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 Plekanec. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plekanec. Show all posts
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Montreal-Buffalo, The League's running a memo on Montreal's D...
All it reads is "Montreal can't handle a rebound in front of the net, just crowd it and you will get goals". That's how Goals 2, 3, 4 occurred, Goal 5 came off of a huge screen, Goal 6 a defensive breakdown and No. 1 was Halak's trademark weakness, rebound control.
The First Period: Unmitigated disaster, Halak's rebound control problems emerge and goal #1 comes off his not handling the initial shot, then his teammates failing to clear. Goals 2 and 3 come off of the team's inability to make a rebound, Halak makes the initial save, but again the rebound kills the team, Buffalo's up 3-0 by the end with a 15-3 shot advantage. The team had about two minutes of good offensive pressure total, even our top centre through most of the season, Tomas Plekanec had a tough time getting anything going. Scott Gomez played with a bit more jump in his game than his first game back fortunately. Referees left the game wide open, both teams had one blatant penalty that should have been called, but quiet generally.
The Second Period: Didn't get much better, defensive miscues around the net give Buffalo their 4th on the night. At this point in the game, the patience of the Refs was tested a lot more, Buffalo got away with three pretty blatant tripping minors, Ryan O'Byrne got caught giving a bear hug to a Buffalo player to give Buffalo the first PP of the game, Montreal played their best hockey of the game in those two minutes really, following that, a neutral zone play gave Montreal a spark of hope. A breakout play by Sergei Kostitsyn started in the neutral zone with Gomez with him, Sergei fed a pass to Gomez who steadied it on his stick to give Montreal their first goal of the game. Sergei's ability to be a set-up man was evidenced once more as they scored with just over 3 minutes left in the period. Things had a tinge of hope and Montreal avoided playing five entire periods of NHL hockey with no goals. Montreal managed five shots on net that period, Buffalo got another 14.
The Third Period: The refs were garbage, absolute 100%, knuckle-dragging, Milbury-ite jerks who handed Buffalo the period, Montreal's players were tripped at least a half-dozen times during the period and denied them vital PPs that would have allowed a comeback. Montreal got one power play off a holding penalty and got close, although I imagine they would have gotten a lot closer had they recieved the PP opportunities Buffalo would have recieved had the situations been reversed I imagine. They would press on offensively and a great rushing play by the Lapierre line, with a shot by Lapierre then the rebound picked up by a streaking Gorges would make the game 4-2, granted there were less than nine minutes left but Montreal had been managing the offence for nearly the entire period, they had twice almost collected shorthanded goals on the Tom Pyatt penalty that was taken earlier in the period, Sergei gave Gomez a chance to get his 2nd of the game, but Gomez shot high, showing he's got a lot to work on when it comes to shooting. Buffalo would then exploit the Montreal D-zone vulnerabilities, a screen prevented Halak from seeing the 5th goal, a slapshot from the point and the 6th came from a neutral zone giveaway that set up a classic two-on-one breakaway that couldn't have been set up better in a team practice for Buffalo. Halak is good, but his first start in 10 games and he doesn't have Price's brilliance for that astounding save, he'll battle to make saves but he doesn't have that extra level I see in Price's game. Montreal would have fifteen shots on net in the third period, after managing a mere eight in the previous two periods, leaving them 23-37 against Buffalo's final shot total.
Thoughts: Buffalo would have won 9-2 had some of their players connected better on some of te near-goals against Montreal. The team is missing Gionta badly, he was often the one that sparked the team to come back after bad periods, scoring or assisting on that goal that helped turn things around or talked the locker room up to get them going. Mike Cammalleri gives a good interview and seems to be a good team guy, but is not that strong of a leader I believe and his status as a streaky scorer (His 39 goals came in 29 games last season) means he's less able to score the opportunistic goal and get the team going. Gionta's excellent work ethic and relentless play with Montreal this season gives a better on-ice leadership example than Cammalleri too. The Defence needs to work on clearing the rebound, or Montreal is doomed for the next while because the opposition is pressing around the net and getting far too many opportunistic goals with pressure around the goal crease.
