the game

Quite a lot of good plays for a loss. There was a lot of solid early defending and the third was full of nice chances. The play of them all was the Pouliot goal though. In what has become typical for the young sniper, he took a pass and then with great confidence walked right down the middle of the Detroit defence and let rip. The way he set himself to find a lane was superb and the shot itself was obviously dead-on. It was the goal that re-ignited the team's hope, and the signal that Montreal players were actually allowed to make their way down the middle portion of the ice.

Dome hockey team

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

Tomas Plekanec - Game Puck
Plekanec drew a tough assignment in this game. He was asked to check a line with a couple of 80 point men. All the while, he was asked to pick up the slack for Gomez while playing against the Selke owner. Did I mention he had to play lots of PK as well. I thought he did really well, and considering the third was an offensive breakthrough for the whole team, really that he beat out the Datsyuk line (who incidentally scored during a line mismatch). Pleks had a couple of shots and fed Gionta for a team high five, he had a couple of takeaways as well. his one blemish was a slash that led to a 5-on-3. But I'm not going to pretend that was the only slash in the entire game like the refs did - it was a weak call and the fact a goal was scored doesn't change that.

Mike Cammalleri
Speaking of touch assignments, how do you like Cammalleri with just about anyone except for Plekanec, Gionta or Kostitsyn. All this and the guy still manages to create chances and goals. I thought he was off track for a while in November. It feels like he's back on track now, and definitely in the coach's very good books.

Maxim Lapierre
I'm going to go with the coach on this one. Martin chose to put Darche and Lapierre on with Pleks and Cammalleri at the end of the game - his dome. I don't really agree with Darche, but I thought Lapierre was one of a number of forwards who had a decent first half and a storming third.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
Another good game from Hammer. Although the NHL website says he was on for a goal against (as well as the empty netter). A pair of eyes can tell you he wasn't. Throughout the game, he played Red Wings conservatively and managed his end of the ice well.

Josh Gorges
Gorges was on for goals against, but I find it hard to fault him directly. His play on the first goal was probably the right one given the seconds remaining, unfortunate only that Red Wings can turn a turnover into 3 passes and a goal in the blink of an eye. Really, Gorges was solid for most of the game, especially the first period. He set a good tone for the game as he constantly bumped Red Wings as passes were coming their way. Subban watch this guy on how to throw a tactical body check.

Goaltender

Carey Price
For me, Carey came closest he has in a long to not making this dome. Not that it was a close call. But coming out of the gates he was reckless, and as if to fulfill the promise set out by articles on his puck-handling prowess and quest for a goal, he continued all game with dangerous handling. The scoresheet says 2 giveaways, I guess that depends how one gauges a giveaway. Apart form that, he was really sound again. Really sound. While his defenders worked on the premise they'd allow any shots from a limited angle, Carey worked very hard to shift and cover for each instance. The first goal was a 5-on-3 (really 5-on-1 if you consider how the D played it). The second he was completely screened and the third was a breakaway. All standard shots, therefore were saved. Many non-standard ones too.

Comments

This was a fun game to watch. The Canadiens were tested by a team that came in with a plan tailored to beat them. The Red Wings left Habs forwards to skate with speed all they wanted to the outsides, but rarely in the middle. They tried attacking across the ice to move the defenders, as Hamrlik and co. are still sealing off good shots against static attacks. The Habs hung in there in the first and second, despite not really having a good scoring chance in my books, and then to the encouragement of all fans and critics played one of their best periods of the young season just when they needed to play one of the best periods of the season. Ultimately, they fell short, but the wound doesn't smart as much for the knowledge that if the game had been 10 minutes longer, the result might have been very different.

This is especially encouraging to me, since I have been worried that the Canadiens were a team that thrived only when things went their way (i.e., scored first and closed the deal). The fact the Wings came back, made the Canadiens feel out of it for a while and the team came back was a first this season, I think. We knew they could rebound with a day off to think about things, now we know they can rebound on the fly.

A Winged View Of Things

Big game tonight with the Red Wings. A throwback really, with the two teams both riding quite high. Must have felt tlike this in bygone eras.

As a prelude to the game, I was asked by Red Wings blogger, and extremely dedicated Norwegian hockey fan, to answer a few questions for his blog "Fight Night at the Joe". In turn, I asked him a few of my own. I'll post his answers below, and will link to the my answers on his site when they're up.

