Ottawa-Montreal Game #4: A Real Kick in the Nets

Details

Date: 07/05/2013
Opponent: Senators
Location: Ottawa

Loss: 2-3 (OT)

Habs Goalie:Price, Budaj (L)
Opposition Goalie: Anderson (W)

Habs goalscorers: Subban, Galchenyuk
Opposition goalscorers:Toronto Goal Judge, Conacher, Turris

Ottawa-Montreal Game #3: Habs Have Trouble Scoring on Innocuous Shots, Sens Do Not

Details

Date: 05/05/2013
Opponent: Senators
Location: Ottawa


Loss: 1-6


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

Habs goalscorers: Bourque
Opposition goalscorers:Alfredsson, Pageau (3), Silfverberg, Turris

Ottawa-Montreal Game #2: Habs Reach Deep For Victory

Details

Date: 03/05/2013
Opponent: Senators
Location: Montreal

Win: 3-1

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

Habs goalscorers:White, Gallagher, Ryder
Opposition goalscorers:Michaelk

Ottawa-Montreal Game #1: Anderson, Karlsson-led Senators Are For Real, Habs Need to Adjust

Details

Date: 02/05/2013
Opponent: Senators
Location: Montreal

Loss: 2-4

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

Habs goalscorers: Bourque, Gallagher
Opposition goalscorers: Karlsson, Silfverberg, Methot, Latendresse

Habs Week 3 in Review: Precipice

Wow, all that positivity must have caught up with us. This week (beginning with the game identified as a litmus test) really gave fans, players and management a lot to think about.

I think the question one has to ask (as before, though more people are open to the suggestion now) is: which team is the 2013 Habs? Weeks 1 and 2 had us all thinking that our faded memories of Markov were mollified by time and that maybe all the off-season griping over moves made and not was for naught. I think a week later, we find all that right back on the doorstep.

I wish there were a lesson other than anything can happen, but there may not be. Here then is a more downbeat weekly review of the Habs play than we've become accustomed to.

Habs Week 2 in Review

One good week is nice, a couple in a row in this shortened season is a serious head start for the playoffs.

I have to own up to being more negative than positive about this season, but factors which I could not understand (Bourque morphing into a player to be held as an example to all, Gallagher and Galchenyuk outmatching some serious competition by such a wide margin, Markov not only reviving the PP, but making it better than ever before) have conspired to make the team I was analyzing into another proposition altogether.

This is the review of the second week in which more players had multiple goals games, the PP kept ticking and the start goalie didn't lose.

Habs Week 1 in Review

After allowing the inauspicious start of first goal allowed on first shot to national rival on the big return to hockey on national TV, the Habs have really rebounded. Barring the rest of that mostly unwatchable game, the team has been an exciting combination of speed and efficiency, of system and flair.

For posterity, I am going to provide a short review of the week and what traces it left in the subjective and objective records.

Pick the Dome for Game #2

The dome is now in your hands. pick the players that you thought would best represent the Canadiens for their efforts in the game. Results will be shared in the upcoming days.

Thanks for the votes. Polling now closed.

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.

If The Habs Can Do It...

The Habs have opened up three star voting to the public to OT scorers, Habs goalies and visiting Quebecers delight. Given the different opinions floating round on many players after games, we thought it might be interesting to hear from all of you on dome picks as well.

It's simple. We've set up a form. All you have to do to start voting for your own Dome and Game Puck picks is click on the "Reader's Dome" logo above.


If this works as an experiment, I'm sure it will give us lots more to discuss at Lions in Winter.

Carey Price: Thoroughbred In The Gates?

At his press conference, Bob Gainey was asked why he kept turning to Carey Price, despite the fact that the reporter, his wife, and a multitude of fans thought an alternative approach was called for.

Bob, finding a chance to wriggle out of the question, decided to make jokes about the reporter's wife. Laughter ensued and lost in the analysis was his response.

His response, after his joke, was that Carey Price is, and I quote, "a thoroughbred". The other part of the answer was that Bob made this decision more than a year ago when he decided to trade Cristobal Huet.

It seems that one decision carries a lot of weight in this organisation as Gainey is prepared to stick by it regardless of what fans think, regardless of wins and losses and regardless of other players' careers being trampled in the process.

This is all well and good and maybe Bob Gainey is right.


