Montreal Canadiens

[rainydrinkwater]

Must've been tough to do the write up after this one.

Still, I would have a difficult time picking a winner in a platoff series between these two. Both teams have proven that they can win and that nothing will come easy.

I just think that the physical beating that the Habs took a few weeks back was the worst thing that could have happened to the Bruins in terms of it took away the unknown. Everybody and thier grandma knows the B's are a bigger, stronger more physical team. The question was how would the Habs handle it? Well they have won one and lost one since then, but have proved that fear is not going to be an issue.

I think it will come down to goaltending and who can bring thier A game more consistently between Price and Thomas/Rask...and there the Bruins do have the advantadge in that they have to elite, or at least 1a and 1b starters where the Habs will live and die by Price. (I no longer refer to him as "Scary Carey").

[ericdaoust]

Must've been tough to do the write up after this one.

Still, I would have a difficult time picking a winner in a platoff series between these two. Both teams have proven that they can win and that nothing will come easy.

I just think that the physical beating that the Habs took a few weeks back was the worst thing that could have happened to the Bruins in terms of it took away the unknown. Everybody and thier grandma knows the B's are a bigger, stronger more physical team. The question was how would the Habs handle it? Well they have won one and lost one since then, but have proved that fear is not going to be an issue.

I think it will come down to goaltending and who can bring thier A game more consistently between Price and Thomas/Rask...and there the Bruins do have the advantadge in that they have to elite, or at least 1a and 1b starters where the Habs will live and die by Price. (I no longer refer to him as "Scary Carey").

Here's how I see it, the Habs won the season series 4-2 and I see no reason why they can't do it again. The Buins have ways of hurting themselves (Milan Lucic) and are definitely a slower team. There is room to be beaten. I would consider Boston the favorite but not a slam dunk.

The Habs are a weird team. They have too many players that don't show up every night. Even Gionta has a bit of Marleau syndrome where his effort is fine but he doesn't go above and beyond to be a difference maker when it matters most. But when this team has its key players playing well at the same time they are as good as anyone else. Last spring Cammalleri/Gomez/Gionta/Subban all caught fire at about the same time and the team went deep before the bubble burst.

I don't want to sound cliche but the Habs are definitely a wild card.

[ericdaoust]

Game Notes

-As the score indicates, this was another brutal performance. Just sad to watch. That's three consecutive games without a goal in a time where teams are fighting every night for playoff positioning. And just 18 shots tonight. Where is the urgency? Where are the guts?

-Carey Price had rebound problems today but all in all put in a solid effort. He kept the game close as long as he could. The first goal was a wide open rebound by Sturm where Price bounced a rebound into the slot, although a better defensive effort would have prevented that goal. The second goal was a two-man breakaway where both Capitals outskated the Canadiens defenders and beat Price on a cross-ice pass.

-Nicklas Backstrom was outstanding tonight for the Caps. He is effective all over the ice and assisted on both goals, along with seven shots on net. I think he wins a Selke before his career is over.

-Bad coaching decision to put Plekanec on the point for the power play. They have Subban and Wisniewski who are both among the better dmen in hockey at running the power play, so why not put a FORWARD back there!!! /sarcasm

-Cammalleri, Gomez, Gionta and Plekanec were all horrible. It's really rubbing off on the younger players in a bad way as guys like Subban, Desharnais and Eller have hit a wall.

-Sorry, not much good to say about this game.

[rainydrinkwater]

Is it possible that Plek (the offensive catalyst, IMO) is playing hurt? He doesn't seem to have the same jump/spark as before missing time...

[ddp]

Gomez should be sent down...just do it already. Don't feel bad about making Bob look bad...he was bad for making the worst trade in the history of the habs. 1 goal in what 40 games? minus what 16? If I saw Gomez in the street, I'd take his wallet and put him on his ass. So frustrating.

[ericdaoust]

Is it possible that Plek (the offensive catalyst, IMO) is playing hurt? He doesn't seem to have the same jump/spark as before missing time...

Definitely a strong possibility. He probably came back at less than 100%, which further drives home my point that he should not be playing the defenceman position on the PP.

[ericdaoust]

A highly recommended read from Habs Inside Out:

http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/boone/quick-hits-5

It sums up a lot of my points in last night's report.

