Game #6

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Thursday October 18th, 2007
Opponent: Ottawa Senators
Venue: Scotiabank Place, Kanata, ON


Team Stripes


Final Score: 3-4 - Loss

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (L)
Opposition starting goalie: Martin Gerber (W)

Habs goalscorers: Guillaume Latendresse, Michael Ryder, Alexei Kovalev
Opposition goalscorers: Wade Redden, Nick Foligno, Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza



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 Goals for Latendresse, Ryder
1st Point for Kostopoulos as a Hab
1st Point for Latendresse this season, or ever in October
1st Loss for Price
1st Game without getting a point on the road



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

2 of our goals were nice, one was pretty sloppy, lucky, but appreciated. There weren't too many spectacular defensive plays, just a lot of solid, responsible play. Saves? A lot of good ones. Despite letting in 4 goals Price actually looked pretty good, coming up with many key and spectacular saves. Letting in 4 won't get this team too many wins, but remember this was only his second game.

The play of the game goes to a player we were all waiting for to breakout, Michael Ryder. His goal itself wasn't anything too special, but it was the play leading to the goal as well as the timing of it that was the key. The Habs were down by 2 in the 2nd at the time and in need of a lift to maybe give us a chance of winning the game. In came Ryder with a brilliant move around a Senator which turned into a goal-mouth scramble and eventually a goal for him. Ryder showed us all his stickhandling skills and then did what he does best, collect the garbage on the PP.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Alexei Kovalev

No Hab dominated tonight, it was a solid team effort, a game we were in right to the end, but as a group we came up a bit short. Kovalev played very well again in both ends and was, as most night he should be, our best player. His goal was timely and quite crafty. I have to give credit to Breezer on the goal as it did show us his decent vision from the point. (When the puck is on his tape, there is no one around to beat him and we have an extra man - to compensate - on the ice)


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

Alexei Kovalev
- Our best player tonight. Gave us hope, until Kostopoulos took that away, in a game that could have been really one-sided. Strong defensive presence tonight, will hopefully lead to more PK time

Michael Ryder
- Had his best game of the season. Quite a few rushes/plays with his linemates that made you remember what he is all about. His first of the year topped off a good night for him

Saku Koivu
- Defensively he is a changed player from last year, basically back to his old self. He is reliable in his own end, even bailed out Breezer at a crucial moment by Price's net. Led the attack tonight and used his linemates so well. This line is the real deal, night in, night out

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
- Not much out of the ordinary for Markov. A solid defensive game, now paired with #71, he had to be even more alert. A few good offensive moments, especially on the PP

Roman Hamrlik
- Looked imposing back there. A force we have lacked the past few years, a big, responsible, offensively and defensively gifted blueliner. Took control a lot in the neutral zone tonight enabling a lot of puck possession going into the Sens' zone

Goaltender

Carey Price
- Maybe not as good as last game, but still solid. Is he going to get 40 shutouts a year? Nope, not this year at least. Is he the best player the Habs have ever drafted? Come on. Is he our number 1? Not now, not this year. Is he going to be a good goalie and give the Habs a chance to win every game? Yes, already is and already does



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

All season Kovalev has been our go to guy, in fact, since we traded Balej (what a steal) for him he has been our go to guy. Tonight was no different. What I liked tonight, and most of this season, more than the past 2, is the defensive coverage he is providing. He is so strong on and off the puck, that getting control of the puck or the situation in our own end is almost assured. It is nice to see that when he is on the ice he can be trusted in both ends. He actually out performs half our defence corps in our own end on most nights.

Kovalev's Assessment - Good


Overall Comments

A one goal game, on the road, to the best team in the conference is not that bad at all. Eventually, though, we will have to beat this team if we ever want to go anywhere, even on the road. Scoring 3 goals against them, however, is encouraging, getting over 30 shots, again, is encouraging, knowing that we were one goal away with our back-up in tells me that eventually we will get to them, which again makes me confident for this year.

The game can be summed up by a few mistakes that we made that cost us goals #3, 4.

