Habs Find Their Stride Against Florida

Date: 24/10/2017
Opponent: Florida
Location: Bell Centre
Win: 5-1

Montreal Goalie: Price (W)
Florida Goalie: Reimer (L)

Montreal goalscorers:  Galchenyuk, Weber (2), Gallagher, Pacioretty
Florida goalscorers: Yandle

Game #77Blown Call By Linesman Helps Habs And Panthers

Details

Date: 27/03/2012
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Montreal

Loss: 2-3 (SO)

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

Habs goalscorers: Cole, Leblanc
Opposition goalscorers: Wolski (1, SO), Samuelsson

Play of the game

St. Denis made a great play at his own blue-line to take the puck that totally caught Florida off-guard. A pass to Leblanc came with the interception and, wouldn't you know it, the Habs had a are 3 on 0. Leblanc was in first and instead of trying to get All-Star game cute he did it all himself as he deked the goalie and put in a beauty of a goal.

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
Max was buzzing all night in the offensive zone, especially during OT. He didn't score tonight, but did take an incredible 9 shots on goal. He hasn't scored in a while which actually suits me and the Habs just fine. We all know that he is playing well and that he is a good player, we no longer need numbers to tell us that.

Louis Leblanc
Tonight was actually one of Leblanc's better games of the season. I was already thinking of giving him a dome spot when he took a high-sticking penalty. That I didn't like, but I have seen worse. But then his goal sealed his spot as it was truly a nice one. Even after tonight I am not convinced that he is top-6 material, but it is nice to know that come next Fall he will be realistically competing for a spot on one of the top lines.

Erik Cole
Cole scored his 31st tonight which is a career high for him and that was also his 56th point. He is now only 5 points from his best in that category too. It is a surprise to me that after all of the signings gone wrong in Montreal over the years Cole would come in here and be our best player and have one of his best years. If anything, Erik has made this season fun to watch when he and his linemates are on the ice.

Defencemen

Frederic St. Denis
I really liked what I saw from Fred tonight. He seems to know when to keep it simple and when to go for it. In my opinion, he is a superior defender to Campoli in every aspect of play and that should be enough cause to let Chris (as if they would keep him anyway) walk away this summer. His pass on Leblanc's goal was just one of many strong offensive plays St. Denis offered up tonight.

PK Subban
Markov and Emelin had rough games and Campoli wasn't that great either. So, of PK or Gorges I go with Subban tonight. He offered more than Josh in each zone throughout the game, but I can't say that I was too thrilled by some of his give-aways. He did, however, play 28-minutes of +1 hockey and added 4 blocked-shots to his season total.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Price was very good again tonight and can't really be faulted on either of the goals. The second one was a fluky goal that should have been whistled dead anyway. On top of that I don't think he had a good look at it and I don't think this was a case of losing focus because of a presumed offside. That kind of stuff happens way too fast for someone to just stop playing.

Comments

There wasn't much to that game really. The Habs had a couple of nice plays and Florida, quite frankly, got lucky to bag two points. The loss is what we wanted though, so it is a shame that it had to come after regulation yet again. 1 point, at this point, is still better than 2, however.

What I don't really understand is why the organization is trying to win at this point. I don't think that there is a rule that states you have to try to win (and even if there was we could have easily lost while still making it look like we wanted to win). From a coaching perspective I feel that Cunneyworth may want to win as he is likely gone anyway, so each win is better for his career - fair enough. The players should be torn here, though. Maybe certain guys want to stay in Montreal and, thus, don't want too many good players, via the draft coming in, but surely our top players (Cole, Price, Patches, Subban, Markov) must see the advantage of losing. And, seeing as those players are the reason we win (or get to OT) I am a little surprised with the constant desire to win. I think that losing on purpose can breed a losing attitude, but I am talking about 5-10 games here, not a season, surely these players could take a break from character-building for a few weeks, no? Lastly is the front office, now why would they want us to win. Revenue is what it is as the games will sell out and tv deals are done. A good businessman must know about short-term pain for long-term gain, shouldn't they? I think that the message should come down that we are happy with the points we have now, that from now on we ensure we finish 29th.

The league has made a stupid rule where losers are rewarded and there are a few former Habs execs that would be all over taking advantage of this flaw in the system. I see nothing wrong or unethical with trying to lose as the fans, players and management are all in this together for the long haul, with one goal in mind; to be better next year than they are now. We have 5 games to get that 29th spot and I hope that the team can do that for us. I mean, isn't that the least they could do after making us sit through what has been a very disappointing season?

On a more comical and heart-warming note we are now just three points back of Toronto. They will miss the playoffs again this year which comes after a start that many believed would carry them into a playoff spot. My hope is that they win their last few games and don't get a top-5 pick. I would especially enjoy a win when we play them in the last game of the year.

Game #63Another Emotionless Habs Snoozer

Details

Date: 26/02/2012
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Florida

Loss: 2-4

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

Habs goalscorers: Desharnais, Subban
Opposition goalscorers: Weiss (2), Bergenheim, Campbell

Play of the game

Desharnais did great work to keep the play alive and then to get into a dangerous position. He ended up scoring a goal, his 12th and the game's first, but it proved, again, to not be enough.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

David Desharnais - Game Puck
He scored a goal and added an assist in the first 7 minutes of the game. There wasn't much more from him after that, but, if everyone was pulling their weight it surely would have been enough. He now has 46 points and leads the Habs. It is a great accomplishment for him, but players like Plekanec, Kostitsyn and Gomez should be quite ashamed. David was undrafted, so maybe that is the way for the Habs to go from now on?.

Erik Cole
Erik played well, but wasn't his best. Regardless, he was a standout on the night. He has a look of frustration on his face, possibly the look of disbelief? Disbelief that he left a bad team for an even worse one, perhaps?

Tomas Plekanec
Why? Because I had to choose someone.

Defencemen

Tomas Kaberle
He got an assist, played nearly 20 minutes and was even on the night. Kaberle has been criticized since he arrived, but his 18 points in 34 games is no joke. That pace is better than that of Kostitsyn, Bourque, Gionta or Gomez - all players that we thought would contribute at a decent rate.

PK Subban
PK scored a goal and led the team is shots by 3. He is ticked at how the season has gone as we all are, but if I were him I would be comforted by the fact that, in his career, it won't get much worse. He is a good player who has been playing better hockey as of late.

Goaltender

Peter Budaj
Can't blame Budaj in this one. Price may have fared a bit better, but this team wasn't going to win tonight, so I can't take this rare dome opportunity away from the Slovak. That said, he looked a bit weak on a couple of the goals and that probably has a little something to do with having not played in three weeks.

Comments

I hope that the Habs don't do anything stupid in the next 24 hours. We have a few players that are key to our future and a few others that should be sold at all costs. So, I don't want to see an Emelin, Plekanec, Price or Subban go, but do think that players like Moen, Campoli, Gomez and Bourque should be moved if possible. There are then players like Darche, Kostitsyn, Eller, Diaz and Kaberle who may very well be part of the future or not. I don't think that now, however, is the time to make the call on players like that.

