Game #78Halak Forced To Be Perfect; Not A Problem Says The Kid

Details

Date: 02/04/10
Opponent: Flyers
Location: Philadelphia


Win: 1-0

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

Habs goalscorers: Plekanec
Opposition goalscorers: None

Play of the game

Jaro made a series of two stops with about 5 minutes to go in the 2nd that not only 'won' us the game, but were also two of the best saves that I have seen, back-to-back, in quite some time. Within a matter of seconds he stoned van Riemsdyk and Richards with his left pad as both players were left with a lot of net to shoot at. Stoning those two players was very consistent with what he did all game as I could have chosen from at least 10 other saves for the play-of-the-game.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Andrei Kostitsyn
Our goal was pretty much all Andrei as he did all of the hard work and spotted a wide-open Pleks (surrounded by 4 confused men in orange) in the slot. Andrei did have a good first couple of periods and was certainly a threat beyond that goal, but, like the rest of our team, did a lot of watching in the third.

Tomas Plekanec
Being in the right place at the right time is often used as a term to describe luck...by people who assume you have to be lucky to be good. Well, the right place at the right time is exactly where Tom was for his goal, but he wasn't there by chance, no, instead he was there because he knew that he should be arriving in the slot at that precise moment in case Kostitsyn would be able to win his battle and centre the puck. Finding a hole in Philly's defence to stand alone in front of Boucher was certainly his best play all night, although, to be fair, he was decent for most of the rest of it too.

Scott Gomez
Choosing another forward from this game was done by a method that I hate using (as it generally means the team played badly) - process of elimination. After I went through the roster and thought of bad things for most of the other forwards I was left with nothing too bad to report for Gionta and Gomez. Of the two, however, I did remember noticing that Scott was slightly better at most times during the game. I think he, and his line, will have to be better in the coming games, though, as we will need goals at some point as the goal isn't just to simply squeak into the first round and stop, is it?

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
If Halak accounted for 85% of this win and shutout then I would have to give a big portion of the remaining 15% to Markov. He was outstanding in our own end all night and really helped Jaro out at times. I felt that this may have been his best defensive game for quite some time as he was going against a talented group that did not want to lose at all tonight. He played the most minutes of any Hab tonight so I hope that he will still be good to go full-tilt tomorrow as more points for the playoff race are certainly a must.

Josh Gorges
Josh carried the second of our three trios tonight. Like the other two he was also dragging around an anchor, but you wouldn't have known it. The look on his face of desire and ambition screamed playoffs to me and I am that Josh will give us a solid effort in each and every game between now and the first game of golf of 2010.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak - Game Puck
That may have been the best single game performance of Halak's Hab career as he was simply outstanding. Philly came at him all game long with not just shots, but with some serious quality chances. He seemed to be making a game-saver just about every other minute as Philly, at times, was all over us. The win marked his 25th of the season and the shutout his 4th in a game that will hopefully have some serious implications. I see no reason to not go back to him tomorrow because if he can play as well as he played tonight then a win at home, against Buffalo, is a serious possibility.

Comments

Any time that you get a chance to beat a team that is neck-and-neck in a race with you you have to do it. Well, there were two teams thinking that tonight and both teams wanted this one bad. Montreal started well, but over the course of the first 40 minutes it became obvious that Philly was the more motivated and stronger team on this night. The third period wasn't even close as the Flyers outshot us 14-3 and were all over us in our own end. It is, therefore, lucky for us that the best of the 38 players happened to be the one in our net. Without Halak tonight we may be wandering just why our team didn't show up and where the offence was. Instead we are in 6th and prevented a rival from getting any points. I, however, can't be so blind and must ask the question - where was our team? Is this what we are taking into the playoffs? Is it that hard to get up for a game like this? We have scored 10 non-empty-net goals in our last 7 games and I have a feeling that that just won't cut it beyond next Saturday. We have to be more than 1 line, a goalie and a couple of D. We need Pouliot, Cammalleri, Moore, Lapierre, Moen and, heaven forbid, players like Maxwell, Pyatt, Gill and O'Byrne to actually contribute. These are all players that must step up as a team with no depth is a team that will not go into the playoffs into any depth. I'll take the win and will look to tomorrow, but I seriously hope that some of our players start looking at themselves.

