Game #54Very Solid Effort Lifts Habs Over Pens

Details

Date: 07/02/2012
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Pittsburgh

Win: 3-2

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

Habs goalscorers: Leblanc, Eller (1, SO), (Bourque, Plekanec - SO)
Opposition goalscorers: Dupuis, Neal, (Malkin, Kunitz - SO)

Play of the game

The play of the game was the shootout, our lowly, pathetic shootout. Price contributed with some big saves and we got 3 goals. The best of the bunch was Bourque's as it put us up right off the bat and gave the team and the fans confidence that a win, against the Pens in this fashion, was indeed possible.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec - Game Puck
He was dynamite on the PK early on and did a fantastic job at shutting down the league's best player all night. In the end he was rewarded for his selfless efforts when he scored the game-winning goal in the shootout. When he plays like he has done the past few games we are a better team. Let's hope that he keeps it up.

Lars Eller
Lars had an up and down game. He wasn't that dominant at times, but still managed a very timely goal and a beauty in the shootout. He didn't stand out too much beyond that, but it is notable that he was our only player that was +2.

Louis Leblanc
The kid scored a fantastic goal to put us up and played a pretty solid game otherwise. He was a threat in their end with 4 shots and played very well along the boards. I hope that he continues to progress, wherever he plays for the rest of this season, as there seems to be hope that he could be a good one in the years to come.

Defencemen

PK Subban
He was in their top players' faces all night and you could see the frustration building within the Penguins. Tonight he did everything right and was at his best. It has been a long season of realizing that he isn't a PP specialist, but it has been a thrill to watch him excel in our own end. He made the save of the game in the second when Price got caught; it was an impressive sliding stop.

Josh Gorges
Like PK, Josh was outstanding in our own end. He played the type of game against Malkin and Neal that Spacek and Hamrlik did two years ago in the playoffs vs. Ovechkin then Crosby. Josh is a coach's dream in the way that he works and follows the plan; is it just me or are more and more people following him?

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey's weak aspects were on display tonight, but boy, so were his good ones. He made poor choices with the puck a couple of times and was almost caught way out for a goal. In the shootout he could have easily let him his usual 50% (4), but thanks to two posts only let in two. He also made 4 very good saves. Throughout the game, however, he was alert and was a huge reason why Pittsburgh never had a lead. Are he and his team heating up at the same time? Surely it is too late, right?

Comments

This was a fantastic game to watch and may have been the closest thing we'll have to a playoff game all year in Montreal. The fact that it was scorelss for so long made things get really intense and really exciting. Our PK generated some serious chances that got the fans into it and so, there was a great atmosphere in the building. We scored a very good goal and then a very lucky one thanks to a bit of cheating by Fleury. We didn't have too many offensive chances beyond those, but we kept it close. That is because our defensive play was spectacular. The short-handed goal was another demonstration of how bad our PP is, but otherwise our play was sound as we respected the gameplan.

Cunneyworth impressed me a few weeks ago when he started using 7 defenceman all as D rather than putting one on the 4th line. I like that concept and am happy to see it is still in effect. Another concept that I really like is the creation of a defensive line. Tonight Plekanec (probably our best all-around player) skated with Darche (who played 21 minutes; second amongst the forwards) and Moen. Having such a solid defensive unit which can shut-down the opposition's best is genius. Yes, Tomas is 'wasted', but we are then able to slip a 3rd and 4th liner on there and get better results than if we had Bourque or Kostitsyn on that line. This then frees up the Desharnais line and players like Eller, Leblanc, Kostitsyn and Bourque to play more freely. I liked what he did as I always am for new thinking in the game. You never know, the concept of having your top centre play with your two bottom wingers on a checking line is something that just may catch on!

Game #2 Canadiens Beat Newest Rivals

Details

Date: 9/10/2010
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Pittsburgh

Win: 3-2

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

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri (2), Gomez
Opposition goalscorers: Malkin, Letestu

Play of the game

To decide on this night's play, I needed the assistance of instant replay. The instant replay on this particular save opened my eyes. The game was already tied 1-1, the Penguins were beginning to come on stronger and were on the PP again, this time on a 2-man advantage. The play itself from the Penguins was a thing of beauty as well, probably worthy of their play of the night. But with all those things in place, and the pressure on Carey Price to be the best penalty killer, he came through. After he registered no shot from Malkin, he sprung left to follow the pass. When Crosby met the pass in mid air without hesitation he was as shocked as many to find an obstacle. The save was made. Glove hand no less.

Dome hockey team

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

Tomas Plekanec
I remember on Halpern's signing, many said it was to relieve Pleks of his heavy load. Maybe some time in the future, but certainly not yet. His PK duty was a team high 4:52 and he's on as the man of choice for those 5-on-3s. PK isn't all he can do, however. There was also the little matter of setting up a highlight goal with lightning feet and clever hands. The best all around player not wearing pads, I thought.

Mike Cammalleri
Showed why he was missed the other night. At times, Mike was invisible, then there were the flashes of brilliance leading to 2 goals. Mike is the type of player that makes the difference between wins and losses. Simple as that.

Travis Moen
I've given Moen a hard time over the summer. I think sometimes for good reason. Tonight, though, Moen played a great Travis Moen game. In fact, it was a great game for any forward, I thought. Though he still never looks like scoring when he bursts around defenders on the wing, if the right linemates are found for him, he may well set them up with his errant shots. His best play was along the boards where he leveraged his size well and won many a puck.

Defencemen

PK Subban
PK played a decent game and was again a great addition to the PP. His biggest and most useful contribution on the night, though, might have been his ability to drive Penguins and their fans to certain distraction. if this is a new rivalry, I think PK will be near the heart of it.

Josh Gorges
I thought Gill had an interesting game. I thought Josh was the more sound. This game was not a great defensive masterpiece for the Canadiens, as they decided to play baseline tennis at times with one of the best baseline teams in the game. Gorges kept the pace and delivered good sound passes throughout. To top it off, he found that little bit of magic that led to the victory, one of those timely seeing-eye shots we've often missed.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
It's a fine line between win and loss, success and failure, boos and cheers. Tonight Carey tread that line with few errors. This game will go down as a steal for Carey Price with the highlights vs. Crosby to prove it and is just the kind of game he needed. The next time he needs inspiration for what to do when Spacek leaves him out to dry, it will be refreshing to know he need only look at tape of himself. Going back to Montreal, this was the perfect outing for Price (it'll quell most of the boos), and he should be pleased with himself for pulling it off.

Comments

A good result to prevent an unnecessarily poor start for the Habs. Perhaps the team relied on fortune. However, they deserved that just a bit. As I said in the preview, this won't hinder the Pens, but losing could have created a mess for the Habs. in the interest of a second playoff date, the Habs win was better planning.

I thought the game itself was entertaining too. The contrast between this game and the Toronto game could hardly have been starker. Against Toronto, Montreal looked flat and disinterested. Both teams played out the minutes. The build up was slow, the shots were few and the emotion was measured. There was a lot of hitting on the scoresheet, but little in my memory. Tonight, Pittsburgh took 38 shots and hit (an alleged) 47 players. There was animosity, fighting, roughing (without gloves), and a lot of pace. The Pittsburgh fans even found a way to boo the Habs.

