This season is really chugging along. It seems like just yesterday I updated this post for the last 10 – I guess that's the middle of the NHL season for you – lots of games, not many memories... Anyway, here are the stars from the last ten games according to Tobalev, three star selectors and other bloggers.
Who were the best players over the last ten games?
A funny ten game spell. The feeling is all negative now, but there was a nice stretch from games 21-27. The game reports once again cough up a list that feels right (to me anyway).
Our top team over 10 games (Season dome)
Forward 1: Andrei Kostitsyn
6 dome games (again) and 2 game pucks mean Kostitsyn is consistently one of the best Habs. He continues to look like a real threat game in, game out; even though Carbonneau: a) can't wrap his head around that or b) can't figure out how to use him.
Forward 2: Alex Kovalev
6 dome appearances and two game pucks. Funny how as his goalless streak wound on (well, not anymore) he was actually getting more into games and becoming a bigger factor. If we had eyes on Kovalev like last season this 10 games would have shown he's back to form.
Forward 3: Matt D'Agostini
4 domes. The rookie makes quite an impression. That said, Koivu would be the one in the team here if not for his injury. It is a reflection on Koivu that Matt makes it here on his first try. Still, his goals were both impressive to watch and timely. Couldn't ask for more than that.
Honourable mentions (forwards): Koivu and Lapierre – 3 domes each. Both players had been on fire for the winning portion of the 10 game spell. Lapierre continues to deliver what is asked of him and more.
Where are they?: Isn't Tanguay paid nearly $6 million dollars. He's been good at floating and poaching shots, but when the chips are down, so, unfortunately, is he more often than not. No domes in 10 games – not very impressive. Consider Latendresse had 2...
Defenceman 1: Andrei Markov
An incredible 9 domes without argument from readers. And a game puck to boot. He simply is a class apart from the other Habs defenders. Even without his PP mastery he would be first in the pecking order.
Defenceman 2: Roman Hamrlik
6 domes. Carries a big burden for the Canadiens and is impressively reliable. The one problem is that he isn't making this team due to impressive efforts on his part – a lot of best of the rest type stuff.
Honourable mention (defenceman): Brisebois. He'd been knocking on the door a few times in these ten I thought. Let's hope there's more where this came from.
Goaltender: Jaroslav Halak
7 domes in 9 starts. Ignoring the 2 games he blew up, he has been good over the past 10. Only games like those to remind us he has yet to play a full NHL season.
Honourable mention (goalie): Price – 2 game pucks as well. His injury is hurting us as much as Koivu's at the moment. one of those team in front of him confidence-type things that he has...
En Route Pour La Coupe Power Rankings
One again, a very good read (if you read french, anyway), and comprehensive ranking.
As Fred is doing these rankings a bit differently than me (i.e., taking into account the previous 20 games, I think), he comes up with a bit of a different list. For example, his forwards for the 10 games would be Lang, Koivu and Kovalev. Fair enough, but how does Tanguay linger in the top 6? Andrei Kostitsyn has been better over 20 games now, much of the time without support. D'Agostini, our other star forward from 21-30, languishes in 21st somehow, while Latendresse (who played 5 of 10 games) loses no places and is apparently a top 10 talent on the Habs. Good thing I linked to this post, because that is real news to most habs fans, I think.
Everything else looks just about right to me. Not sure that Gorges is still Hamrlik's superior on the team. The fact
Three star selectors
Any scientist will tell you, too little data does not make for a good experiment. That's what I said last time. The Habs can't get a star selector to pick them to save their lives these days. it's hard, I guess, when you have to reserve a spot for the opposition goalie in every loss. So again, these 3 star averages look a bit pointless (just like most of our players)... But check it out, Plekanec makes it!
Based on 5 points for first star, 3 for second and 1 for third. here's their dome:
Forward 1: Andrei Kostitsyn (2, 0, 0)
Forward 2: Matt D'Agostini (1, 0, 0)
Forward 3: Tomas Plekanec(0, 1, 1)
Defenceman 1: No defencemen selected
Defenceman 2: No defencemen selected
Goaltender: Carey Price (2, 0, 0)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Game #30
Refs Gift-Wrap a Win For the 'Canes
The Canadiens Game in Review
Date: Tuesday December 16th, 2008
Opponent: Carolina Hurricanes
Venue: RBC Center, Raleigh, NC
Team Stripes
Final Score: 2-3 - Loss
Date: Tuesday December 16th, 2008
Opponent: Carolina Hurricanes
Venue: RBC Center, Raleigh, NC
Team Stripes
Final Score: 2-3 - Loss
Habs starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak (L)
Opposition starting goalie: Cam Ward (W)
Habs goalscorers: Guillaume Latendresse, Alexei Kovalev
Opposition goalscorers: Eric Staal (2), Joe Corvo
Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...
Midway through the third period Halak came up with yet another unbelievable save. Brind'Amour won a battle in the corner and found a streaking Scott Walker in the slot. The pass was crisp and the shot came fast. Jaro, however, didn't like the idea of a 2-goal deficit, so in spectacular fashion he slid across and made an unbelievable glove save. It was truly a thing of beauty.
Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...
Alexei Kovalev
Kovy may have got more more penalties than goals tonight, but the key is that he got a goal. He played very well and could have had a few. Ironically it was his worst chance of all that ended up in the back of the net. It was a good example of how you just have to keep throwing the puck at the net and things will happen.
Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...
Forwards
Matt D'Agostini
The kid showed a lot of spirit tonight and I thought played well in all situations. He was used a bit on the PK and the PP and did some good work on those. Tonight, however, it was hard for him to see much of the puck as his centre, Maxwell, is clearly no Koivu. Matt will have a tough time putting up numbers if he continues to play on a line with Ben.
