Lions in Winter: Montreal Canadiens (Habs) News and Commentary

Game #25Habs Run Out Of Gas Against Sid + Co.

2009-11-26T09:09:00.007-05:00

Details

Date: 25/11/09
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Pittsburgh

Loss: 1-3

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

Habs goalscorers: Pacioretty
Opposition goalscorers: Crosby, Guerin, Gonchar

Play of the game

Not much to report here and it's not like I had a tough choice. Price didn't make any real spectacular saves and the D didn't really do anything out of the ordinary, so it will be our goal then; pretty simple play really. It was Metropolit who broke out of his own end sending the puck up to Sergei. The younger Kostitsyn then fed Pacioretty who was able to continue his strong play with another goal (he now has 3). The pass also happened to be Sergei's 2nd point in as many games this year.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Glen Metrpolit - Game Puck
Glen was used in all different scenarios last night and even saw time on the first line. In all he played 18 1/2 minutes, was a +1, took a team-high 5 shots (3 more than anyone else and over 1/4 of our total) and picked up his 7th assist on the year.

Max Pacioretty
Max quietly has 2 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games. I am not sure exactly what has happened, but he is looking better and better all the time. The way he played in this one shows to me that maybe, after all, he can hack it in the NHL, but again we must be careful. If we don't want to lose him like we lost Gui we must be patient (more so than we already have been). Play him on a top-2 line when there are injuries, but ideally on the 3rd. He seems to be working well with Metro and the addition of Sergei to that line makes me very excited for what could turn out to be a permanent, quality 3rd line (2nd for the time being).

Travis Moen
Travis is mainly in here in recognition for the work he did filling in on the first line. Sergei was definitely not up to the task of filling his brother's skates, but I felt that Moen did an admirable job. He may lack the hands to be more than a 4th-liner, but last night he worked hard, won battles and got the puck to his more talented linemates. He ended the game 1st on the team in hits (6), and 2nd in shots and blocked-shots (2).

Defencemen

Paul Mara
Our D didn't look great in this game, but no one really stood out for bad play either. Bergeron, Leach and O'Byrne all looked quite capable at times, but did have bad moments too. Mara, however, played a pretty invisible game. He was on the ice for Sid's goal, but balanced it out by being on for ours. He led the team with 4 blocked-shots and clocked over 22 minutes of play.

Josh Gorges
Josh was invisible to good tonight. I didn't really notice him much and when I did it was because he was doing something responsible and/or solid out there. He, like Mara, played over 22 minutes and was our only D to not be on the ice for a goal-against. To top it off he was on the ice for our goal and, thus, was the only D man to end the night at +1.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey couldn't have really won this game for us. He did play a good game and looked good for the most part, but to hold a rested Penguin team to 1 goal or less in their building is not likely to happen. Once again he faced 30 shots and, once again, he let in 3 or less goals. So, he would have given a more competitive team a serious chance to win. It would have been nice if he stopped goals #2 and #3 as I think at his best he stops those, but he did make up for it by stopping some that should have gone in.

Comments

Right from the get-go Montreal looked tired and Pittsburgh didn't. Whether or not you think that NHL teams should be able to handle two games in two nights (I do) is beside the fact as what we now know is that the Habs will always have trouble at it (especially when travel is involved). It would, however, be nice if these professional athletes were able to exert themselves for 15-20 minutes over a 3-hour period two nights in a row, but I guess that is something that we must work our way up to. That said there were a couple of other things that bothered me. The first is that we can't seem to draw penalties. This was magnified last night as our hustle wasn't really there, but in general we do not do a very good job at this. All it takes is persistence, hard-work and effort and eventually you will get some calls. Being weak on the puck, afraid to go into corners and unwilling to get a little cheap/dirty yourself will likely hurt our chances at going on the PP. The other issue I had with last night's game was the fact that Price wasn't pulled. Why on earth, with the puck in their end and a minute to play, would you leave the goalie in? The fact is that there is nothing to lose by pulling him, who cares if you lose 4-1 or 5-1? I, like the rest of you, could recognize that we were probably not going to win the game, but why not at least take your best shot? Who knows maybe one last-minute win will be the difference at the end of the year. I can stomach this if it just happens this once, but if this repeats itself then I'll be quite upset at Martin's apparent lack of hope. After all, all you need is luck.

Game Report Delayed

2009-11-26T08:20:00.004-05:00

No doubt you're all waiting on tenderhooks to see which six players Tobalev will choose for his Hamilton Bulldogs dome, whether Carey price will get any slack and other topics we can all argue about while forgetting the loss.

Due to real-life commitments, like hockey of his own, Tobalev will only finish the game report later today. Real life? What's that?

In the meantime, why not distract yourselves with a good dose of "today could be so much worse if this happened" by checking out Robert Lefebvre's memories of the Lafleur retirment.

Go Habs Go.

Game #24Massive Third Period Sinks The Jackets

2009-11-24T22:12:00.006-05:00

Details

Date: 23/11/09
Opponent: Blue Jackets
Location: Montreal

Win: 5-3

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Garon (W)

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri, Bergeron (2), Metropolit, Lapierre
Opposition goalscorers: Vermette (2), Stralman

Play of the game

It has to be Fedor Tyutin's hooking penalty in the dying seconds of the second period. Did it prevent a goal? No, but boy did it ever launch the Habs. An extension of that play would of course be the intermission. The boys went into the locker room down a goal and with quite a mountain to climb against a team that was outplaying them in most categories. We started the third on the PP and although we didn't score while Tyutin was in the box, we did score almost immediately after he came out. We went on to own that period as we added two more goals and conceded none. Thanks for taking a stupid penalty Columbus, it was nice that it wasn't us for a change.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Maxim Lapierre
Do you think Max has seen the writing on the wall? I mean what do you think of when you hear the name Lapierre? You will probably think of Latendresse. Well, the dynamic duo (not so much this year) has now been separated and my guess is that Max wants to stay. Maybe until now the two took their jobs in their home province for granted, but now I think Laps realizes that he could be next. So, what does he do to prove he wants to stay? Simple, he plays the best game of his season, he gives us the type of performance that we expect from him. 1 goal and +2 may not seem like a lot, but the way he played tonight, compared with how he has been playing, represents a major improvement from the kid.

Max Pacioretty
This Max didn't want to feel left out so he too had the best game of his season. The third period, in particular, was a strong one and I really hope this is something that he can build upon. He didn't manage to score, but he did get a couple of good chances and picked up two helpers in the process.

Tomas Plekanec
I ran out of players who gave their max, but Tomas did play another solid game. He collected 2 assists (both 2nd assists), but played a solid game beyond that. He was the best player on his line, who themselves did do a pretty good job tonight. He seems very capable of carrying the offensive load while we have multiple injuries and I fully expect that to continue when we are fully healthy again.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
Defensively this was a very strong game from Hammer. He stood out amongst a group that got better as the game went on (Gorges in particular was also quite strong). There was one occasion in which Roman stripped Nash of the puck, near the goal in the third which I believe prevented what could have been a decent chance against us. Now, stats show that he was on the ice for all of our goals against, but I can only stress that winning this game may not have even been possible had he not been there to reduce the damage.

Marc-Andre Bergeron - Game Puck
The good news is that MAB, despite one brutal icing, played a pretty neutral game in his own end. He still got scared when fore-chekers were coming at him, but he took steps to ensure nothing too catastrophic happened. Offensively, however, he had an amazing game. In all he took over 1/4 of our total shots (8), played for 21 minutes, was +3 and, oh ya, he scored 2 goals including the game-winner.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey's play continues. Tonight he wasn't dominant, but he did do very well early on to keep the goals to 3 or less. Columbus out-worked and out-chanced us in the opening 40 minutes and Price ensured that the game was always going to be ours if we wanted it. I find that one big improvement for him has been the way in which he is taking the initial shot. He is smothering pucks better, directing them into corners with a higher frequency and seems to be better positioned in the first place to receive these shots.

Comments

When you think of what our team was supposed to be back at the end of September it may surprise you to read tonight's line-up card. How about these names - Wyman, White, Pyatt, Chipchura, S. Kostitsyn, Pacioretty, Leach, Begeron, O'Byrne. That is 9 players, of 19, that we didn't expect to be in our 'ideal' line-up. Well, with injuries and departures this is our reality. And, you know what, we are making it work. Tonight was a good example of how hard work does pay off. Over the course of the first two periods we were out-played by a more talented team. Our best elements (Cammalleri, Plekanec and Price) kept us in the game, however. Then the third period was all about hard work and persistence. We kept coming and Columbus just couldn't hold on. Once the third started you could feel a goal was coming. The funny thing, however, is that after we scored that feeling didn't go away, it remained for the rest of the game.

There is a big test tomorrow and I think a point (even a hard-fought 1-goal loss) would prove that this team can indeed play with the big boys after all. I do think that with good goaltending and a solid work ethic (even Sergei had that tonight) we can certainly continue on this current upward trend.

Latendresse Vs. Pouliot Season Preview All Over Again

2009-11-24T06:29:00.006-05:00

In the style of the beloved season previews, I offer to you Benoit Pouliot's belated preview next to the now very optimistic-looking one we did for Latendresse in September. While it certainly shows we lost a good player who many of us thought had some promise, it also reveals some surprises about the new Canadiens forward.

Guillaume Latendresse

NHL Season	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PPG	GWG	G/60	Pts/60	Sh	S%	PIM
08-09 (MTL)	56	14	12	26	+4	1	2	1.10	2.05	117	12.0	45
07-08 (MTL)	73	16	11	27	-2	2	3	1.07	1.81	116	13.8	41
06-07 (MTL)	80	16	13	29	-20	5	3	0.95	1.73	121	13.2	47

Even-strength profile
	Above average offensively at even strength A rare green patch on the Canadiens – above average in GA at even strength Below average on preventing chances against the Montreal end Neutral CORSI: -0.2 (2nd on the Habs)

Legend

Stats notes

You could go many ways in interpreting these stats. Many numbers show clear decline, despite the progress that Gui is touted for. On the other hand, there is some stability within them too. The things to note:

1) Gui shoots straight
It's perhaps not that surprising that the skill that got him to the NHL is the one that stands out. 12.0% in an off year is not a stat I'd ever sneeze at.

2) Good production at even strength, considering
About a goal every 60 minutes of ice time is a good average to carry in you NHL career. Considering Gui's been bumped around lines a lot, not been given primo PP time and played with chance sink Kostopoulos a lot last year, then I find that encouraging. Hopefully he keeps up the pace.

3) Wonky even strength profile
As much as I'd like to think that Gui is one of the best defensive forwards on the team, the fact that I do have eyes helps me over the feeling. His profile shows us the danger of taking things out of context. Last season, Gui played at all the right times and missed the worst Price/Halak had to offer. Has it skewed the profile? Is Guillaume really 2nd best in Corsi? Perhaps the Canadiens lost all those games because he was injured? Impossible to tell for certain in a one-off experiment, but again, we do all have eyes, and sense.

As we've mentioned, 2009-10 is a big season for Latendresse. Because let's face it, another 14-16 goal campaign, while fine, certainly doesn't add to the lustre of the future 30-goal man argument. And, if it is to be 15 goals a year from here on in, then someone, somewhere is bound to surpass him, at least in terms of potential.

His shooting accuracy teamed with a new approach to shooting more should help. His defensive game and any improvement in the purpose of his hitting will make this line a very threatening one.

Tobalev on Latendresse

For some reason I am excited about Latendresse this year. Maybe it is because I see him as the best of the players from my home province, maybe it's because he is one of the longest serving Habs, or maybe it is because I actually sense a big season coming on. Whatever happens with goals and assists, Latendresse is still a player that wants to play for the Habs and generally tries pretty hard, despite some talent shortcomings.

Unfortunately for Gui, however, nothing is guaranteed. There are signs, after all that point to him not having that great of a season. His production levels have been stable for 3 years, he seems to be getting slower and he may very well get crowded out of the top-6/PP.

On the positive side, I think his new status on the team (best Quebecer) will help him, especially early in the season. Many fans and new teammates will look to him now as a leader and not just a prospect. If he can get in Martin’s good books and get himself onto a scoring line early on then I could see him there all year. If he makes the most of these chances when provided, the outlook could brighten in a hurry – I really think he could score 25 goals.

The more likely scenario, however, is that he gets bounced between the top 3 lines and into/out of the PP (thanks to injuries, slumps etc.). This will hurt his production and that is why I think he’ll likely top out at 30-35 points with most of those coming as goals.

Where Latendresse will start 2009-10: Carrying the torch for millions

Where Latendresse will end 2009-10: With a new appreciation for what he can do in this league

Points: 21 G, 24 A, 45 Pts

Benoit Pouliot

NHL Season	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PPG	GWG	G/60	Pts/60	Sh	S%	PIM
08-09 (MIN)	37	5	6	11	+1	2	1	0.68	1.51	34	14.7	18
07-08 (MIN)	11	2	1	3	-1	0	0	1.24	1.86	10	20.0	0
06-07 (MIN)	3	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0.00	0.00	1	0.0	0

Even-strength profile
	Below average offensively at even strength Top 10% leaguewide in GA at even strength Well below average at creating chances Negative CORSI: -9.9

Legend

Stats notes
The first impression when looking at these stats side by side is something like: "My goodness, we were fleeced..." But as we know statistics do need interpreting. And, as we all recall, Guillaume's stats from last year flattered him. As this was a trade, we'll do this a bit differently, pointing out a few differences I think it is absolutely vital to note. Note also, that being a Habs fan who wants to view this trade in a positive light, I'll leave the negative comparisons to you readers to make:

1) Shot totals
Prior to this season, Benoit Pouliot managed a measly 45 shots in 51 games. Guillaume had that many shots in his NHL career well before his 20th birthday. It's worth noting because whether it be linemates, coaching or something else, Pouliot has just never had the chance to let loose his shot (of similar accuracy based on %) compared to Gui. Is he a Sergei Kostitsyn who holds and hold and holds? Perhaps, but the scouts in 2005 didn't think so.

2) Defensive numbers
Guillaume from his profile showed a good defensive player (though we mentioned this was puzzling to those who had observed him). Pouliot really does one up him. Now before you go and say that Benoit has benefited from being on the Wild, do first consider that his 1.53 GA/60 was third on the team after Boogaard and Kolanos. Other young forwards like Clutterbuck (2.11) and James Sheppard (2.84) lagged behind his defensive responsibility greatly. What's more only Pouliot came out positive on +/- from the youngsters. Not all bad from the guy with 14 previous games under his belt.