When people ask me if I've always hated the Leafs, I tell them that actually I haven't. When I was younger the Leafs were in a different conference, and probably more importantly were just an inconsequential match-up. Back in those days, I detested the Bruins and Sabres, Flames and Flyers. As the Penguins move towards a fiercer rivalry with our club, I feel the shift again. Perhaps the Leafs are no longer a rival of great importance, perhaps the team takes or leaves those games and gets on with the other rivalries. Who knows?

What's clear is that the Penguins are intent on being rivals of this team, and the Habs players are answering the bell. It's encouraging because the games are exciting. It's also exciting because it indicates that the Canadiens are now, at least somewhat, peers of the contending Pens again. This game was a nice re-acquaintance with the penalty farmers, and I look forward to watching the Habs run with them again.

Meeting At The New Igloo: A Preview

A preview for Game 2. As before, we steer clear of lines and pairings and other news from Brossard and look to more important things for this match-up with the Penguins.


Key match-ups

Crosby and Plekanec
In May, Halak handed the penguins their walking papers, but it was Plekanec who handed Crosby his lunch. The Stanley Cup champ was hounded and humbled to a single goal and a minus contribution to his team. Though I'm sure we're all very worried that Letang is motivated by hate, it's Crosby's dislike of Plekanec that might be of most interest. Plekanec is ready for the season as always and is probably more than ready to replicate his form.


Fleury and Price
Two goalies who started young. One has won a Cup and so is held up as a standard for the other. Both had average numbers in 2009-10, both are looking to get above 0.900 in save percentage this year. Should be interesting to see who makes the important stops.


Letang and Subban
Two young offensive defencemen ready to accept new roles on their teams. I'm actually more interested to see if Letang's hatred can help him to defend a Subban rush.


Cooke and O'Byrne
Matt Cooke has a lot to answer for with Josh Gorges. When Matt Cooke injured Andrei Markov, it was a chance for Martin to humiliate Ryan O'Byrne by choosing to bench him in the playoffs. To start this season, O'Byrne has to suffer playing with Picard because Markov's injury lingers on, and when Markov returns will probably have lost his job to Picard. Man, he must want to pummel Cooke. Cooke, of course, doesn't know O'Byrne because the 6'5" Dman is usually hiding when the rough stuff that Cooke instigates gets under way.


Momentum

Backwards. Both teams have opened their seasons with losses. Both teams made their goalies look beatable. And both teams stars were on for important goals against. The Penguins were expected to storm and now might be downgraded to cruise through the East. The Habs didn't win when they could've, should've, would've.

On the bright side, there are no ties in the NHL anymore, so someone will get a win.


Penguins the Habs covet

Sydney Crosby
Makes things happen all on his own. He could probably even make a scorer out of a Pouliot with disinterested positioning.

Maxime Talbot
A French Canadian sure thing. He's like the Lapierre who doesn't take half seasons off. This Canadiens management would dearly love a player like Talbot.


Habs the Penguins covet

Mike Cammalleri
A winger.

Brian Gionta
A winger.

Andrei Kostitsyn
A winger.

Benoit Pouliot
A winger.

Tomas Plekanec
Can play wing.


Ready-made excuses

Michel Therrien's not in either city anymore, so honest indictments of goalies are unlikely after this one. More likely, one of these excuses for a loss:

If Montreal lose:
- Markov is injured
- Crosby plays for them
- French Canadian goalies always shut us out
- We played Thursday
- Our defensive strategy relies on a lot of luck, sorry

If Pittsburgh lose:
- We're tired from delivering season tickets all day
- We thought Paul Martin would mask all our defensive deficiencies
- Fleury is still young
- They forced us to play the puck to wingers


Impact of this result

Pittsburgh will make the playoffs this year, so this game is for positioning. The impact of a win or a loss is little really, since the President's trophy is meaningless and playoff winning will depend so much more on which wingers are added at the trade deadline than those playing tonight.

If Price loses again, I think there will be some kind of exorcism, as he will start to believe there's a cloud over him again and thereby resign to not moving his left arm all season. If the Habs win, all will be forgotten and euphoria will sweep the city until the next practice when lines are revealed.

On a serious note, Pouliot is on thin ice. As coaching decisions are made on a shift-by-shift basis in this city now, he must out-perform Eller tonight or start seriously considering community college.

Game #2-7Pens Players Not As Ready As The Habs; Next Please!

Details

Date: 12/05/10
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Montreal

Win: 5-2

Habs Goalie: Halak (W)
Opposition Goalie: Fleury (L), Johnson

Habs goalscorers: Gionta (2), Moore, Cammalleri, Moen
Opposition goalscorers: Kunitz, Staal

Play of the game

Pittsburgh was coming hard and they were getting the calls they needed to mount their comeback. With the Habs up by 2, and 13 minutes left, Gill got called for touching Crosby. That meant that the Pens, who not only had the momentum, had a chance to get within one with a whole lot of time to spare. Halak, however, was simply unbelievable on this kill and made save after save to preserve our 2-goal lead. One save in particular was too much, it was just too good to be true. The pass/shot came in from Gonchar and went right to Malkin. The Russian deflected it into what he thought was an empty cage. Instead, the puck met the outstretched pad of Halak who, once again, amazed us all.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Brian Gionta
Brian got the ball rolling with a goal early and sealed it with another one late; both were scored on the PP. He wanted this win and you could see it on his face, with every penalty-kill and each time he shot. All of a sudden he has 7 goals in the playoffs and is giving us a potent threat from our second line.

Tomas Plekanec
Pleks doesn't seem too worried about goals or points and seems to only care about winning, winning as a team. He is doing all of the little things fabulously, like getting under Crosby's skin. Where he is standing out the most for me, however, is on the PK. Tonight he played more than any other Hab (6:33) while a man down and was a big reason that the Pens couldn't score on their 6 chances. He also made an incredible pass on Cammalleri's game-winner - just to remind us he can play in that end too.

Travis Moen
Nothing against Cammalleri, who once again was a warrior, but how could I leave out Moen tonight? He was fantastic and filled in very well on the second line. His short-handed goal proved to be more crucial than we could have imagined at the time as he made a complete fool of the way-too-casual Gonchar. Like Plekanec, Travis was a force in both ends as he played a perfect playoff game.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
Our D was good tonight, but I did feel that Hamrlik, Gill and Bergeron could have done more. Those three made a few too many mistakes for my liking and they could have cost us. One can only wonder if Darche at 2:10 is better than Bergeron off D (O'Byrne in) - especially when 2 guys are just back from injury. Anyhow, Gorges compensated very well for his teammates as he, once again, played an outstanding game. He does, however, now get a lot of praise and I think I'll steal one from Topham when I say Gorges is no longer under-rated, no, now he is simply 'rated'.

P.K. Subban
Subban has proven to be quite the addition to this team and one can only wonder if a series win here (or in Washington) would have been possible without this youngster. It is hard to believe that he is only 20 and that he only has 11 games under his belt, isn't it? I can't, however, always dwell on the fact that he is young and must focus on the fact that he is an able (very able) NHL defenceman. His 5 blocked-shots led the team and his 23 minutes were second only to Gorges. Tomorrow this boy turns 21 and becomes a man, but has been playing like one for what seems like ages.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak - Game Puck
After Game #1 Jaro really settled down and had a great series. Getting the hook in that game gave him a chance to rest and get ready for the rest of the series. From that point on he was unbelievable and is, again, the biggest reason that we are moving on. His goaltending, right now, is really as good as it gets and could be enough to take us to where we want to get to. I think that after two long rounds he will benefit from the longer break (we can't start earlier than Sunday) and will hopefully be ready to go in Game #1 in Philly or Boston.