Alexei Kovalev
I am happy that Alex finally scored. I mostly feel that way because I feel he has been playing well and that this goal will be enough to quiet certain media-folk and fans down for a while. It was unlucky that he took two penalties, but considering he played no different than any other night I am not concerned. What was a trip tonight will be, undoubtedly, a good play next game (ref).
Guillaume Latendresse
Guillaume's 'speed' seems all but gone now which makes me wonder if I was dreaming at the beginning of the year. Perhaps he came into the season in better shape than most and over time (and benchings) things just caught up with him. I really liked his goal on the penalty-shot. It showed a lot of confidence to take a shot like that and I hope we see him in the shootout in coming games. He played quite a solid game tonight, but I am still having trouble identifying his role on this team.
Defencemen
Roman Hamrlik
Hammer was another victim of the ref's whistle tonight. He can't really be blamed for his penalties as both were questionable calls. Aside from that he played a very strong game defensively. He was called upon at the end of the game on a 2-on-1 after Brisebois got caught on a pinch. He made an incredible play to break-up Carolina's pass as he crouched down to take away the slot.
Andrei Markov
I wonder when the last time that a player spent over 10 minutes on the PK during a 60-minute game was? It was unbelievable to see, but,without Markov, it could have been much worse. He played very well in our end even though he was on the ice for 2 goals-against. He didn't get much of a chance to play offence, but for the little time that he did, he played quite well.
Goaltender
Jaroslav Halak
Who is the best goalie in the NHL never to win any games? You guessed it - Halak! Jaro continues to play well behind a team that doesn't support him nearly as much as they should. He makes great saves look routine and rarely lets in a bad goal. All 3 goals were scored on the PP tonight and all were quality goals. Our PK needs some work, but I don't think Halak does. He was very calm all night and gave us every chance we needed to win this one.
Eye-Openers
In this new section we are going to try and shed some light on certain plays or events that would otherwise go unnoticed
I can take a lot of penalties in a game. I can even take a game where one teams gets 11 and the other team gets 1. The one thing I can't take, however, is when both teams play the same and one team gets 20 more minutes in the box. Tonight you can't blame the players or the coaches, you can only blame the refs. Could someone explain to me how a stick-shaft to the hip is a penalty and a punch to the face isn't? How is a trip in the 1st period any worse than one in the third? Why does arguing a penalty warrant the call of one more? How do we expect the players and coaches to learn how to play this game if we can't even keep the rules the same for 60 minutes? I applaud the refs for calling one team more than the other and, for once, thus not turning this into a baseball-like game of innings, but I can't see how tonight's game was the time to do that. I could put together a piece of 20 situations, from both teams, that were as bad or worse than some of the calls. So, how does a ref choose to call one team on 11 of 30 and the other on 1 of 20?
This was a truly pathetic display of officiating and just made the NHL look like more of a joke than it already is. I am sure markets like Carolina live for Power-Plays, but this was a bit much. I don't know what the refs motivations were for their display tonight, but I for one am not impressed. Had we won the game I would feel the same as I don't really think this is the reason we lost. We lost fair and square and did a good job on the PK. My problem remains with the lack of consistency and the apparent randomness of their calls.
Overall Comments
For the 39 minutes that was played at even-strength I thought the Habs played quite well. We were in fact the better team and we had a ton of chances, many coming at the end of the game. We exposed what I believe is a very weak goaltender and an equally weak defence. Cam Ward, to me, seems like a lucky goalie. He dropped almost every shot that came towards him and often it was us that put it back into his possession. The defence, for their part, do little more than stand around in the defensive zone. They sit back as we go at the net and then react, almost too late, to what has just happened. It is a shame that we let this one slip away as I believe a team like Carolina offers a glorious chance at 2 points. Hopefully we learned something about this team tonight, a team that I believe is very beatable.
Canadiens Youth
How Do We Really Compare?
There has been an assumption among Habs fans now for some time that Bob Gainey and Trevor Timmins have assembled the finest crop of youngsters that could ever be found from across the world.
After all, if the amateur-fan-contributor-site Hockey's Future says so, then how could it not be?
I wrote recently about the successes of certain players in the second or third seasons, and the hope that remains for those who are as inexperienced. But aside from the excitement there, I have a lingering sense that the Canadiens (at this rate) will not be the cream of the East for years to come.
The case against Montreal
1) Montreal's 4th year players are stumblers
The 4th year into an NHL career can be a defining moment.
In his 4th year in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky exploded from 55 goal, 162 point getter to 92 goals and 212 points. In his 4th year, Mario Lemieux's high watermarks rose by 16 goals and 61 points to vault him into top two star territory. Guy Lafleur catapulted from 50 point man to 50 goal, 119 point man in his 4th year. The precedent is not surprising. 3 years seems to represent (with some reliability) the amount of time it takes for a youngster to learn the game at the higher level. The 4th year seems to be the first where they break free and become themselves again after apprenticing.
Taking a look at the Canadiens 4th year players, namely Higgins and Plekanec, I start to wonder. Both have started the year slowly, and that's fine. There is still time for them to come back and match their numbers from last year.
However, is there really any thought of them breaking out to greatly surpass their totals? Is there hope that they will establish themselves as more than they already are?
To be fair, one could argue that Plekanec broke a year early and that matching his play and totals would already make him into a star and a better player than anyone could have hoped for 4 years ago. I can stomach that.