3) Games played
I alluded to experience in shots. Well, Pouliot (from the same draft year as Latendresse) has played 167 less games in all. This is also critical for waivers. Benoit Pouliot signed his first NHL contract in May 2006 at age 19. As such, it set the clock on his waiver exemption to 4 seasons or 160 games (whichever came first). Given that he's nowhere near reaching 160 games anytime soon, it means the time limit on him seeing waivers will be the outset of next season. Of course, for the Canadiens, this provides another player they can ship up and down to Hamilton (like Sergei Kostitsyn, Pyatt, White, etc.). Guillaume Latendresse would have had to clear waivers to go to Hamilton, which had been the case since his 160th game early last season. No matter how few goals he scored, how badly he sulked or how much he needed a wake up call – Gainey's hands were tied on Guillaume. Don't underestimate this factor in the trade that just occurred.

A simple glance at the stats says loss for Gainey in this file. But under a bit more scrutiny, Gainey has manufactured a bit more flex with his roster by simply trading one 2-goalscorer with potential to do more for another. When injuries heal, I truly think this flexibility will tip the balance in the Habs favour, espeically if Sulkatron-2000 was going to react to benching anything like he reacted to be being traded.

Statistics adapted from nhl.com, behindthenet.ca, Olivier

Latendresse For Pouliot Meeting The New Hab

2009-11-23T17:15:00.007-05:00

In a move that flies completely in the face of those who advocate deadline only trading, Bob Gainey has moved Guillaume Latendresse for Benoit Pouliot of the Minnesota Wild. Arpon Basu wonders whether it's a trade of untapped (or indeed non-existent) potential here...

While he's right and many may question the professional scouts read on the tentative NHL beginnings of Benoit Pouliot, Guillaume Latendresse's time in Montreal was beginning to try on the young man. Reports mere minutes after his trade talk of his relief to be dealt away from the furnace of Montreal hockey.

It's a hard trade to take for the biggest believers in Latendresse, but it would be hard even for them to deny what has become clear – that despite his talent, he will probably never acquire a taste for hanging out in front of the net, despite mentioning Tomas Holmstrom in every other interview. Seeing as he's opting not to go the route of power forward, it seems Gainey and the management have opted to put the stakes of just under a million on a player with a different complement of talents, and just about as much size. One of those talents does happen to be skating – which may just fit in better with a team that had to slow down for Gui at times.

Benoit Pouliot himself is a Franco-Canadian, and speaks French. So although the omission of Latendresse takes the number of Quebecers to the equal season low of three, it maintains the RDS correspondents at an equilibrium.

He was once judged to be a massive talent and in the Crosby draft was even considered to be the next man in the pecking order. Central scouting had him as the #2 consensus pick, scouts compared him to Lecavalier. Since that time, his progress has been rocky – rockier, it must be said than Latendresse's. However, Pouliot has been groomed the traditional way, and for the most part in a defensive system – two things that may help him to adjust better to life under Jacques Martin than Guillaume. If you want a taste of speculative good news, it is that his former coach (and hockey guru) Jacques Lemaire was supposedly plugging for the kid in Jersey as recently as last Tuesday, so take that for what it's worth. Thanks to Saskhab for pointing out my frantic misread of a headline – to make up for it, some speculation that actually did take place (Habs last year) and whatever he says today on his blog, Mirtle liked Pouliot second best in July 2005 – better than Ryan, Johnson, and Brule.

At the junior level, he was once an unknown who became a rookie of the year in the OHL (and the CHL!), and then a 4th overall pick. His biggest achievement post-draft to date has been a gold at the World Junior champs with 5 assists in 6 games – team that Latendresse also made (but didn't really play for) and Chipchura captained. Following that, another good year in junior with improved totals and then on to the AHL.

While he has certainly not set the world alight in the AHL, he has nonetheless put up 38 goals and 84 points in 143 games. Again, the Houston Aeros have been a mirror of their parent Wild club, stressing defence over all else, so his points may sell him short. The fact he made a prolonged playoff run last year may also have given him some experience of value in his apprenticeship, though now it feels like we're clutching at straws.

At the NHL level, it's also been a trial. When you consider Guillaume's 50-odd goals in the big leagues, it seems like a big step down to Pouliot's nine. And another big leap to call that potential equal to, or superior to, that of Guillaume Latendresse. However, his route to the NHL has been so divergent from Lats'. Never has he enjoyed the extended wing time with Saku Koivu or even Robert Lang that Guillaume did. Nor has he been reserved preferential treatment for development opportunities. That is until this season.

I could go on, but what you will all want to read on the new guy has already been written. Go fill your boots with: "The Ballad of Benoit Pouliot", an article that relays the Minnesota Wild fan's thoughts on our new ward very nicely.

Who wins the trade?

Well, some text from the article on Pouliot could have been lifted straight form the Guillaume Latendresse archives:

"With the regime change in Minnesota, many were expecting Pouliot to fall by the wayside. Certainly there would have been enough reason to. But Chuck Fletcher decided to give the youngster another shot. Pouliot came into camp this season ready to prove himself and, again, he has certainly shown flashes of what he is capable of."

However, never would anyone attribute the following to Big Gui:

"But what stood out most to me, was that he skated hard without actually looking like he skated hard. It dawned on me that maybe this is one of the reasons that he has been given the label of lazy. Because, quite simply, while everyone looks like they’re skating on the ice, he looks like he’s skating above it."

There's optimism in knowing that a player coming to play a game where skating is half the battle doesn't need summer courses to keep up with the slower half of his peers. There's optimism knowing that a broken player weighed down by unreasonable expectation will be replaced by one with expectations of his own. There's optimism in knowing that only 4 years ago about 30 men trained to evaluate players said the new guy was a better bet than the outgoing. If for no other reason than those, I find positive thoughts in this trade.

Laraque The Irrelevant

2009-11-22T16:24:00.006-05:00

I think I join Dennis Kane in saying "Georges has to admit he hurt his team last night".

About 8:30 into the first period against the Red Wings, Georges Laraque put on a display of irresponsible play and (yes, Don Cherry) complete lack of respect for his fellow competitors. It's a sequence of play that didn't endear him to teammates and has him in the NHL disciplinary dock today to defend himself.

The first incident (seen in the video below) shows how Laraque in attempting to cover the pass lets the puck by him, choosing instead to unleash a slash on Darren Helm. The slash being high caught Helm across the face, was perhaps unfortunate (certainly for Laraque it was) but nothing but a slash was intended from the motion.

The second incident, and the one of the controversy, sees Laraque caught out by his slow feet and poor positioning again. This time, knowing he's in the box for a slash, he opts for the "safer" trip option to end the Wings threat. The problem being that Kronwall, the skilled player in this confrontation, saw the check and maneuvered around the oaf. Laraque in reaction sticks his knee way out and gives one of those hits that makes players just watching on TV cringe.

The result for Laraque was 6 minutes of penalties. For Helm, it was a sore face. And for Kronwall a high grade knee sprain.

The play, apart from leaving me feeling quite ashamed, in the end left me with only one question: what is this guy even doing on our team?

The irrelevance of Georges Laraque is a question that has been around for some time. His relevance must surely be in question again. The fact that Detroit chose to respond to the intimidation and thuggery dished out by Laraque with 2 PP goals, no penalties (Abdelkader's was a dud) and a win speaks volumes about Laraque himself. No one thought it necessary to fight Laraque because fighting Laraque counts for nothing in the standings. Fighting is not down in the NHL, but the staged fighting that Laraque offers as his only redeeming quality is certainly on the wane. Some teams, like ubiquitous front runners Detroit and New Jersey just don't fight at all. League leaders San Jose just have a tough team. The point being, aside from the odd team, Laraque doesn't have many opponents against whom he has use.

No intimidation

The biggest shout from all Laraque supporters is always that Georges is a great, no the best, deterrent against teams roughing up the regular Canadiens in the NHL. I have to say, there was a brief time when I bought this theory – it was the time before I saw our team in action with Georges there.

Last year, we examined the Laraque issue in the fall, just after his failures to do anything in consecutive games to prevent intimidation tactics from opponents. Our verdict then (and it hasn't changed) is that:

"A player that can't play, can't hit, won't stand up for teammates unless it's organised the day before, doesn't scare anyone"

I think two moments that epitomised Georges Laraque's irrelevance last fall were the vicious hit on Andrei Kostitsyn and Milan Lucic running wild against all comers.

In the Kostitsyn case, Georges did fight. He fought Todd Fedoruk nearly a full period after the transgression. Too bad he couldn't fight Kurt Sauer, the player who transgressed as he was not in his league. That intimidation was left to Tom Kostopoulos, who promptly lost the fight for Andrei's honour. Georges won his fight. But who did he intimidate? Not Fedoruk who earns his pay by not being intimidated. Not Sauer, who only learned there would be nothing to fear from Big Georges for certain.

In the Lucic case, the Boston player was just being his usual charming self all over the ice. And, while nothing he did was (too) illegal, he was causing havoc for the fear he struck into the likes of Bouillon, Gorges and co. as Boston walked the puck into the net 6 times. After a couple of big hits on Komisarek in particular, it might have been nice had Big Georges stepped in and told the little one to settle down. He didn't. Instead, Komisarek had to be a big boy and fight his own battle. It was the fight where he lost use of his shoulder, and perhaps more importantly his mojo, as he was trounced by the 20-year-old in mere seconds. Lucic like Sauer learns in no uncertain terms after the game that he has nothing at all to fear from Laraque, because Laraque asks people to fight, and if they decline (no matter their actions in that game) he relents.

Is anyone scared of this guy anymore?

Really, the revelation that players were beyond Laraque's remit was only his first step towards total and utter irrelevance.

The next sign that he may be on his last NHL contract (woe, that it be on our team...) was that no one really seemed to be afraid of the big guy anymore anyway. This season has been a case in point. While the non-fighters quite happily go about their business of grappling and taking liberties with our regulars (hello Calgary), even the fighters don't seem to worry anymore about the prospect of the hulking #17 bearing down on them with a fight RSVP. You only have to watch:

This fight was judged by the regular readers of Hockeyfights.com to be a draw, though narrowly. The important thing for me, is not that Laraque used his judo takedown to end the fight, but that Colton Orr happily landed more punches, did not alter his play after the fact and was the one smiling after the bout. Orr had won the battle because he didn't lose. Orr had won because he showed he wasn't to be intimidated.

In this, Georges' second fight of the season, Laraque was cleanly beaten. If Georges was the heavyweight champ of the NHL, this fight would have seen Erskine walking away with the belt. Georges, the instigator by the way, didn't land a punch, nor did he look to be able to. Instead all he did was take. Erskine walks away from this knowing he can go about his business since he can defend himself perfectly well.

Few fights

Besides the fact he doesn't intimidate, it seems that Georges may have got it into his head that he is here to play hockey for some reason. Goodness knows why a player of his ilk would think that. The evidence is in the frequency of his fighting. This season, we're talking about two fights over 10 games. Last season, it was 9 fights over 33 games. That's a whole lot of hockey player Georges. Not a lot of goon/big "scary" Georges.

Brittle

Apart from all this, the guy is a walking injury. Whether it's his back, a hangnail, his shoulder, a shiver, his knees or inadvertent meat ingestion, Laraque always finds a way to be out of the picture.

Now, I don't complain in these instances. But, what it means is that the Canadiens can't even count on Laraque when they might need him. When he is healthy we get a run of games against Washington and Detroit (who don't subscribe to his brand of hockey anyway) and then he nurses his sore back when we might use him.

Habs worse off

In the same way you can show Markov's positive effect on the team, so too can one show Laraque is not a catalyst for success.

The sentimentalists don't need a reminder about the 2007-08 enforcer-less team who battled their way to first in the East with a 47-25-10 record. A team that was able to beat the Bruins 8 times in the regular season and 12 times in 15 tries overall, and the Flyers 4 times in the year and ended up being put down by Briere's passing, Umberger's glove hand aim and Biron's goaltending, rather than any suspension-worthy play.

Take that same team forward a year, with some changes and you get a team with a drop-off to 41-30-11. Dissect this to a with Laraque/ without Laraque level and you get 14-14-5 vs. 27-16-6. Now it's a bit silly to start blaming Laraque for the woes of last season at this point, but I still found it to be an interesting coincidence.

Fast forward to the current season and it's the same sort of story – Georges may not be the root of all evil, yet the team strangely seems to get on better without him. It's 4-5-1 with him in the lineup vs. 7-6-0 without him around.

The place where one might have expected Laraque to wield most influence – the playoffs – was perhaps one place where he showed his irrelevance most. While Game 1 against Boston ended on a chippy note with the Habs showing great life and energy for the fight, the next 3 games were largely washouts. Yet no game-changing fight was forthcoming from Georges. Even given the opportunity all he did was get roughing penalties when Boston came knocking. In fact, his impact in the series was mostly felt through his chance sapping play on the first line as Boston played disciplined hockey that he never once really tried to disrupt.

Bring on the suspension

Disrepute, slow legs, underwhelming return on his mandate. I for one will be looking on at the verdict of the NHL hearing for Georges Laraque today in anticipation. I only hope the NHL may be able to do what both management and the coaches haven't been able to – find a way to get Georges Laraque out of the Habs lineup.

The less irrelevant players we can dress among the 19 from this point forward, the better.

Game #23Habs Come Alive In Third To Secure A Single Point

2009-11-21T22:10:00.009-05:00

Details

Date: 21/11/09
Opponent: Red Wings
Location: Montreal

Loss: 2-3 (SO)

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

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri (2)
Opposition goalscorers: Stuart, Datsyuk (1, SO), (Zetterberg - SO)

Play of the game

Both of Cammalleri's goals were good, but the first, considering it was scored 9 seconds into the third, takes the cake. You know that during the intermission the cliches must have been flying in the Habs' dressing room. Stuff like 'come out strong', 'win the period' and 'score an early one' would have all been said. Rarely, as much as the players may try, do these words mean anything, but tonight, however, Mike followed his orders; with a little help from his friends that is. Martin decided to put Pleks with Mike and Kostitsyn to start the third (all eggs in one basket approach) and it seemed to work. Pleks won the face-off and it was then Spacek who got the puck up to Andrei. Kostitsyn broke the zone and dropped it to Mike who simply let one of his bullet wrist-shots go.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Mike Cammalleri - Game Puck
Mike played well on the 'first' line to start the game (with Moen and Metropolit), but it wasn't until Martin put him with his favorite centre and Kostitsyn that he really picked it up. He scored two goals and spent the rest of the game looking for the hat-trick. I would have liked a better shootout attempt (high, missed-shot), but you can't really complain as he was the reason we even got there in the first place.

