Les Canadiens in action for Dec 21st-27th: The week went pretty well for Montreal in terms of wins, albeit they were hardly playing the finest opposition the NHL could offer, or very good hockey for that matter. They're taking part in a 7-game road trip, their longest in seven years and their last road trip ended 0-6-1, so after the Islanders win, they were already doing much better than last time.
Opposition: Atlanta Dec 21st, Carolina Dec. 23rd and Toronto Dec. 26th.
What's been the Canadiens recent story? Their top line, their MVP, highest-apid defencemen and their cheapest defencemen. Oh, and Jaroslav Halak saving the day non-stop.
The return of Andrei Markov: the team's MVP and the reason their scoring has increased by a goal per game on average since his return is a major difference for why Montreal is enjoying a 4-game winning streak right now. Markov just isn't a 25-minute workhouse for the team, his offensive instincts as a defencemen are second to none among nearly all NHL defencemen, he knows when to leave the blue line to rush in on power play goals or make assists and can keep the puck in on a PP like none other. He has 3 goals, 3 assists in his first four games back, for those of you keeping track, that's a 1.5 PPG pace and while that should probably drop off a little, with 42 games remaining in the schedule, a PPG pace would have him at 46 points, which would have him in the general top 20 scorers among NHL defencemen despite missing a huge chunk of the season.
Why Montreal's won since Markov's return:
- Referencing the week before, Markov scored the first two goals against the Islanders last week to give them the game-winner with his first since Halak posted a shutout, then gave them the real psychological edge by scoring the 2nd goal. If you don't think having a defencemen return from lacerated tendons and scoring two goals against an opponent in his first game back doesn't get into the other team's heads, you're kidding yourself. Montreal was outshot, but Markov's offensive prescence sealed the game.
- In Atlanta, Markov maintained the puck prescence and worked the blue line like one of the great PP quarterbacks of the NHL, he took the Plekanec pass to feed Marc-Andre Bergeron perfectly, who sent another laser to the back of the Thrashers net to tie the game. I doubt anyone else could have set up the shot as well as he did, a tied game for OT and the Canadien's usual OT heroics.
- In Carolina, Markov opened the scoring on a perfect feed from Tomas Plekanec with not even a minute and a half passed in the period, giving the team a feel-good moment for the start of the game and offensive confidence, it was all downhill from there in the game for the team, offensive confidence is never to be underestimated, although the team did pretty well on the scoresheet for themselves, especially Glen Metropolit's two goals.
- In Toronto, what more can you say? He fed Cammalleri, who fed Plekanec for the 2nd goal of the game thanks to the brilliant outlet passes only he can manage on almost any given night. His defensive zone coverage was not that strong, but he's still recovering and it's evident, he will get better, than his feed to Andrei Kostitsyn in OT led to his contributing to a pivotal goal for the 4th time in as many games.
Markov's raised the team's offence to a new level with his return as he always does, generally responsible for making a goal happen in each game he plays, if not more than that.
The Plekanec Effect: A 3rd-round pick from 2001, Tomas Plekanec was never figured to make beyond 3rd line, right now he's top 15 in NHL scoring and has 10 points in his last 4 games. His vision is incredible and he has hands to match, he just knows when and where to put a puck on a player's stick to make a goal happen, while his goal-scoring could probably be better, he's added two goals in his last 3 games alone that are as nice as any you might see. His passes won the game in Atlanta by feeding Bergeron for the game-winner, set up the 1st 2nd and 3rd goals in Carolina and then scored the 2nd goal of the Toronto match, making "The Monster" seem quite mortal in the process.
The Reloaded AK46: Andrei Kostitsyn has been panned a few times and by a few I mean on a daily basis on every discussion about the Canadiens in the last 3 years. He was selected 10th in the 2003 entry draft, which saw talents like Ryan Getzlaf, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and Zach Parise all taken after of him and have all had better seasons than he's had so far. Andrei Kostitsyn arrived as the answer for who will be the next 40-goal scorer in Montreal, he was highly coveted thanks to his play in his time with his country's World Junior Team and with his reflexes, speed and ability to manage the puck, seemed a sure bet. It hasn't gone as well as planned, but it hasn't been as horrible as some say it has been. Andrei Kostitsyn has scored at least 20 goals in each of his last 2 seasons, although he displays the talent for scoring 30, 40 a season with his abilities.
Right now, he's on one of his best career scoring streaks and 2 of his 12 goals so far have been game-winning contributions, nothing less spectacular than the winner in OT with Toronto of course. With Plekanec and Cammalleri, he has found chemistry and his will to play, he can dangle in the offensive zone with the best of them and his backhander on Nicklas Backstrom last week in Minnesota was one of the slickest goals I've seen this season from anyone. Yes he'll need to work hard to get to 30 this season but at his scoring rate right now and the power of the Plekanec/Cammalleri/Kostitsyn line, it doesn't seem impossible, his wrist shot is a howitzer and his slap shot can find the back of the net just as easily, he's enjoying himself on the ice and you can see it when he scores. Andrei is throwing hits that are felt with his great speed and solid 6', 200 pound body while providing traffic in front of the net, his screen of the Atlanta goaltender allowed for the game-tying goal by Bergeron. Sniper meets Power Forward it seems of late.
The Cammalleri Factor: Mike Cammalleri is not known for scoring goals in road games, whether he likes a hometown crowd to boost him, nerves or whatever, he's scored only 4 of his 18 goals on the road this season and he'll likely hit 40 this season, but with about 30-35 of them on home ice, which suits the Canadiens store in the Bell Centre that sells Cammalleri T-shirts and Jerseys just fine. Cammalleri does still offer a potent offensive threat with his speed and ability to control the puck, he's had assists on a number of key goals this season on the road and that can't be undersold. He's a good team man and seems to be helping keep Andrei interested in the game he's playing, his ability to set up Andrei Kostitsyn alone gives reason to keep those two paired up as long as possible. Cammalleri has 4 assists on the road trip so far, but a couple markers would be nice as well.
Bergeron, the Biggest Steal of Free Agency: Marc-Andre Bergeron is a defencemen who doesn't really know how to play defence beyond the basics and sometimes even those elude the PP specialist, but never say he doesn't make up for that in the other team's end. Bergeron is tied for the goal-scoring lead amongst defencemen with 9 goals and he has 19 points total after missing training camp, pre-season and the first 7 games of Montreal's season. He's scored 4 game-winning goals and his 8th goal of the season directly led to him getting his 9th goal to win the Atlanta game. Simply speaking, he has a laser and knows how to put in the net, playing 4th-line winger and starting the first power play unit with Markov creates one of the most effective one-two punches in the NHL from the blue line, Markov can hit the net from close in on rushing plays, or feed Bergeron for one of his one-time blasts. Montreal has the No. 1 power play in the NHL thanks to that pair and it's easy to see why when they work the back end.
Jaroslav Halak, Starting Goalie?: The goalie debate has raged for years in Montreal, nothing solid since Patrick Roy left town, save Jose Theodore's incredible 2001-2002 season when he won Hart and Vezina, mostly heartbreak. Right now, Jaroslav Halak is playing at his absolute best, he has stopped endless 180 of 186 shots directed on his net, a .968 save percentage that makes just about any other NHL goaltender look bad. Granted, he's not facing the Penguins, Capitals or Blackhawks in these games but that's still a lot of pucks to stop and some of them have been excellent scoring chances he has denied his opposition. Great games for him and he's proving his skill and ability to maintain his team in a game despite all odds.
I don't see Price doing any better than Halak has done in his last 4 games, even at his best, maybe stopping one more goal than Halak perhaps, but four shutouts in the way the team gives the opposition free reign in their own zone? Not likely at all, those allowed goals were nigh-impossible for any goaltender. Halak still gives me fits, I hear the side posts bang too often when he covers against a shot and a few too many rebounds pop loose that have inflated his shot totals and save %. Granted, his rebound control has improved, but a junkyard dog like Mike Knuble, Tomas Holmstrom or similar make their bread and butter on collecting on pucks like that and jamming them in the nets. This road trip is a testament to Halak's skill, he can take the 40+ shot bombardments and keep his team in games while making key saves, but his record against contenders still gives me pause. No convincing wins over a Top 10 NHL team this season and that's a sticky issue, better than he appeared or will better teams home in on the weak spots, collect the rebounds or send that puck in between Halak and the post for a goal?
The 4-game winning streak is clearly in his back pocket and probably earns him this month's Molson Cup for Player of the Month, but Montreal's not facing a top NHL team until January 3rd, Buffalo once more and Halak has but one last chance to purge his demons with that team probably before Jacques Martin decides not to play him against them anymore, if he even sends him out to play them this time. On the 5th, it will be the Washington Capitals and possibly another chance for Jaro to collect some glory against Contenders but again. He will need to be in nets and help form a convincing win to set his status as a team-saver against any opposition in the NHL, right now he's collecting wins for Montreal over weaker teams they should be beating which I am thankful for but I'm not yet sold on him 100%. He's put on same game-saving performances of course, but Andrei Markov playing in November would likely have put Price up 2-4 wins in the column from the games the team just couldn't score any goals in at the same time.
Notable Assistants To the 4-game Streak: Josh Gorges has been his usual warrior self on the Blue Line as has Jaroslav Spacek, Scott Gomez has finally discovered some of his old form, while Sergei Kostitsyn fills in as a great penalty killer when it is asked of him. Travis Moen and Glen Metropolit are stalwart members of the checking lines that always do whatever is needed of them, while Max Pacioretty is continiously frustrated by an inability to hit the net, but tries regardless.
Thoughts going forward: The team has much to cheer about this week for extending themselves to a 4-game streak on the road, but considering how the week could have gone without Halak and Markov in the lineup, it likely would have been much, much worse. Hard work in practice and the rumoured return of both Roman Hamrlik and Brian Gionta to the lineup for Monday's game against the Senators will likely lead to big boosts both offensively and defensively, which will be welcome, Gionta's leadership and offensive skills and Hamrlik's steady hand on the blue line could lead Montreal to their best winning streak of the season really.
The Senators are hardly threatening missing both Captain Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, two of their best players but the way Montreal is playing I wouldn't bet against them either, Florida and Tampa have their own troubles for Montreal later on in the week, as Florida has always been a tricky team for Montreal to beat, while Tampa's Francophone crowd of Lecavalier, St. Louis and Tanguay generally raise their game against Montreal, Steven Stamkos exchanged his sophomore jinx for a rookie jinx apparently with 22 goals this season while Antero Nittymaki is playing a lot better than most of the players against him would prefer. On Sunday, Buffalo and possibly Halak's last chance to prove he can beat the surprising Sabres who finished out of playoff contention last season, although taking Ryan Miller for more than 2 goals this season is a dicey proposal at best so team defence and coordinated offence to break him will require one of Montreal's best games of the season likely.
