Montreal fell flat in their worst home game of the season to the one team we can't stand losing to, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Montreal had about 15 minutes of offensive strikes against Toronto last night, the first ten minutes of the game and the final five minutes when they decided they didn't want to be shut out. Toronto ran the game and Price came a bit back down to Earth, he wasn't particularly good on any of the goals against him and his ninth start in a row was at least one too many from what I've seen from him of late. Price is making great saves, but he is making less of them now, time for Halak to get some starts and keep the competition between the netminder going.
Toronto ran the game, despite their goaltender Gustavsson having to leave the game because of continuing heart problems and 3rd-tier goalie Joey Macdonald stepping in and holding the shutout for Toronto, although Montreal rarely challenged him during the match.
Offensively: Impotent, the team had few scoring chances, D'Agostini and Scott Gomez's return did nothing for team offence and Kyle Chipchura's trade the following day showed what Jacques Martin felt about the journeyman forward being -2 when playing under 2 minutes during the whole game. D'Agostini seems to need some time back in Hamilton to rediscover the form he had when he had his initial goal-scoring streak when first called up in the 08-09 season. Pacioretty took another couple of penalties, one was a phantom but the other was right against him and while he's been improving lately, I can't help but feel he would be better used in Hamilton, learning the game under Guy Boucher, who seems the favourite to head the Canadiens in the future. Max Lapierre had no penalty kill time, which would indicate how much Jacques Martin likes my favourite forward from last season.
Defence: A shit show, that's what you call it. The team can't clear the defensive zone or win defensive zone faceoffs to save their lives at times, it is infuriating and there are far too many mistakes. Marc-Andre Bergeron is getting better, but mistakes are made with his play and O'Byrne is a welcome revival, but their pairing is risky with Bergeron's defensive liabilities and O'Byrne is still pretty green, despite his great effort. Mara had a better game, but it's not hard to improve on the defensive miscues he's had that led to the team losing games during his time here. Hamrlik and Spacek were their usual warrior selves, but they can only do so much and these long minutes on the two 35-year old players is becoming more telling. Josh Gorges is always a hard worker with a few good moves every night, but he's just not that good and I doubt he ever will be, career 3rd pairing on any team with good defence.
Goaltending: As I mentioned after last game, Price has been making his brilliant saves, but fewer of them and is missing on more regular stops that he should casually handle. His puck handling around the net seems to be more reckless, although given the defensive ability of the team to move the puck, I honestly can't blame him at times for taking the chances to get the puck out of his zone himself. Halak's turn to get in there, get a competition going with Carey for starts and let Carey mentally decompile from having had to sit in nets for 9 straight, buy the team 4 wins, 2 OT points and preventing a 10-0 blowout in Nashville during that time.
Three Canadiens Stars
- Andrei Kostitsyn
- Brian Gionta
- Andrei Markov
They didn't play, but they're the only Montreal Canadiens I liked last night.
Ex-Habs Recognition
- Kovalev and Koivu were held without a point and were -3 and -2 respectively, ouch.
- Christobal Huet stoned 10 of 11 Blue Jackets shooters in an 11-round Shootout decision for the Blackhawks last night, he was brilliant.
Shout-out to the Blackhawks:
- Congrats to Quenville on his 500th coaching win in the NHL
- Congrats to Brent Seabrook for a slick SO goal to win the game
- Versteeg had a great dangle on a shorthanded goal
- If Breant Seabrook and Duncan Keith are not a Defensive pairing at the Olympics, it will be the greatest injustice in all selections made for the Olympic Team, they have a magnificent chemistry between them that makes for the best top pairing in the NHL I think.
Showing posts with label Pacioretty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pacioretty. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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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