Andrei Kostitsyn
This was a grand week for Andrei and he finished it off in style tonight. He may have a new best-friend in Camms now as he found him with 2 more great passes. We may think of Kostitsyn as a one-dimensional type player, but I think that his passing is something to be reckoned with. Just like Kovalev we are finding out that there is more than just 'the shot' and just like Alex we are realizing that time and patience seem to be well worth it.

Tomas Plekanec
Pleks tried his heart out on the PK early in the game and seemed like the rest of that period, along with the second, were perhaps recovery time. He wasn't useless during that time, but he didn't do too, too much. In the third, however, Martin rewarded him with and NHL winger (no offence MaxPac) and he lit up again. He was involved in both goals and got unlucky by hitting the post on the shootout.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
It was an odd thing to not see Roman on the PP, but tonight that was the case. My guess it had more to do with resting the aging #1 than anything else. That said, he was still used quite a bit. He was really good on the PK, but couldn't do much about either goal. He made up for it, however, by being on the ice for our 2 goals and posting a +2 rating.

Jaroslav Spacek
Jaro had a few moments that weren't so great, but tonight the good outweighed the bad. The bad parts were his lack of speed and a few careless zone-clearing passes. The good was an assist, a +2 rating, good positional play and over 21 minutes of ice.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey may have a long look towards Laraque tonight and wonder why on earth he was even on the ice for this game. The 'fighter' got himself 6 minutes of penalties very early on. That led to the first goal and essentially the second as another penalty was taken while they were trying to kill off his mistakes. That said, Carey should have had the first goal, it was an easy shot that he couldn't control. Aside from that, though, he played a great game and gave us hope right until the end. It was another 30+ save performance (32) as his great week continued in this one. It was too bad that he couldn't come up big in the shootout, but Datsyuk and Zetterberg are two of the best; besides it's not as though we scored anyway.

Comments

5 points in 3 games means we had a pretty good week. Tonight we looked pretty good considering the injuries, the fact that we played last night and the fact that the opponent was Detroit. I thought that we started the game very well in fact - plus, how could you not love the original Habs shirts! All of that momentum was gone, however, with one BGL shift. Within 15 seconds he high-sticked a Wing (cutting him) and knee-on-kneed Kronwall who didn't return. The rest of that period was spent killing off penalties and by the end of it we were down by 2. The second period was played by two teams that played last night. Both groups looked tired and neither seemed to be going for it too much. The third period, however, was ours. We started it well and continued that strong play right until the end of OT. It was unfortunate to see an OT loss (first on the year), but I am still glad that we got 1 point instead of 0. It will be important to carry this type of play into next week as the minute we start playing like we are missing some of our best players is the minute that we will start sliding back down in the standings. It would be nice to see a move of some sort by Gainey in the coming days, but all I can say is, don't hold your breaths.

Game #22Good Start To Tough Weekend; Who Saw That Coming?

2009-11-20T22:02:00.008-05:00

Details

Date: 20/11/09
Opponent: Capitals
Location: Washington

Win: 3-2

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

Habs goalscorers: Moen, Plekanec, Cammalleri
Opposition goalscorers: Fehr, Morrison

Play of the game

When playing the Caps in Washington it is a good idea to have more than a one-goal lead coming into the home-stretch. So, getting a PP with 8 minutes to play presented a very interesting possibility for the Habs. A goal here could really kill two birds with one stone. It served as a chance to get the PP going and gave us the opportunity to jump ahead in the game. The whole time it seemed like the idea was to get the puck to Camms. So, there the puck came, from Pleks, to Mara at the point and then to Mike. He was able to unload a perfect one-timer that gave us the breathing room we would eventually need.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec - Game Puck
Dominant again. I wouldn't say that he was more noticeable than Ovechkin, but he was definitely in the same league. He scored a goal, picked up an assist and was once again our best on the PP and the PK. Can someone give this man the 'C'? Please.

Mike Cammalleri
Mike showed his true worth on the PP with a tantalizing one-timer. We are going to need that type of shooting on a near-nightly basis as the forwards continue to drop like flies. He also picked up an assist on Moen's goal and was entrusted with more than 20 minutes of ice-time.

Andrei Kostitsyn
I felt that Andrei, along with Pleks and MaxPac formed our best line all night. They were offensively threatening and pretty decent in their own end. Andrei made a couple of great passes - one ended in a goal, another in a 'how-did-you-miss-that' by Pacioretty. A single point tonight by Kostitsyn may not seem like much, but seeing as he is more and more engaged I don't really care how many points he collects.

Defencemen

Paul Mara
Paul is quietly playing some decent hockey as of late. He has been our 4th best defender all year and tonight was a top two. He contributed offensively tonight with an assist and a few good passes. He was very solid in his own end and was a reason that Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet.

Roman Hamrlik
If you needed a bigger reason why Ovy didn't get a point (other than Plekanec's sublime coverage of him on the PK) you needn't look further than Hammer. He, along with Price, controlled our own end. We may have let up 34 shots, but let's not forget that a shot isn't always a shot. Tonight, when Roman was on, the shots weren't too difficult for Price to control.

Goaltender

Carey Price
I am very happy with Carey tonight and as of late for that matter. This was the Price I was calling for before, this was the goalie I knew we once had and that I knew, somewhere, somehow, still existed. He looked so comfortable in goal and never backed down from anyone. He played the odds on goal #1, but that is his style and inevitably a few will go in. That is OK though because the rest of his game was great.

Comments

The Habs didn't play a great game tonight (outshot 34-22), but they competed and that is a big step from this club. To be able to go into one of the toughest buildings in hockey and to play it's greatest player and come out with a regulation win is quite the feat. It seems that we may have to deal with yet another injury though as Gomez left at some point and didn't return. Our team is doing well to find results with it's limited resources, but I feel that it can only last for so long. At some point we need to catch a break and have no new injuries and get more players back or the team will suffer, for real. Speaking of which, O'Byrne and Laraque made their returns tonight. Ryan played a decent game and I think we can all see a slight upgrade from Jay Leach. Georges was his usual self; didn't add much and had a boring fight. All in all it was a better team than we iced on Tuesday, so there is hope for us yet. Tomorrow is a huge test as Detroit roles into town. A win against them would make this a perfect week and would give us reason to think playoffs again. A loss, however, wouldn't be the end of the world as I feel we are still holding our own in the race to April.

Habs Injured Return: Avoiding O'Ver-expectations

2009-11-20T08:28:00.007-05:00

Gionta may be out, Markov may be in rehab, but the cavalry is coming.

The cavalry in the immediate sense consists of hapless Georges Laraque (who admittedly will be a minor upgrade over even more hapless Greg Stewart) and Ryan O'Byrne.

Ryan O'Byrne had a very nice training camp as you all know, and elevated his game to the point we had all penciled him into our aspirational lineup charts. But more than training camp ever could, his recent lay-off has elevated him to new heights. At first, it was merely an alternate defenceman, but as time went by and Habs fans needed better excuses for losing, O'Byrne became one of the three top 6 defencemen that were supposedly out of the lineup.

There's nothing wrong with a bit of hype for the opposition, but it's when you start believing your own hype that things can go awry. In this case, judging from the chatter, many Habs fans have bought their own hype, along with several extra installments for the future. Ryan O'Byrne may well be a top 6 defenceman by the end of this season, but to affirm him as one (in the leaguewide sense), before he's had chance to avenge his abysmal season of 2008-09, is premature. What's more it leads to over-expectation.

I think on the eve of his re-introductions, it's worth taking a step back and remembering just who Ryan O'Byrne is...

Who's Ryan?

Well prior to his ascension into the role of 7th, sometimes 8th defenceman for the Montreal Canadiens Ryan O'Byrne had a long career as a defenceman. The records (which I can find) stretch back to the time when he played with the Salsa of Victoria, BC (his hometown). As a 17 and 18 year-old, Ryan plied his trade with the comically-named West Coast outfit. Joining the 2000-01 league champions, Ryan helped to bridge their gap to being a bottom feeder again by helping them to a 3rd place finish in his rookie campaign. His personal contribution is hard to uncover, though offensively I would expect it to be something like he offers in the NHL, as he chipped in for 2 goals and 9 assists in 52 games. The next season was much the same story. However, his trade to the champion Nanaimo Clippers towards the end of the season must have raised some attention, as he was drafted by the Habs following his team's playoff exit.

That summer the Canadiens drafted O'Byrne with their 4th pick (in the 3rd round) behind Andrei Kostitsyn, Cory Urqhart and Maxim Lapierre. Following his good news, he packed his bags for Big Red (aka Cornell University) where he played hockey for the next three seasons. Never one to overdo things in the statistical department, O'Byrne did put on weight, play a decent game against the tougher opposition and put up some goals for his team (an insight into his time in Cornell can be obtained from this interview).

The next move for Ryan was to sign on as a professional with the Canadiens organization. I have to say that at that point in time, the news of a Ryan O'Byrne contract was akin to hearing about Andre Benoit last spring – interesting for the hardcore, largely overlooked by those who deal in the reality of the Habs. It is a compliment to Ryan then that he upped his standing so much in one year with the Bulldogs that he was 18 months later donning the bleu, blanc, rouge in Montreal. That year in Hamilton was a good one for him, as he played on a very good team and won a championship.

The rest of the story you know. And so it is that a big player from BC progressed quietly through the ranks to make an NHL roster as a reserve defender. To expect big jumps from a player that has steadfastly kept to small jumps at this point is hopeful, hopeful indeed.

Late bloomer?

I think any sensible read on Ryan O'Byrne's early career in the BCHL (not WHL), and then NCAA comes to the conclusion that there was a late bloom in there somewhere for the big man. A read of his first NHL steps seem to indicate the late bloom is something that is happening all over again.

Again, it would take nothing away from Ryan's achievement here if his blooming ended at this very stage. He has progressed further than any Victoria Salsa player (circa 2002) should have. To hope for another small bloom is one thing – perhaps with the help of Hamrlik it could happen. However, let's be careful not to buy into hype that leaves us disappointed when a second big bloom does not suddenly appear from under the rock of a 5-week layoff.

What to expect?

I can only speak for myself, but what I expect from O'Byrne tonight (in the best case) is a slightly better Jay Leach. As time goes by, should confidence remain, I would expect him to regain that trainig camp form, which makes him our 5th/6th in a draw with Mara.

Setting the right conditions

One note I would like to make is that for any of this positive stuff to happen, the conditions for O'Byrne must be right.

Those who remember how he struggled with Hamrlik last season will certainly see the problem of pairing young O'Byrne with Marc-Andre Bergeron. In that pairing, O'Byrne becomes the tutor, not the tutored and all is asked of him up front.

Hopefully Jacques Martin realising this will pair him with a complementary player like Hamrlik, which may not only benefit O'Byrne, but also the cascade of defenders who follow.

As far as tonight goes, and his baptism by fire, go easy on the big #3. Playing with Bergeron against Ovechkin and Backstrom after 1.5 competitve games in 6 months might not be kind...

Yesterday's Post: Finding The Middle Ground

2009-11-20T07:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I wrote about Gionta's injury and the resulting need for a serious evaluation of the Canadiens status at this point. Your response was passionate and thoughtful as usual.

I'm not sure where we netted out on the response, but apart from a few people I've spoken to, most seem to agree a response of some kind might not be a bad idea from our fearless leader. Personally, I feel the answer lies between the extreme idleness proposed by the few and the hyperactive movements unleashed by others.

Anyway, to each their own. As I said, i don't really know what to do do, I have just concluded that "nothing" might not be the right answer this time. I might interest some of you to read the advocate for "nothing" and make your minds up for yourselves whether he or I is the crazier. He does make some god points, so maybe I do draw the short straw?

On another front, Olivier (faithful reader and stats mentor), has leaped on the idea of trading Plekanec – which a) tells me he's at least as crazy as I am if I am so diagnosed, and b) that he doesn't suffer from the sentimental disease that can plague the millions. Read his piece on the imaginary trade.

Tonight's the first night of hockey after Gainey's season-defining reinsertion of Laraque. Let's see if the Canadiens show the Capitals up for the charlatans they are...

Gainey At The Tipping Point: Is Gionta An Injury Too Far?

2009-11-19T05:34:00.005-05:00

It's official, Brian Gionta is injured.

According to RDS reports, Gionta will be out for an undetermined length of time.

This injury sends ripples through the whole lineup, meaning a less effective #1 line and PP, to be served up with less effective lines #2-4 and PK. Gionta is the fourth major injury for this team in the young campaign, and the second of serious consequence.

The length of Gionta's injury means everything to me here. If he's out a couple of weeks – fine, we suck it up. If it's a month or more – Gainey has some critical decisions to make, because he will have lost his best defender and his best all-around forward while work continues with a skeleton crew.

You all know how I felt about Gainey replacing Andrei Markov with an offense-only cast-off. Bergeron has replaced one element of the Markov offering while falling excruciatingly short on the 15 other areas of his proficiency. It was never a tolerable situation for me, but now that Gionta is removed from the equation, it is especially unpalatable.

If, in the worst case, Gionta is out for 4-5 weeks, the team could be floundering through. A month from Tuesday would mean 15 games. Should the go just about 0.500, with a generous helping of luck and contribution from the suddenly awakened, the team could still be a playoff outsider at the 36-game mark. Given that they've been a low-scoring sub-500 unit with 8-goal Gionta to this point, one would expect nothing more.

The way I see it, Gainey has played the gamble with wait and see to this point. Now his wait and see is becoming more clear – a struggling team who may struggle more. It speaks to decision time for me.

Where to finish?

There are only two places worth finishing in this league: at the top and at the bottom. To finish the middle, as the Canadiens and Leafs and Oilers can attest to is to live behind the rotation of teams that go from top to bottom, bottom to top.

Playing without Gionta is not the issue here. The issue remains playing without Markov. Playing without Markov and vying for the playoffs with a full team is just about realistic to the less sceptical among us. But playing without Markov on a depleted team who've already dug themselves a hole to get out of? Doesn't that look like a losing battle?

