Game #49 Habs Kill Off Wings As If They Were A Hooking Penalty

Details

Date: 25/01/2012
Opponent: Red Wings
Location: Montreal

Win: 7-2

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

Habs goalscorers: Bourque, Emelin, Desharnais (2), Plekanec, Pacioretty, Cole
Opposition goalscorers: Hudler (2)

Play of the game

It's rare I'll ever say this, but this game was full of plays worthy of this spot. The Habs completely and utterly dominated when the game was on the line and then forced home the issue after that. The play I ended up selecting was the one I was sure would be the play to describe right from when it happened. The first goal came early and set the tone for what was to come. Gomez got the puck from his all-star teammate (Diaz) and proceeded to take it from goal line to goal line. He was flying by his own blueline and found his way easily around two defenders. Thanks to the wonder of replay, we also got to see what Rene Bourque was doing as this was happening. pacing Gomez to the blueline, he had to put on an amazing burst to make the distance by the time any pass came. He did and ended up scoring a scruffy, but important goal. Why the play of the game? Because the play demonstrates the depth that is there, and how matching players properly makes that depth a factor.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Erik Cole
What can we say that hasn't already been said. He put in a signature effort and game and came out with three points. The all-star of the half season is getting a well-deserved rest instead of making his way to Ottawa. We'll miss his power moves if we watch the game.

David Desharnais - Game Puck
After he dominated the ECHL playoffs to pop up on our radar, I doubt we'd ever consider that the words "commanded the game" would fit his effort against the Red Wings. By his effort, by his vision and by his quick execution he confused the Red Wings leaderless defenders and did indeed command the offensive zone whenever he was in it. I thought the Habs were only continuing the press in the third to get him his goal. That says a lot about how his teammates feel about David.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Speaking of command, was there an ES shift that Eller and Kostitsyn did not hem in their opponents? The pair were outstanding at keeping the momentum going, and of course chipping in on the Emelin goal. I give the edge in the end to Kostitsyn who didn't take the penalty and continues to show determination and discipline this past little while.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
Like Cole, he doesn't need much introduction. he put in a good Gorges-like effort and quited player like Zetterberg and Datsyuk all night. The forwards ran the show tonight, but they could do so because their defending colleagues showed the way early. Gorges as their leader did very well again.

Alexei Emelin
The guy was on for 7 goals! OK, 2 were against, but let's not dwell on that. Things happen when Alexei is on the ice because he tends to instigate. Tonight was the first career goal and probably the first game where his shots were more memorable than his hits (and more numerous). I think he showed Montreal management a few things. Heck, I think the whole NHL (on break and perhaps watching) saw a lot on display from number 74.

Goaltender

Carey Price
You could tell he wanted to join in the fun up front. At the very least, he wanted to grab some spotlight for himself, perhaps with a shutout. It didn't happen, but he played well. His steadiness early on and on the PK were a big help to setting the stage for an offensive explosion. He made sure we didn't have to watch a very different team -- the Red Wings with a lead.

Comments

I thought the Habs were the most efficient as team killers as I've seen in recent memory. The tone set in the first was that of a diligent penalty kill all over the ice. For once the Canadiens exercised the determination on display in shorthanded situations to control the puck, not just shepherd it. It paid too, because before a period was killed off, so was the game.

Perhaps even more encouraging was that each subsequent goal came as the result of continued pressure as opposed to satisfied puck concession.

Is this Cunneyworth hockey? Maybe. Perhaps the system that is so drastically different from that of Martin's permanent passive box just took a while to be taken up by players, and then executed with any demonstrable success.

One thing we know is that discipline will be important, and priority of team over self. We know this because Cunneyworth and Ladouceur benched PK Subban throughout a period after his errant elbow followed a $2500 fine. This my friends is a simple but effective coaching method. Ice time as reward. Ice time on merit. The opportunity was there in the circumstance. Will the method remain when PK's skills are required more urgently? We'll have to see. I think I like their approach, however, as Subban seems to get these messages. Rather than sulk, he looked more eager than anyone to hit the ice after 40 minutes and played with a renewed commitment to team cause.