But Higgins? He is just stuttering along. It seems that what may have looked like progress may just have been a fluctuation. He may already be producing at maximum capacity. Because, if he does not break this season, precedents suggest that the likelihood of him breaking at all will be minimal.
It's worth mentioning the bar in Montreal for stumbling has already been set by 4th year Michael Ryder, who as a 25-goal rookie seemed like a potential star, but even had he not slumped would have plateaued at 30 goals, I think.
2) Other team's young players progress
None of the stuff about Plekanec and Higgins matters in the context of the Habs alone. They are both good players, both assets to the team. However, the Canadiens can't afford to operate in a vacuum if they hope to rise to the pinnacle of the NHL, or even the Eastern conference.
Young players around our conference are already stars. In Pittsburgh, Malkin and Crosby make a formidable team by themselves. In Washington, it's Ovechkin, Semin and now even Backstrom along for the ride. In Boston, Kessel and Krejci. And in Philadelphia, Carter and Richards.
Just take a look at the top scorers form the East under the age of 26. The Habs don't have a response to these guys:
Malkin 12G, 37A in 30 games
Crosby 13G, 31A in 30 games
Ovechkin 17G, 23A in 29 games
Richards 12G, 22A in 29 games
Parise 16G, 17A in 27 games
Carter 21G, 11A in 29 games
Kessel 19G, 12A in 30 games
Backstrom 10G, 21A in 31 games
Semin 14G, 16A in 19 games
Vanek 24G, 5A in 30 games
Here are the Habs:
A Kostitsyn 6G, 7A in 27 games
Plekanec 6G, 7A in 29 games
Higgins 5G, 4A, in 21 games
3) Our drafting is out of synch
Defencemen take longer than forwards to develop. Of that there is little doubt. A third year defenceman coming in and playing a huge role is a rare thing (thanks Josh Gorges), but a 3rd year forward popping 20 goals or more, well that's commonplace.
Going back as far as 2001, you will find Mike Komisarek who worked out and even took the prodigal 4th year leap last season in becoming a defender we would like to have on the ice rather than not. But look from 2002 on to find the young core of the current team and you find this:
2002: Higgins first round; 4F, 2D overall (Korneev most notably)
2003: A Kostitsyn first round; 6F, 3D (O'Byrne most notably), 2 G overall
2004: Chipchura first round; 4F, 4D (Emelin and Streit notably), 1G overall
2005: Price first round; 5F, 1D, 1G overall
2006: Fischer first round; 2F, 4D overall
2007: McDonagh first round; 3F, 6D overall
If Higgins and Kostitsyn, along with Plekanec begin to flourish it will not be ahead of a young and exciting group of defenders – it will be in front of Markov, Komisarek and whoever else remains.
Again to be fair to Gainey, the Rivet for Gorges trade was a masterstroke in that regard, but only one when several are needed to build a Stanley Cup dynasty defence.
4) Coaching and system
Something seems to happen in Montreal that does not happen anywhere else. 4th year players are treated as full-fledged veterans, with full expectations, less mentoring – they are thrown to the wolves a bit. It can be seen as an organizational flaw that Ryder failed and Higgins and Plekanec may be poised to do the same.
The case for Montreal
1) Nobody has every position filled
I mentioned a few scorers above, and a number of very exciting and promising players. But it has to be said that none of the teams highlighted (Boston, Washington, Pittsburgh or Philadelphia) have a wealth of great young defenders or goaltenders to go with their offensive young guns at the moment. Montreal, should some of the defenders like Emelin, Carle, Weber or McDonagh actually come through should stand in good stead.
2) Carey Price
The Habs got really fortunate bagging that 5th pick in 2005. They got even luckier that Pierre Maguire wasn't their GM, otherwise Gilbert Brule (or Brule'd out) would have been our pick. Carey Price is no Crosby, Malkin or Ovechkin, but he stacks up well as a young star next to the rest of that list.
3) Jaroslav Halak
Hit the jackpot with Price. Not to be dismissed is Halak. Halak would be a good starter on Philly, Washington or many other teams with young stars. Sure, he's barricaded into the second fiddle here, but having a good young goalie could be trade gold in the right GM's hands. A Gorges-like return to plug a hole left by never-drafted D or stumbling forwards could be had here at some point.
4) Coaching and system
This is not an endorsement of Carbonneau and his line juggling. But it must be said that the way Carbonneau uses his players (i.e., Kostitsyn, Plekanec) does not lend to them putting up the best numbers they can. Guy, in his defence is trying to win games (as he should be), but Andrei would have more goals with more ice time and Tomas would look better statistically if he wasn't carrying Tom Kostopoulos on a "scoring" line.
How will we know?
Ultimately, we'll only know if we had the best young guys now in 10 or 20 years time. As success will be measured in Cups, there's little to scoring titles and 40 goals seasons from Washington to Boston.
One thing is certain: the Habs are not the best young team in the East beyond dispute. There are plenty of disputes. If Plekanec and Higgins plateau, while Richards and Carter make real progress. If Sergei Kostitsyn and Latendresse never grab hold of an NHL place while Krejci and Lucic flourish. And if Price and Halak can't outshine Malkin and Crosby. The prospect of Cups in the next 5 years will be hard to imagine.
After all, if the amateur-fan-contributor-site Hockey's Future says so, then how could it not be?
I wrote recently about the successes of certain players in the second or third seasons, and the hope that remains for those who are as inexperienced. But aside from the excitement there, I have a lingering sense that the Canadiens (at this rate) will not be the cream of the East for years to come.
The case against Montreal
1) Montreal's 4th year players are stumblers
The 4th year into an NHL career can be a defining moment.
