After considering the many appeals I get through email and comments, I have decided that LIW will be coming out of Game Report retirement and pitching in with our thoughts on the upcoming playoff games.
In addition, we have a few ideas about how to provide greater statisfaction for those who love the deeper analysis that the NHL game summary just can't provide. So stay tuned...
Showing posts with label Lions in Winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lions in Winter. Show all posts
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
A New Header For LiW
We've heard it before and we're hearing it again, the readers are speaking and telling us that our "classic" PPT made header from the mid part of last decade is starting to look out of date.
On the suggestion of the readers, we are beginning a redesign. On the suggestion of Tobalev, we are opening the floor to creative parties among the readership who have better talents than us for this sort of design.
On the suggestion of the readers, we are beginning a redesign. On the suggestion of Tobalev, we are opening the floor to creative parties among the readership who have better talents than us for this sort of design.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Lions in Winter Game Coverage
After running this site for nearly 6 years, the time has come to make some choices.
I've recently told you about decisions I've taken to continue the site, and alluded to the changes this would require. Because we're all grown up now, the posters at this site have responsibilities that weren't a problem in other seasons. But we adapt.
I've recently told you about decisions I've taken to continue the site, and alluded to the changes this would require. Because we're all grown up now, the posters at this site have responsibilities that weren't a problem in other seasons. But we adapt.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Lions in Winter Back on Blogspot
Hello everyone.
Those of you that have been looking for Habs news may have noticed that one of our urls here at Lions in Winter (.ca) brings you to a dead page.
Without getting into too much detail about it, between myself and the Score (with whom ties were cut more than a year ago now), we have ended up with a situation where we own the domain but have not got it hosted and unlocked and all that stuff I don't really understand that well. That's the bad news.
The good news is that Lions in Winter is not dead, it is merely back to its old home on blogger, where its always been anyway with some redirection to obscure that for a while.
Those of you that have been looking for Habs news may have noticed that one of our urls here at Lions in Winter (.ca) brings you to a dead page.
Without getting into too much detail about it, between myself and the Score (with whom ties were cut more than a year ago now), we have ended up with a situation where we own the domain but have not got it hosted and unlocked and all that stuff I don't really understand that well. That's the bad news.
The good news is that Lions in Winter is not dead, it is merely back to its old home on blogger, where its always been anyway with some redirection to obscure that for a while.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
The New Lion in Winter
Another season, another year dear readers.
Like the Habs, Lions in Winter has changed a lot since the spring of 2007. No more posts about Kovalev (well not daily ones anyway), less arguments about goalies. Like the Habs, LIW needs to keep refreshing its lineup to keep up with the demands of new seasons.
Over the summer, with the site ticking over, we got to thinking about how we could manage to cover the Canadiens in the way that loyal readers have come to expect (and enjoy?). I feel that in blogging as with hockey, a veteran will find most success in admitting to the changes that are happening (where’d that speed go?), develop the skills that remain more fully and find those to help fill the skill gap. The veteran bloggers here all have increasing demands on time as we progress to different stages of life and the hours that were once spent developing ideas for posts seem fewer and farther between. As you know, we added the unforgiving and insightful views of Ian Vitro last season, but the task, even for three still looked daunting.
And so the decision. Allow the blog to follow the inevitable path of change or do something about it. We all decided to do something about it.
It sounded easy enough.
With that the LIW scouting department opened up a search for the elusive power blogger. Someone with strong writing, insight and enough energy to mesh tightly with some gritty veterans. It was during this search that I started following one of the new up-and-comers onto the Habs blogging scene – Big T on the Habs.
After reading a lot of sense from June on, I knew I had found the prospect LIW was after when his late July rendering on the Josh Gorges situation came online. It was at once an answer to those who brayed about the stinginess of the contract and a thoughtful compliment to Gorges. If this contract had gone to arbitration, this was the case you’d have wanted to present.
After getting over the panicky feeling that I needed to contact him that day, lest lose the chance to collaborate to another site’s GM, I consulted with the LIW braintrust. From there, the wheels were set in motion and an agreement to collaborate between Big T and LIW was reached.
At LIW we are very excited at the prospect of the new season with a new team. I am certain that all you readers will thoroughly enjoy the chance to get into the head of Big T.
Without further ado, I give you Big T. I asked him a few questions to help get you acquainted. I also recommend reading his back-catalogue at Big T on the Habs:
Why are you a Habs fan?
I've always believed that unless you're guided to cheer for a certain team, you usually end up cheering for the team that wins the first game you watch. The first game I watched on TV that I really remembered ended in a 3-3 tie between our beloved Habs and yes, the enemy Boston Bruins and I'll surprise you by saying that for almost a full year, I cheered for both the Bruins and Habs almost equally. I was too young to understand the rivalry or its history and didn't realize that cheering for both Adams division rivals couldn't be maintained long-term.
Needless to say, I realized my grave error in judgment and quickly understood just how much hatred one can have for those that wear the black and YELLOW (yes, I said yellow not gold). I now hate the Bruins more than any of our rivals (including the Leafs whose futility over the last decade has helped them slip to a close second).
What makes you want to blog about the Habs?
Amongst my friends I was always the one with a more analytical mindset and more often than not the voice of reason during heated debates regarding our beloved Habs. I've always enjoyed writing and when my profession took me away from that and shifted me more towards numbers, I figured writing a blog would be the perfect outlet to share my thoughts with the easily excitable but extremely astute Habs fans.
So join me in welcoming our newest teammate and your newest debating partner. You can look forward to some new pieces from him the next few days.
Like the Habs, Lions in Winter has changed a lot since the spring of 2007. No more posts about Kovalev (well not daily ones anyway), less arguments about goalies. Like the Habs, LIW needs to keep refreshing its lineup to keep up with the demands of new seasons.
Over the summer, with the site ticking over, we got to thinking about how we could manage to cover the Canadiens in the way that loyal readers have come to expect (and enjoy?). I feel that in blogging as with hockey, a veteran will find most success in admitting to the changes that are happening (where’d that speed go?), develop the skills that remain more fully and find those to help fill the skill gap. The veteran bloggers here all have increasing demands on time as we progress to different stages of life and the hours that were once spent developing ideas for posts seem fewer and farther between. As you know, we added the unforgiving and insightful views of Ian Vitro last season, but the task, even for three still looked daunting.
And so the decision. Allow the blog to follow the inevitable path of change or do something about it. We all decided to do something about it.
It sounded easy enough.
With that the LIW scouting department opened up a search for the elusive power blogger. Someone with strong writing, insight and enough energy to mesh tightly with some gritty veterans. It was during this search that I started following one of the new up-and-comers onto the Habs blogging scene – Big T on the Habs.
After reading a lot of sense from June on, I knew I had found the prospect LIW was after when his late July rendering on the Josh Gorges situation came online. It was at once an answer to those who brayed about the stinginess of the contract and a thoughtful compliment to Gorges. If this contract had gone to arbitration, this was the case you’d have wanted to present.
After getting over the panicky feeling that I needed to contact him that day, lest lose the chance to collaborate to another site’s GM, I consulted with the LIW braintrust. From there, the wheels were set in motion and an agreement to collaborate between Big T and LIW was reached.
At LIW we are very excited at the prospect of the new season with a new team. I am certain that all you readers will thoroughly enjoy the chance to get into the head of Big T.
Without further ado, I give you Big T. I asked him a few questions to help get you acquainted. I also recommend reading his back-catalogue at Big T on the Habs:
Why are you a Habs fan?
I've always believed that unless you're guided to cheer for a certain team, you usually end up cheering for the team that wins the first game you watch. The first game I watched on TV that I really remembered ended in a 3-3 tie between our beloved Habs and yes, the enemy Boston Bruins and I'll surprise you by saying that for almost a full year, I cheered for both the Bruins and Habs almost equally. I was too young to understand the rivalry or its history and didn't realize that cheering for both Adams division rivals couldn't be maintained long-term.
Needless to say, I realized my grave error in judgment and quickly understood just how much hatred one can have for those that wear the black and YELLOW (yes, I said yellow not gold). I now hate the Bruins more than any of our rivals (including the Leafs whose futility over the last decade has helped them slip to a close second).
What makes you want to blog about the Habs?
Amongst my friends I was always the one with a more analytical mindset and more often than not the voice of reason during heated debates regarding our beloved Habs. I've always enjoyed writing and when my profession took me away from that and shifted me more towards numbers, I figured writing a blog would be the perfect outlet to share my thoughts with the easily excitable but extremely astute Habs fans.
So join me in welcoming our newest teammate and your newest debating partner. You can look forward to some new pieces from him the next few days.
Monday, March 07, 2011
New Point of View
It's really only well after you've create a monster like Lions in Winter that you begin to realise the appetite the site has for time, energy and original ideas.
To help fill these demands and to help the site thrive, we've been lucky enough to add a new contributor: Ian Vitro.
Ian Vitro is a long-time reader and frequent commenter for this site, both on- and offline:
His opinions are strong and well-founded, just the way we like them. We think that together this now three-headed blog will continue to generate new ideas and views to challenge the mainstream and stimulate the always vigorous discussion.
Expect his first piece today.
To help fill these demands and to help the site thrive, we've been lucky enough to add a new contributor: Ian Vitro.
Ian Vitro is a long-time reader and frequent commenter for this site, both on- and offline:
Born and raised over the Ontario border, a father from Montreal instilled good values - like a great love for hockey in general and the Habs in particular. Old enough to have fond memories of our last Cup run, but young enough to have had to fight to stay up and watch the games in LA. Likes the Habs and malt whisky; hates just about everything else.
His opinions are strong and well-founded, just the way we like them. We think that together this now three-headed blog will continue to generate new ideas and views to challenge the mainstream and stimulate the always vigorous discussion.
Expect his first piece today.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
MLX Skates: LIW's Review
A few weeks ago I received my brand-new MLX Skates. For those of you who don’t know, MLX (Mario LemieuX) is newish on the skate scene. To get their word out they asked that we here at LIW test and review their skates in exchange for a free pair that would be ours to keep. The task fell to me as Topham decided that I was in greater need of a skate upgrade (and maybe because he is ready to admit that I am the better skater?).
So, what are they like? How do they fit? Do they feel better or worse than other skates that I have used? I am going to try an answer these questions and am going to give an honest, unbiased opinion as that is what MLX, and the readers, want.
Check out the Skates here.
It all started when two days after taking my order the skates arrived at my door. Anxious to try them out, they were in the oven within another couple of days. No, I wasn’t baking them for fun, but instead was getting them ready to mold. That’s right, you can mold them yourself, whenever you want, in your very own oven. I made sure that I followed all of the instructions for customizing my skates as detailed in a series of videos on MLX’s website.
After the baking, came the molding and subsequent foot massage (hot skates on your feet are a very nice feeling). Unfortunately it was at that point that I realized that the insoles were too small. Had they shrunk in the baking or were they too small to begin with? Since I didn’t even put my foot in until that point I would think I was simply sent the wrong pair. So, I waited another two days, but it was another quick delivery from a company that was really easy to get a hold of and order from.
