Game #5 Sabres Sheathe Montreal Power Play in Close Loss

Details

Date: 18/10/2011
Opponent: Sabers
Location: Montreal

Loss: 1-3

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

Habs goalscorers: Diaz
Opposition goalscorers: Leopold, Vanek, Ehrhoff

Play of the game

Sort of a no-brainer tonight, although Price's save on Ennis late in the third almost made the cut. I'm still going to go with a beautiful goal that starts with Kostitsyn skating out of his own end, and dropping the puck off to Pacioretty just before he crashes into a defenseman to open up some space. Pacioretty spots Diaz coming in alone on the other side and snaps a pass right onto Diaz's tape. Miller was far out of his net, and Diaz showed great speed and patience getting almost past him to slip one in easily from a bit of a hard angle.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Max Pacioretty - Game Puck
Once again, Max was everywhere all at once making slick passes and taking opportunistic shots. He led the most dangerous line again tonight, and I fully expected him to score—and if he hadn't been facing a goalie like Miller, I'm sure he would have. 9 shots and earning first-line minutes with a somewhat surprising trio for the Habs.

Scott Gomez
At one point towards the end of the second I said to myself "Gomez, you're a machine!" He was solid in his own end and frankly amazing in transition play tonight. He carried the puck well, mad smart passes, got into and won a lot of battles, had good forechecking, and even showed signs of offensive competence at times.

David Desharnais
Could just as easily been AK46, since this line really seems to work as a unit. I love the way Desharnais plays without the puck: he's always going to the net for a quick pass or to screen the goalie and pick up a rebound. I think this is something that's been missing from the Habs for quite some time and I hope to see it continue.

Defencemen

Raphael Diaz
Great game for the new guy. Saw him join the rush at some very opportune times and it was patience and a cool head that allowed him to beat Miller with such seeming ease. I really liked the way he took a wicked shot with Price out in the dying minutes of the third, and read the play well enough to be in perfect position to cover the net as Buffalo cleared the puck.

PK Subban
Wasn't that easy picking a second D tonight, as I felt most of the defensive crew played decently but there wasn't much that stood out. I liked Subban making a couple diving plays to break up shots from the side of the net, and using his legendary windup on the power play as a fake before snapping a quick-release one-timer right on Miller the next time the puck came his way.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Well, I don't think Price was really to blame for the goals tonight. The set play off the icing faceoff that earned Buffalo's second goal was a little disappointing, but it was well-executed and Vanek has one hell of a shot. Price had a wicked and timely save on a Taylor Ennis breakaway late in the third, and did some really smart things with the puck throughout the game. He's getting better, though at times I see him doing things fancier than they need to be done. Hopefully that means he's getting more confident with his puckhandling, and has reason to be...

Comments

Despite the loss, I saw a lot of things I liked this evening. We were excellent in transition play, with speed, chemistry and smart passing. We took a lot of shots from some decent places, created good traffic front of the net, and played some fast and aggressive offense. You have to give Buffalo credit for doing a good job of covering shooting and passing lanes and not letting us get too many extended chances despite our domination of the neutral zone.

The defense didn't really stand out tonight even though Buffalo had few opportunities for prolonged pressure. There were some changes I was unhappy with tonight: I didn't like us changing on an odd-man offensive rush in the first period while on our second power play, and it might have been an ill-advised change (or stupid attempt at one) that led to someone not getting on Leopold to make that goal at least difficult for him. Our power play was once again uncharacteristically pathetic, and we're now 2/21. The encouraging thing is that we've been great at even-strength, but clearly we have to find a way to make the man advantage work for us.

Overall, it was an encouraging game in many ways and I liked a lot of what I saw, but I didn't like like what I didn't see: some solid finishing. Still, if we can continue to play like that, I can see us with 3 dangerous lines for the first time in a long while, and we can hope that will translate to a few more goals—and a few more wins—this season.

