Habs Moment Of Truth 5 Things That Need To Happen Tonight

Last night the Rangers won, thereby propagating the scenario where the Canadiens can still miss the playoffs – much to the delight of Leafs fans who haven't had anything to cheer for since they traded their only hope at escaping mediocrity for an injured winger.

Habs fans will fret, but the team still does have their destiny in their own hands. In fact, their destiny is so much in their hands that they could make this happen without having to play a second of good hockey past the 60 minute mark.

We fret though because those we devote our evenings to have been floundering for 5 days, and we don't know if they'll be a 3-0 team or the 2-5 team from a few nights ago.

We've been watching this team all season, and many of the players on both sides longer than that. A certain accumulation of "wisdom" has been gathered that we can predict some things that will aid in pursuit of the goal (one point). I propose to you here the five I find most pressing:

1) Andrei Markov must earn his reputation
We've seen Markov be a Norris defender at both ends. This season even. But from night to night, he's been fluctuating of late. It's time he finds it within himself to be the best player on the ice and ensure that whenever he is on, the Canadiens hod the cards.

2) Discipline must roll on
The Leafs are an explosive team, if an enigmatic one. One thing we do know is that players, as much as fans, for Montreal games. Even more charge seems to come when they feel they've been wronged by refs, or wronged by plays (i.e., penalties). Even if they have one of the worst PPs in the league by stats, it is a good PP against our defence. The Habs have been disciplined of late, taking fewer penalties. It would be a good idea if the team continued this for another little while.

3) Pouliot must play with Gomez
For the longest time we fretted about lacking the extra skill on the wnng to make a second line. Well, we acquired it, it's Pouliot. Pouliot and Gomez may not play the most energetic hockey, they may never get the Benoit Brunet seal of forechecking approval, but they do have an understanding – an understanding that they should always be ready for a pass (and both and Gionta have good enough control to receive them). The time for disciplining Ben is done. The Habs need this potential defence cutting passing in a big way. Like it or not, Pouliot must play with Gomez.

4) Bergeron must be restricted to the PP
The guy has an uncanny shot, but we can all see why he wasn't signed to play professional hockey. He scored his 3rd even strength goal last game, not enough to warrant the hope that he will bail out the team. He's a specialist weapon, use him as one.

5) Defencemen need to grin and bear it
For a game, the Habs defence have to take some hits. Quick, blind clearances have been costly. Long bomb passes lead to few breakaways and lots of one-on multiple offensive situations. For a game, ur defenders need to want that puck, hold until the right pass comes, the Leafs change lines, their partner is free. For goodness sake Hal Gill, you're 6'88" or something, how much can it hurt to get hit as shoulders crash into your hip?


There's more. Plekanec, Cammalleri you're not off the hook just because you avoided the top 5. Best players must be best, role players must do their best, defenders must defend not panic. It starts from there.

Many lists would have started with WIN at the top. This is true, but unfortunately no player, coach, spectator or anyone else for that matter can generate a guaranteed win. Yes they need to win, but going in to the game with that thought and nothing else is backwards. All a team can do is do the things that would help make their winning more likely, nothing more, nothing less.

I'm not saying I'm going to be celebrating if the Canadiens suddenly piece together a good game and lose, but can I reasonably ask more from the team?


It all boils down to a game. And though we find it hard to admit, this is what we've all been waiting for, a game that means something. Sure, making the playoffs is a catchall that allows us to mock those who missed, but not winning the Cup is not winning the Cup. I like the playoffs because each game is meaningful, many are elimination games. I like the team not being eliminated, because they can still win the Cup.

They're still alive. They can still win. It'll just take 17 wins, not 16.

Go Habs Go.

Game #81Habs' Playoff Hopes Stalled For Now

Details

Date: 08/04/10
Opponent: Hurricanes
Location: Carolina

Loss: 2-5

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

Habs goalscorers: Gionta, Bergeron
Opposition goalscorers: Staal (3), Larose (2)

Play of the game

Not much to be too happy about tonight, but there was one play that I really liked. The play was our second goal which came 11 seconds after we went down by 2, it was the goal that restored my hope (note that there wasn't much belief tonight, just hope). The play started when Gionta stripped a Hurricane player of the puck in our end. He then hit Gomez who was about ready to leave the zone with some speed. In Scott went with the suddenly 20-minute man, MAB. A quick pass and a quicker shot was all it took to beat Ward, it was just too bad that we had so little of that going all night.

