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Don’t look now, but your Montreal Canadiens are on a mighty three-game winning streak! Not that a three-game streak is the end of the world or anything. What is more important than the wins is the manner in which they were won.
Don’t be fooled by the 5-3 final score or the 31-28 shot advantage that Tampa enjoyed, because the game wasn’t that close.
In fact, the game wasn’t close at all, as the Canadiens simply dismantled the usually tough-for-the-Habs -to-play-against Lightning.
With homeboys Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Alex Tanguay in town, things are usually difficult for the Habs as those guys tend to play the role of giant-killer against the Habs .
Not last night, however, as Montreal dominated Tampa in every aspect of the game from the opening faceoff .
The Habs got on the board early as Glen Metropolit fired in a brilliant Scott Gomez pass on the powerplay to make it 1-0.
Gomez was again in on the action, scoring an unassisted goal as he walked in alone off the half boards, to make it 2-0. After that, the floodgates opened up.
The Habs got a goal from Pouliot and two from Darche to respond to Tampa’s Steven Stamkos , Scott Walker, and St. Louis, in closing it out 5-3. But the thing that was amazing was how strongly the Habs controlled the play and how few scoring chances Tampa had.
Jaroslav Halak wasn’t really tested early in the game, but came up big in the third as Tampa came to life a little. The big story of the game, however, was that the Gomez line continued to be on fire and that the third and fourth line players continued to contribute for the Habs .
Now if only they could get line No. 1 going, they could become a force to contend with .
Final score: Habs 5 – Lightning 3
Game Notes
1. Halak did his job. After receiving the Habs’ Molson Cup for January and February before the game started—based on leading the three star selections for the Habs—Halak was treated to a relatively easy night.
For a rare time this season, Halak didn’t have to stand on his head in order for his team to win. What he did do, however, was make the key saves that he needed to, in the third, to keep Tampa at bay despite having a sleepy first two periods.
I have said it before and will say it again: Elite goaltenders make key saves at key times and that is what sets them apart from the pack. Now, I am not saying that Halak is necessarily an elite goaltender yet, but he certainly seems to be heading that direction.
Jacques Martin needs to ride him until he loses or has a bad game. Carey Price’s time will come, but it will not be this year.
2. Hello, Scott Gomez and welcome to the party! While Gomez spent the first two thirds of the season giving fans every reason to complain about his ridiculous eight million dollar salary, he has spent the last two weeks making them forget all about it.
I find it amazing how a player’s salary can become so important when they are not producing and so irrelevant when they are. That is definitely the microscope that Gomez has been under this season.
Since the Olympic break, however, Gomez has been one of it not the best player on the team and is acting as the offensive spark plug for the Habs’ first line.
With one goal and two assists last night, Gomez is now in second place in Habs scoring with 50 points (12G, 38A) in 64 games. In addition, he has 15 points (5G, 10A) over his last 11 games and is the glue that makes that first line stick.
In case you were wondering, Gomez’s linemates are ripping it up over that same span too. Brian Gionta (20G, 16A) has 10 points (6G, 4A) over the same 11 games while Pouliot (14G, 5A) has 19 points over the 25 games he has played with the Habs—all on Gomez’s wing.
The trade of Guillaume Latendresse for Pouliot is starting to look like the turning point for the Habs season; he is clearly the missing ingredient from that line.
With the third and fourth lines scoring, all the Habs need is for the Plekanec line, and specifically Andrei Kostitsyn, to wake up, and they could become a dangerous foe.
3. The third and fourth lines are pulling their weight. With Darche scoring two goals last night and Metropolit getting a goal and an assist, the Habs offense looks balanced and this has been the case since the Olympic break.
Last night, playing in his 400th career game, Glen Metropolit scored his 15th goal of the season, a career high for him. His 15 goals are making up, in a big way, for the lack of production from Maxim Lapierre—who only has six goals this season.
4. No Paul Mara, no Lapierre , no Price, no problem. Last night was the third game in a newly founded winning streak for the Habs and the third game where Mara, Lapierre, and Price were out of the lineup.
Now, you can also add Michael Cammalleri and Marc-Andre Bergeron to that list, but I look at those two a little differently since they are integral to the Habs lineup.
For Mara, Price, and Lapierre, however, the coaching staff has been trying to find the right place for them all season long. Out of the three, Price is the one who is in a slightly different situation because the coach keeps throwing him the ball, hoping that he’ll catch it.
For most of the season, Price has been about 50/50 in that department. Now, however, with 14 games left in the season, I would not be surprised if Coach Martin rides Halak as much as possible.
When it comes to Paul Mara, he has struggled all season long. Mara has been in the press box as a healthy scratch since the Olympic break and the Habs defense looks much more stable as a result.
You just have to look at Mara’s atrocious minus-16 rating to see how he hurts the Habs five-on-five play. Here’s hoping that, barring injury, Martin does not reinsert him in the lineup as the current defensive pairing are working.
You’ve got to think the Habs tried to move Mara at the deadline but were unsuccessful. Good thing he’s on a one-year contract that is sure not to be renewed in the offseason.
Lapierre represents a different situation all together. Coming off of a career year, he has looked flat, tentative, and heartless all season long. Try as he may, Coach Martin has not been able to find the right linemates or ice time to turn Lapierre back into an effective player.
The four-game suspension that Lapierre received for his dirty hit on Scott Nichol last week is only showing how unimportant he has become to the Habs. If I were Lapierre, the sight of the third and fourth lines thriving without me would have me shaking in my boots.
5. Would someone, anyone, named Kostitsyn score a goal please? Despite the winning streak and the positive vibes surrounding the team, there is still the glaring hole that is the Plekanec line. While Pleky is doing his best, having AK46 firing blanks and Tom Pyatt as his other winger just isn’t cutting it.
Andrei again looks lost out there and needs to get that scoring monkey off of his back. A lucky bounce, an empty net goal, or anything to get him going!
6. Ben Maxwell is not ready for the NHL. Maxwell looks like he needs to go through the Steven Stamkos school of hard knocks by hitting the gym to gain weight and muscle. He gets knocked off of the puck way too easy and looks completely ineffective on the ice.
Send him back to Hamilton and bring up Ryan White.
7. Not only are the Habs on a three-game winning streak, but they have won four out of five games since the Olympic break. With 14 games left in their season and the majority of them against opponents below them in the standings, the Habs could be poised to go on a bit of a run here.
In addition, the Habs should be receiving Michael Cammalleri and Bergeron back in the lineup sometime over the next two weeks. Is this a team that is about to start peaking going into the playoffs?
If you’ve never watched any playoff hockey before in your life, winning is about peaking at the right time. In addition, there is nothing more dangerous than a team who is peaking headed into the playoffs as many first seeds have been toppled by streaking eighth seeds over the years.
Now, a three-game winning streak does not mean that the Habs are going to blow over the competition but maybe, just maybe, the stars are aligning at the right time. We’ll see what the final few weeks of the season bring.
Standings and Next Game
With 72 points in 68 games, the Habs are firmly ensconced in seventh overall in the East. Just ahead of the Canadiens in the standings are the Flyers with 74 points and three games in hand.
Behind the Habs there is the usual logjam with Boston (70 points, three games in hand), the Rangers (67 points, two games in hand), Atlanta (66 points, three games in hand), and Tampa (65 points, three games in hand).
While the games in hand make it difficult for the Habs to create much separation in the standings, all they can do is keep winning. A game in hand doesn’t mean much if you lose it and the Habs winning streak just keeps putting pressure on their competition.
