Ottawa Does Everyone Favours

By winning the last game of the season, the Senators have done everyone some favours going into this post-season:

Trade 2013 Winners So Far

The Montreal Canadiens are still in the running for the biggest impact trade of 2013.

It wasn't the one yesterday, though if you'd told me in mid-slumber that they got that guy Drew-something from LA for picks, I might have thought otherwise. The trade that still stands is the one that brought in Michael Ryder for a second go-around with his goal every other game and 14 points in 15.

And it shouldn't surprise that a classic player for player trade be in the running for such a nod. One has to give a lot to get a lot. And Erik Cole was a lot.

Bring on the Bruins: These Habs Need a Test

The next game on the Canadiens slate is the Boston Bruins, recent Cup champs and current conference leaders.

Although, I'd love for the easier games to keep coming down the pipe, this most imminent test of the Canadiens current team, strategy and form couldn't come soon enough.

A Red Flag Over Bergevin

We were giving Marc Bergevin the benfit of the doubt as a new GM in Montreal. We knew little about him.

His first moves seemed like good moves, yet we know little of the people he was bringing in. I did know the Habs beat Rick Dudley's Sabres about two generations ago, and his Thrashers regularly, and his Panthers, and, well you get the point.

Anyway, we wanted to be positiv, so we were. That is until the hammer fell. Michel Therrien.

There are positive things you can find to say about Therrien, sure. He did go all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals with the All-Star team Penguins. But for me, there are just so many reasons that Therrien was bottom of the list of all candidates.

1) He was not a good fit in Montreal before

I know it was a different team in a different time, a different team, but there were reasons he should have done better. He coaxed an 87 point last playoff berth season from a team with Jose Theodore doing the vast majority of the work, but otherwise, he got bad results from a below average team. Furthermore, it was an era of getting to know his junior buddies, and I was glad to see the days of Patrick Travese behind me.


2) He wasn't that good in Pittsburgh

Although he was certainly present for the resurgence of the Pittsburgh Penguins, we're not sure how much he had to do with it. Look, it was bound to happen, and like Paul Bissonnette, Therrien was bound to get a goal if he stuck around in the crease (Pitt coaching job) long enough. In 2006-07, Therrien watched Crosby become the last player to crack 120 points. The next season he watched as three of the best forwards in the game waltzed the team into the final.

Now, it's obviously difficult to distill the contributions of a coach on any team. Darryl Sutter was recently a man out of ideas on the unemployment line too. But Therrien was coaching what might have been the best concentration of emerging talent we've seen in decades and he just did OK. I'm not the only one who thinks this, obviously, as Pittsburgh management thought better of leaving another Cup attempt in his hands, instead selecting a coach with all of 54 games of AHL head coaching experience as the preferred option in 2008.


3) He's a retread

So were all the candidates apparently. All "winners" elsewhere. But let's not forget losers too: Hartley coached Atlanta, Crawford coached in LA and Dallas, etc.

A retread is fin, but recognize that although someone has to win the Cup every year, it's unlikely that someone who got fired in another city has the formula we need in Montreal to deal with the ridiculous mess of politics, media and haphazard player development. If we wanted something special, it was going to have to be a new name, because no one to previously coach in the NHL not named Bowman has shown he has his head and shoulders above the rest.



Overall, I have to say this hiring is troubling. Not because I can't see the team squeaking into the playoffs and being eliminated (as usual) with Therrien. I can. But because I thought this rebuild was meant to be a step into a new direction. A sincere effort to recognize that Montreal is a special mix of elements and that if the team is to ever live up to its heritage, it must start by staffing with a very special mix of managers.

As I said, Bergevin was getting the benefit of being a possible rising star, with his buddy Mellanby. But if his judgment and the advice he's taking led him down a road that ended with Therrien being considered, interviewed and hired, the flag I see is red and it tells me that we are very much on the same course as before and any expectations of a great franchise turnaround might have to wait until the next big clean out.

I am sorry for being negative. But I truly feel this move is disappointing.


Let's be a bit positive

If I try to muster something positive from this, I must stretch. It is possible (though unlikely) that Bergevin is more calculating than we give him credit for. He is currently at the helm of a pretty mediocre group of players, and that can't be changed overnight. With the Montreal hounds the way they are, any coach might be burned by the results this team is likely to put up in the short term.

In that case, it would be a shame to burn a really hot up and comer. Instead, you'd want a sacrificial stop gap. Enter Therrien -- a coach that is competent enough to kee things at bay for a while, but one with a two year countdown.

Maybe this hiring gives Bergevin then the time he needs to cultivate his long-term partnership with that cut-above coach (yet to be found) and rebuild the team into something that resembles a contender as well.

I've stretched my imagination on this one, but that's what it's taking me to see beyond.

In all scenarios, I think Therrien will be fired and added for a second time to that long list of one to two year tenures. At least, if Bergevin turns out to be a Machiavellian genius, it won't hurt in 5 years time.