Fight Night at the Joe asks LIW:
1. The Habs have looked great so far this year, what reasons are behind the improvement from last year?
2. Will they be able to hold on for the entire season?
3. Which player do you guys plan to boo next?
4. Going into this game, what do you fear about the Wings? What should the Wings be looking out for?
5. Predict the final result of the game and tell us why!

(See answers on the Fight Night at the Joe pre-game post)


LIW asks Fight Night at the Joe:

1. Can you explain briefly how the Red Wings do it? Perennial contention, what's the secret?

The secret is pretty simple I think. First of all, the Wings have always drafted very well. They were very early on to focusing on Europe and got a lot of draft steals from Sweden and Russia. Generally good scouting has also helped.

Secondly, the Wings tend to never rush anyone. Except for in a few cases, prospects have to play at least a year, often more in the AHL before they get up to the NHL and they are well developed when they finally come up.

The Wings have also done very well at trading. There have been a few busts (Wendel Clark and Robert Lang come to mind), but most of the trades the last 20 years have been good and they have never been a team that will make a desperation trade.

Money is another factor, but that has been diminished after the lockout.

But one of the main factors in my eyes is that the Wings seem to be a team where players want to stay. Everyone, from the Illitches, through Kenny Holland and down to the role players, equipment guys and everyone else are part of the Wings family. They treat their players well, keep a consistent environment and everyone coming up through the system plays Red Wings hockey. Draft picks stay there their whole career and journeymen like Brad Stuart and Dan Cleary and outcasts like Todd Bertuzzi find a new home where they can get a role that fits them, adapt to the system and finally settle down. The players seem to be happy in Detroit, there is a winning culture and the team is usually the same from year to year, which is a huge factor in consistently winning. And they really take care of and value every player. They know how important role players are. Just look at Draper and Maltby.

Last of all, Nicklas Lidström. It is impossible to realize how good he is without watching the Wings every game and he has been a huge part in the last 20 years of success.


2. The Canadiens have lost Andrei Markov for the second straight season, essentially. Is there a single player on the Red Wings whose absence might lead to a significant dip in the standings?

The first player that comes to mind is Nick Lidström. As I said, even with his success I think he is underrated. He is so subtle and does all the little things right. You really need to watch them often to appreciate just how good he is at that. Teammates and fans call him the Perfect Human and it is fitting. When he makes a mistake it is shocking to us, cause usually he just doesn't make them. He is the team's leader, still one of the best, maybe the best defenseman in the NHL. He does a huge job shutting down the opponent's star players every night and is important offensively too. Zetterberg and Datsyuk are other guys that would be huge losses for the Wings.


3. Andrei Markov goes to free agency on a shaky knee. Would you want your GM to sign him?

That depends on the price. I wouldn't pay high money for an injury prone star defenseman, but if he came for a discount because he wanted to prove himself it would be interesting. Right now I don't think the Wings need a guy with his style, but if Nick retires he could be an interesting part of a solution to fill the hole that would leave.


4. Montreal has had amazing first periods thus far, and managed to impose their style on the opposition. From what I know, this is Detroit's M.O. Which team do you think will get to play their style tonight?

The Wings are terribly schizophrenic when it comes to starting games. Some days they are right no time and score one or two goals early, but other nights it seems like they need a period to get into the game. And it is very hard to predict which version will show up. Right now the team has lost three straight games (or, well, one was in OT) and in the two first they came out strong, but collapsed (end of road trip and first game back home, so I get it) and then on Wednesday they were terrible for the first 25 minutes against Nashville. I know Babcock goes insane over that, so hopefully he has whipped the team into shape so they come out strong, but I am very worried that the Habs can come out flying and roll over the Wings for some time before the Wings really wake up.


5. Predict the final result of the game and tell us why!

That is a difficult question. The Wings have not been good lately and the Habs are scary to me right now. And they have such a speedy group of forwards, so I am scared that they might be all over the Wings, rush them and make the Wings commit way too many turnovers. The Wings need to get into their groove a little and get their passing game going to be good and if the Habs can deny them that early, then that and Carey Price having a good game, can lead to this getting ugly.

However, I think the team and everyone around it are very disappointed in the last few games and I have to hope that they show up ready to go and out for blood. I think it will be a tight game, but I think that the Wings will win 4-2 with the fourth goal being an empty netter. I also think special teams might become the deciding factor, but it is hard to predict which way that will swing.