The Canadiens enjoy a day off today before taking on the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow night in Montreal.
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Montreal 5 Tampa Bay 3 (Bell Centre)
Bell Centre fans watched tonight as poor zone coverage caused the defense to play soft, allowing free passage to the goal for the Canadiens.
They also watched forwards losing puck battles on the boards as a too many men on the ice penalty led to a goal against while the Lightning was shorthanded.
Tampa Bay committed the same kind of mistakes that we have seen from the home team much of the season. Tonight, the Canadiens were able to take advantage and capitalize on their opportunities.
The Habs took an early lead with a power-play goal and made it 2-0 about halfway through the first. It was a dominating performance in the period, with the Habs aggressively forechecking and being first on the puck.
After the game, coach Jacques Martin talked about chemistry starting to build among the players. It may sound like a strange comment in game No. 68 of the season, but given the number of injuries, some members of the team haven’t spent much time together.
“We’re starting to get a sense of what it might have been like earlier if we hadn’t had the injuries,” said Scott Gomez. “But a lot of teams have had injuries. We put ourselves in the situation we’re in, so we can’t worry about that.”
Gomez had a strong game with a goal and two assists.
Linemate Benoit Pouliot added a goal, but Brian Gionta was pointless, creating a turnover that led to a goal when he forechecked Victor Hedman, a Lightning defenseman who is 11 inches taller.
Coach Martin was very complimentary to Mathieu Darche in his postgame presser. Martin said that Darche is a “smart player, and a tremendous human being,” who brings “determination and commitment no matter the minutes [played].”
Darche made the most of his 9:37 minutes played with two goals.
Glen Metropolit also had a very efficient 10 minutes of ice time with a goal and an assist.
“You want to show them that they might have made a mistake by not bringing you back, but they have great players over there,” said Darche, a former Lightning player. “At this point of the year I’m just happy to contribute to a win. If it’s against your former team, it’s just a little cherry on top of the sundae.”
With the third and fourth lines contributing, Maxim Lapierre may be watching from the press box when his four game suspension expires. Lapierre is eligible to play on Saturday against Boston, but may have difficulty getting back into the lineup.
The Canadiens defense played well blocking 21 shots in front of Jaroslav Halak. Hal Gill led the way with five blocked shots.
Gill was also generous to the Lighting with two giveaways on the same sequence near the crease. Gill backhanded it onto the stick of Vincent Lecavalier, but was fortunate to get the puck back by blocking Lecavalier’s shot. Gill then made a perfect pass to the stick of Steven Stamkos who put it in the back of the Canadiens net.
“I mean, it’s a good pass, right on the tape. Obviously he was trying to clear it,” Stamkos said. “I just got lucky and it went on my tape and I had an open net. Probably one of the easier ones of the year.”
With the win, the Canadiens are in seventh place with 72 points and 14 games to play.
After a day off for the players on Wednesday, the Habs face the Oilers on Thursday night at the Bell Centre.
Rocket’s three stars
1. Scott Gomez
2. Mathieu Darche
3. Glen Metropolit
Player quotes from wire services were used in this report.
(photo credit: Getty)
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As we await tonight’s Habs vs. Tampa game, a thought occurred to me about the Montreal Canadiens: Maxim Lapierre was out of the lineup for the last two games, and I didn’t even notice.
Did you? Did anyone except for Max?
In case you didn’t know, Maxim Lapierre was suspended for four games for a ‘dirty’ hit on San Jose’s Scott Nichol this week.
Sunday’s game against the Ducks, was the second game of Lapierre’s suspension and I for one didn’t even notice that he was out of the lineup?
While Lapierre made a name and carved out a niche for himself last year, this year he has been a ghost. With the exception of a handful of games, Lapierre has been a non-factor on the 2010 edition of the Montreal Canadiens.
Now that he is suspended, I think it has become even clearer how irrelevant Lapierre has become to the Habs lineup.
Looking at the Habs roster, there are basically four players vying for the last two center spots on the team: Maxim Lapierre, Glen Metropolit, Dominic Moore and Ben Maxwell.
Maxwell is generally considered to be last on that depth chart, for now, going forward—and looking towards next season—it will be interesting to see where he fits and who else gets re-signed or gets the axe.
Where last year Lapierre seemed to be reaching his potential, this year he has beaten out by the surprising skill, speed and grit of Glen Metropolit.
Metro is no slouch, but at 35 years of age and a UFA at season’s end, will GM Gauthier extend his contact with the Habs? There is no question that he is an excellent team guy and a very useful, versatile player but given that Gauthier just traded for Dominic Moore— who is six years younger than Metro—you’d have to think that he wants to give him a shot next year instead.
As for Maxwell, the conventional thinking is that as an offensive player, he needs to play on one of the top two lines. With Plekanec and Gomez already holding down those spots—assuming they both stay with the team next year—maybe Maxwell will get a chance to take the reins of the third line during his first year before getting a shot at one of the top two spots.
That would mean that either Metro, Lapierre or Moore should be the fourth-line pivot and depending on who stays and who goes, my money is on Moore.
Whatever happens in the off season, there is no question that Lapierre has done himself no favors this year. Lapierre’s absence from the Habs lineup this week is glaring by its lack of effect.
It means nothing. It makes no difference. His presence is not missed.
Given how well he played last year, I find his 2010 stumble to be unfortunate. Furthermore, it would be even more unfortunate if he were to leave the team and rediscover his form in another city.
All things being equal, the way things are going for Lapierre and in light of his RFA status this summer, I would not be surprised to see Gauthier move him at the draft.
Let’s see what the offseason brings!
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November 23rd, 2009.
The Montreal Canadiens decided to trade the ultra-talented and mercurial winger Guillaume Latendresse to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for the ultra-talented and mercurial winger Benoit Pouliot.
Both players were big names coming into the league, but still had yet to make a splash in the National Hockey League and seemed to be slightly frustrated in their current syste…
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Raise your hand everyone who thought that the Habs would have three out of four wins and six out of eight points on their post-Olympic West Coast road trip.
Not all at once now.
The good news is that in a room of one hundred people, there would likely only be five or six with their hands up, myself excluded.
Yesterday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks was supposed to have been an entertaining match, as two teams who were in desperate need of points clashed for their second game in 24 hours.
Unfortunately, the script didn’t quite play out that way.
The Habs definitely had jump to their game, from the opening faceoff, but were unable to capitalize on their numerous opportunities.
On the other side of the ice, however, the porous Habs defense was busy making Carey Price look bad, yet again.
While many fans in Habs-nation have already fit Price with goat horns this morning, we should be reminded that the lackluster performance of the team in front of him was the reason for the three first period Ducks’ goals.
Sure, Price could have been stronger along the ice on the first two, but it was ultimately a combination of missed assignments and poor gap control that allowed the Ducks’ players to have their way with Price. Try as he may, he just can’t seem to catch a break this year.
Trailing by three going into the first intermission, Coach Jacques Martin wisely put Halak in nets to start the second period. This move was in no way a reflection on Price but more a move done to try and shake things up for his team.
On the other end of the ice, Ducks’ goalie Jonas Hiller looked to be picking up where he left off during his Olympic stint with the Swiss team, as he made several spectacular saves to keep the Habs off the board.
Tomas Plekanec started the comeback for the Canadiens, however, by scoring at 7:48 of the second period. Despite the goal, you could see that neither team had much left in the tank as they had both played the night before.