Kostitsyn, in particular, is a better player than we have seen since January. Early on he was one of the best forwards on the team, but didn't have huge numbers. For some reason he gets limited ice-time and PP time which now proliferates his situation. That said, are we going to get someone better than him or is he someone that, at the right price, we want on our second line? I don't know the answers and, unless those have indeed been answered, I think a hasty move could be regrettable.

Another player that I have an issue with is Bourque. He does not seem to fit into this team, he plays with no passion (granted that no one else presently is, but at least we have see it from everyone else at some point) and does not contribute (6 points in 18 games). This is the problem with trading players like Cammalleri - yes, we shed salary and get a 'similar' player, but at the end of the day this is a player that we did not really want and probably won't really want. If possible he should be moved as I think we'll regret having him as long as he is here.

Game #39Habs Slip Again In Sunshine State

Details

Date: 31/12/2011
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Florida

Loss: 2-3

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Theodore, Clemmensen (W)

Habs goalscorers: Moen, Cole
Opposition goalscorers: Fleischmann, Matthias

Play of the game

Cole's individual effort at the end was a thing of beauty. It wasn't good in the sense that it filled me with hope (I am getting pretty tired of believing that the Habs will come back), but was good in that in reminded me that we have Cole. Where would we be without this player?

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Travis Moen
He gave us the dreaded first goal, but then did his best throughout the game to avoid the usual outcome. He was also the only player to improve his +/- by 2 this game. Moen has 9 goals which is great for Moen, but at New Year's isn't it a bit sad that he has more than Plekanec, Desharnais, Eller, Cammalleri and Gionta; I think there is some mirror looking to be done by quite a few players heading into 2012.

Lars Eller
This is mostly for his assist on Moen's goal. We need more of that from this player heading into a new year. Being a top-2 centre generally requires more than potential that was spotted 5 years ago and 12 points in half a season.

Erik Cole
Not a surprise to see Erik in here once again. He is good and he cares. And, not only is he good, but he also plays a good game. It has been a tough few weeks (months?) backing so many 'good' players who can spend half of a season waiting to heat up.

Defencemen

Alexei Emelin - Game Puck
He and Cole have been the 2 pleasant surprises so far this season and I can't imagine how painful some of these games would have been without #'s 74 and 72. His hipcheck on Versteeg had me out of my seat which is rare for any non-goal plays. He now leads all rookies in hits and is 16th in the league. Not bad for a guy that has to still fight for a spot and has only featured in 28 games.

Josh Gorges
Josh is now locked up for 6 years which proves that you can trade for Kaberle and sign Gorges to a long-term deal. It is also proof that he doesn't want out, that he isn't fed up and that he cares about this team. I see that every game and I am happy that our leader on D will be around for a while. He doesn't have much to explain after a decent first half, but can he rally his troops now to follow him in what will be the hardest half season in the last little while?

Goaltender

Carey Price
The second goal didn't look good, but otherwise he was fine. We can't expect him to be better than he has been as he has had a fine first half. But, if we want to make the playoffs he has to play better. When he is near the top of the league we are a better team. He is currently outside of the top 20 in the two main categories (which is obviously not his fault more than each of his teaamates') and that is not how this team (with not much in the way of skill or depth in front of him) will make the playoffs. Basically we need the player who was our best player last year to be even better now; it would be nice if his teammates gave him a huge hand in achieving that.

Comments

I don't have much to say because, like you, I am sure, I am ready to forget 2011. This game was another game of the same kind, a game that has come to characterize the Habs. We basically can't play 60 minutes of hockey anymore. We are good enough to not get blown out all the time (or much at all), but aren't good enough to win tight games, games that we used to excel at winning.

2011 was a rough year that may be remembered mostly for the playoff game-7 OT loss to the Cup Champions and by a very bad first half. 2012 doesn't have to be the same, though, we can turn it around. These players have been good players before, even with this team. So, it is time to put the past behind us and start fresh. We have 43 games left; let's just see what happens.

Game #8Would We Prefer No Effort, But A Win?

Details

Date: 24/10/2011
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Montreal

Loss: 1-2

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

Habs goalscorers: Cole
Opposition goalscorers: Fleischmann, Upshall

Play of the game

There was a sequence during which Markstrom had to make a few incredible saves, the best one being a robbery against Cammalleri who batted one out of the air. The save was amazing, the play that led to the chance was one of the Habs' best of the year and showed off the incredible skill that Camms has; surely goals will follow.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Erik Cole
He scored a goal tonight, his first, but that wasn't what impressed me most (in fact I am not even sure that he knew he scored). What impressed me was his speed, willingness to go to net and strength on the puck. Presumably these are the qualities that we bought in July; let's hope that this is the first of many similar performances.

Lars Eller
Lars continued his good play tonight and his line was once again a strong unit. If we can take anything from these games it may be the learning that Eller is getting. He is our only player who is noticeably improving this year and that should come in handy when (if) the others get going.

Tomas Plekanec
I haven't been too impressed with Pleks this year. For some reason his sub-par play has been below the radar as people seem more focused on Gomez, Gionta and Cole. Tom, however, has also not lived up to the expectations that we have for him. Tonight, though, he showed some flashes of brilliance. Let's hope that in his case this slow start was ended by tonight's up-turn.

Defencemen

Yannick Weber
For those who remember Yan had a bad camp and maybe some bad scrimmages, but luckily he has been able to recognize when it is truly important to play well. He is slowly becoming a top defender on this team and tonight was the best. He was rewarded in this game with the most ice-time of anyone and did his very best to create chances in Florida's end. For a guy that many people wanted to be traded and saw as an 8th D-man/13th forward he has done very well. We couldn't be much worse off than we are now, but surely it would look worse if Weber weren't around.

Josh Gorges
This is not the Josh Gorges that we all remember, but tonight he was at least solid enough (in both ends I might add) to be a top-2 for us. The problem may be that we unsung his praises for a bit too long and all of a sudden expected more. There is a reason that he has been an unsung hero in the past, the reason is that we never expected much. The pressure is on him now, but when you look deep he is probably giving exactly what he should - decent 4th D-man minutes, with the occasional mistake and occasional flash of offensive power.

Goaltender

Peter Budaj - Game Puck
Budaj finally got a start tonight and did quite alright. He hasn't seen action in nearly a month and did decent enough considering that. He is certainly no Halak (you can rest easy, Price), but may be able to win us a few more than Auld did (although Auld did play exceptionally well as it turned out). He made some great saves, gave up some big rebounds and let in a couple of goals that 90% of goalies would have let in. He has certainly earned more starts, but I am actually more interested, at this point, in finding a goalie that can get us more wins.

Comments

The effort was there, but we hit a hot goalie at the wrong time. That, you see, is the problem with losing a lot; you will eventually lose games that you could have won. Eventually you have to be able to win games in which you played well and games in which you played badly. Right now we are doing neither. Let's face it though, this was the Florida Panthers, the goalie was Markstrom. Sure they played well, but a serious team, a team that wants to win 1 or 2 rounds in the playoffs finds ways to beat teams like this, even if they have a hot goalie. The chances were there as were the shots, but it was a lot of perimeter stuff. Sure a bounce or two our way and it is a different story, so I won't go on too much.