Back to square one, then, and this time it was a success. I could feel the skates form to my feet and I was excited to get onto the ice.
I have now played four games with the skates and have noticed a little difference each time. The first time I wore them they hurt one foot (which they claim on their site is normal) and I wasn’t sure about them. That, of course, happens with most new skates, boots or shoes so I wasn’t about to write them off just yet. The next three games seemed to go better and better to the point that I really felt that these were better than any skate that I had previously used. So, I’ll tell you why I think that and then it can be up to you if you are interested in this skate for yourselves
Learn all about MLX and their Skates at their website – mlxskates.com
First off: the fit. I felt that the molding was effective and the ability to do this at home meant that I could tweak them whenever I wanted. I haven’t had to change anything, but as long as we’re not in the middle of cooking something in the oven it is a quick process. I did notice that the boot was quite low as compared with other hockey skates. I didn’t, however, feel that this caused a lack of protection. My shin guard may no longer overlap the boot, but with the hardness of the boot itself I wasn’t worried about that anymore.
Things that I noticed when skating was that I was leaning forward more. This is because the chassis is actually built up higher at the heel than at the toe; more so than on other skates. I felt that this helped to keep me ‘on my toes’ more throughout the games. The lower boot allowed my ankle to achieve a full range of motion. The replaceable and very flexible tendon guard (a nice feature as a broken one no longer warrants the purchase of a new pair of skates), and the fact that there are maybe two less eyelets than on a regular boot meant that I could really get a full range of motion out of my foot. I felt that this helped with my speed, acceleration and turning as I had more motion than I was used to.
After a few games I noticed a few more things that seemed better than they had been on my old skates. First, the hard boot really gives me more confidence to step in front of a shot. They are moldable, yes, but are very rigid when they aren’t heated up. I also found that this provided more stability while I skated and seemed to help me make tighter turns. It is also night and day when it comes to the weight of these skates versus my old ones. Not that I ever had trouble lifting my old skates up off the ice, but at the end of a long shift it is nice to know that you are carrying a little less weight.
Another great feature is that you can adjust the location of the chassis on the boot which essentially can change your blade angle and position. I haven’t played with this feature nearly enough, but it is nice to know that I can customize that on my own as we all know there are many different types of skaters out there. This, of course, helps each skater to get the most out of him or herself. When you think about the new technologies that they are using in sports like speed-skating, running and swimming I can honestly say that this is a very important step for hockey skates and it is about time.
These skates are certainly high-end skates, of that there is no doubt, but if you are looking to go for something in the higher-end these might be worth a shot. I haven’t noticed that I am a better player than before, but I do notice little things improving and anytime you can do that you know that you are headed in the right direction. I am very happy to have been able to try these skates and look forward to many more years of good hockey on them.
Interested in new high-end Skates? Try MLX Skates.
So, what are they like? How do they fit? Do they feel better or worse than other skates that I have used? I am going to try an answer these questions and am going to give an honest, unbiased opinion as that is what MLX, and the readers, want.
Check out the Skates here.
It all started when two days after taking my order the skates arrived at my door. Anxious to try them out, they were in the oven within another couple of days. No, I wasn’t baking them for fun, but instead was getting them ready to mold. That’s right, you can mold them yourself, whenever you want, in your very own oven. I made sure that I followed all of the instructions for customizing my skates as detailed in a series of videos on MLX’s website.
After the baking, came the molding and subsequent foot massage (hot skates on your feet are a very nice feeling). Unfortunately it was at that point that I realized that the insoles were too small. Had they shrunk in the baking or were they too small to begin with? Since I didn’t even put my foot in until that point I would think I was simply sent the wrong pair. So, I waited another two days, but it was another quick delivery from a company that was really easy to get a hold of and order from.
Back to square one, then, and this time it was a success. I could feel the skates form to my feet and I was excited to get onto the ice.
I have now played four games with the skates and have noticed a little difference each time. The first time I wore them they hurt one foot (which they claim on their site is normal) and I wasn’t sure about them. That, of course, happens with most new skates, boots or shoes so I wasn’t about to write them off just yet. The next three games seemed to go better and better to the point that I really felt that these were better than any skate that I had previously used. So, I’ll tell you why I think that and then it can be up to you if you are interested in this skate for yourselves
Learn all about MLX and their Skates at their website – mlxskates.com
First off: the fit. I felt that the molding was effective and the ability to do this at home meant that I could tweak them whenever I wanted. I haven’t had to change anything, but as long as we’re not in the middle of cooking something in the oven it is a quick process. I did notice that the boot was quite low as compared with other hockey skates. I didn’t, however, feel that this caused a lack of protection. My shin guard may no longer overlap the boot, but with the hardness of the boot itself I wasn’t worried about that anymore.
Things that I noticed when skating was that I was leaning forward more. This is because the chassis is actually built up higher at the heel than at the toe; more so than on other skates. I felt that this helped to keep me ‘on my toes’ more throughout the games. The lower boot allowed my ankle to achieve a full range of motion. The replaceable and very flexible tendon guard (a nice feature as a broken one no longer warrants the purchase of a new pair of skates), and the fact that there are maybe two less eyelets than on a regular boot meant that I could really get a full range of motion out of my foot. I felt that this helped with my speed, acceleration and turning as I had more motion than I was used to.
After a few games I noticed a few more things that seemed better than they had been on my old skates. First, the hard boot really gives me more confidence to step in front of a shot. They are moldable, yes, but are very rigid when they aren’t heated up. I also found that this provided more stability while I skated and seemed to help me make tighter turns. It is also night and day when it comes to the weight of these skates versus my old ones. Not that I ever had trouble lifting my old skates up off the ice, but at the end of a long shift it is nice to know that you are carrying a little less weight.
Another great feature is that you can adjust the location of the chassis on the boot which essentially can change your blade angle and position. I haven’t played with this feature nearly enough, but it is nice to know that I can customize that on my own as we all know there are many different types of skaters out there. This, of course, helps each skater to get the most out of him or herself. When you think about the new technologies that they are using in sports like speed-skating, running and swimming I can honestly say that this is a very important step for hockey skates and it is about time.
These skates are certainly high-end skates, of that there is no doubt, but if you are looking to go for something in the higher-end these might be worth a shot. I haven’t noticed that I am a better player than before, but I do notice little things improving and anytime you can do that you know that you are headed in the right direction. I am very happy to have been able to try these skates and look forward to many more years of good hockey on them.
Interested in new high-end Skates? Try MLX Skates.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Game #14
Montreal Gets Hallowe'en Scare Against League's Worst
Details
Date: 31/10/09
Opponent: Maple Leafs
Location: Montreal
Win: 5-4 (SO)
Habs Goalie: Halak (W)
Opposition Goalie: Toskala (L)
Habs goalscorers: Metropolit, Latendresse, Gill, Hamrlik, (Cammalleri, Gomez - SO)
Opposition goalscorers: Ponikarovsky (2), Stempniak, Kaberle
Play of the game
The play of the game comes in two installments tonight, but both were very similar. I am so pleased about these plays as it not only was a great demonstration of our skill, but was also an example of just how weak a team Toronto is and of how inadequate Toskala is - it was great! The plays that I am referring to are obviously the to shootout goals scored by Cammalleri and Gomez. Both players came in with speed, stickhandled just a bit and then put hard and accurate shots up and over Toskala's non-existent glove hand. It was comical to see how bad he was with his glove and great to see that we knew how to expose it.
Dome hockey team
The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the domeForwards
Tomas Plekanec
I think that it is pretty safe to say that, once again, Pleks was probably one of our best forwards tonight if not the best. His assault on last year's assist total of 19 continues as he is now more than halfway there (10). His 2 points last night give him 13 in 14 games and he is actually playing better than his numbers would suggest as well. He was great against Toronto and seems so at ease in his role on the team this year.
Mike Cammalleri
It is hard to believe that Mike didn't pick up a point in this one because he was absolutely everywhere. He was instrumental in Ha Gill's goal, but thanks to the NHL's way of assigning points he didn't collect one. He also scored a great goal in the shootout, but again this isn't recognized by the league. What the league will record is the fact that he led the team in shots (6) (and, although not noted, he likely led in quality chances too), led the game in takeaways (3) and played for nearly 20 minutes.
Glen Metropolit
Glen's good play continued against Toronto and this time he was rewarded with a goal. Call it a gift from Toskala (it was horrible technique) or call it whatever you want, but a goal is a goal. The main thing is that he tried the shot from a horrible angle and, by knowing his opponent and his weaknesses, it turned out very well. As his solid play continues he'll likely continue to see increased PP time (3+ minutes - more than 10 times more than Kostitsyn), higher than average ice-time (17+ minutes) and, hopefully, he'll be valuable at face-offs (he was 71% in this game).
Defencemen
Roman Hamrlik - Game Puck
Roman is certainly getting the job done this year and, I think, that last night he was at his best. Just by looking at his numbers it will help to paint the picture. 1 Goal, 27+ minutes, 4 shots, 4 hits (team-high), 3 blocked-shots and a +1 rating. Martin is using him in all situations and actually used him more than any other player in this one. By playing nearly half of the game he gives the Habs a very good chance (during that half at least) of outplaying the opponents. Both defensively and offensively I am really liking what I am seeing.
Paul Mara
Paul was able to outplay Gorges and Spacek in this one (Gill and Bergeron are givens) as he really did a good job defensively. He was very strong in one-on-one situations and did well in his battles along the boards. I never saw a major mistake and liked how he never over-commited by taking himself out of position (Komisarek's presence makes you thankful when your own D-men don't stray too far from developing plays for stat purposes). He didn't get a point and wasn't on the ice for any of the 8 goals. That type of neutral hockey, however, is quite alright with me; especially when it lasts 20+ minutes.
Goaltender
Jaroslav Halak
Is Halak our starter now? Has he earned #1 status? I really think it is hard to say and I am pretty sure that Martin and Gainey couldn't answer that now, but, you know what? Who cares. The bottom line is that Jaro is finding ways to win games. Maybe his opponents haven't been the cream of the league, but he is making sure that, as a team, we are winning the games that we should be. To me that alone is enough justification for the increase in playing time. I wasn't too impressed with his play during the game(4 goals on 30 shots), but some were lucky on the Leafs front. His play, however, in the shootout was what impressed me. He made two big saves on the only two shots he faced and, thus, gave the Leafs no chance at all of winning this game.
Comments
So, all in all, it was the week that I expected; 4 points and no wins (or points) against the tougher competition of the week. I am pretty happy that we beat Toronto and I'm not even that worried that it happened in OT that I doubt 45 or 46 points on the year for the Leafs will matter to us much. Atlanta, Boston and Tampa Bay is the week that we have ahead of us and I think this is a good chance to get some extra points. I am going to set the expectations high at 4 points as I think it is time we get on a real roll here and about time that we get moving up these standings.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Canadiens Trade Deadline Catch-all
This is a temporary post to serve as a kind of menu bar for you all. I'll post links to trade deadline related articles here.