Eight points are possible, but much depends on Jaroslav Halak, the impact of a returned Hamrlik and Gionta, while the top scoring lines keeps up their pace and above all, Andrei Markov's continual improvement in each game he plays. Tough week, weaker teams but weaker teams that somehow give Montreal much more trouble than they should.
Showing posts with label Cammalleri. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cammalleri. Show all posts
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Montreal Visits Ottawa, Refs have bets on Ottawa
I normally don't criticize officiating too much, but tonight was a pretty sad event.
Montreal had lost their first game of the six they will take against their division rival Ottawa this season, but this is a new century for the Habs team and a much more competitive, coordinated squad than the one that Ottawa faced in October.
The Roster: Some juggling involved, Matt D'Agostini was scratched, Tom Pyatt and Ryan White were back in to the lineup and Bergeron took over on Defence, with the upper-body injury to Mara. To start the match, Pyatt would take D'Agostini's place on the 2nd line with Gomez and SK74, White would suit up with Lapierre/Laraque to start the match, but that wouldn't last, but more later. Jaroslav Halak would get the call to start in nets, allowing Price, who had started in nets so often you sometimes wondered who the guy sitting on the end of the bench was.
The Opponent: Ottawa was having a better season than Montreal so far and hold two games in hand against Montreal although tonight's win would draw the team even in points if Montreal won. However, they had a scoring defiency in their elite players, high-flying Jason Spezza has only 3 goals this season, Alex Kovalev has 4, Cheechoo 3 as well. Mike Fischer had been putting up impressive numbers compared to last season, but he's been a lone bright spot. Ottawa backup goalie Brian Elliot had not been dominant as a goalie and Ottawa's D has been questionable for years. Factor in only 1 win in their last five games, the Senators looked good for a team to pounce on.
The First Period: Montreal would continue their trend of being outshot in the first period, which would have been trouble had Jaroslav Halak not shaken off the rust.
A period that would be dominated by Ottawa's offence, no penalties were drawn by either side in the game, Montreal would have few offensive chances, while Halak kept the Senators off the score sheet with some good saves, albeit his rebound control continues to be frustating at times.
Late in the 3rd, a Tomas Plekanec play that would see him steal the puck and race through the neutral zone, a deft play that would force Ottawa netminder to commit to him, then a quick saucer pass to Mike Cammalleri to slip a puck in and put Montreal up 1-0.
Jaroslav Spacek would take a puck off the side of his knee and left the ice limping, he would not return to the game. Ryan White also had to leave the game, apparently a miscommunication between the Canadiens organization and the League about bringing White up and putting him back on the Montreal roster, seems someone screwed up down the line. Montreal would be at 16 skaters to start the 2nd period.
The period would end 1-0, Montreal would be outshot 13-5 by the Senators during the first period.
The Second Period: The start of the officiating showing that they had money on Ottawa winning the game.
Mike Fisher would collect a goal, after blown defensive coverage in front of the Montreal net left him open with a sprawling Jaroslav Halak in front of him to lift the puck high and tie the match. Ottawa would soon get many chances to take the lead in the match.
George Laraque would get caught on the first penalty and it was a fair call, Laraque was an idiot and he was trying to give Kovalev a bear hug apparently on the play. Montreal's penalty kill unit went to work once more, Halak would make the right stops and Montreal would limit their opportunities.
Four minutes later, Travis Moen would violate the little-known Wearing the Montreal Canadiens Sweater Rule, which has been a common penalty for Montreal to take this season. A key penalty kill member was off the ice, but Montreal's PK unit, working with Jaroslav Halak would deny any glory to the Ottawa PP unit, including a heroic unit during the Moen penalty that held for over a minute with no change. Moen would be slipped the puck when he got out of the box and would make a breakaway attempt, but chasing Ottawa Ds would tackle him down in front of the net, which looked like an interference penalty from where I sat.
After several ignored infractions by the Senators, Ottawa's Erik Carlsson would be cited for an interference penalty, giving Montreal their first power play of the game. With a pass from Roman Hamrlik, Marc-Andre Bergeron would release another one of his lasers from the point, an Ottawa stick would deflect the puck down to knuckle through the Ottawa goalie's 5-hole, Tomas Plekanec would also collect an assist on the play, his 2nd on the night. Montreal takes a 2-1 lead in the game.
Not long after the goal, Hal Gill would get caught on a tripping penalty, another key Montreal penalty killer off the ice, but Montreal would not give an inch. Saves by Halak, shot-blocks and keeping the shots to the outside, Ottawa's PP unit continued to be rather unimpressive for the most part.
Ryan O'Byrne would get caught next, because as he discovered, backchecking and playing your position is also a penalty when you play for Montreal, but another strong penalty kill and strong saves by Jaroslav Halak would keep the score 2-1 for Montreal while the clock winded down on the period, leaving about 25 seconds left in the O'Byrne penalty for the start of the 3rd period. Montreal would have 13 shots this period, but Ottawa now held a 31-18 shot advantage.
The Third Period:
Ottawa came out with a power play, but it ended quickly and Montreal didn't allow any chances as back-and-forth offence continued.
More Ottawa infractions that went unnoticed, but Bergeron and Gill were caught about five minutes apart one apparent penalties that were questionable at best, Montreal's penalty killers had to go to work once more, again missing one of their best PK men in Gill on his 2nd penalty on the night, but the hard work of the PK unit and Halak eliminated both chances for Ottawa.
Former Hab Alex Kovalev, near toward the end of the Gill penalty would get caught for a slashing penalty on Bergeron's stick, but Montreal was held off during their power play after brief 4-on-4 action and would collect no goal.
Max Pacioretty would then get caught for a tripping penalty, again after Ottawa penalties were ignored, which would lead to one last Ottawa power play, a heroic PK unit would do all they needed and Jaroslav Halak would do all he needed to do.
A foolish, boneheaded Too Many Men penalty would sink Ottawa's hopes of closing the gap, with six Ottawa skaters clearly on the ice and the goalie in nets with just less than 3 minutes left. Montreal would take their third power play of the game and seal the deal.
A Marc-Andre Bergeron end-to-end rush which produced a shot and rebound off of Ottawa goalie Elliott, Andrei Kostitsyn would pounce on it and put it in the back of the net to give Montreal a 3-1 lead. Tomas Plekanec would get his 3rd assist of the night and restore himself to point-per-game numbers for his season.
Just over a minute later, an aggressive Scott Gomez forecheck would give him the puck and after a weak shot bounced off the goalpost, Gomez would force his way in to tap in an empty-net goal as Ottawa had pulled their goalie for a 6th attacker with a minute and a half left.
Montreal would pick up their 3rd straight win, after being outshot 47-26 over three periods, however quality of the shots ruled the day and superb penalty killing and goaltending lifted Montreal over a division rival for two key points in the standings.
The Offence: Tomas Plekanec, Mike Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn continue to be Montreal's best line, offensive creativity, speed and smooth stickhandling that challenges any line that goes up against them. 27 goals so far between the three with 17 by Cammalleri, but you can tell a lot more are going to be generated pretty soon.
Gomez/Pyatt/Sergei Kostitsyn, didn't last long as Max Pacioretty would earn a promotion later on so the line could generate more offence, but Sergei's great moves in the offensive zone, in additional to his penalty killing abilities make for a great player, Gomez showed much more commitment than he has in previous games without his buddy Gionta in the lineup, his hard work gave him that EN goal. Pyatt's okay, but I get the feeling he's better off on the farm for development.
Metropolit/Moen/Pacioretty, they will bring the playoffs as I've said before, they haven't scored in the last two games, but they've looked pretty close to scoring and you can't say they've allowed even half the number of the scoring chances they generate. Metropolit defines being an MVP for his pay grade, creativity, faceoff skills and a relentless attitude that puts games in Montreal's hands because nothing happens on his shift unless he lets it happen.
Lapierre/Laraque/White, this didn't last long, Laraque rode the bench in the 3rd period, White had to leave the game, which meant Lapierre would be rotated through the other three lines through the course of the 3rd period and really denied Lapierre any chance to generate anything. He's having to work his way up into Martin's good graces after a sad effort through his first 25 games or so, he'll have to keep working hard but tonight sort of worked against him for having a regular line.
Defence: Is it possible to say too much about these guys? They're heroes as always.
Spacek did an admirable job as long as he was in the game as per usual, I really hope he comes out of his latest injury pretty quickly and it's not serious, he and Hamrlik have been such a great top pair while Markov is out.
Hamrlik had 28:11 of ice time, after putting in just short of 24 minutes the night before, not bad for the 35 year old former first overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, he's playing some of the best hockey of his career with smart defensive hockey and good stick handling, he does all the team needs him to do and never complains. A team player in every sense of the word, elevating himself when he has to, filling in while Markov is gone to form a solid Top D-Man for his team.
Ryan O'Byrne is continuing to be an impressive defensive defencemen, coming back from a disasterous partial season in Montreal last season, he has made smart plays, used his body well and helped cover his goaltender, his contributions to a shorthanded rush during the game nearly gave Montreal a shorthanded goal, as he nearly almost got one against Pittsburgh a few nights ago. He and Bergeron played a solid amount of time together, although since defensive assignments were moved around and many pairings occured for all situations, solid work for him and Bergeron even out of their usual assignments. Bergeron had another goal and set up the rebound that allowed AK46 to get his 4th of the season, for 750,000$ this season and 7 goals, I'd say he was a pretty good late addition to the team.
Josh Gorges and Hal Gill continue to be that pair I favour for hard work, they cover their goalie and make smart, safe defensive plays for the most part, provide shot blocks and do what is needed to keep the defensive end of Montreal's game solid. Team men and good guys all around.
Goaltending: A good comeback game for Halak after an ugly loss in Buffalo, he shook off the rust and delivered one of those big games he's capable of putting up when he has to and the team needs it. The only goal against him was not his fault and I doubt Price on his best net would have prevented it, nothing to be ashamed of, everything to be proud of. Halak continues to be one of the best backup goalies in the NHL, in terms of salary cap and ability.
Three Stars
1. Jaroslav Spacek, a 45-save evening? What more do you want from the guy? Great performance for a goalie who's barely seen action since the middle of November.
2. Tomas Plekanec, he set up the Cammalleri goal and was instrumental in the cycles that set up the Bergeron and Kostitsyn goals, he continues to be the best centre in Montreal, over 6 minutes of PK time speaks to his strength at that position.
3. Roman Hamrlik, he sets up the Bergeron goal and plays an inhuman number of minutes for a Defencemen in Montreal whose name is not Markov. A career year for an aging defencemen who will pass over 1200 GP in January.