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 #47 Habs Blow In, Then Get Blown Out Of Pittsburgh

Details

Date: 20/01/2012
Opponent: Penguina
Location: Pittsburgh

Loss: 4-5 (SO)

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

Habs goalscorers: Eller, Cole, Kostitsyn, Pacioretty
Opposition goalscorers: Letang, Jeffrey (2), Malkin (1, SO)

Play of the game

It wasn't a game devoid of highlight moments (nor lowlight). The high for the Canadiens was the goal that got us the point. Budaj on save bumped the puck out to Cole. With his one track mind, he naturally blew down the left wing. Pacioretty smartly went with and made himself and his stick available for a pass right until it came through the defender's legs. His shot took advantage of a moving Fleury, but made sure by hitting the top netting in style.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Erik Cole - Game Puck
Despite his two late penalties, Cole still stood out as a positive force for the Canadiens. he is making things happen for himself all the time and when his linemates keep up, for the teammates too. Two points with a goal is a good night against the Pens.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Less money to stay in Montreal? We'll believe it when we see it Andrei... But he continues to make a case that a GM who believes he needs a big guy who can impose himself and score has an option with him. He continues to lose the puck on attempted moves, but importantly those moves buy him the hesitation of defenders (which he exploited twice on the night).

Max Pacioretty
At times, I rant at this guy. Sometimes he just makes these lazy plays that verge on the robotic. But the guy is also robotic in his scoring at the moment (evident with his goal). He should have been a shootout shooter, of that there is no doubt.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
Josh had to play the hottest player in the NHL. We're not talking about a streak from Nick Foligno here, this is hulking, streaking Evgeni Malkin. With James Neal in tow, the Pens came into the game with one of the best scoring duos and certainly one that peppers the goal most. Gorges played them to a standstill at points. He eventually had to watch a Malkin goal, but were it not the Russian at his hottest, the shot from the boards wouldn't have been counted a scoring chance.

Tomas Kaberle
This selection is good news for the Habs. While many don't like the Kaberle acquisition, he's here and will be for a while. Better he succeeds. Tonight he played more and showed off his better qualities. He made the PP goal with a slick pass and did the better part of the good work for the Habs on that file.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Budaj had his moments and has a big hand in the point, but he really missed his chance to get the dome when he let in goal four and his chance to get it back went missing with Malkin's shot in yet another pathetic shootout. Carey couldn't have done worse.

Comments

It's a strange place for a Habs fan at the moment. Coming into the game, I wasn't exactly sure what or who to cheer for. Knowing that a win likely only draws out the playoffless season and diminishes the odds at getting one of the few players that the Habs would truly benefit from choosing.

When the game started with a goal, and a cheer was the instinctual reaction, I knew I couldn't cheer for losing, even if intellectually I can accept the concept of living to fight another day. In reality, it seems like I am really still quite invested in many of the players doing well, and as a result am urging them on.

The result tonight then was a disappointment. At least for the emotional side of me. Disappointing that the team allowed so many chances for the opposition to climb back, disappointing that the goalie would let in such an obvious tying goal and disappointing that the team remains so utterly abysmal in the shootout. Rationally, though, this was a very lukewarm team facing the hottest player in the league with a strategy of falling back to protect a lead. What else to expect? It very nearly ended well, which is to the credit of those who built a strong lead in the first place.

On another note, have I have ever such praise for a goalie who was on for so many goals against? Rarely. Eller's goal was presented as a mystery by the crew I was tuned into. I think most jus saw a badly tended rebound coming to the predictable predatory forward. These RDS guys do make me laugh sometimes. I suppose it's good a Habs fan gets a few laughs in at this point, so perhaps thanks are in order for their commitment to fulfilling their own prophecies with their description.

Tomorrow the Leafs. At this point, getting in that team's way of the playoffs at this point and in future match-ups may be the only tangible thing left this season. Wow it would feel good to watch Burke blame everyone else without an ounce of self-awareness again. Let's hope we can watch a preview soon.

Game #24 Pens Grapple Points From Habs

Details

Date: 26/11/2011
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Montreal


Loss: 3-4 (OT)

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

Habs goalscorers: Moen, Pacioretty, Cole
Opposition goalscorers: Malkin, Dupuis, Staal, Letang

Play of the game

Goal #2. A simple demonstration of why keeping a line together can work. Cole shoots low and hard, Desharnais is there to recover a rebound. Instead of shooting like many players might, he senses his linemate on his shoulder, sloughs the puck to him and goal. Cole was there on the post just in case.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Erik Cole - Game Puck
I had doubts in the summer. I had bigger ones after 5 games. But now I want to know what happened in Edmonton. Cole is a great fit for this team and deomnstrated that on several occasions tonight. He set up that goal and scored a good one too, but his breakaway made on acceleration was the most impressive moment for me.

David Desharnais
I don't know if he just liked his match-up or what, but DD looked better tonight than in a long time. He was in sync with his linemates and did the simple plays that made the goals. A few times when I was impressed by the quality of the Canadiens PK, I was surprised to see #51 flash by my eyes.

Travis Moen
Credit where credit is due, this guy is scoring some very good goals this year. Not only that, he is using those goals to fuel a confidence we never knew he could feel - witness the chance he took to drive around a defender and get in on goal (albeit without the puck at the end). Pacioretty should have been in this dome, but his hit on Letang ruined a good night for me. There was no excuse for any player to do that, let alone one who should know so much better.

Defencemen

PK Subban
Pittsburgh has a lot of weapons to storm the barricades with and it takes some steadfast defence to keep them back. Tonight I found Gorges overwhelmed at times. The fact that PK didn't look that way was a tribute to the poise and skill we so often take for granted. Yes we'd still like PK to find that shot he once owned for our PP, but that will come with time.

Raphael Diaz
Did you know Diaz played over 20 minutes? No, neither did I till the stats check. On a night where the defenders didn't cover themselves in glory, it's worth noting that the 24-game vet posted a plus one with a few decent chances at the other end.