UFA Dump (March 4, 2009)
Deadline Day Fun (March 4, 2009)
Montreal Canadiens Deadline Profile (March 3, 2009)
Top 6 Deefenceman? Target Sydor (March 2, 2009)
Trader Bob (March 2, 2009)
Every Local Boy's Dream (February 27, 2009)
Gainey's Hands Tied? (February 17, 2009)
Lecavalier Talks Sense (January 15, 2009)
Oh, and let's not forget there's a game to win tonight. Hockey, that's what we do, right?
UFA Dump (March 4, 2009)
Deadline Day Fun (March 4, 2009)
Montreal Canadiens Deadline Profile (March 3, 2009)
Top 6 Deefenceman? Target Sydor (March 2, 2009)
Trader Bob (March 2, 2009)
Every Local Boy's Dream (February 27, 2009)
Gainey's Hands Tied? (February 17, 2009)
Lecavalier Talks Sense (January 15, 2009)
Oh, and let's not forget there's a game to win tonight. Hockey, that's what we do, right?
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
41-Game Reviews All Round
Having checked Google Analytics recently, I could see not many of the readers were reading the top post, but not the second. I don't want to flog a dead horse: if you don't want to read it, that's fine. However, this post is my moving it up to sit at the top of the page again:
Midway Evaluations: The Habs And Their Half Seasons
And instead of simply moving the initial post, I thought the keenest among you might also want to look at someone else's opinion on this matter – to remember why you visit this site (or why this site isn't your only stop of the day).
When you commit to a player grade as you do when you write one of these things, reading other posts stirs up all kinds of emotions and arguments. So forgive me for posting these, but to me they were fun to read: ranging from light, fun and informative to downright polar opposite at times.
First up: RDS's Gaston Therrien
No marks here, just a fairly innocuous take on the season so far. The players he chooses to highlight: Lapierre (predictably), as well as Kostopoulos and Brisebois (huh?) are interesting...
Next: Arpon Basu at the Daily Hab-it
Actually makes the effort to list every player, and even commits to some hard-line opinions of his. Clearly we don't like the same players or brand of hockey, but LIW admires his conviction.
Third: Fred at En Route Pour La Coupe
We discussed his Tanguay rank before. His rankings are thorough and thoughtful.
Finally: Habsworld season averages of weekly marks and Habsworld Report Cards
For a site with such a great URL, you might expect a little better. The averages by their own legend mean we are a team of stars who under-perform with some good players who play at expectation. Every player on the team seems to range from 7.0-7.75. What's more, Guillaume Latendresse is the highest ranked forward – that kinda speaks for itself really...
Their report cards are not of a much higher standard. The article rightly gives the Canadiens as a team an A, but then gives a single player an A+ (Gorges), and a few As (Tanguay among the top of the class again – for those who use stats as cheat sheets). Hamrlik gets the second lowest mark on defence, behind Brisebois, Bouillon and even Dandenault!
It's a shame they don't post comments as there'd be some doozies there for sure...
Anyway, great first half. Even us fans must be congratulated for being rather more mature about winning this year. Here's to an even better end to the campaign.
Midway Evaluations: The Habs And Their Half Seasons
And instead of simply moving the initial post, I thought the keenest among you might also want to look at someone else's opinion on this matter – to remember why you visit this site (or why this site isn't your only stop of the day).
When you commit to a player grade as you do when you write one of these things, reading other posts stirs up all kinds of emotions and arguments. So forgive me for posting these, but to me they were fun to read: ranging from light, fun and informative to downright polar opposite at times.
First up: RDS's Gaston Therrien
No marks here, just a fairly innocuous take on the season so far. The players he chooses to highlight: Lapierre (predictably), as well as Kostopoulos and Brisebois (huh?) are interesting...
Next: Arpon Basu at the Daily Hab-it
Actually makes the effort to list every player, and even commits to some hard-line opinions of his. Clearly we don't like the same players or brand of hockey, but LIW admires his conviction.
Third: Fred at En Route Pour La Coupe
We discussed his Tanguay rank before. His rankings are thorough and thoughtful.
Finally: Habsworld season averages of weekly marks and Habsworld Report Cards
For a site with such a great URL, you might expect a little better. The averages by their own legend mean we are a team of stars who under-perform with some good players who play at expectation. Every player on the team seems to range from 7.0-7.75. What's more, Guillaume Latendresse is the highest ranked forward – that kinda speaks for itself really...
Their report cards are not of a much higher standard. The article rightly gives the Canadiens as a team an A, but then gives a single player an A+ (Gorges), and a few As (Tanguay among the top of the class again – for those who use stats as cheat sheets). Hamrlik gets the second lowest mark on defence, behind Brisebois, Bouillon and even Dandenault!
It's a shame they don't post comments as there'd be some doozies there for sure...
Anyway, great first half. Even us fans must be congratulated for being rather more mature about winning this year. Here's to an even better end to the campaign.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Score Sports Federation
The Press Release
Score Sports Federation
The Press Release
Some news about the blog from the Score. Habs stuff to come following the game.
Score Media Inc. Lauches theScore.com Sports Federation
Launch of network directs fans to the most influential blogs in sports
TORONTO, Nov. 20, 2008 – Score Media Inc. (TSX: SCR) today announced the launch of theScore.com Sports Federation, a network of independent sports websites that empowers fans with a compelling voice to reach a larger audience with the support of a national multi-platform sports network. The Score has selected some of the most influential blogs in sports to be a part of this initiative that puts the hardcore fan front and centre. Score Media is also pleased to announce Bacardi Canada as the official launch partner of the blog network.
Member sites include:
* Down Goes Brown (Toronto Maple Leafs blog) – http://www.downgoesbrown.com
* Canucks Hockey Blog (Vancouver Canucks blog) – http://www.canuckshockeyblog.com
* Five Hole Fanatics (Calgary Flames blog) – http://www.fiveholefanatics.ca
* Sens Chirp (Ottawa Senators blog) – http://www.senschirp.ca
* Black Dog Hates Skunks (Edmonton Oilers blog) – http://www.blackdoghatesskunks.com
* Lions in Winter (Montreal Canadiens blog) – http://www.lionsinwinter.ca
* Fantasy Hockey Scouts (fantasy hockey blog) – http://www.fantasyhockeyscouts.com
* Drunk Jays Fans (Toronto Blue Jays blog) – http://www.drunkjaysfans.com
* Ghostrunner on First (Toronto Blue Jays blog) – http://www.ghostrunneronfirst.com
* RaptorBlog.com (Toronto Raptors blog) – http://www.raptorblog.com
* Dino Nation Blog (Toronto Raptors blog) – http://www.dinonationblog.com
* The CIS Blog (Canadian Interuniversity Sports blog) – http://www.cisblog.ca
Managed by RaptorBlog.com publisher Scott Carefoot, theScore.com Sports Federation gives readers an in-depth look at sports from the true experts themselves, hardcore fans. With a goal of empowering bloggers with the opportunity to have their voice heard by a national audience, the Federation is the first sports-focused network in Canada.
“When I started RaptorBlog.com in 2002, most people didn’t know what a blog was,” says Scott Carefoot, Business Development Manager, Digital Media, Score Media Inc. “With theScore.com Sports Federation, we’re acknowledging the growing influence sports blogs have in reaching people who want an unfiltered medium to express their views and interact with other diehard fans.”
Now taking the lead at bringing a network of blogs to hardcore fans, The Score is helping to generate increased awareness of these influential blogs.
“Our goal with this network is to empower the most compelling, well-informed and entertaining independent voices in sports commentary,” says Jonathan Savage, Vice President, Digital Media, Score Media Inc. “In leading this charge, we are maintaining our focus on being the destination for the hardcore sports fan while giving the sports community a broader medium in which to be heard.”
ABOUT SCORE MEDIA INC.
Score Media is a media company committed to delivering interactive and authentic sports entertainment. Created in 1997 in response to the growing desire for increased participation in the consumption of sports, the Company has now established itself as the home for hardcore sports fans. Score Media’s primary asset, The Score Television Network ("The Score"), is a national specialty television service providing sports news, information, highlights and live event programming in more than 6.4 million homes across Canada. Score Media also operates Hardcore Sports Radio, a satellite radio network available across North America on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and other interactive assets including theScore.com, Score Mobile, and Score Poker. Growing from a team of 60 in 1997 to over 220 employees in 2008, Score Media is a revolutionizing interactive media company.
Score Media Inc. Lauches theScore.com Sports Federation
Launch of network directs fans to the most influential blogs in sports
TORONTO, Nov. 20, 2008 – Score Media Inc. (TSX: SCR) today announced the launch of theScore.com Sports Federation, a network of independent sports websites that empowers fans with a compelling voice to reach a larger audience with the support of a national multi-platform sports network. The Score has selected some of the most influential blogs in sports to be a part of this initiative that puts the hardcore fan front and centre. Score Media is also pleased to announce Bacardi Canada as the official launch partner of the blog network.
Member sites include:
* Down Goes Brown (Toronto Maple Leafs blog) – http://www.downgoesbrown.com
* Canucks Hockey Blog (Vancouver Canucks blog) – http://www.canuckshockeyblog.com
* Five Hole Fanatics (Calgary Flames blog) – http://www.fiveholefanatics.ca
* Sens Chirp (Ottawa Senators blog) – http://www.senschirp.ca
* Black Dog Hates Skunks (Edmonton Oilers blog) – http://www.blackdoghatesskunks.com
* Lions in Winter (Montreal Canadiens blog) – http://www.lionsinwinter.ca
* Fantasy Hockey Scouts (fantasy hockey blog) – http://www.fantasyhockeyscouts.com
* Drunk Jays Fans (Toronto Blue Jays blog) – http://www.drunkjaysfans.com
* Ghostrunner on First (Toronto Blue Jays blog) – http://www.ghostrunneronfirst.com
* RaptorBlog.com (Toronto Raptors blog) – http://www.raptorblog.com
* Dino Nation Blog (Toronto Raptors blog) – http://www.dinonationblog.com
* The CIS Blog (Canadian Interuniversity Sports blog) – http://www.cisblog.ca
Managed by RaptorBlog.com publisher Scott Carefoot, theScore.com Sports Federation gives readers an in-depth look at sports from the true experts themselves, hardcore fans. With a goal of empowering bloggers with the opportunity to have their voice heard by a national audience, the Federation is the first sports-focused network in Canada.
“When I started RaptorBlog.com in 2002, most people didn’t know what a blog was,” says Scott Carefoot, Business Development Manager, Digital Media, Score Media Inc. “With theScore.com Sports Federation, we’re acknowledging the growing influence sports blogs have in reaching people who want an unfiltered medium to express their views and interact with other diehard fans.”
Now taking the lead at bringing a network of blogs to hardcore fans, The Score is helping to generate increased awareness of these influential blogs.
