Plus/Minus needs more gravy

Plus/Minus is back! And I, for one, am thankful that I can bring back one of HIHW's oldest features. It was on IR for far too long, and we've got tons of hockey and TV stuff to talk about. Shall we?

PLUS

+ That goal by Alex Galchenyuk. That. Goal.
+ The outpouring of support for George Parros after his injury was inspiring. Hockey people can be good people, sometimes.
+ Lars Eller and P.K. Subban are picking up points so easily, they almost make me think I can play hockey. (Me, with my clumsy limbs and my complete lack of athleticism.)
+ Joe Thornton had the quote of the year and it's barely even the year yet.
+ Sleepy Hollow might be my favourite new show of the season. It's got a talented, diverse cast, and it's  so scary but I can't help but watch it.
+ Thank you, Fox, for picking up John Mulaney's series after NBC decided not to go ahead with it!

MINUS

- Guillaume Latendresse isn't even playing in North America, and the Journal de Montréal is still writing cover features about him? Let it go, already. As interested as I am in the life of a North American player in Europe, I've had my fill of stories about Latendresse.
- Daniel Briere, you have one point. ONE. POINT. Are you just biding your time? Because I think most of us would prefer it if you just scored goals and such.
- ABC could have had a major hit in Super Fun Night. But a show that doesn't live up to its potential in addition to being mishandled by its network is just an unfortunate recipe for disaster.
- Once Upon A Time In Wonderland should be my favourite new show of the season. Unfortunately, the pilot was disappointing. The CGI wasn't convincing, there was too much of it, and most of the leads  just aren't engaging enough. I still like the concept, though, so with any luck it'll grow on me, just like Once Upon A Time did.
- This is way late, but a Minus to whoever it was that cancelled Go On. I can't even bring myself to watch Sean Saves The World, and I firmly believe that Go On would've been a great companion to The Michael J. Fox Show. And it has (almost) nothing to do with the fact that both series star good, hockey-loving Canadians.

With any luck, I'll be able to make Plus/Minus a regular feature again this season. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Have an extra scoop of mashed potatoes for me.

'Dogs are in town tomorrow...

There's a new breed of Bulldogs coming to Montreal tomorrow night.

The Movember kind.

Scary thought of what that holds aside, our farm team's not doing too shabby as of late. After taking forever to kick off this season (seriously, the rest of the AHL was 3 games in going "where are you?") they've now got a record of 6-1-1-2 and 15 points, good for first on the leaderboard in the North Division. While Oklahoma City and San Antonio also have 15 points, only Wilkes-Barre and Portland are ahead of them in the whole league.

David. Desharnais. He's a long way from that Canada/Russia Series five years ago where I pointed out that Guillaume Latendresse could eat him in one bite if he wasn't too careful. Most notably he has a point in every single game, 14 in ten games to be exact, 6th in the AHL overall. Max Pacioretty, who recently commented that the best thing for him would be to play all of this season in Hamilton, isn't too far behind. Dubbed "Maximillion" by 820 CHAM's Derek Wills, he has played every bit like the player we eventually want to see in Montreal, racking up 12 points in ten games.

Any lamenters of PK Subban's departure have also zipped their lips by now (or must have been hiding under a rock as of late if they continue to go on about it). Yannick Weber has stepped up where needed and bolstered the blueline in addition to putting up six goals, the most of any defenseman league-wide.

The Binghamton Senators, their opponent tomorrow night at the Bell Centre, haven't been quite as fortunate. Sitting at 6th in the East Division with a 4-3-1-1 record, they've struggled a little in terms of consistency and stringing wins together as their key forwards have struggled to produce. Right winger Bobby Butler, however, has notched five goals in nine games and at least a point in almost every single one. Also, goaltender Robin Lehner is back after a stint with the big club, which will be another thing to look out for tomorrow night.

Plus/Minus: Andrei Markov's birthday edition

We didn't exactly write very much this week, but finals and 50-hour workweeks will do that to a blogger. I'll do my best to cover the week that was. Geez, I'm posting this later than usual too. I suck.

Plus

+ Apparently it's better to give than to receive, and our #79 gave us a present for his birthday, which is today. (Don't they do that in Lord of the Rings? Thank you, Viggo!) Not only did he come back, but like a movie hero, he went all "Yippee-ki-yay" on the Islanders. I know I'm getting too excited too quickly, but I missed him so much that I very nearly did cartwheels when I found out he'd be playing against the Islanders... except I can't do cartwheels. Sorry, Marky.

+ I'll give an additional plus to our win over the Islanders. They deserve it. Marky might have been John McClane, but not even McClane can do everything on his own.

+ Andrei Kostitsyn had a great week.


Anything but peace on earth and goodwill toward men

- So we lost quite a few games this week. Yes, it sucks, and yes, it doesn't make sense when our team is composed of such outstanding players. But I hate it when journalists try to look for someone to pin the blame on if there isn't anyone, and suddenly change their tune if anyone in particular doesn't save the team's ass (because that's not always going to happen). And guess what, people? Losing is just as hard on the players as it is on the fans, and constantly asking them what went wrong just makes it suck more. For me.