Goaltender

Peter Budaj
I didn't like the start and I didn't like the finish from Carey Price. His team came back, but it's still not top-notch to let in the first chance of the game (a frequent occurrence of late). The game ended on a sour note too, with Carey launching his stick across the ice in disgust. The ref's call was bad, but so was his effort to freeze the puck. There were many big saves in between these moments, many highlight moments, but if the puck gets behind a guy 6 times in one game, scrutiny is warranted.

Comments

The Habs let a winnable one get away here. It's not everyday that your team comes back against a powerful Pens start to claim the lead and then extend it. With half a game to close this out, the Habs should have done better than they did. The defenders always looked like they were in trouble when the Pens pressed and too often the calm play of possession was overlooked for the quick fix of a backhand dump out (we know how well that works). The forwards did well to beat Fleury three times and once on the post, but sometimes it was their cheats that let Pittsburgh retain long control.

What we basically saw here was a good team (the Habs) lose to a a great team (the Pens). The Canadiens can't call on a player of the caliber of Sidney Crosby. Witness the same defensive strategy which leads Andrei Kostitsyn into a corner and Crosby fighting with puck to the front of the net, Cammalleri off the scoresheet and Crosby with one point and involvement in two disallowed goals. It begins with Crosby, but it doesn't end with him. Staal and Malkin took their cues from the leader and Letang was predatory, if not ubiquitous. The Canadiens should be happy to keep pace with a team like the Pens, but ultimately must learn how not to loseat the line.

Anyway, the point will help. And now it's off to California for a tough week. Anaheim may just be the sleeping giant of the games, as they have some forwards as tricky as those fumbled with tonight for the Habs to deal with. A good forecast from this week would be 3-4 points. The Markov watch continues, of course, as games where he could have been of great help come and go by the day.

Game #23Flyers Wanted It, Flyers Got It

Details

Date: 25/11/2011
Opponent: Flyers
Location: Philadelphia

Loss: 1-3

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

Habs goalscorers: Nokelainen
Opposition goalscorers: Giroux (2), Voracek

Play of the game

One big problem with our PP is that we let up chances, a lot of chances, against ourselves. It is bad enough that we can't score, but for some other reason the other teams are getting their fair share of attempts on Price. Today, in the first period, with the score locked at zero Price made a fantastic save on Matt Read on a 2-on-1 while we were a man-up. We could have been down at that point, but instead Carey kept us in the game, and did so for much of the second period too.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Erik Cole
Cole tried hard today, he wasn't at his best, but still looked the best among our top forwards. He led the team in shots with 5 and had some of our best chances. He can't do it himself, though, that was plain to see.

Petteri Nokelainen
I hardly ever notice Petteri, which I suppose for a fourth-liner is a quasi-good thing. It could be better, however, as we have had players in his position work their way to the top-3, even top-2 lines. That isn't going to happen in his case, but he still can be of use as he was today when he put the Habs in the lead.

Lars Eller
A better game from any of the 'big-name' forwards would have probably earned a dome today, but instead Lars, who played alright, gets in. Let's just say that he was one of the players who played the closest to his best and, dare I say, competed in this one. He is still looking for a home on this team, but if he keeps being a top-3 forward, as he was today, they'll have to give him more ice-time and more opportunities than he is currently getting.

Defencemen

Hal Gill
I almost gave the game-puck to Gill today. It wasn't for the weak (as always) shot that he took that became an assist, but instead for outstanding play in his own end, particularly on the PK. Earlier this week I started to wonder if he had his place in the top-4, top-6 or even top-7 D-men on this team. I concluded that he did, but just. Today, however, he reminded me what he can do against strong teams and I am suggesting that if he plays like he did today he will be as valuable to us this season as he ever has been.

Josh Gorges
Diaz, Weber and Subban all looked unprepared throughout the game. They were making mistakes that they shouldn't be making and were making quite a few of them. Emelin was good for the most part, but also didn't look his best. That leaves me with Gorges who I realized didn't look bad at all. It was another solid game from Josh and he even picked up a whopping 10th point.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
Price has played much better than this, but, this afternoon, he was our best player by quite a bit. In fact, apart from some more poor puck-handling adventures, he was dominant for half of the game. It was big save upon big save early and I certainly felt that this was the type of game in which he wouldn't be beat. Maybe his teammates felt the same way because at one point (sometime early in the second) they just stopped playing. The onslaught was too much and no goalie would have had the solution.

Comments

It was never going to last, was it? A 1-0 lead against Philly, in Philly, just wasn't going to be enough. When we scored that lucky goal, however, we tried to hold on. The Flyers, however, have too much offensive power to just sit back and hope for the best, but that is what it looked like we were doing. Our only sustained chances came on the PP (just not as good chances as we are used to) and towards the end of the game which is becoming predictable as this team seems to wait far too long to go all-out for a goal. It almost seemed, from the start, that this was a game that we couldn't win. The question, of course, becomes why good one night and bad the next? The answer, as usual, is that this is the NHL. Teams like Columbus can win, ones like Detroit can lose. It wasn't a fun game today, but I am in no way worried that because of it we will play poorly tomorrow.

Next up are the Penguins at home. Yes they have Crosby back, but we have beaten the Crosby-led Pens before. I really believe that we have to find a way to get the two points tomorrow. Otherwise, it will be 3 losses in 4 games this week with the only success being a shootout win vs. the 'Canes. It's not a must-win and the season won't be lost if we don't win, but a win, a hard-fought one, would be very good for our beat-up squad and would just be more fun to watch.