The Continued Booing of Carey Price

The other night after a game that Tobalev broadly described as one with lots to take from, the biggest story is that Carey Price received some boos from the fans.

In Montreal's own way, the city has found an incident that no other team would concern itself with, analyzed it and is now onto analyzing the response. In keeping with the level of "commitment", I am prompted to comment on both and then the analysis itself. Maybe we should all be committed.


The boos

Generally I am not a booer. I boo bad calls at games and Bruins goals, but save my voice for cheering. I used to boo more in my youth, and I have booed players on my own team. It's not something I want to vigorously defend. Let's just say there are a lot of things I've grown out of.

But to briefly touch on booing. The stands are a lieu of limited vocab. Nobody really sings in these terraces, so there are essentially two words to choose from: the affirmative (cheer, whistle, clap) or the negative. It's not subtle. The third is the absence of one or the other when it might have belonged – but this is subtle for drunken Molson zoners. Speaking of subtlety, you can see there isn't much. If I want to voice my displeasure over a trade of a player I thought should have stayed, how can I boo Rejean Houle? I might need to use a proxy (or I would have in those student days). If I am booing Mike Cammalleri for bad pass that leads to a goal, will anyone know I'm not booing Price, Gill, Martin?

The sledgehammer subtlety is important here as the Canadiens had just lost. I know some fans, for example, had been booing from the end of the game – every announcement reinvigorating their disappointment. The absence of cheering and some not so clever sheep made this more an issue.


The game Carey had

Carey's last two games have been good ones, two domes and a game puck from us. The fact he lost both is puzzling if you've gone down that wormhole, but all goalies play well and lose. The fans should be able to recognize a good goaltending performance in a loss by now. I would never have come up with this piece myself, but The Other Wing gets it right in message here. The team winning is supposed to be the reason we cheer, write, gripe, etc. Booing Carey after a game like Wednesday's is counterproductive. He didn't deserve intensified booing. He didn't even deserve the absence of cheers.


The season Carey is having

This is where things get muddled. We can all admit that Carey's had some bad luck over two games. What I won't do is go to Stubbs level of hyperbole and call these two games his season in a microcosm. It simply isn't. If these games were a microcosm of his season, there wouldn't have been a remaining fan to keep quiet as the 50 boo-birds carried their tune.

What we kep getting told, however, is that Carey Price has lost 25 games because the team has let him down. 20 in regulation because the team has let him down. Stubbs talks about the investigative reporting that produced yet another gem on Hockeybuzz:

"Blogger Eric Engels reported yesterday that the Canadiens have scored more than twice in only four of Price's 25 losses this season, including overtime and shootouts. So in 21 games, he needed to allow no more than a single goal for his team to win in regulation time"

It may be true, but why leave out the fact that Carey has actually only posted a save percentage over 0.900 in 7 of those games. And why also leave out that his team won two games where he was below average. His unbalanced bad luck has cost the team 5 losses this season, not 25. Two of those games took place in the past while – we've been dealing with the other three as 15 then 16 then 19 all season long.

He's been unlucky at times, that's true. But a few more wins wouldn't veil the fact that his stats show he's 28th in the league race for least goals allowed per game and that while good (well above replacement level) is not in the echelon of greatness yet with save percentage.

I guess what I'm saying here is that at least 12 of those losses are merited. Had his effort been more Herculean, the tragic references would have rung more true.
Regardless of whether us fans ever accept that, it will be important for Carey himself to realize, admit that. Fueling his notion that he is some snakebit victim of unseen proportion is as counterproductive, if not more so when you consider development and lessons, than the booing from high.


Jacques Martin's response

This whole rant was prompted by Dave Stubbs' article about Jacques Martin. I thought I'd reach the punchline sooner, but here I am.