If you ever wanted to know what Topham is talking about in his Brisebois posts you have to look no further than goal #3. 71 was pushed down in the neutral by Heatley who then got an outlet pass, went in alone and beat Price. Was this play by Dany against the rules? Yes, I would never argue that. Did he do it when the refs weren't looking, thus making a great play? Absolutely. This is the bending of the rules that I am suggesting the Habs get into. Because as we saw with Toronto, and now Ottawa, playing cleaner than the other team generally means: the same amount of penalties against and a loss at the end of the day. My main beef with this play isn't what Heatley did, although it was frustrating, it was seeing Breezer's reaction to this. Not only did the man of glass get so easily knocked over, but he then so calmly got up, looked at the refs and skated 1/2 speed back towards Heatley. Too late. After Heatley scored Brisebois threw his hands up in the air, the very play Topham has been talking about, as if to say 'thanks a lot Price, the least you could have done was make a save' or maybe 'ref, he pushed me...and it hurt' or maybe even 'If I get blamed for this I swear I'll be pissed'. In his post-game comments there was nothing about how he could have helped the Habs win, nothing about the direction of the team or the game on a whole. Nope, it was all me, me, me...poor me. I got tripped, stupid refs. This goal wasn't the game winner, we had 27 more minutes to play, to try and win. In Brisebois' head, however, the game was over, it was - 'get me a microphone and a box of Kleenex'.

The second disgraceful play of the night was Kostopoulos' tape to tape pass to Alfie which led to the game-winner, goal #4. This couldn't have happened at a worse time, we had just tied it up, had all the momentum, and for some reason he was on the ice again. To me this is just more proof that a 4th liner from the 3rd worst team in the NHL last year shouldn't be playing for us, playing everything game mind you and on top of it all on the 3rd line.

The result to me isn't that bad, we just have to make sure we win a few games now to stay up there. One thing that has to addressed, however, are our lines. If you think of good teams you think of lines, or even duos, that are always together, never separated. Spezza-Heatley-Alfredsson, Sakic-Hejduk, Cheechoo-Thornton, Sedin-Sedin etc. With us who is it? Kovalev-Kostitsyn, Kovalev-Smolinski, Plekanec-Begin??? Beyond our top line, which has stayed in tact for a record 6 games, we have no defined lines. How are players expected to improve, to learn to play together when every game, every shift they are playing with different people. I have no problem with Latendresses at all, but scoring a softy from behind the goal-line tonight shouldn't mean up you go, sorry Andrei, Mikhail. If Latendresse is going to be on our 2nd line, put him there, keep him there. If Smolinski is a 2nd line winger give him that chance, for a full game, if he is a 4th line centre find him some permanent wingers. I feel all of the switching and confusion is costing us in the end. Afterall, when Carbo changes the lines in the last 10 minutes, of every game, how often do we actually come back and take the win? Not yet this year. I want to see consistent performances from the Habs, I want to see consistent winning, I think this requires Carbo to show us some consistent coaching.

Montreal Canadiens 5 Game Review

[Montreal Canadiens 5 Game Review takes a look at the last 5 games from an objective standpoint, with tabulations from Tobalev's game reports]

Date: Thursday October 18th, 2007


The last 5

Opponents: Carolina, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Carolina, Florida

Record: 2-1-2
Home record: 0-1-1
Away record: 2-0-1

How it happened: W - OTL - W - L - OTL

Goals for: 11
Goals against: 13

Conference ranking (Season): T4
Conference ranking (5 games): T4






Stack of pucks

Christopher Higgins (2)

Saku Koivu, Andrei Markov, Alex Kovalev (1)






Play of the set
Contender for play of the year...

We have to go back to Game 1 for this one:

The play of the game, however, has to be Saku's OT winner. A great play by Markov, Ryder and especially Higgins to give Saku an easy put-home.

5-game domers

F: Higgins (5/5); Kovalev (4/5); Kostitsyn (2/5)

D: Hamrlik (3/5); Markov (2/5)

G: Huet (3/5)




Kovalev's 5-game Assessment - Good to Very good

Flying at altitude with the wind behind him.




Scoring and statistics (Top 5 over 5):

Goalscorers: Koivu, Kovalev, Markov (2); 5 players (1)
Point-getters: Markov, Koivu (5); Kovalev (4); Higgins, Ryder (3)
Shooters: Higgins (21); Ryder (17); Kostitsyn (13); Streit, Markov, Plekanec (12)
+/-: Koivu (+3); Higgins, Hamrlik (+2); Brisebois, Kostitsyn, Ryder (+1)

GAA: Price (2.00); Huet (2.17)
Save %: Price (.929); Huet (.927)

On Brisebois

I've always had a little bit of trouble explaining exactly what it is about Brisebois I dislike so much.