Offence: Sergei Kostitsyn shows why he should be wearing the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, he set up the Gomez goal and nearly gave Gomez a shorthanded marker during the Pyatt penalty. Top line work for him for now, the people who can use his brilliant offensive zone passes do not have names ending in Pyatt, White or Moen for that matter. Max Pacioretty, he's got to strap that helmet of his own tighter, it came off twice during the game and the kid's going to get hurt one of these days playing like that, he made some good moves tonight and is improving. Cammalleri seems to have lost his scoring touch for the moment, I'm sure it will be back but that's the nature of Cammalleri, he is a streaky goal scorer. Tomas Plekanec didn't play well until the third, on the whole, Gomez was a much better forward than he was tonight. Andrei Kostitsyn, he keeps making the right moves, nearly dangled himself to a goal at least twice but couldn't quite finish it off. Nice offensive zone work, but his inability along with the rest of his line to prevent goals didn't help him. Moen, Metropolit make all the right moves generally, but they're low-scoring checking forwards and shouldn't be counted on for more than the odd goal now and then, this team needs them for regular scoring they're in more trouble than they thought. Pyatt and White are good kids, but they don't have the stickhandling ability to handle a puck and release a shot in an NHL-pace game right now for any kind of reliable scoring. Mad Max? A pleasure to watch in action towards the end of the game, his shot set up the Gorges rebound goal and he even played PK minutes, he's getting himself back together.
Defence: O'Byrne is a godsend to return, he's the only truly reliable big-body D, but his inexperience showed when his drop to prevent the cross-crease pass for the Buffalo goal did nothing, he'd have been better off covering the man who came in to put the puck in the net. Bergeron made some mistakes, but his offensive zone assistance was a major help. Hamrlik and Spacek worked their asses off, but they've been doing that nonstop since the season started and it's already cutting into their performance at times. Gorges was a champ and got the 2nd goal, which gave the team the spirit to keep trying for more goals and maybe tie it up and push it to overtime, he made good defensive plays and kept it from getting worse. Mara was a good guy to teach that little bastard Kaleta a lesson, but it would've been much more welcome towards the start of the game, get the team fired up then, rather than the dying minutes of a lost game. Mara had a better night tonight, but not that good considering the score, his D-zone coverage makes me shake my head at times, he forgets the basics too much.
Goaltending: Not going to dump on Halak, he should have controlled the rebound better on the 1st goal, but the other 5 were much more on the team than he was, he hadn't been in nets since November 10th and it showed as well, he would have had to make at least 4 game-changing saves to deliver this for Montreal and he didn't have it in him.
Ex-Habs Recognition:
- Saku Koivu scored the opening goal of the Anaheim-Dallas Game, but they lost 3-1 off of two bad goals and an EN shot.
- Komisarek managed to not be a boat anchor for Toronto since he returned from injury, he might have learned to finally stop overplaying his position and trying to be Chris Pronger.
- Gui Latendresse has 2 goals and 1 assist since being traded to the Wild, although I doubt his streak will last, he rarely finds the inspiration to play well for very long.
Washington Capitals Report:
They've actually done well this season when Ovechkin has been injured or away (currently on a two-game suspension, which is just as well since he hurt his knee in the Gleason incident), which is good but at the same time the moment he's back they seem to step back and wait for him to deliver each game for them, they need to keep up their efforts more often when Ovechkin is playing. Recently returned sniper Alex Semin had a 4-point night, 2 goals, 2 assists on his first game back from having wrist problems for the Capitals, his wrist seems to be working fine now to deliver a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers.
Special Note: Semyon Varlamov is a brilliant goalie when it comes to low shots and goalmouth jamming, he's been notably a bit weak on his glove side at times but teams that rely upon dirty goals don't get much with him at all. He gets his glove in strong condition, the Capitals could win a Cup with him.
Chicago Blackhawks Report:
Toews, Kane and Keith were all signed to long-term deals, 6.3 million for five years was given to Toews and Kane each, Keith signed a longer deal, 72 million over 13 years with the team with a no-trade clause attached. The talk now is that Chicago must deal away something immediately to be cap-compliant, as teams must have a salary cap situation that is within bounds for the following season, not just the current one. Brent Sopel and Thomas Kopecky are two players on the team with low salaries that can moved to cover this, I expect an exchange for a pick or prospect to solidify Chicago's future.