Thoughts:
Three wins in a row. Three regulation wins, three wins where Montreal outscored the opposition 5-1, 3-1 and 4-1, they scored twelve goals and only allowed three, Cammalleri scored five times and now has 17 goals this season. I'd say Montreal took the Centennial game to heart based on their current play, they don't give up, their forwards strike with lethal precision these days when scoring chances occur and defensively, the PK unit and goaltending has been a black hole for teams going against it with the man advantage.
That's the start of a good December and a consistent winning record that will help Montreal get in playoff position for April, any ground gained now while Markov is out is one less game we must hope Markov can help deliver later when the MVP Defencemen returns.
Andrei Kostitsyn has two goals in his last two games, which could indicate with the net prescence he has shown in his last two matches that many more could come from the gifted sniper who's had a hard time finding the net this season. His linemates Plekanec and Cammalleri seem to be the right fit for the young Belarusian forward.
Halak showed he doesn't take long to throw off the rust and played a strong game, he'll be a key backup for Price in a month of 17 games for the team, I imagine he'll have 3-4 more games this month depending upon Price's play and the schedule. He's good enough for it and is probably good enough to be a starting man in half the NHL, but that will come later for the Slovak netminder, he'll need the practice to first cover his National Team at the Olympics in February.
Montreal faces Pittsburgh on Thursday, so they can only hope Spacek is ready for that match, otherwise it will be a much more difficult time of things with Mara already out with an upper-body injury, a body will have to be called up from the farm likely. Pittsburgh caught a rather uncoordinated Canadiens squad when they pounded them 6-1, then later 3-1 when Montreal was composed of half an AHL team on their second straight game and still stood up to them remarkably well. This time, five of Montreal's top 6 forwards will be ready to go, the Metropolit/Moen/Pacioretty line will shut down Pittsburgh offence, while Hal Gill and Josh Gorges will give the Penguins Deja Vu of their own Scuderi/Gill line from the Playoffs last season. It's a winnable game for Montreal with their current work ethic, special teams work and available players, the Penguins are a tough team with way too much talent they picked up from being bottom-feeders, but I think Montreal as they are right now has a good chance to extend the streak to four games.
Ex-Habs Recognition:
- Saku Koivu assisted on the 2nd Anaheim goal of the game against the Dallas Stars and the first goal on the 2nd game of rookie call-up Dan Sexton's NHL career. Koivu would later mark the OT winner for Anaheim for his 4th goal of the season.
- Alex Kovalev was held without a point against his former club Montreal, one of those nights he decided not to work.
- Former dimunitive D-man Francis Boullion assisted on the 2nd goal of the Nashville-Vancouver game, setting up the second of Martin Erat's hat trick.
Juniors Habs Recognition:
Nothing much from the kids, the week's generally quiet for days at a time for prospects.
Montreal had lost their first game of the six they will take against their division rival Ottawa this season, but this is a new century for the Habs team and a much more competitive, coordinated squad than the one that Ottawa faced in October.
The Roster: Some juggling involved, Matt D'Agostini was scratched, Tom Pyatt and Ryan White were back in to the lineup and Bergeron took over on Defence, with the upper-body injury to Mara. To start the match, Pyatt would take D'Agostini's place on the 2nd line with Gomez and SK74, White would suit up with Lapierre/Laraque to start the match, but that wouldn't last, but more later. Jaroslav Halak would get the call to start in nets, allowing Price, who had started in nets so often you sometimes wondered who the guy sitting on the end of the bench was.
The Opponent: Ottawa was having a better season than Montreal so far and hold two games in hand against Montreal although tonight's win would draw the team even in points if Montreal won. However, they had a scoring defiency in their elite players, high-flying Jason Spezza has only 3 goals this season, Alex Kovalev has 4, Cheechoo 3 as well. Mike Fischer had been putting up impressive numbers compared to last season, but he's been a lone bright spot. Ottawa backup goalie Brian Elliot had not been dominant as a goalie and Ottawa's D has been questionable for years. Factor in only 1 win in their last five games, the Senators looked good for a team to pounce on.
The First Period: Montreal would continue their trend of being outshot in the first period, which would have been trouble had Jaroslav Halak not shaken off the rust.
A period that would be dominated by Ottawa's offence, no penalties were drawn by either side in the game, Montreal would have few offensive chances, while Halak kept the Senators off the score sheet with some good saves, albeit his rebound control continues to be frustating at times.
Late in the 3rd, a Tomas Plekanec play that would see him steal the puck and race through the neutral zone, a deft play that would force Ottawa netminder to commit to him, then a quick saucer pass to Mike Cammalleri to slip a puck in and put Montreal up 1-0.
Jaroslav Spacek would take a puck off the side of his knee and left the ice limping, he would not return to the game. Ryan White also had to leave the game, apparently a miscommunication between the Canadiens organization and the League about bringing White up and putting him back on the Montreal roster, seems someone screwed up down the line. Montreal would be at 16 skaters to start the 2nd period.
The period would end 1-0, Montreal would be outshot 13-5 by the Senators during the first period.
The Second Period: The start of the officiating showing that they had money on Ottawa winning the game.
Mike Fisher would collect a goal, after blown defensive coverage in front of the Montreal net left him open with a sprawling Jaroslav Halak in front of him to lift the puck high and tie the match. Ottawa would soon get many chances to take the lead in the match.
George Laraque would get caught on the first penalty and it was a fair call, Laraque was an idiot and he was trying to give Kovalev a bear hug apparently on the play. Montreal's penalty kill unit went to work once more, Halak would make the right stops and Montreal would limit their opportunities.
Four minutes later, Travis Moen would violate the little-known Wearing the Montreal Canadiens Sweater Rule, which has been a common penalty for Montreal to take this season. A key penalty kill member was off the ice, but Montreal's PK unit, working with Jaroslav Halak would deny any glory to the Ottawa PP unit, including a heroic unit during the Moen penalty that held for over a minute with no change. Moen would be slipped the puck when he got out of the box and would make a breakaway attempt, but chasing Ottawa Ds would tackle him down in front of the net, which looked like an interference penalty from where I sat.
After several ignored infractions by the Senators, Ottawa's Erik Carlsson would be cited for an interference penalty, giving Montreal their first power play of the game. With a pass from Roman Hamrlik, Marc-Andre Bergeron would release another one of his lasers from the point, an Ottawa stick would deflect the puck down to knuckle through the Ottawa goalie's 5-hole, Tomas Plekanec would also collect an assist on the play, his 2nd on the night. Montreal takes a 2-1 lead in the game.
Not long after the goal, Hal Gill would get caught on a tripping penalty, another key Montreal penalty killer off the ice, but Montreal would not give an inch. Saves by Halak, shot-blocks and keeping the shots to the outside, Ottawa's PP unit continued to be rather unimpressive for the most part.
Ryan O'Byrne would get caught next, because as he discovered, backchecking and playing your position is also a penalty when you play for Montreal, but another strong penalty kill and strong saves by Jaroslav Halak would keep the score 2-1 for Montreal while the clock winded down on the period, leaving about 25 seconds left in the O'Byrne penalty for the start of the 3rd period. Montreal would have 13 shots this period, but Ottawa now held a 31-18 shot advantage.
The Third Period:
Ottawa came out with a power play, but it ended quickly and Montreal didn't allow any chances as back-and-forth offence continued.
More Ottawa infractions that went unnoticed, but Bergeron and Gill were caught about five minutes apart one apparent penalties that were questionable at best, Montreal's penalty killers had to go to work once more, again missing one of their best PK men in Gill on his 2nd penalty on the night, but the hard work of the PK unit and Halak eliminated both chances for Ottawa.
Former Hab Alex Kovalev, near toward the end of the Gill penalty would get caught for a slashing penalty on Bergeron's stick, but Montreal was held off during their power play after brief 4-on-4 action and would collect no goal.
Max Pacioretty would then get caught for a tripping penalty, again after Ottawa penalties were ignored, which would lead to one last Ottawa power play, a heroic PK unit would do all they needed and Jaroslav Halak would do all he needed to do.
A foolish, boneheaded Too Many Men penalty would sink Ottawa's hopes of closing the gap, with six Ottawa skaters clearly on the ice and the goalie in nets with just less than 3 minutes left. Montreal would take their third power play of the game and seal the deal.
A Marc-Andre Bergeron end-to-end rush which produced a shot and rebound off of Ottawa goalie Elliott, Andrei Kostitsyn would pounce on it and put it in the back of the net to give Montreal a 3-1 lead. Tomas Plekanec would get his 3rd assist of the night and restore himself to point-per-game numbers for his season.
Just over a minute later, an aggressive Scott Gomez forecheck would give him the puck and after a weak shot bounced off the goalpost, Gomez would force his way in to tap in an empty-net goal as Ottawa had pulled their goalie for a 6th attacker with a minute and a half left.
Montreal would pick up their 3rd straight win, after being outshot 47-26 over three periods, however quality of the shots ruled the day and superb penalty killing and goaltending lifted Montreal over a division rival for two key points in the standings.
The Offence: Tomas Plekanec, Mike Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn continue to be Montreal's best line, offensive creativity, speed and smooth stickhandling that challenges any line that goes up against them. 27 goals so far between the three with 17 by Cammalleri, but you can tell a lot more are going to be generated pretty soon.
Gomez/Pyatt/Sergei Kostitsyn, didn't last long as Max Pacioretty would earn a promotion later on so the line could generate more offence, but Sergei's great moves in the offensive zone, in additional to his penalty killing abilities make for a great player, Gomez showed much more commitment than he has in previous games without his buddy Gionta in the lineup, his hard work gave him that EN goal. Pyatt's okay, but I get the feeling he's better off on the farm for development.
Metropolit/Moen/Pacioretty, they will bring the playoffs as I've said before, they haven't scored in the last two games, but they've looked pretty close to scoring and you can't say they've allowed even half the number of the scoring chances they generate. Metropolit defines being an MVP for his pay grade, creativity, faceoff skills and a relentless attitude that puts games in Montreal's hands because nothing happens on his shift unless he lets it happen.
Lapierre/Laraque/White, this didn't last long, Laraque rode the bench in the 3rd period, White had to leave the game, which meant Lapierre would be rotated through the other three lines through the course of the 3rd period and really denied Lapierre any chance to generate anything. He's having to work his way up into Martin's good graces after a sad effort through his first 25 games or so, he'll have to keep working hard but tonight sort of worked against him for having a regular line.
Defence: Is it possible to say too much about these guys? They're heroes as always.
Spacek did an admirable job as long as he was in the game as per usual, I really hope he comes out of his latest injury pretty quickly and it's not serious, he and Hamrlik have been such a great top pair while Markov is out.