This could be a tough week, but could also be a week that shapes this team for the season. 2 games against Boston and one against Philly means that tonight was the easy one, the one we had to win, right? Yes and no. A win would have been nice, but at the end of the day we'll have to beat the Bostons and Phillys of this league. Wins in 2 or 3 of those games would be enough to convince me that we are fine, but more importantly should be enough to convince our players. If we have a good week the belief will grow and one would have to think that we'd be off, ready for the long haul. A losing week, however, would probably mean that change is to come. A bad 11 games to open the season is enough of an indication that something has to give. After this week we'll have 71 games to play, so if we only have 4 points in the bank we'll need to really get it going to hit that 95 (playoff safe) point plateau.

Game #65Just the Way it Should Be; Habs Kill Panthers

Details

Date: 3/3/2011
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Florida

Win: 4-0

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Vokoun, Clemmensen (L)

Habs goalscorers: Gill, Kostitsyn, Desharnais, Eller
Opposition goalscorers: None

Play of the game

I really liked our fourth goal. It wasn't crucial at all and didn't get any specific players to any milestones in particular, but means a whole lot to this team. The reason that it was so important was that it was an Eller goal, from Moen. These are two players that just two weeks ago had no use to this team. Now, however, they have found a good trio (them plus Andrei) that can work very well together and can give our team a third scoring line. We know that the other two lines will contribute (eventually), but this one wasn't a given. The goal itself was a very, very nice goal. A saucered backhand pass from Moen took a perfectly placed deflection off of Eller's stick to totally baffle Clemmensen.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Andrei Kostitsyn
Somehow like Kovalev he now has a title. He isn't just Andrei Kostitsyn, no, now he is the enigmatic Andrei Kostitsyn. I guess it is easy to put a tag like that on a player that you don't like, but if if is to do with scoring in streaks I think that Plekanec, Gionta, Cammalleri, Gomez, Pouliot, Halpern and Subban could all get similar names. It is unfair that he is treated like that and it is lucky that, despite all of this, he still plays well. It would be easy for him to pull a Samsonov and shut down, but is instead pulling a Kovalev and is stepping up. The only bad thing about his play of late is that the next time he doesn't get 7 points in 5 games it will be because something is fundamentally wrong with his attitude, work-ethic or passion.

Lars Eller
Lars made two great plays tonight that resulted in goals. That gives him 2 more points for 13 on the year. I wouldn't say that he has proved himself just yet, but the more that he plays like he did tonight, the happier I am to have him on this team. It seems that little was expected of this line and there wasn't much pressure. Certain players, believe it or not, thrive when they are relaxed (hear that RDS) and our third line is the prime example. Eller looks decent at centre too and, in my opinion, is doing a better job that Halpern was of late.

Travis Moen
Travis doesn't fight, he doesn't really hit and isn't that great in his own end. So, all that is left is offence and he isn't that great at that either. He did, however, play well in their end tonight and, thus proved his worth. I don't think he belongs on a line ahead of Pouliot, but at this point I wouldn't change a thing as he and his line have found a groove. If Travis can keep this up with the two youngsters and bring a little grit down the stretch then he will become that valuable piece we had hoped he would be in the first place.

Defencemen

Hal Gill
How can you not like Hal Gill on a night like tonight. The big man chipped in with a goal (his first of the year) and was an impressive +3. He was also our most used penalty-killer and did well at that too. I didn't think that he would be outplaying Subban every night, but he is. The good thing about all of that though, is that PK is playing well too.

James Wisniewski
The more I think about it, the more I think that we should keep the Wis around next year. We have 11 defenders to consider, but I would suggest carrying 8, not 7 to begin the season. It seems that defenders are getting injured more than forwards these days and starting with 8 would save a mid-season move (Schneider, Bergeron, Wis) for someone that may not be available. I don't want to get into who would stay and who should go, but at 26 years of age I see no reason for letting James go as he is the type of player you miss (Streit, Souray, Schneider, Bergeron) when they are gone. Of course, it goes without saying that Markov must come back too. Tonight James chipped in with another 2 points as he moves ever closer to Pleks for the team lead in points.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
Carey feasted on another weak team tonight and got the result that we, as a team, needed. He looked very calm all night and made each and every save seem easy. Florida didn't offer much on attack, but I have seen many Habs teams over the years lose to teams like that. This was his 7th shutout and his 30th win; pretty great numbers considering he'll likely play in 12-15 more games.

Comments

When you play a team like Florida, a team that seems to have no plan, no vision or no hope, you must take advantage. We have lost there so much over the past few years that it was becoming a problem. Tonight, however, we didn't sink to their level, we simply played our game and waited for some breaks. This game, filled with poor Panther defensive efforts, could have easily been 8-0 and I wouldn't have felt bad if it was. The Canadiens are starting to learn what it means to want to win, whenever, wherever. They are able to beat top teams and bottom teams. It used to be, to our frustration, one or the other. I am pretty excited about what lays ahead as I feel this team is gelling at just the right time. We have the goaltending to go places, we seemingly have a pretty solid defence and our offence, in theory should get the job done. I am confident that Plekanec and his line will pick it up when the games mean a little more and still won't believe that we have seen the best of Gomez and his line on the year. Scott is OK in my books for now as we are winning and maybe he is like me in that he doesn't care about stats at all, other than Ws. We will, however, need him to be ready to contribute and play his best when we really need him and I still believe that he will.

Jacques Martin Gotta Go?

Every few days bloggers like myself receive comments about the team, its players, its management. Since Jacques Martin was hired, it's a pretty good bet that comments about him having to go come along just as frequently.

Just yesterday, a Guest posted this:

JM has to go ...he is a dinosaur holding back a fast team in the name of the almighty trap....he says nothing when we get jobbed by refs....dump him...etc., etc.

It was a comment among many similar comments seen at LIW and HI/O and FHF, and any Canadiens discussion forum. Usually I would respond to this comment in place. but as it seems to be a recurring theme, I thought a more lasting form of response was fitting.


The complaint

As far as I can tell, the common elements of the complaint against Martin are that:

a) He is boring
b) He employs a boring system of hockey (sometimes named "the trap")
c) He is stifling the team's talent
d) He doesn't yell enough behind the bench
e) This is costing the team wins
f) He has never won anything


These are very fair points. He is quite a boring interviewee (Personally, I deal with that by not listening to any of his interviews). He does favour some defensive responsibility, a variation on the trap. And he certainly never yells at the referees. All true.

Where I start to take issue is with the notion that we extrapolate these things into our personal conclusions. That defensive play is stifling the talent, that this is costing the team wins. That not ranting over calls is costing points and wins.

I think some of these stretch the imagination. Don't you?


To those who really believe he is stifling the team. I ask you to consider an honest assessment of the talent on the team. What sets this group apart from the 9 teams ahead of the Canadiens that they should supposedly be putting points over on?

I think an honest look shows that we don't have a Crosby, Zetterberg, Datsyuk or Ovechkin, or even a Gaborik, Backstrom, Richards, Carter, Chara, Thomas, etc. Right now the team is being led by Plekanec, who works at a formidable rate, but still paces well below a point a game (a pace that would be lower if he played defences as good as Philly's game in, game out). An honest assessment would show that the Habs are doing just as they should with the group they have. Probably even better considering their injuries.


