Game #52 Washington Capitalizes on Lazy Habs Performance

Details

Date: 04/02/2012
Opponent: Capitals
Location: Montreal

Loss: 0-3

Habs Goalie: Budaj (L)
Opposition Goalie: Vokoun (W)

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Wideman, Hendricks, Semin (PS)

Play of the game

Concentrating hard, Josh Gorges uses a Jedi mind trick to convince Alexander Ovechkin that he is actually wearing a Washington jersey. At the end of a long shift, a tired Ovie succumbs to Gorges' will and passes him the puck rather then finding some creative way to score after falling on his arse or something. It was that kind of game.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec - Game Puck
A hard night to choose a game puck. Plekanec is really focusing on his back-end play this season and this has been contributing to his offensive drop-off. I really liked his play in our end and some of the great breakout passes he makes. His rush at the net off a great Subban exit pass in the last 30 seconds reminded me of what a competitor he is and how hard he works every shift, even if it doesn't necessarily show on any given scoresheet. One wonders why he wasn't matched more consistently against Ovie.

Erik Cole
One of those nights where you're stretching to fill the dome. Once again, the Cole/Desharnais/Pacioretty line provided the grand majority of our offense. I love the way this line starts periods with huge intensity, and Cole uses his size and speed to create a lot of the chances they get. Bourque can start taking notes.

David Desharnais
Could just as easily have been Pacioretty, but I liked Desharnais a little more. He's a fun player to watch and he goes hard to the net. He's got good speed and great sense, and I hope we can continue to watch him develop over the coming years.

Defencemen

PK Subban
One of Subban's major assignments was to stay on Ovechkin and not let him have a big night. The two were in each others' faces all game, and in my opinion PK definitely looked like the winner in terms of having a greater impact on the game. He seemed like one of the only Habs actually fully awake and into this contest.

Alexei Emelin
I love this player. He brings so much to the back end and really has great hockey sense. His -2 is a little unfortunate, as 1 was the Wideman goal and the other he was actually putting a body onto Laich, who was getting his stick on a rebound right in front of Budaj (while Kaberle disappeared behind the net). Made a lot of great neutral zone plays and took some well-considered shots while posting another 4 hits.

Goaltender

Peter Budaj
Again, a more than satisfactory performance from our backup in just his 3rd appearance in 17 games. The Wideman goal was a bit of a freak occurrence, and the skaters really hung him out to dry by leaving Hendricks all alone. And it doesn't matter who you are, Semin is going to score on a lot of his penalty shots. Of course, I wasn't too impressed with him drawing a penalty shot by throwing his stick at the puck, but at least he came up with the save on Brouwer.

Comments

What a sleeper. Some parts felt a bit like a soccer game, with prolonged bouts in the neutral zone that featured few scoring chances. I would have predicted that circumstances like that favour us, but instead we looked flat and lazy at times: Kaberle being out of position to allow Semin's breakaway and disappearing behind the net on the Hendricks goal, Bourque's lack of physical engagement and being a step or 3 back from Hendricks, Kostitsyn seeming to forget that offense can happen outside a power play...

You have to give the Caps credit for collapsing responsibly around their net and Vokoun for directing the rebounds very well. We never really established any kind of offensive presence despite outshooting Washington, especially through the 2nd period. Instead, Washington shut us out through the 10th consecutive period in our own building, and we frankly looked a little lazy and lackluster.

Some interesting moments, even if they weren't great. I can't remember ever seeing a goalie actually throw his stick at a puck before. The crowd was erupting into cheers every time Gomez laid his stick on the puck—tomorrow marks one year since he last scored a goal (against the Rangers). He looked more than a little embarrassed, I actually felt a little bad for him.

Game #1-5: Bruins Dome

A few goals and a few Habs mistakes will make other Habs fans take notice of the Bruins for the first time in over a year. The fact is, some of the players in this done have been here since game 1.