Game #4Goals-Galore On A Saturday Night In Montreal

Details

Date: 15/10/2011
Opponent: Avalanche
Location: Montreal

Loss: 5-6 (SO)

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

Habs goalscorers: Pacioretty, Plekanec, Moen, Gionta, Desharnais
Opposition goalscorers: Kobasew, Jones (2), Stastny, Quincey (Hejduk - SO, Duchene - SO)

Play of the game

A line that I think could go somewhere hooked up for a very nice goal tonight. It was a goal that put us ahead after I was sure we were done for. The play started with a great stop by Kostitsyn on the boards and a quick pass to Patches. Max then could have shot, but instead sent a bullet pass to the side of the net. There, Desharnais deflected home with ease, up and over Varlomov; t was truly a thing of beauty.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Max Pacioretty - Game Puck
It could certainly be argued that Pacioretty is on the third line. I hope that no one tells him though, otherwise he may be in quite the mood. But wait, when your line is the 3rd line, but you are clearly the best line, again, does it really matter what RDS show you as one their chart? He was our best player tonight and his line was by far our best. His goal was fantastic, his pass on Desharnais' was superb. If he keeps playing like he has done over the past few games there won't be any reason for him to worry, for a long time, about not being one of our top-4 wingers.

Brian Gionta
I didn't think that Brian had one of his better games, but he did end up with a very impressive 3 points. The goal was a goalscorer's goal and his assist on Moen's goal was what we expect and need from the captain. It was his best game of the year, so let's hope he keeps it up. Let's also hope, for the club's sake, that Gomez follows his buddy's lead.

David Desharnais
David led the forwards in ice-time tonight with 23+ minutes, not bad for a 3rd line centre. I can't say this with certainty, but I am pretty sure that this is the first time in his career that that has happened. Well, he certainly didn't let down his coach with all of this playing time as he chipped in with a fantastic goal and managed to get hit in the back (while providing necessary traffic) on our first goal.

Defencemen

Yannick Weber
This was not an easy choice as I thought the D were pretty bad, all of them. Weber, however, did manage to end the game at +2. I also felt that he was our best offensive threat from the back tonight and that his shots were the most dangerous of our D-men.

Raphael Diaz
At the end of the day Diaz, by the stats, impressed me. He wasn't on for any goals-against (our only D to do that), picked up an assist (his first NHL point) and played for 22 minutes. I didn't like his penalty, but am starting to think that we may be on to something with this 'kid'.

Goaltender

Peter Budaj
The Avalanche could have won in regulation with better goaltending and so could have we. For the second straight game Price looked downright weak at times. Of the five goals I would say that 3 are ones we expect (and need) him to stop. He was also pretty bad, especially early, at handling the puck. Then there was the shoot-out which couldn't have gone much worse. He made little attempt to stop the first shot and the second was a nice play, but a shot that an elite goalie stops with regularity. The Price from last year took this week off, let's hope that he is back next week, because without him we aren't that good of a team, we are the type of team that loses more than it wins.

Comments

We had 43 shots on net and managed to score goals when we needed them, so that wasn't the problem. In fact, that was a welcome surprise as we got varied production as we seem to be gelling more and more offensively. The big problem was a 19-player problem - our defence. We take too many unnecessary chances, we don't get the puck out when we need to and often times there are multiple defensive-zone breakdowns on the same play. We hung Price out to dry and, unlike most of last year, he didn't bail us out. We can't always just rely on spectacular goaltending, though. We have to be better than that, we have to limit the amount of quality chances that go Price's way. With solid (not even great, just solid) defence we could have won this game 5-2. Instead, we let a quick, offensive-minded squad (at least tonight they were) take advantage of mistakes too many times.

At this point it all comes down to coaching as I believe that we have enough of the right pieces in place to be a good team. The coaches can start by working out the play in our end and, if they have any time left, can start seeing if they could get the players, if they don't mind, to take less penalties, or better yet, less stupid penalties. Then, if we can fit it in (and I know 3 games a week makes it hard to do all of this), maybe we could start working on a strategy for the power-play, who knows maybe one from the past 5 years could work?

Speed Kills

You know the saying: "Speed Kills"

In hockey it's as true as anywhere else. Essentially hockey is a series of races to find open space so the man with a little black disc can get 2 free seconds to do what he has practiced doing 65,000 times in his parents' basement and score a goal.

Without speed, there will be no space -- even big men need quick turns and quick hands to make something of their barging around. Without space there are no goals (well few) and few wins as well.

All this is making it increasingly frustrating to watch the Canadiens so far this season. The team has speed in certain places (notably up front and in Carey Prices agile lateral sweeps) and is certainly presented to us as a lightning fast team that can kill another with the slightest whiff of open space.