6. Finally. You live in Norway. How do you manage to follow the NHL. And why the Red Wings?

Following it is pretty easy these days. Back in the day, when it was just on TV, it was a pain and you couldn't see every game, but now I have something called ESPNPlayer, which is basically the European equivalent of GameCenter Live. Lets me watch every game live or on demand (I have the same for the MLB and NFL (shoot me, I'm a Lions fan)). And seeing as I'm a student and my part time job has evening shifts, I can have a semi-American sleep cycle and stay up to watch the games.

Why the Wings? The answer has two parts really. When I was three or four I got a Canucks jersey cause my dad had been in Vancouver. So I became a Canucks fan. However, when I got NHL on TV in 94-95 I realized that the Canucks bored me (aside from Bure) and my 6-7 year old fashion sense realized that the Canucks jerseys were ugly as sin. However I loved the Wings jerseys, I loved that they had a Russian line and some Swedes and I really loved Stevie Y, so I began rooting for them. Two straight years of playoff disappointment (horrifying finals loss and then a brutal conference final loss) only made me love them more. And then, in the summer of 96, I attended a hockey camp in Asker, right outside of Oslo and Scottie Bowman and Barry Smith came in and coached us for one afternoon and in the morning the next day. It was really cool and they were really nice to us and I remember that Scotty gave us stickers saying "Proud to be a Wings fan". That settled it and I've been a hardcore ever since. Used to fight my mom and dad to be allowed to see important games on school nights and everything.


Thanks to Fight Night at the Joe

Pretty cool to hear from a dedicated fan of a very special franchise. The answers to the questions above remind one about things that have been said about the Canadiens in the past, and things we hope might be said about them in the future.


Needless to say, we're a bit jealous about the Scotty Bowman meeting, all-time best coach and all. But then I've had Nicklas Lidstrom hold the door for me on my wedding day, so we'll call it even...

Dynasty BuildingThe Dream and The Reality

Thanks to Four Habs Fans attack on mediocre reporters, blogs and hockey management, I was lucky enough to fall onto this quote from Pierre Boivin:

"Today, if you recruit and operate well, are well-managed and well-coached, and have strong fan support, there's no reason you can't have a team that's going to contend ... forever."

Is this PR at its very finest, or what?

I'll tell you what Pierre, although it sounds nice, your notion that good management is enough to contend forever is a falsehood through and through. Ask the Ottawa Senators or the New jersey Devils fans if they believe that tripe. Both those teams are very well managed and both face the inevitable fall due to the cyclical nature of NHL player development. New Jersey are a goaltender retirement away from being the Islanders and Ottawa are a goaltender meltdown away from the pinnacle they reached.


The cycle of success

The cycle of success in the NHL is dependent on two very important and unchangeable facts (at least for the time being):

1) Players get older, and apart from Chelios can't play forever
2) The worst teams get first choice from the 10 sure shot young players coming through

It would be a mistake to think otherwise.

Now, I anticipate hearing a heck of a lot about Detroit in the case that anyone decides to respond. Probably because they represent the singular example of a team that has succeeded consistently over the past 15 years. I will cut that argument off at the pass.

While I truly believe Detroit has done a nice job at maintaining a contender over the years, it must not be overlooked that over the years they largely did so with sending power, money and some of the highest free agent offers in the history of the league.

No one would withhold that Detroit signed free agents more intelligently than did their peers in the overspending club (Philly, Toronto and NYR), but spend they did. History will show that Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Brendan Shanahan, Dominik Hasek and Chris Chelios all helped the Red Wings bridge the period when youngsters Datsyuk and Zetterberg were not yet ready to carry the team and Steve Yzerman was probably no longer up to hauling 20 guys on his back anymore.

We didn't notice the Wings cycle here because they buffered it with pure spending. Sure, it was good management, but a bit looser on the purse strings in Montreal and we could have seen the same. Take away the free agents and I don't think Detroit walks away with a Stanley Cup at all between 1999 and 2004.


Detroit's latest trick

Times have changed a lot in the New NHL, and Detroit can no longer rely on their pull to make teams of any 35 year-olds they choose. As far as I can glean, there is really only one trick to help a team overstay its time at the top: get your stars signed under their market value. This has been Detroit's latest boon.