In his 4th year in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky exploded from 55 goal, 162 point getter to 92 goals and 212 points. In his 4th year, Mario Lemieux's high watermarks rose by 16 goals and 61 points to vault him into top two star territory. Guy Lafleur catapulted from 50 point man to 50 goal, 119 point man in his 4th year. The precedent is not surprising. 3 years seems to represent (with some reliability) the amount of time it takes for a youngster to learn the game at the higher level. The 4th year seems to be the first where they break free and become themselves again after apprenticing.
Taking a look at the Canadiens 4th year players, namely Higgins and Plekanec, I start to wonder. Both have started the year slowly, and that's fine. There is still time for them to come back and match their numbers from last year.
However, is there really any thought of them breaking out to greatly surpass their totals? Is there hope that they will establish themselves as more than they already are?
To be fair, one could argue that Plekanec broke a year early and that matching his play and totals would already make him into a star and a better player than anyone could have hoped for 4 years ago. I can stomach that.
But Higgins? He is just stuttering along. It seems that what may have looked like progress may just have been a fluctuation. He may already be producing at maximum capacity. Because, if he does not break this season, precedents suggest that the likelihood of him breaking at all will be minimal.
It's worth mentioning the bar in Montreal for stumbling has already been set by 4th year Michael Ryder, who as a 25-goal rookie seemed like a potential star, but even had he not slumped would have plateaued at 30 goals, I think.
2) Other team's young players progress
None of the stuff about Plekanec and Higgins matters in the context of the Habs alone. They are both good players, both assets to the team. However, the Canadiens can't afford to operate in a vacuum if they hope to rise to the pinnacle of the NHL, or even the Eastern conference.
Young players around our conference are already stars. In Pittsburgh, Malkin and Crosby make a formidable team by themselves. In Washington, it's Ovechkin, Semin and now even Backstrom along for the ride. In Boston, Kessel and Krejci. And in Philadelphia, Carter and Richards.
Just take a look at the top scorers form the East under the age of 26. The Habs don't have a response to these guys:
Malkin 12G, 37A in 30 games
Crosby 13G, 31A in 30 games
Ovechkin 17G, 23A in 29 games
Richards 12G, 22A in 29 games
Parise 16G, 17A in 27 games
Carter 21G, 11A in 29 games
Kessel 19G, 12A in 30 games
Backstrom 10G, 21A in 31 games
Semin 14G, 16A in 19 games
Vanek 24G, 5A in 30 games
Here are the Habs:
A Kostitsyn 6G, 7A in 27 games
Plekanec 6G, 7A in 29 games
Higgins 5G, 4A, in 21 games
3) Our drafting is out of synch
Defencemen take longer than forwards to develop. Of that there is little doubt. A third year defenceman coming in and playing a huge role is a rare thing (thanks Josh Gorges), but a 3rd year forward popping 20 goals or more, well that's commonplace.
Going back as far as 2001, you will find Mike Komisarek who worked out and even took the prodigal 4th year leap last season in becoming a defender we would like to have on the ice rather than not. But look from 2002 on to find the young core of the current team and you find this:
2002: Higgins first round; 4F, 2D overall (Korneev most notably)
2003: A Kostitsyn first round; 6F, 3D (O'Byrne most notably), 2 G overall
2004: Chipchura first round; 4F, 4D (Emelin and Streit notably), 1G overall
2005: Price first round; 5F, 1D, 1G overall
2006: Fischer first round; 2F, 4D overall
2007: McDonagh first round; 3F, 6D overall
If Higgins and Kostitsyn, along with Plekanec begin to flourish it will not be ahead of a young and exciting group of defenders – it will be in front of Markov, Komisarek and whoever else remains.
Again to be fair to Gainey, the Rivet for Gorges trade was a masterstroke in that regard, but only one when several are needed to build a Stanley Cup dynasty defence.
4) Coaching and system
Something seems to happen in Montreal that does not happen anywhere else. 4th year players are treated as full-fledged veterans, with full expectations, less mentoring – they are thrown to the wolves a bit. It can be seen as an organizational flaw that Ryder failed and Higgins and Plekanec may be poised to do the same.
The case for Montreal
1) Nobody has every position filled
I mentioned a few scorers above, and a number of very exciting and promising players. But it has to be said that none of the teams highlighted (Boston, Washington, Pittsburgh or Philadelphia) have a wealth of great young defenders or goaltenders to go with their offensive young guns at the moment. Montreal, should some of the defenders like Emelin, Carle, Weber or McDonagh actually come through should stand in good stead.
2) Carey Price
The Habs got really fortunate bagging that 5th pick in 2005. They got even luckier that Pierre Maguire wasn't their GM, otherwise Gilbert Brule (or Brule'd out) would have been our pick. Carey Price is no Crosby, Malkin or Ovechkin, but he stacks up well as a young star next to the rest of that list.
3) Jaroslav Halak
Hit the jackpot with Price. Not to be dismissed is Halak. Halak would be a good starter on Philly, Washington or many other teams with young stars. Sure, he's barricaded into the second fiddle here, but having a good young goalie could be trade gold in the right GM's hands. A Gorges-like return to plug a hole left by never-drafted D or stumbling forwards could be had here at some point.
4) Coaching and system
This is not an endorsement of Carbonneau and his line juggling. But it must be said that the way Carbonneau uses his players (i.e., Kostitsyn, Plekanec) does not lend to them putting up the best numbers they can. Guy, in his defence is trying to win games (as he should be), but Andrei would have more goals with more ice time and Tomas would look better statistically if he wasn't carrying Tom Kostopoulos on a "scoring" line.