Complaints about the system are just as porous. Necessity is the mother of invention and necessity has created this system.

When Jacques Martin was in Ottawa he coached a team that scored more goals than anyone, because he had the goalscorers to carry the strategy. In Florida he didn't. In Montreal he hasn't. Necessity in Montreal is a young (and, until recently, fragile) goaltender starting all games. Necessity is 3 veterans who can't skate all that fast, but who can compete when a system allows them to. Necessity is having two rookies make up the other defensive numbers. necessity is playing to Gomez and Gionta's strengths, which include a grounding in New Jersey hockey. Necessity is the absence of people to pick up any real slack beyond the top 6 forwards.

What other system would we have him employ? Opening up the ice doesn't look great on Hamrlik and Gill. Nor does it seem to suit forwards who despite being named fast, somehow always manage to find their coverage before the blueline. We'd all love to be Detroit, but years of good as well as lucky drafting aren't yet behind this team.


Finally, can we give a rest to the notion that Jacques Martin hasn't won anything?

What we mean is that he hasn't won a Stanley Cup. How many coaches have? A handful. How many have won with a team like these Canadiens? Less. Martin has won well over 600 NHL games. He's won the league, the division, the race to the playoffs more times than not. He's won something. he's won a Memorial Cup (one more than Guy Boucher).

No he's not Scotty Bowman, but Scotty's not coaching anymore.


It's fine to criticise the coach. I 'll do it in the future, I'm sure. In fact, criticise all you want. But if you alternatives enough can't be found to list against the complaints, consider before posting that maybe that's because there might not be very many.

And if your team sits well above the position of the year before and the one before that, consider that maybe the coaches are doing something right in amongst all their wrongs.

Game #52 Opportunistic Attack, Luck, Auld Help Habs Past Panthers

Details

Date: 2/2/2011
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Montreal

Win: 3-2
Habs Goalie: Auld (W)
Opposition Goalie: Vokoun (L)

Habs goalscorers: Halpern, Plekanec, Gionta
Opposition goalscorers: Timmins, Weiss

Play of the game

Goal #3 was a classic. Pacioretty charged down the outside as he so often does, but cut in hard for once. Vokoun was off guard as MaxPac skimmed through his crease and offered a good shot on net. He was sprawled to make the save and still out of position for a few seconds later. Gionta found the time to pounce just then, and his hard, pad-carom was a perfect gamewinner for this affair.

Dome hockey team

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

Max Pacioretty
Max Pacioretty nearly scored on a breakaway just after the Halpern goal. At that instant, the thought that went through my head was: "Oh, Pacioretty's playing tonight". Invisible he wasn't through the rest of the game as the Panthers defence had to open up and allow his insurgences. His work on the gamewinner was top notch and his work in getting a couple of breaks was also very good. Other than that, it was another assist, +2, 6 shots and 8 attempts on net. Good game.

Tomas Plekanec
Player of the month for January by a few votes. He must be thankful that the voting 400 picked him this time. It's a pity he can't catch Carey. He's been as good as the goalie all season, but people have just disinvested completely in this 3 star thing, if one looks at the vote totals. This game, Pleks put in another good one. His goal was earned, but was not his best play on the night. That may have been the near breakaway he manufactured through several Panthers while shorthanded. Really, this grind of a game showed what a value Pleks is to the team. He stands out against plain opposition as a dangerous player, who works constantly. To think we all once liked Higgins more.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Andrei may not have played his best game, but I thought he thought the best game of the forwards. There was only one shot in the end, but it was a well generated chance that gave a rebound. Then there were multiple passes. passes that caught the other team off guard because they were creative. A team certainly needs its cheesy bounce ins, but teams also need players like Kostitsyn to keep opposing defenders honest. Tonight, I thought he did that, opening up space for Gomez and Eller.

Defencemen

PK Subban
The play Subban made on the first goal, the cut to the inside of the ice, was a glimpse back to Subban at his precocious rookie best. It's good to see that side of him is still around, despite his new maturity and responsibility. Despite a couple of wacky hits and iffy dives, Subban was also a good bet on D tonight. His willingness to take charge diffused more than a couple of periods of threat. Two months ago we might not have anticipated Subban in the lineup, let alone leading the team in minutes. He's come a long way. He might have a long way further to go.

Roman Hamrlik
Last night I insisted on Spacek. Tonight, the "Wild and Crazy Guy" gets the call. Hammer hasn't been doing much that is too special lately. Or has he? He has taken on probably his 5th partner of the season and has made yet another pairing that puts minds at ease. Wisniewski is a good player, but it takes a solid man to help the transition of an outsider into a system (an Islander, no less). Hammer has done that and did it in fine fashion tonight. 4 blocked shots and plenty of edgy play without penalty. A good game from #44.

Goaltender

Alex Auld - Game Puck
There was never any point this evening where I sat up and thought "Wow, what a goalie". yet, thinking to the way the Florida goals went in, this could have easily also have been a 33 shot shutout. His play in the first after the goal went in, and then the shutout second were key to the victory here. Even though we're talking about the Panthers, a team of Higginses, a lesser goalie on this night would have put his team in a tie or a deficit.

Comments

Another game, another comeback. It's so odd considering the way the season started, with all wins coming from early leads. It's as if the Canadiens are coming back to vanquish the accusation that they couldn't come back. My feeling is, however, that this can't go on. It's one thing to be caught napping by Florida, quite another with Philadelphia, Pittsburgh or Detroit. This was a nice win, but the team has put in a lot of work to avoid their slow and tentative starts.

In a way, I think the Canadiens were lucky here to get points. In what must surely be the stupidest two days the NHL schedule makers put together, several teams were made to come back from their week off to a one-day road trip with a game at home the following night. It takes a tough team to come back from a one week break to win two comeback games in different cities. They'll appreciate these points in March.

NHL Goes All FIFA On Florida

Last night, the Florida Panthers scored a goal to tie the game late in the third period. The replay showed the goal was in. The most entertaining bit being that the puck was lodged in the net, so the evidence was not fleeting, but lasting for the refs to see.

The pig-headed team of four (still 4 to deliver this standard? Really?) ignored the protests of the adamant Panthers, took the puck retrieved from the net by Pavelec and started play without calling TO. I can forgive the refs for a lot in a fast moving game, but refusing to check the validity of goals is not one of those things.

Disallowed goals are fun to rewatch. So to mark the occasion, here are a few big ones:

Last night:




Calgary for the Cup?




Calgary's goal not in?




FIFA's big miss:



The good news for the Habs is that this wasn't a three-point game. In all likelihood both Atlanta and Florida will be figuring in where the Canadiens place this season.

Game #39 Take Crete's Word For It, Habs Beat Panthers

Details

Date: 31/12/2010
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Florida

Win: 3-2 (OT)

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

Habs goalscorers: Wisniewski (2), Gionta
Opposition goalscorers: Weiss, Kulikov

Play of the game

Easy choice. The play of the game for me was the game-tying goal #2. With the Habs on another PP after just scoring, the pass was being passed around quite well. Wisniewski ended up with the puck on his stick with seconds to go and fired away, as he is paid to do. Full praise for not hitting the D, but it's always a little bit dubious when people insinuate that missing the net to bounce out the other side is the intended result. The primary goalmaker, however was alert and positioned himself perfectly for that eventuality. Once receiving it Gomez feigned a shot and fired an inch perfect pass to a waiting captain. This pass is a play to watch again and again.