“Our goal with this network is to empower the most compelling, well-informed and entertaining independent voices in sports commentary,” says Jonathan Savage, Vice President, Digital Media, Score Media Inc. “In leading this charge, we are maintaining our focus on being the destination for the hardcore sports fan while giving the sports community a broader medium in which to be heard.”
ABOUT SCORE MEDIA INC.
Score Media is a media company committed to delivering interactive and authentic sports entertainment. Created in 1997 in response to the growing desire for increased participation in the consumption of sports, the Company has now established itself as the home for hardcore sports fans. Score Media’s primary asset, The Score Television Network ("The Score"), is a national specialty television service providing sports news, information, highlights and live event programming in more than 6.4 million homes across Canada. Score Media also operates Hardcore Sports Radio, a satellite radio network available across North America on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and other interactive assets including theScore.com, Score Mobile, and Score Poker. Growing from a team of 60 in 1997 to over 220 employees in 2008, Score Media is a revolutionizing interactive media company.
In The Federation
Lions In Winter News
In The Federation
Lions In Winter News
Some of you will have noticed some aesthetic changes to the site over the past couple of days. The changes come because Lions In Winter has been drafted into a Federation of blogs with representation from all Canadian major sport franchises (and one CIS football site).
In terms of benefits, this means more exposure for Tobalev, myself and our views and a new and natural source of rivalry across different blogs. I can assure you, our loyal readers, that Lions In Winter signed into a federation the early leaders of Quebec would be proud of. Our autonomy, aside from the aforementioned banners and an editorial code (that is no stricter than our own guidelines), is 100% maintained. Editorial decisions will be ours. Views will be ours. And, unfortunately, control of the look and feel of the site (though I am learning) will still be ours too.
We've also moved to a new URL (www.lionsinwinter.ca), but as you know having accessed the site, the old URL (www.lionsinwinter.blogspot.com) is still functional and redirects you to the new one. So update your bookmarks, readers if you want. But for now, you can go on using the old address as well.
In the spirit of federation, I encourage you all to go and visit the other blogs in the Federation form time to time. First up can be Sens Chirp ahead of tonight's game. For subsequent games (and any time you feel like it) you can find a list of blogs in the Score Sports Federation bar at the top of the page.
Tobalev and I look at this as a good opportunity for the blog.
It's also an opportunity for you the readers (who we think are some of the most knowledgeable ad articulate around) to expand the tentacles of Canadiens fandom beyond the borders of Quebec – Rupert's Land beckons...
In terms of benefits, this means more exposure for Tobalev, myself and our views and a new and natural source of rivalry across different blogs. I can assure you, our loyal readers, that Lions In Winter signed into a federation the early leaders of Quebec would be proud of. Our autonomy, aside from the aforementioned banners and an editorial code (that is no stricter than our own guidelines), is 100% maintained. Editorial decisions will be ours. Views will be ours. And, unfortunately, control of the look and feel of the site (though I am learning) will still be ours too.
We've also moved to a new URL (www.lionsinwinter.ca), but as you know having accessed the site, the old URL (www.lionsinwinter.blogspot.com) is still functional and redirects you to the new one. So update your bookmarks, readers if you want. But for now, you can go on using the old address as well.
In the spirit of federation, I encourage you all to go and visit the other blogs in the Federation form time to time. First up can be Sens Chirp ahead of tonight's game. For subsequent games (and any time you feel like it) you can find a list of blogs in the Score Sports Federation bar at the top of the page.
Tobalev and I look at this as a good opportunity for the blog.
It's also an opportunity for you the readers (who we think are some of the most knowledgeable ad articulate around) to expand the tentacles of Canadiens fandom beyond the borders of Quebec – Rupert's Land beckons...
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Hockey Season Never Ends
Though Tobalev and I have been taking sometime to catch our breath (read sulk), don't count us out until October.
First of all, there's the World Champs with Habs involvement, the playoffs, post-season analysis (to what depth I'm not sure yet) and all the good stuff that happens in the off season.
I won't promise a post a day, as the playoffs have been hard, but look for a few opinions on the Habs, hockey and associated topics in the months to come.
Thanks to all of you for reading our stuff. We're flattered by some of the comments and happy that you choose to look beyond the traditional media's narrow view with us here at LIW.
See you sooner rather than later.
GHG.
First of all, there's the World Champs with Habs involvement, the playoffs, post-season analysis (to what depth I'm not sure yet) and all the good stuff that happens in the off season.
I won't promise a post a day, as the playoffs have been hard, but look for a few opinions on the Habs, hockey and associated topics in the months to come.
Thanks to all of you for reading our stuff. We're flattered by some of the comments and happy that you choose to look beyond the traditional media's narrow view with us here at LIW.
See you sooner rather than later.
GHG.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Was Briere Right?
Since the response from the readers hasn't been overwhelming and the response from the Habs has been downright underwhelming, I am foregoing the review of opposition players. Time to focus our positive energy on the team we want to receive it...
Nearly 10 months ago, when the Flyers were the worst team in the NHL and the Canadiens might as well have been, Daniel Briere stuck a knife in the back of all Montreal fans.
No, it wasn't his signing with Philadelphia - that probably ended up being a big favour to us - but it's what he claimed his reasoning was:
"The Philadedelphia Flyers give me a better chance at winning the Stanley Cup."
Following three games of evidence collected, although still a bit premature, I want to ask: Was he right?
The answer is not simple.
Our outrage at first must surely have been fueled by our fear that what Briere said may be true. But, at the same time, we all watch hockey and we know the Flyers don't have any Kostitsyns, any goaltending prospects and were for the most part the same team that managed the least regular season points in recent memory.
The answer is complex, but it shouldn't be, and wouldn't be, but for strange thinking among hockey people.
The complexity of the answer stems from the fact the NHL, and many of its influential touts, are intent on playing two distinct types of hockey in two distinct seasons.
Witness last night's game. Habs fan frustration towards the officials in this game does not originate from a perceived imbalance of calls on the night (we couldn't care less about that). It comes out of a recognition that a large number of tactics and plays that are being allowed to pass in these in these playoffs (including last night) would have been called during the 82-game part of the quest for the Stanley Cup.
Personally, I feel this "playoff hockey" officiating is to the ultimate detriment of the sport of hockey. While it allows jobbing teams like the Bruins and Flyers a chance to compete in the spring, it totally throws other teams, who've grown and built success over months, completely off course. It forces those teams, perhaps not built entirely around the use of size, force and loose interpretation of the rules, to play more tentatively. It forces them to relegate the game that won them their success to the sidelines while scrambling to stay in step with their sparring partner. The changes are sometimes even very tangible as players who contributed substantially to success are benched in favour of "playoff veterans".
Just last night, Tobalev and I were talking about how poorly O'Byrne played. Tobalev said: "Everyone knows you can't play a rookie defenceman in the playoffs. Amazingly, washed-up veterans are just what you need on D in the playoffs."
My feeling is that O'Byrne is out of step because he has not learned how to "cheat" yet, that is to play playoff hockey and get away with it. So, even though he's been better than Jason Smith over the season, he looks far worse after nights like last night. This would also be the reason for the futile decision to play Streit up front, I suspect.
A classic case of the regular season/playoff dichotomy were the Ottawa Senators of the early century (or early noughties, as they call them in England). Now that the Senators reign may be coming to an end, I would ask whether the league is happy that a team like Ottawa, an expansion success story and one-time model for how to build lasting success, never really had a shout at the Stanley Cup.
Sure, they made the final last year, but that was only after they had traded their former identity in Hossa and Havlat away to make more room for playoff heroes like Fisher and Neil. "Optimising" their line-up for playoff battles and Don Cherry did not even take them far enough. Ultimately, they came up short against a team that with the notable exceptions of Selanne, McDonald and Niedermayr were brought in to force a Stanley Cup shaped-peg into a square-shaped hole in Anaheim.
As Habs fans, perhaps we look at Ottawa and smirk and even have a chuckle about the pretenders we pretend they are. We shouldn't.
The Canadiens are a team being built in the image of Ottawa from that period. Our brain trust now was their brain trust then. We are trying to emulate the system of perpetual talent coming through, largely through outperforming competitors at European and US scouting. When we enjoy our decade of reward as Ottawa did, will we end up looking for Chris Neils to replace our Kostitsyns? I hope not.
However, after watching the games the past few nights, I feel that if the NHL does nothing to improve the consistency of its officiating (specifically from regular season to playoffs), then we are stuck. They will be encouraging us and other teams to play down to the level of playoff battlers, instead of striving to be exciting and positive like the Canadiens of this year and the Senators of this past decade.
I fear we may be in for comfortable 7-month stretches, followed by quite uncomfortable 1-month stretches – like the one we are experiencing now. The Canadiens will be forced to play a game they were not grafted in for. Sergei Kostitsyn will be hitting Hatchers instead of exposing his weak skating. Kovalev will be retaliating for hits instead of instigating highlight reel plays.
So was Briere right? If Daniel had said the Flyers gave him a better chance at making the playoffs, he would have been wrong. But, if these games (like the last 9 for us) continue, he may be closer to the truth than we initially thought.
For the record, I still think Briere is way off. The Canadiens have it in them to beat this team and then one or two more as well. Plus, he probably never thought about his statement like we have, I'd say anything for 10 million a year (and to get a grumpy wife off my back) too...
Nearly 10 months ago, when the Flyers were the worst team in the NHL and the Canadiens might as well have been, Daniel Briere stuck a knife in the back of all Montreal fans.
No, it wasn't his signing with Philadelphia - that probably ended up being a big favour to us - but it's what he claimed his reasoning was:
"The Philadedelphia Flyers give me a better chance at winning the Stanley Cup."
Following three games of evidence collected, although still a bit premature, I want to ask: Was he right?
The answer is not simple.
Our outrage at first must surely have been fueled by our fear that what Briere said may be true. But, at the same time, we all watch hockey and we know the Flyers don't have any Kostitsyns, any goaltending prospects and were for the most part the same team that managed the least regular season points in recent memory.
The answer is complex, but it shouldn't be, and wouldn't be, but for strange thinking among hockey people.
The complexity of the answer stems from the fact the NHL, and many of its influential touts, are intent on playing two distinct types of hockey in two distinct seasons.
Witness last night's game. Habs fan frustration towards the officials in this game does not originate from a perceived imbalance of calls on the night (we couldn't care less about that). It comes out of a recognition that a large number of tactics and plays that are being allowed to pass in these in these playoffs (including last night) would have been called during the 82-game part of the quest for the Stanley Cup.
Personally, I feel this "playoff hockey" officiating is to the ultimate detriment of the sport of hockey. While it allows jobbing teams like the Bruins and Flyers a chance to compete in the spring, it totally throws other teams, who've grown and built success over months, completely off course. It forces those teams, perhaps not built entirely around the use of size, force and loose interpretation of the rules, to play more tentatively. It forces them to relegate the game that won them their success to the sidelines while scrambling to stay in step with their sparring partner. The changes are sometimes even very tangible as players who contributed substantially to success are benched in favour of "playoff veterans".