The third period was a display of some of the most slow paced, boring, mistake-ridden hockey I have seen in a long time as both teams struggled to keep their legs moving.
Despite the molasses that both teams were obviously skating in, the Habs decided to make things interesting with less than two minutes to play. As Brian Gionta scored his 20th of the season at 18:08 to draw the Habs to within one, the Canadiens seemed to find their wings.
The drama was heightened as the Ducks’ Corey Perry rang the puck off of the outside of the post, with Halak on the bench for the extra attacker, for a missed opportunity that would have sealed the deal.
With the play back in the Anaheim zone and time running out, Markov, standing in the slot to the right of the crease, fired the puck past Hiller with just under 11 seconds left on the clock to send the game to overtime.
Overtime solved nothing and it was left to Plekanec to score the winner in the shootout, sealing the win for the Habs.
Final Score: Habs 4 – Ducks 3
Game Notes
1. Poor Carey Price. Just when we might have thought he was turning the corner with two solid performances—against Boston and San Jose—he gets shelled for three not-so-strong goals in one period and is yanked in favour of Halak.
I find it unfortunate for the young protégée as his confidence never really gets a chance to soar. For some sickening reason, the team just seems to play better in front of Halak—as my wife astutely pointed out last night.
It is hard to understand why, but the team just doesn’t seem to score very much when Price is in nets.
The difficult or not so difficult question now—depending on how you look at it—is who do the Habs start in their next game? Can Martin afford to try Price to see if he can do the job? Does Martin have to forget about playing favorite and just ride Halak?
Logic would dictate that the Habs best chance of making the playoffs will be on Halak’s back, but logic hasn’t always been the deciding force behind the Habs goaltending decisions this season.
2. Dominic Moore is looking like an excellent addition by GM Pierre Gauthier so far. With four points (2G, 2A) and a +2 rating in six games since joining the Habs, Moore has breathed life into the Habs fourth line. And not a moment too soon too, as the Habs need more balanced scoring if they are going to make the playoffs.
3. The first line of Gionta, Gomez, and Pouliot has been carrying the Habs since the Olympic break. Gionta (3G, 2A, +2), Gomez (1G, 4A, +2), and Pouliot (2G, 2A, +3) have been the offensive spark-plugs for them over the last four games, and look ready to do all they can to get the Habs into the playoffs.
Too bad they don’t have much secondary scoring support because a one-trick pony doesn’t usually get very far in this league.
4. Speaking of secondary scoring, while Plekanec has two goals over the last two games, his principle linemate, Andrei Kostitsyn, has zero points and has a -1 rating over the last four games.
That just doesn’t cut it as no team can have sustained success with one scoring line.
AK46 is getting his chances, mind you, he just hasn’t been able to bury them. It’s unfortunate too, because before his pre-Olympic injury, Andrei had 11 points over a nine game stretch.
The injury seems to have set him back to where he was a few months ago, and with time running out on the season that does not bode well for the Habs.
Aside from Michael Cammalleri, AK46 is supposed to be one of the best snipers on this team and if he can’t start finding the back of the net soon the Habs will have a hard time making the playoffs.
To his credit, Andrei has been getting his chances, he just has to start burying them. He looks like he needs a lucky bounce or something, in order to get the monkey off his back.
Let’s hope that bounce comes soon!
5. Spacek and Hamrlik are aging warriors. While both of them have moments where they are solid on the ice, they seem to have an equal amount of times where they look old and tired. In fact, the more the season progresses the more Spacek is looking like an old man out there.
Did they play too many minutes too early in the season when Markov was injured, and as such, have very little in the tank? Is the grind of the compressed Olympic schedule too much for their 35-year-old bodies?
Who knows for sure. But if those two can’t keep it together out there, whether the Habs make the playoffs or not becomes almost secondary, as a lack of a second defensive pairing will surely make any playoff appearance a one-and-done performance.
Standings and Next Game
The win last night gives the Habs 70 points as they sit in seventh overall in the East. Ahead of the Canadiens are Philly with 72 points and three games in hand while behind them are Boston (69 points, three games in hand), the Rangers (67 points, one game in hand), Atlanta (66 points, three games in hand), and Tampa (65 points, three games in hand).
Next up for the Habs is a well earned trip home to take on the Lightning on Tuesday evening.
A win against Tampa on Tuesday can go a long way toward knocking them out of playoff contention while simultaneously increasing the Habs chances.
Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Alex Tanguay always make it difficult for the Habs to beat the Lightning but with 15 games remaining, those two points are more precious than ever.
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Some games can be broken down and explained by statistics. Others offer learned lessons for future contests.
And then there are games like this one that can only be described as bizarre.
The Canadiens 4-3 shootout win over the Ducks Sunday night at the Honda Center was exciting, and in the end, satisfying for fans but truly bizarre.
Statistics are meaningless. There is nothing that can be learned to provide a blueprint for future wins. The Canadiens simply need to take the two points and count their blessings.
That’s not to say that there weren’t players worthy of praise. There were. But for long stretches, this game was rather boring. It also featured two teams who both exhibited dreadful play at times, and two coaches who made questionable decisions.
Some will try to make this game all about goaltending. It wasn’t. For whatever reason, these so-called fans lie in wait and relish the chance to heap abuse on Carey Price. I suppose that they were getting a little impatient the past few days because Price has been nothing but stellar in his two starts since the Olympic break.
In fact, coach Jacques Martin probably made one of his many mistakes by starting Jaroslav Halak against Los Angeles given how well Price played in the two games prior. Martin could have come back with Halak against the Ducks.
But no matter. The decision regarding the starting goaltender for both games played no part in their outcomes. It is time that “the most knowledgeable fans in the game” live up to their claim to fame and stop the nonsense. Focusing on goaltending and using it as a point of division is irrational.
As mentioned, statistical comparisons are not helpful in understanding the game. The Canadiens outshot the Ducks 15-to-11 in the first period. Yet one of the broadcasters pegged scoring chances as 9-to-2 for Anaheim.
While Price gave up three goals in the first period, it could have easily been a half-dozen more. Price made several spectacular saves. The problem was that the rest of his team didn’t show up.
Some may nitpick that Price should have stopped the first goal. Others may criticize Halak for being slow to react and failing to poke-check Anze Kopitar in the Los Angeles game.
Both would be wrong.
Putting Canadiens goaltending under a microscope is akin to ignoring the proverbial plank in one’s eye while focusing on a speck of sawdust.
The Canadiens’ defense and forwards simply abandoned coverage in their own zone in the first period of the game. They were spectators.
Want to dish out scorn? Target defensemen who played soft and backed in. Be sure to save some for the forwards who didn’t cover points or failed to backcheck.
After the first period, Marc Antoine Godin from La Presse said, “L’enclave dans le territoire du Canadien est un étang dans lequel les Canards pataugent allègrement. / The slot in Habs’ zone is a pond in which the Ducks love paddling.”
Those who were paying attention know that the responsibility for the Canadiens’ appalling first period performance rests solely on the shoulders of players like Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez (on the ice for all three goals against) and Benoit Pouliot, Roman Hamrlik and Andrei Markov (on the ice for two).
Then there is the role played by Coach Jacques Martin. The Canadiens had two power-play opportunities in the first period. Both were awful. The penalty kills provided momentum to Anaheim just ahead of their first goal.