In the world of salary cap hockey, Zetterberg at under $3 million a year seems like cheating. Even Datsyuk making less than both Mike and Brad Richards is a major coup.
If and when Zetterberg and Datsyuk actually ask to be paid what they're worth, even mighty Detroit will have troubles. But, for the time being their generosity has allowed Detroit to indulge in the Rafalskis and Hossas (both the premier signings of their respective years) of this league.

The problem is, and where I think Boivin's theory falls apart is that all players will eventually want a nice big nest egg to finish off their days of earning a living before fishing and golf happily ever after. Even the modest Zetterberg is rumoured to want his worth ($7 million +), the same goes for their young defence and forwards. Hoping to replace Filppula or Holmstrom from within is optimistic, Zetterberg and Datsyuk - improbable.


Our cycle of success

Our time at the top seems to be well orchestrated, probably because it happened just when Gainey said it should. But I'll remember that though we won the conference, we only made the playoffs by 12 points and owe that first place to Ray Emery as much as anyone. This year is a truer test actually, because the players groomed to take us to the top are actually coming of age now (Andrei K, Plekanec, Markov, Higgins, Komisarek, and Price to an extent). This year is really the beginning of what should be our peaking and time in the top tier. It makes the best of administrators very optimistic indeed.

Montreal owes a lot of its current flexibility to sensible signings and players looking like bargains at the end of the year. The bargain group is topped by Plekanec and Higgins, but also includes Andrei Kostitsyn, Komisarek and even Kovalev. Having these players locked in at reasonable numbers has allowed the flexibility to retool with Hamrlik, Lang and Tanguay. But as we all know the honeymoon only lasts so long, and some of these guys will want to be paid.

I believe that Montreal will do their best to make hay this year. But I hope the team can see beyond Boivin's hype because who really knows how long the sun will be shining on Montreal.

Magnetogorsk Millions: The Rise of a Rival League

Funny thing timing. As we wrap up the Canadiens reviews this week, we are coming to a very important trio of Russian/Belarussian players at the core of the Canadiens recent and future success. Simultaneously, the very real possibility of a significant drop in Russian talent is growing.

Back in May, we spoke about the lack of transfer agreement and how it could harm the NHL in terms of reduced influx of Russian talent. Now, we are seeing real competition for established NHL talent, Russian or not.

This has been coming for some time.

The Russian league, in its old guise as the Super League, was the one league that was poised and ready for the last NHL work stoppage. Players by the busload went to play throughout Russia in 2004-05. AK Bars Kazan from that year iced Lecavalier, Richards, Kovalchuk, Heatley, Kozlov and Kovalev in what (barring a reversal in the salary cap) will likely be the best top two lines ever to be seen again. The European Champions of that year, Avangard Omsk, got it done with star Russians and one Jaromir Jagr. While the Russian champions were thankful to have Datsyuk and Afinogeniv back in the fold to help Ovechkin win the title.

A lot has happened in the NHL since that season.

For one thing, there is a salary cap, which limits the buying power of the biggest teams so outfits in non-traditional (to be polite) hockey markets can bear the weight of competition. For another, the NHL has grown wealthier and, as a result, more arrogant. The arrogance can be witnessed in the league's dealings with and declarations about rival leagues like the new KHL (Continental Hockey League) and national associations in Europe, and in quote like this:

"We don't view them as a threat," (Bill Daly) said. "We still believe the best hockey players in the world will continue to want to play in the NHL."

But, it's a dangerous line the NHL is walking. While it probably garners many laughs and guffaws to mock the KHL and the players who make their way there, the truth is the KHL is poaching real talent now. Jagr, for one, was still a scoring star in the league, which is still largely starved of players of his skill and stature. Ray Emery, for all his problems and jokes about him, would be the best goaltending talent on more than a dozen NHL teams (Mike Smith?). And, Alexander Radulov was one of the only half decent things going on in Nashville (an otherwise flailing operation), as far as the NHL was concerned. Add to this list the players that will never come to the NHL (because of the new aversion to drafting Russians), but would outplay the vast majority of second-line talent in the league in a Moscow minute, and the argument builds.