- Wow... so the same people who very nearly cried when Guillaume Latendresse was traded, decided to boo him upon his return to the Bell Centre? I know booing is fun, but it didn't really make sense.

- So, is this like a revolving door of defencemen, that we get Markov back in the same week that Roman Hamrlik is injured?

- I always thought it might be entertaining, or at least somehow funny, to have a gossip mill for hockey like TMZ or Just Jared cover Hollywood, but let's be honest. It's filthy when gossip rags talk about movie stars (or reality TV personalities), and it's at least that bad when people try to cover hockey the same way. If we ever try to start a rumor, or get all TMZ up in here, someone please slap us.

Plus/Minus: it's a big one!

Lots to cover in +/- this week, mostly because the Canadiens organization has spent a year leading up to it. (Not to mention 99 years before that.)


HISTORICAL PLUS MINUS

Just for this week, we're choosing one of our glory days and one of our dark days from the last 100 years.
+ March 14th, 1929: George Hainsworth posts his 22nd shutout of a 44-game season, a record which still stands today.
- March 8, 1937: Howie Morenz passes away, the result of an injury that broke his leg in four places.

PLUS

+ 100 years, all of them legendary, all of them memorable, as much as some fans may want to forget a season here or there. The city's going to look a little lonely without those 100th anniversary lampposts, and while it's time for us to keep history in our hearts and minds but start focusing on the present, I don't think I need to remind you of how annoying Don Cherry is going to be when other Original Six teams reach their centennial years.

+ 2 Elmer Lach and Butch Bouchard deserved the honour of having their jerseys retired.

+ Two words: Gordie Howe. That is all.

+ HAT TRICK.

+ Guillaume Latendresse has suddenly turned into some kind of goal-scoring machine. I don't know what they fed him on the flight to Minnesota but this trade really has been good for him.

+ Guys coming back from injuries - yay! (We still hate you for what you did a month ago, Andrew Ladd.)

+ to the gentleman I saw on the metro in a Maurice Richard jersey who let me flip through the book that had been handed out at the centennial game. As promised, I didn't get any greasy fingerprints or squished corners during the minute I held it for. I want my own copy now, but somehow can't bring myself to spend the money on eBay (where they start around $78).

+ Jarome Iginla, the NHL's first star for November? That makes us feel a little better about losing to the Flames - there are some formidable opponents in the NHL, and Iginla's definitely one of them. (Had he still been named first star, but that goal had been scored by Jokinen... we'd probably still be breaking things.)


MINUS

One of the rare times that I've cheered for a player heading into a five-minute penalty.

- Another blog beat us to the "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" pun, so we'll just say this: Kyle Chipchura went from Hamilton to Montreal and back so many times that we're jealous of his Air Miles. I'm going to reference the one and only Bulldogs game I've been to at Copps Coliseum (so far) where Captain Chippy played so well and so aggressively that I could hardly believe my eyes. He was on fire - winning fights, getting points, and generally playing like Rambo or someone too good for the AHL. Yet we only rarely saw this incarnation of him in the NHL, and I don't really know why. So, while it's not like we just lost Gretzky to the Kings, we're going to miss Kyle Chipchura for his work ethic, his leadership as Bulldogs captain, and his reputation as a nice guy.

- 2 I keep on forgetting this one but giant minuses for the newest Mini-Wheats commercial, ripping off the Ole Ole chant and making it about fake strawberry flavour. What an abomination. A minus from Habs fans and another from soccer fans. The geniuses at Mini-Wheats should go back to rewriting Monkees songs or whatever - that chant is ours and you can't have it. I'm never buying Mini-Wheats again. (Okay, that's not true, because I love cereal and I can't believe that something covered in icing sugar can be so good for you. But mark my words, I am never buying the strawberry flavour. Ever.)

- We hate the Leafs and want them to go away, but I still kind of hope that Jonas Gustavsson will be alright after surgery. If there's one thing I'll never take lightly, it's heart problems, no matter what team someone plays for. Even if that team is the Leafs, those jerks.

- Ryan White had a good run, and I'm glad that more people about Hamilton's best-kept secret after his 13 games with the Habs.

- to the person I know who went to the centennial game and apparently missed the pregame ceremonies.


AND OUTSIDE OF HOCKEY

+ to our Alouettes for not only winning the Grey Cup, but celebrating their victory with genuine joy and humility. It felt as good for us to watch as it did for them to win. You're the man, Avon Cobourne.
(Also, our apologies to Saskatchewan. We really wanted the Grey Cup, but don't think we hate you or anything. You did give us Travis Moen after all.)

- thanks for the apology, Tiger Woods, but how about next time, just be honest up front? You know, like you were supposed to be during your wedding vows when you promised not to cheat on your wife?



(The only picture from this post that's my property is the one of Bulldogs captain Kyle Chipchura. The rest are someone else's. Disclaimered.)

Big news

Oh, but for those bursts of awesome where he'd get us some points

Guillaume Latendresse was traded. Whoa.