Dome hockey team

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


Forwards

Brian Gionta
Listen, I didn't like the way that Brian played in the biggest of games either, but you tell me who else you would have? At the end of the day he picked up 2 points and had the D and Halak done their work we may have forgotten that he too played poorly. Putting him on a line with Cammalleri was yet another way that Martin has found to get nothing out of Mike as it seems Camms' problem may just be himself.

Dominic Moore
Dom didn't score tonight and didn't do too much offensively, but he did do what a 3rd line, enegry centre is meant to do and for that I am happy. He did, however, do a lot on Gionta's goal and, considering we only had a handful of chances tonight, was one of our more dangerous players thanks to that play alone. For some reason Sergei was benched tonight, maybe he played badly, but I thought Moore's other winger, Moen, was possibly our worst forward all night and wondered why he wasn't riding the pine express himself.

Maxim Lapierre
Like Moore, Max played with energy. I felt that for a 4th liner he played fine and, although a goal would have been nice, I didn't expect him to win this one for us tonight. Finding him real linemates may help as we head into the most important game in 12 months as playing him with a 'defenceman' is a waste of what that line could and should be.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik - Game Puck
Roman was the one player that I actually felt played well tonight. That is good news if (no longer when) we get to the playoffs as we clearly need more than 1 or 2 guys back there who know what they are doing (at best we have 4, most nights we have 2). He contributed offensively, managed to stay even and played the most minutes of any Hab.

Josh Gorges
Josh played a sound game and chose to never get caught. He also chose to play defence which is something most of his teammates (his partner Hal Gill in particular) chose not to do. I feel that Gorges could be a good player for us if we make it in as he has been solid down the stretch and, other than last game, rarely plays poorly.

Goaltender

Carey Price
OK, Jaro's D was bad and we didn't exactly light the world on fire with goals, but you know what, what else is new? Maybe the standards for Halak are too high, but we needed a win tonight and he couldn't steal one for us. He wasn't brutal, but too many rebounds made it hard for his teammates to bail him out this time. Now the question becomes who to play on Saturday for the biggest game? I think that you have to go back to Halak as he is your man, but he has to be better as does the whole team or the arguments for 'playoff-starter' won't matter one bit.

Comments

So, in the biggest game and when we need things to happen for us Martin's plan seems to be to have MAB on all of the time and as a defender to boot. How is it that the best they have for us is putting on a player, who has no clue what to do in his own end, for 8+ minutes in the third? If that is your best option why have you waited till game 81 to go for it? This game was a game of changes as Martin thought he would get the most out of his non-benched players by benching others. The problem, however, is that while O'Byrne, Pouliot and Sergei were being benched they saw much worse hockey from the likes of Gill, Bergeron and Moen. How do you think that makes those players feel or how do you think the team would respond? Not well apparently as all of the line changes had no real positive impact on the game and simply sends us to our next game in a bit of a mess. Last week we won games on defence alone, but tonight we decided that we needed offence, offence and more offence. That didn't mean we would do anything dangerous, it just meant that the lines would be mixed in the hope of striking gold. Last week I spoke about our team being able to drag around 3 boat-anchors while finding ways to win games, tonight those 3 duds were a main reason we lost. Every pinch was mal-timed, every 2-on-1 coverage done wrong as this was the type of game that you must forget. We can easily get into the playoffs and do so on a high, but we have to go back to what works for us and I am pretty sure that isn't what Martin tried tonight.

Eastern Conference Playoffs Looking for Sweeps, Upsets and Regular season Records

A lot has been published about the optimal opponents for each team come playoff time. I don't want to theorize too much on the topic this time around. Instead, I offer you some data for you to chew on by yourselves:

First up is the head-to-head table for all possible contenders from the Eastern Conference this season (please note, OT/SO goals for/against not counted).



As you can see, most top teams deserve to be there as they have accrued points against playoff-bound rivals.

What you might also spot is that there are some curious results: both plum match-ups (New Jersey getting Pittsburgh, say) and ones to avoid (New Jersey getting Philly).


From this, you can piece together how well each team did solely against playoff teams from the East.