What has been frustrating me as I watch them try to score when they actually need to is that many times the team is actually guilty of using speed to kill its own movements. Let me explain.

The other night against Calgary there were a few rushes I noticed where the forwards would have done better to cool there jets rather than turn again to the after-burners, to use a dangle and a missed stride to confuse the defence rather than to walk into their open arms.

One 3-on-2, I watched Desharnais dart in between the two defenders while the RW carried the puck for a shot. So quick that he was behind the net before the winger had chance to even think shot. DD had created the Canadiens most typical play again, the "make sure you're there to get the puck behind the net" play because odds are that a forward will miss to the short side. It's a very effective way to win the puck for a few more seconds before the other team dumps it after your outfit comes away without a shot.

Other times (and this is common) I see the forwards pouring on the speed as they cross the blueline right until they have closed the gap between themselves and the defenders. Now call me foolish, but isn't that gap a valuable asset to the forward? Isn't that gap what one needs if one wants to cut to the middle where the best shots comes from? It's the defence's job to close the gap, so doing the job for them doesn't seem like a good strategy to me. A little pedal off the metal and the defender would have to choose, and would likely have to either stop or slow down, or even come forwards, creating that change in momentum that could really be exploited by quick feet.

And the Canadiens unfailing confidence in their own speed must surely also be why each forward nearly always opts to try and beat a defender around the boards to execute the play from above.

The Canadiens have speed. But their unsophisticated use of it is becoming very predictable. Speed is a deadly weapon when used right in this game, it's such a shame to be using it to hurt your own cause. Let's hope the Habs recognize how speed can kill before they kill anymore opportunities to take easy points.

Game #3Not The Bell Centre Start That Was Envisioned

Details

Date: 13/10/2011
Opponent: Flames
Location: Montreal

Loss: 1-4

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

Habs goalscorers: Kostitsyn
Opposition goalscorers: Bourque (2), Hagman, Moss

Play of the game

We had some good chances throughout the game, but all lacked conviction, save one. That was our first real chance, the one that gave us our only lead of the night. A 2-on-1 shaped up with Pacioretty on the left and Kostitsyn on the right. Max waited, faked the pass and then shot. He missed the net to Kipper's right and it came right out to Andrei who essentially had an easy shot to make (although it took incedibly fast reflexes to pull it off). At first I thought that it was an accident that Max missed the net, but after watching the whole game I need some positive reinforcement, so, of course, he meant to do that.

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
I liked how Tom tried very hard during the whole game. He was at the centre of a lot of our chances and he could have easily picked up a point or two. He has been our best forward so far and I think that he'll be required to keep it up so long as Cole, Gionta and Gomez remain quiet and Camms is on the shelf.

Lars Eller
I didn't know what to expect from Lars after such a long lay-off, but must say that I was pleasantly surprised. He started the game on the 4th line, but quickly proved that he has a place on the top 3. He was creative with the puck and showed an offensive flare that was was starting to be displayed towards the end of last year.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Kostitsyn started the game well with a goal and kept up the good play for most of the night. He was used with a few different people tonight as Martin looked for something. I am not sure where he will settle, but if half of the top-6 is absent (literally or figuratively) over the next little while there will be a serious opportunity, as there is every year, for some big minutes and big assignments.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
It seems that we can't count on too much steady play from our D this year, but if there is one player who seems like a sure bet back there it is Josh. Tonight he was the best of the group and managed to stay out of any real trouble. There were a couple of goals on the PK while he was on, but those can't really be attributed to him. No, instead I'll remember the 5 blocked-shots and solid even-strength play.

Alexei Emelin
Weber, Gill and Subban made this an easy choice, a choice between Diaz and Emelin. I liked Alexei better on this night because I felt that he was getting involved more and seemed more comfortable than in Winnipeg. I think of the two he will be the better player and tonight he was. He joined rushes, made good breakout passes and used his body as we all knew he could.

Goaltender

Peter Budaj
The first slip of Carey's season happened on a night that the team in front of him let him down anyway. Price didn't cost us this game, the whole team did, but he certainly wasn't at his best. He did look pretty ordinary on most of the goals, though, as usually he saves 2, maybe 3 of those. Also, his stick-handling was casual and at times dangerous/bad. This is a game to forget for the kid because no one doubts that he can be better, almost all of the time.