What do I suggest?

The specifics of the moves are beyond me at this point. However, I think Gainey will need to make his decision now before it's too late. Simply put, I propose that he decide that we are vying to be in the top teams (ergo, make a move to help that happen) or that we are vying to be in the bottom teams (ergo, make moves to a) help this happen and b) be in better position for next season).

Going for it at this point, isn't crazy. It is conceivable that a simple addition (through shipping prospects or picks) could land the right player to carry the team through 15 games and bolster what we've been seeing in action when Gionta does return.

The opposite scenario would require some strong will and a more maneuvering, but could turn the Canadiens into a better outfit for next season, just as it worked for the Flyers 3 years ago. Assets like Halak would have to be shopped, as would some players of full and actual value (i.e., not Gomez) – getting a few first rounders this season might make it worthwhile.

I don't know where I want this to end up (top or bottom), but I can tell you that I don't want to stumble into 9th/10th in the East and come into next season with a 2009 Mr. Hockey playing defenceman from Minnesota. Tough decisions lie behind all the successes in this league – I think it's time Gainey stopped putting his off.

Don't you think?

Game #21Habs Give Hurricanes Fans Hope, Then Take It Away

2009-11-18T03:07:00.008-05:00

Details

Date: 17/11/09
Opponent: Hurricanes
Location: Montreal

Win: 3-2 (SO)

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Leighton, Legace (L)

Habs goalscorers: Pacioretty, Andrei Kostitsyn (Lapierre - SO)
Opposition goalscorers: Sutter, Jokinen

Play of the game

With time dangerously ticking down and the game at risk of becoming another tale reserved for goalie statisticians, the play of the game unfolded to change the whole complexion of the affair.

Following a faceoff win, Paul Mara did as the textbook tells him and wraps a hard shot all the way around the boards so it runs out the other side of the back of the net. The constantly maligned (if you watch RDS) Andrei Kostitsyn next turned this ordinary play extraordinary. First he wins the footrace to the puck, he then leaves the textbook behind. In recovering the puck he directs it netwards in his path and lets off a quick shot. With a bit of luck, as it misses the puck clips the back netting and comes to rest just behind the net. Still eyeing a game changing event rather than 40 seconds of behind net possession, Andrei charges around, beats a 4th defender on this play now and flips a pass to Plekanec who's also read the textbook and is standing in front of the net. After trying to break Leighton, Legace and the Canes down with sustained pressure at times and other textbook plays, this final bit of creativity and personal ownership ends the job.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
It's becoming a bit repetitive to say that Tomas Plekanec was again the best forward on the ice. But watching the games, we can't help but report what is happening. While it is certainly to the detriment of other centres who eye supremacy in the dome, Tomas is certainly proving that the team does have a #1 and a dominant offensive force to lead the PP and the goal charge. Tonight Tomas happened to set up a beautiful goal and play a big role the other. However, it was outside those plays that he impressed the most. Patient passing, smoothe stick handling and a confidence on the puck to slow the play and make things happen patiently made him a constant threat all over the ice this game.

Andrei Kostitsyn
It must be tiring to be Benoit Brunet, so many things to remember, so many restraints on what can be said. Between bashing Andrei Kostitsyn for every missed stride and promoting every winger other than the Belarussian, the colour man has his hands full. On this night, Andrei makes the dome for the simplest of reasons -- he was a massive threat on goal while on the ice. His play of the game goal was one example of him refinding his drive to change events. Add to that 4 shots on goal (3 of the dangerous variety), 4 shots attempted at high corners and a willingness to chase the puck and the victory.

Guillaume Latendresse
For the remaining forward, I wanted to select a player from the third line, who together played a very solid game and finally provided the Canadiens with a third line to stand up to another team. While the line or Gui didn't generate any goals, really great chances on net or even that many shots, they did produce momentum. In fact, Guiallaume was heavily involved in two plays that returned valuable PPs for the Habs. The first was a prolonged spell of forechecking where Guillaume seemed to want to hold that puck for minutes, if not hours -- his drive to recover the puck drew a hard won PP. Next was a play where Gui placed a timely hit to takeaway the puck and start another period of forecheck. At the end of the play, Moen was eating the boards, but had drawn a penalty with pressure. Guillaume responded to the hit by shaking Aaron Ward (see hated playoff villain Ward) like a rag doll and getting away with, also winning funny play of the night.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
As he manages Jay Leach into the lineup, Jacques Martin is spreading the load of 6 men among 5 (4.5 if you consider Bergeron is not preferred option A-E either). Last night, the brunt of the defending minutes seemed to fall to Josh Gorges, and I thought he put on a bit of a show. For me, this was a game of poise from Josh. He was on the ice for errors (of course, this is the Habs), but when he needed to he performed his assignments with aggressive efficacy. We talk about the impact of Markov, well imagine how Josh Gorges could develop alongside Andrei instead of trying to tow Mara, Bergeron or Gill the whole way.

Roman Hamrlik
I have to say, I think Hamrlik built into this game. Though the record will show that he was on the ice for the Canes second goal, no one (not Kostitsyn, not Pacioretty, not him) forced Spacek to make that harebrained pass attempt through mass coverage. As the game went on, Hamrlik was a player that the Habs kept turning to in order to calm things down and make sound plays. If this was a good defensive game (and it was for the most part until OT), then Hamrlik was foremost among the reasons why. On countless occasions he provided MA Bergeron a lesson in why passing backwards or sideways to your defence partner is OK, why taking responsibility for the puck rather than sloughing it off to a forward being covered is the preferred method. Pierre Houde rightly called out Hamrlik's final shift as a standard, for his effort on that 3-on-4 PK was out of this world at times.

Goaltender

Carey Price- Game Puck
Taken before OT, this was a very solid game for Carey. Taken before OT, he had made all the solid saves and a couple of unlikely ones to allow for the continuation to even go forward. From OT on, Carey won this game for the Canadiens. There were big saves in OT before the penalty, but the way he played on that penalty kill (even without making his most spectacular moves) was exemplary, and made one wonder why he has trouble at all with the man-down situations. Brimming with confidence and pads up to the task, he then put on a display to claim the points. Game puck worthy performance indeed.

Comments

Benoit Brunet's closing comments form the game hinted at his great unease with what he had just seen. But far from giving me the nerves, it only provided further prof of what unreasonable expectations he and some other fans have for this team.

To start with, there is the standings watchers. This game was preceded by their simplistic take that Carolina were a lame opponent waiting to be dismantled. Apart from the lesson they have been missing for the past decade that there are no lame opponents anymore, they also ignored the fact that a team coming off the win that broke a 15-game losing streak might have more to prove before settling back into permanent losing. And then, the injury police: Cam Ward, Pitkanen and Eric Staal out meant lesser lights. As if missing Brian Gionta, Andrei Markov and enough defenders to have to resurrect 2 careers was nothing. And, let's please do away with the stupidity of saying the Habs should have buried the Canes because of their weak goalies – both Leighton and Legace did just fine and made several good stops, past performance is irrelevant, ask Carey...

Carolina came into the game a bad team in the standings, but hardly a bad outfit on the ice. The fact that Montreal was able to outchance, outshoot and ultimately outscore them was perhaps not this team's crowning achievement, but one that should not be shrugged off because Brunet wanted a blowout.

Inherent in Brunet's negativity was his blind spot for Andrei Kostitsyn. Perhaps in waiting for and ultimately being left waiting for Guillaume to step in and take the reins, Brunet and co. missed the fact that Andrei, at least in the latter part of the game came alight. Between Kostitsyn waking up (and scoring), Carey Price dominating and the defence limiting chances to the Canes, there were plenty of positives to take from this game. What's more, Jay Leach and Ryan White served notice they want to stay, and that is at least neutral news.

Yet being Habs fans, with the inlaid neuroticism that makes us so charming to watch games with, we must nevertheless point out items to be improved upon. If I look at all the mistakes that cost us and could have cost us, I would say that 90% come down to one basic axiom – the player on the puck has to take more responsibility for the play. By this, I mean that things would be greatly improved if every forward, instead of blindly chipping the puck behind himself took a page from Plekanec's book and form time to time had a stop and a look around, and maybe even went backwards. By this, I mean that defenders should act like Hamrlik and Spacek in their best moments and claim the puck, take strides to find safety and use a few passes to shake the coverage, as opposed to MAB who seems content to pass to any point on the ice where a Habs player is or has been in the last 5 seconds. IN all these situations, instead of trying to find the quick fix, a patient and committed approach to what we are to understand is the system being taught will fully avoid episodes like Spacek's pass under no pressure for an opposition goal.

Still, let's be content with a win when we need the points and with an effort when we asked for one. Hopefully we can then continue to fret about details that have haunted every hockey team since the beginning of time (like those above) as we claw consecutive places back from Eastern rivals.

Habs At The Twenty Game Mark

2009-11-16T08:17:00.006-05:00

Details

Date: 17/11/09
Position in standings: 12th in East, 24th in NHL
Prognosis: Uncertain

Losing record: 9-11-0

Habs on scoring leaders (top 30): None
Habs among statistical leaders (top 30, major category): Cammalleri, Gionta (T25, G); Plekanec (T19, A); Halak (20, GAA); Halak, Price (T29, SV%)

Defining play of the year

Were this a positive time for Habs fans, I'm sure I would be picking a positive memory from the past 6 weeks. But as it happens, I'm choosing the moment that kind of sums up the season to this point.

What can I tell you, the play had a bit of everything we have been ruing since the season began – terrible coverage, running around on the PK, flat-on-stomach-goaltending from Price and a painful opposition goal. As Viktor Stallberg outwaited Price and passed to a wide open Matt Stajan for his 2nd goal of the season (19 games later, he now has 4), I don't think we were particularly feeling the pain of anything more than falling behind the pitiful Leafs on opening night. But the next morning, we found that the real significance of the play was not the goal, but the gash on Markov's leg that was to represent the gaping abyss on the Canadiens back line for the majority of the next 19 games.

Season Dome

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec - 20-Game Puck
All summer, there was chatter about players who would have to do better if these Habs were to have any chance at all of amassing significant points in the standings. Surprisingly, many times Tomas Plekanec was an afterthought – written off after a statistically-poor 2008-09. This season has been a different kettle of fish for Pleks. We have him named to the dome 13 times and player of the game 5 times in 20 games. He's the scoring leader, the PP engine and is always the best player when things turn sour. If the Habs have been inconsistent over 20 games, imagine how sour it could have gone if Mr. Consistent would have thrown in the towel with some of his teammates.

Mike Cammalleri
As advertised. That's really all I can say about Mike Cammalleri. He is quick and has a very quick shot. He has 8 goals, ranking him 25th in the league. And his MO is shooting – which is why he's top ten in that category. Like Pleks, Cammalleri has been a fixture in the dome (13) and has 4 game pucks to his name. People will get on him for his streakiness, but must realise that all scorers operate this way. Perhaps the one area to be improved over the next quarter of a season is PP output, which may be helped by playing him in position.

Brian Gionta
For anyone who sighed when we signed Gionta (as I probably did), this 20 games has been eye opening. He has netted 8 goals, just like Cammalleri and been a main threat on most nights. More than all this, what makes him stand out most are his instincts for the goal, his willingness to take punishment to win the puck and the chance, and his clever play. The third forward in our standings, he has amassed 9 domes and 3 game pucks.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
The minute Andrei Markov went down with injury was the minute Roman's brief expanded by 50%. When Gainey replaced Markov with an inept PP-only defender, Hamrlik became a 30-minuter, probably for the first time in his career. To say he has responded well is fair, though it has not been flying colours. Hamrlik has garnered the most domes among defenders with 11, but his 1 game puck speaks to the fact that the 6 at the back have relied on the forwards and the goalies almost completely this season. Still, what he offers the team is a solid top-level defender who can pinch when necessary.

Jaroslav Spacek
Spacek has been the other beneficiary of a very weak defensive unit (domewise). But he has also quietly put together some positive numbers with his ice time, under unlikely circumstances. Take for instance his influence at even strength: when he is on the ice, the Canadiens score 2.72 G/60, while allowing only 2.38. Offensively that places him among the top tier of the league, in the land of forwards. Defensively, he could be better, but at least his balance sheet reads positive.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Perhaps no one has been more hot and cold than Carey Price. Winning a couple of games early for points in the bank and a return to elite save percentage territory of late have been positive. In between all that, though, a short stretch of game changing lapses and league-worst save-making. On the whole, Carey wins the dome. His 4 game pucks are outstanding, and add to his 11 domes form 20 games. What's more, his strong form has been so strong of late that it is pulling his statistics from the basement and onto page 1 of NHL goaltending leaders.

Positive also for Price has been his (and Halak's) response to greater demands in practice. Between the two of them, they have turned quite a corner and can hopefully continue to hold onto the energy that got them back on track – even share a little with a winger, maybe.

All domes
Scroll through using the arrows below the slides.

Player standings

Name	Game pucks	Domes	LIW Pts	First star	Second star	Third star	3 Star Pts
Tomas Plekanec	5	13	112	0	3	0	9
Mike Cammalleri	4	13	100	2	0	2	12
Brian Gionta	3	9	72	0	3	2	11
Carey Price	4	11	70	1	1	2	10
Roman Hamrlik	1	11	45	0	0	1	1
Glen Metropolit	1	7	40	1	0	0	5
Scott Gomez	1	6	36	1	0	1	6
Jaroslav Spacek	0	11	33	0	0	0	0
Jaroslav Halak	1	9	30	0	1	0	3
Josh Gorges	0	10	30	1	0	0	5
Andrei Kostitsyn	0	6	24	0	0	0	0
Paul Mara	0	5	15	0	0	0	0
Marc-Andre Bergeron	0	3	9	0	0	1	1
Travis Moen	0	1	4	1	0	0	5
Matt D'Agostini	0	1	4	0	0	0	0
Guillaume Latendresse	0	1	4	0	0	0	0
Kyle Chipchura	0	1	4	0	0	0	0
Maxim Lapierre	0	1	4	0	0	0	0
Max Pacioretty	0	1	4	0	1	0	3
Ryan O'Byrne	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Georges Laraque	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Yannick Weber	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gregory Stewart	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ryan O'Byrne	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hal Gill	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Shawn Belle	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mathieu Carle	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jay Leach	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Andrei Markov	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Comments

I could dwell on a lot of things here, but I think most has been covered. It's probably a bit cliche to try and take positives from an overwhelmingly negative period of play, but I think one should. For one thing, the past is past and if we intend to watch anymore games form here on, we might as well delude ourselves a bit in preparation. For another thing, the difference between positive and negative in this league is paper thin.