Comments

Montreal started very well, but before we had the chance to start Crosby took a very bad penalty. Maybe a little too excited, maybe trying to get back at Gorges, he hit Josh from behind and it cost him 2. It sunned him (his words) because it was early in a Game #7. Too early to be making a cheap hit? No, Sid thought it was too early to have a penalty. We scored 2 goals within 14 minutes of that and seemed to get in Fleury's head. A particularly brutal hold (uncalled I might add) took Orpik out of the play on our second as he chose to hold Lapierre against the back of the net instead of covering his man, Moore, out front. I felt that our sound play gave us a lead and we were 40 minutes from the end.

The second period started well with another 2 goals, but a bounce off a ref's skate and a dropped stick by Hamrlik got the Pens within 2. The next 15 minutes of hockey would be nearly unbearable as it seemed like it was chance after chance for Malikn and co. We, thanks mostly to Halak, stood our ground, though and then got a 5th to seal it.

The next round, in theory, should be our easiest, but I think we all know that it won't be. Things only get harder as you go through and you can bet your bottom dollar that our opponents will still see us as a beatable 8th seed. Crosby seems to think that getting out-chanced and out-shot isn't the way to go as he 'has never heard of any team doing that as a strategy', so I guess we are doomed. Maybe, however, instead of being sarcastic about our chances he should realize that it was him, more than anyone, who was responsible for the Pens loss here. I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean that without Sid this isn't the best team in the league, with him, I would say that it is. Montreal found a way to take him out of the game and it worked. Of course it helps when you have a better goalie, but our D also did a great job. Let this be another lesson to those who think that shots and chances should equal wins. No Sid, our strategy is as old as the sport itself - score more than the other team, no matter how on earth you can.

Game #2-5Tired Habs Group Run Out Of Gas; Lose Gill

Details

Date: 08/05/10
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Pittsburgh

Loss: 1-2

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

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri
Opposition goalscorers: Letang, Gonchar

Play of the game

Too little, too late, so the goal isn't really in consideration for me. No, tonight, it was a glove-save that Halak made, point-blank, on Letestu in the third period. The save kept the game close enough to give us a chance as I believe a goal there would have prematurely sunken us. In the end it wasn't a game-saver, but it still was a very pretty play.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Mike Cammalleri
Let's start with the good, shall we? He scored a late goal, his 9th, and fired as many shots on Fleury throughout the game. He was our most consistent threat (out-shooting Crosby by 8) and was likely our best forward from start to finish. What wasn't so great was the fact that he was getting in too close to the net; he wasn't making life very hard for the Pens. A lot of shots, and more chances than any of his teammates, but still not the level that we need from him.

Mathieu Darche
If Darche can be inserted onto the third line and out-perform 9 teammates then it makes you wonder who else may be able to do the same? Mat wasn't able to do so tonight because he has more skill, no, it is more about fatigue or, in his case, lack thereof. Fresh legs and a certain hunger to be in the playoffs (and playing for a contract), combined with energy, can be a valuable tool in this marathon. Could Sergei give us more of the same? Do I care that he may or may not be a jerk? Do I give that his teammates may or may not like him? I think so, no and no. Just like in Darche's case he is a healthy alternative who could bring something new. Darche, for his part, used all of this to his advantage and played a very good fore-checking game. I liked his work with Laps as they came close on a few separate occasions.

Maxim Lapierre
Another spirited affair from Lapierre tonight. He also looked like one of the least tired players as the top two lines couldn't really breakthrough. There were a few occasions where I thought that he could have been more aggressive offensively, but at the end of the day he did his job. Also nice to see him go 5-0 on face-offs.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
Losing Gill could be very bad news for us, but tonight we made sure it didn't effect us too much. The main reason for that is that Gorges was able to take on more responsibility and lead (with Hammer) this suddenly inexperienced group. No Markov, Spacek, Gill and Mara...who would have thought, eh? Having 5 NHL D-men that are even eligible, at this point, is miraculous when you think of it. Josh will have to do more of the same on Monday if Gill is out, but are you the least bit surprised when I tell you that I think he can handle it?

Roman Hamrlik
The young D and Bergeron slipped up a bit in this game, so thank goodness for Hamrlik. He was very steady all game long and helped Subban through a learning game. I was surprised that Martin didn't use him more actually, towards the end. He has been a consistent offensive threat from the back over the years and, when you need goals, I may use him more than Bergeron as the fear of letting one in, at any time, is drastically reduced.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak - Game Puck
It is funny how a .920 night feels like an off night, but it somehow does, doesn't it? I got past those feelings, though, and realized that, yet again, he was our best player. I would love for someone else to play even better, believe you me, but you also can't beat this type of goaltending. He is giving our team a chance to win each night, in every situation and that is what makes our prospects in this series seem so exciting. The second goal was a bit weak, the first was a PP blast, but beyond those two shots I though that he was very good.

Comments

Tonight the reffing wasn't great, but wasn't the reason we lost, let's just call it typical. Our D was good, but not great, no one to blame though really. Halak was himself, not his best self, but certainly his usual self. The offence had chances, many of them actually, and even out-shot the Pens, but they didn't capitalize when they had to. So, there you have it, no one was bad, but no one stepped up and took the bull by the horns. The forwards got in, almost scored, but no one player (or group of players) really didn't do more than, the generic, 'generated chances'. At this stage of the year, when you are trying to knock a second great team in a row you can't play pretty well. You can't play a game that may have been good enough for a 4-1 win against the Islanders in February. No, it must be the game of someone's life, the goal of someone's season or the dominance that we could speak of for years. We looked tired and out of ideas by the end which is upsetting as that tells me we weren't prepared enough. I don't, however, believe that we can' t win this series and I don't, for a second, believe that there aren't a handful of players that could step up to the plate. On Monday night we need 1, 2 or more players to be at their best as you can rest assured Pittsburgh will want to get it done. These are the types of games that players dream of, so we musn't fear them. We must shoot for the glory and players must strive to be their best because, at this point, what do we really have to lose?

Game #2-3No Sustained Offensive Pressure Catches Up With Habs

Details

Date: 04/05/10
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Montreal

Loss: 0-2

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

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Malkin, Dupuis

Play of the game

In the third period, when we needed strong defensive efforts, Subban made an incredible play which I was hoping would be a game-saver. The play kept the game as a 0-0 game, but will likely be forgotten as in the end the Pens scored on that very PP. I still think, however, that it was one of the best plays of the series and the Habs' best on the night. A pass came from Halak's left to right and was destined for a wide open Pen. Halak was out of it, but P.K. slid across, on his stomach, to take away any chance of the pass being completed. I really liked what he did for us, and Halak, there and am upset that that play didn't end up meaning more.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Scott Gomez
Scott was our best forward tonight, but, for a change in a loss, that doesn't mean that the rest played badly. His line, whether with Pouliot or Camms, was consistently our best all night and were the ones who generated our chances throughout. I can't think of what Scott could have done differently tonight, but I guess scoring lots of goals and drawing tons of penalties wouldn't go amiss for game #4.

Brian Gionta
7 of our 18 shots came from Gionta so he can't be had up for not trying, but a scorer like him rarely shoots 7 without potting one or two. All in all he played a good game, but there was one play, on their scoring PP, in which I felt he could have been stronger (it was poor coverage at the left-point which made for an easy pass to the right side). It didn't lead to the goal, but I do expect more from the NJ-man.