Hamrlik had 28:11 of ice time, after putting in just short of 24 minutes the night before, not bad for the 35 year old former first overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning, he's playing some of the best hockey of his career with smart defensive hockey and good stick handling, he does all the team needs him to do and never complains. A team player in every sense of the word, elevating himself when he has to, filling in while Markov is gone to form a solid Top D-Man for his team.
Ryan O'Byrne is continuing to be an impressive defensive defencemen, coming back from a disasterous partial season in Montreal last season, he has made smart plays, used his body well and helped cover his goaltender, his contributions to a shorthanded rush during the game nearly gave Montreal a shorthanded goal, as he nearly almost got one against Pittsburgh a few nights ago. He and Bergeron played a solid amount of time together, although since defensive assignments were moved around and many pairings occured for all situations, solid work for him and Bergeron even out of their usual assignments. Bergeron had another goal and set up the rebound that allowed AK46 to get his 4th of the season, for 750,000$ this season and 7 goals, I'd say he was a pretty good late addition to the team.
Josh Gorges and Hal Gill continue to be that pair I favour for hard work, they cover their goalie and make smart, safe defensive plays for the most part, provide shot blocks and do what is needed to keep the defensive end of Montreal's game solid. Team men and good guys all around.
Goaltending: A good comeback game for Halak after an ugly loss in Buffalo, he shook off the rust and delivered one of those big games he's capable of putting up when he has to and the team needs it. The only goal against him was not his fault and I doubt Price on his best net would have prevented it, nothing to be ashamed of, everything to be proud of. Halak continues to be one of the best backup goalies in the NHL, in terms of salary cap and ability.
Three Stars
1. Jaroslav Spacek, a 45-save evening? What more do you want from the guy? Great performance for a goalie who's barely seen action since the middle of November.
2. Tomas Plekanec, he set up the Cammalleri goal and was instrumental in the cycles that set up the Bergeron and Kostitsyn goals, he continues to be the best centre in Montreal, over 6 minutes of PK time speaks to his strength at that position.
3. Roman Hamrlik, he sets up the Bergeron goal and plays an inhuman number of minutes for a Defencemen in Montreal whose name is not Markov. A career year for an aging defencemen who will pass over 1200 GP in January.
Thoughts:
Three wins in a row. Three regulation wins, three wins where Montreal outscored the opposition 5-1, 3-1 and 4-1, they scored twelve goals and only allowed three, Cammalleri scored five times and now has 17 goals this season. I'd say Montreal took the Centennial game to heart based on their current play, they don't give up, their forwards strike with lethal precision these days when scoring chances occur and defensively, the PK unit and goaltending has been a black hole for teams going against it with the man advantage.
That's the start of a good December and a consistent winning record that will help Montreal get in playoff position for April, any ground gained now while Markov is out is one less game we must hope Markov can help deliver later when the MVP Defencemen returns.
Andrei Kostitsyn has two goals in his last two games, which could indicate with the net prescence he has shown in his last two matches that many more could come from the gifted sniper who's had a hard time finding the net this season. His linemates Plekanec and Cammalleri seem to be the right fit for the young Belarusian forward.
Halak showed he doesn't take long to throw off the rust and played a strong game, he'll be a key backup for Price in a month of 17 games for the team, I imagine he'll have 3-4 more games this month depending upon Price's play and the schedule. He's good enough for it and is probably good enough to be a starting man in half the NHL, but that will come later for the Slovak netminder, he'll need the practice to first cover his National Team at the Olympics in February.
Montreal faces Pittsburgh on Thursday, so they can only hope Spacek is ready for that match, otherwise it will be a much more difficult time of things with Mara already out with an upper-body injury, a body will have to be called up from the farm likely. Pittsburgh caught a rather uncoordinated Canadiens squad when they pounded them 6-1, then later 3-1 when Montreal was composed of half an AHL team on their second straight game and still stood up to them remarkably well. This time, five of Montreal's top 6 forwards will be ready to go, the Metropolit/Moen/Pacioretty line will shut down Pittsburgh offence, while Hal Gill and Josh Gorges will give the Penguins Deja Vu of their own Scuderi/Gill line from the Playoffs last season. It's a winnable game for Montreal with their current work ethic, special teams work and available players, the Penguins are a tough team with way too much talent they picked up from being bottom-feeders, but I think Montreal as they are right now has a good chance to extend the streak to four games.
Ex-Habs Recognition:
- Saku Koivu assisted on the 2nd Anaheim goal of the game against the Dallas Stars and the first goal on the 2nd game of rookie call-up Dan Sexton's NHL career. Koivu would later mark the OT winner for Anaheim for his 4th goal of the season.
- Alex Kovalev was held without a point against his former club Montreal, one of those nights he decided not to work.
- Former dimunitive D-man Francis Boullion assisted on the 2nd goal of the Nashville-Vancouver game, setting up the second of Martin Erat's hat trick.
Juniors Habs Recognition:
Nothing much from the kids, the week's generally quiet for days at a time for prospects.
Friday, December 4, 2009
The Centennial Game, Montreal-Boston, A Night of Legends and History
I've not always been the most ardent supporter of Les Habitants through my life, but I've never had nothing else but the utmost respect for the history of the team. They did a fantastic tribute to the team on the official, 100th year anniversary of the Club's founding and I can't imagine how the night could have gone any better.
Every Montreal legend who could still skate was out there, Lafleur, Dryden, Robinson, Cournoyer, Carbonneau, Roy, Lapointe, Savard, Gainey, Mahovlich, Naslund, Houle, Jarvis and more. A series of legends in Montreal took to the ice and recieved an enormous, thundering applause from the Bell Centre faithful. The organization has always showed class in these events and they outdid themselves, from Serge Savard introducing Patrick Roy to Gordie Howe "Mr. Hockey" introducing Le Gros Bill, Jean Beliveau, the consummate Team player, Gentlemen and a magnificent player.
Tonight, two more sweaters were retired and lifted to the rafters of the Bell Centre, Elmer Lach's #16 and Emile 'Butch' Bouchard's #3. Lach formed one third of the infamous 'Punch Line' of the 1940s with Rocket Richard and Toe Blake, together these three would terrorize the entire NHL, the Rocket would score 50 goals in 50 games and two Stanley Cups would be won in three years. Bouchard was one of the legendary defencemen of the team, the Captain from 1948-1956, he would lead the team to two Stanley Cups including the first of the team's legendary 5-straight from 1956-1960. Bouchard was a dominant blue-liner for his entire time with the Canadiens, his ability was so persistent some of it passed down to his son Pierre Bouchard who would suit up with Montreal in later years. The finest defencemen Montreal has seen since Chris Chelios left the team, Andrei Markov who is recovering from injury came out with Ryan O'Byrne to assist in hanging the banners, Ryan O'Byrne proudly removed his jersey bearing his usual #3 to reveal that he would wear #20 from now and handed it off to Bouchard. The organization has always had class in respect to honouring the past and recognizing the achievements of the team's legendary players and tonight was no exception. A grand picture with the legends of the team and the current roster of the Montreal Canadiens was taken, I can only imagine what that picture, signed by all those who were in it would command in an auction. The amount of trophy metal and Stanley Cup rings collected by those legends? Too much to count, they defined hockey for decades with their play and show why Montreal has been the greatest team in the history of the sport.
They changed up the National Anthems for the night, having members of the brass section of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra play them with no one singing, it was an excellent move I felt, they performed it beautifully.
Now to the game, to say this would be a statement game for the rest of the season would be an understatement. The Canadiens had come off of two bad losses in a row, they'd dropped a decision to the Washington Capitals in a shootout after nearly securing a rare regulation win the dying seconds of 3rd period but lost out to a game-tying goal, then suffered the humiliation of being shut out by the Maple Leafs. That was pretty bad, then Buffalo shelled Montreal 6-2 because of an invisible defence in front of Jaroslav Halak, after Montreal had attempted a comeback, but Buffalo stunned them with 2 more goals to make the night an embarassment rather than at least an honorable loss. This was the Centennial Game, the team had stood with the legends of the team and were going to be watched by them all night long, they had to win the game to retain their honour it seemed. They did not disappoint, they would play their most dominant game against a Contender team this season.
The Roster: Jacques Martin mixed things up tonight, deciding to employ defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron in a role some fans (including myself) have felt he would excel at, a 4th-line forward but playing the point on power play situations. Hal Gill, sidelined for a month with a fractured foot returned to the game, which I felt also helped the team off the ice, he has always been noted as being that great locker room guy that every team likes having around, he would pair with Gorges to form a great shutdown line all night long. Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek would form their usual steady pairing while Paul Mara and Ryan O'Byrne teamed up to form the rest of the defence.
Georges Laraque teamed up with Max Lapierre and Bergeron, back in the lineup after serving a deserved 5-game suspension for his knee-on-knee collision with Niklas Kronwall, who I have to admit kind of had it coming. The third line formed a checking line that is becoming a pleasure to watch, Glen Metropolit, Travis Moen and Max Pacioretty, only one goal on the night but they hounded the Boston team all night long and nearly cashed in on several scoring opportunities throughout the game. Sergei Kostitsyn, based on his excellent play with Scott Gomez in last night's Buffalo game that helped nearly spark a comeback for the team teamed up with the recently returned centremen, along with Matt D'Agostini, another recent return from the IR list. Andrei Kostitsyn, Tomas Plekanec and Mike Cammalleri stayed to form what has been the team's best line since Brian Gionta's broken foot ended the Gionta/Gomez/Cammalleri line which carried the team through October. Rookies Tom Pyatt and Ryan White, who had done honorable work for the team but Jacques Martin's feeling was a different lineup was required against the Bruins team decided they would sit out the match. It was a questionable decision to start the match, Georges Laraque has been mostly a liability this season and last, Pyatt and White had been hard-working PK men to this point, but had only two points between them in 13 games each, both assists by White and were a combined -12 in that stretch. I can't say Laraque impressed me on the night, but he didn't make any glaring errors that stick out in my mind.
The Opponent: The Boston Bruins were a dangerous team, they had won 6 of their last 7 games and their only loss had been in the shootout. Marc Savard, one of the league's most dangerous playmakers and the team's best centre this season, Patrice Bergeron were both looking to take it to a Montreal team Boston had bested five of 6 times last season and swept in the playoffs. Zdeno Chara had won the Norris Trophy as the League's best defencemen while goalie Tim Thomas had been a hard man for the Canadiens to solve last season and had won the Vezina Trophy and William M. Jennings trophy for Best Goalie and for least regular season goals allowed by a team respectively. Former Habs Michael Ryder and Steve Begin were very much in favour of proving the team had been wrong to get rid of them.