Anyway, the positives. All those forwards in the dome are positive outcomes. Spacek being there makes Gainey's signings look neutral at least. Metropolit being anything close to his form this far is positive. Winning 9 games is positive and so is winning so many in OT before the shootout, and even those shootout wins.

Papering the cracks aside, more players have to start pulling the weight on this team. The dome has done what is expected ad more, but may themselves one day tire. I would hope that our number one centre might start outplaying our number four centre and that maybe just two of our extraordinary 1-dome wingers will start vying for recognition now and again. If nothing but these couple of things happen, I feel the next 20 games could come out on the right side of 500.

I could go on, but best not to stretch the truth. As we go forward, let's hope the team looks forward, as we should. Let's hope the team looks on this season as the mighty 2007-08 Canadiens once looked on a second period 5-goal deficit to New York with a second goalie getting peppered and roasted by a Rangers PP. If that game could turn into the best game of the decade for the most fickle of fans, who knows what could happen to us over the next 6 months.

Game #2055 Shots Against; But Price Softens The Blow

2009-11-14T22:48:00.005-05:00

Details

Date: 14/11/09
Opponent: Predators
Location: Nashville

Loss: 0-2

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

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Sullivan (2)

Play of the game

Considering only one player came to play tonight it is fitting that he features in this section. You guessed it; it is Price. Remember that ridiculous save in the 2nd period? The one were he absolutely stoned Dumont? Nashville, on the PP, set this play up perfectly, but Price actually had the last laugh. He proved to me, and to all of us, that sliding across to make a huge save is in him and that it is indeed possible. The puck was passed from right to left and JP one-timed a low, hard shot. Carey, however, was too quick as he came across with a huge pad save.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
Not his usual self, but still better than most. Why on earth Martin took Andrei away from him I'll never know though. Was Andrei really playing that bad? Look around you Jacques, there was plenty worse. What I liked most about Pleks tonight was that he tried, he didn't deliver, but he tried.

Glen Metropolit
Good effort by Glen again, but we shouldn't be surprised that he didn't score. A third (sometimes fourth) line guy like him shouldn't be expected to score nor should we expect him to be one of our best players night in, night out. He has been really good till now, but I think relying on him is unfair to him and, overall, it won't do the team well. I'll take this level of play from him for the rest of the year, but I also need to see better players play better than him ALL of the time; not just some of the time.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Man, could we use a goal from our once most touted scoring prospect. Well, the goals aren't coming, but the shots and the attacks are. That is more than I can say for most players on this night. He is doing OK right now, but, let's face it, we need him to be great.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
It is hard to really say anyone did well in our own end tonight, but I will. That is because I think that Josh played a decent game defensively; there were a couple of plays that stood out to me when he broke up odd-man rushes. He happened to be our most used penalty-killer (5+ mniutes) and wasn't on the ice for any goals.

Marc-Andre Bergeron
Not great in his own end, but not that much worse than the rest. He did, however, give Rinne something to think about as he took 4 pretty decent shots on net. I am still not sure if his offensive upside is worth having him in the line-up each game, but if he gets four shots on net every night it will help to convince me otherwise.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
Unbelievable. The only reason this game wasn't a blowout (and I really mean the ONLY) was Carey Price. The Habs surrendered the second most amount of shots in team history (55) and matched that with a pretty invisible offence. This game could have been put out of reach very early on, but Price kept us within one-lucky bounce of actually getting points for a very long time. I am pleased with his play as of late and only wish that the team will start to give him the support that he deserves.

Comments

Not much to say really. I guess this is just another case of one team being way better than the other. It has happened to me and my team this year where we have either been way too good or way too bad for opponents. In these types of games there is little that can be done to alter what seems to be a pre-determined result. Their D was solid, ours lacked structure and conviction. There O was quick, fluid and dangerous, ours seemed lost as passes and shots often went way off target. Their goalie, however, wasn't better than ours, maybe as good, but he wasn't challenged nearly as much. Our lack of ability cost us penalties (6 to their 2) as we just couldn't keep up. I am starting to think that we need some help on offence because maybe, just maybe we aren't as strong as we had hoped. I mean, if only we had a guy who could gain the zone at will, hit puck-sized holes or steal a game single-handedly or maybe a guy with the heart of a lion, the ability to pass to more than one of his wingers or the tenacity to go to the front of the net and stay there. If only.

Game #19A Nice Clean, Regulation Win; For Once

2009-11-13T00:35:00.004-05:00

Details

Date: 12/11/09
Opponent: Coyotes
Location: Phoenix

Win: 4-2

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

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri, Bergeron, Metropolit, Gionta
Opposition goalscorers: Lang, Bissonnette

Play of the game

The Habs looked destined for another tight finish, which can mean a loss these days. So, we needed a turning point, we needed a momentum shift. And, I think we got one - I call it the play of the game. The Habs were just about to kill off Hammer's tripping penalty when Lombardi took 2 minutes himself. That meant a bit of 4-on-4 followed by a PP. The ideal situation then becomes to score on the 4-on-4 to allow yourself another great opportunity to get a goal. Bergeron took matters into his own hands after a Plekanec face-off win as he kept the puck in with a very nice pivot at the blue-line. He then took a perfect shot that found it's way into the top of the net. The goal was scored with 4 seconds left at even-strength. That, of course, meant that a PP was coming our way. Smelling blood the Habs, led again by Bergeron, capitalized on that opportunity and essentially put the game out of reach.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec - Game Puck
Pleks to me was our best player and should have been the 1st star too (that went to Bissonnette - after all he did score his first NHL goal (a shot deflected off his leg) and had a fight in just over 7 minutes of hockey (another example of Phoenix's inability to get things right)). He had 3 assists and two of them were simply sublime. On both Metropolit and Cammalleri's goals he found them wide-open, by the net with nothing but net to shoot at. Anytime a passer can do that with regularity the other team is in serious trouble.

Mike Cammalleri
This was probably Mike's best game for a couple of weeks. He was very feisty in and around the net and because of it he picked up a goal and a few other great scoring chances. He also chipped in with a nice play at our own blue-line in the dying seconds which led to a break with Gionta and our empty-netter. 16 points in 19 games may not be what some people had hoped for, but considering how much of a threat he is on a consistent basis I am willing to look past his below point-per-game status. After all, that is still about a 70-point season - pretty good for MTL.

Scott Gomez
Missed opportunities sums up Scott's play over the past 2 weeks or so. He has been good, but not great. Tonight, however, I thought that he had a strong game. His passing was good and he also played very well in our own end. 2 areas that weren't too great tonight, however, were face-offs and his insistence on finding Gionta with a pass, even when it doesn't suit the team. That said, if he continues to play as he did tonight then I will be very happy indeed.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
Was Josh's best play of the night to slide into Price and take the net off when Phoenix had a good chance (the puck did, after all, end up in the net)? I don't think it was on purpose, but I like that, whether we meant it or not, we bent the rules and got away with it. I mean, how is that never delay of the game, but puck over the glass, regardless of the situation, is 100% of the time? That play was just one of may great plays Josh had in our own end. Another big one was the effort he put in to win the puck in our corner late in the game - his effort essentially started the play that would become our 4th goal.

Marc-Andre Bergeron
I won't lie to you and say that MAB played well in his own end, but I can be honest and say that he wasn't bad. What that means is that there were less mistakes than usual which allowed Martin to feel comfortable using him for 17 minutes (Spacek's absence in the 3rd required someone to step up after all). The upside, of corse, was the offence. A goal, which I think was great and 2 assists were what he had to offer. The PP was 2/2 and that is thanks in large part to him. He also happened to be on the ice for both of our other goals and neither of theirs.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey wasn't tested much tonight, but that didn't matter as he still had a job to do and he did it. A little bit of own-team interference and some bad luck cost him what could have been a clean and easy shutout. I can't say I noticed too much bad with Price tonight and I think that that is thanks to the D who limited the shots to 20 and made sure there wasn't too much quality coming through. I like how tonight showed that, at the end of the day, a solid D (granted we were only playing a depleted Phoenix team, but still) will be the best tool any single goalie can possess.

Comments

When I look at this game on paper I have the same feeling for the first period as I did watching it: blah. Nothing happened, neither team was bad, but so too was neither team really any good. Things started to open up in the second as we saw a couple of goals, a fight (Jay Leach) and a bit more skating and flow than in the first. I can't say it was the best game I had ever watched, but heading into the third game #19 had potential. The third period, I must say, was quite entertaining. You can forget any rough-stuff, but there were some good chances and goals. In all we scored 3 and had a few other great chances. Another play that sticks out is Gorges puck-sweep (and subsequent trip) which prevented a scoring chance. It was good how we kept Phoenix in check later in the game and, by only surrendering 20 shots, we were really taking the pressure off Price who needed a game like this.

This, believe it or not, is only our second regulation win of the season and first on the road. It is one of those games that you shouldn't let slip and I am happy that the Habs seized the opportunity. Nashville, as always, will be fun on Saturday and it should be interesting to see old Franky Bou again. I, of course, am hoping for a win, but would almost be just as happy with a solid 60-minute effort and some goals. If we can master those two areas then surely the wins will continue to come; as one did tonight.

Shooting For Success Getting Out Of The Basement

2009-11-12T05:47:00.005-05:00

When you look back at a snapshot of the conference standings for November 12, 2009, you'll see that the Canadiens had dug themselves quite a hole. 16 points in 18 games isn't too bad, but it puts the team 11th in the conference and 23rd in the league. What's more, a few teams behind could overtake the Habs by playing 0.500 hockey in their (up to 4) games in hand. At the end of the day, if this were playoff clinching time, the team would only sit solidly ahead of 3 teams in the NHL: the Wild, Leafs and Hurricanes.

Recent chatter in the fan rooms has been all about our abysmal lack of scoring this season and the sudden need to acquire at least 2, if not 3, quality forwards to supplement the attack.

When the Canadiens lose they lose

Give them a close game and it seems they'll win. But, unlike the Islanders, Leafs, Stars and Lightning (who are all pacing 20 OTLs this season), the Canadiens have been in the habit of really losing in their losses.

This is a tricky thing to tease apart, but largely what it tells me is that the Canadiens are an easier team to play against when they are trailing. It seems the way they open up to try and score more goals.

You can really get a feeling for this trend when you look at the Habs record when scoring first vs. allowing the first goal. When taking the lead, the Canadiens are an impressive 6-1-0, while they falter to 2-9-0 when falling behind. It seems to make intuitive sense to us, but perhaps that's the way things have been, so habit for us observers. Detroit who have a better record are 0.400 when scoring first and 0.545 when falling behind; Columbus 0.500 and 0.545, Washington 0.600 and 0.667. In our league are teams like Nashville (0.833 and 0.200), Philly (0.750 and 0.000) and Dallas (0.700 and 0.000). In any case, you might accept the thesis here that being 6th best with the lead and 6th worse without it is not a good plan when you aren't scoring the first goal more than half the time.

Two solutions

From this point, there really are two possible solutions as I see it:

1) Score the first goal more, or

2) Change the way you build attacks when behind

Of the two, I think only a novice coach would settle on the first option and feel proud of his tactical excellence. An experienced coach will know that due to factors like temperamental goalies, bad luck and other teams opting for the same strategy make a dependence on the former folly.

Jacques Martin, being a very experienced coach then, will know that the answer lies with getting the troops to buckle down and not just defend the right way, but attack in the right way too.

In watching the games this season, I had been noticing the trouble with starting 5 offensive defencemen on most nights was that when we did fall behind to that early goal, there was a tendency for everyone to push a long way into the opposition's zone. While we can all get on the defencemens' cases for defensive breakdowns, and on the forwards for not coming back – we must also recognise that this sometimes inefficient style of attack is often the root of the problem.

Another observation I've made is that the new all shot, all the time offence is great, but doesn't really work when a) your defence is weaker than average and b) your goalies can't be counted on to make saves on the inevitable breaks that happen the other way. And although many seem to get equally frustrated with the Sergei/Andrei and Kovalev method of attack by sedation – it really did seem to suit the young goalies better to have the extended rest time.

Lessons from outside the rink

Being a swimmer, one of the sports I have played quite a bit has been water polo. In that sport, it is virtually impossible, largely because of the rules, to get the ball off the other team except by forcing them to shoot (that's why there is a shot clock...). In hockey, the prevailing attitude is that "you can't score unless you shoot", so therefore shooting is a good thing.

I would challenge that hockey could learn from water polo and other sports by starting to understand that not all shots are created equal. Not all are good shots. Some are merely asking for a turnover.

This really goes hand with attacking more efficiently when behind – as it speaks to attacking more efficiently at all times.

Forward, if your two linemates are behind the goal line – perhaps wait on shooting through that Dman. Pinching D, make sure you're covered if you come flying down the wing and intend to let off a shot at the goalie.

Of course, there's a balance, a team that stops shooting altogether just gets themselves into another mess. But the Habs have been getting this whole balance quite wrong so far this season. So as well as improving the goaltending and defensive zone play, I vote for an overhaul of the offensive brief as well.

Think it's too much to ask all at once? If you think that now, you've forgotten July...

Game #18Halak Makes It Look Closer Than It Was

2009-11-10T22:23:00.004-05:00

Details

Date: 10/11/09
Opponent: Flames
Location: Montreal

Loss: 0-1

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

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Iginla

Play of the game

There aren't too many positives to be taken out of this one, but I will hand it to some of our boys for showing some heart and good camaraderie at times. My favorite incident took place when McGrattan, known for his dirty play, hit Plekanec at Calgary's blue-line for no apparent reason. The hit was dirty in my opinion as it came when Tom didn't have the puck, had his head down and was in open ice. Seeing that his smaller teammate had just been knocked over for the second time in a matter of minutes (Phaneuf laid a big one on Pleks in the corner) he decided to take the matter into his own hands (God knows the refs weren't about to do anything). So Paul dropped his gloves and jumped onto McGrattan. There were a few punches thrown, but in reality it wasn't much of a scrap. What it showed me, however, was that these guys, even though they are still getting to know one another, will go to war for each other and that, my friends, is the basis of any solid team; it is a tried, tested and true fact of sport.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Mike Cammalleri
Mike was by far our most dangerous forward tonight. He had a few spectacular moves, but came up just short on a couple of occasions. I think that Martin thinks the answer is for him to play with Gomez and Gionta, but I really like him with Plekanec and hope that that experiment hasn't, yet again, been aborted. I also think that you should end a game with the same lines as you started with, something that was not the case tonight at all.