Stubbs, wholesale believer in the snakebite theory, wanted to hear more from Jacques Martin to bash the fans than this:

"I respect the fans. They pay good dollars to be entertained and they have a right to an opinion," he replied. "As a professional athlete, or a coach, you have to work within the framework.

"Sure I'd like to see better results (for Price), as he would. At the same time, I can't say we lost the game because of him."

As Stubbs points out, it's not exactly forceful.

Rather than taking issue with the lack of expected response, I like to question why. The assumption is that Martin thinks highly of Price and recognizes him now as a convert to hard work every day in practice. It's an assumption. I'm not sure from Martin's muted support that he left that podium regretting he didn't say it Stubbs' way.

That may have been counterproductive too. Maybe not. Heck, it may even be productive. Jacques job is to awaken this sleeping giant from his slumber in Carey- is-just-unlucky-land, not to massage egos or bash 50 loudmouths and 9,000 silent fans (those already sprinting for their cars get reprieve).

Maybe this was just his latest wake-up call.

Game #77Ward Outstanding As Habs Come Up One Short

Details

Date: 31/03/10
Opponent: Hurricanes
Location: Montreal

Loss: 1-2

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

Habs goalscorers: Bergeron
Opposition goalscorers: Sutter, Staal

Play of the game

I am not about to give too much credit to Ward, so I feel a save from him is off the table (even if some did come from some nifty plays). What I preferred was our lone goal, a PP goal from Bergeron, at home, at last. Our specialist had gone almost 4 months without a home goal and we really needed not just him, but the PP as well, to get going. It wasn't however, by lack of trying that he wasn't scoring, at least not tonight as it seemed everyone of our shots on that first PP was a blast from MAB. He eventually got one by Ward after great plays by both Gionta and Gomez who got the puck to a surprisingly wide open Bergeron.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Andrei Kostitsyn - Game Puck
I was very impressed by Andrei tonight and, after having missed last week's games, was very surprised to see him be our top forward. When I left for vacation Cammalleri was still out and Kostitsyn was struggling to find his game. Well, it seems that the bad Habs week that I missed at least brought us back this talented player. He was everywhere tonight and came so close on many occasions. When he wasn't almost scoring himself he had likely just set up someone who was coming close themselves.

Mike Cammalleri
The one knock on Mike tonight would be that he seemed to be trying to do a little too much himself, a little too much stick-handling. Other than that, however, I felt that he played a fantastic game that was filled with chances and creative plays. I have no doubt that he will play a significant role in the last week and can only hope the rest of the team follows.

Dominic Moore
I didn't see too much I liked from our bottom two lines tonight, apart from Moore's play that is. We were hurt when Sergei went down and at that point it seemed like we were back to being a two-line team. Dom, however, did his best to give us a third option as his speed, face-off abilities (80%) and tenacity led to a few chances, for himself and his teammates, and to some pretty sound play in his own end.

Defencemen

Marc-Andre Bergeron
I know that he didn't play D tonight, but what he did from the back end (mostly the goal and other PP-related stuff) was more impressive to me than the play of our 5 other defencemen. I am not sure if I would like to have him on the blue-line instead of the 4th line, but somehow feel that tapping his offence for more than just a few minutes a game (PPs) may very well be worth it. The question becomes would you rather see Pyatt in than O'Byrne or than Gill? I may try it as I don't feel MAB is that far behind those two in his defensive play and may even be more careful now as he must now realize that people don't really think that he is that good.

Jaroslav Spacek
It seemed that every time I looked Spacek was blocking a shot or breaking up a Carolina play. His meager stats (which include a -1 rating and just 4 blocked-shots) don't really do him justice as I really felt he was our best blue-liner all game. What we hoped for was an offensive weapon, but we are now getting a player that is outplaying Hamrlik and even Markov, defensively, on a semi-regular basis. Spacek is key to our success going forward and I can only hope that Martin now realizes this too.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey got unlucky on the first goal and the second could have been avoided with better D - all in all he played quite well. What I really liked tonight was the way with which he took mid-distance shots. Those shots, the ones from about 15'-35', have often caused Carey trouble, but tonight he seemed to handle the shots themselves well and the rebounds even better. He looked tight when he faced those shots and always seemed to have a plan as to where the rebound would go. A lot of use of his blocker and upper pads tonight kept me very happy indeed.