Just last night, Tobalev and I were talking about how poorly O'Byrne played. Tobalev said: "Everyone knows you can't play a rookie defenceman in the playoffs. Amazingly, washed-up veterans are just what you need on D in the playoffs."
My feeling is that O'Byrne is out of step because he has not learned how to "cheat" yet, that is to play playoff hockey and get away with it. So, even though he's been better than Jason Smith over the season, he looks far worse after nights like last night. This would also be the reason for the futile decision to play Streit up front, I suspect.
A classic case of the regular season/playoff dichotomy were the Ottawa Senators of the early century (or early noughties, as they call them in England). Now that the Senators reign may be coming to an end, I would ask whether the league is happy that a team like Ottawa, an expansion success story and one-time model for how to build lasting success, never really had a shout at the Stanley Cup.
Sure, they made the final last year, but that was only after they had traded their former identity in Hossa and Havlat away to make more room for playoff heroes like Fisher and Neil. "Optimising" their line-up for playoff battles and Don Cherry did not even take them far enough. Ultimately, they came up short against a team that with the notable exceptions of Selanne, McDonald and Niedermayr were brought in to force a Stanley Cup shaped-peg into a square-shaped hole in Anaheim.
As Habs fans, perhaps we look at Ottawa and smirk and even have a chuckle about the pretenders we pretend they are. We shouldn't.
The Canadiens are a team being built in the image of Ottawa from that period. Our brain trust now was their brain trust then. We are trying to emulate the system of perpetual talent coming through, largely through outperforming competitors at European and US scouting. When we enjoy our decade of reward as Ottawa did, will we end up looking for Chris Neils to replace our Kostitsyns? I hope not.
However, after watching the games the past few nights, I feel that if the NHL does nothing to improve the consistency of its officiating (specifically from regular season to playoffs), then we are stuck. They will be encouraging us and other teams to play down to the level of playoff battlers, instead of striving to be exciting and positive like the Canadiens of this year and the Senators of this past decade.
I fear we may be in for comfortable 7-month stretches, followed by quite uncomfortable 1-month stretches – like the one we are experiencing now. The Canadiens will be forced to play a game they were not grafted in for. Sergei Kostitsyn will be hitting Hatchers instead of exposing his weak skating. Kovalev will be retaliating for hits instead of instigating highlight reel plays.
So was Briere right? If Daniel had said the Flyers gave him a better chance at making the playoffs, he would have been wrong. But, if these games (like the last 9 for us) continue, he may be closer to the truth than we initially thought.
For the record, I still think Briere is way off. The Canadiens have it in them to beat this team and then one or two more as well. Plus, he probably never thought about his statement like we have, I'd say anything for 10 million a year (and to get a grumpy wife off my back) too...
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Game #31 S. Kostitsyn Debuts in Habs Win
Game #31 S. Kostitsyn Debuts in Habs Win
The Canadiens Game in Review
Date: Thursday December 13th, 2007
Opponent: Philadelphia Flyers
Venue: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA
Team Stripes
Final Score: 4-1 - Win
Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Antero Niittymaki(L)
Habs goalscorers: Christopher Higgins, Andrei Kostitsyn, Mark Streit (2)
Opposition goalscorers: Mike Knuble
2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...
1st NHL Game for Sergei Kostitsyn
1st Multiple Goal Game for Streit this season
1st Point of the season for Lapierre
Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...
Higgins' goal and Streit's second were both scored on the power-play and were both more or less the same. If I had to choose the nicer of the two I would go with Streit's only because on Higgins' Markov's pass didn't seem to be intentional towards him.
With the game locked at 2-0 and every Habs fan out there doubting that we could hold a lead, we did the unthinkable - added a third goal. Plekanec's line was working well on the power-play and this play was a perfect example of the chemistry between them. Tomas was working in the slot when he fed the puck down low to Kovalev in the corner on the goal line. Without stopping the puck at all Alex made a one-time pass right into the slot at the same that Streit was arriving from the point. Mark took the pass well and deflected the puck between Niittymaki's legs to stretch our lead to 3 goals.
Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...
Mark Streit
The good thing about having Streit playing forward, as opposed to Dandenault, is that not only is Streit a good hockey player, but he is also a pretty good forward. It seems whenever given the chance up front he makes the most of it, which I must admit isn't the best approach if he hopes to get back on to the blue-line! His 2 goals looked like goal-scorers goals and couldn't have come at a better time.
Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...
Forwards
Mark Streit
- I still think of him as a defenceman, but seeing as he spent most of the game up front I can justify him getting into the dome as a forward. He brought a lot of speed to his line tonight and gave the Habs a varied attack. We had 3 lines going well tonight thanks in large part to Mark
Christopher Higgins
- He scored a good goal, his 13th, and came ever so close to adding a second in the 3rd period; ringing it off the far-side post. His line looked sharper tonight, probably due to the fact that Sergei Kostitsyn is not our 8th defenceman
Saku Koivu
- Played his best game in the past few weeks. He looked very good on Higgins' goal as he worked the half-boards very effectively to open up a hole for Markov. Won 14 of 19 faceoffs, had a very good assist, played over 19 minutes and had an all around great game
Defencemen
Andrei Markov
- His offence was good tonight, both at even-strength and on the power-play. It was, however, his defence that made him a standout tonight - he was a physical force and gave the slow Flyer forwards absolutely no options to get around him
Mike Komisarek
- Mike played a great game. A younger Komisarek would have got sucked in to the Flyer's usual game of stupidity, but a cooler head prevailed and the Habs were (and are) better for it. Until the start of this year I thought we just had a young D in the mold of Souray or Rivet, but as each game goes by I see he is now, to every Habs fan's delight, growing in the mold of Markov
Goaltender
Carey Price
-A good solid game from Carey, his best in a long time. He looked calm, but also handled the puck with care; which are both very much to my liking. Made a lot of key saves and didn't let in any weak ones. With goaltending like this, from either Price, Halak or Huet, the Habs will have a chance to win each and every game - much like at the beginning of the year
Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...
Alex only logged 16 minutes tonight which makes me think he may still be affected by the wrist injury he picked up on Tuesday. His pass to Streit was fantastic and came at a very crucial time for the team. He didn't see much PK time this game, but was still effective in his own end. On the PP he, along with Kostitsyn (Andrei) and Plekanec, set the tone early on in the 1st and the team never looked back. At his best Alex will draw 1-2 penalties a game which he did tonight - to me that becomes just as valuable as getting points.
Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good
Overall Comments
This was a game where it was obvious there was a serious difference in speed between the two teams. The Habs are indeed a fast team and tonight they showed it. Sometimes we get into the habit of playing down to our opponents level, but tonight that wasn't the case. The Flyers are a slow (especially on defence) team and don't have the depth that some people seem to think they have. The Habs started this game on the right foot and kept the momentum going in their favour for the entire 60 minutes. This game, like all of late, was a must-win of sorts and thankfully we took the 2 points - now back to the unfriendly confines of the Bell Centre.
The refs tonight proved me very right yet again after going over 35 minutes almost proving me wrong. Through the first 35 minutes the Habs had not taken (or been issued) a penalty and had climbed to a 4-0 lead. The Habs during this time had enjoyed 4 separate PP chances of their own. Realizing that this doesn't follow the league's script the refs went to work to assure that the scoresheet would show their employers that they know how to follow policy. The Habs were quickly awarded a make-believe 2 minutes and it seemed to continue from there. The home team, Philly in this case, who was down, got exactly what the doctor ordered - 12 minutes of PP time (some of which was cancelled out for various reasons), a 5 on 3 chance and immunity for the balance of the game. The end result was 12 minutes for each side showing that no matter how dirty one team may play or how clean the other team may play, it will always even out in the end. Every team, like in baseball, will get the same amount of chances. I am just happy that on this night our PK and Price were up to the challenge.
A very interesting stat that I worked on after the game is one that came as absolutely no surprise to me. As you know Brisebois sat out tonight because he was 'injured'. Ha. Apart from maybe having sore wrists from firing too many tape-to-tape passes to the opposition I doubt he is hurt at all. I was excited that he wasn't playing as I believe that his absence makes us a much better team, much better. So I looked at the stats because maybe I was way off, maybe he does help us win. Well some stats may not tell the whole picture, but these are hard to ignore. The Habs, through 31 games this year are 15-11-5 - 10-11-5 when Breezer plays, 5-0-0 when he doesn't. During the season we have scored 89 goals and let in the same amount. With Breezer in we are -10 (67-77) and when he doesn't play we are +10 (22-12 - in only 5 games). I hope that someone takes notice of these numbers as I don't think #43/71 has been taking enough, or any, of the blame. It is time to stop blaming our forwards for not scoring, to me the problem is obvious - one 'defenceman' ruining the progress of a very talented, young team.
Date: Thursday December 13th, 2007
Opponent: Philadelphia Flyers
Venue: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA
Team Stripes
Final Score: 4-1 - Win
Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Antero Niittymaki(L)
Habs goalscorers: Christopher Higgins, Andrei Kostitsyn, Mark Streit (2)
Opposition goalscorers: Mike Knuble
2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...
1st NHL Game for Sergei Kostitsyn
1st Multiple Goal Game for Streit this season
1st Point of the season for Lapierre
Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...
Higgins' goal and Streit's second were both scored on the power-play and were both more or less the same. If I had to choose the nicer of the two I would go with Streit's only because on Higgins' Markov's pass didn't seem to be intentional towards him.
With the game locked at 2-0 and every Habs fan out there doubting that we could hold a lead, we did the unthinkable - added a third goal. Plekanec's line was working well on the power-play and this play was a perfect example of the chemistry between them. Tomas was working in the slot when he fed the puck down low to Kovalev in the corner on the goal line. Without stopping the puck at all Alex made a one-time pass right into the slot at the same that Streit was arriving from the point. Mark took the pass well and deflected the puck between Niittymaki's legs to stretch our lead to 3 goals.
Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...
Mark Streit
The good thing about having Streit playing forward, as opposed to Dandenault, is that not only is Streit a good hockey player, but he is also a pretty good forward. It seems whenever given the chance up front he makes the most of it, which I must admit isn't the best approach if he hopes to get back on to the blue-line! His 2 goals looked like goal-scorers goals and couldn't have come at a better time.
Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...