So. 5 points in 3 games and here we are at the All-Star break? Not ideal to be carrying less in the Pts column than in the GP at this point. But in a very strange year (teams close at 8th and no one counted out) who knows what may happen. The Habs aren't in the position they imagined they would be in, yet it's not as dire as it could be. The schedule from next week tightens and important games come thick and fast. It should be a very interesting month going into decision points and trade deadlines.

Until then relish a couple of big wins. Enjoy some All-Star fluff. Speak soon.

Go Habs Go.

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The Problem With Us

Now that Cammalleri is gone without filling Habs fans appetite for complaining, we have turned our attentions elsewhere.

The unfortunate recipient of the majority of our attentions of late has been PK Subban.

I actually wrote what I thought was a nice piece on why Subban should be suspended but not traded yesterday. Alas, it was lost when I idiotically pressed backspace to set my browser back a page. For some reason it wasn't autosaved at all. Anyway, the gist was he made a dirty hit (at least one) near the boards that was penalized but not harshly enough for my liking. But that this by no means affects his standing as a core member of the team going forward in my eyes. I think I actually noted he was THE core member.

So I wrote it, but you've read the same elsewhere. Let's move on.

Once again my fascination with the team and its players is matched by my fascination with those of us who follow. Incidentally, it was PK who brought this to the fore, this time with a quote:

“I have a great relationship with Randy and I’d hate for you guys to ruin that,” Subban said “I’m a young guy and I need to be coached and that’s what he’s doing. Coaches and players are never going to agree on all things but at the end of the day, I’m 22 years old and so it doesn’t matter what I think. He’s the coach.

“You can’t be messing up drills,” Subban said of the incident Tuesday. “One of the drills I screwed up and he let me know about it. That’s a part of the game. I don’t think that’s a big deal.

“He’s going to tear a strip off me again this year, maybe a couple of times, but if we’re going to make a deal out of it every time, that’s not beneficial to our team,” added Subban. ‘I’m not the only young guy here. He does it for the other young guys. And he doesn’t for the veterans too.”

Fascinating quote really. It cuts as sharply to the bone as one of his sharp defensive end turns (which incidentally I can't perform myself, as Tobalev will attest).

Subban is right you know. Coaches do yell at players all the time. My coaches often yelled at me, shunned me, scowled. Of course they also praised, explained and coached. But this isn't a treatise on coaching methods. It's about observers of that.

What about a coach yelling at a player is newsworthy?

In Subban's mind, the answer is nothing at all. But that's not how the Montreal media work. Subban is part of a running story line right now and this fits into that very nicely. The story goes that the coaches are unhappy with Subban and that his place on a pedestal (again assumed) is no longer available to him. Indeed, from that we must extrapolate that his place on the team is no longer safe. For some more sensational yarnspinners, he's being offered actively around the league.

Subban of course is right. To the coach, this is not news. To the player this is not news. It could only constitute news to those unfamiliar with the workings of a hockey team. Or perhaps those that need pieces to fit a budding narrative.

I liked how he handled the microphones here. Even if he was misquoted by typo "And he doesn’t for the veterans too".


Us vs. them

The other fascinating things about Subban's quote is the way it opens: "I have a great relationship with Randy and I’d hate for you guys to ruin that..."

What did the receivers of this quote think Subban meant by ruining it? Perhaps they might have thought he meant publishing stories about being yelled at in practice? That seems to be in keeping with the rest of his thought.

So precisely what he hoped might not happen is what indeed did happen. This story is on every outlet. Including (and this is important) this one.

Important. I have been reading it. You have been reading it. I just wrote about it and you are reading about it again now. When Subban said "you guys" we shouldn't feel exempt from the statement the way Pat Hickey obviously feels himself exempt from being tarred with the media brush.

We, bloggers, readers, media, fans. We are all part of this ridiculous machine that takes power from its own momentum. It is fascinating and fun to watch and comment on. But you know what? It's nowhere near as fun as a playoff win, or a graduation from from a playoff round.

I think it's high time we take a serious look in the mirror here. While it's fun for armchair GMs to contemplate their power over a team, we must admit that on all evidence the power we wield is mostly disruptive. A positve report on a player or a surprise inclusion in a dome is not news, but a player missing a practice, a bit of hard coaching is.