Comments

I have to put tonight into perspective for just one minute before I get ahead of myself. Tonight was my first game in 10 days after being away in Cuba and also marked the end of my own hockey season as our team went out 2 games to 1 in our playoff series. So, when I think of my personal pain of my season ending and of missing 4 Habs games that I would have really liked to watch I can't help but feel a bit better about tonight. Yes, we didn't get points that could have helped us, but the bottom line is that we didn't need them, they just would have been nice. Our season isn't over, people, and we are still very much in the mix, so let's stop the booing and the throwing-in of towels and get behind our team for these last 5 games. I feel that 90 points is a guarantee for the playoffs, 88 probably will do it and even 86 may be enough, so with 10 potential points left (we currently sit at 82) I am not too worried, yet. Tonight's game was the type of game that you would have liked to have won, but is also the type of game that you have to be pretty pleased about. First off, we generated more quality chances than Carolina (and more shots) and we also scored a PP goal on a tidy looking Power-Play. Then there is the fact that I saw some serious chemistry from our top 2 lines and lastly the fact that the Habs seemed in control, for most of the game, in almost every aspect of play. This is a game that you must leave behind, but isn't a game that we should be ashamed of. It now, of course, puts the pressure on, however, as we seriously need some points from this weekend's two games. 3 or 4 points would, of course, be great, but right now I feel that we simply must get 2. I don't want to cut it too close, but I can't say now that without 3 points we are out of it. Other teams will lose too, so keeping pace, at the very least, should take us into the final week.

A quiet word in Rutherford’s ear

As we head into Game -6 of the season, there is a definite whiff of playoff attitude in the air. Scott Gomez put the fans on notice that there aren’t any tomorrows beyond this game, at least not in the cliché’ed world that NHL minds live in.

In fact he is right. The Hurricanes game is critical. Not just because it could be two much sought points for this Habs squad, but also because of what it would do to the overall playoff race. If the Canadiens beat the Hurricanes tonight it would leave Carolina with a less than 0.015% chance of making the playoffs – essentially elimination. Given that the Canadiens are slated to play Carolina once more, the gentle persuasion of all but formal elimination could mean an easier game, or at least some rookie opposition later in the schedule.

Here’s the thing though, right now Carolina does have a chance, but it’s really only in the theoretical realm. Sports Club Stats gives them about a 0.2% chance of making the post-season, and most scenarios ask for 6 wins from the team that’s on 32 wins and 44 losses. Rather than rely on actions to do the talking, shouldn’t someone just go and have a quiet word in Jim Rutherford’s ear?


What harm could the Canes do in the playoffs?

And intrinsically tied to that: Does Rod Brind’amour even have a playoff run left in him?

A minus 29 on the season suggests he may not. With Matt Cullen gone as well and Zach Boychuk still learning at a very rookie-like pace, this is not a team with much down the centre.

A look at the wings is no more flattering. Erik Cole is not the Erik Cole of old. And as it stands, Kostopoulos is the 4th leading winger in points among healthy choices (and his 8G 11A aren’t convincing anyone he’s become a playoff machine since leaving MTL).

In short, the Canes are in transition. And it’s not a transition that will lead to Cup this spring.


How deep is the draft?

No matter what experts say, people who have ended up with 5th as their highest pick in the last 20 years know that no draft is knee deep in team-changing players. This year shouldn’t be any different. The Hurricanes currently sit in 25th position (or 6th from the bottom). As the lottery goes their best pick would be 2nd, their worst 7th, their likeliest 6th.

6th or 7th won’t turn many franchises from 25th place ones into 5th place ones, much less ones who trade Jack Johnson for virtual nothings. A 2nd or 3rd pick might.