How will we know?
Ultimately, we'll only know if we had the best young guys now in 10 or 20 years time. As success will be measured in Cups, there's little to scoring titles and 40 goals seasons from Washington to Boston.
One thing is certain: the Habs are not the best young team in the East beyond dispute. There are plenty of disputes. If Plekanec and Higgins plateau, while Richards and Carter make real progress. If Sergei Kostitsyn and Latendresse never grab hold of an NHL place while Krejci and Lucic flourish. And if Price and Halak can't outshine Malkin and Crosby. The prospect of Cups in the next 5 years will be hard to imagine.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Game #29
Caps Win Game of Chance
The Canadiens Game in Review
Date: Saturday December 13th, 2008
Opponent: Washington Capitals
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Team Stripes
Final Score: 1-2 - Loss
Date: Saturday December 13th, 2008
Opponent: Washington Capitals
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Team Stripes
Final Score: 1-2 - Loss
Habs starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak (L)
Opposition starting goalie: Simeon Varlamov (W)
Habs goalscorers: Patrice Brisebois
Opposition goalscorers: Nicklas Backstrom, Michael Nylander
Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...
Halak made an incredible save early on in the game which gave me a full indication he was going to be strong in this one. On a 2-on-1 Ovechkin made a great pass to Semin, but there was Halak, with his right pad to slam the door shut.
Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...
Jaroslav Halak
I couldn't believe the poor kid's luck when Nylander banked one in off of him late in the third to win it. Jaro had played one heck of a game and was the only reason we were still tied until very late in the third. He did not seem intimidated at all by the talented Capital players as time and time again he stoned them all.
Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...
Forwards
Alexei Kovalev
Alex wore the 'C' tonight and I thought that he did a good job as he lead the team well. He had tons of chances and created a lot too. Late in the third he seemed poised to finally score, but alas it was off the post - soon after Nylander scored. At some point a player must score, but let's face it, the effort and intensity are both there for poor Alex. I suppose luck is finally catching up to him as last year it seemed that every bounce went his way.
Andrei Kostitsyn
Kostitsyn looked quite dangerous tonight and I was actually surprised that he didn't score. Like Kovy he also had a glorious chance late in the third, but unfortunately he was robbed. I liked the way he played with his brother, something which was tried towards the end. I didn't see too much happening with him and Maxwell and I think that of all the players Andrei will miss Koivu the most.
Maxim Lapierre
Two things happened tonight - Benoit Brunet proposed to Max, and Max saw some serious PP time. I don't at all agree with Carbo using the 4th line in key situations like that, but I can't fault Lapierre for it. He played a strong game in both ends and added a lot of energy to the building. It would be nice if he or his line could score on a consistent basis though as I think they are seeing way too much ice for what they actually bring.
Defencemen
Patrice Brisebois
No, this isn't a typo. After 2 years of waiting and hoping I can finally say that Breezer played better than 4 of our defencemen. There was the odd lapse, but after watching just how pathetic a player O'Byrne has become I kind of forgave Patrice, fast. He is now the only Hab to score since Tuesday and to boot he stopped Ovechkin on a 1-on-1 late in the third. I really hope, however, for the Habs sake that his appearance in here doesn't become a regularity. I know the best Patrice has to offer and that is way below the standard we need to make the playoffs.
Andrei Markov
Like all of his troupe Andrei had some difficult times tonight, but overall he was our best defenceman. There was a great defensive play on Ovechkin, again late in the third, that stands out. He once again proved that he is of only 2 Habs able to skate with the puck from our zone into the other team's. It is a sad day when you have fewer and fewer players that can gain the zone, but unfortunately that is what seems to be happening.
Goaltender
Jaroslav Halak
This was a third straight start for Halak and thank goodness he played well; the alternative is Marc Denis. I really liked the way he played tonight as he followed the play so well and was able to stay one step ahead of the shooters. Both goals were essentially scored on goal-mouth scrambles and I think it is now painfully obvious that this is an area that the D and goalies need some serious work on.
Eye-Openers
In this new section we are going to try and shed some light on certain plays or events that would otherwise go unnoticed
You know that way we play at points in the game where we are all over the other team in their end? There is a constant forecheck, a lot of hits, quality shots and it seems like we win all the 1-on1 battles. Those periods are often disturbed by penalties, whether they be ours or the opponents. So the question remains how can we, at times (quite regularly), be so dominant at even-strength and then turn around and be quite dismal on the PP? The answer really is beyond me, but I do have a suggestion. I call this is 'an outsider suggestion' as I imagine it is what someone who knows little about hockey and hockey strategy (but indeed knows sport) may suggest.
My suggestion is forgetting the standard, 30-team, we-have-to-do-it-like-this, PP setup. Why do we need 2 players at the point? Why do we need one on the half-boards, one in front of the net? Why do we have to slow play down to a snail pace to achieve this setup? My guess is we do it because: A - it worked in the past and B - other teams do it. Why don't we just play like we do at even-strength? Get in the zone and just work, work and then work some more. Get the puck towards the net, hit, disturb and create chances. I can't stand waiting 30 seconds (if we're lucky) for a predictable point-shot when all along we could have been applying constant pressure. The added bonuses to this strategy are that the other team wouldn't really be prepared and, with there being one less defender on the ice, space will indeed open up. It will be like even-strength, but only with more space, more chances and essentially more possession. I have been calling for this style of man-up play for years (mostly because it is how other sports do it), but I think now would be the best time to try it. It is obvious that the NHL-taught formula isn't right for us this year, so please let's try something new.