Game #6 The Pen Is Mightier

Details

Date: 20/10/2011
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Pittsburgh

Loss: 1-3

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

Habs goalscorers: Darche
Opposition goalscorers: Neal, Vitale, Asham

Play of the game

A game of that has not done wonders for my memory. Maybe I'm imagining that there was even a good play. But in my mind I am seeing a rush by Lars Eller where he protects the puck, storms behind the net and connects with his forward in front. Too bad the next part of the sequence was a return to futility with "goalscorer" Erik Cole putting a goalscorer's chance right into the goalie.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Lars Eller
The guy has yet to convince me that he'll ever score 10 NHL goals in a season, but he doesn't need to convince me that he's trying. That I can see. He stepped in and did a decent fill-in for Gomez, something that probably hurt the Habs more than it helped (see description of budding chemistry above).

Mike Cammalleri
He is what he is, but get this guy the puck can they? His shot from the tightest angle on the PP was the only thing that looked threatening on all the man advantages. If Mike can continue to get open and Jacques can just concentrate on getting him someone that can feed him then goals may come.

David Desharnais
Apart from one lucky shot and an Eller rush, the best offensive chances came when Desharnais got a view of an open winger. The report will say that he was minus 2 and had no shots, but in a game where the defenders are pressuring and it's not like it was in Winnipeg then I want to see a little bit of creativity. David showed me a couple of glimpses of that, something I didn't notice at all elsewhere tonight. That's a dome for me.

Defencemen

PK Subban
Remember last year when Subban was doing OK for a rookie? That's sort of what he looks like now. He's clearly got skills that we risk taking for granted every time we see him and he plays his heart out sometimes. The thing is, he's just misjudging situations far too often, taking shots when his teammates are open and vice versa. He's still the best defender for this team, even with the bad rushes and big wind ups. The fact we all now expect more doesn't change that.

Hal Gill - Game Puck
In an ideal world, with open hockey, no injuries and no salary cap you wouldn't have Hal Gill on your team. But the NHL is not that world. The Canadiens have to manage without Markov and Spacek, with Gorges looking ever more like he missed a season, with two D on learners' permits and two others in their second seasons. Gill doesn't do everything, but he does what he does and you can count on that much. I imagine that's why he reached his 1000th game this evening and was playing in an city where he once played for a champion. On another night, he'd also have had an assist on the score-opening goal, but Darche mauled that clear break.

Goaltender

Carey Price
This was borderline stuff from Carey. Yes, he did make 4 or 5 huge saves when the team needed him to, and yes, he didn't really have anything to be ashamed of on the goals that went in. But guess what? It's another 3 goals, more than 9% of shots went in, Aaron Asham scored on you. It wasn't exactly heroic. What made it so much more borderline for me, and probably the main cause of the frustration here, is that Carey was so cavalier with puck handling and in doing that gave up several good chances to Pittsburgh. He was on a level with his teammates this evening.

Comments

It's predictable that after a loss where the team pats itself on the back and puts its record to misfortune that they should come out and shoot blanks from every position on the ice.

This game was a chore to watch. Were it not for the need to write this report tonight, I think I'd have switched to the Toronto Boston affair, they were playing hockey. I have a sneaky feeling that Pittsburgh played really well and my Habs goggles prevented me from truly appreciating the extent of their dominance. But I don't really want to let our team off the hook so easily. I mean, honestly? How does a team back up their talk of contention if they end up smothered by Letestu, top line center?

What to do? Luckily the answer might be simple enough. Appeal to the pride and the basest desire in each of these players to be a winner, bred from the earliest age. Toronto at home is the perfect tonic for this. Light the fire tonight and let's see the fire on Saturday. Sure, it could be barnburning effort in a loss, but anything beats what we had to put ourselves through as fans this evening.

Game #69 Canadiens Play Penguins To Perfection

Details

Date: 12/3/2011
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Pittsburgh

Win: 3-0

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

Habs goalscorers: Plekanec, Moen, Cammalleri
Opposition goalscorers: None

Play of the game

Some great saves and some very pretty goals to go with all the little things done right. The play that reflected the Canadiens resolve in this game more than any other was the patience that Carey Price showed on his save on the very first Pittsburgh PP. Carey dealt with the bad bounce, trusted his positioning and reactions and just waited out James Neal. A goal would have changed the game. The save ensured the Canadiens could just stick to details and run out the clock.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Mike Cammalleri – Game Puck
Cammalleri was on and focused. You could see that from the moment they showed him stepping on for warm up. This was the Cammalleri of the 2010 playoffs again. Quick to react to loose pucks and usually to them first. He really set the tone for the quick put down in this game. His pass on the Pleks goal was outstanding, his own goal was pretty too. Besides that, he was always backchecking and often slowing the play down in his own end before creating the outlets from the zone.

Tomas Plekanec
See Cammalleri above. Tomas played just as well as his partner in most aspects of the game today. His goal should bring hope that he's returning to his dynamic best, as it was a slick goalscorer vintage. He too was a defensive pest and key to ushering Pittsburgh into dead ends.