Jim has the chance to help his team drop like a stone and rival the current bottom 5 for the cream of the crop in the draft.


Hurricanes position unique among bottom feeders

The other factor that goes in favour of a forced swoon for the Canes is the fact they look wholly different from their rivals. The Oilers, Leafs, Islanders and Panthers are perennial failures. There must be legitimate concern about fan fatigue with the futility, even in the face of a better pick.

Not so in Carolina. 4 years ago a Cup. Last season a conference final. The fans have had a fill of good hockey and probably thirst for more. That said, the realists among them must see this is not a conference final year and a quick turnaround to coincide with a Ruutu return and a Staal good year might be the ticket.

Furthermore, the Hurricanes are darlings of the NHL. A competitive success in the South. If Florida and the Islanders stink out the place, their very being could be questioned again. The Canes seem safe for now. So too is Rutherford who has won favour with his owner for patience and delivered with patience. There’s little reason to believe patience won’t be on his side this summer.


Collusion isn’t really allowed or encouraged. I am writing this half in jest. Gentle whispers and backroom deals aside, won’t Rutherford be thinking all this already? Wouldn’t any GM faced with a 0.2% of a playoff first round sweep or 1st overall possibility with 3rd or 4th in the bag see things this way?

Let the intrigue begin…

A Pouliot Move: Tactical Manoeuvre or Costly Experiment?

Pouliot hasn't been scoring at a goal every two games – just in case you haven't noticed. Even the Gomez line (the best for the past while) has been pretty quiet for about 6, maybe 12, periods of hockey. The solution is nothing new. Player is switched to a) jump start line or b) jump start player.

It's worth talking about simply because Pouliot happens to be (averaged over time) our most productive player. Since coming to the Canadiens 30 odd games ago, he has scored 14 goals, his average over 60 minutes of play is in the elite realm of 1.5 G/60. What's more, with 10 goals created, he's been clipping at just less than Cammalleri offensively.

The question then, why take Pouliot off the very line he jump started in the first place at the first sight of slump?

The answer begins with an objective look at things. Thankfully, the tireless Olivier has been looking into this for us and provided some numbers we can get our teeth into. Olivier's analysis looks at the effect that different centremen have had on the play of three wingers (Darche, Pyatt and Pouliot).

Pyatt, who we're not as interested in for today shows a predictable pattern of scoring chance distribution – putting up a positive balance with Metropolit, mainly fueled by the fact they hardly tried to score while they were on. With Plekanec, Pyatt's been on for more chances, but been caught more as well.

Darche has been better with different partners, probably because he has had to be. A good addition to nearly every line he's been on, he shows the experience he's had at moving teams by adapting quickly to new circumstances.

Pouliot has been an absolute star with Gomez. Olivier points out that he's not been as good with other centres. However, it must be said that because he and Scott have clicked so well, the reason to play with anyone else has been put on the backburner.

Olivier's scoring chance tabulations tell us a lot. They tell us who likes playing with whom and who can adapt/who can't. But they can't reveal everything. For example, they can't tell us what is the best combination for the team on average, and certainly not against a specific opponent. For that all stats leave us to the mercy of a bit of intuition and gut feel.

There are several reasons to mix the lines, stir the soup as they say on RDS:

1) Get the Gomez line back to where it was

If this is the aim, I think it is an unnecessary measure. Gomez and Gionta have been great since the Olympics and before. A few goalless games haven't changed that. It merely seems to be a case of a 30-goal and a 15-goal man playing to the level they play at (i.e., not scoring half the time).


2) Get Pouliot scoring at his previous pace

This is as off kilter as the first reason. Pouliot is essentially a rookie forward, still getting his feet in a new city. He exploded onto the scene, so we forget, but his adjustment is only natural.


3) Get Darche into a contributory role

I like Darche as much as the next guy, but it only takes a game or two in the audience to see the gulf between him and Pouliot in talent terms. The benefit of getting Darche firing at a better rate is probably less than getting Pouliot an extra 25% production.