But here at Lions in Winter, we are not as easy to please as most, nor do we just roll over in the face of a good old debate. We think (and you'll know that if you're a regular reader) that there is certainly a reasonable margin of doubt as to what Gainey has to say about his protege is accurate, and we're going to put forward our case for consideration.

Since this is a big issue and we have plenty of time before the next game, I have decided to portion out this argument into segments.

The first question I want to deal with is whether Carey Price is or isn't a thoroughbred at all. I have scoured some stats to come up with my side of the argument and I expected to meet some resistance in the comments (which I welcome).

The second topic I want to address is the way that Carey has been handled by the organization; and, moreover, how drafting Carey Price in 2005 has affected how every other player in the organization is handled.

Finally, the third segment deals with the practicalities of dealing with the seemingly inevitable – that is having Carey price as our starting goalie for the next 5 years. Here things like veteran back-ups, shoring up the defence and strategy adjustments are presented.


[I'll keep this post at the top of the blog until all sections are complete and update the links when available. Hope you enjoy.]



As an aside, I thought with all the attention on the young man, there would be some calls for us to cease and desist as there usually are. In anticipation of this I offer:

Is Lions in Winter out to get Carey Price?

The simple answer is no.

The minute a player steps onto the ice for a competitive game in the uniform we love, we support that player. We support this team to win.

It is the very same with Carey Price. When Carey starts a game we very much hope for a shutout each time out. We cheer his saves and wish him on.

It has to be said that we created a bit of a monster with the dome when we set it up – particularly the goalies. Unlike other blogs, we have a requirement to address the goaltending in a specific section 86 times a season – which means that goalies seem to be garnering a whole lot of attention. Such is the position, we say. You need a goalie for every game; that one player is on the ice for 60 minutes; so it seems natural to us that he get a lot of attention.

We also made a choice early on (despite comments that thought we were being ridiculous): to use the dome position to put in the back-up when we felt the goalie had a bad game. So when Carey Price lets in 2 bad goals in a loss and we put Halak in the dome, it simply means Carey Price had a bad game in our estimation and the other guy (whoever it is) gets the mention. This goalie selection for the dome has already been the focal point for so many good comments and stimulated the best discussions, that it would be a shame to get rid of it – even at the risk of seeming entrenched on positions at times.

Outside the game reports, Carey has had a lot of the spotlight, but in our defence it was not brought on by us alone. All I've ever wanted is to open the discourse on the seemingly closed book about Price being can't miss in this league. That's not to say I don't think he's the closest thing to can't miss that we currently have, or have had in a decade. And it is the golden ticket issued to Price that we take most issue with, not his worthiness for the Sainte Flanelle.


All that said, this latest piece is what we call an elephant in the room – we just feel someone needed to talk about it. I invite you to join in as you will.

Ten Games We'd Like BackThe Story of 41 to 50

[UPDATED with Fred's Power rankings from En Route Pour La Coupe]

10 games we'd have back. Possibly. But maybe not. We actually squeaked out 8 points and may have even undergone a little purge of bad habits. We certainly wouldn't ask for the first four of the ten back.

I'm a strong believer that every team (bar a very few) has a really bad stretch or two. To think that this team built on last year's rookies and propped up from injuries by this year's rookies, would be a team to rival the consistency of the Sharks was always a stretch.

If these ten games were part of our darkest stretch of the season, surely a look at what happened over the duration should be as interesting if not more so than usual.


Our top team over 10 games (Season dome)

Forward 1: Andrei Kostitsyn
5 times into the dome for Andrei, the most among forwards (which is low for a winner). Before the losing he was streaking and fully excellent, and even within the losing streak only really lost his offensive energy for a few periods. His encouraging play should allow us to absorb the loss of Lang and rebuild a line around him.

Forward 2: Alexei Kovalev
No he's not in here for his all-star MVP performance, or his breakaway trick. He squeaked out 3 domes in ten games (not great), but also wowed enough in two to get the game pucks. When he's bad we hear about it. And, sometimes when he's good, even the best, we hear about how he could be better. Case in point is that he had a good game in Tampa after the All-star game; but it is sexier to say he has been bad since the break (rather than having 3 off games).

Forward 3: Saku Koivu
There were a lot of players with 2 or 3 domes in this stretch, others could garner the mention here, But Saku stands out because he got himself into 2 domes, with 2 game pucks in only half the number of games. While it is fair to say that he is still regaining himself, it would be unfair not to mention that he's jumped right back in as the top centre on the team.