Scott Gomez
This game was won early and so early plays have big significance. Early on, Gomez was on the ball (puck actually, I guess) as he zipped around the Pittsburgh zone winning and keeping possession. His play on Goal #2, the tipping point goal was just classic Gomez – a puck battle won and a pass to space he knew his player would reach before anyone else. A good game for Scott, together with his linemates.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
I thought the whole team played well. But Hamrlik and Wisniewski played the bulk of the minutes against Pittsburgh's remaining star, Jordan Staal. I thought the Staal line did stall tonight and that's largely because they took ill advised outside shots instead of showing patience. Credit to Hamrlik and Wisniewski for being tight on them all the time. Credit to Hammer for blocking 7 shots all himself.

PK Subban
Don't ask me why Pittsburgh's players and fans suddenly took interest in targeting Subban when they realised they had slept through 30 minutes of play. I may have missed the reason. Subban, though, didn't take the bait (unless you count rushing the length of the ice and being penalized for carrying too much momentum). Earlier in the season he would have been baited. Subban growing up has been a big story of the season and the mature PK gives the Habs a formidable defensive player at the back – another reason the Pens looked to have nothing going.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Never in question (except maybe for a split second before the post did its job). Carey played calmly and gelled seamlessly with his defence once again. There were a couple of big saves, but most of the difference came from the calm he created for his partners on the team. Pittsburgh had no answer for this.

Comments

This game wasn't a "classic", or so Ron MacLean signed off. But you know what, this game was the classic item on every Canadiens fan's wish list. Most times the team wins by taking an early lead, fans complain about sitting back and letting the other team come on. If the team wins with a comeback, the complaint is about a bad start. This game offers no room for complaints. The team started well, scored early, scored again, then again, didn't take penalties, defended well, let up few shots of consequence, shut out the opposition, never had a late scare, and so on.

The CBC crew insinuated that Montreal had perfected this art, but for me this might be the first evidence of them playing this solid a game against a team that's still trying to win (sorry Florida). I think the team has been building to a game like this, but it's nice to see it. I was also happy to see that Pittsburgh thought better of making this a Bostonian nightmare by playing hockey right to the end. There was a brief period where I thought Subban might be punched with gloved fists for the last 20 minutes.

On the CBC coverage of the Pacioretty hit: I am a little underwhelmed. I know they are saving their party line for Donald S (?!?) Cherry, but they could have shared an opinion. Bylsma's interview was interesting, as he's always worth listening to. Ron Wilson's interview was predictable and only reinforced the need for the NHL to turn away from dinosaurs in positions of consequence. I guess we'll see where they really stand after the Leafs go down to the Sabres in the first.

Game Today on Hockey Night In Canada

The play that rocked the Habs happened Tuesday. Since that time many have had their chance to respond.

The Canadiens and Bruins responded in words and action that very night in the third period and following. The 24-hour sports reels let their opinions known. Canadiens management responded. The NHL did. Air Canada and yesterday Via.

But hockey's biggest vehicle and most important collection of voices has yet to have their full time on the soapbox.

Hockey Night in Canada goes to air just before the Canadiens face the Penguins today. They will show that game as well.

Usually I would watch this on RDS. But as someone interested in where the debate on the Max Pacioretty hit and its effect on future NHL violence will go, I think I'd better listen up to what the voices of the nation will tell the nation to think.

The blunt end of the argument is bound to be coming from Ex-Bruins collaborators Don Cherry and Mike Milbury. Cherry will be of particular interest. The man of a million crusades has made unnecessary hitting one of his longest crusades. Hitting that happens on icing plays, that is. It will be interesting to see if he is a man of principle or a man incapable of sequestering his allegiance and distaste for the parties involved. He has surprised before, so you never know.

More subtle, and probably more influential in the long run, are the views of the long-time hockey journalists. Those that can wrap their thoughts in a bit of eloquence. They will interview their handpicked opinions and they'll interview each other. Between all this we'll get a picture of the bloc of opinion that could actually move the NHL.

Ron MacLean will be central of course, as he is the ringmaster with hands in every spinning pie. He has actually given us a short preview of what he thinks. It's an interesting preview, with a few puzzling turns, such as:

"When I hear "Pacioretty could have ended up in a wheelchair," it makes me think we go too far teaching such fear. A wheelchair life is different, but it could be better than the one before and until we grow into a less superficial take on the gift of life we'll run aimlessly trying to interpret the forces of life, from floods and fires to crimes and accidents as though they give technical and instructive shape to the abstract."

I'm sure his thoughts will become much clearer after we've heard him debate Stephen Brunt and sit beside Don Cherry.

I think, like me, many who care about this issue seriously are still not quite ready to dive headlong into worrying about backpasses gone wrong or blatantly missed scoring opportunities. The memory of events and the significance of the decisions ahead mean that thoughts are still whirling about on this.

I'll be watching the game with interest as always. But as much interest will be directed to the debate and discussion that will be happening in all available moments between plays.

Have a good Saturday. All the best to Pacioretty and family. Go Habs Go.

Canadiens Rival Report Relative Gains And Losses After A Season Of Trades

Montreal didn't do much yesterday or the weeks before. But that doesn't mean Pierre Gauthier's team hasn't been shifting up and down in the relative arms race in the Eastern Conference. Trades all around them means that the Canadiens have lost ground and gained ground on several teams.

I look at the moves of rivals here.

First off, I don't consider Philadelphia a rival for now. They are miles clear in the standings are healthy and virtually guaranteed a playoff spot. The fact that they have eliminated the Habs two of the past 3 years in the playoffs and look to be just as daunting all season puts them a cut above in my mind. Someone else please eliminate in Round 1.

The New York Islanders are not and never really were rivals with the Habs. They are rebuilding (have been since the 1980s). Good luck to them.