Of note here seems to be that Buffalo are in above their heads, and it seems to be at Ottawa's expense.


Finally, and probably most important for those in imminently scheduled playoff pools like me is the record against teams that they could possibly face in the first round:



Pittsburgh, leaving the standings behind, must be licking their chops for their first round entrance.

Quick Question For Doubters

Why do those of you who fear the Habs have no chance of beating the Hurricanes and the Leafs even want to be in the playoffs?

The Canadiens have to win one of two (or lose in fighting fashion) to keep everyone happy now.

In two weeks (playoffs permitting) they'll have to be beating a top team for the 4th time to make us happy.

Keeping perspective. Go Habs Go.

Game #80 A Point And An Away Scoreboard Result Put Habs On Verge

Details

Date: 06/04/10
Opponent: Islanders
Location: Long Island


Loss: 3-4 (SO)

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

Habs goalscorers: Plekanec, Gionta, Lapierre
Opposition goalscorers: Comeau, Bergenheim, Nielsen (Moulson, Nielsen – SO)

Play of the game

Haven't we waited a long time for a real beauty? Funny thing is, one comes and we have choice for others nearly as pretty. The winner for tonight's honour has to go to the goal that secured a point – courtesy of Maxim Lapierre. The play was all Max. He starts by taking back control for the team and looping back into the zone. A firm pass to Bergeron, who passes quickly to Darche gives Max time to slingshot through the neutral zone. Darche makes a nice pass to Max from blueline to blueline and Max challenges the coverage with speed. It starts getting beautiful when he splits the defenders and becomes Max's best ever when he calmly wards off the poke check clearance with a skate to stick pass. Taking control in time to outlast the defence and apply a deke, he then roofs it past a stunned Biron. Magnifique is what Houde sprung to. He was right. This is a reminder of why people get up in arms about Lapierre at all. Some talents couldn't piece together one element of this 5-part play.

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
Lapierre's goal was the class of the night, but Andrei tempted a few times with elusive skating, strong puck defence and threaded passes. I thought on the night, he was the danger man for the Habs. HI pass on the Plekanec goal was exactly the kind of play you'd hope for from a top line pairing heading into the playoffs (a bit of synergy and zip). 5 shots on target from 6 attempts to Cammalleri's 1 from 4, show that Pleks should be looking West with the passes for a while.

Maxim Lapierre
What he accomplished, he did in little time. There was the very important goal and also a very dangerous and well taken shot that nearly finished the game. 10:34 of ice all told will probably be a low for a while after Max makes his second dome in a week. He is forgiven for a shootout attempt saved, because he tested with a move that would have worked another time. Really, he couldn't have chosen a better time to step up his game, given Metropolit's absence.

Sergei Kostitsyn
This was a toss up. Our third line is a brilliant late season find, and must be the biggest reason for optimism for the playoffs as far as I'm concerned. Lines 1 and 2 did their jobs tonight, creating chances and confusion. Line 3, however, went beyond. The line seemed to be a good bet for the Habs. Dominic Moore was once again a dynamo, and he narrowly misses here. Sergei gets the final nod for a couple of reasons. First, Sergei played a mean game positionally in the offensive zone – always using his body to preserve the puck he now seems to want so badly. Second, there were silky passes we hadn't been seeing early in the season. His play to nearly end the game (against the post) was sublime.

Defencemen

Ryan O'Byrne
I don't want to belittle Ryan, but some teams suit him – the Islanders is one of them. The young team is not organized in attack and prone to a big body erasing the overeager puck carrier. Tonight Ryan did that with regularity. Positioning his body to win the puck was his major skill. The scorekeeper calling him for 10 hits shows us he often times also made the boards echo with Islanders. For me, this represents a high in what has been a good little progression for the student O'Byrne.