Dome hockey team

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

Scott Gomez
Apart from orchestrating the winning goal, Gomez was pivotal in this game. He seemed to take more responsibility once the comeback became necessity and was skating the puck into danger areas as if the Panthers were kids on an outdoor rink at times.

Benoit Pouliot
I don't know whether the Lapierre trade had anything to do with it, but Pouliot looked revved in this game. He still can't buy minutes, but made the best of what he was given. He can be faulted for not always being as strong as he could on the puck. His willingness to use his balance, skill and hands is developing, though, and should encourage all Habs fans.

Brian Gionta
The captain did what he needed to do once the score was 0-2. It wasn't a locker room speech, it was his answer on the ice that led the troops to understand the game was not lost. His goal came off a super feed, but only a true goalscorer would be there to tap that in at that point. He's showing again that he is a true goalscorer.

Defencemen

James Wisniewski - Game Puck
This is no automatic nod to the OT goalscorer. I thought Wisniewski was a major factor in this win, the major factor. He led the team in goals, in points, in shots, in hits and in blocked shots. And that's to say nothing of the mostly solid defensive play throughout - only the harshest critic would dwell on his lapse in coverage on goal #1.

Hal Gill
This wouldn't have been a comeback without some very important penalty killing. Hal Gill is clearly one of the best leaguewide with that agenda, as he once again helped the Canadiens to a clean sheet on the road in that regard. Paired with the precocious Subban, he also tamed the Panthers at even strength long enough to allow the forwards to join the game.

Goaltender

Alex Auld
Not the toughest assignment for the big man, but he kept the goals against to two, which is what he needed to do. I thought the biggest saves came before the goals, and there were some important ones. Particularly one high shot at which he twitched his shoulder to make the save. Nice that Price could rest for a win.

Comments

Happy New Year everyone! And happy has been helped it turns out by the result of the game.

As I told you, my first game of the New Year was to be on tape delay. Because of the generously early start, I actually caught the first 55 minutes of play before leaving to celebrate with friends. A comeback and hold was positive enough to put this on the backburner while enjoying a few drinks. Then returned to watch in the early hours. 5 minutes of play and then a log fast forward through talking heads before we realized something was up. rewind, replay to see the three stars(?!?) and hear Alain Crete "Desole, Wisniewski a marque le but gagnant" A fitting end to a funny streak. A goal scored by the new acquisition while the floundering broadcaster went on and on about the dearly departed Lapierre. Le Sport Sans Limite, except when the limit is satellite signal. I'd have posted a picture of the game winner if there had been one.

Anyway, a win is a win is a win, even if it's experienced through the anticlimax of a taped apology. The Habs needed to win and did. But this may be their most important win to date, because not only did they need to win, they needed to prove they could comeback within a game to retake the result. Before last night, they had been abysmal when trailing. The 2-goal recovery represents the first major comeback of the season and should instill a little confidence around the room.

As for Lapierre, I am highly disappointed. On the year, he was getting no less minutes than he deserved and he should know that. To hear he requested a trade is disheartening. I hope I don't have to hear ever again that "the trade will be good for the player".

WJC 2010 Primer The Drafted (Aka, Where's Tinordi?)

The World Junior Championships face off in 6 days. For hockey fans, this is a time to enjoy hockey organized and officiated by someone other than the NHL cartel, to see flowing hockey and watch players playing for pride and joy.

For most fans of NHL teams, most Canadiens fans included, it's also a time to get a quick look at some of the prospects that up until now (whatever your best intentions were to go see junior games) you've only read about in a scouting report.

It is both a chance to evaluate the prospects and the scouting department, as other teams prospects (passed by in the draft) emerge as well.

This year the Montreal Canadiens were looking primed for a very good representation at the championships. Up until last week, they had three forwards poised to play for Team Canada (the team it means most to make). Unfortunately for those keen on seeing Bournival and Brendan Gallagher, they were cut at the last moment. As a result, Habs fans will have to make do with watching 2009 first rounder Louis Leblanc on Team Canada and 2009 third rounder Joonas Nattinen on Team Finland (both centres).

By all accounts, Louis is set to have a possible scoring breakout and could well be the star for Team Canada. Nattinen, on the other hand, seems to be along for the ride. Even so, it should be a good week's worth of amateur scouting for us all. Hopefully there will be pleasant surprises.


NHL draftees

As I said, it will also be a chance to observe many other drafted players from other NHL franchises as they power their teams to wins and cause the mistakes that lead to losses.

In all there are 93 juniors on the rosters as they stand right now (some include players who may yet be cut). So, Montreal's twosome is below the NHL average for sending players to Buffalo.

The teams that will be required to send the most representatives for scouting and schmoozing with their prospects are Florida, Minnesota, Detroit and Washington. Each team has 6 prospects spread over a few different teams.



So what does this say about Montreal scouting? Well hard to say really. Getting players onto Team Canada is the hardest thing to do, and Montreal almost had three. Had those two not been cut, we'd also be talking about a top tier team.

Yet, it's still difficult to compare Montreal's scouting of a first rounder and Nattinen to Detroit's haul of six players while winning the NHL and relying on late rounders yet again to make up ground. And Florida just did it in style as they posted two to team Canada and three to the next strongest American squad. Washington and Minnesota relied on Euros for their good showing, yet Minny has Granlund who may end up being the star of the show, and Washington has some underrated Russians on board.

If it's quality rather than quantity that spells success, then lots of Timmins reputation is riding on Leblanc's shoulders. , as there's no guarantee he'll be the player for Canada or among the top at the tournament.


The Timmins Watch

For fun, I looked through the rosters of the junior teams and looked at players the Habs could have drafted.

There are a boatload of players that were chosen before the Canadiens had a pick, and so nothing to do with Timmins (17 in all).

The following group are those who were passed over in favour of Louis Leblanc. Based on play thus far, we can't really call these mis-picks. there are 16 in that group at this tournament.

Where it starts to get interesting is the group that could have been had instead of London Knights "stalwart" Jarred Tinordi. Remember, the Canadiens traded up a pick to get Tinordi and could have potentially had a couple from this group of 28 players:



Obviously it's too early to write off Tinordi altogether, and big D's have the habit of being slow developers (yet worth waiting for). Still, there are a quite a few exciting names here, and a tournament of hockey might start to raise questions about that June day trade and pick.

The American defenders alone, all selected to vie for the medal ahead of Jarred, will be interesting to keep an eye on.

The lists get shorter and less interesting as we go. But as we get a chance to see Nattinen, it might be interesting also to watch the 18 players drafted behind him in 2009.



Many of those players were also selected behind Mac Bennett (also not a National team calibre player yet), Alexander Avtsin, and Dustin Walsh (whose currently 6th in scoring at that powerhouse which is Dartmouth).