Comments

A big win in Winnipeg and an early goal tonight had me really thinking that we were ready to go places this season. The loss hasn't completely dispelled those thoughts, but I am left wondering a few things that I had been taking for granted since Sunday. First and foremost, our passing was bad, bad enough that good chances were flat-out lost because of it. Secondly our defensive zone coverage was pretty poor. From our wingers to our D we had too many break-downs, too many give-aways. Lastly, why so many penalties? Why do we have to be that team again? Taking penalties with the frequency that we have been taking them is one of the dumbest things you can do in this league. We know this, the coaches and players know this, yet it continues. These are three basic issues that should be worked out in September, but now must be worked out, in a hurry. We have the skill and talent to beat a team like Calgary, but as long as we play a sloppy, careless game we will be beaten by pretty much all of the teams.

Help is not on the way, this is our squad. It isn't ideal, but it is what we have to work with. The coaches should be working overtime to make sure that we are using the right combination, the right personnel on special-units and the right tactics. Tonight, we did not look great and you won't win many games when that is the case. Colorado isn't a bad team, but they aren't a great team either. Let's see what we can change by Saturday and hope that the Habs will be more responsible and careful in all aspects of play starting in 48 hours.

The Importance of Context

Hockey blogging and stats dredging were born around the same time. Since that time, there has been an expanding following for "advanced" statistics. From the Oilogosphere, the adoption of Corsi, Fenwick, scoring chances and other new ways of twisting the NHL stats record have popped up.

I like to think I was a relatively early adopter of these things. I was excited about the possibilities of Corsi before Toronto missed the playoffs for the 2nd season in a row. I was liking where the future of player analysis was going.

What I've noticed lately, however, is that I am increasingly jaded with the whole lot of them. I still track the numbers and keep a record. I still think there is value to the data. I suppose what I am finding is that I am finding many people to stretch interpretation beyond its bounds. Sometimes simple numbers like shots (on net or off net) are given far too much importance and stretched too thin.

What prompted me to write this piece was a simple segue link from Habs Eyes on the Prize:

In Winnipeg, it was a bit different. The Canadiens scored on their second shot of the game off a steal in the neutral zone. It was a killer play, but in the world of trying to find enough stats in order to create a meaningful sample, it was only a single shot on net, a single positive point towards Corsi. In the context of the game, however, it caused Winnipeg to change gameplan -- something which opened them up to further breakthrough passes.


Remember limitations
You can see the importance of context here. We all watch the Canadiens a fair bit and know that when they get a lead they are not a team that risks much to press for a bigger lead. Their preference is to guard 1-0 or 2-1 than to find breathing room at the risk of leaving that tying goalscoring chance to the opponent.

We may or may not agree with the strategy (my nerves don't agree), but the time for that discussion is later. The point here is that we don't need to leave that observation out of our interpretations of things.

Did Montreal play better against Toronto than they did against Winnipeg? Well, no. If the goal is to win by scoring, the Toronto game for all the defensive poise and nice breakouts did not produce a single seam cutting pass like the Moen PK effort. There was not a rush with a wide open goalscorer getting a clear shot like Pacioretty's goal. There were only shots in volume hoping to go in.

If every win and loss this season follow the pattern of the first two games (unlikely, but bear with me), then let's please not extol the virtues of the positive Fenwick/Corsi man too much. Rather we might need to consider a better way to evaluate a team that buttons up when it's winning and only pours on shots when it's not. Remembering of course that winning is better than not winning.


I still encourage everyone to read up on these stats. I encourage everyone to get their fill of Olivier and Chris Boucher's efforts (and they're big efforts). But if you can be left feeling that the stats do not gibe with what you have just seen, question the statistics as well as observer bias.

The answer to everything has not yet been found. And it's only questioning that will get us there.

"Chris Boucher's analysis shows the Habs played better against the Toronto Maple Leafs than the Winnipeg Jets."

To be completely fair to Boucher, his piece is not one of the pieces I am talking about. He approaches his data like a scientist in a discussion section of a published paper. It's all questions and few presumptions. Sorry Chris that it was your piece that set me off then.

Apology aside now. Let's look simply at the Canadiens first two games.


Stats without context

In the first game the Habs lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs yet outshot them and pretty widely outstretched the Leafs in Fenwick and Corsi. If you only looked at that one element of the game then the Habs were the better team. If the Habs played like this all season, we'd hear how good they were and how they were incredibly unlucky not to score.