Forwards
Mark Streit
- I still think of him as a defenceman, but seeing as he spent most of the game up front I can justify him getting into the dome as a forward. He brought a lot of speed to his line tonight and gave the Habs a varied attack. We had 3 lines going well tonight thanks in large part to Mark
Christopher Higgins
- He scored a good goal, his 13th, and came ever so close to adding a second in the 3rd period; ringing it off the far-side post. His line looked sharper tonight, probably due to the fact that Sergei Kostitsyn is not our 8th defenceman
Saku Koivu
- Played his best game in the past few weeks. He looked very good on Higgins' goal as he worked the half-boards very effectively to open up a hole for Markov. Won 14 of 19 faceoffs, had a very good assist, played over 19 minutes and had an all around great game
Defencemen
Andrei Markov
- His offence was good tonight, both at even-strength and on the power-play. It was, however, his defence that made him a standout tonight - he was a physical force and gave the slow Flyer forwards absolutely no options to get around him
Mike Komisarek
- Mike played a great game. A younger Komisarek would have got sucked in to the Flyer's usual game of stupidity, but a cooler head prevailed and the Habs were (and are) better for it. Until the start of this year I thought we just had a young D in the mold of Souray or Rivet, but as each game goes by I see he is now, to every Habs fan's delight, growing in the mold of Markov
Goaltender
Carey Price
-A good solid game from Carey, his best in a long time. He looked calm, but also handled the puck with care; which are both very much to my liking. Made a lot of key saves and didn't let in any weak ones. With goaltending like this, from either Price, Halak or Huet, the Habs will have a chance to win each and every game - much like at the beginning of the year
Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...
Alex only logged 16 minutes tonight which makes me think he may still be affected by the wrist injury he picked up on Tuesday. His pass to Streit was fantastic and came at a very crucial time for the team. He didn't see much PK time this game, but was still effective in his own end. On the PP he, along with Kostitsyn (Andrei) and Plekanec, set the tone early on in the 1st and the team never looked back. At his best Alex will draw 1-2 penalties a game which he did tonight - to me that becomes just as valuable as getting points.
Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good
Overall Comments
This was a game where it was obvious there was a serious difference in speed between the two teams. The Habs are indeed a fast team and tonight they showed it. Sometimes we get into the habit of playing down to our opponents level, but tonight that wasn't the case. The Flyers are a slow (especially on defence) team and don't have the depth that some people seem to think they have. The Habs started this game on the right foot and kept the momentum going in their favour for the entire 60 minutes. This game, like all of late, was a must-win of sorts and thankfully we took the 2 points - now back to the unfriendly confines of the Bell Centre.
The refs tonight proved me very right yet again after going over 35 minutes almost proving me wrong. Through the first 35 minutes the Habs had not taken (or been issued) a penalty and had climbed to a 4-0 lead. The Habs during this time had enjoyed 4 separate PP chances of their own. Realizing that this doesn't follow the league's script the refs went to work to assure that the scoresheet would show their employers that they know how to follow policy. The Habs were quickly awarded a make-believe 2 minutes and it seemed to continue from there. The home team, Philly in this case, who was down, got exactly what the doctor ordered - 12 minutes of PP time (some of which was cancelled out for various reasons), a 5 on 3 chance and immunity for the balance of the game. The end result was 12 minutes for each side showing that no matter how dirty one team may play or how clean the other team may play, it will always even out in the end. Every team, like in baseball, will get the same amount of chances. I am just happy that on this night our PK and Price were up to the challenge.
A very interesting stat that I worked on after the game is one that came as absolutely no surprise to me. As you know Brisebois sat out tonight because he was 'injured'. Ha. Apart from maybe having sore wrists from firing too many tape-to-tape passes to the opposition I doubt he is hurt at all. I was excited that he wasn't playing as I believe that his absence makes us a much better team, much better. So I looked at the stats because maybe I was way off, maybe he does help us win. Well some stats may not tell the whole picture, but these are hard to ignore. The Habs, through 31 games this year are 15-11-5 - 10-11-5 when Breezer plays, 5-0-0 when he doesn't. During the season we have scored 89 goals and let in the same amount. With Breezer in we are -10 (67-77) and when he doesn't play we are +10 (22-12 - in only 5 games). I hope that someone takes notice of these numbers as I don't think #43/71 has been taking enough, or any, of the blame. It is time to stop blaming our forwards for not scoring, to me the problem is obvious - one 'defenceman' ruining the progress of a very talented, young team.
Welcome to the hardcore Habs fan
Not really a hockey post, but something that I've been thinking about.
I've been watching the stats on this site lately and the numbers of readers have fallen since early October quite a bit. Worried, I started looking at other blogs. Comments were down, posts were dwindling.
So, I'm happy that we at Lions in Winter are being visited by so many truly hardcore Canadiens fans – the people who still care about the team through thick and thin – just like myself and Tobalev.
So thanks for coming. We'd love to hear more of your thoughts and suggestions, that is before the Habs go on a 10-game tear and fan numbers expand to bursting point again...
Go Habs Go.
I've been watching the stats on this site lately and the numbers of readers have fallen since early October quite a bit. Worried, I started looking at other blogs. Comments were down, posts were dwindling.
So, I'm happy that we at Lions in Winter are being visited by so many truly hardcore Canadiens fans – the people who still care about the team through thick and thin – just like myself and Tobalev.
So thanks for coming. We'd love to hear more of your thoughts and suggestions, that is before the Habs go on a 10-game tear and fan numbers expand to bursting point again...
Go Habs Go.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Game #19
The Canadiens Game in Review
Date: Saturday November 17th, 2007
Opponent: Boston Bruins
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Team Stripes
Final Score: 7-4 - Win
Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Tim Thomas (L)
Habs goalscorers: Saku Koivu, Tom Kostopoulos, Andrei Kostitsyn, Guillaume Latendresse, Roman Hamrlik, Mike Komisarek, Alexei Kovalev
Opposition goalscorers: Glen Murray (2), Zdeno Chara, Marco Sturm
2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...
1st 7+ Goal Game at the Bell Centre this year
1st 50+ Shot (52) Game for Habs this year (1st since 04/1/96)
1st Multiple Point Games of the year for Ryder, Chipchura
1st Game with 7 different goal-scorers
Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...
Our goals were nice and were there ever a lot of them. The amazing thing is Thomas made 45 saves; about 10 of those were very dangerous scoring chances, with another 3 ringing off the post. Boston has to consider themselves lucky to leave town with such a small margin of defeat - this could have been huge. Can you imagine over 10, over 15? It would have been incredible.
This game was all offence for the Habs, thus it makes the nature of the play of the game quite easy to choose - it will be a goal. The problem is, unlike last night, there are so many to choose from. The nicest goal of the game is going to the do-it-all defenceman, Roman Hamrlik. With the game stuck at 4-3 early in the third it was still anyone's game. The ref had his hand up to signal a delayed penalty. Most players and teams tend to just focus on getting an offensive-zone face-off in these situations, that is what going for a goal makes this such a great play. Hamrlik got the puck in front of the net and as he was being tripped (something that also should have been called as a penalty) gathered the puck and threw it at the net. It bounced in the net behind Thomas as Roman was lying flat on the ice. It was a spectacular goal for anyone; for a D-man it was great to see. Putting the Habs up 5-3 at that point was a huge boost for us, giving us a 2-goal lead for the first time of the night - we never looked back.
Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...
Michael Ryder
For a second night in a row Ryder gets the game puck. Tonight with 7 different goal-scorers and 12 different point-getters this could have been a really hard choice - Ryder made it an easy one. He was the offensive force of his line and of his team all night. He looked as dangerous tonight as he ever has which is good news for Koivu and Higgins. Like Kostitsyn has done with the second line, Ryder is now completing that top line, making it a real force. His play in the past few games has been phenomenal, it is great to watch. He didn't manage to score tonight, but it wasn't because of lack of effort. He had 13 shots, most of them quality chances. He did end the game with 2 assists and a +1 rating.
Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...
Forwards
Andrei Kostitsyn
- Showed his great speed tonight and moves that have earned him a new nickname: KJ (Kovalev Jr.). His goal came off a shot that we all knew he possessed, but it was still amazing to see. Great chemistry with Tomas and Alex all night
Michael Ryder
- Great play around Thomas all night, it was chance after chance. His line had 21 shots and he probably had a hand in at least 18 of those. It was just a fantastic single player effort, it made you realize the type of player he is, the type of player he always was
Saku Koivu
- Saku can thank Ryder tonight for getting the top line going again. Koivu, though, wasn't just along for the ride. If Ryder lead the charge it was Saku riding shotgun. A goal, an assist, +1, 4 shots and almost 18 minutes played. Our best centre tonight (and most nights) - effective in the face-off circle and in our own end too
Defencemen
Mark Streit
- We haven't heard much from our talented #4 D-Man for awhile. Tonight, however, he was promoted to the second pairing with Hamrlik and he didn't waste his chance. He got 2 assists and ended a +1, he also played over 20 minutes for the first time in a long time. Skates so well with and without the puck, was a force offensively all night and played his best defensive game in recent memory
Roman Hamrlik
- Roman had a great game in both ends in every aspect. He finished +3, a team best, and notched a goal and an assist. He has two people to thank for his strong game tonight - Streit for being a very capable partner and Carbo for giving him a rare chance to play with a very capable partner. I had said last night there were good things in the near future for #44 and he proved me right tonight, look for him to keep this going
Goaltender
Cristobal Huet
- Did Price play badly? Why isn't he in The Dome? Price's performance would not have been enough last night or on most nights for the Habs. He looked shaky all night, probably playing his worst game as a Hab. We can't blame the kid, every goalie will eventually have a bad game - his punishment: no Dome. The fact is Price let the Bruins stay in this game way too long. The scoreline should have been completely lopsided, but instead going into the third it was tied. Huet gets in tonight for the same reason Price did last night; he didn't give our team the chance to win a low-scoring affair. Tonight the offence bailed Carey out, last night Cristo wasn't so lucky. With Cristo back in The Dome tonight look for him back in between the pipes on Monday.
Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...
Alex missed out on The Dome tonight, but don't let that make you think he played badly. After a pretty ordinary game last night Alex was back to himself tonight and showed it as he and his line were threats all night. He scored his 10th of the season on a sweet top-shelf one-timer - keeping the dream for 40+ alive. I liked the way he was used tonight by Carbo, he was used in all situations. He, like last year, proved tonight to be one of our best penalty-killers. He may have been held to one point, but was a big reason our power-play did well tonight. He even threw a few hits and got a bit rough along the boards, it was a complete effort.
Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good
Overall Comments
After last night's game I think we were all hoping for a big win tonight. I was hoping for a win to ensure we didn't slide into a losing pattern, something we must avoid at all costs this year if we want to play beyond April. This was a fast paced game with a lot of end to end action. There were over 80 total shots fired on net so there was no lack of excitement. Boston is a team we have had success against over the past few seasons and it is important that we keep it that way as intra-division games become crucial in retrospect come game #82. I would say that we definitely delivered a Knock-Out punch to this Bruin squad and it will be interesting to see how they come back in the next few games after a 7-goal, 52-shot performance against them. Tonight marked the first time Tim Thomas has let in more than 3 goals all year which will surely hurt his impressive numbers (1.68, .950). The amazing thing for Thomas is that he has put up those numbers with a very sub-par team and defence in front of him. I know that people have said that this Habs-Bruins rivalry is dead, but I beg to differ. The game got very chippy at times making me quite anxious to see the Bruins again soon.