Finally, while no one would ever confuse Michael Cichy as a candidate for the National Team, it worth keeping an eye on two players who were taken after him in the 7th round of the 2009 draft: Carolina defender Tommi Kivisto (Finland) and yet another Detroit Swedish defensive find (possibly), Adam Almqvist.

There's the undrafted by the score, but no scouts thought those would be worth more than Petteri Simila, so it's hard to fault anyone for missing them.


So as you're all watching Louis Lebalnc skate circles around Americans and wondering where on earth Tinordi is. Have a look around and notice the wealth in talent at this tournament.

Game #11Vokoun and Luck Stop Habs Short

Details

Date: 30/10/2010
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Montreal

Loss: 1-3

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

Habs goalscorers: Darche
Opposition goalscorers: Frolik, Booth, Matthias

Play of the game

There was a series of saves that kept this game at 1-1 which I thought was going to be a real turning point in the game. The play started when Markov pinched, but got caught in Florida's zone. David Booth, who played very well all game long, was then away with the puck. The Panther beat Subban in a leg race and got a shot on net that was stopped. The puck, however, came back to him and he got another chance, but Carey slid across to make his biggest save of the night.

Dome hockey team

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

Andrei Kostitsyn - Game Puck
This wasn't a dominant performance, but when I looked at my dome he was the player that rose up for me. He skated very well tonight and was shooting and hitting throughout. Nothing to show for on the scoresheet, but a better effort than last night, more in line with last week.

Mathieu Darche
Mat only played 7:57, but made the most of it by being noticed on pretty much every shift. His goal was created purely by hard work and that was very nice to see. I may have played him a little bit more that he was played tonight as he, in my mind, would have been better suited on G+G's line than Moen in this one.

Scott Gomez
Scott led what was a pretty invisible line tonight. Moen was nowhere to be found and all I ever saw Gionta doing was missing glorious chances (poor guy). The one bright spot, though, was Scott who I felt played with speed and determination. 9-5 on face-offs and a team-high 6 shots are good numbers for the centre who, I feel , is about to really get going.

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
Smooth skating, patience with the puck and a vision like no others were all on display for the first time this year from Markov. He was good tonight, but not quite his great self yet. That all said I thought that he was our best defender, especially in the offensive zone. In all he had quite a few chances and good passes. He took a whopping 10 shots of which 5 made it to the net.

PK Subban
PK played very well all game, but I felt wasn't that key on the PP. With Souray, Streit, Schneider and Bergeron we always had a big shot that could one-time and pick a spot with consistency. Subban runs a PP more like Markov so I am not too sure that they should be on together. In fact I think that the two players could be better used if they were paired with Spacek (Markov) and Hamrlik (Subban) on a permanent (ES and PP) basis. PK is a great addition offensively, but I feel that his shot isn't that effective (it is rarely on net) and we waste too much PP time to set it up.

Goaltender

Carey Price
It was an average game from Carey which included a few very good saves. The goals were all difficult and one shouldn't expect them to be stopped, the D should never let it come to that. His puck-handling was at a season's worst tonight (which says a lot) as he was lucky to escape with no major blemishes on any of his give-aways. It would be nice if he showed a little urgency after a give-away rather than casually skating back to the net as we saw on numerous occasions tonight.

Comments

Vokoun was great in this one as we had 41 shots, many of which were of decent quality. Luck, as well, was on Florida's side as loose pucks never seemed to find their way into the net. A game like this comes along once in a while and I think there isn't much you can do about it. It happens, we could have won, maybe we should have won, but let's move on. One thing that I would have changed tonight, though, is that I would have had Markov on the 5-on-3. Subban has had 10 games to run the PP and we have very few goals to show for it (are any really thanks to him?). That type of situation is Markov's bread and butter and I feel that he would have given us a much better chance at scoring than did PK. If the excuse is that Martin wanted to ease Markov into his role I don't buy it. If a guy can play 23+ minutes then surely 1.5 of those could be spared for the 2-man advantage. It was a bad coaching mistake and hopefully we have learned that lesson and will move on.

Game #75 Habs Redo Late 2-0 Scenario

Details

Date: 25/03/10
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Montreal

Win: 4-1

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

Habs goalscorers: Pouliot, Gionta (2), Plekanec
Opposition goalscorers: Dvorak

Play of the game

As The Buffalo game was replayed, complete with a reply goal late and an early empty net, I think we all braced for the worst. There were two options: Halak saves the day, or someone opens the release valve. The moment came as Plekanec continued his excellent night. With his typical PK hustle, Pleks ushered his man into a dead end. As they tried to pass their way out of trouble, Pleks stripped the Panthers and went to the races. Sensing he wouldn't have the speed to walk it in, Tomas instead demonstrated some beautiful skill as he lofted a puck into the dead centre of the net that may have even beaten some of the more challenged trapper operators in the league.

Dome hockey team

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

Scott Gomez
Once again, the Gomez line brought the goods. The past few games haven't necessarily been scoring race magic for Gomez and his linemates, but they've created chances, played good defence and tipped the ice many times in Montreal's favour. IN this game, I thought Gomez stood out. His signature rushes were there again, but retweaks since Ottawa meant his passes were finding the mark and his shots finding the net. As Higgins plays out what might be the end of his career in Calgary, Gomez contributes at a #1 level. He's overpaid, sure, but most people I talk to are coming around to the idea that it's only about a $2 million overpay, which Higgins (at his worst) was anyway.

Tomas Plekanec
Thank Cammalleri for coming back as areal danger. Last game the space he made for Andrei was clear. This game, it was Pleks who seemed to lap up the easier coverage. There were more chances than we'd been seeing for the last little while. On top of that, Pleks played a defensive stunner with 5 blocked shots, 3 takeaways, lots of harrowing (see goal) and a clean sheet on the PK.

Benoit Pouliot
Pouliot continues to give Big Gui a run for his money. While he's not the same player, he's certainly got talent himself. Foremost among his talents are supple hands and exceptional spatial awareness. His goal was a gorgeous example of his quick control and his skill at setting his feet from an awkward stance. Sometimes a goal can be an icebreaker, Ben's it seemed was a gamebreaker, as Florida changed their game for the chase, much to Montreal's advantage.

Defencemen

Andrei Markov - Game Puck
There's a limit to how many games I can go without recognizing our best player. There's a real danger at taking Markov for granted as we put others in the dome for a few blocked shots or for completing simple plays. While all of that is important, Markov really is just on another plane. He attempts harder moves and he completes them. Once this game settled into a back and forth, I thought Markov played the general well wile he was on. He actively sought the puck and either made his clearances count, connected on rush starting passes or carried into good position himself. One play in particular that I sat up and noticed was a quick pivot away from full pressure, another player might have lost the puck or ended up passing up the middle. It's something he does all the time, without enough recognition.

