Game #2055 Shots Against; But Price Softens The Blow

Details

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

Loss: 0-2

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

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Sullivan (2)

Play of the game

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

Dome hockey team

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



Forwards

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

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

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

Defencemen

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

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

Goaltender

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

Comments

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

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

Details

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


Win: 4-2

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

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

Play of the game

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

Dome hockey team

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



Forwards

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

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

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

Defencemen

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

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

Goaltender

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

Comments

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

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

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Shooting For Success Getting Out Of The Basement

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

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


When the Canadiens lose they lose

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

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

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


Two solutions

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

1) Score the first goal more, or

2) Change the way you build attacks when behind


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

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

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

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


Lessons from outside the rink

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Game #18Halak Makes It Look Closer Than It Was

Details

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

Loss: 0-1

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

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Iginla

Play of the game

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

Dome hockey team

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



Forwards

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

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

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

Defencemen

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

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

Goaltender

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

Comments

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

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Learning To Live Without Markov

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

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


Winning and losing

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

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

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

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


Special teams

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

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

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

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


2009-10

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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


Who misses Markov most?

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

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The Price Of Being A Twit

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

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

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

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


Walsh out of step

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

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

Walsh is well and truly out of step here.

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

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

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

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

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


Holier than thou

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

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

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

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


Habs fans: we need to look at ourselves

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

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

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

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

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

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

Details

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

Loss: 1-3

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

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

Play of the game

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

Dome hockey team

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



Forwards

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

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

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

Defencemen

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

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

Goaltender

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

Comments

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

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