The First Period: Unmitigated disaster, Halak's rebound control problems emerge and goal #1 comes off his not handling the initial shot, then his teammates failing to clear. Goals 2 and 3 come off of the team's inability to make a rebound, Halak makes the initial save, but again the rebound kills the team, Buffalo's up 3-0 by the end with a 15-3 shot advantage. The team had about two minutes of good offensive pressure total, even our top centre through most of the season, Tomas Plekanec had a tough time getting anything going. Scott Gomez played with a bit more jump in his game than his first game back fortunately. Referees left the game wide open, both teams had one blatant penalty that should have been called, but quiet generally.
The Second Period: Didn't get much better, defensive miscues around the net give Buffalo their 4th on the night. At this point in the game, the patience of the Refs was tested a lot more, Buffalo got away with three pretty blatant tripping minors, Ryan O'Byrne got caught giving a bear hug to a Buffalo player to give Buffalo the first PP of the game, Montreal played their best hockey of the game in those two minutes really, following that, a neutral zone play gave Montreal a spark of hope. A breakout play by Sergei Kostitsyn started in the neutral zone with Gomez with him, Sergei fed a pass to Gomez who steadied it on his stick to give Montreal their first goal of the game. Sergei's ability to be a set-up man was evidenced once more as they scored with just over 3 minutes left in the period. Things had a tinge of hope and Montreal avoided playing five entire periods of NHL hockey with no goals. Montreal managed five shots on net that period, Buffalo got another 14.
The Third Period: The refs were garbage, absolute 100%, knuckle-dragging, Milbury-ite jerks who handed Buffalo the period, Montreal's players were tripped at least a half-dozen times during the period and denied them vital PPs that would have allowed a comeback. Montreal got one power play off a holding penalty and got close, although I imagine they would have gotten a lot closer had they recieved the PP opportunities Buffalo would have recieved had the situations been reversed I imagine. They would press on offensively and a great rushing play by the Lapierre line, with a shot by Lapierre then the rebound picked up by a streaking Gorges would make the game 4-2, granted there were less than nine minutes left but Montreal had been managing the offence for nearly the entire period, they had twice almost collected shorthanded goals on the Tom Pyatt penalty that was taken earlier in the period, Sergei gave Gomez a chance to get his 2nd of the game, but Gomez shot high, showing he's got a lot to work on when it comes to shooting. Buffalo would then exploit the Montreal D-zone vulnerabilities, a screen prevented Halak from seeing the 5th goal, a slapshot from the point and the 6th came from a neutral zone giveaway that set up a classic two-on-one breakaway that couldn't have been set up better in a team practice for Buffalo. Halak is good, but his first start in 10 games and he doesn't have Price's brilliance for that astounding save, he'll battle to make saves but he doesn't have that extra level I see in Price's game. Montreal would have fifteen shots on net in the third period, after managing a mere eight in the previous two periods, leaving them 23-37 against Buffalo's final shot total.
Thoughts: Buffalo would have won 9-2 had some of their players connected better on some of te near-goals against Montreal. The team is missing Gionta badly, he was often the one that sparked the team to come back after bad periods, scoring or assisting on that goal that helped turn things around or talked the locker room up to get them going. Mike Cammalleri gives a good interview and seems to be a good team guy, but is not that strong of a leader I believe and his status as a streaky scorer (His 39 goals came in 29 games last season) means he's less able to score the opportunistic goal and get the team going. Gionta's excellent work ethic and relentless play with Montreal this season gives a better on-ice leadership example than Cammalleri too. The Defence needs to work on clearing the rebound, or Montreal is doomed for the next while because the opposition is pressing around the net and getting far too many opportunistic goals with pressure around the goal crease.