It is painfully clear to everyone but Martin that Hamrlik and Josh Gorges are not the answer on the point of the power play. Yet Martin stubbornly refuses to play Sergei Kostitsyn opposite Markov despite Kostitsyn’s experience in the position.
Glen Metropolit, Tom Pyatt and Ryan O’Byrne all had small amounts of power-play time. Sergei Kostitsyn had none.
If Anaheim had nine scoring chances in the first period, they were fortunate to have half that many in the last two periods and overtime. For a stretch of 23 minutes, the Ducks had none. After the paint was peeled in the Habs’ dressing room, they tightened up to begin the second period.
For their part, Anaheim stopped skating. The Ducks defense looked weak, forwards gave up turnovers, and goaltending was questionable.
Halak’s handler tried to steal credit and fan the flames of hate by saying, “H-A-L-A-K!!!!! Perhaps his best game of the season and certainly one of his most clutch performances so far. Is Jaro the comeback kid?”
Either agent Alan Walsh is delusional, or he didn’t watch the game. Or both. With the lack of Ducks’ scoring chances, Halak wasn’t a factor. He simply didn’t have to be. And with a puck going through Halak and trickling by the post in the shootout, he also has the hockey gods to thank.
Walsh is also doing Halak a disservice. If the headline-craving agent presents last night’s game as Exhibit A during negotiations, he won’t be getting what his client deserves.
It’s clear that in Montreal, the hype and the hate with respect to goaltending are out of control.
The spotlight for last night’s turnaround should be on the player who has been the Canadiens’ most valuable all season long, Tomas Plekanec.
Plekanec centered the Canadiens’ best line. He exploited the Ducks’ defense and scored on a breakaway in the second period to get the Habs back into the game. After the Canadiens tied the game with two goals in the last two minutes of the third period, Plekanec scored the game-winner in the shootout.
Plekanec had seven shots on goal, and his linemate, Andrei Kostitsyn, had five. The Canadiens were a one-line team in this game.
Sergei Kostitsyn is the other Habs forward who deserves special mention. Sergei created scoring chances but didn’t have linemates who could finish.
With an exciting comeback win after being down three goals, the Canadiens end their very successful road trip with a 3-1-0 record. The Ducks fall to 0-2-1 after the Olympic break.
The Canadiens return home to play the Lightning on Tuesday.
Rocket’s three stars
1. Tomas Plekanec
2. Scott Niedermayer
3. Andrei Markov
Special mention: Sergei Kostitsyn
Player quotes from wire services were used in this report.
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The Olympic break seems to have done a lot of good for the Montreal Canadiens.
Not only did they get their walking wounded back from injuries—with the exception of Michael Cammalleri and Marc-Andre Bergeron—but they seem invigorated for the stretch run.
Despite losing to the Sharks the other night, the Habs played some great hockey against one of the league’s powerhouses. Last night in L.A., they continued their speedy, aggressive game and the result was a well earned 4-2 road win over the Kings.
The best line on the ice all night for the Habs was the Gomez, Gionta, and Pouliot line. They seem to complement each other very well on the ice and as they get more and more comfortable, they are causing all sorts of problems for opposing defenders.
With Gomez’s incredible speed and on-ice vision, Gionta’s quick-step-and-release, and Pouliot always going to the net, these three have become a real force for the Habs.
The story of the game, however, was the three goals that the Habs scored within the first five minutes of each period. They say that goals early or late in a period can deliver the strongest killer blow to your opposition and the Habs did exactly that last night—Gionta scored his 19th, 22 seconds into the first, Dominic Moore scored his 10th, 4:43 into the second, and Pouliot scored his 15th, 36 seconds into the third.
For the Kings, Anze Kopitar got one back at 18:16 of the first and Fredrik Modin scored at 7:12 of the third to make it a one-goal game. Up until the Modin goal, the Habs were really limiting the Kings to shots from the outside and as such, Jaroslav Halak wasn’t tested all that much.
Once Modin scored, however, and as the Kings started to press for the tying goal, Halak was forced to come up big and he delivered in the same Olympic form that allowed the Slovaks to be the surprise of the tournament.
Thomas Plekanec scored into an empty net with less than two minutes left to play in the third, to seal the deal and that was all she wrote. This game was probably one of the most complete or 60 minute efforts that the Habs have iced all season. If they can keep playing like this they should have a good chance of make the playoffs.
The problem for the Habs is that their margin of error is non-existent. If they fall into a two, three, or four-game losing streak they can almost certainly kiss the playoffs goodbye.
Final score: Habs 4 – Kings 2
Game Notes
1. Halak looks to be picking up where he left off before the Olympic break. Despite having a relatively easy night, Halak made the key saves that you need your goalie to make to help deliver the win.
For most of the season we have gotten used to the Habs winning games almost uniquely on the backs of their goaltenders and special teams. Last night, however, Halak didn’t have to be a hero.
What he did do, however, was make the key saves at key times and that is what winning goaltenders do. With his play, and the play of Price the previous two games, the least of the Habs worries are in nets—despite what the panic-mongers would have you believe.
No, goaltending is not a problem for the Habs but five-on-five scoring is. That’s why it was refreshing to see the Habs score twice, five-on-five, last night. Hopefully this trend can continue, going forward, as it will greatly increase their chance of making the postseason dance.
2. Dominic Moore continues to show that Pierre Gauthier made a shrewd move in acquiring him.
Moore is a responsible role player who looks good in all situations whether killing penalties, grinding it out in the corners, or battling for space in front of the net. Moore is the type of player who isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty and who can chip in the occasional goal, as he did shorthanded last night.
Look for Moore to play a more prominent role with the team next year as Gauthier shuffles the lineup.
3. Last night was the second game in a row that the Habs played an aggressive, attacking style and it looks to suit them well.
Rather than playing the sit-back-and-wait Jacques Martin trap, the Habs used their speed and skill to wreak havoc on the opposition. Speed and skill are the hallmarks of this team and when the coach lets them play an aggressive game, they are much more effective on the ice.
Unfortunately, Jacques Martin doesn’t tend to coach an aggressive style but rather a more passive-resistance game. And, as I have said before, the problem with that style is that you need bigger bodies to play it effectively. Considering that the Habs are relatively small up front, it often gets messy for them.
Let’s hope that Martin continues to release the hounds for the rest of the season because if not, I fear they will continue to be a win one, lose one team and ultimately miss the playoffs.
4. The Plekanec line needs to start scoring. While there is no shortage of encouraging signs for that line, they need to start scoring immediately as the Habs do not have the luxury of time.
The last two games, this line seems to be on the verge of breaking out and last night things were the same for them. Both Kostitsyn brothers and Plekanec had scoring chances last night, but they have to start cashing in on them in order to provide some support for the Gomez line.
You can’t win with one line in this league and if the Plekanec line can’t find their wheels soon, the Habs might slide right out of playoff contention.
Standings and Next Game
Last night’s win gives the Canadiens 68 points in 66 games, good enough for sole possession of the eighth spot overall in the East.
As is always the case, their hold on eighth is tenuous with Atlanta (66 points, three games in hand), the Rangers (66 points, one game in hand), and Tampa (65 points, two games in hand) just behind them in the standings.
In front of the Habs are Boston with 69 points and Philly with 70 but both teams hold three games in hand.
Today, the Habs ride into Anaheim to take on the Ducks and former captain Saku Koivu. It should be an emotionally charged game between two teams who are life and death to make the playoffs.
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Montreal 4, Los Angeles 2 (Staples Center)
Sometimes your opponent pitches a dud.