Maxim Lapierre
Our bottom 2 lines haven't been too much of a force lately as their assignment seems to be - dump it in, get off. Tonight, however, I thought, of the bottom 6 forwards, Max showed some life. He tried to stir things up and that is never a bad thing. He did take 3 penalties, but in order to draw some and enrage the other team you must also take some, so I can live with that.

Defencemen

Hal Gill
Gill did a good job tonight of covering both Crosby and Malkin and, had we scored, would be remembered as the hero for doing just that. Instead the loss, and our lack of scoring, will overshadow what was a very strong effort. In particular Crosby had 1 shot and didn't seem himself as his ex-teammate made sure that he got very little room. A bit weird that Beregeron played more than him tonight as, once again, MAB struggled in his own end.

P.K. Subban
Piqué looked very good all game and did just about everything but score. There was a very heavy shot on net, some good rushes, a few amazing spins, dekes and passes and, best of all, poise in his own end. I can happily say that I am not the least bit worried about him, in any situation, but do think we need more from our back end. Spacek will help immensely as that will relegate Bergeron the the 4th line (or beyond), but I think that it is pretty clear that there is no replacing Marky.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak - Game Puck
Funny that a 24-shot night seems like a night off, but it really does, doesn't it? We can't forget, though, that Halak was good in this one and that he, once again, ensured that a goal or two could have been enough. There were a lot of good saves, especially in the 2nd, which had us all believing that we could not only win the game, but that we were outplaying Pittsburgh. A save on Malkin would have been ideal, but one mistake, on the PK, is well within the acceptable limit.

Comments

There aren't too many negatives from tonight, really, as we seemed to have a plan and we stuck to it. This was essentially a one-goal game in which they scored on the PP and we didn't. We were able to limit their chances to a handful and kept shots-against down to 25. Two cross-bars and two robs by Fleury meant that our chances were there, but luck wasn't on our side. I think that if we play game #4 like we played tonight then we could/should see a better result. One thing that I would like to see, however, is Sergei getting dressed over Darche. I like Darche, but he has played under 1 minute total in the past 2 games (0 seconds tonight) and that is just a waste. Put Sergei there, sit him if you want, but then you at least give yourself that option if need be. Sergei has more potential than Darche to score, is better defensively, is a better penalty-killer and is a quicker/more creative player. I understand the want to shorten the bench, but not using all 18 of your allowed spots is useless at this time of the year. Martin has to stop thinking about rewards and punishments, favourites and doghouse tenants and, instead, think about how he is going to squeak out 3 more wins in 4 games. Spacek is desperately needed right now and, considering the way he played in the Washington series, would be of serious value to us even at 60%.

Game #59A Saturday Treat As Montreal Out-Shoots And Out-Plays The Champs

Details

Date: 06/02/10
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Montreal


Win: 5-3

Habs Goalie: Halak (W)
Opposition Goalie: Fleury (L), Johnson

Habs goalscorers: Plekanec, Gionta (2), Gomez, Darche
Opposition goalscorers: Dupuis, Guerin, Malkin

Play of the game

The game was 1-1 when this play happened and I think it was the play that paved the way to our victory. It also, conveniently enough, was the best goal of the night. The Habs had just killed their third of three penalties and things were looking good, but we needed a goal to have something to show for it. This play started with a great pad save from Halak which he sent, in rebound form, out to Hamrlik. Roman then had the good sense to throw a backhand pass to the wide-open Gionta on the left side. Brian then was in alone on Fleury and made a great move to score his first of the night.

Dome hockey team

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


Forwards

Brian Gionta - Game Puck
Gionta had an incredible game tonight as he chipped in with 3 points (2G, 1A). He really looked at his best and was, at times, dominant in the Pittsburgh zone. He was the best of our forwards which, tonight, was a very difficult thing to be. It didn't, however, go unnoticed as his ice-time and PP time were both quite high (21+, 6+).

Scott Gomez
I list Scott as our third forward on the night and I must say that was probably the hardest call all year (and for all the right reasons for once!). Darche, Desharnais, Trotter, White and Sergei could have all ended up in here and I am sure no one would have complained. Gomez, however, was a cut above as not only did he generate quite a few chances, but he also picked up a goal and an assist. On top of that he was our best face-off man (a far cry from last game) by going 15-10.

Tomas Plekanec
Pleks got the ball rolling tonight with a goal on his first shift. He didn't, however, stop there as he managed to bring his point total up to 58 by adding 2 assists later in the game. Darche and Sergei were very good alongside Tom and that line alone could have easily had another 2 or 3 goals. At one point I saw him punching Gonchar in the face in a scrum which I think shows the new Plekanec in one split second; he is no longer intimidated by the big boys, but is instead now one himself.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
Josh looked like the best in our own end tonight with some very solid play. His pairing, with Gill, was in fact our best defensive duo which was a very welcome surprise - anytime you can get that out of your third pairing you have to be pretty happy. Only Markov played more out of the defencemen tonight and a lot of that had to do with the PPs. His best play may have been a blocked-shot in the last 2 minutes which preserved our 2-goal lead. Efforts like Josh put forth tonight, against the league's best, will be what we need to see all this week.

Roman Hamrlik
Hamrlik's defensive play was solid enough tonight, but what really stood out to me was the offence. He played a direct role in Gionta's 1st and was on the ice for two more - Plekanec's and Darche's. 4 more games Roman and then it is time to hit the beach - keep up the great work.

Goaltender

Jarsolav Halak
Jaro didn't have as good game tonight as Thursday (stats can tell you that), but all in all was pretty strong again. The first and third goals were gettable, but both stemmed from defensive errors - the second goal was weak, but luckily not costly. I think Price should play tomorrow to keep him fresh and give Halak a bit of a break. We can't forget that when most of our team is relaxing for two weeks Halak will be a starter at the Olympics playing pretty much every game, so we must be very aware of the fatigue factor in his case. Burning him out now may indeed hurt Slovakia, but it would hurt us more in the long run come very busy March.

Comments

The Habs started the game very well with a goal that I really loved to see. Seeing Darche bowl over Fleury and then seeing the puck go in the net put a huge smile on my face. Kudos to the ref for realizing that hitting the goalie isn't always goaltender obstruction, especially when the goalie is the one obstructing the route. That set the tone for Montreal, but unfortunately it was short-lived. The next 3o minutes went by without a goal, but throughout that time the team convinced me that this was a very winnable game. During that time we out-chanced, out-shot and out-played Pittsburgh in all areas of the game. The only thing that was missing to that point was a second goal. Then, after our last kill of the night, we scored the first of 4 more goals.

To me there are no real negatives from this game, but, instead, way too many positives to even talk about. I will, however, talk about 2 - depth and discipline. First, our depth, our real depth, showed tonight as the 3 new call-ups (Desharnais, White and Trotter) did an amazing job. They had the good fortune of being placed on the same line (lucky for them as the respect issue and nerves (see Maxwell, Ben) were not present) and played the best game of a third/fourth line I have seen from us all year. They proved that you don't need to be a first-rounder that Timmins is banking on (Pacioretty) or a player with NHL experience (D'Agostini) to be any good. Those 3 blew anything #'s 36 and 67 have done since December right out of the water. It was great stuff and it will certainly put some pressure on other Habs if we ever get healthy. The other big plus tonight was the fact that we had 7 Power-Plays to Pittsburgh's 3. For once we didn't shoot the puck over the glass or get called for a lazy back-checking hook, but instead managed to make the Pens be the ones to act stupid. I doubt we'll continue getting that many PPs, but when you consider that we scored 4 even-strength goals it hopefully won't matter as much as we move forward.