In reality, the Canadiens and PK wouldn't seek a separation unless there was a real problem lurking under the surface. But real problems might have been patched before, whereas as now under the constant watch of twitter, there's little room to breathe let alone let off the necessary amounts of steam.

If we are putting the team in a position of weakness, we only hurt our own hopes. If we are brining scorn on the city by lapping up this common, yet widely unreported, BS, then we deserve the reputation we are breeding.

Good on PK for putting it so eloquently. He may yet coach us to the slick hockey savvy population we hold as image for ourselves.

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Game #48Hurting Toronto's Chances? The Next Best Thing

Details

Date: 21/01/2012
Opponent: Maple Leafs
Location: Toronto

Win: 3-1

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

Habs goalscorers: Bourque, Diaz, Eller
Opposition goalscorers: Lombardi

Play of the game

In a weird way the play of the game tonight was Kaberle's penalty. With two minutes to go I trust our PK more than I trust us at even-strength. So, once we went man-down I was much more confident that we would hold on. In the end we held on and Toronto couldn't even get one of the two goals they needed. We needed a win and we needed a clean last two minutes - a penalty (who would have thought?) was just what the doctor ordered.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Rene Bourque
We were told that he would score goals by being on the doorstep and, after 4 games, that is what he finally did. The goal was his highlight, but it wasn't a bad game otherwise. We'll need more goals from him if we are to keep winning, if that is what we want to do of course.

Erik Cole
Erik was the best forward again, surprise, surprise. At times he was too much size and too much speed for the slow Toronto D. His play on the first goal was a big reason for the confusion and for the goal. He ended up at +2, the night's best.

Lars Eller
Eller was fast tonight and he was rewarded with a goal that sealed the game. In all that is ten goals now - could he hit 20? Kostitsyn and Moen were on tonight too, so once again there were two or three lines that TO had to worry about. When that happens we often do well.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
The true warrior in this one. When Komisarek looks across the ice he sees the player he could have been. Now, however, he fits the Toronto mould better than most and it is hard to believe that we once thought he was captain material. Josh for his part is and showed that again with his leadership tonight. After Toronto's goal I liked how he discussed what went wrong with PK. No matter who's fault it is Gorges seems interested in making this team better.

Raphael Diaz
He scored the game-winner and showed why he should not be in the press-box, but should be playing. The same can't be said for Campoli who really offers little to this team. Diaz didn't just score tonight, but also chipped in with 4 hits. When he plays like he did tonight he is easily in our top-4.

Goaltender

Carey Price - Game Puck
I was worried after the Leafs scored their goal as Price looked weak. Before and after that, however, he was stellar as he turned away 32 shots. He was our best player tonight, but I did like how the team really limited Tornto's chances throughout. When Price plays like this and the D is strong in front of him it hurts to know just how bad this season has gone.

Comments

Every time we win I regain hope, but logic and reason then kick in (and a quick look at the standings). I still enjoy a win as it is more fun to watch. Of course, a top-5 pick could mean a huge change to the future of this team, but it is hard not to cheer for the win each and every night. So, I have decided to just let be whatever will be.

Tonight the Habs played a decent game, the type of game that suits them. They scored even-strength goals, were good on the PK and played strong as a group. In the end, however, the best part was that we handed the Leafs the loss, in regulation. I would be almost as happy with the Leafs missing the playoffs as the Habs making it in most seasons. So, tonight was a great feeling. Saturday, in Toronto, what could be better than reminding a fellow bad team that they are indeed not that great. It just goes to show that a hot start means little when you face the hard, cold fact that the season is 82 games long.

It would be nice if the Habs kept this up and if they can have a strong couple of weeks we'll see where we are and see what we are hoping for. Until then, enjoy having some days off from the Habs (only one game in the next 10 nights) and enjoy the most boring hockey game on the earth next weekend in Ottawa.