It hasn’t happened very often this season in games involving the Canadiens, but tonight the Kings were a shadow of the team they have been so far this season.
Kings fans, who hadn’t seen their team in person for three weeks, were expecting a better effort for the homecoming. Canadiens’ fans who showed up in red at the Staples Center were happy to celebrate loudly throughout the game.
“The Montreal Canadiens are a very desperate hockey club,” Murray said. “They’re on the bubble, so you’ve got to recognize that and know that the intensity is going to be high. They showed it in the first shift, and we weren’t ready to match it.”
Full marks to the Habs, who showed intensity with a strong start by attacking the L.A. net, resulting in their first goal only 22 seconds into the game. The line of Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, and Benoit Pouliot gave the Canadiens an early lead.
“Anytime you can jump on a team like that early in the game like that, those things kind of set the tone,” Gionta said.
But the goal that really seemed to deflate the Kings was a short-handed marker by Dominic Moore five minutes into the second period. It was a weak goal given up by L.A. netminder, Jonathan Quick. The Kings only managed five shots on goal in the second frame despite having three power-play advantages.
The Gomez trio was also responsible for a goal in the first minute of the third period, giving their team a two-goal lead. The Kings were unable to manage a shot on goal for a ten minute stretch in the period.
The Canadiens penalty-killers were perfect on four Kings’ opportunities in the game. The Habs had several scoring chances while short-handed, in addition to Moore’s goal.
Los Angeles forwards dominated the faceoff dot, with Jarett Stoll and Michal Handzus combining for an impressive 83 percent success rate. Tomas Plekanec was the best Habs center at 50 percent. Moore, acquired for his faceoff prowess, was a disappointing 31 percent.
Coach Jacques Martin shortened the bench with Glen Metropolit, Ben Maxwell, and Mathieu Darche each receiving just over five minutes of ice-time. Martin was not at all pleased with Metropolit, who got caught standing still and let Anze Kopitar wheel around him for the Kings’ first goal.
Jaroslav Spacek and Ryan O’Byrne were the two strongest defensemen for the Canadiens. Spacek had a plus-3 rating, while O’Byrne led the team with four blocked shots.
“We played a strong game defensively,” coach Martin said. “It was one of our better games away from the puck as far as getting good protection for our goalie.”
Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves, but was not seriously tested until late in the third period.
It was the Canadiens’ fifth straight victory over the Kings. With the win, the Habs take over sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern conference.
The Western road trip concludes Sunday night with a game against Anaheim.
Rocket’s three stars:
1. Brian Gionta
2. Scott Gomez
3. Jarret Stoll
Player quotes from wire services were used in this report.
(photo credit: Getty)
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The Montreal Canadiens will play two games in two nights this weekend as the hunt for a playoff spot resumes in the NHL.
Montreal needs points to stay in the hunt and that is why this weekend is important. The team cannot afford to lose both games this weekend. The Los Angeles Kings will be Montreal’s first opponent this Saturday followed by the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
The Canadiens will miss their best goal scorer this season, Michael Cammalleri, who is still recovering from his left knee injury. Maxim Lapierre will also miss the weekend as he was suspended for four games by the league for his hit from behind on Scott Nichol of the San Jose Sharks earlier this week.
Head coach Jacques Martin will have to pick a goaltender between Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak for the final stretch of the season. While Price looked to be shaky lately, Halak was fantastic in net for Team Slovakia during the Vancouver Olympics.
If I had the task to choose between those two goalies, I would pick Halak because of his recent successes with Team Slovakia and for his contribution with the Canadiens this season.
(Picture: Maxim Lapierre, Getty Images.)
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New at The Prose: Can the Hurricanes Make The Playoffs?
Two plays from last night’s action has drawn some criticism the way of Max Lapierre of the Montreal Canadiens, and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In the first video, Max Lapierre absolutely smokes Scott Nichol of the San Jose Sharks in a play that went unpenalized, seemingly against all odds. Todd McLellan called the play ext…
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They say that a loss is a loss no matter how well a team plays. On paper there is no question that last night’s 3-2 loss to the Sharks hurt the Habs tremendously in the standings. That being said, there were no shortage of positive and encouraging signs for the Habs but unfortunately you don’t get points for effort in the NHL.
Both teams had their chances in the first period with Carey Price—who was getting his second consecutive start—playing the role of difference-maker as he came up with a bunch of key saves to keep the Sharks off the scoreboard.
Things changed around the halfway point of the first as Brian Gionta scored his 18th of the season off of a Scott Gomez feed. The play was created by Gomez on a Patrick Marleau defensive zone turnover and the result was a Gionta blast from the high slot past a screened Evgeni Nabokov.
Man, can he shoot the puck!
The Habs continued to buzz with Benoit Pouliot getting a semi-breakaway a few minutes after the goal. In addition, the Habs fourth line of Glen Metropolit, Tom Pyatt, and Mathieu Darche used the cycle to cause problems for the Sharks’ defense all night long.
Price continued to be the story of the first as he stopped Joe Pavelski on a break with less than two minutes in the period.
The Sharks got on the board early in the second, however, with Marleau scoring his 39th of the season shorthanded. His shot from the point deflected off of Jaroslav Spacek and past Price to tie the game at one.
The Habs got that one back quickly on the powerplay, as Gomez swept to the outside and fired the puck between Nabokov’s pads to make it a 2-1 game.
With the Habs clinging to a one goal lead, the Sharks were awarded a penalty shot on a bit of a strange play.
Price had dropped his stick and Hal Gill was trying to hand it back to him but saw that the play was turning around. In what looked like a reflex action, Gill dropped the stick but it landed in the San Jose player’s shooting lane, resulting in a Dan Boyle penalty shot.
Price again stood tall and gave Boyle little to shoot at as he rung the puck off of the post.
Despite being outshot 29-19 overall, the Habs took a one goal lead into the intermission on the back of a dominant performance by Carey Price.
While the Canadiens were being outshot, they were able to skate with the Sharks as they employed an attacking style over the first two periods. Unfortunately for the Habs, the Jacques Martin passive-resistance style kicked in for the third period as the Habs sat back and let the Sharks come at them.
The result was that as the Habs stopped skating, the Sharks heaped an offensive onslaught on Price. Despite his best efforts, Price couldn’t stop everything and the Sharks scored two quick goals, less than three minutes apart, to make it a 3-2 game.
With Price on the bench for the extra attacker, the Habs pressed for the tie but ultimately ran out of time.
Final score: Habs 2-Sharks 3
Game Notes
1. Price, Price, Price! Despite the loss, Carey Price was a difference-maker tonight. If not for his heroics, this game would have been over early in the first.
While Price has looked shaky on far too many a night pre-Olympics, he looks focused and confident in the net since coming back. Coming out to challenge shooters and looking big in the net, Price is giving the opposition very little to shoot at.
I said it after the Olympics and I’ll say it again: I predict that we will see a much better Price over the rest of the season than we did before the Olympics.
2. What the heck was Maxim Lapierre thinking? While he played his best game of the season the other night against Boston, Lapierre played more of a passable game last night. In addition, he was involved in a stupid, dangerous play early in the third as he shoved the Sharks’ Scott Nichol into the boards from behind.
Nichol had just rung a shot off of the post and was a good six feet away from the boards at the time. He crashed hard into the boards and went down in a heap. It was the type of play where you don’t expect the player to get up quickly.