The rest of the East are rivals, or were rivals at some point this season for the 7 other playoff positions. Between trades, waiver wire pickups and losses and injuries, the position of the Habs relative to each team has been in flux. With the possibility of big moves ended yesterday (not big injuries), the dust settles and we can see where the Habs stand against their rivals:


Tampa Bay Lightning (1-0-1 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Roloson, Brewer
Significant losses: None
Significant injuries: None
Drafting outlook: Unchanged

Tampa spent a bit of their future on the current season. They traded a pretty good prospect to correct their off-season goaltending choices and another to add Eric Brewer. Neither Roloson, nor Brewer seem that brilliant as additions. But the fact that Tampa made slight improvements without sacrificing from the current team means their outlook should be the same if not a bit brighter.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: Gains


Boston Bruins (1-2-1 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Kaberle, Peverley, Valabk, Kelly
Significant losses: Wheeler, Stuart, Sturm
Significant injuries: Savard
Drafting outlook: Lots of high picks sacrificed

On the surface, it looked like Boston made the right moves. They did make a lot of them. But considering Peverley and Kelly don't come close to replacing Savard and Sturm, a lot hangs on Kaberle. I like Kaberle, but his impact remains to be seen. Boston were a better looking team than Montreal this year, primarily because Lucic and Thomas turned a big corner. I think that still stands to be the difference. The mortgage of the future for these players brought on illustrates exactly what I didn't want Gauthier to do. If Boston don't make a great run this year, they will have sacrificed a potential powerhouse in 5 years for nothing.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: Slight gains


Pittsburgh Penguins (1-1-1 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Neal, Niskanen, Kovalev
Significant losses: Goligoski
Significant injuries: Malkin, Crosby, Orpik
Drafting outlook: Unchanged

Ray Shero restrained himself from making a big mess. I think he, like the rest of us, realises that whether Crosby is to come back has more impact on his team than 50 trades. Kovalev for nothing was clever with Malkin's cap space offering flex. The Neal trade brings a future piece, which was also smart. The outlook for this season hinges on injuries. But the outlook for the franchise will be bright if rehab comes through.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: Losses


Washington Capitals (1-0-1 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Arnott, Wideman, Hannan, Sturm
Significant losses: Steckl, Fleischmann
Significant injuries: Green
Drafting outlook: A few picks sacrificed

Washington must recognise a Malkin and Crosby injury scenario offers an open door. With healthy stars for now (perhaps not so for Green), Washington paid to take a run. It's an overall improvement at a relatively low cost. Will it be enough? I think Ovechkin needs a turnaround to prove that it will be.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: Gains


New York Rangers (0-3-0 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Wolski, McCabe
Significant losses: Roszival
Significant injuries: Frolov, Drury, Gaborik, Biron
Drafting outlook: Slight drop

New York is an important rival of the Habs, so the fact they didn't land the player that they wanted to pay with futures for was good for the Canadiens of this season. Injuries are the critical issue in New York, though, and some key scoring forwards out means D and Lundqvist have a lot to do. The McCabe trade is a stretch (better than Redden?) and the Wolski trade looked good on paper, but less so on the ice.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: Losses


Carolina Hurricanes (0-3-0 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Stillman, Allen
Significant losses: Samsonov
Significant injuries: None
Drafting outlook: Gained a pick

Rutherford danced around a bit and ended up with a seller's draft pick as well as Cory Stillman. Stillman over Samsonov is a big improvement and should improve the Canes. I don't think Allen is as good as the talking heads pump him up to be, but he probably can't be worse than Ian White.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: Slight gains


Buffalo Sabres (2-3-0 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Boyes
Significant losses: Rivet
Significant injuries: Roy
Drafting outlook: One pick out

Derek Roy has been a big loss to swallow, but the addition of Boyes should really help with that. Buffalo made few moves relative to their rivals in Toronto, but did more to actually progress.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: Slight gains


Toronto Maple Leafs (3-2-0 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Lupul
Significant losses: Kaberle, Versteeg, Beauchemin
Significant injuries: None
Drafting outlook: Greatly improved

Toronto's recent winning streak, on the back of a Kessel scoring blip (trust me, I have him in my pool) is the mirage that obscures the fact Burke sold up for picks. Toronto can go for the playoffs all they want, because their pick is in Boston, and Boston's is in Toronto, but even if they make it, it would be hard to say they were a better team than they were before the trades. The real bad news for Montreal in this case was that Burke didn't decide to turn in those picks for a run. But hey, it's probably better to have high picks with a team that can't draft than with one that can.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: Lost ground


Atlanta Thrashers (2-0-0 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Wheeler, Stuart, Dvorak, Schremp
Significant losses: Peverley, Valabik, Sopel, Modin, Bergfors, Rissmiller
Significant injuries: Burmistrov
Drafting outlook: Unchanged

Atlanta are a desperate team. Given their fall from what was an inflated position, they should have sold up. It was a half-hearted sale that means their future will likely put them behind the teams that committed to the future now. It's more of the same from the Thrashers as they fight for fans with the dream of 4 playoff losses.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: Lost ground


Florida Panthers (1-1-1 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Samsonov, Sulzer, Skille
Significant losses: Allen, Wideman, McCabe, Higgins, Stillman, Frolik
Significant injuries: None
Drafting outlook: Greatly improved