Tonight we had 7 different goal-scorers which is quite something after a night where we could only find the net once and where the Habs made me wonder if we would ever score another goal again. Of the 7 different goal-scorers 5 have names beginning with K (Koivu, Kovalev, Kostitsyn, Komisarek, Kostopoulos) witch must be some kind of NHL record in itself. It was also a game where we got back on the Power-Play, as the penalties were handed out in a big way (107 PIM total). I think that my theory got some very good supportive data tonight; we need to be on the PP to win, and since the refs like to call it all even, all the time (56-51 in PIM) then that means we must take penalties. We managed to score 3 power-play goals and another shorthanded, they scored 1 power-play goal - I like that ratio.
Our week ended quite well after all. With 2 road games, of 3, and two of those 3 being back-to-back I am quite happy with 4 points. If we continue to finish each week better than .500 then we will finish very high this year. Our next game will be a very special one for the Habs and for Larry Robinson. Larry is becoming the 13th (15th if you include Aurele Joliat and Elmer Lach - there is still much debate as to whether those ever happened) and only 3rd defenceman (Harvey, Savard) to have his Habs sweater retired. Hopefully the Canadiens will be able to find a way to win for Big Bird, but Ottawa will be a tough match. You always hate to face a team after a loss, especially a team like Ottawa who have not yet lost back-to-back and have only lost 3 all year, but thanks to our good friends in Toronto we will have to do just that. If anyone out there knows a thing or two about putting up some seasons with minimal losses it may be Robinson having helped the Habs to win or tie all but 30 games over a 3 year span (8, 10, 12 in the mid 70s). The one person in the building on Monday night who will be hoping for an Ottawa loss more than anyone else may just be Robinson himself who will be hoping that Ottawa starts losing a little more to keep some Canadien hockey lore in tact. I say for our sake and for Larry's let's finally get one over the Sens.
Date: Saturday November 17th, 2007
Opponent: Boston Bruins
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Team Stripes
Final Score: 7-4 - Win
Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Tim Thomas (L)
Habs goalscorers: Saku Koivu, Tom Kostopoulos, Andrei Kostitsyn, Guillaume Latendresse, Roman Hamrlik, Mike Komisarek, Alexei Kovalev
Opposition goalscorers: Glen Murray (2), Zdeno Chara, Marco Sturm
2007/08 first
There's a first time for everything, so they say. What they didn't tell you is that every game, something happens for the first time, you just have to look harder in March...
1st 7+ Goal Game at the Bell Centre this year
1st 50+ Shot (52) Game for Habs this year (1st since 04/1/96)
1st Multiple Point Games of the year for Ryder, Chipchura
1st Game with 7 different goal-scorers
Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...
Our goals were nice and were there ever a lot of them. The amazing thing is Thomas made 45 saves; about 10 of those were very dangerous scoring chances, with another 3 ringing off the post. Boston has to consider themselves lucky to leave town with such a small margin of defeat - this could have been huge. Can you imagine over 10, over 15? It would have been incredible.
This game was all offence for the Habs, thus it makes the nature of the play of the game quite easy to choose - it will be a goal. The problem is, unlike last night, there are so many to choose from. The nicest goal of the game is going to the do-it-all defenceman, Roman Hamrlik. With the game stuck at 4-3 early in the third it was still anyone's game. The ref had his hand up to signal a delayed penalty. Most players and teams tend to just focus on getting an offensive-zone face-off in these situations, that is what going for a goal makes this such a great play. Hamrlik got the puck in front of the net and as he was being tripped (something that also should have been called as a penalty) gathered the puck and threw it at the net. It bounced in the net behind Thomas as Roman was lying flat on the ice. It was a spectacular goal for anyone; for a D-man it was great to see. Putting the Habs up 5-3 at that point was a huge boost for us, giving us a 2-goal lead for the first time of the night - we never looked back.
Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...
Michael Ryder
For a second night in a row Ryder gets the game puck. Tonight with 7 different goal-scorers and 12 different point-getters this could have been a really hard choice - Ryder made it an easy one. He was the offensive force of his line and of his team all night. He looked as dangerous tonight as he ever has which is good news for Koivu and Higgins. Like Kostitsyn has done with the second line, Ryder is now completing that top line, making it a real force. His play in the past few games has been phenomenal, it is great to watch. He didn't manage to score tonight, but it wasn't because of lack of effort. He had 13 shots, most of them quality chances. He did end the game with 2 assists and a +1 rating.
Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...
Forwards
Andrei Kostitsyn
- Showed his great speed tonight and moves that have earned him a new nickname: KJ (Kovalev Jr.). His goal came off a shot that we all knew he possessed, but it was still amazing to see. Great chemistry with Tomas and Alex all night
Michael Ryder
- Great play around Thomas all night, it was chance after chance. His line had 21 shots and he probably had a hand in at least 18 of those. It was just a fantastic single player effort, it made you realize the type of player he is, the type of player he always was
Saku Koivu
- Saku can thank Ryder tonight for getting the top line going again. Koivu, though, wasn't just along for the ride. If Ryder lead the charge it was Saku riding shotgun. A goal, an assist, +1, 4 shots and almost 18 minutes played. Our best centre tonight (and most nights) - effective in the face-off circle and in our own end too
Defencemen
Mark Streit
- We haven't heard much from our talented #4 D-Man for awhile. Tonight, however, he was promoted to the second pairing with Hamrlik and he didn't waste his chance. He got 2 assists and ended a +1, he also played over 20 minutes for the first time in a long time. Skates so well with and without the puck, was a force offensively all night and played his best defensive game in recent memory
Roman Hamrlik
- Roman had a great game in both ends in every aspect. He finished +3, a team best, and notched a goal and an assist. He has two people to thank for his strong game tonight - Streit for being a very capable partner and Carbo for giving him a rare chance to play with a very capable partner. I had said last night there were good things in the near future for #44 and he proved me right tonight, look for him to keep this going
Goaltender
Cristobal Huet
- Did Price play badly? Why isn't he in The Dome? Price's performance would not have been enough last night or on most nights for the Habs. He looked shaky all night, probably playing his worst game as a Hab. We can't blame the kid, every goalie will eventually have a bad game - his punishment: no Dome. The fact is Price let the Bruins stay in this game way too long. The scoreline should have been completely lopsided, but instead going into the third it was tied. Huet gets in tonight for the same reason Price did last night; he didn't give our team the chance to win a low-scoring affair. Tonight the offence bailed Carey out, last night Cristo wasn't so lucky. With Cristo back in The Dome tonight look for him back in between the pipes on Monday.
Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...
Alex missed out on The Dome tonight, but don't let that make you think he played badly. After a pretty ordinary game last night Alex was back to himself tonight and showed it as he and his line were threats all night. He scored his 10th of the season on a sweet top-shelf one-timer - keeping the dream for 40+ alive. I liked the way he was used tonight by Carbo, he was used in all situations. He, like last year, proved tonight to be one of our best penalty-killers. He may have been held to one point, but was a big reason our power-play did well tonight. He even threw a few hits and got a bit rough along the boards, it was a complete effort.
Kovalev's Assessment - Very Good
Overall Comments
After last night's game I think we were all hoping for a big win tonight. I was hoping for a win to ensure we didn't slide into a losing pattern, something we must avoid at all costs this year if we want to play beyond April. This was a fast paced game with a lot of end to end action. There were over 80 total shots fired on net so there was no lack of excitement. Boston is a team we have had success against over the past few seasons and it is important that we keep it that way as intra-division games become crucial in retrospect come game #82. I would say that we definitely delivered a Knock-Out punch to this Bruin squad and it will be interesting to see how they come back in the next few games after a 7-goal, 52-shot performance against them. Tonight marked the first time Tim Thomas has let in more than 3 goals all year which will surely hurt his impressive numbers (1.68, .950). The amazing thing for Thomas is that he has put up those numbers with a very sub-par team and defence in front of him. I know that people have said that this Habs-Bruins rivalry is dead, but I beg to differ. The game got very chippy at times making me quite anxious to see the Bruins again soon.
Tonight we had 7 different goal-scorers which is quite something after a night where we could only find the net once and where the Habs made me wonder if we would ever score another goal again. Of the 7 different goal-scorers 5 have names beginning with K (Koivu, Kovalev, Kostitsyn, Komisarek, Kostopoulos) witch must be some kind of NHL record in itself. It was also a game where we got back on the Power-Play, as the penalties were handed out in a big way (107 PIM total). I think that my theory got some very good supportive data tonight; we need to be on the PP to win, and since the refs like to call it all even, all the time (56-51 in PIM) then that means we must take penalties. We managed to score 3 power-play goals and another shorthanded, they scored 1 power-play goal - I like that ratio.
Our week ended quite well after all. With 2 road games, of 3, and two of those 3 being back-to-back I am quite happy with 4 points. If we continue to finish each week better than .500 then we will finish very high this year. Our next game will be a very special one for the Habs and for Larry Robinson. Larry is becoming the 13th (15th if you include Aurele Joliat and Elmer Lach - there is still much debate as to whether those ever happened) and only 3rd defenceman (Harvey, Savard) to have his Habs sweater retired. Hopefully the Canadiens will be able to find a way to win for Big Bird, but Ottawa will be a tough match. You always hate to face a team after a loss, especially a team like Ottawa who have not yet lost back-to-back and have only lost 3 all year, but thanks to our good friends in Toronto we will have to do just that. If anyone out there knows a thing or two about putting up some seasons with minimal losses it may be Robinson having helped the Habs to win or tie all but 30 games over a 3 year span (8, 10, 12 in the mid 70s). The one person in the building on Monday night who will be hoping for an Ottawa loss more than anyone else may just be Robinson himself who will be hoping that Ottawa starts losing a little more to keep some Canadien hockey lore in tact. I say for our sake and for Larry's let's finally get one over the Sens.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Awaiting the revolution
You say you want a revolution, well...
I came to the topic of revolutions when I was browsing the battery of Habs websites on my daily list.
The first one: Dave Stubb's great piece on Paul Haynes, got me thinking about how playing a player on his off wing could have been a revolution in years gone by (see it doesn't necessarily take much). Then there were some other articles and posts here and there, which generally made me feel like everyone was pretty hunky dorey with the way things were going right at the moment (RDS, Mike Boone, this blogger)
I don't want a bloody revolution like Lenin's or Robespierre's. I want to imagine the possibility of change, without the casualties, more like say the internet revolution - a force of change so irresistible that it moves along of its own volition.
I don't think things are as bad as they've been for the Habs, but we're not "there" yet.
Where is "there"?
Well, I like to imagine it is possible for this team to go from battling for the playoffs every year (every other if I'm honest about it) to a team that wins the Cup 3 to 5 times in a ten-year span. A team fighting to maintain parity to fighting to form a dynasty. I want to watch a team that is light years ahead with their first Cup in many years and then works hard to stay in front.
Don't get me wrong an accidental Cup would be nice, but this is Montreal here.
We invent hockey, we invent 50 goalscorers, we invent draft day rip-offs, we invent playoff OT miracles, we invent the hockey dynasty.