Fortunately for Nichol, he was quick to his feet but he did leave the game favoring his shoulder and did not return. The worst part of it was to see Lapierre sitting on the Canadiens bench, laughing.
Disgusting. There is simply no place for that kind of dirty hit in this league.
Lapierre was, generally speaking, a hated man before the game and he likely just increased the size of the bullseye on his back.
3. The Tomas Plekanec line is coming together. Last night was only the second game that Plekanec has played with the brothers Kostitsyn on his wing and you can see them starting to gel. Both Andrei and Sergei had multiple scoring chances on the night and you get the sense that that line is on the verge of breaking out.
Give them another game or two and they should start being consistent producers for the Habs.
4. Plekanec is a marked man. If his stellar pre-Olympic play wasn’t enough, his excellent performance for the Czech Republic served to propel Pleky up the visibility chart.
From the drop of the puck last night, it was clear that San Jose had targeted Pleky as the offensive catalyst for the Habs. As such, they heaped tons of physical abuse on him. Unlike last season, however, Plekanec has learned how to fight through this additional attention and is able to create more space for his linemates as a result. This should lead to increased scoring chances for that line and should bode well for their future.
5. The plumbers continue to do their jobs. The Habs fourth line of Metro, Darche, and Pyatt look to be excellent complements to each other. Every time they were on the ice last night, they were causing havoc for the San Jose defenders.
They use their speed and grit to grind it out in the corners and tire the opposition. If they can continue to roll up their sleeves and chip in the occasional goal, they will become an important factor in balancing the Habs offense.
Standings and Next Game
With 66 points in 65 games, the Habs are now in 10th place overall in the East. In their rearview mirror are Tampa, with 63 points and two games in hand, and Florida, with 60 points and two games in hand.
The problem for Montreal is in front of them in the standings, with the Rangers (66 points; one game), Atlanta (66 points; three games), Boston (67 points; three games), and Philly (69 points; three games).
The Habs have Friday off before taking on the Kings in L.A. on Saturday night.
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They say that a loss is a loss no matter how well a team plays. On paper there is no question that last night’s 3-2 loss to the Sharks hurt the Habs tremendously in the standings. That being said, there were no shortage of positive and encouraging signs for the Habs but unfortunately you don’t get points for effort in the NHL.
Both teams had their chances in the first period with Carey Price—who was getting his second consecutive start—playing the role of difference-maker as he came up with a bunch of key saves to keep the Sharks off the scoreboard.
Things changed around the halfway point of the first as Brian Gionta scored his 18th of the season off of a Scott Gomez feed. The play was created by Gomez on a Patrick Marleau defensive zone turnover and the result was a Gionta blast from the high slot past a screened Vladimir Nabokov.
Man, can he shoot the puck!
The Habs continued to buzz with Benoit Pouliot getting a semi-breakaway a few minutes after the goal. In addition, the Habs fourth line of Glen Metropolit, Tom Pyatt, and Mathieu Darche used the cycle to cause problems for the Sharks’ defense all night long.
Price continued to be the story of the first as he stopped Joe Pavelski on a break with less than two minutes in the period.
The Sharks got on the board early in the second, however, with Marleau scoring his 39th of the season shorthanded. His shot from the point deflected off of Jaroslav Spacek and past Price to tie the game at one.
The Habs got that one back quickly on the powerplay, as Gomez swept to the outside and fired the puck between Nabokov’s pads to make it a 2-1 game.
With the Habs clinging to a one goal lead, the Sharks were awarded a penalty shot on a bit of a strange play.
Price had dropped his stick and Hal Gill was trying to hand it back to him but saw that the play was turning around. In what looked like a reflex action, Gill dropped the stick but it landed in the San Jose player’s shooting lane, resulting in a Dan Boyle penalty shot.
Price again stood tall and gave Boyle little to shoot at as he rung the puck off of the post.
Despite being outshot 29-19 overall, the Habs took a one goal lead into the intermission on the back of a dominant performance by Carey Price.
While the Canadiens were being outshot, they were able to skate with the Sharks as they employed an attacking style over the first two periods. Unfortunately for the Habs, the Jacques Martin passive-resistance style kicked in for the third period as the Habs sat back and let the Sharks come at them.
The result was that as the Habs stopped skating, the Sharks heaped an offensive onslaught on Price. Despite his best efforts, Price couldn’t stop everything and the Sharks scored two quick goals, less than three minutes apart, to make it a 3-2 game.
With Price on the bench for the extra attacker, the Habs pressed for the tie but ultimately ran out of time.
Final score: Habs 2-Sharks 3
Game Notes
1. Price, Price, Price! Despite the loss, Carey Price was a difference-maker tonight. If not for his heroics, this game would have been over early in the first.
While Price has looked shaky on far too many a night pre-Olympics, he looks focused and confident in the net since coming back. Coming out to challenge shooters and looking big in the net, Price is giving the opposition very little to shoot at.
I said it after the Olympics and I’ll say it again: I predict that we will see a much better Price over the rest of the season than we did before the Olympics.
2. What the heck was Maxim Lapierre thinking? While he played his best game of the season the other night against Boston, Lapierre played more of a passable game last night. In addition, he was involved in a stupid, dangerous play early in the third as he shoved the Sharks’ Scott Nichol into the boards from behind.
Nichol had just rung a shot off of the post and was a good six feet away from the boards at the time. He crashed hard into the boards and went down in a heap. It was the type of play where you don’t expect the player to get up quickly.
Fortunately for Nichol, he was quick to his feet but he did leave the game favoring his shoulder and did not return. The worst part of it was to see Lapierre sitting on the Canadiens bench, laughing.
Disgusting. There is simply no place for that kind of dirty hit in this league.
Lapierre was, generally speaking, a hated man before the game and he likely just increased the size of the bullseye on his back.
3. The Tomas Plekanec line is coming together. Last night was only the second game that Plekanec has played with the brothers Kostitsyn on his wing and you can see them starting to gel. Both Andrei and Sergei had multiple scoring chances on the night and you get the sense that that line is on the verge of breaking out.
Give them another game or two and they should start being consistent producers for the Habs.
4. Plekanec is a marked man. If his stellar pre-Olympic play wasn’t enough, his excellent performance for the Czech Republic served to propel Pleky up the visibility chart.
From the drop of the puck last night, it was clear that San Jose had targeted Pleky as the offensive catalyst for the Habs. As such, they heaped tons of physical abuse on him. Unlike last season, however, Plekanec has learned how to fight through this additional attention and is able to create more space for his linemates as a result. This should lead to increased scoring chances for that line and should bode well for their future.
5. The plumbers continue to do their jobs. The Habs fourth line of Metro, Darche, and Pyatt look to be excellent complements to each other. Every time they were on the ice last night, they were causing havoc for the San Jose defenders.
They use their speed and grit to grind it out in the corners and tire the opposition. If they can continue to roll up their sleeves and chip in the occasional goal, they will become an important factor in balancing the Habs offense.
Standings and Next Game
With 66 points in 65 games, the Habs are now in 10th place overall in the East. In their rearview mirror are Tampa, with 63 points and two games in hand, and Florida, with 60 points and two games in hand.
The problem for Montreal is in front of them in the standings, with the Rangers (66 points; one game), Atlanta (66 points; three games), Boston (67 points; three games), and Philly (69 points; three games).
The Habs have Friday off before taking on the Kings in L.A. on Saturday night.
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Montreal 2 San Jose 3 (HP Pavilion)
The Shark Tank has proven to be an inhospitable place for the Canadiens, who haven’t won in San Jose since Nov. 23, 1999.