You know, I can live with a player who gives the puck away. I can live with a player who is not strong enough to win the puck on the boards, or clear the zone. Goodness knows we all lived with a whole corps of them for many of the past 15 years.


No, with Brisebois, it's always been the way he reacts to losing the puck, to passing it directly to the opposition.

I watched his interview today on RDS, and, to give him credit, he comes across as a very well-spoken player with a good idea of his place on the team at the moment. But there was one moment that ruined the whole interview for me, made me remember exactly what it is about him I can't stand; and why, ultimately (despite his articulate and mature take on things), I would like to see the back of number 71 before Xmas if possible.

The moment comes at a point when he is speaking about his racing. The question is put to him about the differences between racing and hockey. Then the interviewer implies that despite those, the two are probably very similar because of the aspect of team play.

Patrice responds, as if not hearing the bit about similarities, and explains why he likes racing because in the car, he is the only one in control, he is the only one who determines the outcome. In hockey, he states (and I'm paraphrasing and embellishing a tiny bit here) the team plays a more important part in the individual’s game:

"Sometimes when your partner on defense is not ready, he can make you look like a fool..."

?!?!?

It's that hands in the air time again – Rivet didn't cover for me, Quintal didn't cover the man in front, Bouillon pinched too far – they made me look like a fool.

This is what I dislike about him: how he plays the victim, fails to take the blame. And, most importantly, because of that dismissive attitude, doesn't take the necessary steps to learn from his mistakes.

Just thought I'd explain that. If you want, watch for yourself.

Game #5

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Tuesday October 16th, 2007
Opponent: Florida Panthers
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC


Team Stripes


Final Score: 1-2 (SO) - Loss

Habs starting goalie: Cristobal Huet (SO)
Opposition starting goalie: Tomas Vokoun (W)

Habs goalscorers: Alexei Kovalev
Opposition goalscorers: Nathan Horton (Jozef Stumpel - SO)



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 Shootout of the season
1st Shootout loss
1st Game without a point for Koivu
1st Point for Hamrlik as a Hab



Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...

This was going to be simple. Choose a save from Huet's shutout performance. Nope can't do that. Then it was choose the overtime winner. Nope, foiled again. Okay, it will have to be the shootout, Koivu? Higgins? Nope. So it didn't leave me with much. Our one goal was good, was necessary, but was fairly routine.

Tonight the play of the game goes to the young Grabovski. It was his best play of the season and one of the more exciting moves I've seen from a Hab in awhile. First, he demonstrated his incredible acceleration and speed to race up the ice with the puck, beat a Panther, then a stop, (almost a spin-o-rama, Savard style) a quick spin and a low backhand shot that almost went 5-hole on Vokoun. Sure it wasn't a goal, but in a game that didn't offer much on the score sheet for us this was the play to see.



Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...

Christopher Higgins

Tonight Higgins earns the puck for his relentless work in the Panthers' zone, especially around the net. He didn't get a goal, didn't set one up, but did he ever create and get a plethora of chances. Higgins is turning out to be one of the most complete players we have seen in recent years. With Ryder's goal scoring (not yet this year, but you can count those 5 games towards the 52 he will go without a goal) and Saku's playmaking that line could be good with just about any third player. With Higgins bringing so much in every game, at both ends, he is completing that line very nicely, making it one of the top units in the league.



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

Alexei Kovalev
- A goal, which was almost enough. Strong play offensively, especially with Plekanec and a solid defensive performance

Andrei Kostitsyn
- Demoted to the third line tonight meant he would see quite a bit less ice. He did, however, take advantage of his chances and had quite a few offensive outbursts. Worked well with Grabovski, but often looked like he could use another option, Kostopoulos is no offensive juggernaut

Christopher Higgins
- Player of the game in every aspect. Getting scoring chances like I can't believe, eventually more will go in as long as he keeps it up

Defencemen

Mark Streit
- What a skating game he had. He can bring the puck out of our end so fast and so convincingly that other players almost back away. Controlled the puck very well in both ends

Roman Hamrlik
- His low, hard shot resulted in our goal showing that he too has a shot, and he too can play the point on the PP, a good #44. Good in his own end again, uses his body so well to get the puck off the opposing team, saw that a lot tonight

Goaltender

Cristobal Huet
- His team let him down, his coach let him down. The shutout was there to be had, but the buzzer came 10 seconds too late. Wasn't pummelled with shots tonight, (for a change) but made key saves when he had to, well all but once



Eyes on Kovalev
Did he flit and float? Someone ought to keep track...