NHL revolutions begin and end here. There's Richard; Geoffrion adopting the slapshot; Jacques Plante deciding to protect his mug; Patrick Roy playing the butterfly. And if another revolution comes along, we pooh-pooh it and win anyway, at least in time -think about Bobby Orr, Broadstreet Bullies or another team in Eastern Canada trying to be successful.
I don't know what the next revolution should be, and a good thing, since the frustration of knowing just what to do, and limited to yielding the power of this puny blog would drive me mad for certain. I just get upset with the complacency that creeps in every time we beat a hapless crew on a night in October. I also happen to know a non-revolutionary idea when I see one:
playing 7 defensemen, needlessly pursuing a goon, trading a veteran in March of his UFA year, listening to Don Cherry (eh, PJ?)...
Our team is good. It can beat any team most nights. But it still falls short of being able to beat every team most nights, most teams every night, or every team every night.
That's what you need if you start thinking like a revolutionary.
What if we started trading players as soon as they reach the height of their abilities (um, Theodore, Ribeiro maybe back when) for top returns. What if we started trading prospects we may see in 2 years for a ten year career for someone with a guaranteed value today for an 8-year stint. If done a few times over the course of one season might just turn the league on its head.
I'm not asking for Gainey and Carbonneau to go ahead and revolutionise everything by tomorrow, I merely ask that they think about being revolutionary sometimes.
I especially ask that the fans use a bit more imagination and expect something a little more revolutionary from this team - more revolutionary than benching every player who goes a game without a goal. Let's see some revolutionary ideas and be patient about their proper implementation, they just might work. And heck, they're a lot more entertaining to debate...
Once a week from now on, I'll try to come up with one revolutionary way in which I think the Habs could take steps become a dynasty again.
... don't you know it's gonna be. Alright.
I came to the topic of revolutions when I was browsing the battery of Habs websites on my daily list.
revolution
• noun 1 a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favour of a new system. 2 a dramatic and far-reaching change. 3 motion in orbit or in a circular course or round an axis or centre. 4 the single completion of an orbit or rotation.
The first one: Dave Stubb's great piece on Paul Haynes, got me thinking about how playing a player on his off wing could have been a revolution in years gone by (see it doesn't necessarily take much). Then there were some other articles and posts here and there, which generally made me feel like everyone was pretty hunky dorey with the way things were going right at the moment (RDS, Mike Boone, this blogger)
I don't want a bloody revolution like Lenin's or Robespierre's. I want to imagine the possibility of change, without the casualties, more like say the internet revolution - a force of change so irresistible that it moves along of its own volition.
I don't think things are as bad as they've been for the Habs, but we're not "there" yet.
Where is "there"?
Well, I like to imagine it is possible for this team to go from battling for the playoffs every year (every other if I'm honest about it) to a team that wins the Cup 3 to 5 times in a ten-year span. A team fighting to maintain parity to fighting to form a dynasty. I want to watch a team that is light years ahead with their first Cup in many years and then works hard to stay in front.
Don't get me wrong an accidental Cup would be nice, but this is Montreal here.
We invent hockey, we invent 50 goalscorers, we invent draft day rip-offs, we invent playoff OT miracles, we invent the hockey dynasty.
NHL revolutions begin and end here. There's Richard; Geoffrion adopting the slapshot; Jacques Plante deciding to protect his mug; Patrick Roy playing the butterfly. And if another revolution comes along, we pooh-pooh it and win anyway, at least in time -think about Bobby Orr, Broadstreet Bullies or another team in Eastern Canada trying to be successful.
I don't know what the next revolution should be, and a good thing, since the frustration of knowing just what to do, and limited to yielding the power of this puny blog would drive me mad for certain. I just get upset with the complacency that creeps in every time we beat a hapless crew on a night in October. I also happen to know a non-revolutionary idea when I see one:
playing 7 defensemen, needlessly pursuing a goon, trading a veteran in March of his UFA year, listening to Don Cherry (eh, PJ?)...
Our team is good. It can beat any team most nights. But it still falls short of being able to beat every team most nights, most teams every night, or every team every night.
That's what you need if you start thinking like a revolutionary.
What if we started trading players as soon as they reach the height of their abilities (um, Theodore, Ribeiro maybe back when) for top returns. What if we started trading prospects we may see in 2 years for a ten year career for someone with a guaranteed value today for an 8-year stint. If done a few times over the course of one season might just turn the league on its head.
I'm not asking for Gainey and Carbonneau to go ahead and revolutionise everything by tomorrow, I merely ask that they think about being revolutionary sometimes.
I especially ask that the fans use a bit more imagination and expect something a little more revolutionary from this team - more revolutionary than benching every player who goes a game without a goal. Let's see some revolutionary ideas and be patient about their proper implementation, they just might work. And heck, they're a lot more entertaining to debate...
Once a week from now on, I'll try to come up with one revolutionary way in which I think the Habs could take steps become a dynasty again.
... don't you know it's gonna be. Alright.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
We used to be Lions in Winter
The blog (and preceeding it book) title don't lie. The Canadiens used to be the Lions in Winter. The team from the 30s on played their way, be damned with what the opponents wanted to do...
Of course, it was never quite that simple, but the fact of the matter remains that coaches planned on ways to beat (or on many occasions just survive) the Habs and not the other way around. Like the lion, we did what we pleased, the other animals waited to see what we would do before acting. Like the lion, we ate well, growing fat on Stanley Cups.
This tradition of the Lion has definitely gone by the wayside, and I want to know if we'll ever be the one dictating the terms again, whether we'll ever be the Lions in Winter once more?
Take tonight's game in Pittsburgh:
Carbonneau is making changes:
Price for Huet – fair enough, I'd be surprised if Price played less than 1 in 3 over the season anyway, so he's due a game then
Gorges for Brisebois – a welcome change, probably correcting course for an earlier error in judgment
Chipchura for Grabovski – offensive flair out (even if yet to flourish, it's still potential), defensive responsibility in
It's this last change that irks me. I'm thrilled Chipchura is in. He should have made it from the get go. I'd be surprised if he doesn't grab his chance and stick from here. It's who he replaces that I take issue with: Grabovski.
I'll be the first to admit that Grabovski has looked a little bit stunned to be in the NHL, but apart from the fact he's not had enough time to get his legs, he still hasn't been our worst player. That player has been Latendresse, who could and maybe should have been put to the side for tonight's game.
But for me, I'd even be leaving Latendresse in there. I'd be taking out a defensive forward like Kostopoulos or heaven forbid Dandenault. No offense to either (no pun intended), but they just don't offer much more than back and forth hockey.
What's more, playing seven defensemen (even if one did manage to push in one of his 6 goals for the season the other night), is an admission of defeat. It is a symptom of negative thinking and overcautious instincts.
When you design a team strategy where forwards end up playing too much defense, you make it near impossible for your team to dictate the play. You may win a lot of games, you may sneak into a Stanley Cup final like the Flames did, but you'll only be scavengers, opportunists, jackals or hyenas. To win games on a consistent basis, and in ways that make your fans comfortable watching the last 10 minutes, you need to be a bit more ballsy. You need to dissect the weaknesses in the other team's defense and design attacks, relying on the defense that you inherently trust (by definition of your confident condition).
If I were coach and GM, here is what I would suggest to go for a victory against the Penguins:
Higgins – Koivu – Ryder (The first line we have confidence in)
Kostitsyn – Grabovski – Kovalev (Secondary scoring, and valuable learning for Grabovski)
Lapierre – Plekanec – Kostopoulos (Bringing back the league's best Crosby thorn)
Chipchura – Smolinski – Begin (Chipchura for D7)
Markov, Komisarek, Hamrlik, Gorges, Streit, Bouillon (the right 6)
Price (Getting a game in, regardless of the opponent)
In addition, I'd stick with Grabovski (on that line as well) for at least 2 months to give him a chance and I'd do away with the 7th defenseman experiment for good. I'd build the team to build and hold momentum by holding the puck and the play, not by relying on stealing it back.
I don't want to the Habs be anything less than the Lions of Winter – but it's gonna take some doing I think.
Of course, it was never quite that simple, but the fact of the matter remains that coaches planned on ways to beat (or on many occasions just survive) the Habs and not the other way around. Like the lion, we did what we pleased, the other animals waited to see what we would do before acting. Like the lion, we ate well, growing fat on Stanley Cups.
This tradition of the Lion has definitely gone by the wayside, and I want to know if we'll ever be the one dictating the terms again, whether we'll ever be the Lions in Winter once more?
Take tonight's game in Pittsburgh:
Carbonneau is making changes:
Price for Huet – fair enough, I'd be surprised if Price played less than 1 in 3 over the season anyway, so he's due a game then
Gorges for Brisebois – a welcome change, probably correcting course for an earlier error in judgment
Chipchura for Grabovski – offensive flair out (even if yet to flourish, it's still potential), defensive responsibility in
It's this last change that irks me. I'm thrilled Chipchura is in. He should have made it from the get go. I'd be surprised if he doesn't grab his chance and stick from here. It's who he replaces that I take issue with: Grabovski.
I'll be the first to admit that Grabovski has looked a little bit stunned to be in the NHL, but apart from the fact he's not had enough time to get his legs, he still hasn't been our worst player. That player has been Latendresse, who could and maybe should have been put to the side for tonight's game.
But for me, I'd even be leaving Latendresse in there. I'd be taking out a defensive forward like Kostopoulos or heaven forbid Dandenault. No offense to either (no pun intended), but they just don't offer much more than back and forth hockey.
What's more, playing seven defensemen (even if one did manage to push in one of his 6 goals for the season the other night), is an admission of defeat. It is a symptom of negative thinking and overcautious instincts.
When you design a team strategy where forwards end up playing too much defense, you make it near impossible for your team to dictate the play. You may win a lot of games, you may sneak into a Stanley Cup final like the Flames did, but you'll only be scavengers, opportunists, jackals or hyenas. To win games on a consistent basis, and in ways that make your fans comfortable watching the last 10 minutes, you need to be a bit more ballsy. You need to dissect the weaknesses in the other team's defense and design attacks, relying on the defense that you inherently trust (by definition of your confident condition).
If I were coach and GM, here is what I would suggest to go for a victory against the Penguins:
Higgins – Koivu – Ryder (The first line we have confidence in)
Kostitsyn – Grabovski – Kovalev (Secondary scoring, and valuable learning for Grabovski)
Lapierre – Plekanec – Kostopoulos (Bringing back the league's best Crosby thorn)
Chipchura – Smolinski – Begin (Chipchura for D7)
Markov, Komisarek, Hamrlik, Gorges, Streit, Bouillon (the right 6)
Price (Getting a game in, regardless of the opponent)
In addition, I'd stick with Grabovski (on that line as well) for at least 2 months to give him a chance and I'd do away with the 7th defenseman experiment for good. I'd build the team to build and hold momentum by holding the puck and the play, not by relying on stealing it back.
I don't want to the Habs be anything less than the Lions of Winter – but it's gonna take some doing I think.
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