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Game #47 Habs Blow In, Then Get Blown Out Of Pittsburgh

Details

Date: 20/01/2012
Opponent: Penguina
Location: Pittsburgh

Loss: 4-5 (SO)

Habs Goalie: Budaj (L)
Opposition Goalie: Fleury (W)

Habs goalscorers: Eller, Cole, Kostitsyn, Pacioretty
Opposition goalscorers: Letang, Jeffrey (2), Malkin (1, SO)

Play of the game

It wasn't a game devoid of highlight moments (nor lowlight). The high for the Canadiens was the goal that got us the point. Budaj on save bumped the puck out to Cole. With his one track mind, he naturally blew down the left wing. Pacioretty smartly went with and made himself and his stick available for a pass right until it came through the defender's legs. His shot took advantage of a moving Fleury, but made sure by hitting the top netting in style.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Erik Cole - Game Puck
Despite his two late penalties, Cole still stood out as a positive force for the Canadiens. he is making things happen for himself all the time and when his linemates keep up, for the teammates too. Two points with a goal is a good night against the Pens.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Less money to stay in Montreal? We'll believe it when we see it Andrei... But he continues to make a case that a GM who believes he needs a big guy who can impose himself and score has an option with him. He continues to lose the puck on attempted moves, but importantly those moves buy him the hesitation of defenders (which he exploited twice on the night).

Max Pacioretty
At times, I rant at this guy. Sometimes he just makes these lazy plays that verge on the robotic. But the guy is also robotic in his scoring at the moment (evident with his goal). He should have been a shootout shooter, of that there is no doubt.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
Josh had to play the hottest player in the NHL. We're not talking about a streak from Nick Foligno here, this is hulking, streaking Evgeni Malkin. With James Neal in tow, the Pens came into the game with one of the best scoring duos and certainly one that peppers the goal most. Gorges played them to a standstill at points. He eventually had to watch a Malkin goal, but were it not the Russian at his hottest, the shot from the boards wouldn't have been counted a scoring chance.

Tomas Kaberle
This selection is good news for the Habs. While many don't like the Kaberle acquisition, he's here and will be for a while. Better he succeeds. Tonight he played more and showed off his better qualities. He made the PP goal with a slick pass and did the better part of the good work for the Habs on that file.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Budaj had his moments and has a big hand in the point, but he really missed his chance to get the dome when he let in goal four and his chance to get it back went missing with Malkin's shot in yet another pathetic shootout. Carey couldn't have done worse.

Comments

It's a strange place for a Habs fan at the moment. Coming into the game, I wasn't exactly sure what or who to cheer for. Knowing that a win likely only draws out the playoffless season and diminishes the odds at getting one of the few players that the Habs would truly benefit from choosing.

When the game started with a goal, and a cheer was the instinctual reaction, I knew I couldn't cheer for losing, even if intellectually I can accept the concept of living to fight another day. In reality, it seems like I am really still quite invested in many of the players doing well, and as a result am urging them on.

The result tonight then was a disappointment. At least for the emotional side of me. Disappointing that the team allowed so many chances for the opposition to climb back, disappointing that the goalie would let in such an obvious tying goal and disappointing that the team remains so utterly abysmal in the shootout. Rationally, though, this was a very lukewarm team facing the hottest player in the league with a strategy of falling back to protect a lead. What else to expect? It very nearly ended well, which is to the credit of those who built a strong lead in the first place.

On another note, have I have ever such praise for a goalie who was on for so many goals against? Rarely. Eller's goal was presented as a mystery by the crew I was tuned into. I think most jus saw a badly tended rebound coming to the predictable predatory forward. These RDS guys do make me laugh sometimes. I suppose it's good a Habs fan gets a few laughs in at this point, so perhaps thanks are in order for their commitment to fulfilling their own prophecies with their description.

Tomorrow the Leafs. At this point, getting in that team's way of the playoffs at this point and in future match-ups may be the only tangible thing left this season. Wow it would feel good to watch Burke blame everyone else without an ounce of self-awareness again. Let's hope we can watch a preview soon.

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Game #46Habs Horrible On PP: Considering Taking Coincidentals With Each Future Call

Details

Date: 18/01/2012
Opponent: Capitals
Location: Montreal

Loss: 0-3

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

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Perreault, Johansson, Ovechkin

Play of the game

Bourque showing some great speed in the second and hitting the cross-bar. Wow folks, it has come to this, that, in all honesty, was the best we offered tonight.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Scott Gomez
I'm not even sure if Scott is playing any better than he has over the past 18 months. In the end it was another pointless game to go with a -2 and 22% on face-offs. What was clear, however, was that he was one of our better forwards. He showed good speed and had some good chances.