Dome hockey team
They're going into the last minute with these 6 against the Montreal Canadiens (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Marc Savard
– before the breakout (or the collapse if you choose to see it that way), I thought Marc Savard was the best forward on the Bruins. He was pivotal in terms of turning the tide. He set up a few chances on the PP for the Bruins before they figured out how to shoot straight. Every time Krejci's name came up (with largely overblown praise from RDS), it was through some clever play Savard had made

Phil Kessel
– you have to give credit to this young man – the Bruins were flailing without a goalscorer, he put himself forward as an answer, he delivered. The goal he scored on the PP was completely of his own making. Not only that, it was a gamebreaker. I think Lucic, Murray and Krejci could have 50 more chances and not scored. Kessel outclassed them as goalmen with ease. If the Bruins do lose this series, will the Boston fans question Julien's hard-headedness when it came to Kessel? If I cared for the Bruins, i would

Marco Sturm
– on what must have been his 10th short-handed breakaway of the series, Sturm scored. Albeit the goal was scored on a petulant and disinterested Price, but a goal nonetheless. Sturm was rewarded for constant play over all the games and basically for being a fast mofo. It's easy to see why he led the Bruins in goals, but also apparent why he doesn't lead the league.

I'd like give him credit for killing the Habs penalties, but I don't really call passive box hockey (the Habs are responsible for their own futility there)


Defencemen

Zdeno Chara
- a fixture here. In fact, he would have been out, but for the turnaround (collapse). He was flagging in the second, making bad passes, even letting Kovalev through. IN the third, however, he played a big role in the surge. His goal was the straw that broke the camel's back

Dennis Wideman
- a split from Chara was just what the doctor ordered for Wideman. He played a good game as a puck-carrying defenceman, which greatly aided the Bruins to maintain the amount of possession they did. A question for the Canadiens, though: as good as Wideman is, might it be worth challenging him once in a while?


Goaltender

Tim Thomas
- no significant challenges for Thomas, but you can't fault him for that. he was the goalie during the game and so he is the goalie here, not much explanation beyond that, really. Two of the real Habs chances he actually let right by, so he's not unbeatable or anything. More shots like Kovalev's on the PP will go a long way to getting Auld another dome appearance. I want the Habs to play so well Manny Fernandez gets a chance in here, though


Though the Canadiens set the tempo early, by letting the Bruins take control in the second and hold the puck more, any fan could see what was at risk. I'll tell you that no bruins were underlined in my notes until the second. By the end of the game, there were choices to be made for the dome for the first time, really, this series. So, let's be honest the bruins are still beatable, they were even ready to be beat last night. I think a little more keying on Savard and Sturm and a lot less on Lucic will go a long way to making those 2-1 wins possible again. If Carbonneau wants to get dangerous, he could even try taking advantage of a slow defence corps by letting his skating players play.

Game #1-3: Bruins Dome

Apologies for not getting Game 2's version of this up until this morning. Visitors make finding time for blogging difficult over a weekend. I'm sure not many care, but here is the link to the Game 2 Bruins Dome. Now that they've won a game, looking at their players seems to make more sense...


Dome hockey team
They're going into the last minute with these 6 against the Montreal Canadiens (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Milan Lucic
– For a 19-year-old this guy is big. Big in his uniform and big in his own head too. His Game 1 dome was a consolation prize for being slightly better than terrible. This game, he was impressive. Though he may never score 500 goals in the NHL, you can see he will be an important player. Lucic plays a strong game away from the puck and is capable of setting the tempo for his team (heck, both teams). He can also score important goals on very good goalies. The Canadiens are capable of shutting him down, I think and must do in the next game. Enough's enough

Petteri Nokelainen
– After Lucic, the biggest change in the Bruins was the play of the Nokelainen line. Unsurprisingly, when Claude Julien gave Nokelainen the chance to unshackle himself from the skill-free duo of Thornton and Reich, he responded with a good display. Like his linemate Schaefer, who deserves mention too, he was relentless in the Canadiens end. Julien also showed a bit of strategic nous by deploying this line against the passengers Dandenault and Latendresse – to tip more battles his way

Peter Schaefer
– See above.