Roman Hamrlik
Hammer's another guy we need to appreciate. Yes he had his moments of confusion, but that's playing defence in the NHL for the vast majority of players who start at the position. Besides, no one on the Habs is so perfect in this regard anyway. I pick out Hamrlik tonight for the dome because once the game zagged in the Canadiens favour (after that first goal), he and Spacek really settled the play. In this game, he was tasked with facing the big line. When you can do that and come away with a clean sheet, it's a success. What Hamrlik does night in, night out is simple, that's why he's Jacques Martin's favourite many nights. Puck control, limiting blind passes and shutting down ice rather than chasing stats, the Hammer is still a very good #2.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak
Weren't these two games just the microcosm of the season for Price and Halak? Price played the better team, Halak faced less shots, less danger and got more goal support. The loss and the win follow naturally from the explanations. We think we have it all figured out. Put the win aside a moment though. Put the fact that Price deserved a win, possibly a shutout. Halak played extremely well here. He took a shutout to 56 minutes. He kept the game 0-0 so the Habs could score first. He saved a few one-on-one chances. He deserves to be a #1 at this point not because he mysteriously wins, but because he did all those things I mentioned.

Comments

It's a tad cliche to go on about deja vu as the Canadiens nearly blow a lead. 82 games a season for 30 teams, so many end this way, there's no need to pretend that this was some mystical moment. I suppose the unique point here was that the loss was as fresh as 21 hours at the puck drop, the wound still open. I've heard much worry about the Canadiens allowing themselves to get into this situation again. I think it's unwarranted. Two teams battling for the playoffs will always compete till the end, pull goalies early and play conservatively with a lead - it's not a new playbook. If Florida had rolled over after a goal or two, this wouldn't be a league worth watching. And I understand the cockeyed view that everything turns around the Habs, but really it doesn't. Sometimes the Canadiens look bad because the other team steps it up. Sometimes the Canadiens look good because the other team eases off. Everything is relative and expecting a full effort is fine, expecting the Habs to look sharper than the opposition for 80% or more of a game is unrealistic now that the 1970s are over.

And so it was with this game. On paper I think the Canadiens have a better offering than Florida. The expectation was that if things went well, the Canadiens would look better for as much as 60% of the game. In this one, I thought there was a lot of very even play, peppered with bursts of superiority from each side. Paper won in the end, though as Pouliot's hands aren't matched on the Panthers, Kulikov hasn't a patch on Markov yet and Halak outshone Vokoun.

In short, I don't think there's any reason to be anything but positive about what we saw. A win against a rival, timely saves, timely (if lucky) goals and good efforts from almost all. 82 points with 7 to go is a lot better than fairweather fans were predicting in January. It's worth remembering that too.

Tanking For A Pick Why The Habs Should Keep Winning

A win on the books has done little to turn minds away from tanking. Some analysts feel quite strongly about their ability to see the future months of 2010, so much so that the "towel", they insist, must still be thrown in.

I take issue with that argument for a few reasons. Some of which I elaborate on here.


The missing argument

When people advocate the tank, they always point to the Pittsburgh Penguins as the poster child. Pittsburgh drafted in the top 5 for 5 consecutive years on the backs of some horrible seasons. This landed them Staal, Crosby, Malkin, Fleury and Whitney. It seems a convincing argument, but how much more valid is it than saying a team should wear red to win, or a team should acquire Scott Niedermayer to win. It's not pure coincidence, we can see that. But while Pittsburgh turned their losing into winning, does that mean tanking is a reliable method?

The counter argument is often missed. That is, that teams that have been bottom of the league for nearly a generation have been enjoying near the same frequency of high draft picks as Pitssburgh, yet not turning that into results they can be proud of.

Take the Florida Panthers. You may remember them from lottery draws from nearly every year in living memory. Their most recent go-around in the land of top 5 picks was from 2001 to 2003. In 2001, they selected Stephen Weiss 4th overall. In 2002, Bouwmeester first. Then in 2003, after winning the lottery they traded down to pick Nathan Horton at 3rd. Their next season in the "build" phase, it was Rotislav Olesz at 7th. So that's 4 years building through the draft with results many in Montreal would consider unacceptable. And where has it left them? Last time I checked they missed the playoffs in 2008-09 and are in the thick of the race to miss again.

Florida's not alone. Columbus clocked up Klesla and Zherdev in the top 5 to go with Nash in building their version of the playoff evaders. Atlanta, famous for never winning a playoff game in their history also show a disturbing trend, even selecting well in Heatley and Kovalchuk, can't build a winner (at least in part due to duds Lehtonen and Stefan as top 5 picks). The San Jose Sharks may look like an example to follow now, but their success is mostly down to industry in trades and not due to selecting Andrei Zyuzin, Patrick Marleau then Brad Stuart to affect their outcomes. I could go on (hello Winnipeg).

Tanking is no guarantee for success. the only thing tanking does guarantee is a high pick and lots of losses. After that, you need more on your side – either good scouting or luck.


Franchise players

The premise of tanking as a legitimate strategy is nothing new. In the days of certain draft position, scouting departments could identify certain gems of players (Mario Lemieux, Mats Sundin, Eric Lindros, etc.) that were worth turning in a season for. And although we've been in a rich vein of drafts of late, the reality of the draft is that it's a hit or miss affair.

I had a look back at the drafts from 1990 to 2005 (supposing that 2006 draftees on are too young yet) and did some sums. What I found was that:

– In total there were 15 franchise players to be had (with some generous assessments in there) from the first round.

– Only one draft had three franchise players (1991) and 4 had two

– 6 franchise players were taken with the #1 pick

– There were only 5 franchise players taken from picks #2-5 in 16 years, compared to 4 with picks #6 to the end of the round that year


So franchise players don't come along every year, and they rarely more than one at once. What's more, you have almost as much chance nabbing one with any other pick in the first round as with one in the top 5. This is interesting enough, but then consider great players – players who once you get a few together can be the foundations of a great team.

– Only 37.5% of picks in the top 5 turned into players I judge to be great or better

– Only 34% of picks #2-5 turned into players I judge to be great or better

– Every year of the draft has produced one player great or better outside the top 5, 2003 produced multiple

– 2 years the top 5 has not produced a player great or better


That's an awfully big percentage of picks who may be able NHLers but won't fulfill the dream of tanking for Cups. Plus, good scouts show that they don't need a good pick to get the right player (and I'm not even including round 2 on).

One final thing:

– Recent drafts have been good producing 4 or 5 good to franchise players from the top 5 picks

– A run of drafts from 1991 to 1996 never produced more than 3 good to franchise players (meaning at least 2 were mediocre to poor). 1994 had four duds and 1996 only had 2 good players in the top 5, nothing more.


A better way

As you know by now, I see tanking as a highly flawed strategy that relies on a fair amount of luck and certainly timing. I think there must be a better way.

Generally, I think there is. It is demonstrated by teams like Detroit, like New Jersey, like San Jose. What these teams have shown is that attention to detail, attention to player development and shrewd management along the way can outdo and outpace the tanking strategy 9 times out of 10.

By committing to winning in Hamilton and hopefully Montreal, Gainey and his team can grow the winning mentality over time. Though they may miss the Rick Nash every once in a while, by teaching an ethic, they can make their Plekanecs into more effective players over the long run.

For me, tanking is out. I'd much prefer the Molsons to sink whatever windfalls they get form the playoffs into more men like Guy Boucher and more and better amateur and pro scouts.