However, the Sharks came into the game with two consecutive regulation losses, a season-high streak. San Jose’s coach Todd McLellan was very critical of his team’s effort Tuesday night against New Jersey and had challenged them to get more shots on goal.
The Sharks fired everything they had at Carey Price and after two periods trailed the Canadiens 2-1 despite outshooting them 29 to 19. San Jose had excellent scoring chances, but the play of Price was simply sensational. The Canadiens were riding the brilliance of their goaltender, who made many highlight-reel saves.
The Sharks were showing signs of frustration. Play became chippy. The Habs were gaining confidence and moved to the third period with a record of 19-1-0 when leading after two periods.
“It’s very good for our preparation for the playoffs,” Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle said. “You’re going to play in one of those games where the goalie is making big save, save after save. You can possibly get a little frustrated, which is easy to do.”
Then early in the third period, after Scott Nichol hit the post, he was driven into the boards from behind by Max Lapierre. It was a dirty and potentially dangerous hit by Lapierre. Although the play went unpenalized, expect it to be reviewed by the NHL’s Colin Campbell for possible supplementary discipline. Nichol did not return to the game.
The Sharks’ outrage was amplified as Lapierre sat laughing about the incident on the Canadiens bench. San Jose’s frustration was replaced by determination. The team had a rallying point.
“It was an Eastern Conference team so you don’t really expect that,” Boyle said. “They’re fighting for their playoff lives and we’re fighting to get our game back on track. It was a chippy game out there. Sometimes it’s good for the team to rally around that and get together. It was a very weird game, a lot of weird things happened out there but we stuck together and won the game.”
The Canadiens were on their heels for a good portion of the third period. Price continued to keep his team in the game, including getting the better of Boyle on a penalty shot.
The Habs’ old nemesis, referee Chris Lee, was determined to grab some headlines with his usual brand of officiating. A weak call on Roman Hamrlik was all that was needed with San Jose getting a power-play goal from Dany Heatley to tie the game.
Two-and-a-half minutes later the Sharks took the lead for good with the Canadiens running around in their own end. The Sharks took some satisfaction, victimizing Lapierre on the winning goal.
While Price made 37 saves, the Sharks directed a whopping 85 shots on net. Hal Gill, Hamrlik, and Jaroslav Spacek combined for 13 of the 26 blocked shots by Canadiens.
The Canadiens spent a good deal of the time trying to retrieve the puck with their six centers in the lineup recording a dreadful 31 percent at the faceoff dot.
Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta had strong games for the Habs, each getting a goal and an assist.
“We had a chance to take two points,” said Gomez. “Carey held us in there and they just got one by there at the end. We know we can play with anyone. That’s a great team over there.”
San Jose, the “great team,” is in second place in the league after tonight’s game. While the 23rd-place team kept the game close, they spoiled a gem of a performance by their goaltender.
The Canadiens continue their road trip with a visit to Los Angeles for a game against the Kings on Saturday night.
Rocket’s three stars
1. Carey Price
2. Dany Heatley
3. Patrick Marleau
Honorable mention: Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez
Player quotes from wire services were used in this report.
(photo credit: Getty)
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Montreal-Boston: Habs Rally To Down Bruins, 4-1
3, Mar 2010Yesterday was the first NHL hockey game for most fans since the end of the Olympics. After two weeks of some of the best hockey ever played anywhere, ever, I had to admit that it was a little difficult to get into last night’s game.
This is no fault of the players on the ice, mind you, as they are doing what they have always been doing and performing to the best of their capacity. It’s just that I found myself finding the game to be slow with a lot of missed assignments and even more missed passes.
What happened to the beautiful tape to tape plays from the Olympics? The electric body checks and the outstanding saves?
Well, except for the latter, there is no question that a regular season NHL game is a step down from the Olympics. But we all knew that, right?
The Bruins scored first on a goal mouth scramble as Marco Strum, fresh off of an Olympic appearance with Team Germany, poked the rebound off of a Chara shot past Price.
Price should likely have stopped the first shot and, judging from the rain storm of negativity that poured down on him in the Twitterverse after the goal, it is clear that people are not ready to give him a chance.
I find that unfortunate because, as I said in my last post, I believe the break will have done a lot of good for Price and I anticipate a much better goaltender over the last 18 games than the first 64.
That being said, after the semi-weak first goal, Price simply shut the door. He did not collapse into the insecure, confidence lacking mass that we have become used to and neither did the team in front of him quit.
No, last night that script that we have gotten used to was flipped on it head.
Instead of giving up, the Habs simply took the play to Boston outshooting them 10-7 in the first, 14-7 in the third and 32-24 overall. It was during the third period that the Habs finally broke through Rask’s wall and once they did, the floodgates opened up.
The Habs scoring started with Glen Metropolit—who played another solid game for the Habs—who tied the game at one, on a beautiful feed from Tom Pyatt at 2:40 of the third.
Next up was Maxim Lapierre, who played easily his best game of the season—feeling a little trade heat Max? Lapierre drove to the net and popped in the rebound off of a soft Travis Moen shot to make it 2-1 Montreal.
Ten minutes later it was Darche scoring and then Pouliot into an empty net, with less than two minutes to play to seal the deal.
Final score: Habs 4 – Bruins 1
Games Notes
1 – Carey Price played his strongest game of the season. When I saw him interviewed on RDS a few days ago, Price looked relaxed and ready to play. It is because of his demeanor that I believe he will continue to have a strong final stretch of the season and he started last night.
While there is no question he should have stopped the initial shot—from Chara—the led to the Strum first period goal, Price was lights out for the rest of the night and displayed some excellent moves in the process.
Today is trade deadline day, and I do not believe the either Price or Halak will be moved (until the summer).
2 – Maxim Lapierre also played his strongest game of the season. Last night, Lapierre looked every bit the player of last season who was a thorn in the side of all opposition.
In addition to agitating, Lapierre as moving his feet and the result was his sixth goal of the season — which ended up being the game winning goal.
Every time Max was on the ice he was making things happen. Let’s hope he keeps it up. Ummm, that is unless he gets traded today.
3 – The plumbers went to work. After two weeks off for Olympic play and with the Habs getting a lot of their injured stars back, you would have expected this to have been a game dominated by their first two lines.
Surprisingly, apart from the Pouliot empty net goal, it was the Habs third and fourth lines that did all of the scoring. As a coach, Martin has got to be happy to see those two lines winning the game for him when both were silent before the Olympic break.
If the third and fourth lines can continue to contribute they will take a lot of pressure off of the Gomez and Plekanec lines and balance out the Habs attack.
Standings and Next Game
The Habs now have 66 point in 64 games and while Habs fans should rejoice in the win, we have to keep things in perspective.
Currently sitting in sixth place, the Habs are three points behind Philly, who has three games in hand. Behind the Habs are the Bruins (65 points), the Rangers (65 points), Atlanta (64 points) and Tampa (63 points) holding three, one, three and two games in hand respectively.
So, while the win was a great way to start, the Habs have little to no breathing room and must keep the pedal to the metal if they want to make the playoffs.
Bold prediction of the day: The Habs will not make any major trades, only a few minor ones.
Trades So Far: As of this morning, the Habs have traded Matt D’Agostini to the Saint Louis Blues for Aaron Palushaj
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A few random thoughts are rattling around my head this Monday morning, as I bask in the everlasting glow of the 2010 Olympics and await tonight’s Habs tilt versus the Bruins.