NOTE: Strangely, the NHL chose Marc Savard as the third star of the night in all games. I wonder if they even bother to watch at all. In a 2-1 game, Savard did not shine. Hi pass to Lucic was OK, but Reich could have managed that. His goal in OT was opportunistic. Thomas should submit a tape of the whole game. Carey Price, too.

Defencemen

Zdeno Chara
- Once again Mr. Dependable makes the cut. He played well. He also made Plekanec look ineffective – so much that Jacques "Hometown" Demers was cutting him down. He played half an hour and looked good for most.

I'd also like to say: Isn't the booing stupid? Why boo Chara? Now Kovalev is booed in Boston as a result. Somehow 10,000 drunk roadtrippers managed to awaken fans in a city that barely cared more about that game than the Red Sox (12th game) updates coming in on their iPhones. The Chara booing also led to a treat of a USA chant part way through the game for some reason as retaliatory noise. Stop booing Chara. Boo as if you watch the game. Boo all those borderline

Dennis Wideman
- A couple of times Wideman skated right into the Habs zone. Granted the Bruins weren't ready for one of the defenceman to actually make such a finesse play, but I was a bit impressed. Paired with Chara, he was effective in shutting down the main Habs threat and tipping that line match-up in the Bruins favour. A good game for his third ever in the playoffs, to be sure

Goaltender

Tim Thomas
- Didn't have too much to do until late, but earned his dome in overtime alone. A save on Latendresse was nice and on a couple of point shots even better. If he plays like this again, maybe Alain Crete will show him some more respect and stop questioning whether he can skate (what a buffoon)

Game #1-2: Bruins Dome

Watching the Bruins and finding players to applaud has been a difficult change fro me, but in the interest of pretend journalism...


Dome hockey team
They're going into the last minute with these 6 against the Montreal Canadiens (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Marc Savard
– That pass, that pass. Savard played a much better game than Game 1, but if he hadn't done anything else, he earned his money and place in the lineup with his pass across the crease on the PP. Any other Bruin forward would have taken a shot from a decent angle on Price. Alas, that's why any other Bruin has point totals in the 30s or lower and Marc Savard is a consistent point-per-game player. Julien must thank his lucky stars that the Bruins GM sprung the funds to sign a centre with some real skill a couple of summers ago

Marco Sturm
– Like Game 1, Marco Sturm offered a legitimate scoring threat for the Bruins. It's easy to see why he, and not another Bruin, was the goalscoring leader this year. His greatest asset seems to be very quick acceleration teamed with good anticipation – it allowed him his second breakaway in as many games

David Krejci
– Considering it was his second ever playoff game, I thought David Krejci did an admirable job. His goal was nothing extra-special, since the pass was so perfect, but he nonetheless got himself into nice positions over the evening

Defencemen

Zdeno Chara
- Chara played a very solid game on the whole. His long reach and stick play a big part in taking the Canadiens forwards away from their rhythm. His ability to relaunch the attack also makes him a valuable part of the Bruins counterattack (probably the most valuable part)

Mark Stuart
- Mark Stuart epitomised the Bruins for me on this evening. He didn't play particularly well up front or at the back, it was more that he successfully tested the limits of the referees throughout the game. At the beginning of the game, he was checking a bit harder, holding a little bit more. By mid-game, he was crosschecking Habs in clear view of the referee. But don't blame Stuart for this transgression. it is his job to push his abilities to the limit of legal play. And legal play means legal play on that night. The fact that he was breaking the letter of the NHL rules is irrelevant from his point of view, if the whistle is not blown

Goaltender

Tim Thomas
- Let's face it, Vancouver wouldn't even start Auld when Cloutier was the alternative. Thomas has to be back in the dome. Tim played a decent game, he played to the level of an NHL goaltender, if not a star. he made all the straightforward stops and let in the complicated ones. You can hope for a goalie to save those complicated ones, but a team should not expect it. What's more, that Kovalev shot in OT was a pinpoint shot moving really fast. I'm not holding that against Tim