The First Period: The team had a good, strong start that saw back-and-forth offence between the two teams, Montreal had come out to play and they were committing 100% effort to the match. Montreal had several good scoring chances through the period and while it is a little early to say a first-period save by the goalie was the game-changing moment, but it was. After a breakdown during the power play would give Boston the puck, Carey Price would stone Marco Sturm on the breakaway and restore life to the Canadiens offence.
They would score a goal four seconds after their first power play ended, a one-timer from the point off a great pass by Scott Gomez to Jaroslav Spacek who would blast in a shot to beat Tim Thomas on his glove side, 1-0 Montreal.
Ryan O'Byrne would later be caught on a weak interference penalty, but Montreal killed it off, beginning the start of a perfect penalty kill for the evening. A second power play would deliver no goals for Montreal, but their offensive pressure gave them the overall edge for the period, while Price would make strong saves to keep the score 1-0. Montreal would end the period with a 10-8 shot advantage.
The Second Period: The game ended for the Bruins in nearly as much time as it took for Montreal to score their first goal of the Buffalo game last night. Price's saves had energized the team, Hal Gill had returned to help keep the team composed in the locker room and they knew they had the Bruins where they wanted them with an aggressive forecheck and a 100% effort the team has used to get their wins this season.
The period looked to have turned against Montreal early on though, after a scrum around the Montreal goal following a tight save by Carey Price, Jaroslav Spacek and Maxim Lapierre were both served with roughing minors and while I can see why Lapierre took the penalty, I can't see how Spacek's was justified at all. Boston would have a full 2 minutes of 5-on-3 power play with Zdeno Chara, the fastest slapshot in the NHL on the point, with Marc Savard, one of the league's best set-up man ready to go. The penalty killers were brilliant, Price moreso as key stops were made, shots were blocked and Hal Gill used that massive 6'7" frame of his to interfere with everything he could reach, which was quite a bit, he and Gorges self-sacrificing ways for shot blocks showed great commitment to the team and Price himself. The 5-on-3 was killed off but Montreal really wanted to rub it in and exact justice for a rather unjustified penalty, 36 seconds later, they would score and the game's momentum was irrevocably changed.
A Plekanec play slightly over 8 minutes into the 2nd period that initially missed the net, but with great offensive pressure by Montreal saw Mike Cammalleri score on the third rebound of the puck against Tim Thomas to give Montreal a 2-0 lead, his 13th goal of the season, which was rather unlucky for Boston.
5 minutes, 23 seconds later, Cammalleri would pounce on a puck that Thomas mishandled to slip it through the Boston netminder's 5-hole to secure his 2nd goal of the night and push the lead to 3-0.
Montreal wasn't even close to finishing their offensive clinic for the night, a quick pass from the ever-improving Max Pacioretty to Hal Gill, who fired off a shot towards the Boston goal was redirected by a perfect Glen Metropolit tip-in to give Gill his first assist of the season and Metropolit his 6th goal.
Cammalleri hadn't quite finished using the Boston Bruins to pad his stats for the night, feeding off of a great pass from Scott Gomez, his one-timer would beat Tim Thomas to earn his 2nd hat trick of the season and after only wearing the Habs uniform for 28 games, 5-0 for Montreal.
The efficiency of the Montreal shooters gave them 4 goals in 13 shots for the period, although now Boston had outshot them 26-23 over 40 minutes, thanks largely in part to the 5-on-3 situation. Montreal had not scored 5 goals on Boston in over a year until this game. Sergei Kostitsyn would leave the ice late in the 2nd period after a collision with a Boston player that seemed to injure his knee, we can only pray this is not too serious, Montreal's had a hard time retaining their top 6 talent of late.
The Third Period: Tim Thomas was pulled and Tukka Rask came in, who put on a fine performance for a late-game appearance. Sergei Kostitsyn had not returned to the bench, leaving Jacques Martin to double-shift Mike Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn for stretches of the game. Montreal was pushed back more in this period, Boston needed something from this game to feel better about going into tommorow night, they didn't need to get wiped out by Montreal and demoralized for their game against Toronto the following night.
A redirection mid-flight by Bruins player Sobotka who had been tangled up with Josh Gorges on a Matt Hunwick slapshot from the point beat Price, who barely even saw the puck because of the Sobotka/Gorges screen. Price had nothing to be ashamed of on that play, but it was a bit heartbreaking as for about the 4th time this season, nothing that was his fault denied him a shutout against an opponent that had caused him much grief in his young career, the score went to 5-1.
Boston further got a chance to get the score closer and spoil Montreal's night as penalties against Montreal started to pile up. Maxim Lapierre was caught on an accidental double-minor high-sticking which drew blood, which is another reason I always argue for the visor, that Boston player might have lost his eye on that play had the stick been an inch up and to the left where he was cut. The double-minor set in, Montreal's penalty killers went to work again to deny Boston any more goals and did so, Gorges and Gill threw themselves into the shot block heroically time and again and every other Montreal player gave it everything they had, or too much.
After 2:34 of penalty kill action, D'Agostini got caught slashing and it turned into a 5-on-3 once more. More sacrifice from the penalty killers, brilliance by Price prevented any more goals, but Tomas Plekanec and David Krejci would each go off the ice for penalties off of a faceoff, with Plekanec serving a double minor for high-sticking, while Krejci served a single minor for roughing. 12 seconds later, Bruins forward Marco Sturm would be caught for tripping, turning the penalty into a 4-on-3 situation. The theme of the night continued, perfect penalty killing and great goalie work as the 4-on-3 became 4-on-4, then 5-on-4 for a brief Boston power play before all the players were finally released from the sin bin.
The rest of the game showed a bit of weariness in Montreal, but considering it was their 2nd game in two nights and they had killed off a grinding series of penalties, I think one might forgive them for being a bit sluggish towards the end. Montreal tried for a 6th goal towards the end, but their weariness and a more resolute Boston defence kept them at bay so the final score would remain 5-1.
The last thirty seconds ended with Montreal managing a little keep-away game against the Bruins, not wanting them to spoil the night any further with a quick goal.
The crowd would seranade the Boston Bruins with the "Hey Hey, Goodbye" song as early as 8 minutes remaining in the third, which would seem to invite bad karma, but the Canadiens kept it locked down and Boston seemed to have accepted their fate to a certain degree, better to be ready to take it against the Maple Leafs the next night then kill themselves for a nigh-impossible comeback.
The Offence: Magnificent across three lines, Lapierre/Bergeron/Laraque was marred by Laraque being ineffective as a forward on a Jacques Martin team and Bergeron's first time playing forward, Lapierre's penalties really took away from his effectiveness on the night.
The Metropolit/Moen/Pacioretty line showed themselves to be one of the best checking lines in the NHL, they locked down their opponents and had more scoring chances against Boston than they allowed against their own team, which culminated in Metropolit's tally on the night. Pacioretty nearly cashed in himself several times only to be denied by Tim Thomas and Tukka Rask and was strong all night long, his best game of the season. Travis Moen played the strong defensive forward role he's embraced in Montreal, he and Metropolit played well in both the offensive zone and the penalty kill.
The Scott Gomez/Matt D'Agostini/Sergei Kostitsyn line had less than 40 minutes together but they plated well, Gomez's passes in the offensive zone set up two goals and D'Agostini seemed much more in place tonight than his last game, hopefully an encouraging sign since he would now have to clear waivers to return to Bulldogs for more AHL time. Sergei Kostitsyn would see penalty killing time and set up some plays that might have become goals, however his injury cut off his chances of adding any offensive totals to his night.
The Cammalleri/Plekanec/Andrei Kostitsyn would bury the Bruins effectively, Cammalleri cashing in on Plekanec's rebound then securing his 2nd goal unassisted, he is an offensive dynamo that at his current pace, will likely enjoy a 40-goal season and is the best goal-scorer I've seen in years that plays for Montreal. Tomas Plekanec had a strong night again, not as productive as he has been but he would be a key member of the penalty kill and solid all night long. Andrei Kostitsyn was kept to a single assist, but you can feel it from the way he's playing lately that the goals are coming, he always seems to get almost to the net and then misses the chance or is never fed the puck in a scoring position. Nevertheless, he had good offensive zone pressure for most of the night and I know he's going to really start lighting it up soon.
The Defence: Six Heroes took to the ice tonight, the game could have been a whole lot harder had these fine players not done everything within themselves and beyond their ability to preserve the game for Montreal. Hal Gill and Josh Gorges? Shades of the Scuderi/Gill pair during the 2009 Stanley Cup series between the Penguins and Red Wings, they were heroic in front of their goalie and protected him with their body and shook off every hard shot of rubber like it was a ping-pong ball, magnificent all night long.
Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek, they're playing their best hockey in years I'd say, being a 1-2 pairing for a team missing it's Star player in Andrei Markov and doing everything humanly possible to serve their team's needs, Spacek's one-timer from the point helped get the team going especially after the near-goal during their own power play which had just expired.
Paul Mara and Ryan O'Byrne served up a hard course of intimidation all night long, combining their 432 pounds and combined 12 feet, 9 inches of height to crush every Boston player who crossed the blue line and keep the puck in Montreal's hands while serving vital penalty killing minutes.
The Goaltending: Price loves to play in a clutch situation, you can sense it the way he brings his performance up in a game like this. Montreal would score 5 goals, but it could have ended 6-5 Boston had Price not put another commanding performance to help make this win possible. From his stoning Marco Sturm on the shorthanded situation to his brilliance during every penalty kill situation, Price put on a performance worthy of Dryden or Roy, who were both in attendance for the night. Price has now allowed only two goals against Boston in two games this season, it seems if ever the Bruins haunted them, he has chased away the ghosts now. If Montreal is to win a 25th Stanley Cup, it will be because of the performance of this brilliant young goaltender.
Looking Ahead: While it can't be expected for Mike Cammalleri to score hat tricks all the time, his ability to score like he does gives Montreal a big gun in their offence that can't be easily stopped, as evidenced by Boston and New York, two teams with good defence that couldn't contain the 5'9" speedster. Tomas Plekanec and Scott Gomez showed themselves to be steady centres for this team, while the Kostitsyns and Pacioretty seem to keep improving with each game they play of late. The defence played their roles perfectly and there's plenty more credit to go around, especially to Price but the key tonight was effort. 100% from everyone practically, no one goofed off and they played their roles, which is how this team can win games deservedly and if they do so, will not be hitting the links too early, especially with the upcoming return of Brian Gionta late this month and Andrei Markov in January.
Three Stars for the Night:
1. Carey Price, his goaltending made the night such a fantastic experience.
2. Mike Cammalleri, his 2nd hat trick in 28 games, it's been a long time since Montreal enjoyed having such a natural scorer as Mike.