In their second game, the Habs were widely outshot, their Fenwick was overall worse than the Jets and so was their Corsi. it was the reverse in terms of these statistics of the Toronto game. The Habs should have lost and if they played like this all season we'd be hearing (like we did in the playoffs of 2010) how lucky the team was and how they didn't deserve anything they were getting.


A dash of context

OK, now how about some context.

In the Toronto game, I would take that above analysis for the first period. The Habs did outplay Toronto and were unlucky (somewhat) not to be winning. They'd have been quite unlucky to be losing. They were a bit unlucky to be losing 33 seconds into the second period, in fact, when they allowed a short-handed goal. But after that, the game changed to the observer. The Leafs seemed to find a new gear and the Canadiens mustered almost nothing of threat for 30 minutes or more. For more than half the game, the Canadiens were in fact the far worse team despite the average Corsi. The NHL record says they had 4 shots to the Leafs 8 in the second period. Olivier recorded chances though as 0 to 12.

Game #2 Habs Spoil Winnipeg Homecoming, Get Ovation For Doing It

Details

Date: 9/10/2011
Opponent: Jets
Location: Winnipeg

Win: 5-1

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

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri, Plekanec, Weber, Moen, Pacioretty
Opposition goalscorers: Antropov

Play of the game

All the goals could have stood up in this spot tonight. I have to alight though on the Plekanec goal as the play of the game. The play started simply with a fine pass from Travis Moen off the boards on the penalty kill (when the pass took place). That pass cut out 3/4 of the work Pleks would have to do, including the temptation to pass to 5% Gomez. From there though, he put on a show and scored what could well be the goal of the year in the rounds of April voting. It was quick, it was skillful, and had a clinical finish.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
His goal was fantastic. His pass on the 4-on-3 to Weber was perfect. His play on the PK was to his usual standard. I'm not going to lie, I'd been a bit worried about Pleks slumping for a bit perhaps the start this season. Not very worried anymore.

Max Pacioretty
The Gomez line all did OK in this game. But Pacioretty stood out because he's the one that made it stick. I called his goal when he was coming down the wing, because I thought Pavelec is struggling, the player is clear and the player (Pacs) has a great shot. He scored precisely because he had a great shot. I hope he continues to use it, because frankly the Habs need a precocious goalscoring type who shoots before thinking too much.

Travis Moen – Game Puck
No player played above his own standards more in this game than Moen did. Yes, he's good on the PK and he always delivers there, but that pass he delivered tonight was a serious step up. And then what does he go and do? Only score a goalscorer's goal on a half break where he boxed out a defender and stayed composed enough to make Pavelec the fool.

Defencemen

PK Subban
I agree with the coaches. With Markov out, others lost and a lead to hold, I'd play Subban most too. It's sad to think that we're probably already taking a lot of what he does for. His patient defence and slick skates and stick in the defensive end made the 1/2 game with a mere 1-goal lead an easier spectacle for Habs fans than it used to be. Its says he took two penalties, but I'm with RDS, his roughing call after that hit on Gionta was trumped up.

Yannick Weber
Yes he has his weaknesses. Weakness funnily enough seemingly one of them. Yet who scores on the PP from a slap shot? Who had to play his defensive minutes largely with two rookies and still came out looking respectable? He doesn't make it look easy, but somehow he did things right tonight. On the ice for 3 goals for (one from a SH breakout) and 2 points. I'd leave him back there.

Goaltender

Carey Price
I think in the tweeting preview I said he'd be reliable. That's all he was in this game. He didn't let in a bad shot or even an average shot. He didn't look like he ever would. This kind of reliability is where greatness comes from.

Comments

An impressive opening for the Winnipeg Jets. I have to applaud their fans. They clearly deserve a team and are enthusiastic enough not to notice the quality on the ice for a while. I think they have some good days ahead. I like Burmistrov a lot for a 19-year-old and Schiefele didn't look like he made the team for hype.

The Habs for their part were at their opportunistic best in this one. Scoring on their 2nd shot, 3 breakaways, bullets dodged with penalties taken. The score was 5-1, but 22 shots won't always do the job. Not every team used to be the Thrashers.