Got into the right spots tonight. Always looked like he knew where the puck would be going and he got there just before the puck arrived. His goal looked routine, but most NHLers would not have scored it, he showed his great hands and patience to get it up over Vokoun. Got physically involved along the boards a little more tonight, a strength we often forget he possesses. Along with great hands he has great feet and tremendous strength when he has the puck.

Kovalev's Assessment - Good


Overall Comments

Tonight is a game we should have won. Isn't that just the oldest cliche in sports though. If every team won every game that they should have won it would be tight to get into the playoffs with 130 points. Why did we lose tonight? It was our own fault, we didn't score when we should have and we took a penalty when we shouldn't have. Had that penalty been 2 minutes sooner it wouldn't have been 6 on 4 (they pulled Vokoun) it would have been 5 on 4 and we would have had a way better chance to kill it off. Maybe taking a penalty with 5 minutes to go is the way we should go about it rather than in the last 2. That way if they score we have a chance to get it back. The refs would even likely give us a power-play to even it up and on top of all of that the refs would probably, no matter what we did, not give us another one.

Other than not scoring the Habs played a great game. They were pressing all night in the offensive zone and had very few mistakes of their own. Huet saw a fair bit of action, mostly in the third, but never anything too threatening. The problem was, despite how well we played, we didn't score. We hit a hot goalie, again. That excuse just doesn't cut it with me. Every team has a goalie, every goalie has good games. Good teams find ways to beat good goalies, and we aren't doing that right now. I mean, come on, we aren't playing Hasek and Brodeur every night, we should be able to stop the odd guy from having a career night.

It was in the end Komisarek's penalty that ended up costing us. I usually don't like to pick one penalty as the one that killed us, since to me they are all useless and show a lack of effort or restraint. It is not the timing of Komi's penalty tonight that gets to me, inconvenient as it was, it is the manner in which he took it. All night it seemed like his main focus was to hit, disturb and get in the way of Zednik, often at the expense of his defensive duties. Former Hab or not you should never focus on one player, and that is what happened tonight. Eventually Zednik got the best of Komi and drew the game-deciding penalty. Komisarek has to careful of this, he often gets fixated on one target, whether it be Avery, Neil etc., and it will inevitably cost the team.

The worst part of the whole game tonight and most disheartening part has to be the player selection to kill off the last bit of the penalty at the end of the game. Carbo chose to have Markov, the only worth while choice, with Brisebois, Dandenault and Chipchura. Why Brisebois? He is such a liability back there, he made the 6 on 4 look like a 6 on 3 every time he lunged at and missed a player. Dandenault? We know that defensive forwards are just failed forwards, well then was is Dandenault? A failed forward and failed defenceman? Yes. Our best forward penalty killers all year have been Saku, Higgins, Kovalev, basically our best forwards, but no we went with the 'safe' approach. Then there is Chipchura. My feeling is a player with no experience shouldn't gain it at the most critical part of the game. Well at least now he has gained some experience, the experience of being part of the reason we lost.

New Concept for Montreal Media: Rolling Squad

The questions the Montreal media put to Guy Carbonneau and Steve Begin this morning about Begin's omission from the lineup were baffling, surprising and really quite comical.

What message do you think the coach is trying to send?

Is there anything in your game that you have or haven't been doing...?

Has he given you any hint that he wasn't happy?

What kind of message...?


Didn't we all know the answer before???



We've only been writing about our new-found depth for 8 solid weeks. Why get Begin all worked up, when this decision was about rewarding Murray and Grabovski for working hard in practice. Someone had to step down, and this time it was Begin. Being a fourth (sometimes third) line player we should all expect this and so should Steve.

Here's the questions I would put to Begin:

Steve, how do you like playing on a team with all this new depth, no that it means you have to take your turn sitting out?

Steve, have you told Garth he'd better watch you next practice, where you'll show him how hard work is really done?

Steve, how are veterans like yourself trying to help the team even from the sidelines?


The rolling squad may be a novel concept in Montreal hockey (as Carbonneau alluded to midway through his interview), but it's something that happens in other sports all the time. Just ask George Gillett - his England national team striker in Liverpool can barely get a look in...