Erik Cole - Game Puck
He is probably the only player that hasn't bought into the losing/sulking/we can't win attitude. Cammalleri was right, but was wrong about Erik. He played well again tonight, but must be heading home quite disappointed with where his new team is on January 18th.

David Desharnais
Plekanec should be raking in the domes this season. There is really no excuse given his pedigree, but it is not the case. Once again David out-played Pleks and has us all wondering why #14 sees those PP minutes and not Desh's line exclusively.

Defencemen

PK Subban
PK played quite a decent game actually and was heavily involved in the neutral and offensive zones. I particularly liked his speed and puck-carrying. Is he a part of the future or is he someone that could fetch an awful lot in the next few weeks via a trade.

Yannick Weber
Weber did a good job again and is, at the very least, increasing his chances of being in this league come October. For some reason it isn't working for him on the PP despite (as it seems to me) doing a lot right.

Goaltender

Peter Budaj
We need to win games and so I think we need our All-Star, our undisputed best player to be not only the best on this team, but above average, quite a bit above average for the rest of the year. That was not the case tonight. Our team didn't score, so it may be moot, but letting in 2 of 5 in the first and 3 of 16 overall just doesn't sit well with me.

Comments

If only our PP could score. Can you imagine where we would be if we even had 10 more PP goals this year? How about 20? We have proven over the past few years that an average team with a good PP can be a force. This year we are proving that an average team with a horrible PP is nothing for the opposition to worry about. So, what is it? I don't know, probably these and some: can't gain the zone; rush too many passes; always looking for the perfect shot; can't keep the puck in; shoot into traffic; have no real QB; have no confidence...the list could go on, but I am getting tired.

The season has probably been over for a month, but, for some reason, tonight it really feels like the end. It isn't impossible, but when you have watched this team as much as we all have you can't help but wonder how on earth it would be possible. We can't score enough, we can't let in few enough, we can't play from behind and we can't hold a lead. I have always felt that we have over-achieved since the lock-out, since Koivu's return from cancer really. We have been an average team all of those years, but we have rarely missed the playoffs and we often win series. So, I actually think this is the balance, the luck running out. It is nothing to get too upset about really, but it could be a long 9 months till October. My suggestion is to find what positives we can and hope that the team sees those and builds on them.

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The Brain Drain

For Christmas I was given a copy of Jean Beliveau's memoirs. I have been reading the book and am only pages from finished now.

What strikes the reader of this book, other than the fact that Beliveau just seems like a genuinely down-to-earth, nice guy, is how the Habs have changed since he came and left the team. Beliveau speaks about it a bit, but is too generous to indict anyone too much.

The Canadiens, as we know from their record, dominated the NHL from the mid-50s to the 1980s. Their success is gauged by Stanley Cups and other trophies, but it was built with amazing strategy and foresight. While the slow down in Cups is an obvious red flag for this organization, it is perhaps the dissociation with the latter that is more significant.

The Canadiens of the 1930s by all accounts were a good team, but by the late part of the decade, it was clear they weren't the pace setters in the league. That honour, on examination, must by rights go to the Toronto Maple Leafs who had the championships and the strategic minds to go with. Someone at this critical juncture recognized enough was enough and plucked a towering hockey mind (Tommy Gorman) to steer the club. He in turn found his man in Dick Irvin and did what it took to secure his service. Then, when Gorman left and somewhere along the way, and I won't get into the intrigue, Conn Smythe and Frank Selke split company and Selke arrived in Montreal. Beliveau doesn't go into all that much about Selke himself, but there are a few interesting snippets that point to the kind of manager he was.

First and foremost, it seems that Selke was an excellent (if not infallible) evaluator of talent. But being sensible, he also knew not to rely completely on his eye, and he probably realized that his rivals were pretty good too. He knew quantity of talent would likely yield better quality and so he set out creating teams and leagues to feed the Canadiens. The 1950s Habs were a big product of the seeds he had sown in his earlier tenure with the Habs and by the time the Canadiens were ready to start winning Cups they had too much talent to be stopped.