Overall Comments
The game started well with good excitement from both teams, but then 10 minutes in Washigton scored and it seemed to scare us. We stopped playing an exciting brand of hockey for about 20 minutes as we let the Caps run the show. Midway though the second period, however, we started to play better and it was actually us who were dominating Washington. We were getting a lot of decent chances and wouldn't you know it, they led to a goal. The rest of the game seemed about the same to me. We out-chanced and out-shot the Caps, but our 3 posts were simply no match for their 1 goal. Washington are a strong team with a lot of good players and we were unfortunate that not only were Fedorov, Semin, Green and Poti back from injury, but also that they finally played goaltending phenom - Varlamov. He is likely the best of their 3 goalies (Theodore, Johnson) so it was unfortunate that his first NHL game had to be against us. He did play a very good game and, like Halak, was a big reason this was a low-scoring affair.
2 losses in a row and all of a sudden we have work to do. We now have 4 games to go before Christmas and we need 6 points out of those. It is not an impossible feat, but it would have been nice to at least get one point tonight to help us on our way. On Tuesday we play Carolina on the road and I think we all know that that game now is being called a Must-Win.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Game #28
Habs Lose Game, Lose Captain
The Canadiens Game in Review
Date: Thursday December 11th, 2008
Opponent: Tampa Bay Lightning
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Team Stripes
Final Score: 1-3 - Loss
Date: Thursday December 11th, 2008
Opponent: Tampa Bay Lightning
Venue: Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Team Stripes
Final Score: 1-3 - Loss
Habs starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak (L)
Opposition starting goalie: Olaf Kolzig (W)
Habs goalscorers: Patrice Brisebois
Opposition goalscorers: Martin St. Louis (2), Vincent Lecavalier
Play of the game
The play you're straining to see on the press catwalk monitor...
Our best play of the game came early on in the first period. After making a pad save Halak let a rebound out into the slot. There, waiting like a true goal-scorer, was Vinny who quickly gathered the puck and fired it on net. In the meantime Jaro was searching for the puck and at the last second spotted it. As the shot came in he was quick to react with a great glove save, one that we will be seeing all day tomorrow.
Game puck
Trophies are for the end of the year, play well in the game, you get a lovely puck...
Alexei Kovalev
He did everything tonight, everything but score that is. He had a very good first few minutes to this game which got the crowd involved. There was one sequence in particular where he won the puck 3 times on the same shift, all in the offensive zone. He led the team in shots with 5, but none of those were that dangerous as we are discovering there is a huge difference between 'shots on net' and 'scoring chances'.
Dome hockey team
We're going into the last minute with these 6 (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...
Forwards
Alexei Kovalev
He did set up our only goal tonight and came very close to getting 2 or 3 more points, but in the end that one goal was all we could muster. I felt that his linemates didn't really play that great tonight. Tanguay's play of late worries me, he is putting in the effort, but I don't feel that he is the dominant force he was for the first 15 games of the year.
Andrei Kostitsyn
This was another great game for Andrei, a game that was filled with his usual mix of dangerous shots and heavy hits. Like Kovy, I felt that Andrei didn't really get the support of his linemates tonight either. Koivu was seldom seen after the first period and this wasn't D'Agostini's best game of the year. Kostitsyn only took 4 shots, and although they were very good shots I think he should shoot more. He has the best shot on our team and I believe we would see a goal per game if he got 6-8 shots off a night.
Tomas Plekanec
He was the third good forward tonight and the third one to be stranded by his linemates. Pleks played a much stronger game than usual. His face-off percentage was up (64%), he was hitting, stick-handling well and was creating chances. His linemates, however, were a different story. Sergei just seems to have lost a ton of confidence (and with that went his speed and decisiveness) and Guillaume gave another prime example of why he doesn't belong on the worst of NHL rosters.
Defencemen
Francis Bouillon
It takes a lot to be excluded from the dome when you score the only goal. Well, a lot of something is what Patrice gave us after his soft shot found the back of the net. There were horrendous pinches, giveaways and on two occasions he pushed players into his teammates. Francis on the other hand may not have scored, but he did what you would hope all defencemen would do; he played defence. To boot Bou got the better of Tampa's 'fighter' (Konopka) early in the 1st.
Roman Hamrlik
Hammer was the player getting more chances at the end of the game than anyone. After spending 50 minutes watching how not to abandon your post and pinch-in, by his partner, he showed us how to do it. He had a few moments that weren't so pretty in our own end, but none resulted in goals or serious scoring chances.
Goaltender
Jaroslav Halak
Jaro didn't play that great of a game. One goal he should have had, one was 50-50 his fault and the third, a St. Louis breakaway, was just a bad team effort. In the end though he let in 3 goals against 2 superstars and a very hungry team - to me that isn't horrible. In reality 3 goals against should be plenty when playing against Tampa, especially when they give you the gift of Kolzig.
Eye-Openers
In this new section we are going to try and shed some light on certain plays or events that would otherwise go unnoticed
Tonight we lost Saku. As of now we don't know how bad it is or what exactly it may be. He was slashed in the first period and subsequently left the ice. He then returned, but seemed shaken up yet again in the second period when he was pushed into Halak. After that point we didn't see him again. Losing Saku for a prolonged amount of time could be potentially devastating to our team right now. He has been our best player this year and is one of only a handful who has played well in each and every game. Koivu has got Andrei going and has made an NHL player out of yet another rookie. I know what this team looks like without the captain, so I can only hope he comes back very soon.