Andrei Kostitsyn
One of these days I really need to see a goal from Andrei, but I can live with how he played tonight as it was head and shoulders above most of our other forwards. His 4 shots led the team and at least 3 were very dangerous; they were shots that created rebounds and forced the Kipper to come up big.

Glen Metropolit
Glen did well on the third line tonight and also featured predominantly on our special teams. You can't fault him for not scoring as who would have expected that we would even be hoping for that outcome. He has exceeded expectations all year and tonight was an example of how he is one of our most solid, responsible and reliable players.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
Hamrlik didn't bring much to the table offensively, but I felt did a good enough job against Iginla's line. He played for over 26 minutes and, although he was on the ice for some chances, never got himself into major trouble. Playing almost half the game against a team like Calgary, however, will wear you down, so I can only hope he will be good to go for the rest of the week. He is, because of Markov's injury, being used more than we would like, but so far, so good.

Jaroslav Spacek
Spacek had a few weak moments in his own end, but there was nothing too catastrophic. Our defence, on the whole, wasn't great tonight, but I also didn't think their effect was too negative either. Jaro's upside came in the form of offence as he took 4 shots and also played semi-decently on what was an otherwise pitiful power-play.

Goaltender

Jarolav Halak - Game Puck
Halak could have let in 3+ goals tonight or probably could have had a shutout. It was one of those nights where he wasn't great, but got most of the bounces. The bottom line, however, is that he made some big saves down the stretch and he gave us a chance to get points we didn't really deserve. The goal against was weakish, but, then again, an Iginla wrist shot is often quite hard to stop. A loss is a loss, but 1 GA and a .967 Save % has likely earned him a start before the week is over.

Comments

You never like to see your team lose a game 1-0 (first shutout of the season) as it then becomes very easy to say the 'what ifs'. What if Gorges stays with Iggy. What if Halak stops that shot. What if Gomez lifts the puck on his breakaway. What if Gionta drops to Kostitsyn instead of going cross-ice (and broken up) to Gomez on a 3-on-2. You see, I could go on and on. This is it though, Calgary was better than us tonight. They had the better goalie, the better offence and by far the better D. We tried hard at times, but one look at either our PP or PK will tell you that we were simply outclassed. I think, however, it is time for Martin to find a way for us to be able to compete against good teams. The season is almost 1/4 of the way through and we still have trouble against quality teams, we still seem to lack a defensive system and we are still struggling to find lines, combinations and a team identity. Markov being injured is a great excuse, but it is so played by now. The lack of chemistry with new players isn't a great November 10th excuse either. And, being told the players (professionals I might add) are still learning a system 2 months after its introduction is starting to look worse on the coaches than on the players. Things will certainly have to line up for us over the next 2 months if we want to stay in the top 10 (or get back to the top 10 I should say), but I believe that we have the potential and the will to get it done which, in reality, are paramount to anything else at this point in time.

Learning To Live Without Markov

2009-11-10T08:21:00.006-05:00

As the game unfolded the other night against Tampa, it marked the 16th game of the season that we had begun without our all-star Andrei Markov. It may not sound like much, but it's the first time since Andrei made the NHL grade that he has missed more than 15 games in a single season.

In the past sometimes, it seemed like an injury to Markov was a one-way ticket to losing streak. However, this time around, the Canadiens have done an OK job of battling for points and scrounging some wins. As we descend into the next 30 games without Andrei, I thought I'd take a glance at some of the stats with and without him manning the back line.

Winning and losing

It's sometimes hard to test the value of any given player, because the experiment consists of so many variables. Even with a mere 24 game sample from the regular season and a lone playoff series, I don't think we'd be reaching a false conclusion if we suggested the Canadiens are a much worse outfit without Andrei Markov. Really the stats speak for themselves:

24 games, 5 wins, 19 losses, 13 points. It's not flattering for the rest of the guys is it? Certainly when you compare that record to the record with him in the lineup over the same period (168-107-30 for 366 points).

If you pro-rate the stats to an 82-game schedule the Habs from 2005-09 without Markov would have been a pitiful 44 point outfit (17-55-10) – not seen since the days of expansion newbies and Pittsburgh dogging it. With him in the lineup, their pro-rated points total would be a solid 96-point group (45-29-6).

But the impact goes well beyond the wins and losses. As you can see from the limited sample, what has tended to happen when Markov has been missing has shown his talent at both ends of the ice. In the 24 previous games, goals for dropped by one full goal per 60 minutes, while goals against rose by an equally remarkable 0.7 per game.

Special teams

Being that Markov is an all-star who perennially flirts with the scoring lead among defenceman, it's perhaps not surprising to see a drop in PP efficiency wen he's not around to distribute. But take a look at the PK in his absence – a reminder of his second personality:

With the best overall PP in both 2006-07 and 2007-08, and a pretty decent scoring clip before and after, it's pretty safe to say that Markov is one of the premier QBs of the circuit. In fact, you get 5 PPs with Markov in a game, you'd be disappointed not to score a goal.

The Canadiens, however, have been blessed with some insulation for Markov on the PP at times – Souray and Streit, for example in 2006-07 – so his absence has cost but not too too drastically. Glance at the PK situation without Markov, though, and get an idea of what he means at the defensive end. Whether it be quick movement and anticipation, or using his passing skills to find the way out of the zone, his skills on the PK have been missed to the tune of nearly 12.5%. If you translate that to a whole season – with about 360 penalties – you're talking about 45 goals.

I suppose a forward moving to the point is much less of a downgrade than having a 5th defender playing with regularity on a penalty kill.

2009-10

This season, Markov was lost to serious injury a mere 50 minutes in. Given our understanding of the previous 24 games without him, there was understandable gloom at the time. I certainly felt some major doubts.

If you look across the stats, you can see that the PP is suffering as much if not more than it has ever done, but that goalscoring is holding truer. You can see that PK is sub-standard, but still within a few goals of the Markov standard and the overall goals against have been holding closer as well. You can fret about each of those, especially compared to league averages. Nonetheless, here we stand 17 games in, and 6 weeks closer to February, with 16 points from 17 games. Not great, perhaps, but a minor miracle given the precedent.

I think it speaks a little bit to some of the moves that were made over the summer (many of which have received a proper thrashing from fans), specifically:

1) Gionta
He's been a goalscorer from unconventional plays which has helped and a solid contributor up front. What's more, he's been able to tip the ice in the Habs favour by a large margin thus far.

2) Spacek
I said I liked the signing at the time, but I didn't really know what to expect. Well, he's no Markov on the PP (not even close), but he eats minutes and has been on the ice for 22 more chances at even strength than he has allowed, and 41 overall.

3) Letting Bouillon go
A hard move to put through given his popularity and his familiarity with the RDS crew, but one that needed to be made. Last season he was on the ice for a GA every 20 minutes he played. Had he been under contract as a #6 this year, that'd be a goal a game. I don't want to disparage a player I loved, but I think his last legs were correctly recognised.

As I said, there weren't miracles here, just quiet steps in the general direction. Could a team really be as bad as the Habs have been without Markov in the past over a sustained period? Hard to say. I don't think after the 0-7-1 end to last season, anyone would have asked to put it to the test.

I think if anything good is to come from this injury to Andrei it will be the shedding of an over-reliance on a single player in all aspects of play. Perhaps when he comes back he can be introduced gradually, rather than straight into 30 minutes a night.

Who misses Markov most?

Finally, I wanted to note that though we all miss Markov, none might miss him more than Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak. If only for his poise on the PK alone, Carey might have added 100 points to his sub-standard PK save rating, and he and Halak might have been able to count on zone clearances actually happening.

The Price Of Being A Twit

2009-11-09T06:00:00.005-05:00

In case you missed it, Twitter has once again lived up to its name – the home of twits.

On Saturday evening, after the Canadiens (and Carey's) latest loss, Allan Walsh (non other than Jaroslav Halak's agent) took to the bandwidth and typed in some slightly erroneous statistics that he thought were particularly relevant at the time:

"Interesting stat of the night....Price is 10W, 32L in last 42 starts. Hmm."

While everyone else was watching the game and promptly settling in for a night-long sulk, certain astute members of the Habs internet brigade were reading all things Allan Walsh and caught the tweet. Amazingly, someone at HNIC picked up the story (proving once and for all that there is at least one Habs fan at the CBC) and made fodder of it. I won't recount the whole tale (you can read it at AllHabs, or FanHouse).

Walsh out of step

My first reaction to the story was: Allan Walsh, what a twit. And I had a good laugh about all the wolves he unwittingly (it seems) unleashed on himself. If he thought Montreal and LA were roughly equivalents in hockey, he now knows better.

My second instinct, and really the reason for launching the blog up, was that for all the reaction, over-reaction and rehash of the over-reaction to the tweet, people seem to have missed the point:

Walsh is well and truly out of step here.

Because for the first time since his client has been with the Montreal organization, he is getting a chance to go to battle for that starter's role. I'm not sure whether it's the new coach or just the fact that Gainey's 7-year time here requires some results, but we are now starting to see a more rational approach to choosing goaltenders for games.

As a fervent Halak booster, I have come to the point I wished to reach when I began all this talk of injustice 18 months ago – the point where Halak and Price are being measured by the same scale. And while there are still little niggles here and there, I certainly don't think either goalie can complain of gross injustice with regard to ice time thus far. Both have had ample chance to seize the starting position for their own, and it seems both will get that chance again as it remains up for contention.

No, Walsh has his timing way off with his comment.

I could see his gripe being published last season when Halak and Price might have both benefited from being on even footing, yet Price received 24/36 starts prior to getting injured and 25/37 despite questionable form after he twisted his ankle.

Had the criticism on Twitter come in April, it would have at least had basis. But now that's water under the bridge. Price has been questioned and challenged by his coaches and managers, and starts are flowing, for the most part on merit. But I guess, Walsh realised that he'd get more mileage out of the stats that harp back to that cruel February.

Holier than thou

Some people like Kelly Hrudey, for example, came into the fray late, and took the holier than thou approach. I can see where they are coming from about the professionalism of Allan Walsh, but as for the rest of their over-reacting?

“It makes me sick. I hate it and I’ll tell you why. I have no problem with an agent sticking up for his client and telling management and whomever that this is what I think about my guy, the team and the direction and all that, but to make that public really annoys me."

They say this as if criticising and judging players is a level they would never stoop to. And at the same time, that if anyone should stoop so low, well then it should be solely the domain of the media.

Kelly Hrudey should take a serious look at the organization that he works for if his ethics can be so offended by an agent making stats public. Last time I checked, the great institution called Hockey Night in Canada still had a certain Don Cherry in their employ, who week in, week out makes decrees that spread further and wider than any Allan Walsh twitter post could. What's more, rather than sticking to the facts, Don simply relies on his own prejudices to write whole swathes of players off at once.

Habs fans: we need to look at ourselves

This incident is just one more indication of how we're taking this hockey thing too far. This is not the first time a controversial post has been made on twitter, nor is this one that important in the scheme of things.

One only needs to look at the coverage the Canadiens fans have given this – starting with the originator of this story at AllHabs (then followed by others, including Dave Stubbs with his back way up) – vs. the coverage from non-Montreal sources like Adam Gretz.

You see, while we all get fully embroiled in the rights and wrongs of this whole matter (I'm not excluding myself here, though I am trying to change day-by-day), people in other cities around the league see this for what it is – a funny incident. While we sit here wondering how this will damage the relationship between the two young goalies (because Kelly Hrudey said it would), non-Habs fans just chuckle and recognise that both Habs goalies have been less than optimal.

Think about it, if this were Toskala/Gustavsson, we'd be having a right old roll on the floor as we laugh ourselves hoarse. If Varlamov's agent pointed to Theodore's stats, we'd be lauding someone for finally noticing (why did I take Theo in my pool??).

I think, for our health and enjoyment, we need to recognise that it's a long season, that goalies will have lots of bad games, some good ones and teammates will fall out and fall back in when the winning begins in earnest. Allan Walsh won't change that – that's just the way it is.

Game #17Chances Were There, But Habs Let Winnable One Slip Away

2009-11-07T23:29:00.005-05:00

Details

Date: 7/11/09
Opponent: Lightning
Location: Montreal

Loss: 1-3

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

Habs goalscorers: Gionta
Opposition goalscorers: Malone, Tanguay, Wright

Play of the game

Our goal was OK, our chances on which we failed to convert were, at times, quite spectacular (Metropolit's spin-shot) and Price made a few big saves. The play of the game, however, is none of those tonight. In fact it is a very simple play that follows the theme of the last play of the game. Maybe I am just excited that Kostitsyn is showing life, but I think that I am most excited by the fact that it looks like we may now have 5 legitimate forwards. Like I said it was a simple play and one that didn't get us anything, but the heart shown was incredible. On what looked like a certain Habs icing the surprisingly fast Kostitsyn skated hard for the puck. He played the situation perfectly and got inside of not one, but two Lightning defenders. With a big shoulder on shoulder hit he knocked over both players (and he actually ended up in the heap too) and won the race to the puck. I say won the race, but the icing was called nonetheless. That is because the linesman, toeing the company line, gave the benefit of the doubt to the defenders. In fact, no one touched the puck, but had play continued one would have to think the player on the inside, right beside the puck (Andrei) would have done so first. That would have given us the puck in Tampa's end with two of their men in the corner on the ice...oh, what could have been.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec - Game Puck
Tom left Laps and Lats behind in this one and got put back with Kostitsyn. I am not sure exactly what happened and why they only played 11 minutes between them, but I can only assume it is because of their poor overall defensive coverage and their lack of production as newly appointed top-6 forwards (the same reason Kostitsyn has received the same fate a few times this year). Anyway, Tom looked very good back with his old winger and I felt they were our best duo all night. No points for Tom, but 3 shots and, more importantly, 11-3 on face-offs was quite the performance.

Andrei Kostitsyn
I am very happy with what I saw from Andrei tonight. I even think that the get-Kostitsyn-out-of-Montreal crew (RDS) would agree with me there. He was aggressive, he played fast and he created chances; mostly through passing in this one. We need him to continue this play because if he keeps this effort up the points will come. I don't think anyone out there will argue that, when at his best, he can offer a lot more than anyone else vying for one of those last two top-6 spots.