Honourable mention (forwards): Lang (4 domes). He was playing some very nice hockey and benefiting from the love that Andrei K brings to everyone's stats page this season. Unfortunately, Game 50 is where it ends for Lang – for the season, and maybe as a Canadien. He served us well and with grace in true Canadiens fashion.


Defenceman 1: Andrei Markov
A perfect 10 out of 10 domes and a game puck. The 10 games started with an impressive scoring run as well, for Markov, as he vaulted himself into the Habs scoring lead by Game 50. All the while, he has been one of the only defenders capable of putting in 60 minutes of good defensive hockey as well.

Defenceman 2: Roman Hamrlik
4 domes and a game puck for Hammer. It is a major indictment of the team that Hamrlik can have his worst stretch of the season by far and still be the second best defender after all this mess. he had some truly terrible games amongst the ten. So did likely challenger Gorges; and, as usual, Mike Komisarek.

Honourable mention (defenceman): None in this horror show.


Goaltender: Jaroslav Halak
8 domes and one game puck. Halak being here is another major disappointment. He may have started out the ten games as the starter. But he has not played since midway through game 4. Garnering 4 domes from 6 of Carey's starts is very fun for Halak, but not for the Habs. Hopefully Price's nightmare return to "Philadelphia" is over, as he's all we have – no one ever thought of putting Jaro in anyway.


En Route Pour La Coupe Power Rankings

Fred's Power Rankings came in later than I expected. here they are.

The criticisms are not different than the last times, and that's because the players didn't move much over this pretty bad stretch of games.

Ironically, Tanguay looks better near the top of the list just at the moment because he's been absent for the collapse. You all know I think Sergei has been better than Guillaume for the most part. But now, I look at the two of them and wonder how they can both be so high. Certainly if I'm looking at this list and everyone is available, we're a goal down with a minute to go; I'd sooner choose Higgins or Plekanec. I think they're both being judged harshly based on unrealistic expectations.


Three star selectors

When the stars aren't falling for us, then we get a bit of an eclectic list. Especially since there were a lot of road games here too, so the gratuitous extra Canadiens star didn't often make the sheet. Once again the list is funny, but worth a look. Mike Komisarek's star selection, by the way, in that Boston loss is under huge dispute here at LIW. No goalies amongst the few tells a story in itself.

Based on 5 points for first star, 3 for second and 1 for third. here's their dome:

Forward 1: Tomas Plekanec (1, 0, 0)
Forward 2: Alexei Kovalev (1, 0, 0)
Forward 3: Chris Higgins(1, 0, 0)

Defenceman 1: Andrei Markov (2, 0, 0)
Defenceman 2: Mike Komisarek (0, 0, 1)

Goaltender: None selected

Series 1: Bruins (Summer) Dome

A busy day and refusal to acknowledge that game even happened on Saturday means that I haven't done the Bruins dome in days. (I can tell from all the comments that you all miss it dearly...)

Anyway, I thought it better, now that they're gone for a few months, that I should review the Bruins series - in this format of course.


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

Forwards

Wasn't looking great for the Bruins forwards on the whole up until Game 4. They came largely as advertised: inexperienced and nonthreatening. Between Sturm, Krejci and Lucic chances Ovechkin would have had 16 goals. Their talent around the net was, however, temporarily born (can't really say reborn, can we?) for a couple of games and a very hairy start to game 7, but ultimately, they left the way they came. A couple stood out, and one other makes the dome because the defence weren't much better for games 1 and 7.

Marc Savard
– a choice for the dome in every game but game 1, where understandable rust kept him out. When I called him the game breaker back before the series began, I meant it, but I never expected him to break so many.

For me, Marc Savard was the Bruins best offensive player by a full body length or two. He doesn't mess around with the puck, does Marc. His passes are crisp and they are smart. Even defencemen we rate very very highly were caught out by seconds on his passes. Unfortunately for Marc and the Bruins, so were his wingers. Even though he ended up leading the Bruins in points, from some of the passes I saw, he could have been leading the playoff tournament with even a half-decent finisher on his flank.

It's not all wax lyrical though. Even though he did save a goal, his defensive play was not the stuff that has people lining up to put him on for the last 2 minutes. Even so, I will here

Phil Kessel
– Claude Julien showed all the imagination he was known for in Montreal in this series. Benching Phil Kessel was the tactical error of the series. Amazing he managed to trump even Carbo's dandgerous duo gaffe. This was Montreal prospect development of old - make all of em into defensive forwards. Sorry Claude, Phil played selfishly and concentrated on offence not defence. Um, that's what he is paid to do. As the only talented goalscorer on your team, you truly missed out when a goal was all you needed.