3. Hal Gill, his self-sacrificing ways and assist on the Metropolit goal made him a star tonight, many had bashed him until now, tonight he showed why he was signed and wears the A, his example of selfless work in the penalty kill makes him a great Team Man.
Chicago Blackhawks Report:
Didn't catch the game, but Nashville scoring 2 goals in 37 seconds in the dying minutes of the third seems to show the Hawks have a bit of a hangover from their 8-game winning streak still, despite their dominant forwards and impressive blue-liners, they have had trouble coming up with a convincing win since they handed the San Jose Sharks a 7-2 loss late last month. Down 2-1 with with 2:03 to go in the period shouldn't have been much of a challenge for Chicago and while Nashville is having a strong season, the Blackhawks specialty under Coach Quenneville (recently celebrating his 500th coaching win) has been a comeback and they've had a harder time with those of late. Jonathan Toews would score the lone goal for Chicago in regulation, the young Captain's 7th of the season.
Notable Juniors Habs recognition:
- P.K. Subban, every Montreal fan's favourite defensive prospect scored his 5th and 6th goals of his first AHL season against the Toronto Marlies(Baby Leafs), helping secure a 3-0 win over them.
- 3rd-round, 79th overall in the 2009 draft, Defencemen Mac Bennett in his first USHL season before attending University of Michigan next season, scored his 2nd goal of the season in a 6-4 win for his Cedar Rapids Roughriders over the Sioux Fall Stampede. Bennett is the Grandson of an NHL player, the nephew of NHL players and the last Montreal Canadien to be selected 79th overall was Ryan O'Byrne, a sign perhaps?
Ex-Habs Recognition:
- It seems Gui Latendresse was allergic to the Habs Uniform, he scored the shootout winner for Minnesota in a 5-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks, the teams had been in a see-saw battle the whole night long with Anaheim taking the lead and Minnesota tying it up.
- Anaheim Duck Saku Koivu was outshone by his younger brother Mikko, who would score 2 goals and 2 assists in a sibling battle that saw Koivu held without a point and missed on his SO attempt in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Wild.
- Boston Bruins Michael Ryder and Steve Begin were both held without a point by Montreal, but would avoid finishing with a negative in their +/- column.
Every Montreal legend who could still skate was out there, Lafleur, Dryden, Robinson, Cournoyer, Carbonneau, Roy, Lapointe, Savard, Gainey, Mahovlich, Naslund, Houle, Jarvis and more. A series of legends in Montreal took to the ice and recieved an enormous, thundering applause from the Bell Centre faithful. The organization has always showed class in these events and they outdid themselves, from Serge Savard introducing Patrick Roy to Gordie Howe "Mr. Hockey" introducing Le Gros Bill, Jean Beliveau, the consummate Team player, Gentlemen and a magnificent player.
Tonight, two more sweaters were retired and lifted to the rafters of the Bell Centre, Elmer Lach's #16 and Emile 'Butch' Bouchard's #3. Lach formed one third of the infamous 'Punch Line' of the 1940s with Rocket Richard and Toe Blake, together these three would terrorize the entire NHL, the Rocket would score 50 goals in 50 games and two Stanley Cups would be won in three years. Bouchard was one of the legendary defencemen of the team, the Captain from 1948-1956, he would lead the team to two Stanley Cups including the first of the team's legendary 5-straight from 1956-1960. Bouchard was a dominant blue-liner for his entire time with the Canadiens, his ability was so persistent some of it passed down to his son Pierre Bouchard who would suit up with Montreal in later years. The finest defencemen Montreal has seen since Chris Chelios left the team, Andrei Markov who is recovering from injury came out with Ryan O'Byrne to assist in hanging the banners, Ryan O'Byrne proudly removed his jersey bearing his usual #3 to reveal that he would wear #20 from now and handed it off to Bouchard. The organization has always had class in respect to honouring the past and recognizing the achievements of the team's legendary players and tonight was no exception. A grand picture with the legends of the team and the current roster of the Montreal Canadiens was taken, I can only imagine what that picture, signed by all those who were in it would command in an auction. The amount of trophy metal and Stanley Cup rings collected by those legends? Too much to count, they defined hockey for decades with their play and show why Montreal has been the greatest team in the history of the sport.
They changed up the National Anthems for the night, having members of the brass section of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra play them with no one singing, it was an excellent move I felt, they performed it beautifully.
Now to the game, to say this would be a statement game for the rest of the season would be an understatement. The Canadiens had come off of two bad losses in a row, they'd dropped a decision to the Washington Capitals in a shootout after nearly securing a rare regulation win the dying seconds of 3rd period but lost out to a game-tying goal, then suffered the humiliation of being shut out by the Maple Leafs. That was pretty bad, then Buffalo shelled Montreal 6-2 because of an invisible defence in front of Jaroslav Halak, after Montreal had attempted a comeback, but Buffalo stunned them with 2 more goals to make the night an embarassment rather than at least an honorable loss. This was the Centennial Game, the team had stood with the legends of the team and were going to be watched by them all night long, they had to win the game to retain their honour it seemed. They did not disappoint, they would play their most dominant game against a Contender team this season.
The Roster: Jacques Martin mixed things up tonight, deciding to employ defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron in a role some fans (including myself) have felt he would excel at, a 4th-line forward but playing the point on power play situations. Hal Gill, sidelined for a month with a fractured foot returned to the game, which I felt also helped the team off the ice, he has always been noted as being that great locker room guy that every team likes having around, he would pair with Gorges to form a great shutdown line all night long. Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek would form their usual steady pairing while Paul Mara and Ryan O'Byrne teamed up to form the rest of the defence.
Georges Laraque teamed up with Max Lapierre and Bergeron, back in the lineup after serving a deserved 5-game suspension for his knee-on-knee collision with Niklas Kronwall, who I have to admit kind of had it coming. The third line formed a checking line that is becoming a pleasure to watch, Glen Metropolit, Travis Moen and Max Pacioretty, only one goal on the night but they hounded the Boston team all night long and nearly cashed in on several scoring opportunities throughout the game. Sergei Kostitsyn, based on his excellent play with Scott Gomez in last night's Buffalo game that helped nearly spark a comeback for the team teamed up with the recently returned centremen, along with Matt D'Agostini, another recent return from the IR list. Andrei Kostitsyn, Tomas Plekanec and Mike Cammalleri stayed to form what has been the team's best line since Brian Gionta's broken foot ended the Gionta/Gomez/Cammalleri line which carried the team through October. Rookies Tom Pyatt and Ryan White, who had done honorable work for the team but Jacques Martin's feeling was a different lineup was required against the Bruins team decided they would sit out the match. It was a questionable decision to start the match, Georges Laraque has been mostly a liability this season and last, Pyatt and White had been hard-working PK men to this point, but had only two points between them in 13 games each, both assists by White and were a combined -12 in that stretch. I can't say Laraque impressed me on the night, but he didn't make any glaring errors that stick out in my mind.
The Opponent: The Boston Bruins were a dangerous team, they had won 6 of their last 7 games and their only loss had been in the shootout. Marc Savard, one of the league's most dangerous playmakers and the team's best centre this season, Patrice Bergeron were both looking to take it to a Montreal team Boston had bested five of 6 times last season and swept in the playoffs. Zdeno Chara had won the Norris Trophy as the League's best defencemen while goalie Tim Thomas had been a hard man for the Canadiens to solve last season and had won the Vezina Trophy and William M. Jennings trophy for Best Goalie and for least regular season goals allowed by a team respectively. Former Habs Michael Ryder and Steve Begin were very much in favour of proving the team had been wrong to get rid of them.
The First Period: The team had a good, strong start that saw back-and-forth offence between the two teams, Montreal had come out to play and they were committing 100% effort to the match. Montreal had several good scoring chances through the period and while it is a little early to say a first-period save by the goalie was the game-changing moment, but it was. After a breakdown during the power play would give Boston the puck, Carey Price would stone Marco Sturm on the breakaway and restore life to the Canadiens offence.
They would score a goal four seconds after their first power play ended, a one-timer from the point off a great pass by Scott Gomez to Jaroslav Spacek who would blast in a shot to beat Tim Thomas on his glove side, 1-0 Montreal.
Ryan O'Byrne would later be caught on a weak interference penalty, but Montreal killed it off, beginning the start of a perfect penalty kill for the evening. A second power play would deliver no goals for Montreal, but their offensive pressure gave them the overall edge for the period, while Price would make strong saves to keep the score 1-0. Montreal would end the period with a 10-8 shot advantage.
The Second Period: The game ended for the Bruins in nearly as much time as it took for Montreal to score their first goal of the Buffalo game last night. Price's saves had energized the team, Hal Gill had returned to help keep the team composed in the locker room and they knew they had the Bruins where they wanted them with an aggressive forecheck and a 100% effort the team has used to get their wins this season.
The period looked to have turned against Montreal early on though, after a scrum around the Montreal goal following a tight save by Carey Price, Jaroslav Spacek and Maxim Lapierre were both served with roughing minors and while I can see why Lapierre took the penalty, I can't see how Spacek's was justified at all. Boston would have a full 2 minutes of 5-on-3 power play with Zdeno Chara, the fastest slapshot in the NHL on the point, with Marc Savard, one of the league's best set-up man ready to go. The penalty killers were brilliant, Price moreso as key stops were made, shots were blocked and Hal Gill used that massive 6'7" frame of his to interfere with everything he could reach, which was quite a bit, he and Gorges self-sacrificing ways for shot blocks showed great commitment to the team and Price himself. The 5-on-3 was killed off but Montreal really wanted to rub it in and exact justice for a rather unjustified penalty, 36 seconds later, they would score and the game's momentum was irrevocably changed.
A Plekanec play slightly over 8 minutes into the 2nd period that initially missed the net, but with great offensive pressure by Montreal saw Mike Cammalleri score on the third rebound of the puck against Tim Thomas to give Montreal a 2-0 lead, his 13th goal of the season, which was rather unlucky for Boston.
5 minutes, 23 seconds later, Cammalleri would pounce on a puck that Thomas mishandled to slip it through the Boston netminder's 5-hole to secure his 2nd goal of the night and push the lead to 3-0.
Montreal wasn't even close to finishing their offensive clinic for the night, a quick pass from the ever-improving Max Pacioretty to Hal Gill, who fired off a shot towards the Boston goal was redirected by a perfect Glen Metropolit tip-in to give Gill his first assist of the season and Metropolit his 6th goal.
Cammalleri hadn't quite finished using the Boston Bruins to pad his stats for the night, feeding off of a great pass from Scott Gomez, his one-timer would beat Tim Thomas to earn his 2nd hat trick of the season and after only wearing the Habs uniform for 28 games, 5-0 for Montreal.