Brian Gionta
His goal was certainly a highlight tonight, but he and his line were also pretty consistent. Believe it or not Niittymaki actually played quite well and, had he not, this could have been a much higher scoring game. Brian had 6 shots in all and his line had 17 (team had 37), so in theory they should have at least scored one or two more. Not scoring, however, is part of hockey (a bigger part than scoring), so I am just glad that Gionta, after a few games in which he was slightly less effective, is, once again, getting himself in the right spots to get some glorious chances. We all know that, in time, the goals will come.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik
Hammer was the leader on defence tonight. One of my favorite aspects from this game is that he didn't flip the puck over the glass for 2 minutes of box-time. Martin went with a more balanced approach in his distribution of defencemen ice-time, but Roman still came out on top with over 25 minutes. Only one giveaway and 4 blocked-shots are two other positive stats for the big Czech.

Jaroslav Spacek
Believe it or not, but neither Bergeron nor Carle were on the ice for any goals-against. Those two didn't play great, but I thought, at least, held their own in our end and added a bit offensively. Spacek, however, I think beat them both in both categories. His shot on our PP, which led to the goal, was what we expected all along as it was a hard, one-timer which was impossible to catch. Defensively he was there for Tanguay's goal and made a couple of other little mistakes, but was still a big reason why Carey only saw 21 shots.

Goaltender

Carey Price
3 goals on 21 shots isn't great and I can't say I am pleased with how the goals were scored, but he wasn't the reason we lost and he did give us a serious chance to win. He let in no third period goals and merely asked an offence, which shot 37 times, to score 3 at home - something that will, more often than not, happen. I felt that he made some good saves early on and he was strong with his lateral movements. He seemed a little lax at times handling the puck behind his net which almost led to turn-overs. Rebound-control was weak tonight as a goal and a few other chances were due to his inability to give out smaller (or no) rebounds.

Comments

These are the types of games that, come April, you wish you would have won. Tampa is a decent enough team, but when you double a team that isn't elite in shots, at home, you have to find a way to get points. Niittymaki played well, but let's face it he is an average (at best) goalie. The chances were there, but things like not getting in front of the net, not drawing penalties and not really having prolonged offensive-zone possession caught up with us. This week will, therefore, go down as a bad one as we only managed 2 of a possible 6 points (and surrendered 5). With 9 goals against in 3 games and only 1 win for Price I think it is time to give our 1b another shot in the net as he has been more consistent, but more importantly, has found ways to win. Calgary, Phoenix and Nashville presents another good chance at a four-point weak and I think that it is very doable. A good start, at home, on Tuesday against the Flames will hopefully make up for what was a sub-par week for the Habs.

Game #16Price, Habs Tighter; Get Another OT Win

2009-11-05T22:21:00.005-05:00

Details

Date: 5/11/09
Opponent: Bruins
Location: Boston

Win: 2-1 (SO)

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

Habs goalscorers: Metropolit, (Cammalleri - SO)
Opposition goalscorers: Bergeron

Play of the game

Price made some dandys and Cammalleri had a nice shot in the shootout, but it was our goal that stood out to me in this one. The goal itself was pretty good, but the fact that it was mostly due to the hard work and effort of Kostitsyn made it that much more significant. Andrei got the puck from White in his own end and flew up the left wing. He had the defender beat to the outside, but chose against the sharp-angle shot that Thomas was expecting. He instead circled the net and lost the keeper in the process. Glen Metropolit arrived at the right time to take a pass and put away an easy one for the Habs.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
No points and a -1 rating may have some people questioning this decision, but I can assure you that Tom's play was, once again, first-class. He did very well in his own end as he got stuck in in every sense of the word. He continues to play with a certain edge that I believe was missing from his game most of last year.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Nothing like a trip away from the boo-birds and most of the journalists sometimes, is there? Andrei looked like his old self tonight as he shot the puck, threw hits, battled hard in the offensive zone and created chances for his linemates. His play in our own end was good at times when he came back to break up plays, but his one flaw, tonight, was his inability to get pucks out when he was stationed on our half-boards.

Glen Metrpolit
His goal was good and essential, but really all it was was a tap-in. Glen, however, did so much more than that throughout this game. He led a very effective fore-checking line that, at times, seemed like our most dangerous option. He was also quite decent in the other two zones as his defensive coverage was both responsible and effective.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
With Bergeron and Carle not being trusted to play more than half of a game between them the other 4 must pick up the slack. That meant pretty big minutes for Josh (23) who seemed to handle it quite well. He had a suprising number of shots on goal (6), but I thought was more effective defensively than offensively. Last year we got into trouble when we asked too much of Gorges and I am just hoping that this 22+ stuff doesn't last for him. He looked good tonight, but ideally he is the type of player who is at his best when he plays 17-20 minutes.

Roman Hamrlik
Certain Hammer fans will be happy with this selection - I am indeed one of them. He is one of my favorite D-men on the team, but with that admiration comes of certain amount of expectation for the former #1 draft pick. He was robust tonight and didn't allow much to go on around Price while he was there. He was on for the goal, but after we lost that face-off there was little he could have done. Tonight the two big areas that I am very happy about are his hits (only 3, yet thunderous) and his 29+ minutes of ice.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
Price got the win, which he deserved, but he probably also deserved the shutout. He played a very solid game tonight which I believe may be a boost for a team looking for a certain defensive identity. He let off very few rebounds, handled the puck quickly and effectively and made a few spectacular saves. The skill apparently is there and was on display tonight, but I am happy that he nailed the mental game too. The focus and concentration have always been areas that he has struggled in so I am hoping that a win like this will help in that regard. I am not sure who I would play at home on Saturday, but I guess either option at this point would look like a good choice.

Comments

Remember when Boston took us to town last year and thought to themselves - 'this is not the team we remember, why were we scared of these guys?'. Well, it is nice to see that the tables, once again, have turned. After 9 straight losses to Boston (4 in the playoffs) it was nice to go into their barn and not get dominated. They are of course missing Savard, Krejci and Lucic (who I don't even think is that good), but are really missing Kessel and the real Chara more. Zdeno was a non-factor in this game as he was outplayed by players like Recchi, Wideman and Begin. Montreal didn't come close to dominating this game themselves, but at least played a decent enough game in my opinion. I felt that defensively we were quite a bit tighter tonight than we had been. Yes there were 43 shots (remember how Price excels when he faces 40+ shots), but I felt it was a case of quantity not quality for Boston. The D did a good job of letting Carey see the puck and I also saw very few deflections, little traffic in front and, for once, no real unlucky bounces. I would label our Saturday game, at home, against Tampa as a must-win given our ambitions and current position in the standings and am confident in saying that if we play like we did tonight we will have a very good shot at getting those 2 points.

Replacing Markov Cheat Sheet For A Procrastinating GM

2009-11-05T09:00:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we had quite a discussion and it became clear that we can all agree on one thing: we're not happy. We can't agree on anything else.

In the collective vent, it came to light that many (myself included) were not very happy with Gainey's performance this season, specifically since the fall of Markov. My sentiment was that he should have done something to replace the best player on the team, who he knew would be out for 50 games. Others thought that was unreasonable for some reason.

Towards the end of the conversation, MathMan laid down what I took to be a challenge when he said:

It's easy to say "think outside the box", but without some inkling as to what that thinking would entail, it's a pretty empty demand. And allow me to doubt very much that Philly would have made a move by now if Pronger went down... for fear of crippling their cap situation even more.

He was talking in response, of course to my plea that Gainey could have done more than sign the available French Canadian UFA on D. To be absolutely fair, I did ask Gainey to think outside the box, claimed that's why he was paid millions and then came up with something like: "Why didn't he keep Dandenault?"

Not very out of the box, I'll admit. So with the challenge down. And despite the fact I have to do it for free, I'll put some effort into the out-of-the-box thinking for Gainey. Maybe he can give me a ten minutes of his wage or something...

Poach a Russian

Specifically, Emelin?

They wouldn't hesitate to do it to us, there's no transfer agreement. What's the problem?

It might finally show the KHL that the NHL means business.

Not, perhaps the best idea from outside the box...

Pay a transfer fee for a European or a Russian

On a more serious note, why not ignore the fact there's no transfer agreement in the strictest sense and come to an agreement team-to-team with a partner in Sweden or Russia. All that money being saved from Andrei Markov is only being mothballed otherwise.

How about $500,000 to Frolunda for Christian Backman? A few rubles for Valentenko?

These transfers happen all the time between Euro leagues and it's normal operating procedure. Just because the NHL is backwards in its thinking doesn't mean the Habs should be.

Bettman would be angry, but would he have recourse? Probably. Maybe shelf this idea?

Chris Chelios

This is no longer an out of the box idea, this is a press-reported strategy. Chelios, even at 47 would probably offer a lot more savvy than #47 ever could. And he'd probably be able to last a game, as he's likely more fit than all 6 of our current group.

He's playing in Chicago now with the AHL Wolves and is doing a pretty decent job of it. Unlike all the options listed to now, he's the only one to have played on a defending Stanley Cuo champion team last year.

Unsigned UFAs

We've tried this route once, and look where it got us right? But imagine this time, we don't take the RDS suggestion and look for a player who actually plays defence.

I mentioned Dandenault, who we know isn't great, but also know is better than the cross-crease pass every other time he touches the puck. Greg DeVries isn't signed, probably because of his 2008-09, but has had some decent efforts in past years, including 2007-08, so might not be terrible. He's also not 5'9", but 6'3" and could probably handle a much diminished role.

Waiver pick up

The day after Markov's tendon was bisected, the Thrashers picked up Christoph Schubert off waivers. Since that time only one defenceman has been exposed (Randy Jones), but he was claimed by the LA Kings.

Randy Jones is nothing special either, but let's face it, at this point we're talking about replacing some pretty unspecial people on the blue line. 6'2", 205 lbs and NHL experience on a better team than ours, that's something. There's no telling if he would have helped, but then we'll never know if we sit here satisfied with the status quo.

People go through waivers all the time. We've had Begin off waivers, Beauchemin was lost off waivers. Most recently we claimed Metroploit off waivers – there are worthwhile players to be had. I'm sure Gainey's on it, though.

Andre Benoit

We haven't mentioned him at all, but Bob Gainey signed Andre Benoit from Sweden in the spring to play for the Bulldogs. He's not an old man, but already has a lot more experience than say Weber or Subban and has played very well for two seasons in Europe in pro leagues there.

He wouldn't be a much better option than Bergeron, but he may be. Bulldogs fans?

A forward on D

Our problem is a forward stuck in a defenceman's contract. Maybe the solution is a defenceman stuck in a forward's body.

You asked for outside the box, you got it. Chipchura has been an off and on pretty good performer this season. Most nights he's been invisible, which is an improvement on a sometimes painful 4th line. At times, he's been quite good on the puck.

But even with all that, let's be honest, he's never really looked like scoring a goal. Perhaps with better linemates he'd have some points by now, but even a generous soul wouldn't be allocating him more than a couple. In short, Chipchura as a forward isn't really working out for us. He's just not a great asset to the team. And this blogger can't see how he holds off Ben Maxwell, if the younger centre shows any improvement at all this season.

So defence?

I say why not? He has some skills that I'd value in a defender – some decent puck control, a decent basic sideways pass and legs that might appreciate waiting around a bit on a shift. I don't know how he skates in reverse or whether he can rap a puck off the glass first before sending it into the stands, but he's in the NHL, so he might be able to put something together there.

Obviously rolling out this move is a practice only experiment for a few weeks. But he really wouldn't have to be that good to stand in as a 7th for us right now. If things clicked, he might overtake MAB in a week or two.

If not him, how about Pacioretty? Goodness knows it wouldn't cost us a single goal for.

A trade?

OK, I'll admit, most of those are bit wacky, and were I not going through an exercise, I'd have scrapped them long ago. The real option is, and probably always was: trade.

The minute Markov went down was the minute I thought Gainey should have been working a trade. A lot of people assume that I intend to replace like with like here, something in the ilk of Brian Campbell, but really I don't. In fact, I think a 3rd defender to help alleviate the pressure on the top 4 would be fine.

I'll get into trouble if I go through too many scenarios, but one I'd explore if I were GM would be the possibility of acquiring Aaron Ward from the Hurricanes. They need a change, we need a defence first defenceman. He's not the answer to the world's problems, but you can ask Boston if they're happy about opting for Derek Morris instead. He's adequate and has been for a long time. He makes mistakes, but also makes sound plays once in a while. In short, he's now a 3/4 Dman.

Beyond Ward there are many candidates if Gainey frees the grip on the "prospects". Having seen a few camps now, I don't see why anyone but Subban and maybe Weber shouldn't be up for discussion. If someone thinks Ben Maxwell is worth a defender, it's a great blessing for us, as the chance of him blossoming into something we'll regret losing is pretty minimal at this point (he once score 28 goals in junior!).

Thinking outside the box on the trade front is really what Gainey needs to be doing at this point. If you want to know what I mean, it's something like this:

– When the Wild lose Sykora and Bouchard, they need scoring

– Fletcher scours the league and homes in on Chuck Kobasew, 2-time 20 goal man for the Bruins in 2 years

– He completes the trade for Kobasew in return for Craig Weller (minor league, non-scorer), the rights to Alex Fallstrom (a 2009 4th round pick) and a 2011 2nd round pick

It's just an example of how you can get something (a new 20 goalscorer) for pretty much nothing if you find the right partner and the right trade. It's been a month, time for Gainey to unearth one of these soon.

Those are the possibilities as I see them. I wonder what you crazy guys can come up with...

Game #15Price Drops the Ball...Again

2009-11-03T22:16:00.005-05:00

Details

Date: 3/11/09
Opponent: Thrashers
Location: Montreal

Loss: 4-5

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

Habs goalscorers: Gionta (2), Cammalleri, Plekanec
Opposition goalscorers: Little, Peverley, Popovic, Kubina, Armstrong

Play of the game

I really liked the 4th goal, Plekanec's. Can you believe that at the time I actually thought that it would be enough to send us to OT; I obviously underestimated Price's consistency. The play started at our blue-line when Latendresse grabbed the puck and quickly got it to Lapierre on his right. Then, that line, all 3 of them, went off up the ice. Lapierre sent it back to Gui who kept the puck going to Pleks who was out wide on the left. Tomas froze Pavelec and then, from a sharp angle, went upstairs to tie it at 4.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec
I had the list down to 4 forwards and I think Pleks was third on the list. So, I just wanted to mention that Gomez, despite not being chosen, played almost as well as Pleks and could have easily been placed in here. Tomas, however, had the edge thanks to his goal and a few other key offensive plays. He also had 3 shots on net, was 60% at face-offs and was quite gritty all game long.