Andrei Markov
If you read the premise behind the dome carefully, it says we will choose the six players we want to play, the six best players. Markov, with such wealth of skill, must be beaten then by a significant effort to warrant exclusion. Tonight I didn't feel anyone was up to that mark. Andrei didn't play his best game, but he was at least as good as Gill, Bergeron and Hamrlik and probably better than Gorges. The stats sheet says this was Bergeron's dome, only bad passes are bad passes to me, whether punished or not. What's more, Andrei has some great PP minutes himself, even if not rewarded with a GF. Interesting is that Jacques Martin managed Andrei's minutes in this one to the point of madness – Markov played a mere 21:09, and his even strength minutes were lowest on the squad.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak
Today we heard that numbers are for bean counters. This game offered a lot of beans. 42 shots were directed at Halak in game play, 39 were saved. Critics will say that most were innocuous, and critics would be dead on there. Still, Halak probably did make 8 or so pretty big saves, including one sensational stop on Tavares. In the end, Halak gave his team a chance to win. He also missed a shot that led to OT and played a weak effort on the first shooter. Most important in the end were the saves, a game that goes to OT 3-3 with 42 shots allowed is not one to beat up a goalie too harshly for. A goal allowed at the end of the second, another in the first, or earlier in the third might have changed the complexion and cost the single point.

Comments

I'm sure we all expected a win tonight. The underpowered Islanders with no reason to win were amrked as an easy obstacle to qualification. But as we should well know in this of all seasons, nothing is decided. The Islanders are a young team, learning on the fly and experimenting on the go. They start a goalie hanging onto a career and veteran players showcasing for a way out. They had little to play for in the playoff race, perhaps, but much to play for as individuals. The first period this seemed to stun the Canadiens as much as it did the Habs fan majority in Uniondale. However, by the second, I thought the Habs were putting a firm grip on things. Turning points, good goals and a shootout later and it's a good spectacle and a point. I can't say that from the first period deficit in goals and play that I'm disappointed with the swing it took.

The biggest reason to celebrate on the night are the Thrashers and Rangers losses to convincing sides. New York offered little after a first period lead and rally and Gaborik looks likely to sit out a post-season yet again while Gomez might yet see action. Atlanta crash out in predictable fashion as Oduya can't score at the 50-goal level of his trade partner. Buffalo won to clinch the division and thereby ensure no Senators for the Habs (the desired result). And, Washington beating Pittsburgh is more good news, as the Penguins would be the worst case scenario in round 1 (worse even than NJ).

The NHL hasn't put an X beside the team in the standings, but the destiny rests with the team – who after a feisty effort, I feel are up to claiming it.

Some Quotes To Make Our Bias Look Pale

Last week, I responded to responded to a Price friendly article with a Price unfriendly response. Balance is what I was seeking. I forget that not everyone follows the same reading patterns as me.

The ensuing debate was interesting and educational for everyone. We all got to reflect a little bit on our own positions and the possibility of coming out of the trenches we have dug just a little.

Another week and it's more of the same from the Habsosphere. Rather than opine on this one inkblot more, I offer you two quotes to consider:

Jack Todd, Montreal Gazette:

"Just when we thought he was growing up, meanwhile, it turns out that Price, is aging like fine whine.

Price was caught again last week, dissing and moaning about his hard luck, the people who bother him in public, the lack of offensive support, the boo-birds at the Bell Centre.

This is Montreal. It's the NHL. Boos, bores and bad bounces go with the territory. If you can't take it, you belong in Nashville."

Ted Bird, CTV:

"Clearly, the numbers favor Halak, but numbers are for bean counters who don't understand or appreciate the intangibles that separate respectability from greatness.

Halak has been at least as much of a pleasant surprise as Price has been a disappointment, but there are reasons Price was drafted fifth overall in the first round in 2005, two years after Halak was taken in the 9th round, and the 22-year-old Price is still a more likely candidate to develop into a franchise goaltender than Halak is to sustain his excellent level of play over the long term."

Plenty to offend all the sensibilities of all parties there I think. Gotta love Montreal, they know how to keep that pot stirred.