Another concern is the fact that we are know amassing quite an injury-list. Last year I believe better conditioning, the right schedule and smarter play helped keep our injuries down. More importantly we didn't lose any of our top players (other than Huet in December) for long stretches. This obviously helped us reach the top of the East and I believe it was the biggest single factor in making the playoffs vs. not making them the year before. Right now we are missing a top-4 defenceman who not only chews up minutes, but stops others from getting too much (or any) ice-time. We are missing a great work-horse who could be called a top-6 forward, but more importantly is the leader of the youngsters on our team. In addition we are missing a defenceman, who although nothing special, was at least preventing us from playing O'Byrne and Brisebois in the same game. I can't imagine the effects of, on top of all of this, losing our captain, best player and #1 centre. It could be the difference between good season and bad, playoffs or not.
Overall Comments
The Habs started well in this one. Within 5 minutes we won a fight, had the crowd cheering and were up a goal. It all seemed too easy. The 30th ranked team in the NHL was at the mercy of the powerful, far superior Canadiens. At least that is what the players seemed to be thinking. The effort-level went down from that point on and we didn't see sustained pressure again until late in the third, this time it was in the form of desperation. It is a shame really that we scored so early as I believe a few more minutes of dominant hockey may just have been enough to take all of the wind out of Tampa's sails. In the end we only have ourselves to blame. We failed to score more than 1 goal against a goalie who is letting in 4.5/game - keeping in mind most of those games are against far worse teams than us who average way less goals than we do. We also ultimately failed to take advantage of the other 16 players on their roster. Who are they you ask? I ask the same question. We were beaten by 3 players tonight, 2 that were enjoying a return to Quebec and one enjoying a return to 1997.
It is a good thing that we won so many so far on this home stand, because this loss, on it's own, doesn't really matter. We aren't trying to win every game, all we are trying to do is make the playoffs. We have budgeted for losses of this sort, so it is OK. It is a shame to lose to such a bad team, but hey, you can't win 'em all. After all we already compensated for this when we beat Detroit.
Funny Carbo Quotes
Even A Day Or Two Late
Some funny stuff from Carbo the other day in this Dandenault love-in from Dave Stubbs:
I think the above is all quite funny, but especially the second bit. Does Carbonneau have enough self-awareness to know that he is the one who made sure that Dandenault played in all those games? That he Dandenault wasn't gone at the start of the year because he and the team made the decision?
Games played (decided upon by Carbo) does not mean that Carbo was right and others were wrong about Dandenault's ability to help the Habs. All it proves is that Carbonneau decides and the critics don't.
I hate to be the one to bring it up now that he is injured and he toughed out that broken arm, but I think Mat's injury will help the team by exposing the apparently closed-minded coaches to the wonders of the young players in Hamilton. We've already seen that D'Agostini was being held back to keep the Laraques and Dandenaults in pay. I think there are more, for example:
Chipchura forward > Dandenault forward
Stewart up front > Dandenault up front
Dandenault has played a few decent games at the back, but he would never have been left back there once Komisarek returned. Carbonneau uses him up front, and he is a marginal contributor up there, at best. I was vocal about Dandenault being extraneous to the team's needs in the fall, and I stand by that. "Carbo dressing" does not equate to "Carbo proving" for me. I can find the space to concede that he is a good player to put on a line whose job is to harass and chase. But I wouldn't dress a line like that given a vote. He has no place on a line that would be asked to score goals, which is what we should strive to create (four of).
Frankly, even with his marginal contribution, Dandenault still does have a place barring the promotion of 3 or 4 rookies. his versatility and the far inferior play and potential of some of his peers assure him of that for the moment.
Not thrown onto the street
Anyone that knows and reads me will know that I can be harsh with players, but value people. Though I criticise Dandenault the winger, I have nothing but respect and fond memories of Dandenault the man.
Were he to be replaced in the line-up, Dandenault the man should accommodated by the Canadiens. If we promote a better player and he loses his place now, he should be treated as the valued employee he is. He should be offered the choice of staying with the Canadiens, being patient and either playing in a crunch or leading from behind the scenes. Else, he could opt to play and the team would seek the best opportunity for him to fulfill that wish.
One thing I love about the Canadiens is that by and large they treat their players as valued members of the family. Balance with that the wish that someone show a bit more ruthlessness – after all, this dynasty of our dreams is up against teams where they would throw people right out on the street...
"In the papers and everywhere, nobody saw Mathieu Dandenault on this team," he said. "Everybody thought he was a write-off, that he was going to be traded, that he was going to be gone by the start of the year.
"He got in training camp, worked extremely hard, showed us that he wanted to play and I don't think he's missed that many games (a healthy scratch seven times).
I think the above is all quite funny, but especially the second bit. Does Carbonneau have enough self-awareness to know that he is the one who made sure that Dandenault played in all those games? That he Dandenault wasn't gone at the start of the year because he and the team made the decision?
Games played (decided upon by Carbo) does not mean that Carbo was right and others were wrong about Dandenault's ability to help the Habs. All it proves is that Carbonneau decides and the critics don't.
I hate to be the one to bring it up now that he is injured and he toughed out that broken arm, but I think Mat's injury will help the team by exposing the apparently closed-minded coaches to the wonders of the young players in Hamilton. We've already seen that D'Agostini was being held back to keep the Laraques and Dandenaults in pay. I think there are more, for example:
Chipchura forward > Dandenault forward
Stewart up front > Dandenault up front
Dandenault has played a few decent games at the back, but he would never have been left back there once Komisarek returned. Carbonneau uses him up front, and he is a marginal contributor up there, at best. I was vocal about Dandenault being extraneous to the team's needs in the fall, and I stand by that. "Carbo dressing" does not equate to "Carbo proving" for me. I can find the space to concede that he is a good player to put on a line whose job is to harass and chase. But I wouldn't dress a line like that given a vote. He has no place on a line that would be asked to score goals, which is what we should strive to create (four of).