The efficiency of the Montreal shooters gave them 4 goals in 13 shots for the period, although now Boston had outshot them 26-23 over 40 minutes, thanks largely in part to the 5-on-3 situation. Montreal had not scored 5 goals on Boston in over a year until this game. Sergei Kostitsyn would leave the ice late in the 2nd period after a collision with a Boston player that seemed to injure his knee, we can only pray this is not too serious, Montreal's had a hard time retaining their top 6 talent of late.
The Third Period: Tim Thomas was pulled and Tukka Rask came in, who put on a fine performance for a late-game appearance. Sergei Kostitsyn had not returned to the bench, leaving Jacques Martin to double-shift Mike Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn for stretches of the game. Montreal was pushed back more in this period, Boston needed something from this game to feel better about going into tommorow night, they didn't need to get wiped out by Montreal and demoralized for their game against Toronto the following night.
A redirection mid-flight by Bruins player Sobotka who had been tangled up with Josh Gorges on a Matt Hunwick slapshot from the point beat Price, who barely even saw the puck because of the Sobotka/Gorges screen. Price had nothing to be ashamed of on that play, but it was a bit heartbreaking as for about the 4th time this season, nothing that was his fault denied him a shutout against an opponent that had caused him much grief in his young career, the score went to 5-1.
Boston further got a chance to get the score closer and spoil Montreal's night as penalties against Montreal started to pile up. Maxim Lapierre was caught on an accidental double-minor high-sticking which drew blood, which is another reason I always argue for the visor, that Boston player might have lost his eye on that play had the stick been an inch up and to the left where he was cut. The double-minor set in, Montreal's penalty killers went to work again to deny Boston any more goals and did so, Gorges and Gill threw themselves into the shot block heroically time and again and every other Montreal player gave it everything they had, or too much.
After 2:34 of penalty kill action, D'Agostini got caught slashing and it turned into a 5-on-3 once more. More sacrifice from the penalty killers, brilliance by Price prevented any more goals, but Tomas Plekanec and David Krejci would each go off the ice for penalties off of a faceoff, with Plekanec serving a double minor for high-sticking, while Krejci served a single minor for roughing. 12 seconds later, Bruins forward Marco Sturm would be caught for tripping, turning the penalty into a 4-on-3 situation. The theme of the night continued, perfect penalty killing and great goalie work as the 4-on-3 became 4-on-4, then 5-on-4 for a brief Boston power play before all the players were finally released from the sin bin.
The rest of the game showed a bit of weariness in Montreal, but considering it was their 2nd game in two nights and they had killed off a grinding series of penalties, I think one might forgive them for being a bit sluggish towards the end. Montreal tried for a 6th goal towards the end, but their weariness and a more resolute Boston defence kept them at bay so the final score would remain 5-1.
The last thirty seconds ended with Montreal managing a little keep-away game against the Bruins, not wanting them to spoil the night any further with a quick goal.
The crowd would seranade the Boston Bruins with the "Hey Hey, Goodbye" song as early as 8 minutes remaining in the third, which would seem to invite bad karma, but the Canadiens kept it locked down and Boston seemed to have accepted their fate to a certain degree, better to be ready to take it against the Maple Leafs the next night then kill themselves for a nigh-impossible comeback.
The Offence: Magnificent across three lines, Lapierre/Bergeron/Laraque was marred by Laraque being ineffective as a forward on a Jacques Martin team and Bergeron's first time playing forward, Lapierre's penalties really took away from his effectiveness on the night.
The Metropolit/Moen/Pacioretty line showed themselves to be one of the best checking lines in the NHL, they locked down their opponents and had more scoring chances against Boston than they allowed against their own team, which culminated in Metropolit's tally on the night. Pacioretty nearly cashed in himself several times only to be denied by Tim Thomas and Tukka Rask and was strong all night long, his best game of the season. Travis Moen played the strong defensive forward role he's embraced in Montreal, he and Metropolit played well in both the offensive zone and the penalty kill.
The Scott Gomez/Matt D'Agostini/Sergei Kostitsyn line had less than 40 minutes together but they plated well, Gomez's passes in the offensive zone set up two goals and D'Agostini seemed much more in place tonight than his last game, hopefully an encouraging sign since he would now have to clear waivers to return to Bulldogs for more AHL time. Sergei Kostitsyn would see penalty killing time and set up some plays that might have become goals, however his injury cut off his chances of adding any offensive totals to his night.
The Cammalleri/Plekanec/Andrei Kostitsyn would bury the Bruins effectively, Cammalleri cashing in on Plekanec's rebound then securing his 2nd goal unassisted, he is an offensive dynamo that at his current pace, will likely enjoy a 40-goal season and is the best goal-scorer I've seen in years that plays for Montreal. Tomas Plekanec had a strong night again, not as productive as he has been but he would be a key member of the penalty kill and solid all night long. Andrei Kostitsyn was kept to a single assist, but you can feel it from the way he's playing lately that the goals are coming, he always seems to get almost to the net and then misses the chance or is never fed the puck in a scoring position. Nevertheless, he had good offensive zone pressure for most of the night and I know he's going to really start lighting it up soon.
The Defence: Six Heroes took to the ice tonight, the game could have been a whole lot harder had these fine players not done everything within themselves and beyond their ability to preserve the game for Montreal. Hal Gill and Josh Gorges? Shades of the Scuderi/Gill pair during the 2009 Stanley Cup series between the Penguins and Red Wings, they were heroic in front of their goalie and protected him with their body and shook off every hard shot of rubber like it was a ping-pong ball, magnificent all night long.
Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek, they're playing their best hockey in years I'd say, being a 1-2 pairing for a team missing it's Star player in Andrei Markov and doing everything humanly possible to serve their team's needs, Spacek's one-timer from the point helped get the team going especially after the near-goal during their own power play which had just expired.
Paul Mara and Ryan O'Byrne served up a hard course of intimidation all night long, combining their 432 pounds and combined 12 feet, 9 inches of height to crush every Boston player who crossed the blue line and keep the puck in Montreal's hands while serving vital penalty killing minutes.
The Goaltending: Price loves to play in a clutch situation, you can sense it the way he brings his performance up in a game like this. Montreal would score 5 goals, but it could have ended 6-5 Boston had Price not put another commanding performance to help make this win possible. From his stoning Marco Sturm on the shorthanded situation to his brilliance during every penalty kill situation, Price put on a performance worthy of Dryden or Roy, who were both in attendance for the night. Price has now allowed only two goals against Boston in two games this season, it seems if ever the Bruins haunted them, he has chased away the ghosts now. If Montreal is to win a 25th Stanley Cup, it will be because of the performance of this brilliant young goaltender.
Looking Ahead: While it can't be expected for Mike Cammalleri to score hat tricks all the time, his ability to score like he does gives Montreal a big gun in their offence that can't be easily stopped, as evidenced by Boston and New York, two teams with good defence that couldn't contain the 5'9" speedster. Tomas Plekanec and Scott Gomez showed themselves to be steady centres for this team, while the Kostitsyns and Pacioretty seem to keep improving with each game they play of late. The defence played their roles perfectly and there's plenty more credit to go around, especially to Price but the key tonight was effort. 100% from everyone practically, no one goofed off and they played their roles, which is how this team can win games deservedly and if they do so, will not be hitting the links too early, especially with the upcoming return of Brian Gionta late this month and Andrei Markov in January.
Three Stars for the Night:
1. Carey Price, his goaltending made the night such a fantastic experience.
2. Mike Cammalleri, his 2nd hat trick in 28 games, it's been a long time since Montreal enjoyed having such a natural scorer as Mike.
3. Hal Gill, his self-sacrificing ways and assist on the Metropolit goal made him a star tonight, many had bashed him until now, tonight he showed why he was signed and wears the A, his example of selfless work in the penalty kill makes him a great Team Man.
Chicago Blackhawks Report:
Didn't catch the game, but Nashville scoring 2 goals in 37 seconds in the dying minutes of the third seems to show the Hawks have a bit of a hangover from their 8-game winning streak still, despite their dominant forwards and impressive blue-liners, they have had trouble coming up with a convincing win since they handed the San Jose Sharks a 7-2 loss late last month. Down 2-1 with with 2:03 to go in the period shouldn't have been much of a challenge for Chicago and while Nashville is having a strong season, the Blackhawks specialty under Coach Quenneville (recently celebrating his 500th coaching win) has been a comeback and they've had a harder time with those of late. Jonathan Toews would score the lone goal for Chicago in regulation, the young Captain's 7th of the season.
Notable Juniors Habs recognition:
- P.K. Subban, every Montreal fan's favourite defensive prospect scored his 5th and 6th goals of his first AHL season against the Toronto Marlies(Baby Leafs), helping secure a 3-0 win over them.
- 3rd-round, 79th overall in the 2009 draft, Defencemen Mac Bennett in his first USHL season before attending University of Michigan next season, scored his 2nd goal of the season in a 6-4 win for his Cedar Rapids Roughriders over the Sioux Fall Stampede. Bennett is the Grandson of an NHL player, the nephew of NHL players and the last Montreal Canadien to be selected 79th overall was Ryan O'Byrne, a sign perhaps?
Ex-Habs Recognition:
- It seems Gui Latendresse was allergic to the Habs Uniform, he scored the shootout winner for Minnesota in a 5-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks, the teams had been in a see-saw battle the whole night long with Anaheim taking the lead and Minnesota tying it up.
- Anaheim Duck Saku Koivu was outshone by his younger brother Mikko, who would score 2 goals and 2 assists in a sibling battle that saw Koivu held without a point and missed on his SO attempt in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Wild.
- Boston Bruins Michael Ryder and Steve Begin were both held without a point by Montreal, but would avoid finishing with a negative in their +/- column.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
To Hell With Pittsburgh, They beat an AHL Team Tonight
The Montreal Bulldogs played the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight and lost 3-1, it could probably have something to do with the matchup of the Top 6 and the Defence.
Penguin's Top 6:
Sidney Crosby - 420 P in 314 GP, 25 P this season
Evgeni Malin - 325 P in 259 GP, 22 P this season
Bill Guerin - 825 P in 1209 GP, 15 P this season
Actually I'll stop right there, those three guys have more points this season so far, than the combined totals of Max Pacioretty, David Desharnis, Travis Moen, Glen Metropolit, J.T. Wyman, Kyle Chipchura, Ryan White, Tom Pyatt, Maxim Lapierre and Sergei Kostitsyn have this season, I'll even toss in the recently departed Gui Latendresse's points on to that total. Only Ryan White among the core of Wyman, Pyatt, Desharnis and Kyle Chipchura has registered points this season, he has two assists. Tomas Plekanec and Mike Cammalleri were the only high-scoring forwards left in the lot and these two were pretty much out of gas from the game against Colombus the night before, Cammalleri was clearly running on fumes by the 3rd period after all his double-shifting.