Something else a lot of North Americans need to understand when it comes to the threat of the KHL is that we are not looking at league vs. league here. Of course it is true that the NHL is still the biggest and most powerful hockey league in the world, and will probably remain that way for the forseeable future. However, the biggest 30 hockey clubs in the world are not those in NHL cities alone. Avangard Omsk, owned by Chelsea billionaire Roman Abramovich, could only be dwarfed in buying power by Detroit, Toronto, NYR and the very biggest NHL clubs. Omsk, along with AK Bars Kazan, Moscow Dynamo and a few others are far bigger clubs than Nashville, Atlanta, Florida and the like. In addition, consider that the power structure of the leagues will also be altered, inevitably, by the players which they are able to draw in. The Russian powerhouses are big players and deserve the respect of the NHL.

Ultimately, its my feeling that if the NHL lets the Omsks and Kazans to "wedge" their proverbial feet in the door, the league could be facing wide open movement in the not too distant future. This article from the Sporting News provides an excellent thesis on why this could be the case.


What for the future with Russia?

Unless the NHL comes out from behind its arrogance and makes sincere efforts to negotiate with the KHL as a peer, the losses of players like Jagr could conceivably continue.

Even if the only problem to come from a lack of treaty is the loss of fresh Russian talent to the league, the NHL would suffer. It only takes a glance at the NHL award winners and nominees from this season to understand the important role that Russia has played in changing the face of the North American league:

– Ovechkin walked away with the Maurice Richard trophy, and was only challenged for the Art Ross, Pearson and the Hart trophy by his fellow Russian, Evgeni Malkin

– Pavel Datsyuk won the Selke trophy and the Lady Byng, not to mention the Stanley Cup

– Nabokov didn't win the Vezina, but could have (he was on the first all-star team)

– Kovalev joined Ovechkin, Malkin, Nabokov as the Russians on the first or second all-star teams

– No Russian defenceman garnered Norris nominations or All-Star nods, but we know Markov is better than Brian Campbell, and I imagine people in Dallas know Zubov is too

– 3 of the top 5 scorers were Russians, 5 of the top 11

– 3 of the top 4 goalscorers were Russians


Is it an anomaly that so many Russians are leading the way in scoring in the NHL? Perhaps, but since they have been coming into the league, we have already witnessed players like Pavel Bure, Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Mogilny. I think this new crop is a continuation from those traditions. And, with a flourishing league of their own, there is no good reason to believe that the tradition of Russian hockey talent won't continue

I believe the NHL should make efforts to come to some agreement with the KHL and the Russian Association, primarily because I don't relish a future NHL without Russians. I can't imagine going backwards to a time without exciting (and sometimes enigmatic) Russians. Even this year, if you took Russians out of the mix, a league trying to reinvent itself as a scoring bonanza would be left with Brad Boyes and his 43 goals as the number 3 attraction. It seems the North American skaters are simply not as creative at beating the North American goalies and defencemen (who consequently are the best). What's more, if the NHL stood by its 30-team model in the absence of Russian talent, the days of free-flowing scoring hockey will be over sooner than they began.


And for Europe?

The Russian league and Russian gulf also provide problems for the NHL as a precedent for other European leagues to follow. I've heard on pretty good authority that the next strongest league and association (Sweden) is watching this Russian situation the closest, and will be making their plan of attack for the NHL based on that experience. The Czechs are already disgruntled. And, the Swiss have the money and the momentum to make waves too.

Whereas the efflux of Russians from the league would be a major step backwards, the loss of Europeans of all nationalities would be catastrophic.


Leadership

In times of flux, it helps ton have good leaders to take the helm. It remains to be seen as to whether Bettman can handle this crisis. But, frankly, why should it be his responsibility. If there were a leader among the NHL owners with an ounce of foresight, this moment could have been headed off ages ago. It remains their interests under threat (albeit their employee Bettman is the point-man), and it is their leadership and creativity that needs to be tapped to find a solution.

I have proposed on a number of occasions that one team could realistically set transfer conditions in a treaty-free market independently of all the others, and I see no reason why this could not be pursued. I have also made no secret that I would like this team to be the Canadiens. But, for the ultimate success of the league and the quality of NHL hockey, it wouldn't matter who stepped up. Once one did, the others may follow.


For all the conjecture and ranting, the situation is still within the control of the NHL. All it will take is a little bit of modesty and sincere effort. If not, this won't be the last article written on this topic. They don't call it the thin end of a wedge for nothing...