4) Put Pouliot on alert that he needs to work harder

This is primitive coaching method. Taking an elite player off an elite line to serve a message is silly. It may be acceptable in Game 2 of the 82-game schedule, but not in a playoff race. I would be disappointed if this was all there was to it.


5) Get more out of Sergei Kostitsyn

There are seven substantially talented offensive forwards on this club. Sergei is the latest one to emerge. While he has been excellent with Dominic Moore and others of late, there may be inkling that he could reach loftier heights with a sniper who has one-touch capability. Pouliot may well be the player to unlock Sergei's potential, but I don't think Sergei is even ready for that yet.


I personally think (thought, now) that reasons 1, 3 and 4 were unworthy and only 2 and 5 made sense at this point in seeking offense (presumably the goal). I had more to say about Martin and the impact of the decision, but on a new day, I rewrote the ending...


Back to normal

After having come through all the scenarios, it seems Martin has reverted (in practice) to the established norm with Pouliot on the Gomez unit. I certainly agree with the move back.

I won't likely ever know why Martin moved the players yesterday, I can certainly guess. It seems he might have done so to accomplish a couple of goals: wake up Pouliot and see where Darche might fit if he is to return. I said above the Pouliot slight was primitive, and I stand by that, but restricted to practice the move carries no risk -- it seems a softer and more sophisticated warning. Furthermore, seeing where Darche might fit is critical as situations to force the hand may yet arise

Martin may get a bad name, and lots of unfair (and knee jerk) criticism, but he does a lot right. Keeping the lines together in this mini scoring slump is not the easiest course of action, and is not what less experienced predecessors would have chosen to do. He earns points from me for that. If Pouliot adds a bit of his original jump back due to a day of press hounding then it will be more points for Martin. As off days go, he may have accomplished a lot.


Thirst for stories

I left this article intact to demonstrate a point. What's a story one day is not a story at all the next. Bloggers after a season of digging for something to write about have jumped on this, many faster than me jumped twice: yesterday and again today. It does leave me chuckling at the end of it all. After all, on what other team do they fret about lines in practice (Martin can still change them by game time, after shift one, or in any situation). Where else would so many respond so fast as to need to retract the story on Day 2?

We Habs fans are a bit crazy. And this time of year, it seems, brings out the true fanaticism in all of us. Scott Gomez said "The city rocks". It certainly does, but it also racks -- racks its nerves unnecessarily over events that shouldn't even be news.

Until the next cause for uproar...

Game # 76 Habs Get An Early Taste Of Playoff Hockey

Details

Date: 27/03/10
Opponent: Devils
Location: Montreal

Loss: 2-4

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

Habs goalscorers: A. Kostitsyn, Plekanec
Opposition goalscorers: Elias, Langenbrunner, Zubrus, Rolston

Play of the game

The Devils were pretty tight tonight (when Skoula wasn't on) and it took creativity and sharpness to undo their defence. The cliche goes that a team must keep up a consistent level of forecheck and effort in order to wear an opponent down, only then breaking through. It's not exactly true. A team can also put together momentary flashes of brilliance for their breakthroughs. 4 of those ending in goals beats many games of 65% possession. My favourite play of the night came to nothing in the end, but was quick, sharp and very clever – it was more elite than a lot of what we've seen. Cammalleri, Plekanec and Kostitsyn were breaking in together and unlike their 3-on-2 that ended after a skirmish in a messy and somewhat questionable goal, their break in was smoothe. From there, they fanned out, AK the trailer. Andrei passed very firmly to Tomas who without a second's thought sent it back again. The defence on ther heels, Andrei unleashed a hard shot immediately. It was blocked, but I tell you, try that play again and it will be better than 25 Benoit Brunet dump ins.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
His line played most against Elias, Langenbrunner and Parise – the original Devils style line. Given good efforts from all those players, I thought Tomas and his linemates did very well. Pleks himself had a hand in a few nice plays, and his goal was a masterful and stealthy redirection. I don't know if he's 1/2 injured, 3/4 healthy or what. The way he seems to be enjoying Cammalleri's return, I find no reason to harp on his minor knocks.

