Plus/Minus makes its playoff debut

This was the week the Capitals, the best team in the NHL this season, had to put up a fight against the Canadiens, who sneaked into the postseason like it was an R-rated movie. Elsewhere in the NHL, some players showed what they were made of. Stars are rising and fans are getting even louder. I'm actually making an effort to write Plus/Minus on a Sunday evening like I always intend to. It's definitely playoff season.

PLUS

+ to whoever decided to put Geico's googley-eyed wad of money on a board behind Pierre McGuire stood in the Verizon Center this week. I'm not saying I noticed a resemblance every time I saw McGuire on TSN... except that's exactly what I'm saying.
+ Jaroslav Spacek has played two of his best games of the season.
+ A lot of people think that Jacques Martin hates Sergei Kostitsyn. But Sergei's been playing pretty well, and usually plays better when he thinks it counts, so I'm glad coach decided not to bench him.
+ Also that other K brother is pretty cool.
+ Vancouver's Green Men.
+ Andy Sutton is hilarious. He needs to be a little more careful about, y'know, not knocking out other players, but he gets this plus for being honest with an annoying reporter.


MINUS

- The new Sidney Crosby shoe commercial - proof that sometimes, you should just let the animators do their work and not bother with celebrity endorsements or awful catchphrases. My feet don't need an energy drink.
- People paid just a little too much attention to Plekanec and Theodore's comments about each other. Sure, it sounds like they're spitting out wicked burns, but it's also proof that sometimes things get blown out of proportion.
- The genius who wrote into the Gazette with basically another letter about the NHL, money and the ethnic vote. Apparently today's NHL players don't deal with the shame of having fans talk to them in public and just prance directly from the ice onto a plane back to the scary, scary foreign countries they call home. I'm sure that's exactly what it's like. Every player on the Habs' roster lives in Montreal, at the very least, from training camp to the end of their season. I'm sure that at some point during all these long months (sometimes away from their families, other times right in front of them) someone will stop them on the street with an opinion, or interrupt their meal for an autograph, snap a picture with their phone, or tweet about them. Sure, some players are more motivated than others, but it's racist, ignorant blowhards like the Jean-Maurice who wrote this letter that create the kind of environment nobody wants to play in.

First home game of the playoffs tomorrow... go crazy, Montreal. Actually, on second thought, don't.

Hockey's bigger in Montreal: Game Preview 14-01-10

It's been a few days since we had a Habs game to watch, but they've done enough off the ice to stay in the news. And the rest of the NHL has had its share of game-related news, so there's been plenty to talk about. (We're secretly thanking Sedin brother #3 for that.)

So, a city where hockey is king plays host to a team that is not the Dallas Cowboys. What do you need to know? Better yet, what can I tell you about the Dallas Stars? Um... time for bullet points.

On the Habs side of things:

• A bunch of guys have been creeping up into Tomas Plekanec's point space, putting him in fifteenth place overall. He's apparently so distraught about it that he temporarily abandoned his signature goatee.
• Georges Laraque is back in the lineup, and for once he's probably grateful for his brief ice time since he doesn't seem to be in the right mindframe for play right now.
• Ryan O'Byrne will probably sit out this game, but as some very happy little patients can confirm, he's back in town.
• As you've heard, the Canadiens currently have the best power play in the league, but could be doing a bit better as far as playoff chances are concerned. It's January, though.

On the Stars side of things:

• I'd watch this game very carefully if those pesky transaction rumours are true.
• The Stars are coming to town with two wins in their last six games. All four losses have been on the road.
• As you know, Mike Ribeiro's out for a while (karma's rough sometimes), so today's former Hab is Stéphane Robidas, who is not on Team Canada. (I'm just stating a fact.)
• Brad Richards is one of the guys who has more points than Plekanec. (13 goals, 39 assists, to be exact, and no goatee either.)
• Celebrity lookalike news: Assistant captain and subject of many negative Facebook groups Steve Ott isn't a team scoring leader, but I must mention him due to a recent discovery. My fellow nerds might be interested to know that Ott looks a whole lot like actor Alan Tudyk, best known for his role on Firefly.

Joss Whedon fans rejoice!!