Phil himself came back to prove that he was what he promised to be - an offensive threat and an unpredictable nightmare for defences. His goal in Game 5 was pure goalscorer, and his double in Game 6 were just reward. He even looked the threat again in Game 7, stifled only by his nemesis to be for the next 20 years, Mr. Price.

While Lucic gained all the praise for what in the end turned out to be having a big body and not much else, Kessel was the wonderful prospect on show. Like other small Bruins forwards before him, you only wonder how long it will be until he is packaged and sent away for a Dennis Wideman on defence or something

He gets into my dome on the basis of three strong games to finish up (oh wait, 3/4)

Marco Sturm
– as I said earlier, this forward gets the consolation prize. In game 1, I had Shane Hnidy up front. Nokelainen has made it. Even Schaefer. But Sturm was the class of the ones without skill.

It would be unfair to say he has no skill, for he is one of the fastest skaters I can remember seeing recently. He also plays a mean PK. But when he sniffs a goal, know that it will be single digit completion rates for Sturm. In this series, he directed 23 shots at Price on his own. The lasting memory of Sturm from this series will be of him missing those breakaways - he had at least three clear-cut breakaways and countless open chances. But, despite all that, he's still number three among the forwards and into the dome.

If Sturm were worse he would be Axelsson (hence his omission from my dome), if he were better I probably wouldn't have written about him while I sulked

NOTES:
How does Lucic miss?
Frequently. No, seriously, Lucic proved he was big, immature and unhoned around the net. When people stopped caring about his hits, he looked lost.

How does Axelsson miss?
If I believed the PK was the key to the series, I would have put him in here, believe me. But a team that scored less than a goal every 10 chances just made the second round. Where was Axelsson at even strength in games 1, 6 and 7? Add to that his total ineptitude going forward. You have an answer.


Defencemen

Zdeno Chara
- seven for seven I think. I called him gamemaker, and made games he did. Claude Julien pored over his arsenal incessantly between games for a weapon to use, but kept coming back with Chara. Not surprisingly either given how well he can play.

If anyone is confused about where the Habs offence went, you should have a look under Chara's equipment back. He almost singlehandedly took care of both Kovalev and Plekanec. And once Kovalev was frustrated, out went the PP and Kostitsyn too. His skill goes beyond his size (he's developed since the Islander days), as he plays a very good possession and maintain possession game with a functional shot and surprisingly deft pass. While I think it's a travesty he is nominated for the Norris trophy on the merits of regular season play over Markov, he certainly out dueled him over the seven games.

In addition to the dome, Chara is player of the series for the Bruins and another reason fans of the Senators are looking up at the sky these days

Aaron Ward
- standing out among Bruins defencemen is no easy task. It seems each D is mandated to play an ultra simple game, compounded by the fact that this is how they believed Montreal would be vanquished.

For me, over the seven Aaron Ward was the second standout among defenders. A good distance behind Chara in both execution and skill, any team should nonetheless be happy to have Ward in the fold

As a defensive defenceman, he didn't really do much to make me stand up and rave about, but there is one thing. I suspect that Ward was playing with quite a decent injury and playing well too. In addition, he carries himself well avoiding some of the dirtier play his counterparts partake in. All in all a good right for Chara's left

Goaltender

Tim Thomas
- alright throughout the series. Nothing more, nothing less. Amazingly, apart from the first and last 30 minutes of the series, that's pretty much all he needed to be. Having doubted him for so long, I almost expected him to rear up and kill the Habs like Andy Moog would have.

Instead, Thomas let in timely (or untimely if you're Bruins folk) goals in at least 3 losses. You cannot allow a goal a minute into a playoff series (with a second to follow in short shrift). Nor can you allow a Swiis defenceman to score the backbreaker on a breakaway. Not if you want to be a playoff here anyway. Still, if you want to be in the dome for a team that lost in the first round of the playoffs, all that will suffice.

I predict the next time the Canadiens play the Bruins in the playoffs it will be a goaltenders duel between 2005 draftees. I predict Thomas has played his Huet February here. Some team like Detroit might just benefit from Boston's youth movement yet


So, who's next? Who do we want? New York or Philly? A team we fear or another team we will underestimate?

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