Game #79Back-To-Back For Halak As Habs Take It To Divison's Best

Details

Date: 03/04/10
Opponent: Sabres
Location: Montreal

Win: 3-0

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

Habs goalscorers: O'Byrne, Pyatt, S. Kostitsyn
Opposition goalscorers: None

Play of the game

I felt that Halak was on tonight and made some fabulous saves and I also felt that our goals were all timely and pretty, so choosing a single play for tonight was difficult. What I will go for, though, is the third goal, the goal that assured me that this wouldn't be a repeat of last week against Buffalo, a goal that deflated Buffalo's spirit. The play all started when Moore was applying a whole lot of pressure on the Sabres' D. He forced a turn-over and then, from behind the net, found an open Moen out in front. Travis struggled to control the puck, but at the last second managed to get it over to Sergei (I think that this was on purpose). Sergei now had a big chunk of the net to shoot at as Miller had committed fully to Moen. Kostitsyn made no mistake and fired a hard one (hard enough that even two deflections couldn't keep it out) to put us up by that magic number three.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Sergei Kostitsyn
I was thrilled when I saw that Sergei was taking warm-up and I am sure that some of his teammates were too. He gives a certain dimension to our third line that makes that unit a legitimate threat. It then also has the ripple effect as the 4th line now gets more space when they are on, so him coming back, to me, was more important than a Spacek return for tonight's game. Kostitsyn did not disappoint as he led the Habs with a goal and an assist, inching ever closer to the 20-point plateau.

Dominic Moore
As big of a fan of Kostitsyn as I may be I know that there is someone who likes the slick winger just a bit more...Moore. Dom was back to his old self tonight as his fore-checking was not just good for the third line, but was amongst the best that we have seen all season. We'll touch on the need to sign Moore this summer on another day as today I just want to focus on how crucial his play for us tonight was. He was the direct cause of two of our goals and picked up 2 assists along the way. His defensive game, especially on the PK, was also strong and one more reason that he was likely our best forward tonight.

Maxim Lapierre
I wanted more from Max and I got more from Max. When he can play like this and get Darche and Pyatt to follow it doesn't really matter that your top two lines are being neutralized as he can give us a very legitimate 4th option. He made a few very good rushes throughout the game including one that ended with Pyatt potting his 2nd NHL goal. I was very pleased with the offence, aggression and poise that Lapierre showed tonight and truly hope that he can be this player for us in the weeks to come.

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
Andrei was again outstanding for us as his play not only going forward, but in his own end too, was impeccable. When people are calling out our best payers to be our best they always tend to focus on Cammalleri and Pouliot (??) which is fine, but as much offence as you need you also need D and goaltending. Tonight our 2 best players were again, two of our best and that to me is how we have 4 points instead of 0 this Easter weekend. I can live with no stats from Markov, especially when he plays over 26 minutes of world-class hockey.

Josh Gorges
Like Markov, Josh also picked up where he left off in Philadelphia last night. He was very solid all night as he was blocking shots, moving the puck well and always seemed to be in control of what was going on around him. His 3+ minutes on the PK were about tops on the team and his play during that time helped to make Halak's job that much easier.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak - Game Puck
Wow, that is some serious goaltending. Jaro just put on 2 hours worth of the best goaltending display that we have had in years. I was never actually once scared that he would let this game slip for us as I recognized early that my confidence was eclipsed by the confidence the young Slovak had. I wouldn't expect him to play like this on all nights, but to be going into next week (and beyond?) with a goalie this good has to make all Habs fans not just hopeful, but hopefully confident. His 28 saves tonight came in all shapes and sizes as he not only made the easy saves look easy, but also made the hard saves every time that he was asked to do so.

Comments

Montreal took it to Buffalo early and, unlike last night, never took their foot off the gas. This had to be one of the best team efforts all year as we were all over them in their own end and seemed in control in our own. This wasn't one of those games that you could point to a lucky break here and there and just thank your lucky stars that we got points. No, this was a team effort and a team win and never was there any doubt that it should have been just that. I can't think of any one player that didn't play well and was thrilled that quite a few of the players that I had asked to contribute last night came through. I don't expect O'Byrne, Lapierre, Pyatt, Moore and Sergei to always be putting the puck in the net, but anytime that they do it certainly helps the process.

I knew that 4 points this weekend would go a long way for us, but I was ready to live with two. I can't, however, describe how happy I am that, for once, we haven't just gone for the minimum. 89 points will book our ticket into the playoffs and that means a week of .500 (against sub-.500 teams) is all that we must accomplish. That won't necessarily be easy, though, and I can only hope that those still present from the 2007 team will let this version know just how silly it is to try and wait until the last night to clinch. 86, 87 or 88 points may very well do it too, but I say let's aim for 90+ and aim for 6th. Going into the playoffs hot is better than not (see 2009) and getting to play the 3rd place team (likely Buffalo) would be much better for the Habs than the other top seeds. We have to play next week like there is no tomorrow as obviously playing like that (thanks Mr. Halak) has proven to be the thing to do.