Offence: Sergei Kostitsyn shows why he should be wearing the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, he set up the Gomez goal and nearly gave Gomez a shorthanded marker during the Pyatt penalty. Top line work for him for now, the people who can use his brilliant offensive zone passes do not have names ending in Pyatt, White or Moen for that matter. Max Pacioretty, he's got to strap that helmet of his own tighter, it came off twice during the game and the kid's going to get hurt one of these days playing like that, he made some good moves tonight and is improving. Cammalleri seems to have lost his scoring touch for the moment, I'm sure it will be back but that's the nature of Cammalleri, he is a streaky goal scorer. Tomas Plekanec didn't play well until the third, on the whole, Gomez was a much better forward than he was tonight. Andrei Kostitsyn, he keeps making the right moves, nearly dangled himself to a goal at least twice but couldn't quite finish it off. Nice offensive zone work, but his inability along with the rest of his line to prevent goals didn't help him. Moen, Metropolit make all the right moves generally, but they're low-scoring checking forwards and shouldn't be counted on for more than the odd goal now and then, this team needs them for regular scoring they're in more trouble than they thought. Pyatt and White are good kids, but they don't have the stickhandling ability to handle a puck and release a shot in an NHL-pace game right now for any kind of reliable scoring. Mad Max? A pleasure to watch in action towards the end of the game, his shot set up the Gorges rebound goal and he even played PK minutes, he's getting himself back together.
Defence: O'Byrne is a godsend to return, he's the only truly reliable big-body D, but his inexperience showed when his drop to prevent the cross-crease pass for the Buffalo goal did nothing, he'd have been better off covering the man who came in to put the puck in the net. Bergeron made some mistakes, but his offensive zone assistance was a major help. Hamrlik and Spacek worked their asses off, but they've been doing that nonstop since the season started and it's already cutting into their performance at times. Gorges was a champ and got the 2nd goal, which gave the team the spirit to keep trying for more goals and maybe tie it up and push it to overtime, he made good defensive plays and kept it from getting worse. Mara was a good guy to teach that little bastard Kaleta a lesson, but it would've been much more welcome towards the start of the game, get the team fired up then, rather than the dying minutes of a lost game. Mara had a better night tonight, but not that good considering the score, his D-zone coverage makes me shake my head at times, he forgets the basics too much.
Goaltending: Not going to dump on Halak, he should have controlled the rebound better on the 1st goal, but the other 5 were much more on the team than he was, he hadn't been in nets since November 10th and it showed as well, he would have had to make at least 4 game-changing saves to deliver this for Montreal and he didn't have it in him.
Ex-Habs Recognition:
- Saku Koivu scored the opening goal of the Anaheim-Dallas Game, but they lost 3-1 off of two bad goals and an EN shot.
- Komisarek managed to not be a boat anchor for Toronto since he returned from injury, he might have learned to finally stop overplaying his position and trying to be Chris Pronger.
- Gui Latendresse has 2 goals and 1 assist since being traded to the Wild, although I doubt his streak will last, he rarely finds the inspiration to play well for very long.
Washington Capitals Report:
They've actually done well this season when Ovechkin has been injured or away (currently on a two-game suspension, which is just as well since he hurt his knee in the Gleason incident), which is good but at the same time the moment he's back they seem to step back and wait for him to deliver each game for them, they need to keep up their efforts more often when Ovechkin is playing. Recently returned sniper Alex Semin had a 4-point night, 2 goals, 2 assists on his first game back from having wrist problems for the Capitals, his wrist seems to be working fine now to deliver a 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers.
Special Note: Semyon Varlamov is a brilliant goalie when it comes to low shots and goalmouth jamming, he's been notably a bit weak on his glove side at times but teams that rely upon dirty goals don't get much with him at all. He gets his glove in strong condition, the Capitals could win a Cup with him.
Chicago Blackhawks Report:
Toews, Kane and Keith were all signed to long-term deals, 6.3 million for five years was given to Toews and Kane each, Keith signed a longer deal, 72 million over 13 years with the team with a no-trade clause attached. The talk now is that Chicago must deal away something immediately to be cap-compliant, as teams must have a salary cap situation that is within bounds for the following season, not just the current one. Brent Sopel and Thomas Kopecky are two players on the team with low salaries that can moved to cover this, I expect an exchange for a pick or prospect to solidify Chicago's future.
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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