Montreal Canadiens Weeks: October 3-15

[Montreal Canadiens Week takes a look at the week that was and the week ahead from a subjective standpoint, and is supplemented by the objective analysis following every fifth game]

The week that was (weeks that were)

Well the Canadiens have played four games now, and though they technically took place over eleven days, these two weeks were a veritable hockey drought for us, so I took the liberty of extending the reach of my first week in review.

On the whole, the opening of the season has been a success, not a resounding one, but a success nonetheless. The Habs managed to grab 5 points on the road, and then lost a fairly close affair at home.

As far as hockey goes, I don't think there was anything too surprising. If you look at where the team sits right now and compare where most people thought they would be sitting, then about .500 is right - the overtime loss being bonus. Most of the players have been living up to expectation with a couple of surprises for the better and the worse.

As I've said in my blogs, I think the early relative success has to do with more players than the media reports would have you believe. Andrei Markov, the sometimes overlooked backbone of the team, is the major contributor among the many.


Quote of the week
On mentoring Price:

"I think the important thing is that I treat him like everyone else," Huet said. "But you should ask him."





Coming off a loss to the Hurricanes taking us back to a .500 record, ...

... what might Rejean Houle do?
Swings a deal to trade Jaroslav Halak to the Lightning in return for Andre Roy and some much needed toughness.




... what might Sam Pollock do?
After a decent start, decides to stand pat. The player he wants to move has underperformed and his value is on the wane. No, he won't tell you who it is.




The week upcoming

Tuesday night: Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre.

Are they off to a bad start? Are they right where they should be? One of these years Florida is bound to get it together. I think getting them early this season, and with them coming off a win (where they allowed 4 goals) is about the right position to get them. Out of the three games this week, this looks like the most winnable at the present time.

Panthers to watch: Jokinen and Vokoun - as they look to strangle our offense and win by a goal or two.


Thursday night: Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.

Off to another quick start, they seem to be back to their old ways (Toronto will be pleased). Last season, we started to have success against the Senators making it more into a scrap for points (like it is with the Leafs) vs. the one-sided affairs of a few years previous. I think this is likely to continue as the Habs are a better team now, and no longer an easy mark for anyone; and the Senators are for the most part the same team as last year. However, they'll be the team in the East, so whenever we visit it will be difficult.

Senators to watch: Alfredsson, Spezza and Heatley - as always the trio have sprinted out of the gates, helping their team win with gusto.


Saturday night: Buffalo Sabres at the Bell Centre.

Just as Florida may or may not be on the ascendency, Buffalo may or may not be finished as conference contenders. The Sabres can still score, but they balance that with a healthy number of goals allowed. Given the way the Habs skated with the Sabres last year and the latter half the previous year, I think they should be favourites to come away with 2 points in this affair.

Sabres to watch: Campbell and Connolly - Campbell is driving the offense from the backend, and Tim Connolly back in action gives the Habs players a different element to deal with.



All aboard

The Habs Express is more crowded than it has been in recent seasons at this time. People expecting a non-stop train to Cupton were told that the train actually makes 78 more stops before deciding if it goes on the up hill track to that destination. Many upset fans disembarked.

People waiting to catch a quick photo of up and coming engineer Carey Price were surprised and somewhat dismayed that following his shunt in the station, Cristobal Huet was back in the front locomotive.

Remember when you used to like reading Jack Todd?

I used to like our unwavering, Expos-boosting, drug abuse-hating reporter as much as anyone in the other sections of the Gazette. But today, he's gone all soft:

In an article entitled: Brisebois deserving of fans' adulation, Todd suggests:

We admire Brisebois for putting his head back in the cannon's mouth, we admire him for trying to play through all the injuries he's had, we admire him for taking a relative pittance by NHL standards to return to the Habs.

I've already answered all of these points with regard to the player who should have retired if he loved the Habs so much.

There was also Jack Todd's take on Marion Jones. While admitting her whole career was a lie was no doubt difficult, why should she be let off so easy when in the process she denied other US athletes a career (Olympic places) over that time, stole gold medals from other athletes (bronze from 4th place finishers), dragged the sport of Track and Field through the dirt, brought the legitimacy of all Olympic medalists into question, and lied on record about it for years.

I'm saving the article to send to him so we can laugh about his flights of fancy come January...