8 points out of the playoffs. Who knows how many years without. It took guts (or insanity) to blow this apart. Tallon did that. The result is a shell of an NHL team, but a lot more draft picks. The puzzle in all this is trading Frolik and Salak who could be parts of a bright future. The Canadiens couldn't have asked for draft picks to land in less capable hands.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: No longer a rival


New Jersey devils (2-1-0 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Steckl
Significant losses: Arnott, Langenbrunner
Significant injuries: Parise
Drafting outlook: Slight improvement

New Jersey hasn't given up. And why should they? Their core is built to compete now and if they can make the playoffs from that far back, you'd have to count them as a serious contender. New Jersey has never required high draft picks to build before, so it seems they don't care about those now, instead relying on their above average scouting. Arnott and Langenbrunner out reflect the bad season they were both having. NJ taking a player means they won't lose much ground.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: Slight losses


Ottawa Senators (1-4-0 vs. Habs)Significant additions: Anderson
Significant losses: Elliott, Kovalev, Ruutu, Kelly, Campoli, Fisher
Significant injuries: Alfredsson, Gonchar
Drafting outlook: Improved

Considering the fanbases total acceptance of trades, Murray made little of this. Essentially nothing for Kovalev and Ruutu is not good trading. What's more, the valuable trade chips were held, and for what? Chris Phillips could have fetched something. Spezza even more. Sentimentality in Ottawa has botched a rebuild opportunity. The scouts that found them Hossa, Alfredsson, Havlat and co. aren't there anymore, so this should be interesting.

Relative movement vs. Montreal Canadiens: No longer a rival


Montreal's relative shift

From what I see, the Habs have lost some ground to 5 teams in all and gained some ground on 7 teams.

The good news for Habs fans is that many of the teams behind the Canadiens in the standings look to have packed it in a bit for this season. Toronto is pushing in games, but that belies their loss of quality. The only playoff outsiders that seem to be making a decent stand are the Buffalo Sabes, who I now think might make the post-season.

The bad news is that the teams ahead of them have made more serious pushes than the Canadiens to make serious runs in the playoffs. Philadelphia was already the class, and still are. Boston, Washington and Tampa Bay's GMs were more serious than Gauthier about this year vs. future years. Pittsburgh made interesting moves, but just aren't the team the standings say they are without Malkin and Crosby. They seem to realise that and didn't go wild.

The Habs currently stand 6th and look pretty good to finish about there. With a bit of luck, they'll compete well in the playoffs.
I will note that the Washington capitals must be watched from here. Last season they cruised to the playoffs, and the same team hasn't exactly struggled to remain in the top 5 this season. Arnott and Sturm are good late additions for them. Strangely losing Green for Wideman may also help.

Game #44Montreal Outclassed By Pens And Bylsma

Details

Date: 12/1/2011
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Montreal

Loss: 2-5

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

Habs goalscorers: Plekanec, Desharnais
Opposition goalscorers: Goligoski (2), Kennedy, Staal, Letang

Play of the game

When the game was still within reach Price made a very good save on Malkin. It was the type of goal that you would expect a superstar to score which made the save even better. Malkin was uncovered on Price's left and received a great pass. The next step was to put it into the open net, but with a quick slide over Carey denied him that privilege.

Dome hockey team

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

David Desharnais
Scoring on a tip-in isn't normally enough for recognition, but on a bad night like tonight when that goal happens to be your first ever you get cut some slack. He wasn't bad the rest of the way, but aside from that goal I don't remember much, good or bad.

Jeff Halpern
I noticed quite a few good moments and no real bad ones from Jeff tonight. It is becoming more unclear with each shift what his role is, but at least he is taking it all in his stride. Obviously the PK is to forget, but I was happy with his 83% face-off winning percentage.

Tomas Plekanec - Game Puck
I felt that Tom was the only player who actually played well tonight. Had his teammates followed then we probably would have won. He scored a nice goal (a quick answer to the Pens' first) and also did well in the face-off circle. As I suggested last night Darche is a band-aid and I think, even though it may hurt sometimes, Pleks needs regular linemates that remain as his linemates for more than 6 minutes at a time.

Defencemen

Yannick Weber
With the most attempted shots on the team and no major miscues (eh Hammer, Spacek, Wis and Subban?) Weber gets the nod. He, for the most part, stayed out of trouble in his own end and wasn't on the ice for any of Pittsburgh's goal (not his fault that he doesn't play on the PK).

Hal Gill
5:38 of PK time and no goals were scored while he was on. Not bad considering that the Habs let in 4. His beer-league like offence and shot were noticed tonight, but at least that meant he was involved. As usual, though, his strong defensive and PK play earned him this dome..

Goaltender

Alex Auld
Carey has to be better than that. It is unfortunate that there were so many PPs, but 4 PP goals against in a 27-minute stretch will kill you every single time. At least two goals were soft and were goals that we all know he can save (defensive miscue or not). His puckhandling was again bad and actually directly led to the insignificant 5th goal. A night to forget, for sure, as it was Fleury doing the super-lame pose tonight, six nights after Price made a bit of a fool of himself crossing his arms against the Pens.