When it comes to games that remain – win them all if you can. Try to win them all, no question. More good will come of 25 games of a team gelling and pulling in one direction than a 34% chance at a great player.


Draft lottery

On a final note, and as we're on the topic of the draft.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the draft lottery. My own were born of the fact I assumed I knew what was going on, so never really looked into it. As I had a look, I found out some interesting things many of you must already know, but some of you might find blow assumptions away:

1) There is only one pick determined by lottery. Once that lottery has taken place, all other picks proceed in the reverse order of the standings.

2) All teams who don't make the playoffs are in the lottery. However, the rule that a team can only move up 4 places means only the bottom 5 can actually win the 1st overall pick. Not being in the bottom five, however, does not preclude you from winning the lottery. So a team in 7th can win the lottery, but that team will only actually move up to 3rd in the draft.

3) A team can only move down one place, but this is obvious given the first finding.

This has interesting implications. The team in 5th from last can only pick 1st, 5th or 6th in actual fact. They can never acquire the 2nd, 3rd or 4th picks, because a team can't move up less than 4 places so long as there are places to move ahead. The 5thfrom last team has best odds of picking 5th (74.7%), but actually has a better chance of picking 6th (17.2%) than 1st (8.1%). The team in last is often said to have a 25% of winning the lottery, but given they retain the first pick if any team from 6th to 14th from the bottom win the lottery, they actually have a 48.2% chance of winning the first pick.

Game #54Habs Get Caught In Cat-Trap

Details

Date: 26/01/10
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Florida

Loss: 1-2

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

Habs goalscorers: Plekanec
Opposition goalscorers: Matthias (2)

Play of the game

Can you believe that we only had one PP? If you actually watched the game the answer should be a resounding NO as the refs 'let 'em play' a little too much for the Habs liking. Luckily, however, we were able to muster one opportunity thanks to the hard work of Metropolit who was able to get a tripping call with some aggressive work behind Vokoun's net. On the PP we put together a fantastic play that had Markov written all over it. The Habs were keeping the puck in the zone nicely and it was Andrei who was doing the best at this. On this particular play he was the one who threw it to the open side where there was no coverage. There Camms shot it right back to Markov who had moved closer to the net. This got the D and Vokoun moving for a second time. As quickly as he got the puck back, however, Markov shifted the whole Panther team yet again with another pass across the ice. This time it was to Pleks who somehow flipped the puck up and then batted it in to put the Habs up 1-0.

Dome hockey team

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


Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
The good news is that Pleks is playing better than he was a week or two ago. The bad news, however, is that his play wasn't good enough to get by the trap of a very average team with any consistency. I am putting him in here though because he was our lone goalscorer and it was a nice goal to boot. He generated a few other chances too, but at the end of the day he, nor his linemates, generated enough.

Benoit Pouliot
Tonight Ben was the stand-out on his line as he accounted for more shots than his linemates combined. I would suggest that he pass more, but when I look closer I do see that he is often given the puck in an obvious shooting position, often where a one-timer is called for. He came very close to scoring on 2 occasions, but couldn't find a way to beat a team that he has been so good against thus far.

Sergei Kostitsyn
Sergei played a second straight good game tonight as he is proving to be much more valuable than any of the other three players that we just jettisoned. I am unclear why Moen is being used instead of him, with Plekanec, as I think he played better than Moen in both ends tonight. He often was involved in our attacks and played a responsible defensive game. I hope that he can work his way back onto the PK and I am also thinking that his play will force Martin to use him more than 12 minutes/game.

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
Markov did very well on the PP, but unfortunately had very little time to work with the extra man. Aside from that he was one of our top defencemen in our own end and represented our best chance of getting through the neutral zone. Surprisingly he played less than 3 other Habs - something that I think may have cost us more attacking time.

Jaroslav Spacek
The player who played the most tonight was Spacek who, when I think about it, deserved every minute. A few games ago I called for more usage of #6 and I am glad to see it tonight. I would still keep him at 22 minutes while increasing Markov's minutes, though, as I believe those can be taken from Gill and O'Byrne. Jaro, once again, did a great job in our own end with a few very nice defensive plays. His game-high 4 blocked-shots is another indication of how well he is doing in terms of limiting chances against us.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak - Game Puck
This game could have been a shutout, but could have also been a 4-goal effort against. I am, therefore, quite pleased that Halak gave us a very good chance to win tonight. It would have been nice to see him stop one of the two goals tonight, though, as his play of late had me believing that he should have. This game will improve his save% and GAA, but will likely get him another game on the bench as a loss, in his case, means he sits.

Comments

I thought that the Habs actually played a pretty good opening 25-30 minutes. Sure the score was tied at 0, but never did I feel in trouble as it seemed to me a point was an inevitability. Halfway through the second, however, things changed and the Panthers were stopping us with more regularity and in turn were generating more chances themselves. I think that in a vain attempt to break their neutral-zone trap we were going too far up as a team, thus letting up odd-man rushes. We then somehow found a way to draw a penalty and that gave us a chance, before the end of the second, to go up by 1. Despite more shots than Florida in the third those odd-man rushes towards Halak continued and the Habs started letting up quality chances. The 2 goals against meant that Florida was able to become the first team, this year, to beat the Habs when they have held a lead after 2 periods - impressive when you think of it.

2 things that standout from the third period, aside from the goals, don't bode well for the Habs as we near the stretch and get ever closer to the playoffs. First, there was the passing issue. Montreal, in the last 5 minutes, seemed unable to put quality passes together and the result ended up being a broken play, a giveaway or a 30-second re-group to see if we could get it right on try #2. This type of passing, to break a trap, must be improved as teams like this should not be able to shut us down so effectively. The second point, and a good reason why I think we only scored 1 was the lack of penalties called. This, to me, is representative of 'playoff' hockey which we have all come to accept as the time where the rules change. Unlike basketball, where a foul is a foul, baseball, where a catch is an out and football, where refs treat the super bowl like week 1, hockey feels the need to change the rules at certain times of the year. Tonight was a preview of this type of hockey and it does not suit Montreal whatsoever. I think that tonight's motivation was that the refs believed that Montreal had too strong of a PP and that since it is almost a certain goal they would make sure to not call anything too questionable. Within the last 20 minutes alone I saw 3 plays that should have resulted in Habs PPs, but I believe that the refs didn't want to penalize Florida that much, by a goal let's say. This, of course, defeats the purpose of being good on the PP and also represents a horrible way to officiate any sport. To be fair to the Panthers the calls did (or didn't) favour both teams, but I am assuming that the Habs PP (8% more efficient than FLA's) just may have been a better bet at a goal. We can call the Habs stupid for relying on special-teams to carry the team through the season, but I am sick and tired of hockey changing at the refs' discretion. We have a rule book, why can't we employ some non-idiots to implement those rules in every single game and every single minute of the season? Yes, it is a shame to be scored on the PP, but it is also a shame to have a player held in the corner when he had a clear route to the net. Taking away our advantage just means that you are giving the other team a bigger one. Following the rules, in my mind, is the only fair way to go and I am sad to say that the NHL can't even follow the rules they have made. Imagine GMs just went over the cap in March because the league thought it was more exciting that way, because they just wanted to 'let 'em play'?