Mike Cammalleri
Another 'pure-goal-scorer' game from Mike. Whether it be the fact that he always seems to be in the right place or that he can rocket the shot from just about anywhere or that he took 4 quite menacing shots or that he scored a very soft 5-hole goal there is just one way to describe this player and that is - amazing. Too bad he can't play D or goal...although come to think of it would it be that bad? I mean some of our players in those positions also have that deficiency.

Brian Gionta - Game Puck
I was very happy with Brian's game tonight and quite liked the way in which he scored his two goals. They were both quick and accurate shots that caught this 'phenom' off guard. He wasn't too great defensively tonight, but made up for that by spending most of his 21 minutes in the other end. In all he took 6 shots and could have easily ended with more than two goals.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
Spacek and Hammer each gave the puck away 5 times and both took more silly penalties. As good as those two can be they can also be quite careless at times. Neither played horribly, but neither shone. Bergeron and Carle were just bad, they brought nothing apart from poor, uncomfortable and defensively-inept play. That leaves two players. Josh, once again is one of those players that I didn't really notice for good or bad. That is why I am happy that that calming influence was actually on the ice for over 20 minutes.

Paul Mara
Mara stood out a little more than Gorges did and that, for the most part, is thanks to his play in the offensive zone. I thought that he did quite well on the PP and had a few other moments where he supported the attack nicely. He made a good pairing with Josh, but that may become a luxury that Martin will have to reconsider unless he really thinks he can roll with 4 D-men each night.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak
Price was bad tonight and likely cost us points. We have to look beyond a few things here to get to the truth about this game. I'll forget that our D, at times, was weak as, let's face it, they are always weak. I will give Carey the benefit of the doubt and forget that Atlanta isn't quite what you would call a 'cream of the league' type team. I'll even forget that he only faced 30 shots. No, for this assessment I will just look at the 5 goals (I'll even forget the other, non-goal, pucks that seemed to get by him with a certain regularity). I will forgive the first goal as it was unlucky. Yes, maybe he is the 'unluckiest' goalie ever, but I'll move on. The third goal, Popovic's, was pathetic. It was a floater from the point which never deflected, but Price still had trouble lining his foot-wide trapper with it. Then, the other three goals, were all pretty much the same and this is clearly something other teams have seen. Carey, on all of them, over-committed to the left side of his net. He stayed deep, hugged the post and crouched down. It is probably a great way to defend against low shots from the corner, but apparently not a good way to defend against much else. In all 3 cases the puck was passed across the crease to his right where an Atlanta player had very little to do but put it on net. This lesson in physics (pucks move faster than Carey) has obviously been lost on our 'positionally-sound', 'franchise player'. Now, the reason I choose Halak tonight isn't because I necessarily think Jaro is that great, but, no matter how bad Price is, we know one thing for certain; Halak, right now (and for most of the past 3 years), is far and away the better goalie.

Comments

You outplay a team, you out-chance a team and you even out-shoot them by over 25%, but you can't get a point. Why is that? Well, for the most part we have too few skilled players to get the job done. That said, I think that the forwards are getting the job done offensively. In fact I'll add our D to that list as I feel they are helping enough on attack. Our big problems, as you all know, are in our own end. Tonight we dressed 4 NHL players from the blue-line back. Carle, Bergeron and Price all played quite terribly and, in one way or another, cost us. All the effort in the world, unfortunately, can't make up for that deficiency. Not so fast forwards and other D. While you aren't horrible in your own end, you aren't that great either. This aspect of our play really has to improve if we want to go far. Yes, Markov is injured, but why is that an excuse? What kind of management is that? If you are a production manager and your best employee leaves do you just let productivity decline? No, of course not, you do something about it. Right now, however, Martin can do little to help the sinking ship that is our D (apart from not playing Price) because he has been supplied with elbow patches, from Gainey, to fill head-sized holes.

This is a rough start to the week and one that may cost us a good start to November. I know what the thought was tonight; 'Price has learned his lesson, he is ready, he's our number one and he'll have no trouble against Atlanta. This win will build his confidence and we'll build on that'. Well, cliches didn't work, but what may have is the simplest rule in sports - use your best pieces whenever you can. There is no rule that states Carey has to play games is there? Does he need a certain amount of starts? Nope. They dropped the ball tonight by hoping a worse option in goal would be good enough. After seeing Price play this year there is only one certainty when it comes to him - no games will ever be easy for this kid.

The Insufferable Gagnon Character Assassin At It Again

2009-11-03T09:00:00.001-05:00

I've told you all about Francois Gagnon before, but let me assure you I wouldn't be writing this article today if I wasn't irate.

Yesterday, Gagnon on a slow news day once again took up his favourite topic: Andrei Kostitsyn. It's another in a long line of attacks on the player, as Gagnon slowly deteriorates into the tabloid caricature that he is now.

His piece begins:

La semaine dernière à Pittsburgh, j’ai mis table pour le match Canadien-Penguins en me posant des questions sur les chances répétées accordées à Andrei Kostitsyn et au fait que les sanctions qu’on lui imposait étaient vite levées.

Je me demandais pourquoi Guillaume Latendresse était «victime» d’une situation inverse.

L’une des raisons est certainement le manque de constance et l’impression de demi-mesure que démontre parfois Guillaume Latendresse. Trop souvent à mon goût si je peux me permettre d’en rajouter un peu.

Cela dit, le plus vieux des frères K n’est pas un exemple d’éthique de travail et de don inconditionnel de soi pour la cause et l’équipe...

While he asks whether Guillaume is suffering from a double standard while his sanctions are not lifted as promptly as AK46's, despite (what Gagnon says is) a virtual carbon copy career.

First off, I'll be clear here. I think both players should be within the top 6 players. I have been saying that since the summer, I have been consistent in my call for best hands on deck on offence. I can't say I approve of Jacques Martin's approach to teaching (punishing) young forwards, but I accept that he is probably trying to do it for rewards down the line.

I didn't want to get into an Andrei vs. Guillaume post, because who's 5 and 6 in the top 6 isn't really that relevant to me at the moment when our offence needs a 5 or a 6 to emerge at all. I approach this as a statement of the facts that have been misused, misquoted and used to mislead. Guillaume Latendresse and Andrei Kostitsyn have not, for a start, had carbon copy careers.

Opportunities

Throughout Gagnon's piece, the continual implication is that Latendresse hasn't been given a fair shake with the Habs. While, there may certainly be a case with Jacques Martin's one month of handling personnel decisions, to extend the conclusion to a career is ludicrous.

A little education on Latendresse for those (like Gagnon, and Latendresse himself!) who really can't remember past this September:

Latendresse's rookie year, he played 36 games on one of the top two lines. His longest stint was not limited to 3 or 4 games as Guillaume cries about now, but rather 18 consecutive games with Saku Koivu from game 14 to game 31 of 2006-07.

And he hasn't been deprived of chances latterly either. In 2007-08, Kostitsyn started with a 5 game audition on Grabovski's wing with Kovalev, but from games 6 to 13 in 2007-08, it was Guillaume who got first dibs on trying the Plekanec, Kovalev combination.

His single goal was to be typical of all his future auditions. Take last season for example. Far from a couple of games, Guillaume actually started the first ten games on the top line for the Habs with Koivu and Tanguay. The line was agreat success, but Carbonneau must have deemed that Koivu and Tanguay were the main catalyst (they were) as Guilaume for his 7 points, only managed one goal again.

In all, he's played 76 games on one of the top two lines, and that's to say nothing of the times he's played on Robert Lang, Bryan Smolinski and Maxim Lapierre's line and received top ice time. To say Latendresse hasn't had a fair shake, therefore, is more than a bit disingenuous, and Gagnon must know it. He's had many, at least 4 or 5 very extended long looks and each time the coaches in charge have decided against granting him the permanent freedom of that designation.

Kostitsyn isn't really so different. He too has been given chances. The main difference being that in 2007-08 he made it count to the tune of 20 goals in his last 46 games.

But know this, as well. Andrei Kostitsyn got his chance after serving an apprenticeship in the AHL of almost 3 seasons. He played 180 games in all down in Hamilton where he scored 51 goals and 71 assists. His final season was 2006-07 where (with Guillaume 2 years his junior already in the NHL) he scored 20 goals and 32 assists in 50 contests.

When he came up to the NHL and finally earned a top line position around Game 63 of the 2006-07 season, he seized his opportunity by earning 11 points in those last 18 games. What's more, for his decent points total, his line was a constant threat and Plekanec was set alight with Andrei at the side.

Even then, nothing was earned for the young Belarussian. Leading the Hamilton Bulldogs in scoring, playing inspired hockey with the entrenched number 2 centre and already acknowledged for his talent was not enough to get a pass. Nor should it have been. As mentioned, once Grabovski sunk, it was Latendresse who auditioned for the wing to complement Pleks and Kovalev. Only after 8 games of Guillaume's tantalizing size, teamed with frustratingly few goals did Carbo shift Andrei in. Though Andrei did well, he like Gui didn't explode for points. But perhaps he was saved by the fact that Plekanec and Kovalev looked better with him at their side. Carbo's rare patience wasn't tested too much either, since Kostitsyn within a month of being given the opportunity was driving the line into December.

Stats play

One of the things that most frustrated me about Gagnon's thin excuse for journalism was this:

Kostitsyn qui a joué avec Plekanec et Alex Kostitsyn pendant une saison, qui est presque toujours au sein des deux premiers trios et qui profite d’une majorité d’attaques massives affiche 53 buts en 200 matchs dans la LNH.

Latendresse? Son but de samedi était son 48e en 223 parties.

Le Québécois n’a donc marqué que cinq buts de moins que son coéquipier en dépit d’une utilisation beaucoup plus timide.

It's a classic hatchet job on the stats. Opportunity to incorporate 34 games for Andrei where he largely did nothing during his adjustment (3 G in 34 games). Opportunity to ignore assists and what we can all see with our eyes altogether. Opportunity to put similar totals side by said and say they are the same.

It's a mess. Start with the goals. 53 in 200 is not 48 in 223. Andrei's scoring 0.265 goals a game, while Gui's clocking up 0.215. it may not seem like much, except over 82 games it's 4 goals – the difference between a proven 20 goalscorer for instance, and an aspiring one.

Next the assists. I think we know hockey is more than goals by individuals. Even with all the flaws of assists as a stat, I think we can appreciate that someone with an assist has contributed somewhat to a goal. I think we can appreciate how someone with 59 career assists has done a lot more than someone with 38. Pro-rate those and you get 0.295 vs. 0.156.

But let's all be sensible here. We have been watching as well. Until 2 years ago, Andrei Kostitsyn was a name to us, but not a player. In the two seasons since, he has actually been a 26 and a 23 goalscorer and had flashes of brilliance. Guillaume on the other hand has been about as good as the day of his promotion for the past 3 years. His rookie season he was a 16 goal man, the next season the same. Last season 14 goals. Seeing him as a one-day 20 goalscorer is debate enough, putting him the proven category is daydreaming.

Gagnon called out

The one thing I take heart from is the fact that Gagnon's blog generated a lot of commentary yesterday. And, while there were plenty of sycophants hoping for a pat on the back in return, a vast number (perhaps even the majority) of readers told him largely what I just told you.

Paul Bernier said this:

Quand on a plus rien à écrire, on parle de Latendresse.

Ceux qui connaissent un tant soit peu leur hockey voient indéniablement la différence de talent brut entre AK et Latendresse. AK est en court de changer sa façon de travailler, son implication au jeu. Quand ceci arrive, un joueur est déboussolé, déstabilisé, il perd ses repères.

Croyez-moi, son jeu se replacera très bientôt, et vous ne le reconnaitrez plus.

En ce qui concerne Latendresse, il ne peut donner plus que ce qu’il a présentement. Il se place encore à 10′ de la face du gardien malgré toutes les directives et se sort systématiquement du jeu à chaque mise en échec, comme un Peewee. Le talent ne s’apprend ou ne s’achète pas, malheureusement.

Jejol8 said this:

C’est très gentil pour Latendresse… mais Kostitsyn a beaucoup, mais là vraiment beaucoup plus de potentiel et c’est la raison pour laquelle on lui donne plus de chances.

“C’tivident” non??

Teamstef said this:

Lâchez-nous avec Guillaume! Non mais sérieusement, c’est fatiguant cette histoire qui revient toujours sur la table avec les médias franco. Guillaume la victime! SVP! Andrei a déjà montré qu’il pouvait dominer. Je n’ai pas encore vû ça de Guillaume.

De toute façon, quand on est rendu à dire que Guillaime Latendresse dervait être sur le deuxième trio d’une équipe de la LNH, c’est vraiment qu’on a pas de club!

It continues...

Francois Gagnon, in his unexplained character assassination attempt on the Kostitsyns is apparently only digging his own grave. I can only assume he's consumed with it and doesn't even realise. If I ever descend into this state, I implore you all – tell me.

The Habs top lines then

All this to say, it's all nonsense. If the Canadiens want to score more goals they must stop trying to choose between Kostitsyn and Latendresse and choose the two of them. Yes Kostitsyn is ultimately the more talented, but Guilaume has his merits and at his best offers the 6th best skill set on the team.

I suppose the day that Glen Metropolit and Travis Moen stop scoring from behind the goal line is the day the coach can put his best PP out and start forming lines that will last.

Play of the Week

2009-11-03T07:32:00.005-05:00

RDS is reporting that some sharp-shooting Habs player has finally managed to hit the target.

It happened in practice, mind you, but the Canadiens recipient of play of the week (unnamed in the report) hit Hal Gill in the foot. It appears that the shot was both accurate and forceful enough to sideline the big galoot. Mathieu Carle will be replacing him.

Meanwhile...

Things that won't win next week's play of the week:

Jacques Martin playing the Mathieu-Marc combo together while Gil recovers. Hopefully the personnel-management challenged coach will find a way to let us experience addition by subtraction...