We predictably focus on the on-ice talent, but I think Selke knew the importance of off-ice talent as well. The advisors he kept around him and the apprentices he developed were just as important as those players. When Dick Irvin left as coach, Selke (according to Beliveau) wanted to replace his friend with an old acquaintance from Toronto. But it's a testament to the man that he was obviously open to collaboration as Ken Reardon was able to convince him of the case for Toe Blake. Greatness was retained in the organization in that instance, because greatness was recognized.

While players would change and Cups would come and go, the commitment to quality people in the front office was clearly there long after Selke. On his retirement, his replacement was a well-groomed candidate from within the organization, Sam Pollock. Pollock was to take the team into a much less stable era (with expansion, a draft and a rival league) and duplicate, if even exceed what Selke had done.


Their legacy
The legacy of Irvin and Selke was passed to Blake and Pollock and Bowman. From there it was absorbed no doubt by some in the organization, both on (Lemaire, Robinson, Gainey, Dryden, Savard) and off the ice (Cliff Fletcher, Caron, etc.)

Following Pollock's decision to retire, he apparently struggled with the naming of a replacement. Though he clearly recognized in Scotty Bowman a unique talent, he also recognized a fiery temper that might befit a GM of a team with other egos.

Some point to the selection of Irving Grundman as the beginning of the end for the Canadiens dominance, and perhaps it was. But at this stage, the Habs still had a bevy of learned people in their employ who knew the ways of Selke and Pollock.

Perhaps it's not important where the chain was broken, only that we know it was. Somehow the team that provided the model for both management and coaching for many decades ended up with Rejean Houle guiding Mario Tremblay. Somewhere along the line the braintrust filtered down the drain.

How it happened is not something that can be treated in one blog post, but there's little question that it did. With the braintrust gone, so was the culture of patientce and the feeling that the management held the upper hand over the always braying Montreal media.

That was ages ago now.

The attempt to restore the line was made in 2003 when Bob Gainey was headhunted for a return. Gainey, a 1970s Canadien himself must have learned a thing or two from Pollock and from Selke.


Restoring the tradition

What is missed by people that believed Gainey was just another in the line of graduates from the Montreal school is critical review of what he actually did. A review suggests there was some conviction, but perhaps not enough patience, and certainly not enough examination of what can be done under the current regulations to push an advantage over opponents to the extremes that Selke and Pollock once did.

I write this piece in the shadow of the Mike Cammalleri trade, and so it may seem like a criticism. Perhaps it should be. But I could have written it without that particular trade.

Gauthier himself is clearly an intelligent man and a thinker who puts care into his work. Yet he's no Selke. This would perhaps not be so important were there no mirrors of the great GM ion the modern game, but that doesn't appear to be so. With the Red Wings topping the West for yet another season, their management team shines above all. But there are examples of much more clever manoeuvring than that accomplished by Gauthier (and indeed Gainey) in San Jose, Philadelphia, Boston and other places.

As a Habs fan, I have to ask why.

Why should an organization that learned time and time again the importance of quality running through every vein (on or off ice) be so content to fill its ranks so? Why should all the organizational currency in managers and coaches be allowed to filter out only to come back and haunt the team?

In its longest ever Cup drought, the Canadiens need a Tommy Gorman moment. An admission that better people exist somewhere and that finding them should become a priority. Because Gorman doesn't become Irvin to Selke to Blake to Pollock to Bowman without that moment of truth.

I wish this team of owners would stop hoping they'll luck into something and put some of the Markov profits into some serious recruiting efforts. And for me this doesn't mean Gauthier needs to go, just that he has to be surrounded and fed by the best budgets will allow. And that in moments of pause, assistant coaches, 16 months into their time with the organization won't have to be the lone available option.

M. Jean Beliveau is far too much of a gentleman to ever say it, but every line between the lines in his memoir spoke of quality. I can't see how he wouldn't be with us on this.