Comments

After the first period the game was tied, but more significantly we had 2 PPs and they had had none. Now, to a regular observer of sport there is no real problem with this, but with an NHL coach there is. That is because the NHL is meant to hand-out penalties at an even rate and is supposed to allow all teams an equal chance on the PP. So after the first Bylsma had a long chat with the refs (to no doubt complain about this). I, by the way, am not making this up as Pierre Houde commented on it at the start of the 2nd. Well, they always say that arguing will get you nowhere, but I know from playing, coaching and reffing that that is bull. Yes, a ref will never change his mind (the rules simply don't allow for it), but he can certainly change the way he calls the rest of the game. So, an argument is generally worth it. We'll never know what was said and what the ref was thinking, but if a ref (french ref to boot; Justin St. Pierre) wants to prove to the visitors that he is unbiased and that he isn't calling in favour of his boyhood team then he may just start to see things a bit differently. In fact, the best way to prove that you aren't punishing one team unfairly is to punish the other team (unfairly).

What followed after Bylsma made his point were 6 calls against the Habs and none against the Pens. Now, everything, as usual, was a callable offense, but these were calls that don't usually get called and were things no worse (for the most part) than what Pittsburgh was doing. The refs, therefore, haven't not called a penalty correctly (so they are safe some review time), they just have failed to be consistent (surprise, surprise) and have used their 'discretion' differently than they usually do. So, well done Bylsma you got what you wanted and did exactly what I would have done or what I wish we would do more often. Arguing a call is the best way to get the next call. It may not always pay off, but if you can get 6 PPs to the opposition's 0 then you may just end that losing streak. To the refs: I thought that you didn't like effecting the outcome? I thought that a slash was a slash was a slash? Sure Pouliot slashed a Pen, but did you even notice the bigger 2-handed retaliation?

Every night in the NHL is a joke so it is a shock that any night stands out, but tonight does. It really makes you wonder why we all tolerate our favourite game being played and officiated like this? If it weren't for the Habs retaining my devotion to hockey I don't know if I could tolerate this farce as much as I do.

Game #41First Shootout of the Season a Success for the Habs

Details

Date: 6/1/2011
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Montreal

Win: 2-1 (SO)

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

Habs goalscorers: Pouliot (1, SO)
Opposition goalscorers: Asham

Play of the game

We have waited a half season to see the most exciting part of all of hockey...well, at least we won. In fact, Pouliot's goal that he scored in the shootout was a true beauty. In an era when everyone tries more or less the same thing it seems to be those players who go back to actually tricking the goalie (and not merely shooting) that often break the ice. Ben made a very nice move where he took the goalie with him to one side, but left his long stick, and the puck, right in front of the suddenly very wide-open net. It was a nice way to get two points.

Dome hockey team

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

Benoit Pouliot - Game Puck
Benny played a good game overall, but it was his two goals that really made this a great game for him. Both of his goals, in fact, were hunger-type goals and you love to see that from a guy that you are begging to score more for you. His linemates played well, but without their goal it would have been an average night.

Mike Cammalleri
Mike may not be scoring, but honestly, who is? The good thing is that he still seems hungry and he still seems to get himself into the right positions. We didn't score on the PP, but I did like him at the point and thought that he was doing a good job of moving the puck around as he was making crisp, hard, accurate passes.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Early on Kostitsyn was our best player. He had some good chances, generated turnovers and was making plays for his linemates. He didn't, however, convert late in the game on the PP or in the shootout which would have been welcome. I was confused as to why he saw no time in OT as apart from face-offs he would have been my choice to flank Camms over Ples on this night.

Defencemen

PK Subban
PK now has to step up and be a #3 for us. It is a lot to ask the others boys to step up too, but I feel that Subban is perhaps more important than Wisniewski, Hamrlik or Spacek. The reason for that is we know what we are getting with those guys, with PK we don't. Some nights he is a lock for the Calder, others we wish that Mathieu Carle was up. Tonight was a step in the right direction as he was skating and moving the puck as well as we know he can. With the PP pressure off it will be interesting to see if he can become a real force at ES and forget about being too much of a special-team specialist.

Hal Gill
Gill picked up a lot of the workload tonight and did a fine job. In all he played 26 minutes which topped the team. I did notice some very soft moments where a big hit would have been more welcome than a cautious push, but I have learned to accept that he is not tough at all. He is another guy that will have to step up. He can no longer hide in the PK column and must become the leader on the ice that we are told he is. If he can play like a true top-4 then we'll be a lot better off than we all expected.

Goaltender

Carey Price
This was a very nice game by Price and I really enjoyed the 4 saves in the shootout. There were two puckhandling issues, but, by my count, that is a good game for him. I am hoping that this game will be a big bounce-back type of game for him as the Penguins are a pretty decent team (let's all imagine that Crosby isn't their whole team as we build our confidence).

Comments

Two weeks away can be a long time in when it comes to the Habs. I kept up to date while I was away, but this was my first whole game since before Christmas. I do like the moves we have made, but am a little concerned about missing Gorges. Sometimes you don't really know what depth is until you lose a player like Josh (remember when Gomez was injured?). Anyway, we must soldier on. Wisniewski looks to be a good fit and Lapierre was always expendable in my eyes (his major redeeming quality being that he was french). The rest of the team looks a bit tired and out of ideas, but that is normal over the course of a season. If Price can get back to where he was in October and November and if we can stay healthy from here on in I think that we'll get by.

Tonight's game highlighted the issue that we are having when it comes to scoring goals, but also helped to calm some nerves regarding our goaltending and defence. Of course a Crosby-less Penguin team isn't the team that they are with him, but when you lose to the Islanders a win, against anyone, is a major accomplishment. We now quietly have 5 points in 3 games and may be back on track. Our game this Saturday, against Boston, is very important and should give us a good indication of how realistic us winning the division really is. It's good to be back; let's hope the Habs are coming back too.

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.