Frankly, even with his marginal contribution, Dandenault still does have a place barring the promotion of 3 or 4 rookies. his versatility and the far inferior play and potential of some of his peers assure him of that for the moment.
Not thrown onto the street
Anyone that knows and reads me will know that I can be harsh with players, but value people. Though I criticise Dandenault the winger, I have nothing but respect and fond memories of Dandenault the man.
Were he to be replaced in the line-up, Dandenault the man should accommodated by the Canadiens. If we promote a better player and he loses his place now, he should be treated as the valued employee he is. He should be offered the choice of staying with the Canadiens, being patient and either playing in a crunch or leading from behind the scenes. Else, he could opt to play and the team would seek the best opportunity for him to fulfill that wish.
One thing I love about the Canadiens is that by and large they treat their players as valued members of the family. Balance with that the wish that someone show a bit more ruthlessness – after all, this dynasty of our dreams is up against teams where they would throw people right out on the street...
All Farce Game
Montreal Loses Interest; Penguins Fans Vote For Injured Reserves
It was always a joke they said. unfortunately though, the Canadiens have decided to make this farce that is the all-star game a central piece of the Centenary celebrations.
You all know about the clever (read no social life) fans from Montreal voted thousands of times for each of the six nominees from the Canadiens. The league stripped some votes and added a very basic security screen (they probably never appreciated how little social lives the guys really had).
Everything looks rosy for a while. But now it seems the Pittsburgh Penguins hopefuls are getting the full support of a similarly childish campaign. The worst part, in terms of making this event more farcical than it already is, is that they are voting for non-stars such as Whitney and Gonchar, both of whom haven't played a second since the finals last spring. Just wait, slow to wake Caps fans will be next...
Carbonneau thinks it's off. I think most us are almost at the point of calling it all off.
What can the league do?
I think it can strip the vote away from fans. Few would contest that those of us who read blogs day and night and think and write about the Habs are big fans. But I doubt many of you readers have submitted thousands of votes. I haven't voted at all. I'm not sure I will – certainly not this year.
The vote could be stripped because the fans who do vote have a few times now (Rory Fitzpatrick, Canadiens 08 and Penguins 08) crossed the line. In their place, I would suggest a simple ballot among the players. It would be like the Lester Pearson award time 6. You could bar voting for oneself, or even teammates. Personally, I think that would be just as fun to see for the fans.
Ah, but the league doesn't care about that really. They care more about traffic to their website, right? I think a little more concern for their image, even at the expense of the pennies they can get from housebound teenagers in Pittsburgh and Montreal, would be a new and possibly refreshing approach.
While the league is about it, maybe they could scrap the requirement for a player from each team. By the time that happens, there's little room for actual all-stars. Imagine if all six Canadiens made it. With the need to represent every team, only one player from each remaining team could crack it. That would mean Malkin or Crosby sits so Doug Weight or Matt Stajan can play. Some teams have been so devoid of real all-stars for so long that they are making Hall of Fame resumes for their lame-stars (DiPietro anyone?).
Anyway, who are the all-stars so far?
I have Tim Thomas in goal (mindful that December, as usual, will probably alter this one); Markov and Green on defence; Malkin, Crosby and Ovechkin (no surprises) up front.
Anyone still voting for Komi?
You all know about the clever (read no social life) fans from Montreal voted thousands of times for each of the six nominees from the Canadiens. The league stripped some votes and added a very basic security screen (they probably never appreciated how little social lives the guys really had).
Everything looks rosy for a while. But now it seems the Pittsburgh Penguins hopefuls are getting the full support of a similarly childish campaign. The worst part, in terms of making this event more farcical than it already is, is that they are voting for non-stars such as Whitney and Gonchar, both of whom haven't played a second since the finals last spring. Just wait, slow to wake Caps fans will be next...
Carbonneau thinks it's off. I think most us are almost at the point of calling it all off.
What can the league do?
I think it can strip the vote away from fans. Few would contest that those of us who read blogs day and night and think and write about the Habs are big fans. But I doubt many of you readers have submitted thousands of votes. I haven't voted at all. I'm not sure I will – certainly not this year.
The vote could be stripped because the fans who do vote have a few times now (Rory Fitzpatrick, Canadiens 08 and Penguins 08) crossed the line. In their place, I would suggest a simple ballot among the players. It would be like the Lester Pearson award time 6. You could bar voting for oneself, or even teammates. Personally, I think that would be just as fun to see for the fans.
Ah, but the league doesn't care about that really. They care more about traffic to their website, right? I think a little more concern for their image, even at the expense of the pennies they can get from housebound teenagers in Pittsburgh and Montreal, would be a new and possibly refreshing approach.
While the league is about it, maybe they could scrap the requirement for a player from each team. By the time that happens, there's little room for actual all-stars. Imagine if all six Canadiens made it. With the need to represent every team, only one player from each remaining team could crack it. That would mean Malkin or Crosby sits so Doug Weight or Matt Stajan can play. Some teams have been so devoid of real all-stars for so long that they are making Hall of Fame resumes for their lame-stars (DiPietro anyone?).
Anyway, who are the all-stars so far?
I have Tim Thomas in goal (mindful that December, as usual, will probably alter this one); Markov and Green on defence; Malkin, Crosby and Ovechkin (no surprises) up front.
Anyone still voting for Komi?
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