Game #12Crosby Show Hard to Watch For Habs Fans

Details

Date: 28/10/09
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Pittsburgh

Loss: 1-6

Habs Goalie: Halak (L), Price
Opposition Goalie: Fleury (W)

Habs goalscorers: Plekanec
Opposition goalscorers: Crosby (3), Rupp, Goligoski, Kunitz

Play of the game

Chances not converted were the only plays to rival our goal tonight, but alas, it is the goal that prevails. The Habs were on a 5-on-3 (the only time we were capable of really outplaying the Pens) when this all went down. The puck almost came out of the zone, but the man who ended the play, Plekanec, was the one who started it by swiftly holding the puck in at the point. Gomez then had the puck on Fleury's left with Tomas in front and Gionta at the far post. The pass went to Gionta, but it was off. Brian, however, did well to keep the puck in play as he deflected it with his skate into the slot. Plekanec had the puck and a whole lot of net to work with and, predictably, made no mistake.

Dome hockey team

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



Forwards

Tomas Plekanec - Game Puck
Pleks scored our only goal tonight, but, on top of that, was also our best forward. He was creative, quick and, unlike most others, never really gave up. I particularly liked when he repeatedly punched Guerin in the face and only wish, for that moment, that I could have been him.

Maxim Lapierre
Max has had a very quiet start to the season and has a lot of work to do to get himself to the 20-goal mark. So, he hasn't been as good as most people hoped (desperately hoped), but he has been OK. Is he a top-6 forward? No. Is he a good winger? Not really, better as a centre, but, he is still trying hard. Tonight his effort was what made him stand-out above his peers. Even though he didn't score I still liked the fact that he shot the puck (led the team with 5) and tried things in the offensive zone.

Kyle Chipchura
It may because he looks much older now, but do you think Chips actually, for the first time in his life, looks like an NHLer? He looks comfortable on the ice, plays his position well and is actually bringing quite a bit to the Habs. I am hoping that he can cement his spot as our #3 man this year, because Metro, although playing very well, is really a 4th-liner at heart. Tonight Kyle was very impressive in the face-off circle 9-3 as he continues to get a bit better each game.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
This wasn't a great game for our defenders, but Hammer, yet again, stood above the rest. Yes, he was on the ice for 4 goals against, but maybe that is because he played nearly half of the game and had to play against the league's best. I saw no major personal flaws and also saw some good movement through the neutral zone and into Pittsburgh's end. If you don't think I am on with this selection feel free to let me know, but please limit your choices to Mara and Gorges as Gill and Bergeron were at their very worst tonight.

Jaroslav Spacek
Spacek's big play of the game was a high-stick (a violent one at that) to the face of Staal. Luckily Jordan was alright so we'll probably never really hear about this one again. Aside from that blunder Jaro, like Hammer was OK. He was also on for 4 goals-against, but the same arguments as above hold true. He was a little slow getting back a few times, but I was happy with his 2 shots which really tested Fleury, so that makes up for it.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Not really the return Carey had hoped for, but 2 goals on 14 shots, believe it or not, is enough to beat out Halak on this night. To be fair to both goalies Pittsburgh is good, really good. The defence let Crosby and company go to work, but that, for me, was to be expected. Neither goalie was actually brutal, but with that many quick-passes, odd-man rushes and wide-open chances what is one really meant to do? Each goalie should get a start this weekend and it will be interesting to see if this latest 'controversy' will spark some better play from either of them, Price in particular.

Comments

I'd like to say that we started strong or maybe that we had a stretch in which we outplayed the Pens, but in reality that was not the case. We kept the game at 0-0 for a while, but on this night we were the worse team for 60 long minutes. There were no major breakdowns to talk about or no real lucky/unlucky bounces, no, it was just all Pittsburgh. They are a better team than we are (probably than we can ever be) and they simply played like that tonight. Losing to them on the road, without Markov, after 4 wins isn't pleasant, but I think we all expected it, didn't we? Too many games against weaker teams may have given the fans, and players alike, some hope, but on each and every play you can see the difference between this team and the Islanders, Leafs or Thrashers of this world. The good news is that we are still on track to meet our goal for the week; 2 points (however the Habs want to get them) over the next 2 games will set us up well for month #2 of the season.

Cue The Imitators

When Anaheim won the Cup in 2007, all those who had been convinced for so long that big and nasty equated with unbeatable were vindicated.

Then last year, Detroit won. So everyone was re-educated to realise that puck possession with a perfect specimen anchoring the D was the way to go.


Now this. Pittsburgh (or should I say Pittsburg Magnitogorsk) have proven the real way to win is different.

First you have to commit to 5 years of absolute futility. That will get you the 5 top 3 draft picks you need to build a team. Obviously, you need to be careful to time this so you don't get Kovalchuk and Stefan, but Malkin and Crosby. More helpful would be if you timed a lockout. That way, one season of losing gets you two top picks.

The next thing you have to do is fire the coach that got you to the final the year before and hire someone with no NHL experience. Not too early though. Probably February to be safe.

Next, name one of your first overall draft picks the captain the minute he steps onto the ice. If he's 18, all the better.

Make sure you scout Russians well -- they are the key You'll need a dominant one to be the best forward over the season and the playoffs. You could probably use one to be your best offensive defenceman and a feisty playoff winger that scores timely goals would be nice too (for flex we'll let you get away with former Soviet for now). This strategy is key, because when you're down, you'll find out how Russians can lift your team of indifferent Canadians with their long thirst for a sip from Stanley's mug.

For the rest of your team, don't fret too much. It doesn't matter. You can make trades for any Islander, because you have centres who've learned from the master at how to make anyone (Rob Brown) score. Depth is overrated, so you can make all the silly trades you want (provided you keep those 5 top picks). Just fill the holes with names.

Also, don't worry about losing too much as the draft picks start to come through. Don't get edgy when your fans stop coming and the team might fold. This is all part of the recipe. If you need money, get that player who you never paid his full salary the last time you were bankrupt and get him to chip in.

There you go, Cup in ten years time guaranteed.


What about Detroit?

Clearly made too many mistakes. Sticking with that discipline and patient system was a mistake. Can you believe they didn't fire their coach with all the signs they had (i.e., January turning into February)? And can you believe they signed the second leading playoff point-getter and goalscorer from the year prior (a known choker)? No one else was so stupid to offer him a contract.

All this franchise has done is shown us now how to be the #1 loser. How to be the ones crying on the ice when the Russian overlords parade the trophies. A smart team has been honing their golf together after their players return from playing for Denmark and Switzerland in the Worlds.


Quick, someone tell Brian Lawton before he trades that pick.


Mocking aside, congratulations to Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh fans (Darren). This makes the league more interesting - and more excruciating for a team trying to come out of the East.

Game #59Price Puts a Solid Team Effort to Waste...Again

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Thursday February 19th, 2009
Opponent: Pittsburgh Penguins
Venue: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA

Team Stripes

Score: 4 - 5 Loss

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (L)
Opposition starting goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (W)

Habs goalscorers: Tomas Plekanec (2), Mathieu Schneider, Andrei Kostitsyn
Opposition goalscorers: Petr Sykora, Miroslav Satan, Evgeni Malkin, Maxime Talbot, Sergei Gonchar

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

Plekanec's first goal was a gem, it was a fitting reward for the player that created a play out of nothing. Pleks was the player who back-checked and stole the puck from a Pen near our blue-line. He then flew up the ice with AK. A quick pass to Kostitsyn sent Andrei in and he made one hell of a fake before returning the favour with a solid pass of his own to Pleks. Tomas one-timed the puck from the slot and beat Fleury to tie up the game for the first of three times.