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Game #45 Habs Dominate Conference Leaders

Details

Date: 15/01/2012
Opponent: Rangers
Location: Montreal

Win: 4-1

Habs Goalie: Budaj (W)
Opposition Goalie: Lundqvist (L)

Habs goalscorers: Pacioretty (2), Blunden, Desharnais
Opposition goalscorers: Mitchell

Play of the game

A speedy Erik Cole takes a smart exit pass and starts our most dangerous line on a rush. As the Rangers' defender cuts him off, he dumps it a little forward for Pacioretty to pick up along the boards. While Cole takes most of the attention charging towards the near post, Pacioretty spins and throws the puck right on the tape of Desharnais, who is in full-stride on the other side of the net. Desharnais tucks it easily behind Lundqvist and seals the deal with the prettiest goal of the evening.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Max Pacioretty - Game Puck
A goal in each of the first two periods led the contributions of our top line for this outing. Our leading scorer earlier in the season, Max had a rough December but has hopefully broken his drought and regained some confidence for the months to come. We wanted big things from Pacioretty, and 15 goals in 42 games qualifies. He opened the scoring to put some wind in our sails early, and deflected an Erik Cole point shot for the eventual game-winner in the second. Big goals tonight.

Erik Cole
One thing we talked about early this season was the hope that we might finally have 3 lines that have the potential to score. I'd like to think some of that depth was echoed in a bench interview with Tortorella while we were up 3-1, where he said one of the problems was that "Their fourth line has scored twice." I don't know that this is our fourth line (especially considering we only dressed 11 forwards), but whatever line they are, they put 3 pucks in the net and Cole played a central role in all of these.

David Desharnais
Rounded out an extremely dangerous-looking line and used his speed and hockey sense to create problems for the Rangers all night long. Desharnais has amassed over 30 points in 45 games now, and is making a strong argument that he can take top-line offensive duties.

Defencemen

PK Subban
I've had the impression that Subban is being allowed to play a little more offensively the last couple games. He seemed more selective with his shots tonight, and had a lot more go on-target as a result. He showed good vision on his pass to Gomez to set up the Blunden goal. Didn't take part in total meltdown that allowed the first goal.

Josh Gorges
Not an easy night to round out the defenders, especially for defensive play. We weren't challenged too hard in our own end but Gorges was there to take care of it when we were. His physical play in the second and third periods helped to tie up a Rangers squad that knows how to move the puck and put it in the net.

Goaltender

Peter Budaj
Impressive showing, particularly for a guy who's been on the bench all season. Seriously, this is only Budaj's 6th outing, and only his second in the last 6 weeks or so. Budaj made some good stops early, including a very assertive play well-out of his net early in the second. His kick-save on a shot during the Rangers' power play was one of the prettiest of the game and came at an important moment.

Comments

An encouraging game to watch, for sure. Though the line of Cole/Desharnais/Pacioretty stole the show tonight, much of our forward line stood out tonight. Gomez had a really impressive game, and played the neutral ice and transition game as well as I've seen him do this season or last. He won some battles down low and created some great scoring chances, one of which Blunden put home. Blunden was involved in more real chances than I've ever seen before, and I have to wonder if that wasn't because Gomez was keeping him well-fed. Then I saw Gomez "on the back-check" with about 45 seconds left to go in the third: a bad change, and #11 skating out from the offensive zone at walking pace with his hands on his knees as the Rangers put together one of their better chances of the period.

Bourque was also noticeable in his debut beside Plekanec and actually reminds me of Cole if anyone: he has good speed and size, he likes to hit, and he seems to have good offensive senses. People say that maybe this is a new generation of Canadiens that won't be as skilled or as fast as the last couple of seasons, but I defy them to explain to me how the addition of Cole has slowed down our rush or harmed our offense. I think Bourque is of a similar vein, and could have similar success in a power forward role beside Plekanec and Gionta while bringing some size to the trio. Too bad Gionta's out for the rest of the season.

We started strong in the first and scored a beautiful goal only a couple minutes into it. Maybe 6 or 7 minutes later, we started to run into problems winning battles in our end, getting on loose pucks, and clearing it once we did get a stick on it. The Rangers were able to play a possession game in our end of the rink for a fair stretch of the first period, and that's never good. However, we came out strong after the first intermission and never looked back. We seemed to find some real confidence in the dressing room that translated into 3 goals and some pretty serious domination over the Eastern Conference leaders. We won more battles and did the little things right, and they weren't able to contain our rushes or outplay us in the neutral zone. When that happens, we're a tough team to beat and a lot of fun to watch.

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