I honestly didn't think it would happen.
He now plays for the Minnesota Wild, and in exchange the Habs have acquired Benoit Pouliot, aka the guy who was drafted right before Carey Price. (So in all this hullaballoo, I'm kind of wondering what would have happened if the Habs hadn't drafted Goalie the WonderBoy. Life as I know it would not be the same.)

Gui was fast-tracked to superstardom even though common knowledge dictates that some extra training in Hamilton would have turned him into the goal-scoring machine that everyone said he would be. He's been underperforming lately, that's no shock to anyone.

Asked about it, Gui said he was disappointed to be leaving Montreal as a city but also seemed unimpressed with the organization lately. (When you've been playing with the team for over 200 games, and over the summer you get thrown to the side in favour of a bunch of new guys with paychecks fatter than your last meal at Burger King, you probably feel a little small, no matter how many points you have. In a way, I don't blame him.)
If we're being perfectly honest, Gui's performance would probably have gotten him traded earlier if he didn't have what I call "homeboy advantage": he's a fan favourite and his parents can drive to games.

Most saddened by this news? My overweight cat (no, seriously) and francophone journalists.

Has someone checked on Jacques Demers? My guess is that he's either:
a) needing serious psychological help
b) crying, eating chocolate, and listening to whatever the old French man equivalent of emo is
c) on a plane to Minnesota
d) learning the rest of this season's Canadiens roster and thanking his lucky stars that Gui was traded for another guy with a French name

In other news, whip out the hairbrushes, Sergei's back! #74 is a Canadien again, here to save us from the misery of having about a million injured forwards.
ETA: Georges Laraque's disciplinary hearing was this morning (over the phone), and he's suspended for five games. I hate to sound mean, but um, I think we're used to going five games without BGL by now. Sure, the timing sucks, but the team will survive. He's losing out on just shy of $39, 000 for those five games, which doesn't sound like a lot, but... I just did my finances. That's a lot of money for a guy who, before this suspension, caused more of a commotion off the ice this season than on it.

It looks like Gainey and Co. are continuing to tighten the rains and sending a message: shape up or ship out. And as much as it does kind of make me sad to see players go (come back, Steve Bégin!) ultimately the team is about a collective, not just one player. And that collective has to be at its best.

Predators get to us

Maybe the Habs needed a little help from Schwarzenegger on this one. The closest thing we had was Carey Price, and he definitely helped.  I've never felt this pleased after a loss before, and it's kind of confusing.

Interesting fact: Nashville won this game but Price still stopped over 50 shots on goal, a career record. He deserves some credit for saving a game that was mostly played in his zone.

It maybe wasn't quite as eventful as tonight's game in Toronto, of which I only watched the first period and I can definitely say that it's so much more fun watching the Flames win when a) it's not against Montreal and b) when they're embarrassing the Leafs. Within the first five minutes I'd seen two goals, two fights, and five guys hitting the penalty box. I kind of like Calgary again.
I'd also like to point out that the Air Canada Centre is definitely not cool enough to be blasting "Fight For Your Right" during a video montage, and that the lack of Beastie Boys during Habs games needs to be rectified. Can someone get on that? (And while we're on the subject, get well soon, MCA! From what I know, his radiation treatments should be over so I'm hoping all is well.)

As for Habs-Predators:

• Bouillon appeared pretty at ease with his new team but still gracious toward his old one. I thought seeing him play again might make me miss him, because he played big despite his small frame, and I kind of do miss him.
• The Latendresse flip-flop. He got benched, which was a shocker but a good decision on Martin's part, then was told to lace up his skates because an injury to Brian Gionta took him out of the lineup. Seriously? A lower-body injury? Didn't he just get over some flu-like symptoms? Someone needs to be taking better care of our Gionta. According to the graphics department at RDS, Nashville has two Jason Arnotts. How? Is Montreal eligible for this apparent athlete cloning? Can we get a backup Gionta? How about a second Markov - to sub in for the one who's injured right now, and then to stay on for penalty kills when Original Markov comes back?
• Okay, now on to Gui for real: giving him Chipchura and White as linemates seemed like a pretty great decision. It's a physically threatening line (surprise: Latendresse is a big guy) boosted by the speed and agility that Ryan White brings to the table. Plus all three of them kind of had something to prove tonight, with White still a little green, Chipchura back in the lineup, and Gui almost not part of it, so it was an excellent showcase for three young players to show us what they've got. We maybe didn't see them play their best tonight but there was some visible effort, especially by White and Chipchura.
• And yes, the recently re-elected man of the hour, Carey Price, played a great game. I'm not saying it started with his decision to dust off a country-western helmet for this game (when in Rome, you know... I'd probably have done the same thing) but you never know. He played fearlessly, he was impressive but not too flashy, and he only got more focused after the first goal went in. It would have been nice if some of our shots on goal had actually made their way into the net, but them's the breaks I guess.

Personally, I'm going to enjoy the next day of knowing that our loss can't be blamed on a single player, goaltender or otherwise, and of listening to the sound of people deciding which bandwagon they're on at the moment while I keep my feet on solid ground.