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

Tomas Plekanec
Plekanec continued his hot play tonight with a very good 3-point performance. 2 of those points were goals, both were good. He used all of his speed tonight and really looked good with Andrei Kostitsyn. Max Pacioretty played a decent game beside those two, but I think there is a better alternative. If Pleks is playing well because Kovy isn't around then I say keep the two apart, but if Pleks is just finally waking up from his summer hibernation then I think we would be fools not to put our biggest talent on a line with our two hottest players.


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

Tomas Plekanec
I thought that Pleks had been playing well for some time now, but he has only really started putting up numbers in his last 4, so on this road-trip. During that stretch Plekanec has posted 7 of his 29 points - 4 goals and 3 assists. If he can play like this from here on in then I could care a less about what he did prior to last week.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Another very dangerous looking game from Andrei tonight. Both he and Pleks looked better than Crosby tonight, but, unfortunately for the Habs, Malkin outdid them all. Kostitsyn, like Plekanec, has been playing some solid hockey as of late. He, however, has been pretty consistent for us all season long. It is interesting to note though, that he too has 4 goals and 3 assists in his last 4 games. He has been at his goal-scoring best since Christmas with 16 goals in 26 games; a 50-goal pace.

Max Pacioretty
Max didn't have that great of game and was in fact not quite at the level as his two linemates, but he was our third best forward. Saku's line looked disorganized tonight, especially defensively which cost them time to operate. MaxPac did show a lot of effort and hustle tonight and made quite a nice pass to Plekanec on our third tying goal of the night. I am not sure that he has his place on this team once the Alex's are back, but he is impressing nonetheless.

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
Markov was on the ice for 2 goals against, but I felt it was more the fault of our forwards and of Price than of him or Schneider. Andrei picked up another assist tonight and had an extremely strong passing game. He looked very comfortable with Mat tonight, which is a change. Komi is being reduced to #5 ice-time which is where he belongs as he has played like a #5 most of the season. Putting Mat with Marky represents a rare occurrence in which Carbo surrounds his talent with talent.

Roman Hamrlik
Hammer picked up an assist on Kostitsyn's goal and finished the game at +1. He also joined in on the attack quite a bit tonight and looked very good when doing it. His 3 shots were more than any other defenceman as he was never afraid to let one rip. I liked the way he played in our own end and especially liked when he flattened Crosby in front of our net. It is nice to have 3 good defencemen again, but tonight was a clear example of how you need someone strong behind them for it to make any difference at all.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak
What was that? Why do we continue to voluntarily throw away points? Could this game (and yesterday's) really be Kovalev's fault? I mean, come on people. Price was atrocious yet again tonight and once again cost us any hope at points. The 'All-Star' continues to let in goals at all the wrong times and has trouble making any key saves. The worst part is that his 'slumps' have now spanned almost half of his career! In his 12 games of 2009 he has numbers that would make Brian Burke make him the starter in Toronto - he is really bad enough that he doesn't belong in the AHL. A record of 2-8-1, 2 games with 2 goals or less against (both were 2 goals), a save percentage of .870 and 40 goals against for a GAA of 3.40! These numbers are horrible and are in my opinion the #1 reason why we are in danger of not making the playoffs and why I don't believe we have a chance in hell of winning the cup with Carey anywhere near our net.



Eye-Openers
In this new section we are going to try and shed some light on certain plays or events that would otherwise go unnoticed

Alright, we embarrassed our star, but I think enough is enough. We have to start winning, end of story. We could make trades, we can continue to shuffle our lines, but at the end of the day this is the team we have. We have a goalie who doesn't really know what the goal of hockey is and we are pinning a whole system on him and the prospect of him making a save from time to time. Well, Guy, it isn't working. We need action, so I think it may be time to stop trying to fit our square pegs into your round holes and to try making some square holes. We have a fast team, we have a bad goalie, why not make a system that can complement that make-up? Let the forwards go, let the D pinch, because at the end of the day we won't get that save to keep us in the game anyway. We need offence (I reckon 6 goals/game to be safe, maybe 5 during a Price 'gem') and the most painful part is we have loads of that on this team. We have tried this 'defensive' system for way too long now and I think it is obvious that we need a serious change in philosophy. I don't, however, believe that there has to be a change in personnel, just an effort by them to work with the tools at their disposal. In a good year you can hope for 3, maybe 4 trades from Bob, well we have already had 1. So, Guy, this is your squad, please, oh please start using them to their fullest.

Overall Comments

If I were on the team I wouldn't be too relieved to be ending this road-trip. A return to the Bell Centre and a match-up against the suddenly found-again Sens may be worse than anything these guys have seen in weeks. So, what we need is a core of veterans to guide this team, to show the kids how to win again. Kovalev and co. can't teach Price not to kneel on every shot, but they can (and have done tons of times before) play through this type of thing and come out better for it on the other side. I think we will really see what type of warriors Kovalev, Hamrlik, Koivu, Schneider and Markov are in 2 days time as they are the ones that I am pinning my hopes on - sorry Guy, you had your chance.

Tonight's game could have gone either way really. The 2 goalies played a game of who's worse with Price winning by a hair. I am not surprised, after seeing that display from Fleury, that the Pens are as low as they are. I can (and am sure Kovy can too) imagine Crosby and Malkin's frustration with their 'star' goalie too. We had one really good line tonight, one decent one and two (Koivu/Chipchura's) who didn't really help. Our defencemen were better than the scoreline would suggest, but with the goaltending we are getting we are actually going to need them to be way better. I liked the fight we showed to get back in this game on 3 occasions and can only imagine the disappointment and anger the group must feel. Overall we played 2 solid games in just over 24 hours and have a single point to show for it - not really 1st in the East type stuff. Kovalev has to be in, Halak has to be in and I would even put Begin back in (I can do without a boring, 1-punch, boxing match if you don't mind) on Saturday. We are running out of time and, unlike Bob, we can't really wait till the deadline to do something about this mess.

Montreal v TampaReal Hockey Is Back

Real competitive hockey. How we missed thee, let me count the ways...


Here are 5 things we'll be glad to see on the ice again (and at home) tonight:

1) Backchecking
2) Saku Koivu and Andrei Kostitsyn
3) Carey Price's focus and concentration (we hope)
4) Points awarded
5) Cheering against Bruins, Leafs and Flyers

5 things I can admit I'll miss about all-star vs. regular season hockey:

1) Kovalev playing with an all-star left winger (sorry, rookie...)
2) Supporting Malkin and Ovechkin's team
3) Regular three-player passing plays
4) Lack of Red Wings
5) An alternative to Benoit Brunet when I tire

Finally, 5 things we hope will be packed up and stowed in a deep dark corner of the Bell Centre:

1) Boston rookies scoring at will on our goalie
2) Other rookies scoring at will on our goalie
3) Offensive pinches from stone hands Komisarek
4) Ovations for opposition players
5) Claude Julien behind our bench


Tampa tonight should be a real challenge. The all-star break is like a reset button for all teams in the league and Tampa might decide they are the Lightning again and not the "Dolts". Montreal players on the other hand have a huge task distinguishing holiday in Florida from near-holiday in Florida.