The Penguins had all their top forwards in action basically, Montreal had 2 solid Top 6 forwards who had been with them all season in Cammalleri and Plekanec. The Ad Hoc line of Metropolit, Moen and Max Pacioretty was brought together to try and fill in for the loss of Gomez, Gionta and Andrei Kostitsyn to start the match which is not exactly an equivalent replacement, no matter how hard the Triple M line works. At first, Sergei Kostitsyn served on the top line in place of his brother, his assignment changed during the game a couple of times however. Sergei had a little trouble handling his stick on some plays and reports of a twisted ankle would indicate he probably wasn't at 100%, so props to little Kostitsyn for competing anyway. His slick drop-pass to Max Pacioretty proved there is definitely a sharp player wearing No. 74 and Pacioretty's shot did not miss either, very nice bright spot on the night. Metropolit had a couple of opportunities, but he didn't quite cash in on them, however he is a career checking line guy, not Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen or Mike Knuble who live for the dirty goals and based their careers on it, he played a strong game otherwise.
The Defence:
Montreal is missing their All-Star MVP in Andrei Markov, a team that until this season, couldn't even win a 3rd of their games if Markov was out of the lineup. Hal Gill is out, not many people's favourite player, but let him play 3rd-pairing Defence and keep his minutes managed and you'll see why he's on the roster, solid positional player with great shot-blocking instinct. Jaroslav Spacek was out, the player meant to be our second-best puck-mover and had formed the shutdown pair with Hamrlik that had contained top scorers like Alex Ovechkin and kept a few games much closer than they might have been.
The finest Russian defencemen in the NHL, his likely partner had he played through the season and a shot-blocking PK man all out while the team worked with patchwork replacements, including Jay Leach, a journeyman defencemen picked off waivers from New Jersey and Marc-Andre Bergeron, who went unsigned on July 1st and was signed for 750,000$ after Markov was injured and the team's PP was anemic. His defensive zone play explains his salary compared to what Markov earns. I was pleased with Ryan O'Byrne and was heartbroken when he failed to cash in the SH goal against Fleury. Josh Gorges, Roman Hamrlik and even Bergeron himself all played solid games, but these guys were outclassed by an offence when they were missing 2 key cogs in the machine and a reliable big-body man who could've prevented Guerin from walking into the crease to poke his goal through.
Goaltending:
Goal no. 1, Price got screwed by Mara, again. I like what Mara does sometimes, but his momentary lapses when he should have blocked a pass or been quicker to get out of the way or simply shot-block make me pretty angry at times. Goal no. 2, Price might have been able to secure that puck better, but at the same time Guerin had a free pass into the goalie crease to jam that puck in. 3rd goal not that good really but considering he's stolen the team 7 games this season I'll let it go.
The Officating: A joke, hitting from behind and tripping are not considered penalties when committed against the Montreal Canadiens. Hamrlik didn't trip that guy either, he was just clumsy, if tripping occured every time a guy's skates were tapped with a stick the entire game would be an endless series of 4-on-3 or 3-on-3 matches.
In Perspective: Montreal had a good game against a team that by all accounts, should have walked all over them and left them in a 7-1 bombing that left the team without heart or hope. They didn't though, Montreal fought hard through 60 minutes, many key players taking on many more minutes than they usually do and fighting hard for every chance they could get. The rookies simply weren't up to the level of beating NHL-level defence and goaltending, they didn't have the time they would have in lower leagues to cash in on goals and get second chances, not a knock against these hard-working kids, more a notice that they should be polishing their game in the AHL while actual NHL forwards are in their place on the big club.
Montreal has nothing to be ashamed of for the night based on what they had and the Penguins have nothing to be proud of, a couple of good bounces, a proper shot-block by Mara, Price being quicker on Gonchar and that game would have gone the other way. Had the team been boasting Andrei Kostitsyn, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta, the offence would have easily cashed in on scoring opportunities the kids just weren't up to making. I won't even mention how much I think the night would have gone in Montreal's favour if Markov and Spacek were healthy.
My Three Stars for the Canadiens:
- Tomas Plekanec, he didn't seem to lack too much energy even playing back to back and his shorthanded rush nearly made the game 3-2 when helped set up O'Byrne's chance.
- Carey Price, he made a mistake on Gonchar, but it could have been 7-1 had he not been sharp on some of those point-blank shots.
- Sergei Kostitsyn, a shaky start, but some smart defensive plays later on and set up the Pacioretty goal beautifully, especially since he seemed to have tweaked his ankle during the Colombus match. He is a real top 6 forward and when brother Andrei, unofficial Captain Gionta and Scott Gomez return, Montreal can roll out a top 6 grouping against the opposition.
Bastard of the Game: Mike Rupp, checking from behind is not a penalty against a Canadiens player once again. Hopefully in the next MTL-PIT game, O'Byrne gives him what he gave Kaleta in the pre-season.
Penguin's Top 6:
Sidney Crosby - 420 P in 314 GP, 25 P this season
Evgeni Malin - 325 P in 259 GP, 22 P this season
Bill Guerin - 825 P in 1209 GP, 15 P this season
Actually I'll stop right there, those three guys have more points this season so far, than the combined totals of Max Pacioretty, David Desharnis, Travis Moen, Glen Metropolit, J.T. Wyman, Kyle Chipchura, Ryan White, Tom Pyatt, Maxim Lapierre and Sergei Kostitsyn have this season, I'll even toss in the recently departed Gui Latendresse's points on to that total. Only Ryan White among the core of Wyman, Pyatt, Desharnis and Kyle Chipchura has registered points this season, he has two assists. Tomas Plekanec and Mike Cammalleri were the only high-scoring forwards left in the lot and these two were pretty much out of gas from the game against Colombus the night before, Cammalleri was clearly running on fumes by the 3rd period after all his double-shifting.
The Penguins had all their top forwards in action basically, Montreal had 2 solid Top 6 forwards who had been with them all season in Cammalleri and Plekanec. The Ad Hoc line of Metropolit, Moen and Max Pacioretty was brought together to try and fill in for the loss of Gomez, Gionta and Andrei Kostitsyn to start the match which is not exactly an equivalent replacement, no matter how hard the Triple M line works. At first, Sergei Kostitsyn served on the top line in place of his brother, his assignment changed during the game a couple of times however. Sergei had a little trouble handling his stick on some plays and reports of a twisted ankle would indicate he probably wasn't at 100%, so props to little Kostitsyn for competing anyway. His slick drop-pass to Max Pacioretty proved there is definitely a sharp player wearing No. 74 and Pacioretty's shot did not miss either, very nice bright spot on the night. Metropolit had a couple of opportunities, but he didn't quite cash in on them, however he is a career checking line guy, not Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen or Mike Knuble who live for the dirty goals and based their careers on it, he played a strong game otherwise.
The Defence:
Montreal is missing their All-Star MVP in Andrei Markov, a team that until this season, couldn't even win a 3rd of their games if Markov was out of the lineup. Hal Gill is out, not many people's favourite player, but let him play 3rd-pairing Defence and keep his minutes managed and you'll see why he's on the roster, solid positional player with great shot-blocking instinct. Jaroslav Spacek was out, the player meant to be our second-best puck-mover and had formed the shutdown pair with Hamrlik that had contained top scorers like Alex Ovechkin and kept a few games much closer than they might have been.
The finest Russian defencemen in the NHL, his likely partner had he played through the season and a shot-blocking PK man all out while the team worked with patchwork replacements, including Jay Leach, a journeyman defencemen picked off waivers from New Jersey and Marc-Andre Bergeron, who went unsigned on July 1st and was signed for 750,000$ after Markov was injured and the team's PP was anemic. His defensive zone play explains his salary compared to what Markov earns. I was pleased with Ryan O'Byrne and was heartbroken when he failed to cash in the SH goal against Fleury. Josh Gorges, Roman Hamrlik and even Bergeron himself all played solid games, but these guys were outclassed by an offence when they were missing 2 key cogs in the machine and a reliable big-body man who could've prevented Guerin from walking into the crease to poke his goal through.
Goaltending:
Goal no. 1, Price got screwed by Mara, again. I like what Mara does sometimes, but his momentary lapses when he should have blocked a pass or been quicker to get out of the way or simply shot-block make me pretty angry at times. Goal no. 2, Price might have been able to secure that puck better, but at the same time Guerin had a free pass into the goalie crease to jam that puck in. 3rd goal not that good really but considering he's stolen the team 7 games this season I'll let it go.
The Officating: A joke, hitting from behind and tripping are not considered penalties when committed against the Montreal Canadiens. Hamrlik didn't trip that guy either, he was just clumsy, if tripping occured every time a guy's skates were tapped with a stick the entire game would be an endless series of 4-on-3 or 3-on-3 matches.
In Perspective: Montreal had a good game against a team that by all accounts, should have walked all over them and left them in a 7-1 bombing that left the team without heart or hope. They didn't though, Montreal fought hard through 60 minutes, many key players taking on many more minutes than they usually do and fighting hard for every chance they could get. The rookies simply weren't up to the level of beating NHL-level defence and goaltending, they didn't have the time they would have in lower leagues to cash in on goals and get second chances, not a knock against these hard-working kids, more a notice that they should be polishing their game in the AHL while actual NHL forwards are in their place on the big club.
Montreal has nothing to be ashamed of for the night based on what they had and the Penguins have nothing to be proud of, a couple of good bounces, a proper shot-block by Mara, Price being quicker on Gonchar and that game would have gone the other way. Had the team been boasting Andrei Kostitsyn, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta, the offence would have easily cashed in on scoring opportunities the kids just weren't up to making. I won't even mention how much I think the night would have gone in Montreal's favour if Markov and Spacek were healthy.
My Three Stars for the Canadiens:
- Tomas Plekanec, he didn't seem to lack too much energy even playing back to back and his shorthanded rush nearly made the game 3-2 when helped set up O'Byrne's chance.
- Carey Price, he made a mistake on Gonchar, but it could have been 7-1 had he not been sharp on some of those point-blank shots.
- Sergei Kostitsyn, a shaky start, but some smart defensive plays later on and set up the Pacioretty goal beautifully, especially since he seemed to have tweaked his ankle during the Colombus match. He is a real top 6 forward and when brother Andrei, unofficial Captain Gionta and Scott Gomez return, Montreal can roll out a top 6 grouping against the opposition.
Bastard of the Game: Mike Rupp, checking from behind is not a penalty against a Canadiens player once again. Hopefully in the next MTL-PIT game, O'Byrne gives him what he gave Kaleta in the pre-season.
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