[LeTrefle]

http://www.hockeyinsideout.com/boone/quick-hits-5

How much do you think J.Martin is responsible for those numbers?
When will Gomez enter the doghouse?
When Subban will be on the 1st pp unit?
When Martin will start using big hearted players over big paid players?

[ericdaoust]

Using Martin's history with the team I'll give my opinion on your four questions.

How much do you think J.Martin is responsible for those numbers?
He is partially responsible but he is also credited for overall goals against being so low. However the vets play a big role in this too as they can wake up and realize how embarrassing their effort has been.

When will Gomez enter the doghouse?
Not anytime soon. If anything happens it will be in the offseason when management steps in. I really hope he is demoted because they can sign a guy at his level of play for under 3 million and have a ton of space for depth elsewhere.

When Subban will be on the 1st pp unit?
This will happen soon. He has been on the top unit before so I see no reason why he would not be put there again.

When Martin will start using big hearted players over big paid players?
Unfortunately the "heart" players are mostly unpolished rookies that are better off as followers than leaders at this point in their careers. As much as I like Desharnais and Eller they are not yet capable of leading the way to get guys like Gionta and Cammalleri to wake up and start producing. It has to be a joint effort between the experienced guys and the young hungry guys.

[ericdaoust]

Not much to report today on the Habs' front, but I must say that the Thrashers are an ideal opponent to be facing when in a goal scoring slump. The Thrashers have allowed the most goals in the Eastern Conference.

[ericdaoust]

Projected Lines vs. Thrashers (TSN Ice Chips):


Forwards:
Cammalleri - Plekanec - Halpern
Darche - Gomez - Gionta
Kostitsyn - Eller - Moen
Pouliot - Desharnais - White

Defence:
Hamrlik - Wisniewski
Gill - Subban
Mara - Sopel

Goaltenders:
Price
Auld

[ericdaoust]

Game Notes:

-Two good pieces of news tonight. First, the Habs scored some goals. Second, they scored more goals than the opposition. Both of those things come in handy around this time of the year.

-It was Bill McCreary's last game in Montreal tonight and the camera spotted several Canadiens after the game shaking hands with him. A nice gesture. You may think this is not fantasy relevant and should not be on this website but... referees assign penalties so those guys contribute to leagues that count PIMs.

-The line juggling worked as Mathieu Darche scored a goal assisted by Scott Gomez. Darche can play on a scoring line from time to time and tonight it was a perfect fit.

-Carey Price was awesome one again. His one goal against came on a BS blown call where Hal Gill got high sticked near the eye which gave the Thrashers a 2 on 1 attack. The cross-ice pass was tapped in for the goal. Come on, Gill is one of the tallest players in the league, if you get your stick up on him it should be VERY obvious.

-Just a note, but Roman Hamrlik was use next to James Wisniewski as the primary pair on the PP point. PK Subban was down to 19 minutes. Subban was called for diving and I think that played into it. Hamrlik scored the goal that snapped the big drought.

-The Habs had a lot of jump tonight. A lot of set plays where cross-ice passes were completed to players in stride. This caught the Thrashers' dmen off guard all night.

-In particular Gomez and Tomas Plekanec were solid. Cammalleri was better but still makes a lot of bad decisions with the puck.

[ericdaoust]

First of all, today is my birthday so I was occupied most of the day. I caught parts of the game and I think I have a good idea of what went wrong (they sucked) but if someone can correct me please do so.

Game Notes:

-Defensive zone turnovers were an issue again, and the overall coverage was not very good. I know that turnovers happen but it's not acceptable when the other team constantly gets the puck handed to them in the slot with nobody there to cover.

-Carey Price had an off game on the second half of a back-to-back set. I know they are fighting for a playoff spot but I don't think this was the right time to try to ride Price. They have to think about all of the remaining games, not just the one tonight.

-I was glad to see Subban and Wisniewski back together on the power play. They both combined to score the second Habs' goal.

-Mike Cammalleri scored a very nice goal on the power play. It's nice to see him get back on the board.

[rainydrinkwater]

First of all, today is my birthday...

Forget hockey for today.

BONNE FETE!!

Is that how you guys say it?

[ericdaoust]

Just as a side note, I finally got a HD cable box and I spent most of the night drooling about the image quality. WOW!!!