Good game.

Game #37Canadiens Defence And Goalies Not Prepared For Tight Game

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Friday, January 2nd, 2009
Opponent: New Jersey Devils
Venue: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ

Team Stripes

Final Score: 1-4 - Loss

Habs starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak (L), Marc Denis
Opposition starting goalie: Scott Clemmensen (W)

Habs goalscorers: Max Pacioretty
Opposition goalscorers: Brian Gionta, Zach Parise, John Madden, Jamie Langenbrunner

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

Not much to crow about in this loss, unfotunately. Several players had good nights and chiefly among them were newcomers Pacioretty and Chipchura. The play of the game, rather predictably, was the Canadiens goal. It merits recognition because, not only was it a good shot, but the build up was also smart and noteworthy.

Kyle Chipchura received the puck following a takeaway just in front of Halak. From there he accelerated for a few strides then decisively caromed the puck off the boards to provide a tasty free puck just inside the Devils blueline. Shocked Devils defenders, used to more lethargic plays from the Habs by this point, were caught off guard as Pacioretty sped down the right wing and collected the free puck. His speed carrying him into open ice, he then righted Halak's earlier wrong by loosing a great snapper just under the crossbar gloveside on the hot Clemmensen.

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

Tomas Plekanec
In a game where your goalie falters early, you hope as a fan (and probably as a coach) that certain players will step forward and play harder, play creatively and add a spark to the resistance and comeback effort. This game the player who responded best in this way was Tomas Plekanec.

Tomas looked lively all night and was able to get around and behind Devils defenders all evening with his shiftiness and speed. The best parts of his effort on the night were exemplified by the way he killed a penalty midway through the first period. On the play he took a pass sweetly from Kovalev out of the Habs zone, built speed and challenged the defenders. He then flipped the puck behind the Devil and turned on the afterburners. The New Jersey player ended up obstructing Tomas (which was good for killing the penalty and a PP for the Habs), but I think Pleks might just have made it there.



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

Tomas Plekanec
Besides his examplary penalty killing, Pleks was also the pivot of the liveliest and most dangerous Canadiens line on the night. He, Kovalev and Kostitsyn were the only forwards to sustain pressure or create confusion virtually at all. His speed and shifty sating were also put to good use on the PP, where the Habs didn't score, but nonetheless looked like they might have a few times. Add to that his recurring theme of faceoff superiorrity and we nearly have our old Plekanec back, I think.

Kyle Chipchura
Joel Bouchard talked about youngsters making an impression to cement a place, well Kyle did just that. Chipchura showed that he is more than defensive forward material most of the night as he demonstrated his intelligence, efficiency and unfailing effort - his part in the goal the icing on the cake. Honestly, there were countless times where I said "good play", followed the player to catch the number and saw 28. This is a very good sign for me. He is more ready for the NHL than Maxwell, D'Agostini and perhaps even Sergei Kostitsyn. Another couple of games like this one should make him a fixture.

Alexei Kovalev
The Devils had this young Canadiens team worked out this game. Much of the frustration we had with our forwards at the end of this affair can easily be traced to the way the New Jersey defenders forced our young players to the periphery time and time again. Most were willing to take the open lane down the boards (destination: dump in and turnover), but Kovalev was not. I noticed throughout the game, and particularly later on, that Alexei was the NJ trap breaker. He refused to be marshalled, refused to play the puck behind the net without a plan to get it back. His determination in this regard led to his line looking the threat (and indeed they were with 9 of the Habs 33 shots, 6 to Kovalev) and most of the Habs real scoring chances, PP included. It was just another demonstration from Kovalev of why you someties can't just give in and play brainless Benoit Brunet dump and chase (i.e., when you watch your teammates failing so badly at it).

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
No defenders should get off the hook for this loss. But once again, at the top of the list of those who played soundly (even in a loss) is reliable Josh Gorges. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what he did right, but it's probably best demonstrated by the fact the Devils did not score on the late second period PP when Halak was more than a little lost. On that PK, Gorges blocked 3 shots and had two steals to ensure the Devils lead would remain at 2 for Denis.

Roman Hamrlik
Like Gorges, Hamrlik had mistakes (they were both on for goal 1 for example), but Hamrlik stands out with Josh for having an even rating at the end of the game. Where he had his usual moments of constancy and poise, he also made one desperate recovery after a giveaway that was impressive in its deication to defence and skill. Of course, it was his giveaway.

Goaltender

Marc Denis
Marc was solidly in the dome by the third Devils goal. While it pains me to agree with Brunet and Bouchard, particularly as they had the knives out for Halak after one goal, they were right that Jaro needed to make a save on one or two of the first period goals. The first goal was particularly painful as it looked the most stoppable. The second was from a future 50-goal man, but nonetheless went through the five hole. I think Carbonneau did the right thing for Jaro in leaving him in after the first and by letting him regroup to finish the second. Though he ended up almost resepectable statistically, he was never dome-worthy on this night.

Denis for his part did well to stop long range slappers that the Devils thought would go in all night, but was not perfect either. We certainly did not have a Ty Conklin moment from him. He played as would be expected from a nervous comeback player. I for one hope Carey's injury heals quickly and that Jaro rebounds for next game.



Eye-Openers
In this new section we are going to try and shed some light on certain plays or events that would otherwise go unnoticed

Though there were several things worth talking about from the game itself - the way we get caught on odd-man rushes, the way we don't create them, the way we allow ourselves to get pushed to the boards, the way our PP point men conspire to hold the puck until defenders are set and so on - I thought I would go off the board for this instalment.

As most of you will know, the NHL all-star voting closed during the game at 9 pm EST. This, of course brings to an end the inane exercise that has been going on far too long, an embarrassing period for the Habs, the Penguins and the league. It is a true shame that poor Jean Beliveau will be associated with this farce as he announces the lineups in an "exclusive" (for those who can't read or count) event on Saturday. As it stands the Eastern team will be made up of 4 Canadiens and 2 Penguins, with the only races that mattered between Price and Fleury, Komisarek and Gonchar and Kovalev and Koivu.

There is some good to come of this voting. Injured players didn't make it in the end. That's about it. Komisarek making the team is comical, but considering the alternatives (Gonchar, Whitney or Numminen, if the fans are to be trusted) and that Bruins fans are too busy enjoying an extended winning streak to care, it's OK, I suppose. Kovalev is not a top-three forward on performance (so say Jeff Carter, Alexander Ovechkin and Marc Savard), but he will do a credit to himself during the skill competition and the game, so I'm happy for the spectacle that he will be there. The other four players are more or less right considering the ballot options.

None of that, to be honest was very eye opening at all. I merely wanted to mention my thoughts. The eye opening moment for me came when I totalled up the Russians. 3 in the Eastern conference starting lineup. This is incredible considering the country has but one NHL team's worth of players across the entire league, and didn't have a bloc of fans (that we know of) voting day and night by text for the whole group at once.

Now, you may comeback that Kovalev is one of them and hence, the Russians got a free pass. But realistically, he's only taking another Russian's place. There are even others behind that who could fill in ably.

I certainly think it is noteworthy that a country that is withdrawing (for the most part) from participating in this league, that they are still stocking it with top top players. If nothing else, you have to agree based on the polling that Russian players at least play hockey that fans want to see.