Andrei Kostitsyn – Game Puck
Andrei will never please those who adhere to the tenet that everything in hockey comes through hard work. I have seen hard workers come and go in the hundreds, and I'd rather have Andrei's shot with the combination of positioning and luck that he had in this game. The first goal was a goalscorer's effort. The second goal was his miss, kept alive by his presence of mind and ending with his forceful pass to Pleks' skate. The scoresheet only records 2 shots, but he was the engine behind many good chances.

Mike Cammalleri
The time has come to recognise Cammalleri following his return. First of all, someone needs to be congratulated about bringing players back who are ready to go and contribute from the first shift. Past years players must have been rushed back, as we've never seen anything like these healthy bodies being reinserted. Mike himself must also be commended for approaching each game back as if nothing had happened at all. This game I mistook Mike for Gomez on a few occasions as he flew across my screen – his new knee looking the least of his concerns. There were also two assists on the two goals, and the fact that he was part of all these dangerous moves that I've been discussing.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
Fresh off a proud dome appearance, Roman repaid the recognition with another good game. Playing big minutes again, Hammer was often facing down either Kovalchuk's combo or Parise's. He made his mistakes (as highlighted on the 4-on-4 "tripping" play by RDS, but he also won a lot of the puck for his team. It was mostly sound and lacked the wild "Hail Mary" style that Markov was bent on trying out, a reliable game.

Jaroslav Spacek
Spacek played the most minutes of any defender in this game, and he played the hard minutes too. I thought he made his mistakes like Hammer, but they were fewer than say Gorges. I wouldn't go so far as saying the Devils looked like they disliked playing this pairing. With Spacek there, though, it seems the nights of being penned in for periods at a time by this team from NJ may be on the way out.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak
While he made some very good saves, a couple even with the game on the verge of getting out of reach, he still lost. In typical fashion (at least for this season) he dd keep the contest alive. In fact, some of his best saves were made once the Devils opened their account, but before the Habs scored, and also when the Devils were up 3-2. This wasn't a loss to be blamed on Halak, nor would I have given the goalie the game puck had a late one popped in to be followed by a shootout win. Average to below average by his new standards.

Comments

The first thing you notice when you end a period against the Devils is that they're a cut above the Panthers. As a team, they do things right. They anticipate better, the find better position, they don't waste many passes. Facing a team like this takes a big adjustment after some of the games the Habs have just come through. Waiting for the puck on the boards (Gionta) won't do, passes an inch off or too feathery (Pouliot) will be picked off. The Canadiens knew this was coming of course, but any team coming off a Panthers game could be forgiven for being caught by the new pace.

The team came out very well and dominated early. Two things happened to turn the tide, though – Brodeur saved everything and Metropolit got injured. The Brodeur saves meant the Canadiens had expended a lot for a nice display and some marks in the shots column, their resulting fatige was to be seen in the third. Losing Metro meat Martin cut his bench to three lines, pretty much, only compounding that fatigue issue in the end.

Overall, the game was not a complete loss. As I said in the play of the game, there were occasions to sit up and take notice of an offensive move – something previous editions would have been proud to say once a season vs. the Devils. The defensive play was mostly tidy, and apart from two early (and costly) pens, discipline was dead on. If the Devils gave a rendition of some playoff hockey this night, then the Habs didn't make fools of themselves. If the Devils are indeed to be the first opponent, I don't see reason to throw up the white flag, even with the loss.

Anyway, 6 more games. 6-7 points must be found. Twice Carolina, Islanders, Philly, Buffalo and the league's annual close-out game between habs and Leafs. It should be an interesting and nerve-racking two weeks. Hope you enjoy.

Game #75 Habs Redo Late 2-0 Scenario

Details

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

Win: 4-1

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

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

Play of the game

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

Dome hockey team

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

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

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

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

Defencemen

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

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

Goaltender

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

Comments

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

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

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