Game #28 Habs Steal One From Jackets' Pocket

Details

Date: 6/12/2011
Opponent: Blue Jackets
Location: Montreal

Loss: 3-2 (SO)

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

Habs goalscorers: Kostitsyn, Gionta
Opposition goalscorers: Prospal, Umberger (Nash - SO)

Play of the game

We'd been lucky once already this game with a last-second goal in a listless first period, so hoping for a second while trailing late in the third seemed like it might be asking a little much. Then, a shot from outside by Plekanec was actually followed to the net by a couple forwards for once, Gionta to one side and Cammalleri to the other. The captain ended up with a soft rebound and made no mistake in putting it home to send this one to overtime and absolutely stealing a point from Columbus.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Andrei Kostitsyn
His goal late in the first off a beautiful feed from Cammalleri was the only thing keeping us alive through the first 58:39 of the game. His defensive game wasn't up to scratch, and was on for both goals against. Still, he was one of the few that showed any offensive spark.

Brian Gionta
His late goal to salvage a point from a pretty uninspiring performance by most of the squad makes him a shoo-in. I love to see a captain that does exactly what a captain needs to do.

Erik Cole
Poor Erik Cole couldn't buy a goal tonight. The fact that he had so many missed chances almost made me want to leave him out, but we know he's doing a lot of things right to get all those opportunities. Seems to magically create offense from nothing on a regular basis.

Defencemen

P.K. Subban
It's easy to sell Subban short these days with the expectations he has built for himself. He's played flashier games, but I like that he's been a little less flamboyant on the ice. He was on for almost 32 minutes and did his fair share of work to pitch in on offense while still being expected to be playing a more defensively responsible role.

Alexei Emelin
9 hits. 9 hits, and all over the rink. At least 3 of them were real earth-shakers, too. He plastered guys at the blue line to make them pay the price for coming into the zone, and he rocked them on the boards to make them pay for being in his house. Played solid defense for over 22 minutes and picked up his first NHL assist, he should be proud of his work.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
No question about this one tonight. Without the stunning work by Price throughout the game, we would have never had a chance. His absolute stoning of Umberger on the breakaway with just under a minute left in the second was a strong play of the game candidate, along with his huge save on Nash in the opening minutes of the third. Price was huge all night and was instrumental in getting that point for the standings.

Comments

Perhaps a little tired after a long road trip, the Habs started the night slowly and looked lethargic at times, especially early in the first. Columbus had a good game plan tonight, and they did a great job of clogging up the neutral zone and playing the body to prevent us from using our speed to play strong transition hockey. I haven't seen the team so completely and thoroughly stymied as this in any game I've blogged so far this season.

Worse than that, Colombus has some speedy players, and they created a shocking number of breakaways and odd-man rushes through breaking up plays in the neutral ice. Nash and Huselius looked particularly dangerous together, and I was reminded of how much I love watching Nash play hockey. Our power play woes continue, and we looked particularly pathetic in the third opportunity when another ridiculously slow line change stranded two lone Habs in the offensive zone while the forwards figured out who was supposed be doing what, and when. Oh, and when we went 0-for-3 on the shootout.

As I alluded to above, it seems to me that we got more a little lucky at times tonight. But given how unlucky some of our guys were (Cole fanned on some golden opportunities tonight), we deserved a little. Overall, though, we looked tired and weren't passing the puck well. It looked to me like we got outplayed by a Blue Jacket squad that really had their game together, and we should be pretty happy to take home a point.

Canadiens Deadline Assets Hamilton Bulldog Players

Nearly there. The picture is becoming quite clear. Want the world, don't want to pay. Let's see how much we think Bulldogs players are worth.

Oh That It Were Friday Blue Jackets Preview

On days that aren't Friday, the Columbus Blue Jackets are an 6-1-0 team, probably leading the league. Their spanner in the works has been Friday, where they have lost three of three to date.

As a team, the Blue Jackets are not great rivals of the Canadiens. In fact, if you were to rank the rivals of the Habs, I'd put good money on them coming bottom three. Yet, if the Habs franchise is on a resurgence, the Jackets may be a team to think about. Here's why.