For me, the 2010 Olympic ice hockey tournament was some of the best hockey I have seen in my life.
Exciting, fast-paced competition with shots, hits, incredible passes, highlight reel goals, and even better saves. It was simply the way the game is meant to be played, but I guess that’s what happens when you get the best players in the world playing in one tournament.
If the spectacle was so good then why would the NHL choose not to take part in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi?
The ratings alone and exposure that the game got should make it a no-brainer for the NHL to commit.
No?
Looking around, it seems like people believe that the NHL owes it to fans to be in Sochi and to reach an agreement with the KHL. While Gary Bettman is trying to make it clear that Sochi is far from a foregone conclusion, I for one am not buying it.
I do not believe for a minute that the NHL actually intends on withholding their participation from Sochi.
Why?
Because this is Gary Bettman’s M.O. and I believe that he is using Sochi as a bargaining chip.
Bettman, in my opinion, intends to hold the 2014 Olympic over the heads of the Russian-based KHL in order to gain leverage during negotiations. Without it, he won’t be negotiating from a position of strength.
Russia and the KHL want the 2014 Olympic tournament in Sochi to be even better than the one we just saw in Vancouver. The only way for that to happen is if the NHL players are allowed to attend and Sochi organizers know it.
By threatening not to attend, Bettman is creating a leverage point against the KHL president, Medvedev.
While the relations have been strained between the KHL and the NHL in recent years—they do not currently have a clearly defined player transfer agreement—both sides know that they have to work out a deal sooner or later.
Given that the Russians want/need NHL players to attend the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Bettman’s posturing will give him the long end of the stick during negotiations. We’ll see how well he uses it but I think that the closer we get to Sochi the higher the likelihood that they come to an agreement.
That, in my opinion, is something you can bank on.
Will the Habs Make the Playoffs?
The Montreal Canadiens take to the ice tonight against the Boston Bruins, in Boston, with less than 48 hours till the NHL trade deadline. With trade rumors swirling and both team clinging tenuously to playoff spots—the Bruins with 65 points in seventh place and the Habs with 64 points in eight place—tonight’s four-point game becomes a must win for both teams.
The Habs had a number of players take part in the Olympics and I can’t help but think that their experience will only serve to give them a boost for the stretch run.
With 19 games remaining in their season and the teams in front and behind them holding games in hand, the Habs have little to no margin for error. As such, I think that their fate as a potential playoff team lies squarely in the hands of their goaltenders.
Halak, arguably one of the MVPs of the Olympic tournament, looks pumped, confident, and ready to carry the team on his back. His Olympic performance served to show that he has truly arrived as a legitimate No. 1 goaltender in the league.
But what about Carey Price? Where does he fit into this picture?
My feeling is that the Olympic break will have done Price, and a lot of Habs, a ton of good. Seeing him interviewed on RDS yesterday, he looked calm and relaxed. No longer seeming like the man-boy who was being crushed by the pressure of playing in Montreal, Price looked happy and at ease with himself.
A few days off will do that for anyone!
Heck, most of us know from our day-to-day lives that getting away from things and gaining a little perspective often helps to get your head screwed on straight.
So, back to Price: My prediction is that starting tonight, he will turn in some of the best performances of his still young career. While he should still be looked at more in a backup role, I believe that we will see a much more confident Price over the next 19 games than we did over the first 63.
Price’s hopefully improved play, combined with the players returning from injury and continued stellar work by Halak, should be enough to get the Habs into the playoffs.
Keep in mind that there is always the X factor of potential trades that Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier might make between now and Wednesday.
Whatever ends up happening, this is going to be a great race to the finish line. Let’s just hope the Habs are still standing once the dust settles.
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When the clock strikes midnight tomorrow night and Santa Claus comes streaking down from the heavens he may have a few trades already in that sleigh of his….Some trades may be announced right away, or as many feel they will happen but not be announced until Monday morning…Yes Virginia, there is a Trade Dea…
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Team Czech Republic gained their second consecutive win in the tournament tonight, but it did not come easily, with the Latvians giving them a run for their money.
Early on, it seemed as if the Czechs were going to run away with the game in the first period, but the goals slowed down for them and Latvia almost inched their way back.
They may have lost, but the fans there were fantastic and had the times of their lives.
Boston Bruins forward David Krejci got things started with a smooth move to the net and a goal through the five hole of Latvia goaltender Ervins Mustokovs. Tomas Plekanec of the Montreal Canadiens then deflected one home to give the Czechs a 2-0 lead.
It was then the Great Sixty-Eight, Jaromir Jagr, snapped a wristshot into the net to cap the period off with the score being 3-0. Shots in that period were 16-4 in favor of the Czech Republic.
On the power play early in the second, Patrick Elias of the Devils sneaked a pass to a wide-open Tomas Kaberle, who one-timed the feed into the back of the net, making it 4-0.
The Latvians fought back, however, as they would first score on the breakaway, and then later register a powerplay tally. At that point, the arena was echoing with “LAT-VIA” chants coming from all directions. It was truly unbelievable.
Those chants went on all through the third period. They were ignited by odd-man rushes, solid saves, and even strong defensive plays.
Unfortunately their boys would come up short, and that sank in right as Elias’ lofter found the empty net. Still, a great effort by Team Latvia in this game tonight. I don’t think the Czechs were expecting such an effort from their opponents.
What the past two days have told us is that there is no longer a favorite team in this tournament. Switzerland nearly beat Canada, Slovakia upset Russia, Belarus almost found a way to edge Sweden, and now Latvia contended with the Czech Republic.
It is raising eyebrows and gaining the attention of many as it should. Next week’s medal rounds will certainly be entertaining based on what we saw over the past few days.
Also, there is no doubt it my mind that Jaromir Jagr can still play in the National Hockey League and still put up points. He could not be controlled tonight and was all over the place.
He was strong on the puck, he had some excellent shots and scoring chances, and even went to his slapshot, something Ranger fans know that he did not use all that often in New York. I would love to see Jaromir back in the league.
My Olympic journey has finally come to an end, as I head home on a flight to the Big Apple tomorrow afternoon. The coverage here on the site, however, will stay entirely the same. I will still be covering all of the games for the rest of the tournament, just not live here in Vancouver.
The experience I had here is up there as one of the best of my life. The people, the fans, the hype, it was all amazing, and I am extremely delighted I was able to share it with all of you, my readers.
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Aaron Musick: Is the Price right for Colorado?
19, Feb 2010Is Price the right guy for Colorado?
Eklund posted an interesting blog today about the similarities between Carey Price and certain other Canadien goatender back in 1995. Then he posed the question: Could Price be headed to Colorado?
Could he do the same as Patrick Roy and pack his bags for the Mile High City?
I love ya Ek, but I doubt it for a few reasons.
1) Getting Price might just…
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Slovakian Netminder Drawing Lots of Attention
Following yesterday’s extremely impressive performances by two of the NHL’s best young goaltenders for their respective countries, word is starting to spread about how the Ducks made the right move in locking up their goalie of the future, Jonas Hiller, whereas thoughts are that the Montreal Canadiens may have waited too long and are in jeopardy o…
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Both fans of the Montreal Canadiens and Team Russia are holding their breath, as there is some potentially bad news regarding their star defenceman.
Montreal Canadiens defenceman Andrei Markov is expected to miss tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers with what’s being described as a lower body injury.
This will be the second game in a row that Markov has had to sit out with an injur…
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