Cause for concern on the Habs starts with the injuries they keep sustaining. Spacek was not a killer loss, but the team is better with him than without him, especially with their personnel right now. The loss of Cammalleri, however, could be devastating. His goal showed what talent he has and what other coaches can't ignore. For a team that may still have trouble scoring at times (we haven't forgotten Game #1 or the playoffs yet), losing a pure sniper and coverage conundrum is a big setback. Fortunately, TSN is reporting that Camms has a laceration but is expected to return within 2 weeks. This could be the goalpost luck of skate injuries if true, as we all remember how Markov's severed Achilles tendon set the team back 2 seasons ago.

Next up is a bit of a break. The NHL seems to have trouble seeing itself scheduled against baseball games or something. It's a home opener on Thursday vs. the Calgary Flames. I happened to watch the Flames last night vs. the Pens and I was slightly impressed. The Habs will have their hands full with Mark Giordano and Tanguay looks sharp to start too. Lets hope the energy of home will stir another quick start so the team can replicate their exciting gameplan, not their futile one from the comeback position a few days ago.

Game #1Leafs Can Only Go Down, Habs Only Up...Bring on the Next 81

Details

Date: 6/10/2011
Opponent: Maple Leafs
Location: Boston

Loss: 0-2

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

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Lombardi, Phaneuf

Play of the game

I don't know why on earth we waited till the last two minutes to prove that we indeed have offensive talent, but sure enough it was there for all to see. In the dying moments of the game Montreal overwhelmed Toronto, but they couldn't get one in; another classic case of too little too late. Weber stood out, for me, in those moments as someone who could have (and will) make a difference with that shot of his.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
He was -2 and was not at his best, but still was one of our better ones tonight. I suppose that happens when your coach relies so heavily on you and uses you in all situations. The expectations are high for Tom this year, and even though I know he can handle it, I do think other people have to step up and overshadow him from time to time.

Max Pacioretty
I was just happy to see Max back on the ice. Tonight he played like his old self and, from what I could tell, with no real fear. The chemistry with G + G is certainly there, but their timing needs some serious work. He should be a good player for us this year and I'm excited to see him play the whole time. Let's hope that his linemates can help him become the player that we all hope he can be.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Who had 2 periods? Well, if you did, you won that bet. That was how long Andrei lasted on a top-2 line before his chance was up. He'll be back up there soon, I am sure, but I am not sure that benching, then demoting one of your top forwards after a penalty is the way to go. Early on, when he was playing, I saw a lot of good stuff from Kostitsyn (including a post) and think that he'll bounce back next game. Whether he will have learned his lesson to not be the 1 out of 10 to get called for hooking is another story.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
It was very good to see Josh back as it was a reminder of just how calm and reliable a defenceman we have in him. He did a good job tonight and could easily be counted on for more than his 19 minutes.

Raphael Diaz
I was pleasantly surprised with Diaz's play tonight. He looked better than Gill (but who doesn't in October?) and did just as well as anyone else out there. I didn't go with PK tonight because I felt that he was, at times, careless and that his -2 rating was not a good way to start the season. Spacek was fine, Weber was fine and Campoli did alright till he got hurt, but I did think Raphael was the one of those that I enjoyed watching the most.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
Well, at least one of the squad was ready for the season. Carey was the only player to play to his true form tonight and it was almost enough for us to get a result. With him in nets it won't matter some nights what team is in front of him. If we want him to last till June this year (and in many years to come), however, then I really hope that his teammates start making it a little easier for him.

Comments

The positive: It is a long season and you can't win them all, you are going to lose between 25-40 games. We know we have a good team and we know we are better than Toronto, so what is one game?

The negative: How can we play a game, a real-live, regular season game like that? What is the excuse? Toronto are not a good team and won't be this year, but after watching that I am not 100% sure that we are a good team either. If that is the best this team has to offer we will be in some serious trouble in a few weeks.

Now, for the realistic approach. We were good in the first and totally dominated a poor version on the Maple Leafs. It was a good example of how we didn't capitalize on our chances, though as being the 'better' team means absolutely nothing at the end of the day. After that our special-teams let us down (which includes the taking of 4 penalties) and we never found any rhythm whatsoever. We turned it up in the last few minutes, but goals cannot just be summoned and, thus, it ended up being far too little at that point to matter.

We'll have to wait 5-10 games to see what type of team we really have here, but I will certainly watch a little closer over the next week or so to make sure that tonight's game (I hope) was the anomaly.