It brings to mind something I read the other day from Paul Romanuk who's writing on the Spengler Cup again. He, of vast NHL and international broadcastng experience, states unequivocally that the Russian players there (on a non-NHL team, remember) just have skills that North American players can't match. Puckhandling, obviously, and interestingly the oft-overlooked skill of pass reception.

Pass reception is one thing I have noticed for some time has made our Russian stars (even Belarussian ones) stand out. Markov is an all-star due to a lot of factors, but his top skill, even ahead of passing, is pass reception. Kovalev too has exceptional pass reception and agility upon receing a puck. Why does this skill lead to more attractive hockey? Well if I watch an average NHLer receive a pass, two bobbles and a second to settle down and the defence are in place. In a league where coaching is consistently of a high standard and where conditioning and defensive strategy is on the up, it is hard for forwards (or any players) to make space and offensive plays. By receiving even bad passes cleanly and even directing them into their streaking path, the all-stars from above all stand out form their peers.

This eye opening fact brings me to two conclusions:

1) There is a gold mine to be had in Russian players who can handle the puck at top speeds. Thinking of Ben Maxwell too much makes me also think of Alexander Perezhogin.

2) In an affair with no hitting (like the all-star game), a team with Markov, Kovalev, Malkin, Ovechkin, Kovalchuk and possibly Semin should put on a show worth watching after all.

Overall Comments

It bears repeating that the Canadiens have just collected 6 points on a four-game Xmas road trip. In past years, a mere two would have been a treat - 6 is exceptional. The loss last night was coming. Losing Tanguay was manageable, but losing Price was not.

I am not sure if I heard correctly, but I think I heard Brunet or someone on RDS say that the Canadiens had returned home in between the Tampa game and the New Jersey game. Makes sense from a family point of view. Hardly, though, form a hockey point of view. A couple of days at home to be with family and make up for all the eating, drinking and revelry missed while in Florida is not a recipe for athletic success. I'm not sure it affected the play, but the Canadiens defencemen in particularly had less than springy legs on this night.

The game will also be remembered for the inclusion of a boatload of youngsters. The second line was Sergei K, Lang and D'Agostini? Not one you'd write in for a team with limitless depth. The other two lines had ineffective members as well. I'm not sure how the Canadiens can be expected to manage much longer with these youngsters. But if Sergei Kostitsyn, Latendresse and D'Agostini don't show more signs of doing something more than occasionally and Begin and Kostopoulos are determined to entrench themselves on non-offensive lines with their displays, then we may be in trouble. One immediate switch that might pay dividends is Weber in (even at forward), he couldn't shoot less effectively into defencemen on the PP than Brisebois, Komisarek and Gorges. Beynd that, Saku? Carey? Chris? Help...

Game #34Habs Hold on For 2 Points in Pittsburgh

The Canadiens Game in Review

Date: Saturday December 27th, 2008
Opponent: Pittsburgh Penguins
Venue: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA

Team Stripes

Final Score: 3-2 - Win

Habs starting goalie: Carey Price (W)
Opposition starting goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (L)

Habs goalscorers: Andrei Kostitsyn (3)
Opposition goalscorers: Pascal Dupuis, Sidney Crosby

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

By the end of the 1st period the game was tied at 1. The Habs weren't playing too well, nor were they getting many chances. But, with less than 5 seconds left Plekanec got the puck in front of Pittsburgh's net. He made a great move to freeze Fleury, but instead of shooting took the puck behind the net. He then stopped and passed the puck back out on the side that he came from. In front of the net was 1 downed-goalie, 3 onlooking Penguins and 1 wide-open Kostitsyn. Andrei made no mistake and gave the Habs a 1-goal lead with less than 2 seconds left.

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

Andrei Kostitsyn
I think Andrei, after missing a few games with injury, wanted to prove that he deserved his spot on Kovalev and Plekanec's line. He wasted very little time in having his message heard as he scored just 1 minute into the game. He then went on to score our other 2 goals on the way to his first career hat-trick.



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

Tomas Plekanec
Tom played a decent game tonight. He looked like his old self back alongside Kovy and Andrei and he made two excellent passes on our first two goals. In a game where we were quite badly outplayed it was nice to have at least one centre with a +'ve rating and an above-average face-off percentage.

Alexei Kovalev
Had Andrei not scored our first goal Alex would have. Offensively he seemed to get in the right places tonight, but overall we didn't get too many offensive chances. He led the game with a +3 rating and got an assist on our second goal. In a game where our team didn't really shine it was nice to see at least one line play to their potential.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Andrei took 1/3 of our shots tonight, so it is a good thing he knows how to score. The team didn't get too many chances, but we did capitalize when those great chances presented themselves. Kostitsyn now has 9 goals on the season, but 6 of those have been in his last 10 games. In fact, over that 10 game stretch Andrei has 9 points and is a +7 - he is truly playing some great hockey.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
I wasn't too impressed with our D tonight as I felt there were too many giveaways and too many weak plays. Gorges, however, was one of the 2 D-men that I didn't really have a problem with. He played his usual strong game at the back and even got involved offensively. Besides being used on the point during the PP he added an assist on our 1st goal.

Andrei Markov
Thank goodness for Andrei. I think that most of the team probably had too merry of a time this week as not too many players seemed ready to play. Our best players, as is needed, were our best tonight. Markov was the only real defensive standout against the high-flying Penguins attack. He is probably one of just a handful of players in the league who are not only unintimidated by Crosby and Malkin, but who can actually stop them.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey was the other player, besides Andrei, who could have been given the game puck. He played a very strong game which included countless great saves on what should have been gimmes for Malkin and co. He seemed really focused and I think benefited from the week off. I stand by my comment that it was right to play him on Sunday versus Carolina. I think that tonight's win had a lot to do with our loss (and more importantly Carey's first game in 2 weeks), as it was always going to take at least one game to get back into it.



Eye-Openers
In this new section we are going to try and shed some light on certain plays or events that would otherwise go unnoticed

Aren't wins nice? It doesn't matter if you win 8-o in a truly dominating effort or if, like tonight, you squeak one out. A win, as they say, is a win. Good teams have to learn to win in all situations and that, inevitably, means winning when you are outplayed. Tonight Pittsburgh played harder than us and we were out-matched in the skill department. Despite all of that, however, we found a way to win. Thanks to 3 or 4 players we got the 2 points tonight, and that is quite alright. It is nice to know you can win games like this as there will be nights when things won't go your way. If every time we were being outplayed we lost I could see how we, as a team, would lose hope. Tonight we were rewarded for having a very sharp goalie and a true scorer return to the line-up, and we took full advantage. There will be games that we lose when we are the better team, so thank goodness, for our sake, we have learned that the inverse of that is possible.

Overall Comments

The Habs started this game very strong with a goal very early on. It then seemed that Pittsburgh took over as it was chance after chance for them and very few for us. The next great chance for us came at the end of the first period and, just like Andrei did early on, we converted. The second period was a slow period with neither team really controlling play. The shots were quite even, but Crosby's quick goal made the game into a 2-2 tie going into the third. We started the third as we started the first - with a goal. Andrei's third wasn't anything too spectacular, but was another great example why a good, hard shot from anywhere is never a bad idea. We then played 'hold-on' hockey for over 15 minutes as it was a period of very few chances for us. We pretty much allowed Pittsburgh to walk all over us as we sat back and took it. Weak clearing attempts coupled with a non-existent fore-check meant Price had to be sharp. I personally didn't think that shutting down the offence for a whole period would work against the Pens, but I was wrong. I just hope that Carbo doesn't now think that this is a legitimate strategy.