Key match-ups

Good Corsi vs. Bad Corsi
Last playoffs Gabriel Desjardins had nightly aneurysms as Montreal played through what should have been impossible shot balance to progress in the playoffs. Today (in what probably is no coincidence from an many-time Habs downer) he evokes the wonders of the Columbus Blue Jackets:

"If we re-played the last three seasons a million times and put the Blue Jackets in any other division, we’d be talking about a successful franchise today."

It's good Corsi vs. bad Corsi folks. While the proof is usually in the pudding (whoever wins is better). That will not necessarily be an acceptable outcome. After all, if they played a million times, what would the overall record be?


Subban and Russell
This is a case of a once under-touted young defenceman coming up against a once over-touted offensive defenceman. Watch Kris Russell and PK Subban tonight and see which you'd prefer to have on your team.


Picard and Columbus LWs
We let our position on Spacek's possible demotion be known. Tonight we may get to see Picard put his abilities to the test. Columbus happens to have one of the most consistent LWs in the league in Rick Nash.


Price and Mason
Carey Price has been making hay with the Canadiens recent eye for defence, turning away all standard shots like a true starter does for wins. Mason has been making a hash of his efforts so far and stands at 0.890 in Save %. This despite his team allowing fewer than 30 shots a game in front of him. It's an interesting match up for more reasons than that, of course. Mason is the Price follow-on. Junior stand out, Team Canada goalie, instant NHL success and NHL struggle to follow.


Momentum

Both teams come off a loss. Montreal lost a game they might have won on other nights (with the real Gionta). Columbus just got thrashed by the Avalanche in a game where their coach called them defatist. I think the inevitable impact of Andrei Markov gives the away team the momentum here, but never underestimate the effects that a bad loss can have on re-focus potential. And it's not Friday....


lue Jackets the Habs covet

Rick Nash
Of course, they can't afford his contract, but if the Habs could, this is a player they'd pursue. He's big and lives up to his first round pick billing with Rocket Richard trophies. Plus we have centres who can pass.

Tom Sestito
The Blue Jackets were the subject of a Gare Joyce book I read over the summer. A good read, with a lot of insight into the Blue Jackets players. The book drove me to draft Derrick Brassard in my hockey pool (we'll se how that goes) and it drives me to write about Sestito.

Tom Sestito was ear-marked by the Blue Jackets scouts in that book as a player they wanted all along. He was an enormous junior, and is still big for an AHLer at 6'5". The gamble on him was that he would be a scorer. Not, perhaps like Nash, but maybe like Tim Kerr or something. Well, he may finally be coming into his own in the AHL with 5 goals and 7 assists in 10 games. He's halfway to his all-time best. All-time best or not, the Habs wouldn't suffer from a project like this guy who could give Markov and Subban the screen they need on the PP for years to come.


Habs the Blue Jackets covet

Scott Gomez
Rick Nash has scored a lot of goals with some very middling centres. Love him or hate him, not many will begrudge Scott Gomez the nod of excellent passer. What, and with his harmless shots that give rebounds by the bushel, Nash could soar to new heights with him at centre.

Mike Cammalleri
Columbus have always seemed a bit one-trick pony up front. Nash has always been there and Nash it was. And while, I like Nash as an option, another option wouldn't have hurt their chances along the way. Cammalleri is the Habs best natural goalscorer and Columbus have been starved for a second one for a decade now.


Impact of this result
Some people are setting this game up as the beginning of a new and much more challenging month for the Canadiens. While I don't entirely buy into it myself, the media sensitive Jacques Martin (see Picard, Spacek) just might.

Usually a loss to the Blue Jackets wouldn't send one reeling, but on this occasion, we don't want the Habs to start dismissing all their reasons for early succes (like defence, poise, patience) as luck and good scheduling like some in the media are starting to do. I think the Habs need a win or at least a close game to continue on their current path without a long soul-searching detour.